Timeless

After a long and arduous journey - for Applejack, at least - she and Discord had reached Canterlot. Well, a small river outside of Canterlot anyway. The normally flowing water was completely still, and a fish was floating above the top of it. On both sides of the river were a few wooden planks, which protruded from the ground. These were the remains of the bridge which allowed ponies to reach Canterlot.

"Ain't that a surprise. The bridge's out," Applejack was fighting an increasingly strong urge to just jump in to the water. A two hour walk with Discord was enough to make anypony go insane. "So, what do we do 'bout it?" She asked.

"I don't know about you, but I have a very simple solution. You know how I said something had removed my powers?" Applejack nodded. "Well, what I didn't mention is that short range teleportation is a type of magic inherent in every magical being. So, have fun trying to cross!" He snapped his claws, and appeared on the other side of the river in a flash of yellow light. He placed his arms behind his head and laid down on the ground, a smug grin on his face.

Applejack sighed, beyond caring by this point. She would have sworn vengeance on Discord, but doing it for the twenty-fifth time she felt that it had lost it's meaning. Cursing under her breath, she set out to find a way to cross the river. Looking over at Discord, she heard him humming something to himself happily.

"My, my Applejack, having a little trouble finding a way to cross are we?" A mocking voice echoed in Applejack's ears, causing her to glare at Discord.

"Ah ain't in the mood fer teasin'. Just lemme find the stupid bridge, and shut up!" She shouted across the river, being sure to inject as much venom in to her voice as possible. Discord merely looked at her, confused.

"While I approve of any and all insults directed as you, I haven't said anything. Perhaps you're going insane, in which case, let me be the first to congratulate you and welcome you to the club!" He pulled out a small card from somewhere and threw it at Applejack. She caught it and glanced at it.

'Discord's Insanity Club!', read a large, golden font on the front, while on the back was a picture of Discord grinning, and the words ''Chaos is supreme!'.

"Don't mess with me Discord!" Applejack shouted. He sighed, and snapped his claws. A 'bang' behind her and a sudden flash of light nearly gave Applejack a heart attack.

"There, now you can prove that I'm not messing with you. Happy?" He huffed.

"Oh, so very happy," Discord looked at Applejack, who in turn looked at Discord.

"Was that you?" They both asked in unison, before shaking their heads simultaneously.

"No, it was me," A voice echoed from the river, causing the pair to look ahead in shock, just in time to see a shadow rising from it. Well, not so much one shadow as a huge cluster of dark particles, which converged just above the broken bridge. The blob of darkness hung in the air menacingly, before letting out a deep laugh.

"Two points for presentation. Honestly, you made little to no effort! Where are the fireworks, the explosions? Where's the chaos?" The shadow was cut off mid evil-laugh by a Discord who had pulled a clipboard from somewhere, and was writing notes furiously. "I mean, I assume your evil power is time control, as it's safe to assume that you're the one behind the mess, so you could have done something with that. Perhaps shadowy clocks? Honestly, villains these days just make no effort," Discord sighed, before placing the clipboard on the floor. "Please, continue. I can't wait for your villainous rant," He smiled, and motioned for the shadow to continue.

"Thank you. Now, as you have already figured out, I'm the villain in this little fairytale of yours. The one who froze time itself, and removed your powers of chaos." The shadows started seperating, dissapating in to the air, leaving the rough shape of a stallion who was slightly larger than Princess Celestia. "I'm a creature of shadow, a being born from time itself!" A flash of purple light surrounded the dark stallion, and when the light subsided Applejack could see a pair of piercing red eyes set in to the creatures head, with a menacing grin adorning it's face. Intricate patterns covered his body, and he was armoured around his legs and flank with a metal a few shades darker than his body.

"My name is Chronus, and I will bring your demise!" A large group of storm clouds converged over Chronus, before releasing a flurry of purple lightning bolts. Applejack was slightly anxious, until she heard a sigh from beside her.

"Well now this is just ridiculous! Honestly, while the underwhelming display of your entrance was weak, now it just feels like your compensating for something! It's like you have no experience with villainy at all!" He tutted, before writing a few more notes down on the clipboard he seemed to be able to summon at will. Applejack wondered if he kept it merely to comment on the failures of other villains. It wouldn't surprise her.

Chronus glared at Discord before continuing. "Are you quite done?" Discord nodded. "Good. So, as I have already mentioned, my name is Chronus, and I am the reason you are here on your little adventure. You and your two friends are the only four in the entirety of Equestria and beyond that have survived this, and that was by my will alone. Should you wish to continue your existence, then you will complete tasks set forth by me. Upon their completion, you will have earned the right to challenge me to a duel, and perhaps you will then be able to restore the flow of time. I doubt that you will win, however. Have I made myself perfectly clear?" Chronus looked at the two with an air of superiority, thinking that he had finally gained the upper hand. This smugness was cut short by a long and exasperated yawn from Discord.

"Oh, what now? I didn't go too over the top, I wasn't too underwhelming, or overly loquacious! What could I possibly have done wrong?" He threw his hooves in to the air, causing a cluster of lightning to appear behind him, illuminating the black creature in a purple light.

"Well... I hate to be rude, but you've just gone and announced your attentions. You could have played around with it, kept us guessing, built up the tension! But no, you just went and spoiled the surprise. I didn't just go and tell the Elements of Harmony that I was going to turn their lives upside down, did I? No, I allowed them a tiny glimmer of hope, which made their crushing defeat all the sweeter." Discord covered Applejack's muzzle with a paw to stop the inevitable counter-argument. Chronus' eye twitched, and he growled in frustration.

"SILENCE!" He coughed loudly, and glared at Discord. "I have had enough of your nonsense! You aren't even a villain, you're just another mindless sheep converted by the 'magic of friendship'! Begone!" He waved his hoof, and with a purple flash and a sound of confusion, Discord was gone.

"Well, Miss Applejack... I guess it's just us, isn't it?"

Discord sighed, and glanced at his claws. He was quite used to banishment by now, so being stuck alone in a dark and unfamiliar place wasn't particularly perturbing to him. However, he was a little surprised when he saw a small patch of light in front of him, and was greeted by a familiar shape.

"Fluttershy? How did you of all ponies get here?"  Discord was tempted to run forwards and hug her in joy, but he decided that would be too sappy and friendship-y, so he settled with a small smile.

"I am not the Fluttershy you know. I am merely a manifestation of your thoughts and morals." A soft voice came from the light and echoed through the darkness.

"Oh, you're just my conscience. How lovely, I get to talk to myself. Well, I suppose I am the most interesting thing I know," Discord said, with a bored frown on his face. He'd become far too used to talking to himself over the years of his imprisonment, and he knew the conscience like the back of his paw, so he was quite surprised when his 'conscience' started expanding and changing form in to a giant tentacled beast.

"Huh. That's new," was the last thing Discord said before he was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head.

In the corner of the darkness, Chronus sat and watched, a grin on his face. Oh, how much fun he was going to have messing with these ponies. He looked forward to seeing what he could achieve with Discord's friends.

Until then, he was happy to watch Discord fighting with himself. If Discord was conscious, Chronus was sure he would have approved of the chaos.