Peace and calm. That's what this spot had experienced ever since the battle. The fight was a long time ago by this point of course, but even so, it felt like only yesterday to those who'd been a part of it. And speaking of the participants, three of them were still here. Those who had come so close to bringing a terrible end to Equestria's heroes. Here they would stand, now and forever. Still, they had a pleasant sunny day to enjoy, and as they remained there, frozen in their eternal stone prison, an elderly pony waddled up to them, gave them a quick grimace, before knocking a wooden sign into the ground. When he was finished, he made sure its "do not approach" markings were easily-read, then gave a firm nod before turning and leaving. A gentle breeze blew through the area, and it was so peaceful in fact that a few birds had taken to landing on top of the head of the tiniest of the trio's number. It was, naturally, a development the youngster wasn't all that fond of.

"Birds yesterday. Birds today. And you know what? I'll bet it'll be birds tomorrow too."

Cozy groaned within her confines.

"If I ever get out of here, I'm gonna find every single bird in Equestria and feed them to the first hydra I find!"

A chuckle was heard.

"Just be grateful it's only birds giving us grief right now. At least we're not dealing with some young graffiti artists. I couldn't do with having spray-paint in my face right now."

If Cozy could have moved, she'd have rolled her eyes right now.

"Just let me complain, Chryssie. It's the only privilege we have right now."

Some mumbling was also heard.

"If I'd have known that doing what I did would have resulted in me getting stuck with you two for all eternity, I'd have stayed in my cell in Tartarus."

"Oh, come on. It's not so bad. At least we have some conversation to pass the time, right?" Cozy suggested.

Another groan from Tirek.

"And that really is the worst part in all this! Eternity as stone? Maybe I could tolerate it. But having to also deal with you two talking to me?! That's a step too far!"

Chrysalis laughed.

"You should feel fortunate. To spend the long years alongside the Queen of the Changelings..."

"Former Queen," Cozy pointed out.

There was silence, and though they no longer had the option of changing facial expressions, it was obvious Chrysalis had been irked by the interruption and subsequent correction.

"...You know what? Never mind! Let's just do what we've been doing since this happened!"

"What, you mean just grumbling and complaining about everything that went wrong with our plan?" Tirek asked.

"Yes. That," Chrysalis confirmed.

Again, there was silence, and another breeze passed by them all. After a time though, the quiet proved too boring for the youngest of the villains.

"So...did we decide whose fault this all was?"

A quick "hmph" from Chrysalis.

"Clearly it was all the ponies' fault!"

"Ha! If you'd just followed my plan, then none of this would have happened!" Tirek countered.

"I still think we could have used Discord's chaos magic well if we'd maybe shared it. You know, like a team?" Cozy added.

"Don't mention that whelp's name in our presence!" Chrysalis snapped.

"She's right! And you know, this is actually all his fault when you get right down to it! If he hadn't come along and recruited us, we'd have never wound up like this," Tirek concurred.

When Cozy finally replied to that, it was with obvious incredulity.

"Seriously? If he hadn't come along, you and I would still be locked up in Tartarus! And Chryssie here would still be ranting and raving over in the Everfree somewhere!"

"True, but even that would be preferable to being stuck like this!" Chrysalis remarked.

Tirek unleashed a long sigh.

"Oh for the days when the most I had to worry about was just being bored and staring at other cages. Now look at me!"

In spite of everything, Cozy actually giggled.

"You know, if nothing else, at least we went out with a bang, eh? Three of Equestria's biggest enemies. Bringing the nation to their knees!"

Chrysalis chuckled darkly.

"Indeed. They'll be writing stories about our devious exploits for generations to come!"

"Or using us as cautionary tales to keep their children in line. Wouldn't that be sweet?" Tirek suggested.

The three laughed, but it inevitably ended shortly afterwards.

"Oh, if I ever get out of this accursed stone, I swear to you, those ponies will rue the day they ever met me!"

"Er, Chryssie? Wasn't this, like, the third time you had some plot to take over the world? I think after that many times you should just give up," Cozy suggested.

Chrysalis groaned.

"Never! And besides, it was four times!"

"Four?" Tirek asked with obvious confusion.

"Yes. I tried making evil clones of our enemies once. But...let's just say it didn't pan out all that well."

There was quiet for a few short moments, after which the deposed Changeling Queen muttered to herself.

"At the very minimum, at least all will know that I went down fighting!"

"And what do you call what we did?!" Cozy asked angrily.

Chrysalis laughed dryly.

"Perhaps you fail to see the positions we're frozen in, child? Only I'm trying to fight. You two just cowered!"

"And what exactly did you expect us to do with our powers gone?!" Tirek enquired.

"I don't know! How about something!" Chrysalis barked back with fury.

As the two older villains seethed at one another, Cozy sighed mournfully.

"You know...it was pretty nice. Being all-powerful with you two. I was a friggin' alicorn! I took on the Princess of Friendship herself and nearly won! How many get to say that?"

Chrysalis too sighed.

"Agreed. That level of power truly was a delight to feel, even if it was only for a time."

If Tirek could've smirked in this moment, he would have done.

"And to think you both wondered why I was so obsessed with draining magical essence for so long. Once you've got the power, no other feeling will ever compare."

In this moment, this shared feeling of loss for their former glory, there was, if nothing else, a fraction of a sense of camaraderie. Sadly, it soon ended, as there was a sudden flash not far from them. Only Chrysalis and Cozy were in the direction necessary to see it, and when they did, the voice of the former betrayed her discomfort.

"Oh...no."

"What? Who is it?" Tirek asked nervously.

"It's him!" Cozy seethed.

It took no time whatsoever for the ancient Lord to figure out who she meant, and sure enough, he too could see Discord walking around them, smiling smugly to his former "sort-of" allies. Then, after having done a complete circle around them, he snapped his fingers and conjured a chair to sit upon, after which he also brought out a pair of glasses to cover his eyes with.

"Wha...what's he doing?" Cozy asked again.

Another snap, and this time, Discord brought forth a small book, whose pages he now flipped through.

"Oh no...he wouldn't," Tirek said fearfully.

"What?!" Chrysalis asked again.

Discord brought his fist to his mouth, cleared his throat, and then started to recite what was written in the book.

"Oh freddled gruntbuggly, thy micturations are to me, with big yawning, as plurdled gabbleblotchits, in midsummer morning, on a lurgid bee."

All three of Equestria's enemies screamed as the words passed through their rock-hard ears, though only Tirek knew why.

"HE IS!!! HE'S ACTUALLY DOING IT!!! THE DREADED DRACONEQUUS POETRY!!!"

"MAKE HIM STOP!!! MAKE HIM STOP!!!" Chrysalis begged.

"I'M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!!!" Cozy bellowed.

Then, after having verbally tortured his afternoon fun, Discord paused, looking contemplating for a few moments, then smiled to himself as he closed the book.

"You know...this isn't right. It's not appropriate for me to make your existence even worse by giving you a poem like this."

A collective sigh from the villains.

"Oh, thank the abyss!" Tirek decreed.

Then, slowly, Discord smirked.

"I'll just have to give you my other poem. Ode to a small lump of green putty I found in my armpit one midsummer morning. How about that?" he asked with a mischievous look.

After a long silence, the tiny stone form of Cozy screamed on the inside in a way only her fellow evildoers could hear.

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD AND DECENT JUST END THE STORY ALREADY!!!"

The End

"THANK YOU!!!"

Author's Note

Why yes, I have always wanted to include a Douglas Adams reference into my work

In all seriousness though I think I'll be taking a break from writing for a bit. Probably the rest of the year in fact. No idea when I'll get back to making fics, but when I do, I'll try and make it something good. In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year