Disclaimer - I don't own The Lorax or My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. All characters are property of Dr Seuss/Illuminations Entertainment or Hasbro

(So here's the last chapter of my first crossover fic~ Sorry this was a little late again ^^' Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and I am still working out that Once-lerxOC fic)

The Game Is Over And I Win

The Once-ler stood speechless in front of what, to anyone else, would seem to be an insignificant circle of stones. But to him, it was all he had left. His business had barely stood for five years, and suddenly it had all come crashing down around him. The trees were gone. The air was thick and black with smog. The river was nothing but schlop and slime. And he was alone. Alone without his family, without the animals, without the Lorax. He remained still, feeling empty and broken. Feeling only regret, guilt, pain. How had it gotten this bad? He really never meant for it to go this far.

The scene played over and over and over again in his mind. The argument with the Lorax. The sudden crack as the last tree fell to the ground. His mother's bitter comments before she drove away, taking his family with her. The sight of the weakened animals leaving their old home. And the sad silence of the Lorax as he shook his head and lifted himself away.

All because of him.

If only he'd paid more attention. If only he'd taken the time to listen to what the Lorax was telling him all this time. If only he never let Discord practically take over his company.

Discord.

The odd man hadn't shown up yet. The Once-ler hadn't seen him since the previous day. Surely he would know what had just happened? Even if he hadn't seen, he always seemed to know what was going on. Had this been his plan all along? To build up this financial empire for him only for it to be snatched from his grip in only a matter of seconds? The Lorax had warned him, too. Just something else he didn't bother to listen to. But how did he do it? Before all of this, he just went along with whatever his mother had suggested. But after he met Discord, something clicked in his brain. Something wrong, something unnatural. The sickening smack of the ax on that last tree had finally brought him out of whatever spell it was that Discord had cast on him. Now, he realized the countless times he had gone wrong. The mistakes he had made. It wouldn't help, he knew it wouldn't, but right now, he wanted nothing more than to face Discord just once more. To demand he take everything he did back. To tear into him and show him the pain he was feeling in that moment.

"Oh, now, what has happened here?"

The Once-ler slowly turned at the sound of that familiar sneer, his expression cold and angry. He moved hesitantly towards his former partner.

"What…" his breath was heavy and uneasy, "What did you do to me? I didn't want any of this!" he gestured across the dying valley, "I never meant for this to happen!"

Discord only smirked at him, his confident demeanor not wavering under the Once-ler's unforgiving glare.

"Oh, come now, my boy, I'm sure you've learned a valuable lesson from all of this. You'll come out of this little experience with newfound wisdom and understanding of the world," he grinned and bowed slightly, "And all thanks to me."

"No!" The Once-ler stood tall before him, rage boiling deep in his chest, "No, you pushed this, you pushed me too far. It's all over now. Everyone I cared about is gone."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Yours!"

Suddenly Discord was looking down at him, forcing him to recoil with only the fierceness in his glare.

"It's yours, you Once-ler!"

And suddenly he was his old self again. His old, weak, innocent self. The young boy who ventured out into the world with nothing but a wagon, a mule, and a completely irrational sense of optimism. Fear struck him like lightening and he cowered away from the monster standing over him.

"You're the one who started all this. You're the one who let your greed get the best of you. If you hadn't opened up to me, I wouldn't have been able to tap into it. That greed was always there, Once-ler. I only brought it into the light."

"But why?" his voice trembled, but he stood his ground, "What could you possibly have to gain from this?"

"The question is, what could you gain? I wasn't lying when I said I was reformed. But there's only so much good you can do when you're the Spirit of Chaos. This is a valuable life lesson for you, Once-ler."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner? You could have stopped me long before it was too late. I-I didn't…"

Discord watched, expressionless, as the Once-ler turned away from him to look around the empty valley.

"I didn't mean for it to go this far…"

Both were quiet for a moment. The Once-ler stayed where he was, taking in the view. His breath was slow and steady as he tried to keep himself from crying. Then a soft sigh came from behind him.

"Neither did I."

He looked back only to find an empty space. Discord was gone and now he truly was all alone in the world. He looked back at the circle of stones and the word carved on the surface – 'UNLESS'. This was all he had left from the Lorax. Only now did he realize that all along, the Lorax was the friend he needed, not Discord. Not even his family. The Lorax had tried to help him. He had wanted to avoid all this. He would have let him continue his work if he had never broken the promise he made. He'd had so many chances to stop it from ending this way. And he missed every single one.

It was his mother's fault…

It was Discord's fault…

No.

No, it was his fault. It really was his fault. He made all the wrong decisions.

But he had learned something from this. If he'd just cared enough to listen from the very beginning, none of this would have happened. He could've fixed it before it was a problem. But there was nothing he could do now. Maybe someday, he would find a way to set things right.

With his head down and his feet dragging, he climbed the stairs back into his office. He had nothing to do now but close down the factory.

And if he ever met someone new again (though he strongly doubted he would), he wouldn't be so quick to trust them.