Chapter 12
The room remained silent, only with the lonely sound of steps creeping through the blissfully silent room. Light was scarcely available, but what remained detailed exactly who stood in front of Twilight. Her details were obvious to the point; Twilight knew it from the start.
"Oh Twilight, how are you darling?" Rarity said as she waved her hoof gracefully in front of twilight. She was wearing an assortment of different diamonds, stones, and gems only accustomed for the wealthiest people in Equestria.
"It's been a long time Rarity…" Twilight said as she smirked.
"Oh no doubt, I wanted to ask you a few questions first." Rarity said as she approached closer to Twilight. Twilight then stared over at rarity, who stood a mere 6 feet away.
"Alright, what did you have in mind?" Twilight said as she stared at Rarity relentlessly.
"Let's start this conversation simple; how have you been?" Rarity said as she looked at Twilight with caring and sad eyes.
"You can't fool me rarity, I can see right through those make up eyes of yours!" Twilight said as she stared at rarity with blood shot eyes.
"Is that so? Well I don't think you expected to see this then!" Rarity pulled out from behind her head the 3 elements that Twilight carried, along with the other 3 that she needed.
"My elements!" Twilight screamed, turning red from pure rage.
"Your elements? Well if that was the case dear, you really should have a better eye on them." Rarity expressed with a sarcastic chuckle.
"Now let's see here… Element of manslaughter… Element of Misfortune… and Element of Corruption. I see you've been visiting around lately." Rarity said with a demon like smile.
"You can say that…" Twilight said, twitching from the containment of pure anger.
"You don't mind if I ask my true friend in arms about this then do you?" Rarity said as she started to back into the shadows with the aura around the floating elements still in sight. Twilight was moments away from running to Rarity, but seized as she arrived back only moments later. Rarity returned, wielding only 3 of the elements this time, arriving with a well-known figure standing by her menacingly.
"Rarity, you wouldn't mind if you held on to my section of the elements? I'm quite tired today" Discord said as he snapped his fingers to warp by Twilight. Rarity obeyed with a soldier-like attitude, quickly running back into the shadows.
"So… We meet again Sparkle." Discord said as he clicked his fingers together from both hands next to her.
"Discord, what a surprise." The 2 then stared at each other, face to face to end this conversation. Discord was just as menacing as ever, still containing the same stare he had when she last saw him.
"I've heard you've been acquainted with applejack if I haven't mistaken."
"I bet you would love to know." Twilight said as she pressed her front hoof down and leaned forward slightly.
"Oh but I already knew, I know everything!"
"At what cost you sick twisted snake?" Twilight said as she stared at discord without a single blink.
"Twilight… have you ever heard of a 'Hard Bargain'" Discord said as he slowly paced himself around twilight.
"I have… Applejack told me herself…"
"Oh did she? What a surprise, she was just on my mind." Discord said as he chuckled maniacally.
"Well, just in case you've forgotten in your state of psychosis, let me explain." Discord said with a devilish stare on twilight.
"A hard bargain is easy; one person has what the other wants and the other has what they want, so they make a bargain. Now a hard bargain is when both sides make it more difficult to obtain these said items for each other."
"And what does this have to do with me?" Twilight said, still staring at Discord with every waking moment.
"EXCELLENT QUESTION TWILIGHT!" Discord shouted as he snapped his fingers to teleport right above twilight.
"In fact, this is you're grand finale!"
"Would you care to explain a little discord? Or do I have to run all the way back to pinkie's cellar where you put me to find out again?" Twilight screamed, stamping both her front feet.
"Oh twilight, your just marvelous at false accusations, applejack was completely right about you!"
"Can it lizard lips!"
"Oooh A feisty one! You're quite the fighter I see, what ever happened to the peaceful librarian I've come to know?" Discord said while slightly turning his head and making a fake puppy dog face.
"She's dead… with the rest of them."
"Do tell! I guess this game was fun after all!" Discord said with a strong sarcasm breaking in.
"I need answers discord, you and your bargains will have to wait!" Twilight said with an infuriated tone. Discord then signaled Twilight with a finger over mouth hand sign, and presented Twilight's elements in his palm. He grabbed her in his own tiger claw grip, waving the elements in front of her. She was tempted to grab them, but knew for the better that it would not end well for her if she did.
"Here is another example of your false accusations, I never took your precious elements, they were simply a gift." Discord then took the elements away from Twilight and whistled, revealing Rarity from the shadows with her quill and paper in her grips.
"You see, I hired Rarity in a similar fashion to Applejack. She helped me get what I need, and now she has my complete permission to steal anything her heart desires, all she has to do is show them her badge." Rarity then walked closer to Twilight, flashing her discord-shaped badge with a chrome finish. It had plating of gold and aluminum, mixed in together.
"You see Twilight? I never did anything wrong, I simply just had others get the job done. Your head is filled with nothing but lies; Celestia is nothing but a regal advertisement. I'm no bad guy; I am simply a governor who knows the right people!" Discord said, still holding Twilight in his arm.
"How dare you insult the princess!" Twilight said, struggling to break free of Discord's hold.
"Insulting… or being honest?" Discord said which quieted Twilight momentarily.
"You see twilight, the best part about chaos is that you will never truly know what happens next, you can only simply guess. What I might be telling you is true, but it also might be false. It couldn't be any better than that good for nothing princess, even I'm more straight forward then her! History has repeated itself, and I've took every last measure to assure that it will not end as it has before. Care to hear my plan? I thought it might be fun to tell you a little story."
"And how will I know if I trust you?" Twilight then slipped through Discord's claw, patiently awaiting the moment to strike. Discord didn't seem to care; he only paced around slowly with his conversation.
"Did you hear me before? But to be quite fair young Sparkle, I can't even trust myself!" Discord said laughing even harder this time, rolling on the floor in laughter. He gets back up and wipes the tears of joy from his eyes, resuming what he previously was saying.
"Where was I… oh that's right! About the answers you searched for till your grave. You see twilight, when I told you that it has 'just begun'; I honestly and full heartedly told you the truth… or did I? I could not grasp your element of magic, it was undiscovered back when I ruled one thousand years ago, I never took the time to perfect it. During that time, I thought to myself how I would rule equestria once again, knowing you suckers would fall for it anyways. Everything was close to perfect, but your element of magic wasn't quite in my grasp and got in my way. I could tell you more if you so desperately want the answers" Discord said while leaning against Twilight's side.
"What choice do I have…?"
"Excellent! Ok back to what I was doing… so, I had you all inside my grip to finish you off before the 2nd stage of development to my plan, but you're a persistent bunch, you ponies just wouldn't give up! I wanted to destroy you before this step so you gals wouldn't have to suffer the 'consequences' of this transformation. Due to your cocky personality, you wouldn't give up without a fight. I knew you all would use the elemental attack; I planned the whole thing myself for 1000 years. After you all passed out, I decided to leave you alone and let fate decide where to go. The 2nd stage was finally ready, as I headed back to my chair. You see why I loved my chair so much? Underneath it is a switch to activate this 2nd step of my plan. The outside was destroyed with harmony, but the important insides were all intact. All my chaos went from fun and joyful, to dark and twisted so I could regain disorder below my fellow subjects. This button causes a chain reaction type wave that spreads across the entire land. The closer the pony was to the center of the wave, the more they changed. Fortunately for you, your element of magic protected you from this shock wave, can't say the same for your friends though. Celestia told you all the ponies were miserable under my rule, but it wasn't from the chaos you saw before. What you're seeing now is all under my 2nd step of complete rule, and your friends are the side effect."
"So… *breathes deeply* what…. Does this have to do with me?" Twilight said, breathing slowly while feeling every one of her heartbeats.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with you twilight, which is the problem completely." Discord said in an unpleasant tone.
"You see twilight; everything that happened to you was none of my doings. This is what I was talking about before, but you never seem to listen. I made a bargain with Applejack to bring you back alive, and in return, she would get everything that her greedy little heart desired. I couldn't do the job myself, so I drove a hard bargain with her, and she took care of the rest. Congrats twilight, you truly are something aren't you?" Discord said as he slowly walked on the cold hard floor.
"Why didn't you just leave me be?" Twilight said in the gapes of her breath.
"I wanted to prove something to you twilight…" Discord then walked over to the wall and flicked a couple of light switches. The entire room became a white scorching blaze, which sizzled down when the light settled in. Twilight was shocked and oddly disturbed at the lack of content in the room.
"You like it? I made it especially for you." The room was a white décor with pictures of every single moment she was inside of discord's twisted rule. Each one was glued cheaply onto the wall with pieces of tape accompanying it. The walls were poorly painted with drips everywhere, matching the lack of anything. The entire room was completely empty; with only Discord, Twilight, and Rarity remaining.
"I knew you liked simple and boring, but I completely forgot you changed from my rule. That tends to happen allot, but let's get back to the subject. Through your entire time here, your only goal was to find the Elements of Disharmony and destroy me at any cost am I right Twilight?" Discord said pointing to all the photos individually.
"…yes…"
"So your mission was to get past your friends, find the elements on your own, and defeat me… I do not see one piece of friendship in that entire context do you?"
"…no…"
"My point exactly Sparkle, The elements of Disharmony were a side effect of the 2nd stage, but I never thought they would be of this use to you. They all connect, but I have never personally used them, the elements never went through this transformation before. Your guess is as good as mine with the elements, but they seem to hold strength only for individual people, which you saw opportunity in. With this whole process, you've not only lost your sanity, but any moral values as well."
"YOU LIAR!" Twilight screamed, picking herself up from the ground and charging towards discord. With the snap of his fingers, he teleported behind twilight and tackled her to the ground.
"Do you think I'm lying? What did you prove to me with an accusation of a crime I never did? It was each of the pony's personal lusts to kill you Twilight, not my own. I hired Rarity and Applejack here to prove just that, do you have anything else to argue on this?" Discord said in a maniacal and cruel tone towards Twilight. Suddenly, she stopped fighting and began to give up. She put her hooves down and ended her struggle against discord.
"Discord… your right… I should have never doubted you…" Twilight said as she put her head completely down in shame.
"You see? How could you ever doubt me? Now because you're such a nice person, I can give you the opportunity of your entire life." Discord pulled out a treaty and quill for Twilight to sign, keeping it close to where she could see it.
"If you sign here, I promise personally that I will bring back all of your friends so you can live your illusion of friendship once again. On your side of the bargain, you will have to completely give in to me and watch me destroy your only salvation of the elements in front of your face." Discord said as he tapped the paper slowly. His dastardly nails from his hawk talon indented the finely made paper, slightly creasing the top paragraph of test.
"Well Sparkle… do we have a deal?" Discord said as he slightly raised his brow at her. The purple mare sat silent and blank, thinking about everything she has done. Twilight thought deeply about every encounter, all the pain and suffering, every last emotion drained from her soulless heart and burned in the pits of hell. Her emotions and passions started to flow in to her hopeless mind. Every adventure, every great time with her friends, all the great laughs and joys she shared with everyone around her. She picked up the quill with her mouth, and closely proceeded to sign. The quill almost touched the paper, but she dragged it away and spat it out. She stood up again with all her passion and emotions pouring back, giving her the will and strength she thought she lost.
"You know what discord? I've been through every torture, every mind numbingly incomprehensible pain with every waking moment of this world being a living nightmare. This world is nothing but a cruel jail, burning in the pits of the lowest lands, where scum like you live. Your far-fetched honesty proves your ignorance as a ruler and a respectable person. Celestia may not be completely honest, but she cares about us enough to know that we don't need to know to be truly happy. What you don't know is that the feeling of others matters more than your own! What may seem like just a false propaganda of friendship and care to you is true and real to us as the days and nights that once cycled this very land. We may be strong by ourselves, but nothing can truly be accomplished on our own! You've only proven how weak and low balling you are to make others do your work, you lazy bottom feeding snake!" Discord stood shocked and anguished! He couldn't feel his muscles moving momentarily, but shifted his attention back to the matter at hand.
"I warned you sparkle!" Discord said as he snapped his fingers and teleported to a fold out control panel. The desk was a polished brass with gray buttons and a chrome finish around the edges. Discord flipped a switch and opened a wall panel full of molten lava. He pulled the elements from his pockets, hanging them over the panel of molten lava.
"Say goodbye to sanctuary you pugnacious rat!" Discord drops the elements, but they didn't fall into the lava. The elements were carried by a white aura, moving over to rarity. She grabbed the elements in her back pocket, which happen to be the other 3 that Discord let her hold.
"You're such a sucker Discord! You honestly thought I would just sit there and let you throw away such fantastic looking jewelry think again!" Rarity screamed, grabbing all 6 of the elements for her own gain.
"What about our deal? I trusted you!" Discord screamed, reaching out to Rarity.
"I never trusted you or your false friendship. You said yourself, never trust anyone else besides yourself, well this is my day to prove that to you once and for all!" Rarity then grabs the elements and begins to put them together piece by piece with her own hooves. Discord ran towards rarity, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Stop you selfish brat! Don't combine them, who knows what will happen!" Discord screams, trying to get to rarity in time. He snaps his fingers, but realizes that the pure power coming from the elements blocks him from teleporting next to her. She begins to put each piece together, limb by limb, making the combined forces of the elements stronger.
"And you're going to look so GOOD on me, you shiny medallions you!" Rarity says to herself joyfully. She puts the last piece on, but then they began to shake abnormally. The whole ground shook, causing all the machinery in the room to rattle. The walls start to peel, the floors start to collapse, and then the elements started to spin rapidly. Sparks and fire surged through the elements, sending bands of multiple colors throughout the room. The elements began to stretch and twist, changing shape abruptly. The sheer spinning force of the elements caused a paradox tear, ripping through the fabrics of matter and destroying rarity in the process. The elements spiraled out of control, imploding on themselves and leaving a black hole. It sucked all matter inside of it, leaving Twilight and discord on a limb. She hung on for dear life, but lost grip and grabbed onto discord's tail.
"Get off of me, I will not die here!" Discord screams, kicking Twilight furiously until she yanked discord's tail hard enough to where he lost his grip as well. Twilight fell into the vortex first, Discord soon after. The two of them are knocked out from the black hole without another sight to be seen. The black hole closed its vague entrance, not revealing a spec of light from inside. Everything turned black, then silent. Pure… dead… silent…