//------------------------------//
// World 5: Chapter 6 
// Story: The Worst of All Possible Worlds 
// by TheTimeSword 
//------------------------------//

A thousand sounds were ringing off within earshot. The lobby, if a single desk facing the entrance could be considered a lobby, led out into a very large gaming den. Slot machines were screaming, releasing bouts of tickets. Games where you hucked balls into holes or hoops were shouting words of encouragement. Arcade machines were pinging and ponging with bright sparkly lights. The overhead speaker system, which normally would have played music, was replaced with numbing white noise.

Stepping down a few short steps into the chaos of lights and sounds, passing the stoic ponnequins, Sunset mired over the plethora of fun activities. A few card tables sat cold in the middle of the very large room where the lifeless copies sat waiting for her to play. She could see a second floor as well which spanned around the casino looking down on the games below, more ponnequins were up here as well. In the center, above the card tables, hung a pristine chandelier. Everything was perfect aside from the eerie dummies. “I dislike this,” Luna mumbled.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” screamed a voice over the shrilling explosion of one slot machine.

“Someone is unfrozen from time,” stated Celestia, motioning to the voice’s direction. 

Sunset ducked close to the ground, putting herself against a card table. “Shh,” she ordered the sisters, knowing full well it might be Rainbow Dash. Leaning around the side, she glanced over the slot machines that stood in rows beneath the stairs that led up to the second floor. Only ponnequins could be seen from her position, their beady, drawn eyes staring at her. Daring to find out who it was, Sunset moved up, slinking against the slot machines’ counters. Eyeing each row she came to, it wasn’t until she reached the final line that she found the mysterious voice. “You?”

“’Ey toots. How you doin’?”

Surrounded by ponnequins with happy smiles that appeared to be cheering him on, the large rat hooted and hollered. Piles of tickets were springing into the rat’s unkempt lap, the machine ringing out his prize like it was going out of style. “How are you even here? How’d you get past the time magic?” Sunset spat her angered questions as she came closer. His dirty claws reached up to his oversized sunglasses, which he was wearing inside for some unknown reason, and pulled them down to show off his bloodshot eyes. That, of course, made Sunset halt her march toward him.

“Who is this, Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia asked, both sisters confused by the presence of such an off-putting looking creature.

“Well, would you look at that. You got yourself some talkin’ balloons. Yet you care about time magic? Hah! What a crazy gal. You think I give two bits about some lousy pony magic? Yeah, next you’re going to ask me if I’ve seen a blue pegasus.”

“Have you seen a blue pegasus named Rainbow—” Sunset stopped herself. “You lousy little…”

“’Ey, ‘ey! Princess. Come on now. Lighten up. You only live once. Here—have a spin on me.” Lifting a bit to the air, his grimy little claws were wrapped around the golden coin. 

While the two sisters physically revulsed, Sunset replied, “I don’t want to play. I’m looking for Rainbow Dash.”

“Suit yourself. There’s a whole fountain full of coins. Plenty of games to be had with ‘em too.” The rat pulled his claw back and stuffed the coin into his fur. “You’d be surprised what you can find if you look hard enough.” Swirling the stool, his tail swinging like a limp hose, the rat hopped down and landed on his back legs. Like Discord, the strange animal wobbled bipedal instead of settling for four limbs of transport. Its tail slunk behind it like an overweight dog being dragged by a leash.

“Hey, wait. Have you seen Rainbow Dash? I think she’s the one that’s caused all the problems in this city.”

The rat shot a look over its shoulder, its eyes barely topping the sunglasses. “The only problem in this city is you and me. Neither of us are meant to be this way. Besides, what’s she done to earn your wrath?”

“You’re not the one who was attacked by her big metal minion,” she snottily remarked.

Shrugging, the rat said, “Don’t listen to me then. Suit yourself.” He then waddled away with his tickets in claw. 

“That was rather odd,” Luna and Celestia said in unison.

Sunset watched as he disappeared around a row of slot machines, to which she then followed after him only to discover he vanished. “What a jerk. The only problem in this city is you and me,” she scornfully mocked. “Ugh. I feel like I need a shower now.” She shrugged off what the rat said, continuing back into the card table area. The ponnequins’ eyes followed her as she walked, though they did not move. Her brows closed together as she observed the rest of the games area, hoping to find some semblance of Rainbow Dash other than the creepy models she manipulated.

It was then she realized that the dummies would lead her to Dash rather than turn her away. She wants me to find her. She likes this little game of hers, she thinks herself another Discord. Her nose wrinkled sneeringly like a rabbit’s after tasting something bitter. Looking around, she eventually noted that a set of four ponnequins blocked the entrance to the stairs leading up to the second level. Glancing at the separate floor, she studied to see if anything might be out of the ordinary. To her surprise, a veneer of translucent satin floated waveringly on the second floor—as if someone or something had just passed by it. 

Taking a step and then launching herself, Sunset flapped to the rails and pulled herself over. Her back still hurt and her wings were bruised, but she made it past the struggle. The pinkness of the translucent veneer turned dark when it combined with the deep blue coloring of the room it guarded. It was a lesser room with a bulky metal door not meant to hold more than three ponies, yet it held four of the white dummies Dash used to scare them.

Pushing the veneer out of the way, Sunset stepped into the blue room and passed the ponnequins with ease. The static sounds overhead were lessened, a twain echoed from the rubber seals around the metal. Pressing an ear to the frame, she heard the sounds of drums too, their rhythmical beat a welcome change. Sunset grabbed the latch and pushed, opening the hunk of metal slowly as to not make a sound. 

It led into a stairwell, going both up and down. The guitar rifted above, while the drums thumped below. 

With a look down between the rails, Sunset learned they did not go down just one level. Instead, it went into a darkness where she could not see beyond. “Which way should we go?” she questioned the two sisters, echoing the question into the abyss. Both of the sisters suggested going down. Though Sunset wanted to go up, she had asked them for their opinion and felt that ignoring their suggestion would be incredibly rude. 

Unfortunately, down proved impassable as she found the lower levels had become filled in a pool of water. “Unless they can swim and see in gross greywater, I don’t think anyone will be coming through here,” she noted, but the drumbeat below was an enigma in and of itself.

“That thumping sounds out of place,” commented Celestia.

Luna replied, “I can’t hear it over that strumming from above. It seems up had been the correct choice.”

Smiling to herself, knowing she had been right, Sunset turned to head back up the steps. That was when the sour tune grew louder. Uncharacteristic of any song, it was as if the drummer was purposefully playing out of tune, a complete lack of cymbals made it extraordinarily off-putting. Sunset had heard the beat before. Is that even a drum? she asked herself, waiting patiently for a change of tempo. But it wasn’t getting faster, only louder.

Celestia must have realized it long before Luna or Sunset, as her words flustered to say, “S-Sunset! Time to go! That’s not what we think it is!”

Sunset’s mouth fell open when she saw the tips of horn prod up from the water. The water itself did not ripple or even move—it was like pudding, moving out of the way in blobs for the big metal body. “You can’t be serious!” Sunset didn’t wait to see the brute manifest out of the water, choosing to rush back up the steps. As she reached the metal door she had entered from, the sounds of a clunky, wet, heavy hoof hitting the cement rang out from below. 

Pulling on the door handle, the latch was now locked. “Rainbow Dash!” she yelled, slamming both hooves on the metal. “This isn’t funny!” As she screamed for the terrible blue pegasus, the heavy metal creature made its way up to the steps of her level. 

“That thing is exuberantly fast when it wants to be!” Luna screamed as Sunset tore up the steps to the higher floors. “Faster, Sunset! It will catch us!”

Sunset made the mistake of looking over her shoulder only to see the metallic monster prodding up the steps with a quick pace. It used its pole as a cane, hoisting itself like a mountain goat up two steps at a time.

Slamming into the roof’s entrance, Sunset immediately slated the door behind her. With her magic, she locked the door on the other side and broke its latch. “Rainbow Dash!” she heard the younger sister call.

The blue pegasus in question was lounging happily on a beach chair, her hooves strumming an electric guitar. “You made it! Took you long enough. How’d you like Las Rainbow? Really is an amusement park, ain’t it?”

“I’m done playing games, Dash.”

“Oh, this is no game. Not anymore. You’ve got the princesses, your backpack—wait, you didn’t defeat that thing?” Rainbow Dash’s mouth fell wide before turning cynical. “You’re kind of pathetic, aren’t you?”

A swift clunk hit the door.

Sunset ignored it. “Why do all this? What’s the point?”

“Why, you ask? I wanted to show you how fast I can do things, to make changes and deteriorate the world.” Rainbow Dash sat up, setting the guitar at the side of the chair. Before it even touched the ground, the strings broke and the frame rotted. “And, like I already told you, you’re going to be the first to see my speed.”

“I’ve seen your speed first hoof and I’m sick of it. Why me? Why have me witness it? What’s the point?”

Rainbow Dash moved as slow as she could, rising up from the chair like a sloth moving between branches. “I love performing,” she began to monologue, “I wanted to be a Wonderbolt when I was a filly. Now, in this world of chaos, I can be more than just a Wonderbolt.” With the quickness of Discord himself, Rainbow Dash blinked in and out of existence, transforming into a Wonderbolt costume. The rubber legs had been cut in such a way to display her gaudy gem-coated legs. “Now, I can be the Wonderbolt. I can make every pony here look at me, they’re all forced to watch till the end of time. And now that you’re here, a pony who is unaffected by the world I’ve created, you will be the first to truly witness my act. The others—they were a part of it, they didn’t get to see what had turned them all into my frozen toys.” 

With lightning-fast speed, Sunset watched as Rainbow Dash disappeared into the night sky, far above the fog that remained within the city. “What is she doing?” Celestia asked though Sunset had no answer. Having only read the term within her correspondence to Princess Twilight, Sunset did not recognize Rainbow Dash’s brilliant display of speed; a sonic rainboom. But this was not the same sort of talent her Equestria’s Rainbow Dash had developed. In a world vigorous with chaotic energies, this Rainbow Dash had gone past the level that a normal sonic rainboom would require. 

The glorious melting of rainbow colors within the sky froze Sunset in awe and respect. The fog that surrounded the city vanished in an instant. When Rainbow Dash returned from the display, Sunset wanted to ask what the beautiful showing was meant to do. Her lips had other ideas, however. Mouthing the words, the syllables came in a slow drawl. Had it not been for the time ward she cast on herself, Sunset never would have noticed it. “Yes! It worked!” Rainbow Dash bellowed, pounding on her chest and wrinkling her suit. “You’re the first! The first from the outside world! From outside Las Rainbow! Now I know everyone will succumb to my speed! Even Discord himself!”

Mentally, Sunset knew right away what happened. Physically, it took her a full minute to gasp.

Moving with the speed of a slug, Sunset looked back at the balloons on her back. Both the sisters had succumbed to the strange sort of magic Rainbow Dash developed, their faces contorting from confusion to understanding. In Sunset’s ear, Celestia spoke the words of wisdom that Sunset needed. Had she not used her lifeline to bring the two mares with her, she never would have remembered. “Use the time ward again,” Celestia said, each word piercing Sunset’s ear every half-minute. 

Without waste, Sunset stood still and began casting the warding magic, hoping her old mentor was right in suggesting so. As she focused on her spell, the brutish beast of steel tore down the metal door like a rampaging bull, proving he was unaffected by the slowing of time. Rainbow Dash and her maniacal laughter was put on hold. “Oh, look who it is. Discord’s beast,” Rainbow Dash growled. “Chasing around a princess because you can’t find me? How pathetic.”

Discord’s beast? Sunset grimaced, though the expression wouldn’t show until a few seconds later. If Discord sent that beast in, then that would explain why it’s unaffected by Rainbow Dash. He did say he sent a plaything into the fog. Why’s it been attacking me, though? She remained focused on casting her spell, though the act was far from easy.

“I guess my speed still can’t pierce your armor.” With a breakneck pace, Rainbow Dash ran circles around the metal giant. The creature slammed its iron pole in every direction, the ties sailing through the air. “Even if you can’t be slowed, you still can’t catch me either. Which means Discord won’t be able to catch me. It’s time to try my power against the big snake himself.”

While the pegasus laughingly dueled the metal beast, Sunset finished with her spell. It did not affect her right away. Even her horn had yet to light up with the radiance that accompanied magic, though her mind already released the necessary invocation. She had no other option but to watch the blue pegasus poke fun at the angry beast. Keeping him at hoof distance, Rainbow Dash seemed unfazed and unworried about the creature’s advances, it was nothing more than a small cat against a very large mouse. 

The pegasus kicked and bucked the silver minotaur to the edge of the roof, laughing all the while at the way it moved and stunted its attacks. The blue mare was so caught up in her taunt that she failed to notice the spell activate. “You did it Sunset!” were the first words echoed once the ward did its business, relinquishing the balloons and Sunset from the slowed motion of Dash’s speed.

“What!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, taking her eyes off the metal minotaur. “My speed, it should have slowed you! No one can overcome it! No one has ever overcome it!”

Sunset stared Rainbow Dash directly in the eyes. “You called me the first, Dash. Well, first time for everything.”

With a massive groan, Rainbow Dash started to insult the alicorn only to be cut off mid-sentence by a hard whack from the metal beast’s pole. Grinding against the cement roof, the large monster kept the pegasus from moving. “Get off me!” screamed Rainbow Dash, her hooves trembling as she tried to rise. 

“A taste of your own medicine,” Sunset jeered as she watched.

“Look at how the pole is held,” Luna remarked with a cheeky smirk. The iron pole crushed against Rainbow Dash’s right wing at a degree that pressed her left into the roof’s floor.

Celestia’s face lit up with glee. “I see it. Without her wings, her speed is nonexistent.” 

Sunset trotted to the pegasus, lifting the backpack off the metal pole. Shrugging it over her shoulders, she stared down at the angry mare. “You’re just like Pinkie Pie. Even if I tried to convince you to help me, you’d just lie and feign your way until you could escape, or hit me at my lowest point. I’m going to have to chain you down so you can’t get away.”

“Why not help me, instead!? You… You could be my assistant! You’ve proven you can break my speed, you could teach me how to better use it! We could take on Discord, together! We could take his little pet down, too!”

The metal beast did not move. It had its prey and wasn’t going to let go. Sent by Discord, huh? Just like me. Why’s he trying to round up the bearers? How long has he been trying to round up this bearer? I bet the latter is the more important question. She scowled at the metal armor of the creature. “Rainbow Dash.”

“What?”

“You’re the Element of Loyalty, yet there was nothing funny about Pinkie Pie. She was serious. So serious it hurt.”

“I don’t get it. Who’s Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash asked, still struggling beneath the pole’s weight.

“Pinkie Pie is the Element of Laughter.”

Rainbow Dash understood. It was written all over her face. “If you don’t help me, I swear I’ll hunt you down. I’ll freeze you and make you into the ugliest statue I’ve ever had the pleasure of dressing up. And when I’m done with you, I’ll drop you in the ocean, just so you can be weighted down for all eternity! You’ll never fly again once I’m done with you!”

Frowning, Sunset acknowledged the truth of the words. With a concentrated laser, she began to cut a strip within the steel, circling around the helm until it made a complete wrap. “Sunset, you can’t be serious!” cried Celestia. “Helping her? She’s clearly lying! There’s no way you can ever trust her.”

“I’m not trusting her. I’m doing the opposite.” The laser sliced off the helm and sent it sailing to the ground. To her surprise, and perhaps Rainbow Dash’s too, the metal creature had no head. Instead, a plethora of tiny, adorable white kittens burst out from the neck hole like lava coasting down a volcano’s mountain. “Kittens? That’s what he put in there!?” Rainbow Dash groaned and groveled.

This was definitely one of Discord’s creations. How did this thing even move? As the kittens wandered in different directions, Sunset took the helm and melted it into a flat scrap of metal. Much like she'd done to Pinkie Pie, Sunset wrapped Rainbow Dash’s wings, tapering off her ability to create the speed she so much desired.

Kicking over the empty shell of the fake minotaur, the pole fell to the ground. “Looks like I have no choice but to concede,” Rainbow Dash said as she struggled to get up, the weight of the metal looked to be a bit much for the hard mare.

“Discord wanted me to capture you so that he can haul you into a cage. Why? I don’t know yet. But if it means stopping you from terrorizing more of the world, so be it. You’re finished, Rainbow Dash,” Sunset scolded the blue pegasus.

“You’d rather help him than me? You princesses sure stick together. Those two on your back have failed us, but you’re still trying to stop him, right? You’re trying to win his little game? If you stop him, all of this will be over. Everything will go back to normal. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Isn’t that what you want, too?” Sunset asked.

A devious grin crossed from cheek to cheek, shadowing the pegasus’s bottom jaw. “This world was meant for someone like me. A performer, a prankster, a speed demon. I love it. Honing my speed, my craft, to the point where not even Discord can stop me, that’s what I want.” Her body shook as she spoke, indicating a thrill from just talking about herself.

Sunset felt sick. First Pinkie Pie, now Rainbow Dash. All of them will be villains. I can see it now. Curse you Discord! Your sick game is only meant to force me to see the worst of my friends. That’s why you were so lenient, that’s why you’ve been so helpful. You want me to give up on helping them. “Discord!” The draconequus’s name burst from her lips, calling for him like a rowdy dog. “I have Rainbow Dash, come pick us up!”

On cue, the chaos king slithered from just out of sight into her cone of vision. “You managed to capture Rainbow Dash, have you?” he asked, his toothy grin seemed more mockingly arrogant than usual.

“Yeah, and I’ll get the others too. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Sunset barked.

“No, that is what you want, if you intend to win the game. Of course, now you have two.”

“Discord… You cretin,” Rainbow Dash growled at the draconequus. “You only enter my domain when you know I can’t trap you.”

But the skulking trickster only laughed. “My, oh, my. If that is what you think, you are slower than the credit I gave you.” With a quick jab through the air, the draconequus plucked the strings off Sunset’s back. “And you two have made it safely through this nightmarish landscape. How fortunate.”

“It was a nice reprieve from being a clown,” Celestia barked at the spirit of chaos.

“Tired of clowning around?” he scoffed. “I am certain I can find another craft for you.” He then turned back to Sunset. “Time for your end round prize!” With a crack of his knuckles and a snap of his fingers, the roof fell apart. 

Sunset blinked and the grey lifted, bringing tears to her eyes as the world turned colorful. Night had come for Equestria, but Discord’s little haven was just as bright as always. Sunset noted the similarity between Las Discord and Ponyville, and she knew Rainbow Dash would never have been a match for the master of chaos. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?” she asked him. “Where’s Celestia and Luna?”

“Were they any help?” he responded with his own question. Another birdcage now floated beside Pinkie Pie’s, though this one held a much faster bird. Of course, it was too small for the blue pegasus to gain any amount of speed that would have benefited her. “Do not worry about them. As if I would let my most precious balloons deflate.” He let out a quick little chuckle. “Want to spin the cage again? It is prize time!”

“I know why you’re doing this, Discord. You want me to capture all the bearers because you can’t.”

For the first time, the draconequus remained silent. Leaning on the crystal table, he crossed his arms and tapped his cheek. “Is that what I am doing? No. No, I do not think that is it.” He hummed to himself and played with his upper lip. “To say that I cannot capture the bearers is so ridiculous that not even my own chaotic personality likes it. Surely you know that, but you are always so focused on yourself.”

Anger flushed Sunset’s cheeks. “That’s the second time you’ve said that. I told you my past in confidence—that does not give you the right to call me egocentric.”

Ignoring the rage, a bingo cage appeared out of nowhere next to the draconequus. “Time to spin! Let us see what number we get next!” Grabbing the handle with his tail, Discord spun and spun, letting the alicorn grow increasingly angry with every twirl. When he finally stopped, he pulled the latch open and covered his eyes. “Lookie, lookie! This is the world you want, is it not? The one you grew so much in.”

Sunset did not see the number on the ball but she knew exactly what world he meant as soon as she saw the televisions blur into the space around her. “Community,” she mouthed, staring up at the dark stallion.

“Not much of a community anymore, is it?” 

“No. It isn’t,” Sunset replied, hanging her head.

“What happened after you left, I wonder.” The dark hallway lit up as the channels changed on all the TVs to the same station, a disturbing war between those who were under Sombra’s control and those who were not. “Ironic, no?” His claws ran across one of the screens. “The ones who fight so hard to stop this evil stallion are the same ones who fought so hard against your mentor.”

Sunset could barely stand to watch. Changelings and dragons charged against brainwashed ponies who, unlike the first world, did not wear helmets. The villainous king had more than enough magic to control the minds of ponies without the need of headgear, all thanks to Sunset Shimmer. “Tirek…” Her eyes fluttered over a close up of the centaur bonded in chains on a platform next to Celestia, Luna, and several more whom she knew. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“You are always focusing on what you do instead of how you do it.”

Rewinding, the draconequus turned back to the events that played out during Sunset’s time in the strange world. A myriad of failures displayed like a high school presentation: Her immediate decision to give up on finding the bearers after she discovered Twilight Sparkle had left Equestria. Her refusal to press for the Elements of Harmony to be restored to their former glory after discovering it was Tirek who drained them. Was he sincere in saying that he went to Canterlot not to drain the princesses magic? Sunset believed him, and whether he was sincere or not, that was her biggest failure of all. Believing those who had not earned her trust.

“You think you are the only one to not trust me, Sunset?” the Tirek said with a forced laugh pouring through the speakers.

“Shame, is it not?” Discord asked. “If you had not trusted him, perhaps you could have changed the future. If you had been less focused on yourself, you could have changed your future.”

“Discord… I don’t understand.”

“You do not understand? Always about you…”

“No!” Sunset stomped on both forelegs. “It’s not! Do you really believe I’m so focused on myself that I can’t see other people? That I can’t see what is happening right in front of me? I’m not like that!”

Discord looked perplexed. “Really? Could have fooled me. Maybe we should take a look…” He disappeared into the darkness of the hall just as the TVs changed, each displaying various happenings. Sunset couldn’t help but look at them. 

One showed her stealing Princess Twilight’s crown. The televisions around it continued the tale with Sunset cornering Fluttershy, enlisting Snips and Snails, and her eventual transformation into the red demon she so often wanted to forget. As she became enraptured with the screens, one set of speakers came on. “But all I've ever done since being here is drive everyone apart. I don't know the first thing about friendship.”

Backing away, Sunset bumped into a second set of televisions displaying another tale. This one of sirens. From holding her knees to her head and whimpering to her friends, to volunteering to show new students around, and eventually discussing her time as Princess Celestia’s student, each TV focused on Sunset. And just like the last set of televisions, one came on with her own voice from the past. “I was just using him to become more popular. Ugh! The old me really was just awful, wasn't she?”

“Discord! Stop this!” Sunset shouted to the darkness.

But it was not Discord who answered. Instead, more TVs displayed moments in Sunset’s life, this one far more recent. “Magic came into this world when I stole Twilight's crown. It's taken a lot for me to earn everyone's trust. If we have to forfeit the games because I can't think of a way to keep it under control...”

A different voice followed: “Oh, Sunset, I'm sure you'll be able to figure things out.”

Then another: “You're the one who helped us understand what was goin' on with the sirens. Remember?”

Sunset’s past voice then said, “I guess. But Twilight was the one who really figured out what we needed to defeat them.”

“Discord, stop this,” Sunset commanded, not wanting to hear the next part.

But she was forced to hear anyway: “But don't you remember, darling? What we needed to defeat them was you.”

“Stop it, Discord! Stop it! Stop it!” Sunset covered her ears.

All the televisions then changed to a rooftop, a red and yellow-haired girl stood atop, staring at the sun. “It seems you have a natural obsession with yourself, even to the point where when you are reformed, you still focus on you.” With Sunset raising her arms to the sky, the televisions stopped. Discord then appeared, wrapping around the still figure. “My past, my past. Oh, woe is my past. In the end, you still focus on you. Always about you...”

A screech echoed from the speakers, turning the televisions into a static, jumbled mess. Even through the white noise, a strangled voice could be heard saying, “Let me show you there's another way... just like someone once did for me.” When the voice ended, so did the televisions. The hall became a black, endless void.

“So, Sunset,” Discord returned from the darkness. “What will it be? Stay and continue my game? Or would you prefer to go back to that wholesome world you corrupted?” 

“No! I choose to stay! I want to stay!” Sunset screamed up at him as tears ran down her face.

His face relaxed into a small, apathetic smile. “You want to stay? But what about the atrocities from that previous world? You know they will lose without you, right? That evil King Sombra will rule for a thousand years if you are not there to stop him!”

“I… I… I don’t…” Her head hung for a moment as she tried to determine how she felt. Anger was surging through her, but there was no release. The words finally came to her. “I don’t know.” 

The televisions, the darkness, and the hall itself dissipated into the light. The crystal table and cages returned, along with the strange, chaotic world around them. As Sunset sat bowlegged, her face staring at the ground, Discord stood above her expressionless. Eventually, the draconequus lifted his eagle claw and set it on the alicorn’s head, patting the matted hair. “You do not know. You have been through four worlds, and you still have no idea why.” His words sounded sincere, but Sunset could not bear to look at him. Her eyes resigned to stare at the cold earth beneath her. 

“Discord... I…”

But Discord cut her off. “I would suggest heading for the Element of Honesty next, as she is the closest. I believe you will have no trouble reaching her with your newly added wings.”

Sunset sat still for a long while, knowing that the draconequus had disappeared to wherever he went when he was not around. She eventually lifted her head to look at the cages, though she was only looking through them. There was no limit of words that could describe how she felt. The confusion fluttered her stomach, thrashing about. The shame that shook her knees, keeping her close to the ground. The frustration pounding at her head, aching her temples. Or perhaps the remorse that clogged her throat, making it difficult to breathe. Nevertheless, it did not matter. She didn’t care about the lesson Discord was trying to pass on her, she didn’t care about the game he was playing.

She only cared about how she felt, and that made her feel truly sick. To know that she was still selfish. 

To know Discord was right.