NINE MINUTES LATER

On a hilltop overlooking Canterlot, sitting on a throne made of water balloons and surrounded by cotton candy clouds raining chocolate milk, was the almighty lord of chaos and disharmony himself, Discord. Though he was encased in stone some time ago by the Elements of Harmony, he was freed thanks to the chaos that he had sown the seeds of nearly a thousand years ago. While those same seeds had stopped growing due to the power of the Tree of Harmony, their recent outburst from the ground as full-grown spiked vines could only mean that both the tree and the elements that it drew power from had been neutralized, which was even more satisfying for Discord.

He was finally free to create as much chaos and have as much fun as he wanted, and his biggest source of entertainment at that moment was watching his vines cover the entirety of Canterlot and cause its inhabitants flee in terror. In fact, he was having a ball watching the show from his water baloon throne, while also eating a bowl of green peppers and drinking a glass of grape juice.

"Chaos finally reigns supreme!" he exclaimed with pure joy. "Everything is as it should be."

"I couldn't agree more," he heard a female voice from behind say. "It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

In response, Discord turned around to see Trixie with her clown make-up back on her face and then stretched his neck out so far that his head stopped only a few inches away from the mare before asking, "And who might you be? A circus clown who lost track of her circus due to the ongoing panic and confusion? Well, good news, my dear. The whole world is gonna turn into a circus soon, so there's no need to fret!"

Trixie giggled at these words for a bit and then replied, "Oh, I am a circus clown, alright. Just not the usual type. You see, this wicked world of ours has always been a circus. You're just bringing out its true colors for everypony to see, and I do appreciate your efforts very much."

Discord, both confused and intrigued at the same time, raised an eyebrow at this explanation before the rest of his body flew from the throne and re-connected with his head. Once his neck regained its original length, he said, "An interesting philosophy, little miss. You must've gone through quite an ordeal to gain a perspective like this. Don't worry, I'm not gonna ask you to tell it to me any time soon. To be perfectly honest, I'm quite tired of all these tragic backstories popping up everywhere you look. Instead, how about we move on from the past and look towards the future, shall we? Now, do tell, what do you hope to accomplish with this skewered but also intriguing worldview of yours?"

To answer Discord's question, Trixie put a hoof on her chin and pretended to think for an answer before stating, "Well, I did succeed in breaking Twilight and most of her friends both physically and emotionally, while also driving a whole city to madness. Perhaps, I should travel around Equestria and introduce my new cure for reality to every corner of the land, so that everypony can forget about their problems forever. What do you think?"

Discord's jaw literally dropped to the ground when he heard all this and then a smaller version of his head emerged from his mouth while screaming "WHAT?!" at an extremely high-pitched voice.

"Yep, I actually did pull off something you tried and failed miserably the first time you broke free from your stone prison," elaborated Trixie. "Well, two thirds of it, anyway. Oh, and there's also that little dragon who was following Twilight wherever she went. I'm sure he and the other two friends of hers would make excellent appetizers for the chaotic party you'll be throwing for Equestria."

After listening to all this, Discord's jaw returned to his mouth and his ears began releasing hot steam like a locomotive as he furiously exclaimed, "I should reduce you to a puddle of slime for costing me the fun I was planning on having with those meddling ponies!"

The eagle claw on his left arm started glowing and he prepared to unleash all the magic charging inside it towards Trixie, who seemed completely unfazed by this action and even raised an eyebrow at it. Instead of releasing the magic at her, however, Discord instead fired it at a spot right next to Trixie, creating a top hat wearing frog tap dancing on his hind legs in the process.

He then let out a sigh and said, "But I suppose I owe you a tiny bit of thanks instead. After all, those same ponies would've no doubt zapped me with their shiny little elements once again if I were freed as a result of all the chaos caused by the seeds I planted ages ago. I mean, can you imagine if they actually set me free out of a desire to help me reform and be good like them? Now, that would just be silly."

"Oh, trust me, they're not nearly as pure as you think they are," Trixie retorted. "In fact, I was robbed of someone very dear to me because of their actions and there's no way I can get him back at this point. So, now, my one remaining purpose in life is getting the other ponies to realize how much of a joke life itself truly is, and convince them to let go of their pesky morals and troubles forever."

Growing more and more intrigued by Trixie's mindset with her every word, Discord took a moment to ponder about her statement (while also stroking the goat hair on his chin) before saying, "You just keep on surprising me, miss. Come to think of it, to repay you for making Twilight Sparkle and her friends too weak to stand against me, I could bring your loved one back from the dead. Or, better yet, send you back in time to prevent his passing in the first place. After all, I possess the phenomenal cosmic power to reshape all of reality to my liking, and reality does include time, doesn't it?"

Upon hearing this proposal, Trixie began to seriously think about whether or not she should accept it. After nearly a whole minute of contemplation, as well as weighing the pros and cons of the deal's consequences, she answered, "Tempting offer, but not interested. I don't think I want Sunspot to see me like this. To see what I've become. Besides, I've read enough time travel stories to know that messing with the flow of time never really works out the way you want it to."

"Oh, fine, then! I'll think of something else," Discord replied with exasperation. "But now that you've given me the idea to do so, I'm planning on taking that little dragon you mentioned on a joy ride across time and make him bear witness to all the terrible tragedies that happened in the history of Equestria, including yours. That should be enough to break both his mind and spirit, I believe. What do you think?"

A devilish smile appeared on Trixie's face as she listened to this new proposition and then she declared, "Now, that sounds like a great idea! Not only will Twilight learn what it means to have a brother taken away from her, but also the little dragon will get to find out just how flawed and immoral the ponies he looks up to really are! By the way, what do you plan on doing with the remaining two friends of Twilights that I haven't broken yet?"

"Oh, I'm sure the vines sprouting out of the ground on Ponyville have gotten a hold of them by now," explained Discord. "If not, there's plenty of room in the good old reference box!"

Right after saying that, he snapped his fingers and conjured up a blue police box right next to Trixie, much to her amazement and confusion. He then added, "Yes, it might not look like much, but believe me when I say that this rusty contraption of mine can take you anywhere you want at any time you want. Well, not mine exactly, but I did manage to take it from its original owner and left her to suffocate in the cold depths of space. Anyway, I'm now going to Ponyville to pick up the little dragon and, depending on their current condition, those two friends of Twilight Sparkle who are yet to have their brains scrambled from their emotional trauma. If you want, I can use it to drop you off at a place and time of your choosing, or simply do so with just a snap of my fingers. After all, it's the very least I could do to thank you for breaking the will of the greatest obstacles on my path to total chaos."

Trixie, not even a little bit disturbed by Discord's explanation, once again started contemplating about her next move and after several seconds of doing so, she finally replied, "You know what, I think what I really need right now is a challenge. I mean, making the entire city of Manehattan throw their reason away is impressive and all, but let's face it, the living conditions of the ponies there were so apalling that it wouldn't really take much to start a riot. Well, what if I introduced my brand of madness to a community so pristine and devoid of any chaos that its residents go about their everyday lives without a single frown on their faces? Now, that's what I call a real challenge for a clown such as myself."

Discord let out a sinister chuckle upon hearing this and he even turned his arms into bones as he pressed his fingers together a few times before stating, "Excellent. I know just the place you're looking for. A small town near the eastern border of Equestria. It would be my pleasure to send you to it, so that you can liberate its residents from their mundane lives and reach your full potential as an agent of chaos. I see a bright future ahead of you, my little pony, and I'm confident that this arrangement will greatly benefit us both."

He then prepared to snap his fingers to teleport Trixie away to her destination and just before he did so, he added, "Oh, and before you ask, no. I am not doing any of this out of kindness or a desire to be buddies with you. I'm only doing it in order to settle a small debt between us. Rob me of my fun one more time, and I will personally shove you into a green portal leading to a random corner of the multiverse. Good-bye for now!"

As soon as he performed the snap, Trixie disappeared from her original spot in a brief flash of light, and then re-appeared at a completely different location in another flash of light just as brief as the previous one. Immediately afterwards, she began to observe her new surroundings, which appeared to be nothing more than a barren wasteland. Upon looking down the hilltop she was standing on, however, she saw a small village so drab-looking and passionlessly designed that it was made up of identical houses lined up on two sides to form the equal sign. Then, upon closer inspection, she noticed that while every single one of the residents were smiling, none of them looked like genuine smiles, as they all seemed rather forced and unnatural.

It was at this moment that Trixie finally came to realize she had arrived at the perfect place for her challenge. Thus, with a genuine and devilish smile on her face, she pulled out a party horn from the pocket of her jacket, and joyfully exclaimed, "This town needs an enema!" before blowing said horn.

Author's Note

And that is a wrap, ladies and gentlemen! Finally, after four years of writing this story, I really hope that I have managed to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I know this final chapter leaves things open-ended and there is definitely set-up for a sequel, but I am not entirely certain when or if I am going to write the sequel story. Maybe one day in the future, but right now, I just want to thank everyone who has followed the story from beginning to end and supported me throughout this incredible journey.

Hope to see you all in my next storytelling endeavor. Take care.