//------------------------------//
// Discord's Return 
// Story: The Elements of Disharmony 
// by Damien Helvian 
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The Elements of Disharmony

Part 1

Return of Discord


Discord, a beast of many forms, he is the Chimaeric entity of Chaos. A Draconequus by birth, he is the perfect representation of all things Disharmonious. Many centuries ago he ruled over a Chaotic Equestria, everything in a state of eternal unrest. Nothing could match his power. That was, until the sisters, Celestia and Luna, found the Elements of Harmony, and imprisoned him in stone.
They could not destroy him, for the simple fact that Chaos is a necessary evil. The stone prison kept him from controlling the disharmony, but his energy still seeped out in small amounts. It was just enough to create that subtle chaos in daily life. Ponies brush it off as bad luck or coincidence, when in reality, it is disharmony at work.
Just about two years ago, when Nightmare Moon broke free from her own prison in the moon, the Elements were passed on. The six friends, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, AppleJack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, discovered a hidden strength in the Elements with their friendship. The new power freed Princess Luna of the dark spirit, Nightmare Moon.
But because the Elements were bound to new souls, the original spell imprisoning Discord weakened. And when a spark of simple disharmony appeared before his statue, the spell broke. With his prison shattered, Discord was free to spread chaos once again. Within a day, Equestria had fallen into a dark age, Chaos ruled once more.
The friends went after the Elements of Harmony, only to discover Discord had hidden them. With a simple riddle, he lured them into a trap within the Castle Labyrinth, separating them and disharmonizing them one by one. And with another trick, a rule was broken in his little game, and everything seemed lost.
In a last ditch effort, Twilight Sparkle, the only pony still herself, followed a new trail, and found the Elements in her own home. But she was frustrated, not thinking clearly, in a rushed attempt to use their power, she had forgotten all that had happened. This not only resulted in failure, but planted a seed of their disharmonious energy within Discord.
All was lost, until Princess Celestia helped her student Twilight find her way again. She sought out her friends, and used a simple memory spell to cure them of Discord’s curse. And once again, they wielded the elements, successfully re-imprisoning the fiend, not knowing what they had already done.

It’s been a year since Equestria was once again saved from the tyranny of Discord. On the anniversary, a small celebration was thrown in honor of the six friends. But, in the Royal Gardens, something was amiss…The grass was pink, the air smelt of peppermint, and Discord’s statue radiated with dark energy.
The seed of disharmony that was planted in him a year ago, had been feeding off they everyday chaos that happened around it, growing in power. Until finally it broke the spell…with a flash, the stone prison was gone, and Discord was free. But, something was different. He felt stronger, but couldn’t quite tap into this new power. He also felt warmth in his heart, but chose to ignore it.
His mind worked through the events of the previous year, trying to figure out what had happened. When he saw the first attempt to seal him, he figured it out. This new power was their power…the chaotic energy of those six ponies. He had to figure out what to do, but he didn’t want to get caught and imprisoned again. With a snap of his claws, a perfect replica of his statue appeared, followed by him vanishing in a flash of light.
“What to do, what to do~” Discord paced around the old castle ruins, deep within the Everfree forest. He had come to the original hiding place of the Elements of Harmony, hoping for some inspiration. “Those damned ponies are the only things keeping me from my throne.”
He snarled, kicking a rock at the statue in the middle of the room, where the stone forms of the Elements once laid. “Even with all my knowledge on them, they still defeated me. And I’m sure it’d be just as easy this time…The only ones who know more them better than I, are thems-“ He stopped, walking over to the statue, “Themselves…that’s how I will defeat them…with their own selves.”
He laughed, having figured out that the only ones that could use their energy, was them. And so, he pulled their disharmonious energy from within himself, using it to create his own versions of the Elements, “I shall call you…the Elements of Disharmony~” He laughed again, the necklaces were a dark red in color, each gem an inverted version of the originals. The only one that was different was the crown he made. Its gem was a little replica of himself, “You are just as hansom as the real thing~”
Discord giggled as it started dancing, placing the crown on his head. He deduced that since Twilight wasn’t disharmonized at the time, he was the only one that could fit the role as her opposite, “Now…one little problem left to solve. I need to make copies of them, but it would be unwise to try and clone the real ones. But, I’m sure there are enough of their energies around that I can use. All I have to do is find it~”
He was about to cast his spell and teleport out, when the air grew dark, the moon eclipsing overhead. A powerful voice called out, seeming to come from the walls themselves, “Ah! Discord! A beast after my own heart!” It spoke in the olden royal style, “I’ve been watching you, and I know how you can find the energies you need!”
Discord looked all around, but all he could see was a dense blue fog. Of course, he wasn’t afraid, only one force could oppose him, “Show yourself you coward. I want to see the face of my possible ally against those damned ponies.”
The voice roared again, the fog shifting with its words, “I cannot show what I do not have! I do not exist where you are! My spirit is trapped in the Astral Plane! This place is covered with my energy, which is why I can speak to you here! If you free me, then I will help you! Just cast a spell and pull my power from these walls…I will do the rest!”
The draconequus paused for a moment, thinking to himself, ‘How do I trust, what I cannot see?’ After going over this thought a hundred times, he decided an ally would be a powerful tool in his plans. With a snap, the walls were covered in a blanket of darkness, which began to rip itself away, gathering on a pedestal. The energy slowly took shape, the eclipsed moon revealing its light once more.
After a few moments, the fog faded away, and the light shone down from the moon through a hole in the ceiling. A figure was formed from the dark energy, stepping toward Discord. Approaching him was a large dark Alicorn, with mane and tail of the night sky. “So, it was you all along…I thought you were gone, but here you stand, Nightmare Moon.”