“So, Discord, you said there was a game that you wanted to play?” asked Twilight, eyeing the Draconequus suspiciously.

“Oh, please don’t give me the stink eye, Princess. You know for a fact that I’ve reformed for good this time. Now, all you have to do is roll the dice,” said Discord, handing Twilight a pair of dice, and pointing at the board he had conjured up in front of him.

“Well, since you did ask me nicely,” relented Twilight, as she rolled the dice with her magic.

“Oh goody,” said Discord, as he saw that Twilight had rolled two ‘ones’. “Now all you have to do is pick a card,” he explained, fanning out a pack of cards which had been placed on the board.

“And you promise to not influence the events?” asked Twilight, this time staring at the cards with suspicion.

“On my mother’s grave,” said Discord, as solemnly as he could muster.

“You don’t… Never mind,” said Twilight, as she picked a card at total random. Looking at it, she groaned, and read out loud, “Turned into a bat. Lose a turn.”

“Oh, that’s a fun card,” said Discord, as he snapped his claws together. And where once stood Twilight Sparkle, pony princess of friendship, now fluttered a purple bat.

“DISCORD! Change me back at once!” commanded Twilight, as she fluttered around the board.

“No can do, Princess. That’s how the game goes,” said Discord, as he rolled. The first time, he got a five and a one, and the next time he got a six and a two. After taking both of his turns, he clicked his fingers, and Twilight returned to normal.

Twilight sighed, as she prepared to roll again. “What are the rules for this game?” she asked, upon suddenly realizing something.

“Rules?” Discord scoffed. “There are no ‘rules’! If there were rules… why, it wouldn’t be Chaos!” he said, as a flashing neon sign appeared over his head, spelling out ‘Chaos’.

Twilight wondered why she hadn’t noticed the big letters saying Chaos on the game board itself, but figured Discord had something to do with it. She rolled the dice again. But this time, luck was in her favor. She rolled a twelve. Moving her game piece, shaped like herself, to Discord’s square, she asked, “Now what?”

“Now I have to take a card!” said Discord with glee. Snapping his fingers, a card levitated out of the deck, which he then grabbed, and read out, “Become a princess, move forwards three spaces.” He giggled as he grew a third horn and a second pair of wings, and moved his piece forwards.

This pattern of playing continued for half an hour, until once again, Discord and Twilight were on the same space. But this time, they were only six spaces away from the final space.

With a heightened tension in the room, Twilight rolled the dice… and rolled two threes. “Yes!” she exclaimed, as she triumphantly moved her game piece to the winning square.

Discord stared at her for a few moments, then said, “I don’t see why you’re getting so excited. It’s not like you won or anything.”

“But I did win,” said Twilight, pointing at her piece, and its current position.

“Oh, Twilight dearest, if you thought it was that easy to win, I may as well of just handed the game to you at the start,” replied Discord.

“Then how do I win?” Twilight demanded to know.

Discord then broke into a fit of laughter, which lasted a good few seconds. “Oh, Twilight, don’t tell me you actually thought you could… win, did you?”

“What?!” said Twilight, utterly confused.

“The name of the game is Chaos,” said Discord, again pointing at the name on the board. “And Chaos means I can’t lose!” he exclaimed, laughing, and summoning a glass of chocolate milk.

“Then why even invite me to play? What’s the point of even playing a game you can’t lose?” Twilight asked, perplexed.

“Why it’s simply, dear Twilight! I wanted to teach you about a little thing called the illusion of choice. It allows for some of the best chaos! It’s a very educational board game, isn’t it?” he asked, clicking his claws together once again, after which the board vanished.

Twilight sighed, said, “Well, you certainly have a point there, Discord,” and walked out of Fluttershy’s house.