The Element of Chaos

“How long is it gonna take for Discord to make up with Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash complained, winding up a punch for a nearby windigo, only for it to dematerialize right before her fist came in contact with its face. She groaned. “I mean, seriously! Can’t she just forgive him and move on already?”

“Forgive him?!” Applejack huffed as a windigo she was riding dissipated beneath her. “Well shoot, RD, he betrayed her!” She continued, rubbing a sore bottom. “How fast do you think you would forgive him if you was in her shoes?”

“He technically betrayed us, not Pinkie,” Rainbow argued. “All he really did was lie to her.”

Applejack grunted. “That’s bad enough! I’m still not sure if Pinkie should forgive him at all. He’s nothing, but a lying, scheming demon!”

“Seriously?” Rainbow balked. “This isn’t really the time to be holding grudges, AJ. I think coming to Pinkie’s rescue should more than make up for any lies he told her or us.”

“Why thank you Rainbow Dash!” Discord beamed, poofing into the middle of the horde of windigos with Pinkie and Rarity beside him. He pulled Rainbow Dash into a bone crushing hug. “It’s nice to know I have some friends in this group that will support mine and Pinkie’s new relationship!”

“What do ya mean by ‘new’?” Applejack asked skeptically.

“Perhaps we can postpone this discussion for another time?” Rarity interjected. She gestured to the windigos who had begun to swirl around them even faster now that no one was trying to fight with them. “As much as I love art, I would prefer not to become an ice sculpture.”

Discord immediately dropped a gasping Rainbow Dash to the ground. “You’re right! You girls keep fighting! I’ll go grab Sunset and Flutters!”

Sunset Shimmer was unsure about many things. One big thing that loomed above her head like a taut water balloon was friendship. Even now, she did not completely understand friendship. She knew it was important; Friends helped you to cope with the cruelties of life and to revel in the joys. She knew it, but she didn’t have much practice in it. Quite often, she still found herself being unnecessarily cruel and aloof to others no matter how hard she tried to be kind. To be considered the element of the magic of friendship was daunting, but Discord had made it pretty clear that she was the only one who could do it. She had no choice, but to squash down her insecurities into a deep dark hole and try anyway. What else could she do? It wasn’t like there was anyone else up for the job, and they were running out of time. The fiercer the other girls fought, the stronger the windigos became. Beneath her thick gloves, Sunset’s fingers stung from the growing cold. If they did not activate the elements soon, they would all freeze. She may not feel like she could be the element of magic, but she was the closest thing they had. If only they had a way of reaching Twilight, Sunset lamented. She would know what to do. But Twilight was trapped on the other side of the portal with no idea that they were even in trouble.

As Sunset continued to fret, Discord poofed up next to her and grabbed her arm making her jump in surprise. “Time to make with the shooty rainbow magic Sunset!” he said.

She sighed in defeat. “Let’s get this over with.”

Discord teleported Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy over to the rest of the girls, and while Discord snapped up some sunglasses and a red theater seat to sit and watch the light show on, the girls all held hands. Standing side by side, they closed their eyes and…absolutely nothing happened.

Discord lifted his sunglasses up with a frown. “Well that was anti-climatic.”

“Maybe we have to say something for it to work? Some kind of chant?” Rarity suggested.

“You’re the element of magic Sunset! Say something!” Rainbow barked.

Sunset licked her dry lips nervously. “W-what should I say?”

“What did Twilight say that one time?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up and she threw a hand up in the air like an overenthusiastic student. “OOH! PICK ME! PICK ME! I KNOW!” she shouted.

Rainbow rolled her eyes impatiently. “Oh just spit it out Pinkie!”

“Friendship is magic! Say friendship is magic!” Pinkie said.

Sunset bit her lip. That was what Twilight had said, or something like it at least, but she did not believe just saying the words would work. She had studied the elements extensively for the past two years. It was the harmony between the girls that activated it, not the words itself. “I’m not sure if that will work,” she admitted, “but I’ll try.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Friendship is magic!” she shouted as loud as she could, willing it to work with all her being. She thought that maybe, for a moment, she felt something like a spark inside, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. “I told you it wouldn’t work!” she spat, pushing the other girls away from her.

“Don’t worry, sugarcube,” Applejack comforted. “It’ll work. Maybe you’re just not saying it quite right. Try saying it more like Twi-”

“I’m not Twilight!” Sunset shouted, tears filling her eyes. “Stop comparing me to her! It’s hopeless. The elements aren’t going to work.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic!” Discord said, throwing his sunglasses away in a poof of glitter and jumping off his chair. “You told me yourself that the element of magic doesn’t have to be Twilight.”

“Well obviously I don’t have what it takes, so we’re just gonna have to think of something else!” Sunset countered.

“OOh! Why don’t we have Dizzy try to be the element of magic?” Pinkie suggested. “He has magic and friendship! I promise he won’t go all super chaos crazy!” She gave Discord a threatening look. “Right Dizzy?”

Discord gulped. “Er...right.”

“Sure,” Applejack said. “Like I’m gonna trust him after everything that’s happened.”

“Hey that’s not fair AJ!” Pinkie argued.

“I wouldn’t mind giving Discord a chance,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Well I certainly would,” Rarity said. Pinkie gave her a hurt expression. “I’m sorry darling. I know Discord would move the moon for you, quite literally, but that doesn’t mean he would do the same for us. I’m just not sure if we can fully trust him.”

Fueled by their arguing, the windigo spun around them faster and faster. Icicles grew on the ceiling and frost coated the floor and their jackets in a thin layer that was slowly getting thicker and thicker. Strapped to his chair on the stage, Sombra grinned wickedly. On his hand, his ring glowed bright red.

"Think about it Pinkie, none of this would have happened if it weren't for Discord trying to steal our elements," Applejack reasoned.

Pinkie opened her mouth to retort, but Discord stopped her. "It's alright Pinkie. It's true after all. It's my fault Sombra came here, and it's my fault you were ever sad enough for him to prey off of to begin with."

A slow clapping made the group suddenly go silent and turn nervously to the stage. Through the mists of the swirling windigos, a tall, dark figure walked leisurely towards them. It was Sombra, but not how they remembered him. Darkness bled from his skin and even his eyes, surrounding him in a black fiery aura. His shirtless torso showed off abnormally large, rippling muscles that had no doubt ripped the silk bindings Rarity had tied him up with to shreds.

“Blast it all! I forgot to take his ring earlier!” Discord cursed.

“His ring?” Pinkie said.

He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Yes! The ring! It’s the source of his stupid powers. It’s why he can practice magic at all!”

“That explains why it’s so glowy,” Pinkie commented.

“My, my, Discord,” Sombra greeted. “How far has the great Lord of Chaos fallen! You’ve not only been consorting with mortals, but you have even, dare I say it, fallen in love with one of them. I mean, I had my suspicions, but to have it confirmed right here in front of me is just extraordinary! How does it feel Discord? To be enslaved by a little girl’s every whim? Friendship and love are just prisons without bars after all.”

“You would say that Somby, seeing how you’ve never had a friend before,” Discord taunted.

“OOOH, burn!” Pinkie said.

Sombra glared at the pair. “Yes, and you all make such fine friends after all! That’s why you’re all getting along so well right now! Just look at how much they trust you! Even after all you’ve done to protect them and their precious elements. Yes, I’ve figured it out. I know you girls are the elements of harmony. If that wench pulling dress shirts out of nowhere hadn’t tipped me off, then your little argument right now certainly would have.”

“You ruffian! How dare you call me that twice in one night!” Rarity cried. “Why I ought to -”

“SILENCE!” Sombra commanded. “I am tired of all this talk. It is time you kneeled before me as your king!”

Discord’s face hardened. “Pinkie, I need you and the girls to keep trying to find a way to get rid of the windigos before we all freeze to death,” Discord ordered without turning away from Sombra. “I’m going to take of our dear King Sombra.”

Sombra laughed as the girls hurried away. “You think you can beat me, oh Lord of Friendship?” he sneered. “Lord of Hugs and Kisses and Well Wishes! You are nothing but a weak fool. You have no chance of beating me!”

Discord grinned, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. “I -” he began as he grew taller and muscles bulged under his suit. Mismatched wings, one feathered, the other leathered like a bat’s, unfurled from his back. A goat horn and an antler sprouted from the top of his head, and his hands turned into vicious claws. “- am Discord, Lord of Chaos, a demon spawned at the dawn of man from the depths of Hell itself. You are nothing but a little man who happens to have a very pretty ring.”

Sombra was unfazed by Discord's transformation. “I have always wondered what your energy would taste like,” Sombra said thoughtfully. “Perhaps it’s time I found out.”  Reaching his hand out towards him, he smirked, “Tell me Discord, what is it that you fear?” Sombra shot a dark beam at Discord, but the demon dodged it easily by splitting his head in two. Sombra frowned.

“Not quite, Somby, but good try!” Discord mocked. Sombra shot at him again, but this time Discord blocked it with a shield that looked suspiciously like Captian America’s. The beam bounced off the shield back towards Sombra who dodged it just in time.  He narrowed his eyes at the trickster.  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Discord said innocently. “Are we not allowed to use props?” Sombra growled and lunged at him, but Discord turned into a snowman before he reached him.

“This is silly, Somby,” Discord said, reappearing behind him. “You know you can’t beat me. It’s best if you just give up now.”

“You are a fool if you think I’m going to give up now when I’m so close to winning!” he snarled.

Discord shrugged. “If you insist,” he sighed. He snapped his fingers and a giant venus fly trap appeared next to Sombra. With poison green vines, it swept Sombra’s feet out from under him, and started pulling him slowly towards its frothing jaws. Sombra cursed and shot a dark beam of magic from his ring at the plant.

“Sorry Somby, but that’s not going to work,” Discord revealed, inspecting his claws nonchalantly. “It’s a plant, so it doesn’t have any fears. You better think of something else.”

Sombra looked up at Discord’s bored form and smirked. “Thank you for the advice, demon.” Before Discord could respond, Sombra shot a beam of darkness square in his chest.  As reality melted away from around him, Discord saw Sombra order a nearby windigo to help him kill the plant. Then all was darkness.

Discord floated nonchalantly through a perfectly clear purple sky humming happily to himself. Everything was right in the world. But then again, in a world where wrong was right and right was chaos, how could anything be wrong? Ah yes, he could feel his power working upon the world. Deserts were filled with desserts. Clouds were now cotton candy. Rabbits flew through the air with large green bat wings and red and black checkered ducks quacked at each other from jell-o ponds. His powers were infinite and all encompassing. Anything he thought of he could create. The whole world was his canvas. It was glorious! Magnificent! The only thing missing was his Queen of Chaos to admire it all with him. He scratched his chin in thought. “Where is that Pinkie Pie?”

He flew around town until he at last spotted her on a soap covered road near a gingerbread Sugarcube corner. He floated down to her grinning broadly.  “Look Pinkie! Look what I have done!” He shouted in glee, spinning her around on the soapy ground. “Isn’t it wonderful? I told you a world of chaos would be fun!!” He reached in to kiss her, but she pushed him away with a disgusted look on her face.

“Fun?” she wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Why would any of this be fun?I hate soapy roads! I hate the purple sky, the checkered ducks, and even the gingerbread houses!””

Discord frowned. This was not right. Pinkie had always loved his chaos. Maybe she was just upset. He snapped his fingers and a cotton candy cloud appeared and began to rain chocolate milk on the two of them. “Look Pinkie! You’re favorite! Chocolate rain!” A glass suddenly appeared in his hand and he filled it with the rain. “Don’t you want some?” he offered it to her. This would cheer her up. She could never resist his chocolate rain. Then she would laugh, and everything would be all right again.

Pinkie glared at the glass. “I hate chocolate rain too!”

“Y-you hate,” Discord stammered. “Chocolate? But I thought -”

“You thought what?” Pinkie spat, turning her heated glare to him. “That I liked your chaos? That I liked you? Don’t make me laugh!  How could anyone love a monster like you?” His heart plummeted to the ground when he heard those words. Quite literally, in fact. A small door opened in his chest and a bright red, cartoonish shaped heart fell onto the soap covered road where it was greedily consumed by carnivorous bubbles.