The Element of Chaos

“The elements of harmony are a bit different in this world than the ones I studied about in Equestria,” Sunset said.

“Equestria? That’s the name of the magical pony land I’m guessing?” Discord said. His eye was better now, so he snapped the bedazzled eye patch away.

Sunset frowned at his description of her former home. “Yes,” she replied gruffly. “Honestly, I didn’t even know the elements were here until the crown was turned against me. In Equestria, the elements were powered by the Element of Magic. The bearer is usually a very powerful magic user. The element taps into the bearer’s magic and uses it to power the rest of the elements. However, the bearers have to have an emotional connection to one another in order for the elements to work together. That’s why they’re called the Elements of Harmony. They’re connected by the Magic of Friendship.”

Discord leaned forward in his chair. “But you were able to make the Element of Magic work for you without the rest of the elements,” he pointed out.

“That’s what I meant when I said the elements are a bit different here,” Sunset continued. “On their own, the elements have no power in Equestria. Here, however, each element can function independently. They don’t have as much power as they would if they were all operating together, but –“

“Here, an individual element can hold enough power to turn one not so very innocent pony turned human into a rage-filled demon,” Discord finished for her. “I think I understand. What about the Element of Magic? Is the one Twilight has really the only one? Or is there a Twilight double wandering around somewhere with a ridiculous amount of magical energy?”

Sunset thought for a moment. “Logic would dictate that there is an Element of Magic here, but I doubt Twilight’s double is its bearer. The Element of Magic is literally formed from the magic of friendship. Until those five girls take up a sixth best friend who also happens to be talented in magic, I doubt the sixth element is going to show up anytime soon.” Discord opened his mouth to ask something, but Sunset cut him off, “And, no, it’s not going to be me! I want to stay as far away from all that nonsense as possible. It has only brought me trouble.”

Discord was silent as he processed what he had learned. It seemed unlikely that he would be able to use the elements unless he became friends with all of the girls. That did not sound like fun. Pinkie was enough friends for him and then some! He didn’t want any more. It would be so bothersome, troubling, not to mention just downright annoying having so many friends. He didn’t know how Pinkie did it.  “So there isn’t any other way to power the elements? You’re sure?”

Sunset shrugged. “None that I know of.”

“And Twilight’s element? There’s no way of someone getting ahold of it?” Discord continued, hopefully.

“The portal won’t be opened for another two years,” she said. “It’s safe.”

Discord faked a smile. “Oh. That’s good then.” Frustrated, he started tapping his fingers on the table as he thought. This was not how he had pictured this conversation going. The Magic of Friendship, really? He thought Pinkie was just saying that to be Pinkie, all cute and bubbly and nonsensical. He thought of the other girls and cringed at the thought of befriending them. What if he started wanting to be nice to them? Or feel guilty if he hurt their feelings? He shivered. It was bad enough to feel those things about Pinkie. He didn’t want it spreading to other people! There had to be another way to get control over the elements. Suddenly, he had an idea. It would take some work and there were still a few things he needed to figure out, but he was almost certain it would work. He just needed some time.

He grinned as he jumped up from his seat. “Thank you for that very enlightening conversation, Sunset. I do hope we can chat again soon.” He started walking away and then stopped. “Oh yeah. I almost forgot. I’m going to need you to pretend that it’s your birthday.”

“Surprise!” Sunset jumped as Pinkie set off her party cannon. Colorful confetti and balloons shot out of the cannon to join the already rather garish amount of party decorations covering the gym. Everything was so bright and colorful that it made Sunset’s eyes hurt. “Happy birthday Sunny!” Pinkie, who had at some point changed back into her regular clothes, shouted, squeezing her into a tight hug. “Were you surprised? Huh? Were ya? Were ya? Were ya?”

“Of course I was surprised!” Sunset lied, smiling nervously as the other girls approached. They all gave her hugs and happy birthday wishes. All of them, that is, except – “Where’s Applejack?” she asked looking around the gym.

“I’m right here.” Sunset turned to see Applejack enter the room with a scowl on her face. She stomped angrily over to Discord who, after bringing Sunset to the gym, had made his way over to the snack table. He was staring at the cupcakes trying to figure out which ones he had put salt instead of sugar in. He didn’t mean to, but he had been in a rush this morning what with scheming and lying to Pinkie about birthdays, and his chaotic side got the best of him. Hmmm…he didn’t remember decorating that lime green one. Maybe that one would be safe to try? He tentatively picked it up and was about to take a bite when Applejack started shouting at him.

“Discord! You are a stinkin’, cold-hearted liar!” She fumed.

Discord feigned shock. “Lie? Me? Why whatever do you mean Applejack?”

“When were you plannin’ on tellin’ us you had magic?” She wagged an accusing finger at him.

Discord sighed and put his cupcake down. Snacking could wait. He had a feeling that this conversation was not going to end well. “I really have no idea what you are talking about.”

“HA! I heard you and Sunset in the library,” she said. “Do you really think I believe all that crap you said about protectin’ the elements? You just wanna use them for yourself now don’t you?”

Discord opened his mouth to respond with a scathing retort, but Pinkie suddenly appeared between the two and interrupted him. “Applejack I think it might be best if you just calm down,” she said. “I don’t know what you think you overheard, but Discord would never do something like that!” Discord felt a surge of warmth at Pinkie’s faith in him, but it was quickly replaced by guilt once he realized her faith in him was entirely misplaced.

“Wait a second,” Sunset’s eyes grew wide. “Did you say Discord? As in God of Chaos Discord?”

“Of course! No one has recognized me this whole time and suddenly the pony princess knows who I am,” Discord grumbled. “Although, I’ve never been called a god before. Feels good. I like it.” He smirked.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Dizzy! You’re not helping!” she said between clenched teeth.

“Er…right. Sorry, Pinkie.”

Sunset shook her head. “Please tell me I didn’t just tell Discord, the Discord, everything about the Elements of Harmony. That’s just what I needed today!”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “I don’t get it. Since when is Discord a chaos god? And why does it matter if he knows about the elements?”

“A thousand years ago, Discord rose to power and covered Equestria in chaos,” Sunset Shimmer revealed. “The ponies were tortured for years until the Princesses used the Elements of Harmony to turn him to stone.”

Pinkie waved Sunset’s comment away. “Yeah, yeah, but that was magical pony land Discord, not our Discord,” she pulled Discord to stand next to her. “Our Discord would never even consider doing something so terrible. Right Dizzy?”

“Uh…right,” Discord fought back his newfound guilt with a smile. He slid his arm around Pinkie’s waist. “I even Pinkie Promised Sunset Shimmer that I would never harm you girls.”

“He’s right,” Sunset conceded. “He did promise.”

“Well of course he wouldn’t hurt us,” Applejack said coldly. “He needs our elements. If he hurt us, all that power we have just goes away. He’s usin’ you, Pinkie. He’s usin’ all of us.”

“That’s not true AJ!” Pinkie insisted. “I thought you guys would understand. Discord has chaos magic, okay, but that doesn’t make him evil. And even if he used to be evil – which, to be honest, I do have a feeling that might’ve been the case – I swear he isn’t evil anymore! If he says he wants to protect us then I believe him.” Alright, now Discord was really feeling guilty. She had way more faith in him than he deserved.

“Well why don’t we just ask him,” Applejack suggested. “You know I can usually tell when someone is lyin’, so go ahead and ask him.” Oh dear, thought Discord. Not good. Not good at all. Why wasn’t anything going right today?

“Fine,” Pinkie said. She turned to face Discord with as serious a face as he had ever seen on her. “Dizzy, are you planning on using the elements to gain power and plunge the world into eternal chaos?”

Discord chuckled nervously. “Now why would I ever want to do that?”

“Answer the question Discord,” Applejack demanded, undeterred.

So this was it. Either he lied and AJ called him out on it, or he told the truth and hoped Pinkie didn’t get mad at him. Neither one of those things sounded pleasant at the moment. Of course, he had always planned on telling Pinkie eventually, but he had hoped he could ease her into the idea a bit. Maybe make her think the whole thing was some big prank until she was having so much fun that she didn’t care about anything else. Something like that. But then Applejack just had to stick her big farm girl nose where it didn’t belong and accuse him of being some sort of evil bad guy bent on world domination. The fact that it was true was beside the point.

“We’re waitin’ Discord,” Applejack folded her arms. He frowned. He couldn’t put it off any longer.

Discord sighed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he said at last. “I came into town not really expecting to find anything. The Elements of Harmony were supposed to be a myth, a fairytale told to demons to keep them in line and to children to make them feel safe. When I actually found them, well, you can hardly blame me for wanting to take advantage of the situation. All that power.” His eyes took on a dreamy look. “Can you imagine it? The whole world was to be my canvas. Picture it! Chocolate volcanos! Flying meatballs! Checkerboard fields! People acting like dogs and dogs acting like people! Wouldn’t it be glorious?”

“But then y-you changed your mind right? You got to know us and saw how wonderful friendship was and you decided not to be evil anymore right?” Pinkie’s hair lost some of its bounce and her eyes took on a pleading, panicked look. Discord was silent. “Right?!” Pinkie almost screamed.

“Pinkie,” Discord started, but Pinkie cut him off. “Was our friendship really all just a game to you?”

“Of course not! Well, maybe with the other girls,” he admitted. “But not with you Pinkie!” He grabbed her hands. “Don’t you see? I was doing this for us! In a world of chaos we could do whatever we want! Be whatever we want! I wanted you to rule beside me. We’re bestest best friends, remember? It can still happen. I think I know how to get the elements to work for me. There’s still a few details I need to work out but-“

Pinkie wrenched her hands out of his. “No, Discord! You’re not my friend anymore.” Her hair was completely straight now.

“W-what did you say?” Discord stammered.

Pinkie glared at him, tears spilling out of her eyes. “I said we’re not friends anymore! Friends don’t use each other for their own gain, and they don’t lie!” She took a deep breath and looked away from him. “I just can’t – “ she gasped. “I can’t believe you did this. I’m was so stupid to think that a demon could be good. I just don’t – I can’t,” she shook her head. “I’ve gotta go!”

“Pinkie! Wait!” Discord called after her as she fled, but she ignored him and soon she was gone.

“Oh dear!” cried Fluttershy. She ran after her. “I need to see if she’s okay!”

Discord turned to the remaining girls. “Well I hope you’re all happy!”

“I, for one, am! Pinkie is better off without you. Why don’t you just do us all a favor Discord and leave?” Applejack said coldly. “There ain’t no way you are gettin’ your hands on our elements. We know who you are and we know all of your little games and tricks, so you best just leave town and never come back!”

Discord glared at them all. All of this was their fault. If they had just stuck to their own business Pinkie would still be his friend and he would he be that much closer to getting his hands on the elements. But no! They just had to get involved and spoil his plans. “You know nothing of what I am capable of! You think you know my games? My tricks? HA! Applejack, if I wanted to I could twist your mind until you begged for death, begged for an escape from the constant bickering, the constant noise, the constant lies spewing out of everyone’s lips.” He moved to Rarity. “And you, little Miss Generosity. You would be only too easy to hurt. A generous soul after all, is so easy to take advantage of. I would take away your dresses, your money, even your ideas until you have nothing left, not even your dignity. It would be interesting to see if you would really be able to remain so generous after all you’ve ever know has been wrenched away from you. And Rainbow Dash! The avatar of loyalty! Could you still remain so loyal when everyone you have ever cared about has betrayed you? And Sunset, well, I don’t even need to do anything to break her, now do I? You all already took care of that.” He chuckled darkly. “Don’t you understand? I am Discord! Lord of Chaos! The Trickster King! I have been around since humans first started to crawl out of the muck and bang sticks together. You are nothing compared to me! I could destroy all of you with just a snap of my fingers.” Discord held his hand up as if he was getting ready to snap, but then he lowered it with a sigh. “But I won’t.”

“Er…why not?” Rainbow Dash asked suddenly. The other girls looked at her in alarm. “Not that I’m complaining,” she added, hastily. “I’m just curious.” Before Discord could reply, a distraught Fluttershy interrupted them.

“She’s gone!” she cried, her voice louder than Discord had ever heard before. Her eyes were wide and panicked. “Pinkie’s gone!”