Hello, Equestria! Okay, so here's a riddle - who has two thumbs and wastes a beautiful sunny day inside writing MLP fanfiction?

That's right! :points at self: God, the sadness. TnT

But you don't care about that part, do you? No, you wanna read the story, so let's just get to this mess, shall we?

LAWYERBOT SAYS: "Seriously, this is what you come up with in the morning? My God, why do I work for you?"
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, including all of the G4 locations and characters (c) the even-more-great and even-more-powerful Lauren Faust, Celestia bless her soul
"My Little Pony", including the brand name and G1-G3 (c) some toy company - I assume it's Hasbro

WARNING: The following story contains some potentially-disturbing imagery and ideas. I don't think it's so bad that it exceeds the T-rating, but you've been warned.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes nervously darted back and forth, despite the fact there was nothing but darkness to be seen for miles. She stepped cautiously, but the quietest click from her hooves echoed on and on for miles. Where was she? Or anyone else, for that matter? And most importantly, how was she going to get out?

Ugh, leave it to the dark and serious Twilight Sparkle to want to leave a party the second she arrives. What's the matter, Twilight, not enough books here for you? I swear, you're turning into Celestia more and more by the day.

The lilac unicorn froze. That voice. After their last encounter, she'd recognize that tone just about anywhere.

"Discord, what are you doing here? I-I thought we beat you already!" Twilight called out as valiantly as she could manage.

Aw, she remembers me. Well, memory serves you correct, Twilight: you did. But what would the fun be if I just stayed put and let you and Celestia think you won for good?

Twilight dug her hoof into the ground. "Alright, so what do you want now? Going to make me run through another stupid maze again?"

Twilight, I am horrified that you would think that. Really, it's an insult to my creativity. I would never reuse an old trick. Besides, I don't have to. Like I said, this is a party - all of your friends are already here!

The unicorn jumped as a light flickered on in the distance. "My friends? Discord, what have you done with-?"

Twilight was interrupted as a shrill giggle threatened to shake the darkness, echoing again and again off of the unseen walls. "Pinkie Pie!"

She galloped over to the light, and sure enough, there was Pinkie, with her mane pressed flat and her eyes spun out of control. Her muzzle was covered in oozy cupcake crumbs (Twilight could see a half-eaten tray of the drippy red treats in the back), and she was bouncing around as far as the light would let her, in a never-ending chase with the pile of balloons Discord had left for her to play with.

"Come here, balloons! Where are you going?" she giggled, almost to the point of manic. "Come on, you're going to miss the party! You don't want to miss the party, I made cupcakes! Come on, guys, hold still!"

"Pinkie Pie, what are you doing in here?" Twilight asked, trying to withhold a giggle. Even in one of Discord's traps, Pinkie's laughter was contagious.

Pinkie Pie's ears perked when she heard Twilight's voice, eyes focusing forward just long enough to spy a lilac balloon in the corner, decorated with the Sparkle cutie mark. With another shrill laugh, the rosy mare jumped forward, smashing the balloon under her front hooves.

"Oh, whoops!" she continued to giggle. "Looks like Twilight won't make it to the PARTY!" There was a sharp emphasis and a matching twitch on 'party', causing Pinkie's eyes to spin out of control once more. Her increasingly-ferocious giggling continued as she quickly turned her attention to a rainbow-colored balloon in the background. "Come on, Rainbow, your turn! I need rainbow confetti for the PARTY!"

"Discord, what did you do to Pinkie Pie?" Twilight demanded, trying to approach her friend and help her, only to be stopped by an invisible wall.

All I did was invite Pinkie to the party. Why do you think I'm such a terrible person? Come on, Twilight Sparkle, I thought you were the logical one - why would I go out of my way to hurt my favorite Element of Harmony?

The light shut off, though the echoes of Pinkie's giggles eerily lingered for a few moments more.

Laughter may be the best medicine, but it can also be one of the worst illnesses. Can you imagine, Twilight Sparkle? If your head was constantly filled with laughter? I think I'd go crazy - it's quite obvious Pinkie Pie did.

Another light flickered, again off in the distance, followed quickly by the first sound of the night Twilight couldn't quickly identify - a scream of pain. But wait...is that...?

Rushing over, Twilight confirmed her initial suspicion - it was Rainbow Dash. The multi-colored pegasus was held to the ground with heavy chains, with her trademark mane and tail chopped away to nearly nothing. She was panickedly flapping her wings, as if trying to escape, but her wings were battered and bloody, with bones peeking out from under the feathers everywhere you looked. This also brought attention to the background - the wall behind Rainbow, as well as the floor, were plastered in posters of Night Mare Moon, Discord, and Queen Chrysalis.

"Discord, let her go!" Twilight screamed, trying to drag the chains away with her magic. Her horn was completely unresponsive.

I don't have to, Twilight Sparkle - she's free to leave whenever she wants. It'd be rude to force your party-guests to overstay their welcome, wouldn't it?

"Then why is she trapped? Why are you torturing her?"

I want her to leave; she won't. ...Then again, I DID say there was going to be an attack on Canterlot if she did...

"NO!" Rainbow snapped, protesting even the IDEA of an attack on Canterlot. Twilight flinched as the sound of a whip cracked through the darkness, and saw a red streak of blood running down Rainbow's flank when she opened her eyes - a red streak that brought attention to the bloody wound where her cutie mark should have been.

The light flickered off before Twilight could do anything else.

The wings of a pegasus and the legs of an earth pony, but the mind and patience of a minotaur, wouldn't you say?

"How DARE you do that to Rainbow Dash?" Twilight growled, willing her unicorn magic to do ANYTHING against Discord. Still, it would not respond.

I told you, Twilight Sparkle, she was free to leave. She was even free to rush to Canterlot and help, but she decided to stay and protect the princess. Loyalty is a fickle thing sometimes, isn't it?

A third light flicked on in the sea of darkness, and Twilight cringed as she braced herself for the sounds to follow. There were none. Curious, Twilight took her time as she cautiously hoofed towards the new spotlight.

It took all of her power not to hoof back when she got there.

The body of a unicorn lay discarded in the light, though the horn was broken away to almost nothing. Their mane and tail were completely shaved off. One eye was missing, along with two of the hooves and - if you dared close enough to peer into their exposed underbelly - several organs. The coat appeared white, though it was drenched in too much blood to be sure.

The one side was blank-flanked, cut away just as Rainbow Dash's was, making it even more difficult to identify. The light flickered off just as Twilight came around to the other side and put the pieces together. Her cutie mark was a trio of light-blue diamonds. "Rarity!"

Your friend Rarity is such an angel, isn't she? Even ignoring her looks, if you ever could.

"You monster!" As if the sight of the disheveled corpse wasn't sickening enough, Twilight's stomach could barely handle the idea that it was Rarity. "How could you?"

Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. Don't you see? I still haven't done anything. It started small for Rarity, giving away dresses, taking on projects bigger than she could handle, giving away her riches to those less-fortunate and less-fashionable.

Then she gave her cutie mark to Sweetie Belle. Then she gave her mane to Cranky Doodle, and her tail's at the shop, waiting for Rainbow Dash to get out of her predicament over there. Her eye went to Derpy, her horn lies with Trixie, her hooves dumped into Zecora's newest remedy, and now there she is - feeding the rats and the vultures as her final act of generosity.

Twilight bit her lip. The more Discord insisted that he wasn't behind any of these despicable acts, the more she was beginning to believe him.

The idea prevented her from noticing the next light behind her, but the soft echo of tears caught her ear. Oh, no, anything but that!

But of course, approaching the light affirmed Twilight Sparkle's fear - the crying was Fluttershy, curled up on herself with her mane hiding her face from the world. For a moment, Twilight was relieved to see the pegasus was alright.

Then she noticed that Fluttershy's wings were clipped. Then she noticed the rocks raining in from all sides. Then she noticed all of the blood hiding under her mane and tail.

There's truly something to be said about your patience, Twilight Sparkle. If I had to put up with Fluttershy, even if it meant saving the world from the Elements of Harmony, I don't think I could do it.

"What are you doing to her?" Twilight snapped, finding the invisible wall as she tried to find the source of the rocks pummeling Fluttershy. "Stop it, you're hurting her!"

You're being much more defensive over little Fluttershy, aren't you, Twilight Sparkle? And yet, take a closer listen.

With a nervous gulp, Twilight stopped her scramble and listened. The longer she sat in silence, the fainter Fluttershy's sobs became, and the more intense the murmers in the background became.

"Come on, Fluttershy, toughen up! You're making us pegasi look bad!"

"Fluttershy, darling, look at yourself! You're a mess!"

"Come on, Fluttershy! Nobody likes a whiny-whiny Mr. Crying-Pants!"

"Come on, Fluttershy, how're we gon' stop Disc'rd if yer jus' sittin' 'n sobbin' around?"

"Fluttershy, let's go! You can't be one of the Elements of Harmony at this rate!"

Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. Applejack. And me, Twilight realized with a slight choke as the light faded once again.

See, Twilight Sparkle? Why would I put effort into anything when you five can do my job for me? Fluttershy doesn't even LISTEN to me! I couldn't fight her if I tried! Pull one of her best friends in, however, and she crumbles. She takes this whole friendship things more seriously than you know, Twilight Sparkle. The Element of Kindness just won't let her say anything about it...

Twilight Sparkle lowered her head, suddenly feeling dizzy with guilt. Was this REALLY all the doing of the Elements of Harmony? It just couldn't be! ...But was it?

When the unicorn stood herself up, the lights were up once again, trapping her in the heart of a forest. "Oh, great, what now?"

Oh, come now, Twilight Sparkle - you don't recognize this place?

After taking a moment to take in the smell of freshly-squeezed apples, though, she did. Which could only mean one thing. "Applejack!" she jumped, galloping through the fields of apple trees. Maybe she could get there before Discord! Maybe she could prove this was all his doing!

Sweet Apple Acres is huge, but Twilight eventually came upon something other than a sea of apple trees. She found a ladder. By a just-bucked apple tree. With a rope around one of its branches. A rope ending in a noose.

A noose ending with Applejack.

Twilight took a few hoofsteps back, now fighting to keep her lunch down. The cowboy hat was tipped in just a way to cover her face, but there was no denying the Apple cutie mark and AJ's long, blonde mane and tail. "Applejack...no..."

Oh, the truth can be hard to swallow, can't it, Twilight Sparkle? That's why we know how to lie - to ease the pain of the unbearable. That's why they call denial a mental defense. Most people could convince themselves that things will be okay. Applebloom believes their parents will come back, that Granny Smith just went to go visit them. Macintosh still thinks they can get the farm back from the Flim Flam brothers. Sometimes reality's just too difficult to handle.

It's something we all take for granted, isn't it? None of us know what it's like to be poor, poor Applejack, who just has to take the truth and swallow it.

Twilight fell back on her haunch as Sweet Apple Acres faded from the light, plunging her into darkness again. Her head was spinning, still trying to convince her that this was all one of Discord's tricks. But the evidence was there, and Celestia curse her overbearing sense of logic for realizing it.

You see, Twilight Sparkle, I threw this party for you. I wanted you to get to know everybody here - not just what your friends are suffering through, but to get to know me as well. I do have a REASON for my fight against the Elements of Harmony - I'm the one who invented the phrase, "method behind the madness".

The world was at peace when I ruled. Sure, there was that tiff between the ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, but at least the Elements of Harmony weren't stirring up trouble. Sure, Celestia will have you think that laughter, loyalty, generousity, kindness, and honesty are good traits to have, but do you see what it can lead to if not kept in check?

Twilight tried to swallow the knot in her throat. "Insanity. Torture. Sacrifice. Abuse. Suicide."

Celestia likes to call them the Elements of DIS-Harmony, but I know better, and now you do, too. And what did she do with these little gems of disaster? She let you go out and make friends - the only friends you've ever had, if I'm not mistaken - then passed them off so that SHE didn't have to juggle them all herself.

"But what can I do? How do I help my friends?"

The only way you can, Twilight Sparkle. Give the Elements of Harmony back to me so I can destroy them.

Suddenly, Twilight felt the weight of metal drop onto her head and neck. Looking down, she found the five Elements of her friends, and she assumed the sixth was the crown above her horn. Normally, the energy of the Elements were warm and inviting, but here, their powers were dead, and the gold felt cold.

Even after all she had seen, there was hesitation. "I...I just..."

Silence the storm of Pinkie Pie's mind. Spare Rainbow the agony of heroism. Give Rarity something she can hold onto. Protect Fluttershy. Ease Applejack's troubles.

"Discord, I'm not going to-!" Twilight tried to defend, spinning to face her opponent.

Instead, she found herself face-to-face with a mirror. Her reflection held a lilac alicorn, with blood throughout her feathered wings and her horn sharpened to a razor point. Dark violet boots covered her hooves, which matched the purple and pink emblem around her neck, displaying the Sparkle cutie mark. Her violet mane and tail splayed everywhere, sparkling in the darkness, bringing more attention to the golden crown upon her head. The reflection's eyes locked onto hers, the same shade of amethyst, but with the same snake-like pupils of Night Mare Moon.

The reflection cackled, its voice an older version of Twilight's. "Do you think that your friends are the only ones to suffer at the hands of their Elements, Twilight Sparkle? Magic is the most dangerous Element of all, as it's the most easily corrupted. Remember that Celestia and Luna SHARED the original Elements of Harmony. What do you think caused Luna to become Night Mare Moon?"

Twilight Sparkle was petrified, jaw agape but unable to speak. "Do you really want to risk that, Twilight Sparkle?" the reflection continued. "Risk all of Equestria collapsing by the work of YOUR magic? Sacrifice the crown, Twilight Sparkle - Equestria will be safe if you don't have the power to destroy it!"

With the rest of her muscles frozen in fear, Twilight felt her hoof move up towards her crown. The darkness began filling with noises - Pinkie Pie's laughter, Rainbow's screaming, Fluttershy's crying, the reflection's laughter, Discord's demands for the Elements, layers of noise on noise on noise on noise on-

"STOP!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Twilight jumped out her bed with a screech, wildly bucking her legs in whatever directions she could in hopes of hitting Discord, all until the spasms sent her tumbling to the floor.

Spike gave an annoyed groan, poking his snout out from under the blankets. "What now, Twilight? Forget to add a checklist to your checklist again?" he yawned.

Twilight's eyes darted around as she clawed to catch her breath. She was in her treehouse. No void of darkness, no best friends being tortured under the weight of their own Elements.

As if to be sure, she hopped back up onto her bed, looking out the window. Yep, good ol' Ponyville, right the way it was meant to be.

Except for the shadow of the draconequus against the moon.

Hope you enjoyed, guys! Thanks for reading! :)

§ Tucker's Mayflower, signing off! §