Wafer-thin pages rustled wildly in the stiff morning breeze before a purple hoof was slammed down upon them, stopping the noise and pinning open a random page. The hoof belonged to a unicorn, her magenta eyes staring down at the incomprehensible writing covering the page. Her eyes bored into the page as if by the act of staring at it hard enough she could force the words to give up the secrets they held. But the book refused to give up its hidden knowledge despite the mare's best efforts, just like the last dozens of times she had tried to comprehend the illegible squiggles.
Twilight Sparkle let out a grunt of frustrated exasperation as she slammed the book shut. The answers had to be in here. They just had to! She had to know the truth!
Her horn glowed momentarily as she focused on the book before a twinge of pain shot through her eyeballs. The glow around her horn vanished as she quickly shut off the magic flow. “Right,” she muttered to herself, rubbing her aching horn.
“Still hurts?”
Twilight’s hoof dropped at the sound of the voice coming from behind her. She had slipped up; she hadn’t wanted the owner of the voice to know that her horn was still bugging her. It wasn’t that she disliked the pony behind her, it was just that... okay, yeah. She disliked her.
“It’s fine,” Twilight replied curtly without turning around, hoping the pony behind her would take the hint and leave. She didn’t like exposing her back to the other mare, but she didn’t trust herself not to attack the mare behind her if she had to look at her. Everything about the other mare annoyed her. It saddened Twilight to think that it hadn’t always been this way between them. The other mare spoke up, cutting into Twilight’s pondering.
“I keep telling you to let me help.”
“And I keep telling you, no.” Twilight looked up, still refusing to turn and look at the other pony. Her gaze wandered until it locked onto a blur of colour on one of the walls of the crystalline buildings surrounding them. Even just seeing the reflection of the pony behind her was enough to irritate her. She felt her teeth grit, enamel scraping against enamel as her jaw locked. With a herculean effort, she managed to unclench her jaw and finish what she had been saying. “This is something I have to do on my own.”
The other mare was silent for a moment before she spoke up, her voice dripping with scorn. “You can’t really think you can trust him, can you? Surely even you couldn’t be that foalish.”
“I don’t recall asking for your opinion,” Twilight spat. She glared at the reflection on the wall. Even if she couldn’t actually see the details of the pony behind her in the reflection, she could imagine them so well in her mind’s eye. No doubt the other’s expression was twisted in anger tinged by the knowledge that there was nothing she could do to Twilight. The reflection moved slightly as the other pony’s mouth opened to express her rebuttal, but Twilight spoke up quickly to cut her off.
“But since it seems to matter oh-so much to you; no, I don’t trust him. He’s the reason we’re in this entire situation in the first place.” Her voice positively dripped with sarcasm. She didn’t like admitting any weakness to the mare behind her, but there was no reason to lie. “But it’s a fact that we don’t have any other leads.”
“Hmph, I suppose not.” Twilight watched as the reflection moved slightly, the other pony lifting one hoof to rub at her neck. “I just wish that we could actually be doing something useful. We should be focusing on getting back to Equestria, not wasting time trying to understand useless books.”
“You’re welcome to leave at any time.” Twilight laughed cruelly, now actively trying to provoke the other mare. “Actually, that sounds like a wonderful idea. You should leave. Right now, in fact.” She heard the other mare stomp a hoof and smiled, knowing that her sally had struck home.
“You know perfectly well why I cannot leave you, Twilight Sparkle.” The mare was silent for a few wonderful seconds, but all good things must come to an end. When she spoke again, her voice was filled with smug malice. “It’s for the exact same reason that none of your friends are here with you now.”
Twilight froze. A low growl started from deep in her throat as she began to turn towards the other mare. A cruel dark glow surrounded her horn, the normally purple light tainted with blackness darker than the darkest night and crueler than anything most ponies were even capable of imagining. At the last moment before she saw the other mare, when she would be unable to prevent herself from doing something unforgivable, she tore her head away and banished the darkness.
“That’s off limits, Trixie.” Her voice was cold and dangerous when she spoke, making it clear just how close she had come to losing control. She heard hoofsteps from behind her as the showpony turned to leave. The hoofsteps stopped as Trixie prepared to make her last statement, her squeaky voice seeming to rub itself against Twilight’s brain in all the wrong ways.
“Very well. If you’re so certain that you have to do this alone, then work fast, Twilight Sparkle. I do not know how much longer I will be able to resist trying to kill you.”
Twilight remained unmoving as the sound of the hoofsteps on the cobbles slowly faded, exhaling in relief when silence returned. Other than Trixie, everypony in the city would go well out of their way to avoid running into Twilight. She cracked her neck, her thoughts on the last thing the mare had said. Twilight knew it wasn’t Trixie’s fault she felt like this, just like she knew it wasn’t Trixie's fault that Twilight felt the same way about her.
“I’m sorry, Trixie...”
So long as they were both cursed like this, Twilight couldn’t afford to allow Trixie near her. There was always the easy option that Trixie had suggested at the start, but... she shuddered at the thought. No. That was the one thing she couldn’t do.
Her gaze dropped down to the closed book on the ground in front of her as the cold wind whipped away her words. Reaching forward with one hoof, she cracked open the book. She knew it was probably a dead end, but she still had to know what it said. She had to translate it. Maybe it would answer her questions, tell her what she needed to know.
How had everything gone so wrong?
What could she have done differently?
How could she have saved Equestria?
History is something that has ebbs and flows, moving in predictable patterns much like the tides of the mighty oceans covering the world. Just as all things have an ending, so, too, must they have a beginning. But when do things begin? What precise moment can be pointed to and said "This is when everything began"? Was it thousands of years ago, when the first bricks that would make the foundation were first cemented into place? Or was it only a few weeks prior, when the rules were irrevocably changed?
Discord, self-proclaimed embodiment of chaos and just general all-around jerk, pondered the sight in front of him. Drifting aimlessly in a near empty void, he floated alone in the barren nothingness. Only a few personal belongings were present with him, either made by him to break up the neverending tedium that his life had become or gifted to him in eons long passed. Every day was exactly the same as the innumerably many before it, day in and day out, locked in his prison, his jail cell, his eternal punishment. His body turned to stone and his mind sealed away within itself by the power of the Elements of Harmony, he was prevented from interacting with the world in any meaningful way.
At least, that was how it had been. But nothing lasts forever, and that impermanence was going to be Discord's big chance. His eagle claw stroked his goatlike beard thoughtfully as he considered the game board before him. His other hand - the lion's paw - vibrated with power and he held it above the board for an long moment before pulling it back to his side.
The board itself was complicated in its own right. Dozens upon dozens of pieces sat on the board, each with its own set of rules governing it behaviour and movement. No one piece was like the others, and forcibly moving a single piece would be like throwing a large stone into a calm pond, creating ripples that would last long after the stone had sunk out of sight. The board served as a representation of the world outside Discord's prison, and served him as he planned out what he would do next.
Hundreds of thousands of scenarios played themselves out before Discord's eyes. Uncountable events whizzed through his mind as he contemplated possible futures, each future considered and discarded in turn. He saw the nation of Equestria vanish in fire, the land dying out without any caretakers capable of nurturing it. He witnessed the entire nation brought low, their leaders defeated and held captive by a race of shape-shifting emotion eaters. He observed as a terrible blizzard swept across the country, freezing ponies, the emotion eaters, and the other races alike. He watched as everything was consumed by pure darkness, a blackness so pure and vile that absolutely nothing was able to escape it.
That's not to say all the scenes were of death and destruction. He saw the ponies enter a glorious age of peace and prosperity, led by their immortal and wise leaders. He saw trials overcome, lessons learned, and friendships strengthened. Joy and happiness reigned supreme, the ponies leading blissful lives that, while they never suffered, had the ponies being born, living, and dying in almost exactly the same manner as the hundreds of other ponies around them. Celestia had finally accomplished the world of love and friendship she had always wanted to create.
Blech. To Discord's mind, the scenarios that ended with a dead world were preferable to that one.
A sigh escaped Discord's lips as the last of the images disappeared. None of these scenes were what he was looking for. He needed something more, something... just a little more potent. A wicked smile blossomed across his lips as an idea occurred to him, and his eyes lit up with a fierce fire from within. If he was going to lose so long as he played by the rules, then the solution was obvious. Those rules had to go.
The smile faded as he considered the board again. While the chance was there, the risks were also much greater. If his opponent figured out what he was doing before the endgame, then a fate worse than death was all that awaited the draconequus. His current fate would seem positively benign by comparison. Heck, if his opponent even realized the full extent of what Discord was planning, he would lose instantly. His long forked tongue wrapped itself around the single large tooth in his mouth as he considered the pros and cons of this choice of action. Things could go so very, very wrong so very easily.
But the chance was there...
Slowly, ponderously, Discord reached underneath the board and pulled out two brand new pieces. The pieces were far different from any of the pieces already on the board, and just looking at them one could tell that they didn't quite belong. He considered both pieces for several long... minutes? Days? Time had no more meaning for him, especially not here of all places. At long last, he made his decision.
With a careful touch of his lion's paw, he began to make adjustments to both pieces. Changes, both large and small, were individually made to each piece until he was finally satisfied with the outcome. He contemplated both pieces for one final time before gently placing them down on the board. One piece sent to the shining light, the other to the twisted mirror. The pieces already present on the board began to shift in response to the addition of the two new pieces and Discord rested his chin on his hands, contemplating the ramifications of what he had done. Even with this, he was still taking a massive gamble.
He turned his attention away from the board to one of the other few objects present with him: a large mirror. The mirror's polished surface reflected his image back at him for an instant before it shimmered and shifted, instead showing him a scene of a dark and gloomy forest. Sending the slightest amount of his awareness into the mirror, he acted to shift the odds in his favour just the slightest bit more.
Discord allowed himself to lean back against his chair. It was done. All he could do now was watch and make a few changes as things played out. He turned his attention back to the board; in particular, to the figures sitting around it. Including the one he sat in himself, five chairs were now placed in a circle around the board. He waved his hand at the lone seat opposite him - the seat his opponent would be claiming in the future. "Your move," he told the empty seat with a wave of his hand.
If he was expecting a response from the empty seat, the continuing silence would leave him disappointed.
Discord, immortal spirit of chaos and disharmony and strong candidate for the position of 'Most Powerful Being in Existence', limply slouched in his chair. "I'm sooooooo booooooooooooooooooooooored," he whined to the uncaring void, his voice hitting the tone of a petulant child's.