//------------------------------//
// Imagine a World... 
// Story: Imagine a World 
// by Dream Seeker 
//------------------------------//

	"Discord, I've been thinking," Twilight said, levitating a quill and parchment.

"A dangerous pastime," Discord spoke with a grin, snapping his fingers and materializing a well-cushioned chair and sitting in it.

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued, as if he hadn't interrupted. "How did you come into existence? I'm writing a treatise on the birth of immortals-"

Discord booped her on the nose, an uncharacteristically melancholy look on his face. A second later, his face turned into a melon. "You don't have to write an essay on why you need to know how I was made!"

Twilight blushed sheepishly and pushed a stack of paper that was lying on the desk in front of her behind a bookshelf with her magic, before clearing her throat. "So, how were you born? Was it from an egg? A coalescence of magic? Quantum teleportation from another dimension?"

Discord grinned at Twilight's eager smile. "None of the above!"

"None of the above?" Twilight questioned.

"None of the above," Discord confirmed. "Though closest to the last one, I suppose."

Twilight looked eagerly at Discord.

"I suppose a little story-time is in order, isn't it?" Discord grinned, snapping his fingers. A moment later, the two reappeared in an empty, dark space.

"Where are we?" Twilight asked, confused.

"Shhhh," Discord whispered. "Close your eyes, and imagine the story as I tell it to you."

Twilight hesitated for a moment, before closing her eyes. "If this is a trick-"

"No trick. Now, imagine a world. A cold ball of stone with a molten core, orbiting an exploding mass of superheated gas."

Twilight burst into laughter. "That's crazy! Everypony knows that the orbits of interplanetary bodies are controlled with magic!"

"Imagine it, Twilight. Even if it seems crazy. It is a story from me, after all. Would you expect less? Imagine on that world, there live billions of creatures, each one struggling to move up in their life, trying to better themselves, even at the cost of others."

"It would be chaos," Twilight pointed out. "Stable society could not exist if ponies were willing to hurt others to succeed. It would be as if everypony was a villain."

"It was not a stable society. There was constant discontent, many arguments, and rapid change of leadership. One country even forced its leader to change on a regular four-year basis!"

"They couldn't possibly survive for long."

"But survive they did. Until one day, one being went too far. He attempted to artificially create life."

"Necromancy," Twilight whispered.

"Not magic, science. He found the fundamental structure of living beings, and invented his own being, one that was designed to be better than any being that had ever existed. He made... me."

Twilight opened her eyes. "Now that's just the most ridiculous-"

"I'm not done yet," Discord said, eyes still closed. "Don't stare into the void, lest it stare back into you. Close your eyes again. Keep imagining."

Twilight sputtered. "Bu-How did you even-never mind." she drew in a calming breath, and closed her eyes once more.

"I looked nothing like my usual self at the time, of course. I looked optimal, efficient, organized, the most perfect creature ever created. And I opened up my eyes, and the first thing my order-filled mind saw was the chaos of the world. I understood, in that instant, that true order was impossible. I was impossible. And I used my power, that I had been granted by birth, to bring this logical conundrum to an end. I crushed the universe into a tiny mass, myself included."

Twilight gasped. "So much life, ended... It's unthinkable..."

"The tiny mass exploded, creating an entire universe once more, reforming particles as the universe began to structure itself. But I was still alive, I had been made too well, I could not die. I was immortal. Imagine a universe, where I could do whatever I wanted. Imagine a universe, where I could explore my powers to my heart's content. Imagine a universe, where I was... bored. Apathetic. Nothing I did mattered, because I had ultimate power. Nothing could hold my interest because it was ultimately less than me, on a fundamental level. Imagine a universe... Imagine a reality.

I collapsed the universe once more, this time taking more care in its design. I wove, I changed, I disturbed the universe, and changed the rules. Imagine a world, where a once unbeatable immortal... could be defeated. I created magic, allowed its power to twist and flow, until not even I could understand it. Then I unleashed the universe, my universe. Imagine a universe. Until I met Fluttershy, I could not imagine how such a complicated and convoluted law of the universe as I had created could turn out to be so simple as to give power through friendship. But now, I understand. It is beautiful, what this world has become. And through my own usage of magic, of friendship, created to be my own fatal weakness, I have ceased to be as powerful as I once was. As long as I hold friendship in my heart, I never will be again. I am happy as I am, and glad that I have done as I did. My only regret, is that I did not understand the power of friendship earlier. This is my birth, and the birth of the world."

After a few moments of silence, Twilight heard the sound of wind. She opened her eyes and looked around, finding herself alone behind her castle, a field of grass blowing gently with the wind. She looked into the night sky, and imagined a world...