A MLP: FiM Fanfiction by GeneralGriffon
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and characters are © Hasbro, Inc. and Lauren Faust.
DIVISION
Chapter 1: Freedom
The two alicorn sisters and the patchwork beast stood bloody and weary in the middle of the Everfree as the maelstrom of magical energy swirled around them. The sheer amount of magical force was burning the ground to glass, but the combatants were unaffected, their eyes set solely on the enemy. The eldest sister spoke over the din, her pink mane blowing wildly in the wind.
“Discord! Thy time is at an end! Thine forces of chaos are vanquished, and thine fortress is in shambles! Dost thou surrender?”
“Oh, dear Celestia, you had to go and suck the fun out of everything, didn’t you? I'm not ready for my games to be over quite yet!” The draconequus flung its paw over its forehead dramatically. “I really thought you two would loosen up and come around eventually, but I'm done trying. Now how about this: we all be ‘friends,’ you go home, and we call it a day.” The draconequus smirked and pulled out a night cap and plopped it on his head. “Or night. Whatever I decide it’s going to be in the next few minutes.”
“It is too late to make peace, would thou not say?!" The younger sister exclaimed. "Generations of ponies having their lives turned upside down by you, day after day after day!” Luna’s eyes flashed with an uncharacteristic rage. “And for what, sick amusement?! Nay, no more pain! Thou art finished!” The magical storm continued to grow, and the combatants had to yell over the explosions of arcane energy.
Discord shrugged off a rapid volley of magical bolts. “Well, if you’re sending me back down there, can I at least get my things first?” A duffel bag and roller suitcase appeared out of nowhere, and he started packing the containers with apples and marshmallows. “I’m extremely high maintenance, you know.”
Luna look pointedly at her older sister, who slowly nodded. “We are not sending you back.”
Discord looked up from his packing. Six stone orbs flew out of the writhing vortex and began circling the bemused draconequus. “Oh, what now?”
The younger sister’s brow furrowed. “Laughter! Loyalty! Kindness! Honesty! Generosity! Magic! The elements of harmony that thou hath deprived ponykind of for centuries!” The stones whirled around the draconequus, bathing him in all the colors of the rainbow.
“There is no repentance for what thou hast done!” Celestia's horned radiated a golden light. The elements picked up speed, raising the hair on the back of Discord’s neck and trapping him. “We are certainly not letting thou go back into thine hole and hide, only to strike back later!”
Discord cackled mockingly as the two sisters advanced. “Oh, now things are getting fun! So what are you going to do, girls? Kill me? Please, you don’t have it in you to kill a worm!” The draonequus put on massive puppy eyes, their dark pupils seemingly encompassing the entirety of his eyeballs. “‘Oh! Let’s be friends and sing songs and play games all day!’ Don’t make me laugh! ...or do.”
The sisters squeezed shut their eyes as the elements flared up in a bright release of energy. Celestia spoke with a firm voice. “We are not going to kill anyone, Discord.”
“And thou shall not go ANYWHERE,” Luna finished, her voice resonating over the din. Her horn shimmered, adding an additional burst of energy to the whirling storm.
A coat of pearlescent white stone started crawling up the beast’s legs, holding him fast where he stood. Oddly, Discord did not seem fazed whatsoever. In fact, he was strangely calm. He examined the approaching layer creeping up his belly. “Well then, this is something new. It actually feels…rather nice, like a steel wool blanket.” He turned his attention back to the sisters. “But before I go, I’d like to leave you two with a nice parting gift, something I cooked up a while ago. It just LIVES for you two, I’m sure you’ll get along perfectly….”
The draconequus placed his paw on his stomach, extended his left claw, and opened his maw wide as if he was hitting a high note in falsetto. Just before the stone reached the corners of his mouth, a plume of black smoke erupted out of the beast’s gaping maw and soared screaming into the sky, away from the oppressive light and Elements of Harmony. The sisters recoiled from the oppressive darkness, and began blasting the cloud with spears of magic. The glowing projectiles sailed harmlessly through the miasma, and as the corners of Discord’s finally froze in an eternal, victorious smile, the dark mass stopped its ascent and hovered over the now-calming storm. The cloud started shifting in the air, oriented its form toward Luna, and plunged straight at the blue-haired alicorn.
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NO!
Luna bolted upright in a cold sweat, shaking. She breathed a sigh of relief. She was not in the middle of the Everfree several millennia ago. She was in Canterlot, safe in her bed, across a span of thousands of years. Those times were over.
Just a dream. Just that….nightmare…again… Luna crawled out of the sheets, shook herself, and glanced out the shutters. Judging from the position of the sun in the sky, it was a few hours into dusk.
Might as well get an early start. The dark alicorn trotted away from the window and over to her personal washroom, and set about her daily ritual. Coat, check. Mane, check. Sparkles, check. Tail, check. Preening…..I’ll do it later. As Luna worked, her mind drifted back to the scene in her sleep. It was her last confrontation with Discord, before she and Celestia assumed control of Equestria. Luna and her sister managed to seal Discord away, but not before he unleashed a foe unto the land that would infect the Princess of the Night and tear the two sisters from each other’s embrace. Even after it was ripped from her body almost two years ago, the Nightmare’s influence still echoed in Luna’s life. Even though her appearance in Ponyville a few months ago helped her reputation, all too often common ponies from Trottingham to Las Pegasus still shivered at the sight of her. She lowered her head and slipped her mantle around her neck and her crown onto it’s resting place behind her horn. It’s not like it’s all my fault…I’m not the Nightmare anymore….
No, you’re not. A Nightmare certainly wouldn’t be whimpering in the bathroom.
Luna froze. No. Not again…..please.
Oh, what? Am I bothering you? YOU’RE the one who keeps thinking about me and waking me up. Luna jerked her head around and faced the wall length mirror and glared at her reflection. Except it wasn’t her. The phantom that faced her in the mirror was at least two heads taller, sheathed in shimmering blue armor, and sported a fanged grin. The shade rolled her slitted eyes. It does get so tiresome sitting in your noggin all the time, I should be thanking you, really. I don’t really get out much anymore, as you can see. You pitiful wretch.
Why are you still here? Why won’t you leave me alone? You’re not me anymore!
Oh but I am, my sweet, sweet Luna. From the second I touched you all those millennia ago, I owned a teensy, tiny piece of your sad, angry soul. I could never touch your sister, she was so……BORING and RESERVED. But no, I could just smell the fire radiating off you. The apparition leaned toward Luna, grinning at her. You were such a little firebrand!
You’re used ‘were!’ Why don’t you just leave?! You’re clearly tired of me!
Oh, but you’re not tired of me, obviously…you miss me and you know it…
What in Equestria do you mean? I don’t need you! I never needed you! You ruined my life!
Please Luna, don’t insult me. I’m sure not HALF as many ponies would have been so frightened of you if you had kept your old manestyle…Just say it, Luna, you miss me.
NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
There she is. Come on! Show me what you’ve got! Where’s that spark?! Give it to me!
SHUT UP! I’M DONE WITH YOU! GO AWAY! NOW!
Luna sent a blast of magical energy straight at the mirror and shattered it, causing a cascade of reflective shards to slide down across the tile and onto the floor.
….Fine. Be that way. Spoilsport. In what little bit of the mirror remained in the frame, the apparition tilted its head to the side and gave Luna a half-lidded stare. You know… all this time, all you ever had to do was ask…
What?
A massive wave of nausea-inducing vertigo swept over Luna, causing her legs to buckle and her body to collapse to the floor. She cried out as she felt her belly become cut by dozens of tiny shards of glass. Finally, wincing, Luna gingerly raised herself up, feeling glass drop from her coat onto the tile. Regaining her balance, she stepped through the mess. She peered down into a particularly large shard on the edge of the pile. No jagged maw, no inch-thick armor, no slotted eye glaring at her.
Are you still there?
Silence. Luna probed every single corner of her consciousness, and found…nothing.
The princess’ eyes widened. I beat it. It’s gone. Finally she was just…Luna. No more shade trying to make her lose her composure in public, to goad her into attacking the Guardians of the Elements or Celestia, or whispering into her ear in the middle of the day about how weak she was. There was no more Nightmare.
A sudden knock at the door sounded at the door. “Princess, are you alright? Are you in any need of assistance? We heard a crash!”
Her guards. Always there when you need them. “No, no, I don’t think so, Stalwart. Thank you.” She rubbed the cuts on her belly with her hoof. It came away smeared with a small amount of blood. “Honestly, I’ve never felt better.”
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The Cerberus sat upright at the mouth of a massive cave, keeping its six eyes peeled for anything that could threaten its master’s domain. Well, four eyes. It’s left head was focused on a meal it was making of a nice, juicy hydra neck it snagged from its owner a couple hours ago. The central head decided to break from its watch and grab a quick bite, and it swiftly received some nips on the face from its brother. This squabbling went on for a few minutes until the fight was interrupted by the head on the right, which went totally alert when a small shadow passed over the edge of its vision.
The canine emitted a loud roar, powerful enough to send any creature skidding on its heels and bolting back the way it came. However, this presence wouldn’t leave it alone. The Cerberus couldn’t really see the intruder, but it could feel it there, hovering in the dark. Suddenly, the dark atmosphere was pierced by a loud call.
“OH my dear Baaaaaaaronnnnn! How is my little sweetie-kins? Have you been well taken care of?”
Baron suddenly perked up at hearing its name called for the first time in centuries. But, something was off…its master’s voice was more grating, less…smooth. It quickly dropped back into a ready stance, prepared to attack whatever had the gall to imitate it’s loving owner. In a flash, a thick cloud of smoke materialized in front of the beast. Through the mass, two bright red eyes could be made out.
“Awwwwww, you’re not scared of me, are you boy?” The edge of the cloud wafted over Baron’s nose, and the Cerberus experienced such an overwhelming feeling of its master’s presence that it immediately dropped dropped its three heads and flattened its ears in submission. Its master addressed it again in a sickeningly sweet voice.
“That’s a good boy. Yeah, there you go, everything’s alright. Now, go run down and tell everyone that Mommy’s home.”
