The Elements of Discord

The letter contained only three words, but those three were enough.  Twilight kept going over them in her mind as she willed the train to Canterlot to go faster.

Discord has escaped.

She had immediately sent out the call to her fellow Element bearers and the six of them had boarded the train within an hour.  None of them spoke, in stark contrast to their usual mood; each one afraid to put their own feelings to words.  Each of them knew just what this event could mean for the future.  They had defeated Discord before, but the damage he had been able to deal still haunted them to this day.

"I hate this waiting!" Rainbow Dash finally shouted out, cracking under the pressure.

"Calm down Dash.  We won against him before, Ah'm sure we can do it again."

"I know, AJ, but he had us beat last time!  If the Princess hadn't sent Twilight all those letters, he would've completely destroyed our friendship!  I don't want to lose you girls again..."  She said, almost whispering.

"Don't worry Dashie!  We know all his tricks this time!"  Pinkie Pie said with a squeal.  "We're going to show him that we're the best pranksters in Equestria and that we can do it without being mean!"

Rainbow's retort was cut off by a sharp whistle, the train had arrived.  Twilight wasted no time, jumping off the train and onto the platform almost before the train had come to a full stop.  Worry for the Princess overtook her, she couldn't bring herself to slow down for her friends to catch up.  She burst into Canterlot tower and breathed the largest sigh of relief of her life to see the Princess standing vigil near the vault, Elements laid out before her.

"Princess!"

"Thank you for coming to quickly Twilight.  And the rest of you as well," she called over Twilight as the other five finally caught up.  "I didn't take any chances this time, I've been keeping watch over the Elements.  I want him put down quickly this time and the last thing we need is to have to waste time finding them again."

Twilight flinched at the Princess' harsh words and Celestia's expression immediately softened.  "I'm sorry Twilight... I didn't mean it that way."  Celestia lowered her head and nuzzled her student gently.  "I'm just very stressed right now...  He stayed imprisoned for a thousand years and now has escaped twice within one.  I honestly don't-"

"CELESTIA!!"  All seven heads turned to the door as Luna burst in.  "I've finished searching the grounds with the guards.  Wherever he is, he's not there."

"That's because I'm right here my dear Luna!"  Everyone in the room gasped as he appeared right in the center of the group.

"YOU!" Luna said with an enraged scream.  "Appearing right here with all of us ready!  This is brash, even for you, Discord!"

"Oh, come now, is that any way to say hello?  We didn't get to speak last time I got out, I thought we could catch up!"  Discord gave the blue alicorn a wry grin.  "No? well you always were the serious one; and compared to your sister, that's really saying something."

"We beat you once, we'll do it again!" Rainbow shouted at him aggressively.

"Beat me?  Oh you're under the impression that I came here to fight!" Discord chuckled.  "No, no... You see, I came here to wish goodbye to my old friends," He said sarcastically.  "That and to wish you good luck, you'll be needing it."

"What are you talking about, Discord?" Twilight asked angrily.

"Why the Elements of Discord, of course!  How else do you think I escaped?"

"Ah don't care what you have, we'll win again!"

Discord sighed in frustration, "Were you even listening, Applejack?  Let me spell it out for you: I. AM. LEAVING.  Shall I explain why?"  He flew to the top of the room, waving his arms with a flair.  "Everything I do is in good fun.  Oh don't look at me that way Twilight, everything I do can simply be called lighthearted pranks.  I'm just your typical lovable, mischievous demigod.  The Elements of Discord however are a force of nature itself.  Where your Elements of Harmony are the tools of creation, the Elements of Discord are the tools of destruction.  They cannot be controlled, even by me; I just simply harnessed their growing power to break out of my prison."  He paused for effect, smirking at the shocked looks of the ponies around him.  "They cannot be controlled, they cannot be reasoned with and more importantly, they cannot be stopped!  So to you all, I say goodbye!"  With this last statement, he disappeared with a pop.

Twilight shook her head at the creature's antics and turned to speak to Celestia, but was struck speechless to see the face of her mentor contorted with fear.  "Princess..?"

"No..."  Tears had begin to well up in the Princess' eyes.  "No... why now?"

"Princess, what's wrong?"

"The Elements of Discord are forces of pure destruction, their only purpose is to bring about the end of everything  I... I did everything I could to keep them from ever appearing.  I made the world so beautiful, so pure, so happy.  How could this happen?"

"Tia?  Tia, please stop crying..."  Luna trotted over and hugged her sister tight.  "You created a better world than I ever imagined you could.  We knew they would be back eventually.  Everything will be fine, we can beat this together, just like always."

Celestia sighed contently, "Thank you... Thank you Lu..."  She took a deep breath, regaining her composure.  "Luna?   I need you out among the people.  I know you still make them a bit nervous, but they'll need your strength to get through this.  Do you think you could-"

"Right away, sis!"  Luna exclaimed, smiling broadly at Celestia's lifted mood.  "Let me know right away if you need help back here, okay?"  The younger princess turned quickly and galloped out, eager to get right into her newly-assigned duties.

"I can't believe I ever made it without her..." Celestia whispered softly, staring at the door Luna left through.  "Twilight, I hate to admit it, but I have no idea what we're up against."

"What do you mean by that, Princess?"

"I've never faced the Elements of Discord, Twilight.  They forces the represent are completely incomprehensible to be and I am genuinely afraid of them.  There is however someone who may know..."  She stared off into space for a few seconds.

"Princess Celestia?" Rarity chimed in.  "While I am indeed worried about these new Elements, what are we going to do about Discord himself?"

The Princess snickered nervously, "He won't be back, do not worry yourself about that.  He may seem daunting, but he is a coward at heart.  About the Elements, though, there may be one who can help us; one who may know just what we face."  She looked off into space again for a few seconds before continuing, "What would you say if I told you there existed a being far older than I?  A creature so old that it was absolutely ancient before even Discord himself came into being?"

"Oh!  Oh!  I know" Pinkie called, bouncing up and down with each word.  "This pony can tell us how to beat the Elements of Discord!"

Celestia giggled at Pinkie's ever-present giddiness.  "Well, he's not a pony, I think...  I don't even really know if he's even alive, but if anyone can enlighten us, it would be him."  She beckoned the group closer as she began to lay out her plan.