The Last Bat

On another part of the Labyrinth Pinkie Pie was bouncing around as she traveled on her own, completely free of any worry and not showing even the slightest hint of fear. As she bounced Pinkie turned a corner and saw what looks to be a party, with dozens and dozens of balloons with smiling faces plastered all around, tables filled with yummy sweet treats, party hats, and other party decorations.

"Ooh! A party! Yippie!" Pinkie Pie jumped towards the table filled with snacks and happily dined in, swallowing up all the sweet treats in one gulp. Pinkie Pie then started to explore the "party" until she tripped and fell into a pile of mud, covering her body in dirt and mud. Soon laughter rang out, but not the fun good time kind, no, this was... Worse.

"Hey! What gives?" Pinkie Pie asked as she looked around to see all the balloons surrounding her and laughing.

"What's wrong, Pinkie? I thought you, of all pony, would love a good laugh." Discord made himself known

"This is different. They're laughing at me, not with me." Pinkie Pie retorted as she wiped some mud off her face

"But your friends always laughed at you. You are nothing more than a walking joke to them. A tool for their own amusement." The smiling balloons soon changed to the harsh laughing faces of Pinkie's "friends"

Surrounding her as they laughed at Pinkie. Tears formed in Pinkie's eyes as she begged her "friends" to stop laughing at her. Discord moved closer and once again used his powers to drain Pinkie of her element. Discord laughed as he then vanished once more before Twilight and her friends came to find Pinkie Pie.

Just like with Applejack Pinkie Pie acted strangely as well, she changed from her usual happy, upbeat, playful nature to a mare who is cruel and harsh. Pushing past Twilight and Applejack

"Does... Pinkie seem different to you?" Twilight asked Applejack as she looked at Pinkie Pie storming off

"Nope! Nothing different at all!" Applejack's eyes shifted all over, avoiding eye contact. Applejack then marched on with Pinkie Pie, leaving a bewildered Twilight to follow behind.

In another part of the maze Rarity trotted down one of the paths until she crashed face first against a large stone wall. She groaned and shook her head, but a loud gasp escaped her lips as she gazed upon the stone wall. Wedged deep inside she saw three diamonds inside the stone, then Discord appeared inside the diamonds

"Congratulations, Miss Rarity. You found the only thing in Equestria that can rival my own beauty." Discord joked as the light shines even brighter, hypnotizing Rarity as she too fell into a trance. A massive smile on her face as she then, in a massively shocking show of strength, punched the rockwall and carved out the massive diamond that was inside with only her bare-hooves!

"Phew! It took forever, but you finally did it, Rarity! You got yourself this hunk of a diamond all to yourself." Rarity admired the shiny new diamond as she then lifted it up on her back, straining herself to hold it up. Suddenly the rockwall crumbled and Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were standing there.

"Rarity! We finally... Uh... What are you doing?" Twilight and her friends all stared at Rarity as she was lifting a massive boulder on her back

"Stay back! This is my diamond! I found him so he's mine!"

"Why are you carrying a boulder?"

"Boulder? This big, beautiful, dazzling, hunk of rock is a diamond! Keep you grumy hooves off it he's mine!" Rarity shouted at them while walking off, at least tried to the massive "diamond " on her back was weighing her down quite a lot. Twilight watched as her friends walked off, seeing them after stranger and stranger by the minute. Worry swept inside her as she began to doubt that they could pull through. Twilight hesitantly trotted forward following her friends as they continued to venture through the labyrinth.

Fluttershy hesitantly traveled through the labyrinth with one eye open, well, half open anyway. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down until she felt a leaf gently touch her flank

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Fluttershy screamed in terror as she then bolted faster than a train, hurling into the hedge and getting stuck. Fluttershy whimpered and tried to get out, after a bit of effort she was able to pull herself free and landed at a... Fountain. No, not a fountain. Fluttershy stumbled upon what looks like the most beautiful garden in all of Equestria, there were rows and rows of elegant flowers, small herds of animals of all kinds frolicking about

"Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped as she walked over to the fountain, smelling the sweet aroma of the flowers. Some of the animals gathered around her as Fluttershy giggled sweetly "Hello, you sweet animals." She petted a bear cub that nuzzled against her hoof

"Oh, Fluttershy, it seems that you've been left behind by your friends." The small cub said in a familiar voice

"Oh no, my friends are out there looking for a way to end all this. They would never leave me behind." Fluttershy assured him as she had full trust and faith in her friends. The animals all stared at each other as they weren't expecting that kind of answer

"Well it must be so upsetting to know how weak and useless they all think you are." A deer said while nuzzling her face

"Oh not at all, I know I'm weak and useless and it makes me appreciate my friends so much more knowing they think that but still stand by me and help me strive to be the best I can be." Fluttershy had a smile on her face as she looked at the animals, knowing full well what was happening. The animals all stammered and stuttered as they tried to come up with some way to get her to crack until they all just gave up and revealed their true form to be Discord

"AAAGH! Enough of this! It's time for you to be cruel! Arrivederci!" Discord grumbled angrily as he used his powers to force Fluttershy to become a cruel and mean pony

"She's as stubborn as... As... Grr!" Discord held his head as a sudden pain coursed through his mind and a... A "memory" flashed in his mind.

A tall, towering figure shrouded in black with glowing white eyes stood and harsh, powerful blows struck "Discord" over and over again. The shadowy figure spoke but it was disoriented and scrambled, only able to make out a few words

"I... Stop you!"

"This... Now!"

"My family.... Forever...."

"I.... The... Am...!"

Discord growled and roared in pain as he gripped his head, panting heavily as sweat ran down his forehead. He growled in anger as he thought back to the small drake and what he had in his claws. Discord was about to head out to find Spike but he calmed himself

"No! No no, calm down. A calm and steady hand can make five moves in one go." Discord said to himself as he looked down at the labyrinth and saw Rainbow Dash running around, a smirk growing on his face. He flew over and headed towards the blue speedster and enacted his plan on how to deal with her.

Rainbow Dash sped through the labyrinth trying to find her element as fast as possible, turning a corner she came across a... Cloud flying by with rainbow lightning bolts. Rainbow Dash smirked as she knew only one pony, or whatever Discord is, could be behind this

"I got you now, element!" Rainbow Dash ran off to follow the cloud but when she turned another corner she found Discord resting on a hammock made of clouds. Discord yawned while stretching himself out like a rubber band and removed his shades to smile at Dash

"I can see why you like these clouds so much, very plush and comfy."

"Alright, put 'em up! Come on, let's go!"

"Relax, I'm just here to give you a message."

"I got a message for you, too! A flank whopping!"

"Silence!" Discord demanded, his eyes narrowing down at her as Rainbow's blood ran cold, a shiver ran up her spine as she felt an overwhelming sense... Of fear. Discord cleared his throat and spoke in the form of a riddle

"A weighing choice is yours to make. The right selection or a big mistake. If a wrong choice you choose the foundation of home will crumble without you." Discord then snapped his fingers and the cloud Rainbow Dash was chasing earlier appeared, it spun like a top and rainbow thunderbolts rang out as Dash suddenly saw her home, Cloudsdale, crumbling down to ruins.

"Cloudsdale... No! Noooo!" Rainbow Dash cried out in terror and heartache as she watched her home turn to ruins. The cloud vanished and was replaced with a wrapped up present

"In this box contains your wings. You can take them and leave the game or you can continue wandering aimlessly around this maze. The choice is yours, miss Dash." Discord smirked as he then left the cyan speedster to make her "choice" as he went off to find a certain little dragon.

Spike marched on through the labyrinth while holding the batarang in his claws, a look of worry and fear on his face as he tried to calm himself.

"Alright Spike, you got this. Twilight and the others are counting on you and you can't let them down." Spike took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, able to calm himself down. Then he heard something rustling from the large bush walls and panicked, aiming the batarang at it.

"Boo." Discord appeared behind him and Spike screamed in terror while jumping back to gain some distance.

"Stay away from me!" Spike held up the batarang at Discord, seeing the weapon in the dragons claws Discord groaned while holding his head as images flashed through his mind. Spike saw this as a chance to charge at Discord, however Discord grabbed him and lifted him up to eye level, glaring at him

"You think that just because you have this you have a chance? You are nothing more than a child! An incompetent one at that!" Discord threw Spike down and towered over him, his eyes staring into Spike's soul "You are nothing more than a nuisance, and a waste of my time. You aren't even worth using my powers on." Discord then disappeared, leaving a terrified, dejected Spike alone. The small dragon looked down at his claws and punched the ground, cursing himself for being such a coward.

Back with Twilight and her friends they continued trotting through the labyrinth, but this time Twilight was the one who was carrying the "diamond" in her back. Panting and straining herself as she lugged the massive boulder around. As she did Twilight would continue to have faith that her friends wouldn't let her down.

"Must... find Rainbow Dash... As a team we're unstoppable..." Twilight panted

"Well, looky there. Rainbow Dash is flying away! She's abandoning us!" Twilight instantly assumed Applejack was lying until she and the others looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying off. The walls of the labyrinth began to crumble and Discord appeared before then laughing mockingly

"Well well well, looks like some pony broke the no flying no magic rule." Discord snapped his fingers and gave the mares their horns and wings back "Game over, my little ponies! You didn't find your precious, whittle elwents of Harmony." Discord taunted

"Looks like we're in for a big 'ol storm of chaos!" Discord opened an umbrella in reverse as pink thunder rang out, chocolate rain pouring down as he laughed. His laugh echoing even louder than the thunder

"Why are you laughing?!" Pinkie Pie shouted while getting up in Discord's face

"You ponies are just a riot!" Discord wiped away a tear

"Well quit it, you better think before you laugh at the Pink.... Ie Pie!"

"Oh really? Ha ha ha!" Fluttershy mockingly laughed at Pinkie

"Quit it!"

"Ha ha ha!"

"I said quit it!" The two ponies then tackled each other and started fighting, Applejack and Rarity were also seen fighting as Applejack told a lie about Twilight telling them to spilt the diamond six ways.

"Girls! Girls! Why are you all acting like this?" Twilight tried to get them to calm down but it was all in vain. Discord taunted her feeble attempts to try and reason with her "friends" while eating popcorn

"You didn't play fair!"

"Fair? You think life is "fair", little pony? I saw weakness, separated you all, and took you down one by one. I'm the element of chaos and disorder, remember? You little ponies all remind me of... Some others, many centuries ago." He said "Art of War, Twilight Sparkle. Art of War." He laughed

"But... But you took down the labyrinth before we could even find the elements!" Twilight tried to argue, hearing this made Discord erupt in a fit of laughter

"You thought the elements were in the labyrinth? Hahaha!" He snapped his fingers and used his magic to bring him and Twilight back to when he gave them the riddle, after the riddle was done being told Discord smirked "I never said they were in the labyrinth."

"But... But..." Twilight was dumbfounded as she thought she had understood the riddle

"Keep trying, Twilight Sparkle. I must admit, I thought you were smarter than this. Your intellect reminded me of that of a detective, but I see now that that me simply being nostalgic. But hey, maybe the Magic of frwendship will help you." Discord mocked, he turned and glanced over at Spike who was now hiding behind Twilight

"Pathetic." He said before disappearing. Spike looked down in shame as he could barely do anything, and the fact that he was so worthless that Discord didn't even use any magic on him at all.

"What... Do we do now?" Spike asked while looking up at Twilight, hoping she had some ideas to what to do next.

"Back where you began. Back where you began." Twilight muttered to herself as she tried to figure out the true meaning of the riddle, but the constant bickering of her friends kept breaking her concentration "Ugh! I just wanna go home!... Wait... Home... Home! That's it!" Twilight picked up Spike in her magic and placed him on her back.

Twilight and her friends made their way back to Ponyville, the trip was short as Discord began he rule over Equestria, reshaping the land as he saw fit. The clouds were made of cotton candy, the rain became chocolate milk, and Ponyville was in terrible shape! Buildings were upside down, the ground looked as if it was made out of quilts, and the flowers had faces and were singing terribly.

"Come on, girls! I have a book back in my library that I just know will give us a clue to where the elements are!" Twilight trotted along with Spike on her back, until the two were trampled by a herd of... Bunnies. Bunnies with giraffe legs.

"Good job, Angel! Mama's so proud!" Fluttershy praised her let bunny after it had trampled over Twilight and Spike. The two groaned in pain and slowly pulled themselves back up

"We gotta end this soon, I don't even wanna know what else Discord did!" Spike said while dusting himself off. Suddenly the sun just... Went down and the moon came up, covering the land in darkness.

"Oh wow, I can see so much clearer now." Applejack said before slipping and sliding on the ground, the ground suddenly being covered in soap as Applejack slipped through her friends, causing them to fall "Uh... Ah meant to do that." Twilight tried to walk but also eventually slipped, then the sun rose once more and they could see that Discord had changed the land even more.

Discord then came expertly sliding through the soapy ground, a smirk on his face as he watched the mane six and Spike look so defeated.

"Beautiful, isn't it. These are some improvements I made, but I have so much planned for the world. It's time that you all had one true leader." Discord coldly chuckled

"Don't count on it! We will stop you!" Twilight said before falling on her flank. Then she looked over and saw Pinkie Pie sliding through the soap like an ice skater

"This may look like fun, but it's not!" Pinkie said while twirling.

"Just picture it, the chaos capital of the world!" Discord held Twilight up to look over the chaotic Ponyville, but it suddenly changed to night so it was difficult to see

"Can't see anything, too dark." Discord dropped her and giggled as he then vanished, leaving a worried Twilight alone with her friends, doubt taking in. But she had to stay strong, even if her friends didn't believe they could win.

They made their way through Ponyville and reached Twilight's library

Okay, we're here. Please please please just go in!" Twilight pleaded

"I absolutely refuse." Applejack lied as she walked inside

"Fine." Fluttershy said before stomping on a beautiful shrub while laughing

"I hate libraries!" Pinkie Pie marched inside. All that was left is Rarity, who was trying to push the "diamond" inside.

"Will you please just go in already!" Twilight begged

"Oh no, I know what you're up to! The second I turn my back you'll have your little minion Spike take away!" Rarity shouted while defending "Tom"

"Tom? Really?"

"And who are you calling a minion?" Spike asked while crossing his arms. Twilight groaned as she had enough and decided to just carry the boulder inside, however the two were noticing that each of the ponies were becoming more and more colorless.

As they headed inside Twilight and Spike ignored, or at least tried to, their friends and their sudden change in their behavior. Although they did have to also ignore the giant hole in the wall since Twilight had to blast it open to get "Tom" inside

"So, any ideas?" Spike asked as Twilight trotted over to a bookshelf

"Just gotta find the reference book to the Elements of Harmony before somepony does something she regrets!" Twilight shot a glare at her friends

"The Elements of Harmony? But, don't we need Rainbow Dash here with us?" Spike asked as he wasn't so sure about this plan, or even if this was A plan

"We just need to find it, Spike. Now help me find it."

"I actually know where it is, you forget I'm the one that restock the shelves." Spike ran up a ladder and picked out the book Twilight needed, but a scroll was thrown at him and he lost his grip on the book, causing it to fall. Fluttershy caught it and mocked Spike

"Fluttershy! You better give me that book!" Twilight demanded it with a stomp of her hooves

"Keep away!" Fluttershy shouted while tossing the book at Applejack

"Give it back!" Twilight ran towards Applejack as the cowpony balanced the book on her nose

"I ain't got no book." Applejack then tossed it to Pinkie Pie who bounced it off her flank and back towards Fluttershy, but before the pegasus could catch it Spike tackled her. The book fell to the floor and Twilight rushed to grab it, but Rarity used her magic to swipe it from under her and ran off with it

"Do you even know what you took?!" Twilight yelled in anger

"No! But if you want it then I want it!" Rarity argued as Twilight ran after her, but Fluttershy carried Rarity away causing Twilight to crash into the boulder

"Ugh! Where the hay is she?!" Twilight yelled in absolute frustration

"Beats me." Applejack said

"Fine!" Twilight then tackled Applejack and started beating the pony, punching her in the face. Their scuffle soon ended up dragging the rest of the ponies in a full on brawl, luckily Twilight was able to get away with the book in hooves and Twilight helped with protecting Twilight to give her time to read it. But when Twilight opened the book she gasped in shock as she saw the Elements of Harmony inside the book

"The Elements! They were right here all along! Girls, we did it! And we did it together! Now we can use the Elements and save Equestria!" Twilight cheered triumphantly, however her friends didn't share the same enthusiasm. All of them not caring for the Elements or Equestria one bit.

"I can't believe it, my friends... Are complete jerks! Ugh! Whatever!" Twilight decided to just put on each of their necklaces on them and her crown

"There! Done! Let's go!" Twilight started marching out until Spike spoke up

"Wait! Aren't we forgetting somepony?"

"Nope! Got everypony here. The liar. The grump. The hoarder. And the brute." Twilight listed off

"But what about Rainbow Dash?" Spike asked

"Hm, right. Congratulations, you're the new Rainbow Dash." Twilight then placed Rainbow's necklace on Spike, ignoring his protest as she dragged him and her friends out to confront Discord, fortunately Discord was already outside waiting for them

"Bravo, Miss Sparkle. Bravo. I must admit, I am... Somewhat intrigued you were able to figure out my riddle, and gained the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying." Discord said mockingly.

"Discord! I finally solved your dumb riddle and it's time to put you away!"

"Yes, yes, I know when to accept defeat. A wise man knows when he is defeated. So go ahead, fire away. You may fire when ready." Discord put on a pair of red sunglasses and created a target right on his chest. Discord watched as they all, including the reluctant Spike, all banded together. A powerful gust of wind blew by as Twilight's crown shined with a powerful day of light. Then, they all started to levitate in the air and their necklaces shined bright as an aura surrounded each of them. Discord went wide eyed as he feared that they would actually be able to use the Elements, however that fear quickly washed away as the bright light died out and they all fell to the ground.

"W-What? Impossible! Why isn't this working?" Twilight asked while looking around, seeing all of her friends easily giving up and tossing away the necklaces. Discord laughed mockingly while slow clapping

"Hahaha! Excellent, Miss Sparkle! What a wonderful show of effort, however you missed one very important fact." Discord smirked as a confused and defeated Twilight looked up at him "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first then seek to win." He told her

"B-But I don't understand... How could this all happen...?" Tears swelled up in the corners of Twilight's eyes

"You think I would just go out and act out my vision without a plan? I studied you all with my magic, gaining knowledge on you all and the elements. Your strengths, weaknesses, and planned for each of your downfall in one fell swoop. You see, Miss Sparkle, you failed because you lack any braincells in that empty head of yours. You can never defeat me." Discord laughed as he then vanished. One by one all of Twilight's friends left her behind, abandoning each other in their time of need

"Fine! Leave! I don't need any of you! With friends like you who needs... Who needs enemies..." Soon, Twilight became gray just like her friends as a single tear ran down her cheek.

Deep in the Everfree Forest Red Hood was standing outside the ruined castle looking off into the distance. His shotgun in hand as he loaded a shell in it and got into the Batmobile, reviving up the engines as he then sped off towards Ponyville.