Ponyville was left in disarray as the Spirit of Chaos lounged on his chair in triumph. Twilight and her friends were now the complete opposite of their true selves and Discord was enjoying a nice glass of chocolate milk. He hummed with delight that his sinister plan for plunging Equestria in chaos was coming along swimmingly, especially since he had dubbed Ponyville the Chaos Capital of his distorted reign.
“Hmm, I believe I shall go for a dip!” Discord chirped as he plopped himself on a cloud of cotton candy and hovered away from the floating buildings that made up the former town.
Celestia and Luna were both helpless to confront Discord since they both had no control over the Elements and had to stay in Canterlot for the citizen’s safety. The only thing they could do was pray that Twilight and her friends could come to their senses and face Discord and put a stop to this madness. The mad spirit soon arrived at the nearby lake, which he had turned the water entirely into chocolate milk, and fancied a swim. However, as he was about to snap his swim trunks on, he spied a peculiar being already at the shores. Discord quirked a brow as he hovered closer to see an elderly fellow wearing strange clothes and hat and had his hands resting on a cane. The old stranger slowly looked up to see Discord and instead of fleeing away in fear like the rest of the ponies, he smiled and gave Discord a friendly wave.
“Good morning,” the old man said.
“Indeed, and a chaotic morning to you!” Discord quipped. He hooped off his cloud and brought his face to eye level with the old man as he stroked his goatee. “Haven’t seen you around, then again, I haven’t seen you around at all!”
“It is nice to meet you, my strange new acquaintance,” the old man greeted with a curt nod. “May I surmise that you are to take credit for all these rather interesting new developments to the scenery?”
“You surmise correct! A glorious sight, is it not? Such wonderful chaos as far as the eye can see. And soon the rest of the world shall be the same!” Discord said excitedly.
“Hmm, yes, well that does seem interesting, but may I ask as to why you would want to do such a thing?” The old man wondered.
“Well, why not? Chaos is so much fun!”
“Perhaps, but what if there was something more enjoyable than this chaos you so crave?”
Discord looked down at the old man as if he was speaking absolute nonsense. “Better than chaos? Ha! Preposterous! Nothing is better than chaos, look around you, it’s all so delightful!”
“You seem to be misunderstanding me, strange one. True, you may have the power to bend anything to your will, make the trees grow large fruit, the clouds pink and edible, but you wouldn’t have the one thing to go with it.”
“And what, pray tell, is that?” Discord rolled his eyes.
“Someone to share it with, of course,” the old man smiled.
“Share? Me share my own chaos?” Discord asked and the old man nodded. “Hmph, and you call me strange.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if there was someone who shared your interests? Enjoying all this precious chaos you seem to hold dear seems a tad lonely, if you’re the only one having fun.”
“But I’m not alone.” Discord snapped his fingers and three copies of himself appeared with wide grins. “I have me, myself, and I.”
“Hmmhmmhmm, a clever joke,” the old man chuckled slightly. “But I’m afraid that is not what I was talking about.”
“Why would I care who I do or don’t share my chaos with? This is who I am after all. Discord! The Lord of Chaos! And now, returning Emperor of Equestria!”
“It still sounds quite lonely,” the old man sighed. “Sometimes a friend can help fill that void to make the things in life more enjoyable.”
“Oh for chaos sake, you too?” Discord groaned. “All I’ve heard about from Celestia and her little student is the magic of friendship, it’s so boring to listen to.”
“Perhaps you say such things because you yourself have never had a friend?” The old man calmly accused, making Discord pause for once. “I once had a friend, long ago where I’m from. I grew up with my friend for many years, until we were both drafted to fight in a war. Times were difficult during all the conflict, and we were called among countless others to fight for our home. My friend was the one who helped me get through most of what had to be endured before we were sent off to the battlefield. While the rest of us soldiers could not bear the thought that we might lose our lives the moment our boots hit the sand, my friend always made sure to keep our spirits up the entire time. He made jokes, sang songs, and made sure that our moods were always in the right place. Even during our training, he’d always get back up no matter what. He was tough like that, and we all knew it.” The old man looked down at his hands and sighed with a sad smile. “But…I suppose nothing lasts forever, even for a spirited young man like him.”
“What happened, if I may ask?” Discord asked, not realizing he had sat himself down in front of the old man.
“My platoon and I fought with everything we had in order to keep the enemy from destroying a bridge. They almost succeeded, had it not been for my friend who managed to snatch the explosives and saved the bridge. Fate, unfortunately, had other plans for my friend as a stray bullet pierced his heart. I had to watch him fall to the ground…and not get back up again. Just like that, I lost a dear friend.”
Discord felt surprisingly disheartened after the old man shared his sad story. To have such a close bond with someone, only for it to end out of the blue in an instant. His ears slowly drooped as he looked to the chaos he had conjured up all around and a frown stretched his lips downward.
“You are a special individual, strange one, it is obvious you can perform many interesting feats with your power. You say that spreading chaos is the best thing for you, but is it truly? I’m sure if you made a friend or two, and perhaps use your gifts the proper way, you would be able to make a great many new friends. Friends who could learn to appreciate chaos in more subtle forms.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Discord shook his head then looked off in the distance. “I could have all the friends I could ever want if I chose to with a snap of my fingers. But then they wouldn’t truly be my friend, would they? Even if I did undo all that I have done, who would want to be friends with a mad spirit of chaos such as I?”
“Well, maybe I can be your first friend?” The old man offered.
“You? Be my friend?” Discord asked, shocked at the old man’s offer.
“I don’t see why not? You don’t seem all bad, and it felt nice to share a little about myself after so long. Besides, you could have easily paid me no mind and continued on with your spread of chaos, but you stayed. I’m sure my friend would also agree with me when I say that being your friend would be a good alternative for you.”
“But your friend…isn’t here anymore,” Discord tried to say. “What if I were to make friends of my own and they somehow end up gone?
“Oh my new strange friend,” the old man chuckled as he stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. Just as my late friend has on my old heart, and so will any friends you choose to open yours up to.”
Discord gazed into the old man’s eyes for several moments until he patted his shoulder and turned to walk away.
“You’re leaving already?” Discord asked.
“For now, do not fret,” the old man said as he paced away with with a tap of his cane. “You and I are friends now, Discord, so no matter where I may wonder, we’ll always have our newfound bond etched into our hearts forever.” The old man glanced over his shoulder and smiled warmly at the spirit of chaos. “Now it is time for you to share your own friendship. One day, we will meet again, and I look forward to hearing all the wonderful experiences you will share with your friends.”
Discord watched in silence as the old man paced away. He wanted to go after him and beg him to stay, until he heard some sort of commotion from within the town that made him turn his head. When he went to look back where the old man headed, he was gone, nowhere to be seen.
“Wait, so that’s it?” Twilight asked as Discord stood there in front of the mares. “You don’t want to spread chaos anymore?”
“No, I am over such meaninglessness. What good is chaos anyway if I have nopony to share it with?” Discord said.
“But we don’t want any more chaos!” Rainbow Dash snapped.
“I understand,” Discord sighed as he snapped his fingers and everything was put back to normal. “There, all better.”
The mares were all baffled at the sudden change of heart from the spirit of chaos. One minute he was boasting about spreading his chaos to the farthest reaches of the world, and now he acts as though he regrets ever wanting to go through with it.
“This…this has to be some kind of trick!” Twilight stamped her hoof. “Or maybe an illusion? Using magic as a form of reverse psychology? Well it won’t work! Because friendship is worth fighting for, Discord!”
“I agree,” Discord nodded, shocking them all again. “I see now that it was wrong of me to do something so deplorable as making you all into something that you’re not. I should also not have attempted to plunge the world in chaos. The real reason why I did all of this…is because I felt quite lonely that I didn’t have anypony by my side.”
“Lonely?” Fluttershy wondered.
“What do ya mean lonely?” Applejack questioned.
“It is as I said, I lacked what you all have, a strong bond of friendship that did not waver in the end despite my twisted words and manipulation. It just goes to show you that Celestia was right in the end.” Discord rubbed his arm with a guilty frown. “So once again, I apologize for all the trouble I have caused you poor ponies,” Discord shook his head as he turned to leave. “I shall be turning myself in to Celestia and Luna now, so those Elements of yours are unnecessary.” He glanced over his shoulder to the still baffled mares. “Perhaps one day we can try and start over, maybe with a cup of tea and mini cucumber sandwiches?”
Before Discord spread his wings to take flight towards the royal capital, he snapped his fingers and a pink cloud of cotton candy appeared beside Pinkie Pie, making the party mare squeal and jump on it as she began to chow down on the fluffy goodness. A smile soon graced his lips as he flapped his wings and took off into the air. Discord continued to smile to himself at the thought of the old man he met.
“I hope to make you proud when next we meet, my new friend.” The mad spirit just kept on smiling to himself, content that he was able to receive something that he believed would be impossible to obtain.