A breeze wandered throughout the land, wafting by the pink clouds, the chocolate puddles, and many more things the land had at once held. Now, however, they were diminishing. The clouds were fewer in number than they had been fifteen years ago. The ponies have given up their multi-colored homes for ones that were more civil. To the creature that watched it all, it was horrifying.
Lord Discord sat upon his throne, looking on at the land before him. He let out a small yawn as he noticed the smaller amounts of cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain. Bags reigned supreme under his eyes. He deeply breathed in before letting it all out of his nostrils.
“Discord!” a furious voice shouted out. “Face us like a true leader should!”
He stifled a laugh. Some leader you turned out to be, he silently thought. Destroying my em-pie-or... He stood up from his throne before spreading his mismatched wings. Red velvet curtains shot to the side as he put on a top hat. “Welcome to the show, Celestia!” He grinned, tipping his top hat. “It’s absolutely wonderful to see you again!”
Celestia, accompanied by her younger sister, snorted. “Discord!” she spat out. “Your tyranny has come to an end! You’ve tortured these ponies for years! Your time has come, you monster!”
Discord clicked his tongue condescendingly. “My, my… The ruler of Equestria has now come for my em-pie-or.” He floated over to her before smirking. “Geez, you’d think that you’d send in the hoof soldiers first.”
Her scowl deepened. “I did.”
“Oh yes! You did, didn’t you?” He swam—through the air—over to a large pile of junk. “Now… where did I put them?” He started throwing random objects behind him as he shifted through it. Every item he saw, he’d hold it up to his face, inspecting it, but then throwing it behind him.
Celestia stomped a hoof onto the ground, cracking the tiled floor. “Discord! We are not amused by this! We wish for you to surrender this land and your playthings now!”
Discord laughed once more. “Celestia, don’t you know? I’m not a tyrant! I’m just a simple ruler! My subjects love me!” He pulled up a pink mare. “Aren’t I the bestest ruler ever?”
The mare smiled and nodded. “Y-yes, milord!”
“See, Celestia? It’s all a mat—”
“She’s obviously scared of you!” Luna glared his way. “You have no empathy with your subjects!”
Discord, after putting the mare down, laughed a deep, hearty laugh. “Y-you really think that, don’t you?”
His two adversaries continued glaring at him.
“Y-you do!” His laugh only deepened. “That’s simply hilarious!”
“Discord—” Celestia took a step forward “—you’ve tortured these poor ponies. You make them your playthings. You destroy their dreams. You are not a tyrant; you are a monster.”
“Celestia, things aren’t like that here. You see, I only do that to the criminals. In fact, it works out perfectly for me. Crime rate has really gone down here! Maybe you should try it—”
A golden beam shot forward, destroying his plush throne. “We do not want to hear your explanation, Discord! We want justice!”
Discord shrugged. “Then just take it.” Ice materialized in his palm before he threw it at them.
The ice hit Celestia in the face, but her scowl remained true, which was horrible because they were ignoring his glorious pun. “Discord… you have violated our laws. You’re treating these ponies horribly! You’re the Element of Laughter! You shouldn’t be doing this to ponies! You’re dictating their lives! You’re—”
Discord laughed once more. This time, it took him a full minute to stop. “Celestia, I get that you’re the Element of Kindness and all, but this isn’t your kingdom to run. It’s mine. I decide of what I do. Not you. You did this to Sombra too.” Discord sat back down on his now-recreated throne. “You see, you just keep betraying your friends. Who’s next? Your own sister?”
Luna took her own step forward. “She would never do such a thing! I am loyal to her! She has no reason to do such a thing to me! Cease your accusations!”
He smirked once more. “Why should I? You were the ones to banish the Element of Generosity to the icy depths of the north!”
“He was corrupted, Discord!”
“And you couldn’t have reformed him?” Discord shot back.
Silence filled the air, and it remained stagnant for minutes.
“Celestia, this is not the way. You cannot control how others are. You cannot control other ponies’ lives. You think you can, but it’s as wrong as me.” Discord sighed, bringing up a cold glass of chocolate milk.
“I don’t want to.” Celestia took another step forward, flaring out her wings and puffing out her chest. “I do not want to control these poor ponies’ lives. All I want is to make this world peaceful. I don’t want for tyrants like you to rule. I should have never let Starswirl assign you your position.”
“He would’ve done it regardless of what you said. Celestia, you are controlling. And that is your downfall. You think everyone and everything should go along to your views of right and wrong, but that’s not how the world works!”
“Regardless of what I think, what you have done is wrong, Discord!” She snarled before opening up her saddlebags. “This is what you deserve! This is all you deserve!” Six magical crystals floated out of the bag and around Celestia and Luna.
He stood up and laughed. “Celestia! You crack me up! I understand that you think I’m being evil, but that’s taking it a step too far!”
“No, you took it a step too far, Discord. You’re destroying these poor ponies’ dreams. Yes, I did kill Sombra, but he was like you. He deserved it. He enslaved his subjects.”
“But did the Crystal Empire deserve to be destroyed? What will happen to my land once you destroy me? Will it also be destroyed? Vanished to the far reaches of time?” He blinked before snapping his fingers. “My subjects are now gone, Celestia. Safe from you. Do what you want with me. There won’t be any other way to control your dominance fetish.”
Celestia and Luna rose into the air, the magical gems spinning around them.
Discord laughed. “You think that you’re so much, Celestia! You think that you’re one in a million! But, the truth is, you’re just another pony in time. You’re controlling, Celestia. And, one day, you’ll find out that is what will destroy you.”
The gems sped up.
Discord reared back in laughter.
A rainbow from the gems shot upward.
He just continued laughing.
The beam shot down, and it hit him directly.
Slowly, his body turned to stone, but he did not budge. Discord continued laughing. He did not care about the world. His subjects were safe, his land would be destroyed, and he’d be whisked away to a different time. He had nothing to complain about.
Maybe, just maybe, Celestia would realize how young and naïve she was.
Eventually, what stood in Discord’s place was a perfect representation of him in stone. Ages would pass, and he would remain. Discord: the being who questioned Celestia. The being who would help her realize how she truly was. The being who once ruled the Badlands.
