The Elements of Disharmony

by Yoshachu

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Adventure, Discord
Length: 4864

What happens when Twilight trades places with her alternate self?

Twilight finds a strange spell in a book in her library, She reads it, and the next thing she knows she's in a world where everything's turned upside down... literally! She seeks the help of her friends only to find that they're corrupted!

Meanwhile, Twilight's alternate and corrupted version, Twilight Sorrow, finds herself in the bright and wondrous real world - or alternate world in her case - where all of her so-called "friends" are... happy?

Published 2015-09-06 14:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-10 16:23:22 UTC

The Spell (Part 1)

Twilight moaned as she regained consciousness. Her head was throbbing badly as if she had fell hard on it, and her horn stung. She must've used a little too much magic.

Wait. She used a little too much magic doing... what exactly?

Grunting, the princess slowly opened her eyes. It took a while for her to adjust to the darkness.

Darkness? Wasn't it supposed to be daytime?

Confused, Twilight forced her eyes all the way open and she slowly stood up, gritting her teeth as she endured the pain in her limbs. She had fallen hard.

She looked around, and it was indeed dark. But the stranger thing is that she wasn't indoors with no lights on, but outside. It was supposed to be daytime!

"What's going on?" the princess muttered. She began to walk, but almost immediately slipped on something slippery and fell to the ground with a plop. "Oof! What the?"

She couldn't see what she had landed in, so she tried using her hooves to feel what it was. It was slippery all right, but it also felt watery. There was a strange and familiar scent coming from the substance.

Gaining an idea, the alicorn tried casting a light spell so she could better see what the substance was, but pain immediately followed, and a single spark flew painfully from her horn. She let out a cry and rubbed her head, grinding her teeth to the unbearable agony drilling deep into her skull.

Okay, so she did end up using too much magic doing... something. She'd have to wait at least a few hours to let the magical energy in her horn recharge.

Giving up on trying to identify the strange substance she plopped in, Twilight spread out her wings and flapped them, descending herself into the air. She looked up and noticed many silhouettes in the distance floating in the air, as well as many clouds blanketing the sky and blocking out most of the moon's glow. Unless, of course, it's because of the clouds it's so dark and it still is daytime. That would explain that at least.

"What in Equestria is that?" Twilight asked herself, narrowing her eyes as she tried to study the floating silhouettes. She angled her flapping wings inwards and flew towards the unidentified objects. As she flew closer, she could almost clearly make out certain details that could identify the object: a few windows, a roof, and a door.

Gasping, she knew exactly what it was. It was a house! Floating in midair! How in Equestria could that be possible?

With a jolt she rolled her eyes and groaned. She knew exactly who was capable and devious enough to pull off a magic trick like this: Discord. That Draconequus must be having his so-called fun again...

Suddenly, everything drastically changed from darkness to brightness. Twilight yelped and shut her eyes, then opened them slowly again as they got used to the new lighting. Now she could clearly see everything.

Buildings were floating all over the place, and a storm of chocolate rain from the cotton candy clouds covered most of Ponyville. The substance she had slipped in before was soap.

"Discord..." Twilight grumbled, clearly unhappy with the mischievous creature of chaos' work. But something didn't sit right about this. He was clearly reformed - or at least as reformed as Discord could get - and he hardly cast any spells like these for the sake of not wanting to upset Fluttershy. But now he had turned Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world again? Isn't this going a bit too far? One thing's for sure, Fluttershy will not be happy about this.

Well, now she knew what was going on with Ponyville - more or less. Now to figure out why Twilight's magic was disabled...

"Maybe I'll have better luck looking in the library in the castle," Twilight decided. She flew towards her large treehouse castle, and she gasped when she saw it was completely beaten up and damaged. It no longer had that same majestic glow it used to have, and now it was dull, shattered, and rusty.

Disbelief bubbled into fury inside Twilight's stomach. Discord had taken things way too far with destroying a princess' castle!

"He'll get what's coming to him," the alicorn growled before flying inside the castle. She had a difficult time getting inside, though, for she wasn't used to opening doors with her hooves and not her magic.

She walked down the hallway, her hooves clacking into echoes on the marble flooring. Everything inside was completely destroyed, and the more of this the princess saw, the more furious she felt towards Discord. This was not what friends do, especially when they're just playing around! How dare he do this to her after all she's done for him?

When Twilight entered the throne room with the Cutie Map, her heard completely broke. There, laying shattered and dusty in the center of the throne room, lying in the rubble that was formerly the thrones and Cutie Map, was the roots to the Golden Oak Library and all the jewels sewed into it. All her friends' hard work had been destroyed, the old memories shattered like glass.

The corners of Twilight's eyes stung as tears began to squeeze its way through, and she slowly walked towards the remains of the roots. Once she reached it, she looked down and saw a single jewel still intact. She picked it up with her hoof, and what she saw in it made her blood run cold.

Instead of a picture of herself with all her friends, there was only herself sitting in the center of the picture, her head lowered in sorrow. Her body was gray, just like her corrupted self back when Discord was still a villain and had cast a corruption spell on her and her friends. Not a single one of her friends were in the picture, and she looked completely helpless and alone.

"This... This has to be some kind of sick joke..." Twilight whispered, trying her hardest to believe in her own words. Tears slid down her cheeks and her body trembled. "Or it's a nightmare. It has to be. This just can't be real."

Something suddenly caught the princess' eye. There was an open book laying under the rubble, and its covers were facing up. Wanting to distract herself from the pain she felt in her heart, she gripped the cover in her teeth and yanked the book out from under the stone and roots. She then flipped it over and read what was on the page.

"'Friends are nonexistent in this pitiful world, enemies as far as the eye can see. Read these words and escape the pain, have a new change of scenery.' What does that mean?" Twilight questioned. She reread the text, but she was still as complex. "Friends are nonexistent? But that makes no sense! Everypony in Ponyville are friends with one another!"

She decided to turn the page, and she found something else on the back of the page. She read it to herself. "'Friendship is found all over the land, it is such a wonderful gift. Read these words and appreciate your friends, for these new ones are divided in a rift.'"

Twilight gasped as it hit her. She remembered reading these exact words! Once she finished reading them, that's when everything went black. It all made sense now: the chaos, the shattered throne room, the text...

She had accidentally cast a spell that sent her into an alternate universe!

"Where am I?" the gray pony whimpered. She looked around, completely shocked and scared at all the bright colors of the world she was now in. It looked nothing like the world she was used to. No floating buildings, no storms of chocolate rain, no roads of soap.

What in the name of the chaos capital of the world was going on?

Author's Note

This chapter focuses on Twilight Sparkle. The next chapter focuses on Twilight Sorrow, the alternate version of Twilight. Every odd number of chapters focuses on Twilight Sparkle and every even number of chapters focuses on Twilight Sorrow.

The Spell (Part 2)

The gray alicorn looked around, startled by all the bright colors. It was all too strange. Nothing was floating, the sky was clear with no cotton candy clouds in sight, and the sun wasn't immediately replaced with the moon like it was supposed to by now.

Where in Equestria was she?

"I'm really scared..." the pony whimpered, lowering her ears in intimidation. "This isn't the world I'm used to... Unless, of course, this isn't even my world at all.. But how could that be possible?..."

A thought came into her head. Maybe there was an answer in her castle. That is, if there even were a castle of hers in this bizarre world. Everything looks just like hers, though, despite the lack of chaos.

Gulping nervously, she began to slowly walk into the town of Ponyville, shuddering at the sight of all the buildings just standing tall and still like creepy statues. She didn't like this place, not one bit.

Finally, she could see a tall castle in the distance. It sure did look like hers, but there was something off about it. It was intact and so incredibly shiny, as if it had just sprung out of the ground like a daisy!

This sent chills down her spine. This was all much too foreign for the alicorn. Pushing her doubts behind her, she gathered up enough courage to walk inside. Her horn glowed a light gray as she pulled open the large doors.

Inside was even worse. Everything was just so shiny! It was definitely beginning to hurt her eyes; she was too used to the dullness of her home world. Once she reached the throne room, however, she let out a yelp.

The roots of the Golden Oak Library were on the ceiling, and the gems were still intact! The thrones and the Cutie Map weren't destroyed, either.

"What is this place?" the pony gulped as she slowly walked inside. She looked up at the gems dangling from the roots and, spreading out her wings, she flew up to them. She took one of them in her hoof and looked at it closely, but instead of a picture of herself sitting all alone in the middle of Discord's chaotic storm, she was standing with her so-called "friends". Herself and the other five ponies were brightly colored, not gray like they usually are.

What kind of sorcery was this?

Crying out, startled, the pony quickly flew back to the ground and began to back out of the throne room quickly when she spotted an open book on the Cutie Map. She gulped and was almost tempted to leave it be, but her curiosity got the better of her. She walked back over to the center of the room and peered down at the book. She read the text the page was open to.

"'Friendship is found all over the land, it is such a wonderful gift. Read these words and appreciate your friends, for these new ones are divided in a rift.' Friendship is a gift? No, it's not! There isn't even such thing as friendship!" the pony exclaimed, enraged by the lies the book told. She growled and swiped at the book, trying to knock it off the stone, but her hoof slipped and instead the page was turned. There were more words that caught her attention and, growling, she read them. "'Friends are nonexistent in this pitiful world, enemies as far as the eye can see. Read these words and escape the pain, have a new change of scenery.' Now that's more like... wait."

The pony read the text over and over again, and she quickly realized she had read these same words before. In fact, it was even in this same book in this very room!

"Oh, no... I must've accidentally cast a spell that teleported me to another dimension!" the alicorn wailed. "What am I gonna do? How am I supposed to get back to my own world? I can't do this on my own! ...But I have to. I always have to."

The pony sighed and slumped down on her throne, her head lowered sadly. What in Equestria was she going to do? There was no way she would be able to make it back to her own world on her own, but she has no choice in the matter. If she couldn't find a way back, she'd be stuck here forever...

"Hey, Twilight!" a voice suddenly called, causing the pony's head to shoot up.

"Oh, no... It's her!"

Cruel Friends

"Oh, what am I going to do? I'm stuck here in this random dimension and I have no knowledge on how to get back!" Twilight fretted, pacing back and force in the destroyed throne room. There had to be some way to get back! But how?

Suddenly it came to her. "I got it! Since this world resembles mine so much, I'm sure this world has to have the same ponies as well! I'll just find my friends and they'll be able to help me get back home, just like when I was at CHS!"

The alicorn splayed out her wings and flew out of the castle as fast as she could back into the crazy world; it was currently nighttime. She still couldn't use her magic, so she just had to do her best to navigate through the darkness by narrowing her eyes and flying slowly.

She came up to Sweet Apple Acres, and she winced when she saw many winged pigs flying around. The apples on the trees had grown a thousand times their size and were causing the trees themselves to slouch over. The corn fields were popping popcorn from the kernels as well.

"Sweet Celestia, this is such a mess..." Twilight grimaced. She carefully landed at the gate and walked in, where she was immediately greeted by Big Macintosh. He popped his head out of the ground, panting much like a dog, then licked her cheek and popped back into the ground. Twilight cried out in disgust and wiped her cheek.

The alicorn walked towards the barn where she hoped she'd find Applejack. Instead, she saw Granny Smith dancing with a cane on her hind legs. Grunting impatiently, she pushed her way past the elderly pony and into the barn, where she finally found Applejack with Apple Bloom. She noticed that Applejack's coat was gray rather than bright orange, and that caused her heart to sink. Hopefully she wasn't corrupted again...

"Apple Bloom!" she overheard the earth pony scold her little sister. "You were supposed to go out with your friends!"

"What friends? There ain't no such thing as friends in this awful world!" Apple Bloom snapped. "Why dontcha quit lyin' for a change?"

"I'll stop once you find Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo," 'Applejack' lied, her eyes darting back and forth.

"Ya mean Stupid Belle and Scootalame? No thank you! Now leave me alone, Liarjack!" the filly snarled. She shoved her way past her older sister and stomped towards the barn door, and she turned on Twilight, glaring at her hostilely. "Git outta the way, ya lousy alicorn!"

Shocked, Twilight backed away and watched Apple Bloom stomp off. What in Equestria just happened?! She had never seen Apple Bloom so rude!

"Twilight? What are you doin' here?" 'Applejack' suddenly asked the alicorn, catching her attention. To her dismay, the earth pony was glaring at her as well. "We don't need no unhelpful ponies like you on the farm! Y'all didn't even try to lift a hoof to help me battle Discord! I would've defeated him just fine if you hadn't come along and ruined everythin'!"

"What are you talking about?" Twilight yelped. "I just came here from another dimension! I need help getting back home!"

"And ponies call me the liar!" 'Applejack' laughed cruelly.

"Applejack, what's up with you?"

"Who the hay is Applejack? I'm Liarjack, ya hear? Now outta my way so I can, uh... play with Apple Bloom..." The earth pony's eyes darted back and forth once again before pushing her way past Twilight.

It's just as she worried. Just like this world, all of her friends are corrupted as well. What are the chances Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and even her faithful assistant Spike are this mean and rude as well?

There may be one pony who can help her, though. It was the last chance she had, but it's worth a try.

She had to travel to Canterlot and find Princess Celestia.

Friendly Enemies

Twilight trotted in place, looking around rapidly for a place to hide, and she decided to fly up to the top of the root chandelier. She landed gently on one of the largest roots behind some smaller ones, thankful for her gray coat to blend in with the brown plant material.

"Twilight! Where are ya?" the voice called again, a little closer this time. Twilight peeked out at the increasing volume of the sound of clacking hooves, and seconds later she saw what looked like Liarjack. The only thing different about her was her coat, hair, eyes... pretty much everything about her was different! She had a bright orange coat with pale yellow hair and emerald-green eyes, nothing like the gray body she normally possessed.

Gulping, the alicorn tried to quietly flap her wings and fly over the earth pony. Once she landed, however, she ended up losing her footing and collapses to the ground, catching 'Liarjack's' attention.

"There ya are, sugar cube!" the earth pony grinned when she saw her "friend". She began to trot towards the alicorn who, panicking, quickly took air and flew off as fast as she could. "H-Hey! Where are you goin'? Twilight!"

Twilight zoomed out of the castle and into the sky. She looked behind her to see 'Liarjack' looking up at her, but she had stopped running. Sighing in relief, she flew a bit slower.

Suddenly, she collided into something hard. She cried out in shock, and she also heard a groan of pain under her. Her blood ran cold as she recognized the voice.

"Ow... Twilight, what's the rush?"

"Rainbow Ditch!" Twilight cried out before flying off again. She could just hear the pegasus pony call out to her, "Hey! It's Rainbow Dash, remember? Come back!"

The alicorn had no idea what the hay was going on, but all of her enemies were all brightly colored, no longer gray like they're supposed to be. Whatever it was, it was freaking her out!

"Twilight!" she suddenly heard Rainbow 'Ditch' call out to her. She looked behind her and yelped when she saw the pony she collided into just seconds ago chasing after her. She was ready to beat her up!

"No! Go away! Please!" Twilight wailed as she flew as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she was no match for Rainbow 'Ditch's' speed. She thought quickly and zipped down once she flew through some clouds, and she could hear the whooshing sound of the pegasus racing on, thinking she's still on her tail. "Phew... Lost her..."

"Yay for Twilight!" a new voice called. Twilight growled in frustration as she recognized 'Grumpy' Pie's voice. Can't she get a break without her enemies trying to chase her and beat her up all the time?

The alicorn angled her wings upward and she soared back into the sky, but in the opposite direction of where Rainbow 'Ditch' flew. She flew faster and faster until she reached her castle again, relieved to find that 'Liarjack' wasn't there anymore. She zipped into her castle and closed the doors, fortifying them with whatever she can find. When she finished, she finally allowed herself a chance to rest, panting, her heart racing from the fear and fast flying.

A few moments passed before she heard some knocking on the door, and she let out a scream. She backed away from the doors as far as she could before bolting down a hallway. She found herself storming into a room, one she didn't recognize right away. Only when she heard the soft moans, this time belonging to a child-like male, did she realize she was in the room of her former "slave". "Oh, sweet Discord..."

"Twilight?" Spike grunted as he stretched out, waking up from his previous slumber, his Rarity doll in his left arm. "What are you doing here? I was taking a nap, you gave me permission, remember?"

"What?" the alicorn gasped. She almost immediately went into dictator-mode, having been used to barking orders to her "slave". "I didn't say such a thing! Now go and make sure those awful ponies don't get in this castle!"

"Wh-What are you talking about? What awful ponies? And you did say I could-"

"How dare you argue with me?" Twilight roared, spreading out her wings and towering over the dragon to intimidate him, in which it worked like a charm. "You are living under my roof, and therefore you shall obey my orders! Now go, slave!"

"S-S-Slave?..." Spike whimpered, cowering under his blanket, tears cornering his eyes. This was most definitely not the Twilight Sparkle he was used to.

"Go now!" Twilight howled, and the baby dragon yelped before leaping out of bed and rushing to the castle doors. She sighed in relief, knowing that her "slave" would keep those awful ponies at bay. Now she could finally relax...

Seeking Answers

Twilight rushed to her house to collect some things needed for her journey, such as a saddlebag packed with a few quills and scrolls in case she needed to take notes on how to return back home - if there is a way - as well as the Elements of Harmony. With how crazy this world looks, there'd be a fat chance she'd be able to find them, but she had to try.

She quickly trotted into her bedroom and looked around for the Elements, but instead she found her "faithful assistant" cleaning.

"Spike?" she gasped, recognizing him immediately despite the gray scales. "You're gray, too!"

Spike turned around and yelped, throwing aside his cleaning utensils, then zipped up to her and bowed before her, cowering at her hooves. "P-P-Princess Twilight Sorrow! I-I'm really sorry I didn't get around to finishing cleaning your room! I was barely given enough time - b-but it wasn't your fault at all, it was mine! Just please have mercy on me!"

Twilight backed away, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. He was begging for the mercy of one of his best friends for not finishing cleaning her room? Furthermore, why did he call her Princess Twilight Sorrow?

"Spike, it's okay," the alicorn tried to reason with the scared dragon.

"No, it's not! I was just about finished, but that's no excuse for my slowness, even though I worked as hard and fast as I could, but it just wasn't good enough! Please, Your Majesty, I'm so sorry! Please continue to feed me and don't lock me in the dungeon!"

"Wh-What?" Twilight gasped. She couldn't believe her ears. Did Spike really think she was going to do such awful things to him? Unless... since she was being referred to as Princess Twilight Sorrow...

"Oh, that can wait for later!" Twilight grunted at herself. When she saw the dragon flinch before her she immediately regretted her outburst. "N-Not to you. J-Just keep working. I... think I can give you a break this time around or something..."

"Really? Oh, bless your heart and soul, Your Majesty!" Spike cried, tears of pure gratitude falling down his cheeks.

Just the sight of her "faithful assistant" crying broke her heart to pieces, but she had to shake it away. She had to find the Elements of Harmony and report to Canterlot immediately. "But before you go, do you know where the Elements of Harmony are?"

"P-Pardon me, P-Princess..." Spike whimpered, trembling again, afraid of speaking up against her even though she just finished giving him mercy. "B-But don't you m-mean the Elements of Disharmony?"

"Elements of Disharmony?" the alicorn echoed in shock. This world was all kinds of twisted around! First 'Applejack' lied to her, then the castle, then Spike, and now the Elements of Harmony became the Elements of Disharmony!

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. Yours is in the library. The others are with their respectful owners."

"How come they're separated?"

"Don't you remember how the Elements of Disharmony work? They give off the most power when separated as opposed to using them together."

The Elements of Harmony could only work if she and her friends all had them and used them together, Twilight recalled. So it makes sense that the Elements of Disharmony work best when separated.

"Um, I don't think I'll need it in that case," Twilight stammered. "I'm going off to Canterlot. I'll be back shortly."

"Okay. I'll get back to work!" And with that, Spike picked up his cleaning utensils and went right back to quickly cleaning the room.

Sighing, Twilight walked out of the castle, then trotted to the Ponyville train station. She approached the conductor, All Aboard, and panted slightly from the jog before speaking. "When's the next train to Canterlot?"

"Don't you remember?" the stallion replied, giving her a sour look. "Trains are forbidden to be run on even days of odd months."

"What the hay kind of rule is that?" the alicorn exclaimed.

"I'm not the one who came up with it. You want to get to Canterlot? Get yourself there." And with that, the conductor pony walked away.

Growling in frustration, Twilight took to the air and head towards Canterlot.

Once Twilight finally arrived in the capital city of Equestria, she immediately realized that the city itself looked incredibly dim and destroyed for the most part. Worrying for her former teacher, she kicked it into overdrive and flew towards the Princess' castle.

She landed at the doors and looked around, finding that not a single Royal Guard was in sight, not even her brother Shining Armor. She folded her ears back in worry before pushing the double doors open and walking slowly into the destroyed castle.

"P-Princess Celestia?" Twilight called out nervously, weaving her way through rubble laying on the large rug leading to a staircase. "Princess Celestia? It's me, Twilight! I need to speak to you!"

The alicorn stopped walking when she heard the faint sound of hooves clacking against the cold floor. It slowly got louder and louder until finally she saw a large gray alicorn walk into view. She had a large gray mane of four different shades, and it wasn't flowing. Her crown, shoes, and crest were also gone.

"P-Princess?" Twilight whimpered, her heart breaking at the sight of her former teacher.

Celestia turned her head to the youngest princess and immediately glared at her with cold hostility. "Twilight Sorrow. What are you doing here?"

"I... I came from Ponyville to talk to you about something..."

"What is there to talk about? I disowned you as a fellow princess long ago. You are nothing to me now."

Twilight's heart shattered into millions of pieces at these words, and she immediately began to tear up. Sniffling, she tried to push her sadness aside; she had to find a way back home. "I-I'm not Twilight Sorrow. I'm Twilight Sparkle. I think I accidentally cast a spell sending me from my home dimension into this one."

The alicorn flinched when Celestia let out a loud, harsh laugh. "Who are you, Liarjack? That is absolutely impossible! The only one who can cast a spell like that is Lord Discord!"

"Lord Discord?" Twilight echoed in disbelief. Now she understood completely. This was a dimension where her counterpart and her friends never managed to defeat Discord, and now he was the ruler of Equestria in a world of chaos!

"You know, the villain you and your ex-friends weren't able to defeat because you were too vulnerable to his corruption spells?" the former princess hissed nastily. "You do realize that the fall of Equestria is all your fault, right? I put faith into you. The faith of Equestria rest on your shoulders mainly since you were the bearer of the most powerful of the Elements of Harmony. But you failed us all. Luna, Cadence, and I were stripped from our titles as princesses and were forced to live a normal life just like the rest of you, and it's not fun, I'll tell you that!"

"B-But I didn't fail you or Equestria!" Twilight argued, panic washing over her. "It was Twilight Sorrow! I'm Twilight Sparkle!"

"Any form of Twilight means nothing to me..." Celestia growled lowly. And with that, she walked away, not even blinking when the youngest princess tried calling out for her again.

"Oh, no..." Twilight whimpered, sitting down in the center of the room and hanging her head in defeat, tears falling down her cheeks. "How am I ever going to get home now?"