Author's Note

This chapter has multiple alternate endings as they were all originally ideas of how the actual chapter could have been.

...I feel so sorry for Phoenix sometimes.

The End (Alternate Endings)

Phoenix looked around to see many ponies already packed and heading towards the edge of Ponyville. Phoenix turned his attention to the mayor as she emerged from her own home.

"When everypony arrives at the edge of town, can you lead them to a safe place? I'll keep an eye out and catch up with you." Phoenix said. The mayor hesitated, but nodded and began to follow the ponies out of town. Phoenix watched as many more ponies filed out of their homes, leaving Ponyville for their own safety. Phoenix waited as the crowd go further into the distance before beginning to walk after them.

"Leaving the party so soon?" A voice said from behind Phoenix. Upon hearing the voice, Phoenix quickly rolled forward and turned to see a large mismatched creature with a look of mild surprise on his face.

"...Didn't see that one coming." Discord said in slightly disbelieving tone.

"Who the hell are you?" Phoenix asked aggressively.

"I am Discord. And I'm the new mayor of Ponyville." Discord said before snapping his fingers. Suddenly, all of Ponyville became an environment of chaos and disharmony.

"Wha... What the fuck have you done?!" Phoenix yelled as he glared angrily at Discord.

"I've made myself at home. What do you think?" Discord asked.

"I think I'm going to mount your head on my wall!" Phoenix yelled as he pulled out his revolver and shot towards Discord. Unfortunately for Phoenix, Discord's body seemed to ripple like liquid as the bullets passed harmlessly through him. Discord used Phoenix's moment of confusion and used his tail to whip Phoenix across town. Phoenix quickly recovered and charged at Discord, ready to attack. Before Phoenix reached Discord, he read his mind, allowing Phoenix to dodge Discord's random projectile and long reaching melee attacks before jumping onto his back.

"Get off!" Discord yelled as he tried to get Phoenix off of his back. Phoenix latched on tighter as Discord realised how Phoenix knew how Discord was going to move.

'A Reader, huh? Luckily, I can resist his power. But, I'll have to deal with him quickly, or he'll just power through my resistance.' Discord thought as he attempted to shield his mind. Phoenix swung around to latch onto Discord's front while he was distracted and pulled something from his jacket pocket.

"Go to Tartarus, monster!" Phoenix said as he pulled out his knife and plunged it into Discord's neck. Green blood covered the knife and poured from the wound as Discord looked at Phoenix in shock.

Before quickly grabbing his face.

"I'll see you there." Discord said sinisterly before a blade emerged from his palm and impaled Phoenix's head, killing him instantly. Discord then dropped Phoenix's body before pulling the knife from his neck and using his magic to heal his wound.

"I guess you weren't in the right mind for the fight." Discord said to the corpse before teleporting away.

Phoenix pulled out a knife from his pocket and used his magic to stab the door. Twilight screamed again as she watched him try to cut through the door. Spike continued to writhe on the floor as more and more letters appeared in the room. Twilight quickly opened one of the scrolls to discover that it was a letter that she'd previously sent to the princess. Against her instincts, Twilight began to skim-read it as Phoenix continued to destroy the door.

"Wait... That's it! Discord's trying to distract us from what's important. He knows how powerful our friendships are, and he's trying to keep us from seeing it. Do you remember what I said the first day we arrived in Ponyville? I told you that the future of Equestria didn't rest on me making friends. But the opposite is true! The friendships I've made since I've been here are what saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon. And now they need to save it from Discord!" Twilight announced, while Spike weakly looked at the door in terror.

"That's great, Twilight, but, how does that stop HIM?!" Spike screamed. Twilight looked around in time to see Phoenix completely break the door down. The three of them stayed silent for a moment before Phoenix raised the knife again.

"Heeeeeeere's FEENIE!!" Phoenix shouted, filled with sadistic joy. Twilight screamed again as she backed her up against the wall. Phoenix then pinned her against the wall and pressed his muzzle to hers and he delicately ran the tip of the knife's blade along her cheek.

"Any last words, fearless leader?" Phoenix asked mockingly as terrified tears began to pour from Twilight's eyes. She stayed silent for a moment before looking him in the eye.

"What's one divided by zero?" Twilight asked. Phoenix stopped for a moment before giving her a deadpan look.

"That shit only works against robots." Phoenix said.

"Do you know what else works against robots, but works on stallions too?" Twilight asked. That question stumped Phoenix.

"Uh... Can't say I do." Phoenix replied.

"You kick them in the nuts." Twilight said before she did exactly what she said. Phoenix stared blankly for a moment before collapsing on the ground and writhing in agony. Twilight then prepared and cast the memory spell on Phoenix, but he was in too much pain to resist it. When Discord's enchantment dissipated, Phoenix glared up a Twilight, who smiled sheepishly.

"Uh... Sorry?" Twilight said weakly. Phoenix shakily stood and continued to glare with his piecing, blue eyes.

"When you least expect it, Sparkle. When you least expect it." Phoenix said threateningly as he began to limp out of the bedroom.

Light suddenly emerged from the Elements as Discord yawned. Suddenly, different coloured rays of light in the shapes of the symbols on each Element radiated from each Element. But, for every light that shone, Phoenix felt stranger and stranger.

Discord began to realise that he was in trouble when the energy was being shot as beams from each Element. Twilight opened her eyes as they emitted pure white light before the rainbow beam arced in the sky and began to plummet towards Discord. Discord watched the rainbow in fear, before looking towards Phoenix and beginning to laugh. He used his magic to teleport Phoenix to him and held him in his arms in a position where Discord was ready to break his neck.

"If I'm going, you're going with me." Discord said menacingly. Phoenix began to struggle and attempt to escape Discord's grip as he realised that the girls couldn't stop the Element's attack if they tried. Phoenix even tried biting Discord's paw, but nothing worked. The rainbow plummeted onto the two of them and the stone casing began to cover them both. In one final attempt to 'save' himself, Phoenix pulled out his revolver once more and placed it to his temple.

'I'm sorry, everypony. But, I'm nopony's bargaining chip. Certainly not Discord's.' Phoenix thought before he clenched his eyes closed and used his magic to pull the trigger. To this day, the statue is on display in the Canterlot gardens. The statue depicts Discord with a look of cruel glee on his face with a deceased stallion in his arms. Many have said that it shows the evil of Discord. Others say that it means 'sacrifice'. But, to few, it shows the final resting place of a stallion they once knew...