The Dark Comet

by ggs1995

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Discord, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Main 6, Princess Luna, Original Character, Adventure
Length: 19040

When an Ancient Evil awakens, the Mane Six are thrown into a world that represents everything they stand against. Will they be able to conquer the deadly sins before the Darkness corrupts all of Equestria?

One million years ago, the Dark Comet accidentally landed on a newborn Equestria. King Mundus and Queen Stella, the Divine Duo, sacrificed Their life force to create the Elements of Harmony to one day combat the malevolent energies of the Comet.

On Twilight Sparkle's coronation day, everything is perfect. Her friends have been with her through thick and thin, and she believes there is nothing friendship cannot overcome. But when the Darkness finally takes a physical form after all these years, the Elements are not enough. Now the Mane Six must conquer a twisted world that is ruled by Vice, representing everything they stand against. Can the heroes become one with their Elements in time to save Equestria from the root of all its problems?

Published 2014-09-09 07:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-10-09 19:55:50 UTC

Prologue- The Divine Duo

1 Million Years Ago

High above the skies, beyond the outer reaches of the newly created solar system, King Mundus and Queen Stella looked out from Their Grand Palace at Their greatest accomplishment, the planet of Equus and the new life that roamed its great lands.

Stella, with great admiration in Her voice, “It is beautiful, is it not, my dear?”

“Indeed, it is as it should be. Great effort was put into crafting this perfect world. But I think all of our previous failures were worth it in the end,” exclaimed Mundus, a small smile and even a hint of pride creeping onto his ever stoic features.

As the Divine Duo had figured out, one of the most difficult parts of creating life was imbuing it with free will. Creating a mindless slave was simple; creating a true individual, let alone an entire race, was a whole other matter, but They had done it! Many species small and large now walked Equus that would one day become sentient, but Her favorite had to be the ones They had named ponies. After all, they were created in Their likeness, and They were the Original and Perfect Beings.

“It fills me with great joy knowing that one day, these ponies, our ponies, will evolve past their animalistic nature and build great civilizations of their own!” At this point, Stella could do nothing to stop Her excitement from letting loose. After all, They had been at this planet building business for thousands of years. It was nice to know that Their endeavors were indeed not all for naught, as Mundus was beginning to consider.

“I will admit, it is rather fascinating to consider what the future may hold for… Our little ponies.” The King of the Cosmos was still slightly embarrassed by that term, finding it quite unbecoming of a creature of His status, but His beloved had taken to it immediately, and despite his personal feelings, He was not about to spoil any happiness She was experiencing right now.

The Queen of the Stars was deep in thought. The possibilities were truly endless for her ponies! Would they be a peaceful race, putting focus on science and technology for the greater good of all? Or perhaps a warlike culture, destroying or assimilating all those it came across? Or maybe they…

“My love? Are you feeling well?” asked Mundus, concerned. His Queen had a (in his opinion, bad) habit of getting too preoccupied in Her work.

“What was that?” Stella was brought back to reality, “Oh, yes. I apologize, Mundus, I was just imagining all the scenarios for ponykind’s future. Remind me, what was your opinion on the matter?” Mundus sighed in annoyance. This had to have been the thousandth time He had been asked that question.

“I will tell you once more, Stella, I haven’t the faintest idea. That is the wonder of free will. Ponykind, and all the other species for that matter, are the masters of their own futures. No longer must mortals be bound by the chains of destiny.”

“You’re just saying that to avoid answering my question.” She joked with Her King. She had to take any chance to lighten the mood she could with Mundus. She loved Him dearly, but He was far too serious for His own good.

“I am not! I simply…” Mundus suddenly stopped, a grave expression coming over His face. “Do you feel something strange, Stella?” asked the King, warily.

“I don’t… Oh my, now that you mention it I--”

“AHHHHHHH!” Both Divine Beings suddenly fell to the floor, writhing in agony. “W-what is g-going on Mundus? What is this terrible presence I am sensing?” The ‘presence’ in question was overwhelming to the Two, which was saying quite a lot, “It is like all the evil in the universe has manifested in one spot.”

Once the words had left Her lips, the Two came to a horrifying realization, seemingly at the same time.

“You don’t think it could be the… Dark Comet, do you?” questioned Stella, more afraid than She had ever been in her millions of years of life.

If it really was the Dark Comet, Equus was most likely doomed. The Comet was the most powerful vassal of Dark Magic in the entire universe. It had not been a part of Creation, rather, it was spawned from the gestalt evil and chaotic energies left behind from the Void of pre-Creation.

“I-I will go and see. Let us pray that we are wrong…” Mundus began a full on gallop out of the Grand Palace, when a voice interrupted Him.

Stella would not risk the life of Her beloved; if He went by Himself and it was the Dark Comet, then He would surely perish. “I am coming with you, my love.” Mundus started His (expected) protest, but was immediately cut off. “And I will not be persuaded otherwise. You know as well as I do that if it really is the Comet, then you will be killed by yourself.”

Mundus desperately wanted to argue, but knew that once His Queen had Her mind set there was no changing it. Plus, they were running out of time, for the presence was growing closer by the second.

“Very well, but please, be careful Stella. I cannot stand the thought of losing you and my planet in succession. It is a rather disconcerting thought.” Stella was touched. Her King had not shown this much emotion since the day They found out She was pregnant with twin foals who would one day control the Sun and Moon of Their (at the time uncompleted) new planet. That was… 20,000 years ago, now?

After a single shed tear, Stella replied, “You have my word, dear. But only if you give me yours that you will do the same. The thought of ever losing you frightens me as much as it does you.” The King and His Queen stared into each others’ eyes for what seemed like an eternity, before sharing a long, passionate kiss under the watchful eyes of the stars and the night sky which adorned each of their respective flanks.

“Now, let us go confront this vile thing, whatever it may be.”

King Mundus and Queen Stella rapidly took flight through the cosmos towards Their destination: Equus. Whatever it was that was putting off these colossal waves of malign energies was now in close proximity to the new planet.

“Quickly Stella, we haven’t much time.” Mundus hurried His wife along. If the Two were to make a difference in saving Their new Paradise, it was imperative They arrive before what They had now confirmed to be, in fact, the Dark Comet. “The fate of our creations depends on it.”

“…” Stella was quickly becoming annoyed with Her husband’s constant prodding at Her slow pace, but bit back a sharp retort as She knew His heart was in the right place. She did let him know, “Mundus, you know I’m not as fast a flyer as you, so please, do not pressure me.”

“I apologize my dear. I am simply worried. It matters not, we have arrived.”

Indeed, They had made it to Equus in record time, and the Dark Comet was still roughly ten minutes away. If They were going to save Their new planet, it was the time to act. “Now are you prepared? Our magical output will have to be greater than ever before.”

Magic was the cornerstone of all life. Nothing in the universe could exist without it. Once they had gained sentience, the three pony subspecies of Equestria would be able to utilize it to its fullest potential. The Unicorns through their horns, the Pegasi through their wings, and the Earth ponies through their hooves.

“I-I am ready, Mundus. Prepare the Godshield.” When the Two worked in perfect harmony, They could create an enormous arcane barrier around the entire planet that, in theory, would be powerful enough to repel the Dark Magic of the Comet and send it back from whence it came.

For the first time in His eternal existence, Mundus was visibly nervous. This, needless to say, was of no great comfort to Stella. “I am ready whenever you are. We can do this, Stella. Focus on all things positive: Our love, the future of Our Little Ponies, and the coming birth of Our daughters. That is all we can do to weaken the Comet.”

The Comet fed off negativity, that was its greatest strength. Whenever there was hatred, violence, famine, etc. it would be there to further terrorize the mortals. Inversely, however, it was weakened by simply being in the proximity of anything good and sacred. It was the only way to fight Dark Magic.

As They were finally finished creating the Godshield, the Dark Comet itself finally came into view. In only a scant number of seconds, the fate of the newborn Equus would be decided once and for all. Would it have the bright future the Two so desired? Would it be destroyed outright? Or, perhaps worst of all, would the abhorrent corruptions of the Comet find their way onto Paradise?

“Here it comes my love, get ready. Full power now.” For those last moments, it was like time stood still for the Duo. They thought back on all the greatest times of Their long lives, one by one. Then…

CRASH!

The Comet collided with the Godshield with a force powerful enough to send ripples through the space-time continuum.

It was the ultimate test of will for the three parties involved. Mundus and Stella were noticeably shaken from the incredible show of exertion, but the Godshield held strong. The Comet, on the other hand, had no physical features, so the Two could not easily ascertain whether or not They had the upper hoof.

As seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned into hours, the Two were starting to wear down, while the Comet seemed just as intent on reaching its destination as ever, if not even more so. Mundus and Stella could practically feel the Dark Comet mocking Them, daring Them to try and defeat it.

Finally after around eighteen hours, They realized that there was no way of defeating the Comet on this day. There was not sufficient enough time to prepare and Their foe was simply too strong. Mundus and Stella gazed at each other with grim looks in Their eyes.

“W-we have lost, my dear. Equus… will fall victim to the evils of the Comet. After all our hard work, it will all be for nothing.” Stella was in tears now, both from the exhaustion of the Godshield and the realization of the gravity of the situation.

Mundus was deep in thought. “… perhaps”

“What was that, Mundus? You know I cannot hear you when you mumble.”

“I was thinking… perhaps Equus can be saved. Of course, assuming you are willing to pay a great price.” Mundus already knew what His wife’s answer would be. She always was one for sentiment.

Stella’s response was, as predicted, immediate and enthusiastic, “Yes! Of course, anything. I would do anything to save this world, even give my own life.”

Silence fell over the Two once more as They came to a mutual understanding. Suddenly Stella appeared uncharacteristically heartbroken, and Mundus was having a difficult time keeping up his stoic façade as well.

“… We will have to give our Life Force to save Equus, will we not?” asked Stella grimly, though She already knew the answer.

Mundus took a moment to compose Himself before replying, “Yes, I am afraid so my dear. It is either that or abandon Equus and keep on trying elsewhere.”

Queen Stella looked offended at the suggestion. “What, so that the Comet may find its way there eventually and destroy our life’s work once more?” The brilliant silver mare was fuming at this point. “No, absolutely not! I will not let such a terrible fate befall Our little ponies, or any of the other creatures of this world. I am ready to do what I must, Mundus, and that is final.”

The King was stunned by His love’s outburst, for they were exceedingly rare. He could sense the passion behind Her words, however, and at that moment, He knew what needed to be done. He got ready to say goodbye to the cosmos, His domain, that He had come to love so much.

“Very well. Then let us drop the Godshield and make our final preparations.” With that, the enormous barrier dissipated instantly and the Comet was free to make its final descent towards the infant planet. “We must do two things: first, our daughters. My heart aches at the thought but… it seems we have no choice. Our daughters, Celestia and Luna, must one day rise up to lead the ponies. This means you have to give them up now, Stella. How long will it be until they awaken?” inquired Mundus, for He truly had no idea.

Stella thought about it for a moment before answering, “Just a few thousand years under one million. My best guess would be 995,000 years.” Mundus seemed satisfied with this answer.

“Alright, now if I am correct, the Darkness will not have taken a physical form by that point. Our daughters will rise up and forge a great kingdom of their own that will combat anything that the Comet throws at it. It will be glorious.”

‘Well, that solves one problem’, thought Stella, ‘But…'

“That is all well and good, my dear, but we both know that the real threat will arise once the Darkness Incarnate comes to be. What-”

“That is where the second thing I mentioned comes into play. The reason why we must sacrifice our own Life Force.” Mundus interrupted, to Stella’s slight annoyance, but she urged Him to continue.

“We will give our own lives and all our power to create Six Artifacts of ultimate power. They will be called… the Elements of Harmony. Only those ponies who best exhibit each positive trait associated with each Element will be able to wield them. If used in tandem with each other, they will release a wave of magical energy the likes of which only we could create at the height of our strength.”

“Which should be enough to one day defeat the Darkness Incarnate!” finished Stella excitedly, followed by a nod from Mundus. She was sorrowful that Her own life and that of Her King were coming to an end, but was exuberant that both her daughters and her ponies now had hope for a brighter future. “But what are these six traits the Elements will embody?”

“The antitheses of everything the Darkness stands for.” replied Mundus, a stern expression now on his face, “Honesty- always staying true to yourself and others even when a lie may be the simpler option. Kindness- showing sympathy and love to all living things, even when others may believe they don’t deserve it. Loyalty- remaining faithful to those closest to you when they need you the most. Laughter- putting the happiness of other’s before all else. Generosity- the rejection of greed and avarice, giving freely of oneself to those in need. And finally, Magic- that which binds all the others together; the spark of a true leader. These six Elements are all that the Darkness is not, and if used at their full power, should defeat Him once and for all.”

Stella listened with rapt attention as Mundus explained about these Elements They were now set on creating, and when He finished, She replied with finality, “That is a wonderful plan. I feel reinvigorated, confident that Our ponies will succeed. I just pray that our legacy will be one of triumph in the end.”

“As do I, my dear, as do I. Well, are you ready?” They would only get one chance at this, and it needed to be now.

“I am. Let me prepare our daughters for safe transport to Equus.” With that, Stella’s magnificent horn glowed with the intensity of the Stars she controlled, and the fetal forms of the future Princesses of Equestria appeared in a bright light. “I must implant upon them the knowledge of the Dark Comet and what they need to do to prepare. When they finally awaken, they will be ready.”

She cast the spell on Her daughters with a brilliant flash of light, then as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. The daughters of Mundus and Stella were ready for transport.

After a moment of admiration at the perfection He and His wife had made, Mundus took the two in his hooves and spoke in a forlorn voice, “My dearest daughters… Celestia, Ruler of the Sun, and Luna, Mistress of the Moon, you will be truly great one day. Your love for one another shall be absolute, and I know you will do everything in your power to protect Our life’s work. Whatever the future may bring, know that your Father will always be in your heart if you need him, and will be proud of you no matter what. I love you, a-and… goodbye.” Mundus gave one final kiss on each of His daughters' foreheads before turning them over to Stella.

Stella was weeping at the thought of losing Her daughters, but Her resolve remained strong. “I can say no more than your Father already has, my beloved children. I love you more than the very Stars themselves, you are the lights of my existence. I will miss you dearly. Fare thee well on Equus, Celestia and Luna.”

After one final glance, the Two both lit up their horns and teleported the Princesses down to Equus, to a place where they would be safe until the time of their Awakening. And just like that… they were gone.

“There is no time for sorrow, my dear. We must act swiftly if we are to create the Elements of Harmony.” Despite His brave words, Stella could sense great distress in Mundus’s voice, but knew He was right.

“Of course, you are right Mundus… I suppose this is goodbye, is it not?” The sadness in Her words was so thick it could be cut with a knife. “We will continue existing, in a way, as the Elements, but never again will we be able to gaze into each other’s eyes, or admire the beauty of the cosmos, or-”

Mundus could bare the pain in His love’s voice no longer. “Shhh… Do not fret, my dear. We have had a wonderful existence, and so long as we are alive in some form, we will never truly be apart. If the termination of our physical bodies is what is needed to save Equus, than I cannot think of a better way to go, wouldn’t you agree?” The smile on the King’s face was bright and genuine. Stella could not help but offer one as well.

“Yes, you are right of course Mundus. I-I love you so very much my dear.”

“And I, you, Star of my Life,” said Mundus, using His old pet name for Her. “Now, let us begin.”

“I am ready. The Dark Comet will not destroy my people’s future.”

Then, just like with Celestia and Luna, the Two’s horns lit up in a brilliant light that lasted for what seemed like hours. As the light became blinding, They looked into each other’s eyes one last time before giving a final smile.

And when the light cleared, the Divine Duo were no more.

In their place floated six hexagonal jewels that shone with the same brilliance as their progenitors. The Elements of Harmony were born.

As the Dark Comet slowly started taking its roots down on Equus, the Six Elements made their way down to the spot that would one day become the Everfree Forest, and when they arrived, a Tree began to sprout.

You could say, it was a Tree of Harmony.

Author's Note

A/N: I'll mention this once: special attention goes to the AU tag. Canon will be followed… loosely. Not ignored, but liberties will be had. :)

Exit Light, Enter Night

Present Day

Equestria was in celebration. For the fourth time in its 5,000 year history, a Princess was to be inaugurated. Businesses were closed, friends and families came together, and festivities were aplenty.

Twilight Sparkle was a humble unicorn, but even she could not help but feel rather proud of herself. At a young age, it was obvious she had a great aptitude for magic, but all this? Protégé to Celestia herself, having the best friends a pony could wish for, saving Equestria more than once, now becoming royalty?

‘I never could have done it without those closest to me’, she thought with a smile…

“TWILIGHT!” screamed a high-pitched voice, nearly giving Twilight a heart attack. After she had composed herself, “Rarity! How many times do I have to tell you girls not to sneak up on me like that?” scolded Twilight playfully.

“Oh, I apologize darling, but I simply cannot contain my excitement any longer. I, Rarity, get to perform the makeover for my best friend’s coronation. It’s every girl’s dream and I get to live it,” said a fawning Rarity, almost fainting before being caught by Twilight’s magic.

“I couldn’t think of anypony better for the job,” – the white unicorn beamed at this – “I just wish I had the same confidence” said Twilight, apprehension creeping its way into her voice.

Her friend quickly caught on, “What’s wrong, Twilight? You know you can always tell me anything.” Rarity asked, enthusiastic as ever to help those in need.

“I-I’m nervous Rarity. Don’t get me wrong, this is a tremendous honor, and I could not be more excited, but… What if I mess up?

“You won’t dear—

“What if everypony starts seeing my different?

“Now, Twilight—

Or, worst of all, what if something terrible happens during my regency that I can’t fix? Something or somepony stronger than any of the villains we’ve faced thus far or—

“Twilight Sparkle, that is enough! Let me speak this instant!” yelled Rarity with a hint of frustration. The purple alicorn quickly shut up.

“Now, listen well, my dear; you will not make a good Princess,” Twilight looked visibly stunned at this and opened her mouth to protest—

“You will make a fantastic Princess,” – then promptly closed it. “You have so many wonderful leadership traits darling. You’re intelligent, humble, caring; I could go on and on of course. You really must give yourself more credit, if you can deal with our little group of friends on a daily basis, surely dealing with an entire country will be no issue?” At this, both friends burst out laughing.

“Thank you Rarity, I feel a lot better,” said Twilight, and it was true. Her friends somehow always knew what to say to make her feel better.

“You are most welcome Twilight. Now, sit down. We have a coronation to prepare you for!

Meanwhile, the eldest Princess of Equestria was reflecting on how things had gone the past few years. When she had decided to start taking on personal students over a century ago, she never would have thought one could accomplish all Twilight had.

‘She saved Luna when nopony else, not even Discord, could.’ In truth, Celestia could not have been more proud of the former unicorn. She was the first pony in history to have earned alicorn-hood. Even Cadance had only been due to what she was (controlling love), not what she had done.

“And that’s not even counting those vile changelings or Sombra…” she thought out loud. It seemed to Celestia that Twilight had done more for Equestria in her twenty years of life then she had done in thousands.

Suddenly an irritatingly familiar voice asked, “Feeling a bit down, are we Sun Butt?”

Sighing, Celestia responded, “I’ve told you a million times Discord, don’t call me that. And no, just reminiscing is all. When you’re immortal, you tend to do that a lot.”

“Not me! I prefer action over thinking. Things are a lot more interesting that way.”

“Yes, well, you’re not the one running a country are you? I would appreciate if you at least tried to be compassionate to my feelings,” snapped Celestia, to Discord’s mild surprise.

“Now I know something is wrong, so why don’t you confide in your old Uncle Discord? That is what good friends do, is it not?” smirked the Draconequus.

“One: I’m older than you, and two: I’m going to ignore the obvious sarcasm and take your suggestion, despite my better judgment. It’s… Luna.

With the mention of the Princess of the Night, Discord’s mocking smile fell, being replaced by a somber expression- quite the rare sight. “I see. Why is that?”

“Discord you know what happened to her wasn’t your f—

“Enough. I don’t want to talk about that. This isn’t about me Princess, this is about you, so please, do continue.”

It seemed like the princess wanted to protest, but decided against it. “Very well. Ever since my faithful student ascended, I have felt it beginning to stir once more. And not just an old enemy returning, I mean something entirely new. Surely you have as well?” Discord nodded with an exaggerated eye roll.

“You mean Daddy Darkness? The Boogeypony? The—

“Yes, Discord, the Darkness. It cannot be mere coincidence that its resurfacing coincided with Twilight’s great achievement.”

Discord pondered this for a moment, “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

…

…

“… That’s it? That’s your advice?” asked an infuriated Celestia to a slightly bored looking Discord

“What did you expect? I’m not exactly the Spirit of Helpfulness and Sagely Advice,” he shrugged. “Besides, I only meant you shouldn’t worry about it. Remember our old deal? I’ll help your precious ponies deal with whatever comes along like I usually do.”

Against all odds, Discord had kept his word throughout the years, so Celestia had to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Fine, I’ll try to stop worrying so much. Now shoo, I must prepare for my student’s coronation. You report to the Lightbringers; I’ll inform them you’re coming.”

“If you wanted to get rid of me you could have just said so… Sun Butt.”

Discord was out of there just in time to avoid the shouts of one very angry Solar Princess.

One hour before the coronation was set to begin, all of the Element Bearers were gathered around the future Princess Twilight, giving their final words of encouragement.

Which was not very effective when the mare in question was having a mild panic attack.

Applejack, being the most level-headed of the group, took the initiative, “C’mon Twi, Ah know this whole Princess business is giving y’all the heebie jeebies, but we’ve told y’all a thousand times, it’s gonna be alright.” The other four nodded their heads with enthusiasm. It hurt to see their friend like this, especially when they thought this matter had already been dealt with by Rarity.

Finally, Twilight spoke up, “Look girls, I appreciate what you’re trying to do but…”

“But…?” asked the other five.

“My worries aren’t related to the coronation- not directly anyway. I made peace with that days ago,” said Twilight with a sigh.

Pinkie, who was holding no less than fifty balloons from the various parties, spoke up, “Then what’s the matter Twilight? Do you think some ancient evil omnipotent being will awaken after a super duper long time and destroy us all? Because that’d be just silly!” Everypony else just rolled their eyes at this. ‘Pinkie being Pinkie’ they all thought.

“I don’t know about that Pinkie, but you’re not too far off… I think. My concerns are probably unfounded, but I just can’t shake the feeling that something very bad will happen.”

Rarity thought this particular issue had been nipped in the bud, and began to protest, but—

“Before you say anything Rarity, please just hear me out. Alicorns are naturally attuned to the magical balance of Equus. Combine that with my natural affinity for magic, and I really don’t think I’m overreacting. Whatever it is I’m feeling, the Dark Magic output is greater than anything I’ve ever felt.”

“Well, couldn’t you… I don’t know, be wrong?” asked Rainbow Dash, unable to hide a hint of uncertainty.

“Of course. It could just be a mixture of nerves and my heightened magical abilities causing me to perceive a nonexistent threat,” said Twilight, trying to seem confident, when she really was anything but. After all, she would need that skill if she was to become a good Princess.

Luckily, her friends bought it. “Well then, Ah s’pose we should hope fer the best. No use gettin’ all worked up over maybes,” said Applejack.

Suddenly, everypony realized what time it was. Only a half hour left until the ceremony!

“Twilight dear, you must go now. Don’t worry, we’ll all be there in the front row cheering you on. Best of luck,” said Rarity with tears of joy in her eyes. All of Twilight’s other friends gathered for a group hug, saying their final goodbyes before heading out to go find their seats.

Now alone for a moment, Twilight thought out loud, “Even if something bad does happen, I know we can defeat it. There’s nothing friendship cannot defeat.”

The coronation was underway. Despite the importance and grandeur of the event, it really was quite boring. For three hours, Twilight did not even make an appearance. It was mostly just dignitaries from across Equestria swearing their fealty, and long readings of Equestrian history. A certain rainbow-maned pegasus was asleep within fifteen minutes.

Finally, after all the pomp and circumstance was concluded, the part that everypony was waiting for arrived. Celestia, Luna and Cadance themselves took center stage to swear in the newest Princess to her office.

“And now, ponies of Equestria, we present to you: Twilight Sparkle!”

The cheers could be heard from all corners of Equus. The ponies of Equestria had come to love Twilight over the years for her countless acts of heroism. On stage, Twilight’s cheeks were .

After a full five minutes of applause, Celestia continued, “Twilight Sparkle of House Luceat, you stand before us here today…”

And so on and so forth.

Yet another two hours later, and the vows had finally concluded. Twilight was in near-agony by the time it was over, though she somehow kept up her impassive mask.

Celestia and Luna finished, echoing Clover the Clever from their own coronation: Then it is done. Ponies of Equestria, we present to you:

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, Astraea, Harbinger of Friendship, Bearer of Magic.

“Forever may she reign!”

So the coronation was a complete success, just like the others before it. It was now time for the post-ceremony party, which of course Pinkie Pie got to plan. Putting together a celebration of this scale had been hard work for even the unlimited ball of energy that was Pinkie, but the end result was well worth it in her mind.

At midnight, it was time for the newly appointed Princess Twilight’s to give her first royal address.

Twilight, meanwhile, had almost completely forgotten about her earlier nerves and was reveling in the festive atmosphere.

She began, “Well, I can certainly tell you one thing everypony- I never would have expected all this when I was a little filly applying at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns” – that earned her a few chuckles – “But I have to say what a tremendous honor this truly is. For you, the ponies of Equestria, to have accepted me as one of your Princesses? It’s hard to describe.”

Twilight was about to launch into her well-rehearsed diatribe when suddenly a… guard (?) wearing an unrecognizable set of armor came up to her on the podium.

“Miss Sparkle, the other Princesses require your presence- immediately.” This stallion was obviously not messing around, but Twilight was shocked. Celestia, Luna and Cadance had been so excited for her to deliver this particular speech. Why would they… No, it couldn’t be that… could it?

“Your Highness, I hate to rush you but this is a matter of national security. Also, the rest of the Element Bearers are required as well,” said the mystery stallion.

‘Great,’ she thought, ‘I was right…’

The rest of the Elements, who were once again occupying the front row, were wondering what was so important that their friend had to be interrupted during her first speech as a Princess.

Then Twilight dropped the bomb, “Girls… We’re needed. Again. I think you can guess why,” the others’ faces fell at this. Why couldn’t they go a few months without a crisis? Things like this never happened before they were born!

“What’s going on Twilight? Another baddie that needs a good hind kicking?” joked Rainbow. To her displeasure, her friend did not so much as even grin.

“I-I’m not sure yet girls. The Princesses need us, so let’s go see what’s up,” her friends nodded their assent.

Everypony in the room seemed disappointed that Twilight was not going to finish her speech, but knew that she was not to be stopped. Business involving the Elements of Harmony was something nopony wanted to any part of.

Once the Bearers and the ‘guard’ were out of earshot, Twilight demanded, “What’s going on? A-as your Princess, I have the r-right to know.”

She was still getting used to wielding authority.

“I apologize ma’am, but I’m not at liberty to say. I, along with my Brothers and Sisters, answer only to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And, in their absence… ‘Lieutenant’ Discord. I’m sure one of them will explain when we arrive.”

“But- I- Fine. I won’t press the issue. But only because I trust the Princesses.” And because Twilight knew better then trying to get information out of a trained soldier.

Five minutes later, they made it to their destination. The looks on the faces of everypony present were… grim, to say the least. Even Discord, amazingly enough.

Celestia saw the sextet enter and got straight to business, “Good. You all have arrived. I suppose I owe you all an explanation; I’m afraid the abridged version will have to do since we are hopelessly short on time. Luna, if you would?”

The younger sister nodded, “Certainly,” she cleared her throat, “We can explain more later, but here is what you need to know: My little ponies, Celestia and I are the daughters of King Mundus and Queen Stella,” This caused quite the stir, but everypony knew better than to interrupt Luna, “They created Equus one million years ago, and this world was to be Paradise. However, ‘twas not meant to be, for a malevolent entity known as the Dark Comet found our planet and crash landed shortly after. Our parents tried to fight it but were unsuccessful. In response, they sacrificed their lives to create the Elements of Harmony,” another round of gasps, “The Comet spreads evil and corruption wherever it goes, and that is what it has done here.

“The Changelings are the remnants of an ancient pony culture that fell to Dark Magic, while Sombra was the single most powerful wielder of the Dark Arts to have ever lived. I myself was… changed by it, as you all know. Discord himself” – the Draconequus waved at the mention of his name – “is a creature spawned from the Comet. However, he conquered his base nature and has helped us keep the Darkness at bay for over a millennia.

“I will be blunt. The reason why we have called you here is to help combat the greatest threat Equestria has ever faced. All the previous enemies we’ve fought were only agents of the Comet’s will. Their power paled in comparison to what we now stand against. All of the world’s Dark Energy is now consolidating into one physical form: Darkness Incarnate.”

The mood in the room was downright foreboding. The Mane Six, even Rainbow Dash and Applejack, looked ready to faint. Everypony else was sweating bullets. Celestia noticed this and tried to lift everypony’s spirits, “But don’t worry! We have the Elements and the Lightbringers. As long as we keep cool heads and focus, there is nothing we cannot overcome.”

Her words made everypony feel a little better, but not much. And certainly not enough. Twilight and co. didn’t even bother asking who or what the Lightbringers were.

To everypony’s surprise, it was Discord who spoke up next, “Listen up everypony! Now, I may not be an expert on motivational speeches like my friends Sun Butt and Woona here” – he quickly dodged two high-powered magic bolts – “But I can tell you one thing: if you fail, you’re doomed. It’s no secret I like chaos as much as the next pony, but for me, it’s all in good fun. Daddy Darkness, on the other hoof, doesn’t really like fun. Hates it, in fact. These guys we’ve faced over the years, their ambitions were small time, and they all failed. When the Darkness takes form, it will be very angry. Ponies… will die. We’re in the major leagues now, and you all have to be ready. Your world’s fate depends on it.”

After a few moments of silence, Twilight spoke up, “Well everypony, if Discord can take responsibility like that, then so can I. Girls, we’re the Elements of Harmony. We’ve defeated Equestria’s enemies three times now- we can do it again. So what if this Darkness Incarnate is a bit stronger than our previous foes? Friendship is the strongest magic of all. The Elements will see us through like they always have!” she finished, inspiring all those around her.

‘She really is a true leader,’ thought Celestia fondly, though secretly a bit miffed that Twilight had succeeded where she had failed.

“Now,” said Twilight, “It’s been killing me ever since you said it; what are the Lightbringers?”

Twilight was still brooding that she hadn’t gotten a full answer to that question, only that the Lightbringers were a secret order that helped fight the Darkness.

She thought cynically, ‘Where the hay were they when my friends and I had to fight Nightmare Moon, the Changelings or Sombra? Oh well…’

Discord had taken the liberty of teleporting everypony to a field roughly halfway between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. This, as the Princesses had explained, was where Darkness Incarnate would arise.

And… they were correct.

As soon as the party had arrived, they saw what resembled a miniature black hole, that seemed to be sucking in black and purple energies from every direction.

Rainbow and Applejack were fidgeting, Pinkie Pie bounced around, cheerful as ever, Rarity was absentmindedly inspecting her hooves, Fluttershy was shivering like she was covered in ice, while Twilight had her game face on.

Celestia, Luna and… Discord, were busy barking orders at the Lightbringers. Preparing Light Magic, taking formation, etc.

Finally, Celestia addressed the six mares, “Listen closely my little ponies- it is of the utmost importance that you follow my directions to a tee. When the Darkness takes its form, it will be too powerful for the Elements of Harmony to defeat. The rest of us will work towards weakening and ensnaring the beast.

“When I give the signal, you are to then, and only then, unleash your Elements upon it. Do you understand?” They all nodded their assent, except for Rainbow Dash.

“What do we do until then? Just sit back and watch while ponies die? Discord did say ponies would—

“Yes, Rainbow Dash. You are to stay out of this fight until I say so. I-I am sorry, but if you will not do this willingly, I will have to command you.”

Everypony was stunned by this. The kind Princess had never given a command before; she could usually rely on her impressive diplomatic skills. However, there was no time. Equestria, no all of Equus was at stake.

“Y-yes Princess,” said Rainbow uncertainly. With that, the six proceeded to their assigned spots.

The following minutes seemed to drag on for an eternity. After about half an hour, something finally happened.

Energy stopped gathering towards the black mass and suddenly the whole world started to shake.

The sky turned jet-black. Thunder roared, yet there were no clouds.

In Manehattan, buildings came crashing down.

Near Appleloosa, the Buffalo shamans were saying the End of Days had come.

In Saddle Arabia, millions bowed down in prayer, hoping their God would save them.

Then the whole world cried out as one when they all heard the most wicked laugh imaginable.

Back on the field, everypony was scared out of their minds. They couldn’t see, they couldn’t feel, and they could hardly think. After two full minutes of this, it finally stopped.

And when light returned to the world… they saw it. Darkness Incarnate.

It was… surprisingly not that intimidating. Of course, everypony knew better then to underestimate the creature, but it was not easy.

Even though it was bipedal, it stood shorter than Luna, had fur(?) a shade of purple darker than Rarity’s mane, and was emitting a constant black aura. In place of eyebrows, it had two strands of flowing shadows pointing upwards, and the back of its head spiked up in three directions. And when it opened its eyes, they could see red eyes with black slits in the middle. All in all, nothing… too unusual.

It regarded all of them for a moment, before facing a certain Draconequus.

“Discord, what an utter failure you turned out to be. You will be the last to perish, I think.” Even its voice was far less intimidating than expected.

“Yes well, you really should blame yourself for that one. The Chaotic thing to do is the opposite of what’s expected, after all,” said Discord with a smirk. The creature was not amused.

Not bothering to dignify its ‘son’ with a response, Darkness Incarnate finally turned its attention towards the ponies, specifically Celestia and Luna.

It gave a small smile before saying, “You must be the daughters of Mundus and Stella. Their deaths were particularly amusing. Oh, how they tried to resist me for hours on end, only to fail. How pathetic.”

Luna was positively fuming, but Celestia would not be so easily goaded. “What are you, creature? You are not what we were expecting,” she asked, hoping to gain some information that may give them an upper hand.

A moment passed before the thing replied, “You may call me… Vice, for I am a monument to all of yours. Every time I arrive on a new planet, I plant my seed of corruption. Whenever one of you mortals commits an act of evil, my power grows. When you find that you are unable to defeat me, know that there is no one to blame but yourselves.”

Celestia was desperately trying to keep up her brave act. “You will not defeat us, Vice. Ponies have been fighting your agents for thousands of years, and have always succeeded. And with the Elements of Harmony in hoof, we will defeat you too."

Sin just stared at those assembled here. All willing to give their lives in service to their land. It made him laugh how noble they thought they were, when really, they were nothing.

He offered up a smile, and replied, “Well, then. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

Author's Note

I couldn't resist the Halo reference near the end :p

World of Vice

After those words, all hell broke loose. Dozens of Light Magic blasts were fired at Vice, but he simply dissolved into the shadows.

Mere seconds later, he appeared once more, this time hundreds of feet in the air. He whispered, “Dark Spear,” before conjuring up a bolt of Dark Magic and hurling it down below, towards the Lightbringers.

All at once, the entire Order cast the Lightshield, the most effective barrier against Dark spells.

Usually.

The Dark Spear ripped through the shield with little effort, and when it connected with the ground, the explosion could be seen and heard from miles away.

When the smoke cleared, the Lux Invictus was gone. Not even their corpses remained; they had been totally vaporized. Just like that, the flame of hope was extinguished.

Vice spoke in a mock-casual tone, “Oh my, did I do that? Funny, I thought I was supposed to have been defeated by this point.”

Everypony else could do nothing. They were stuck in place, terrified. Disbelieving, heartbroken, dumbfounded- it didn’t matter. More than a few tears were shed for the fallen.

Vice spoke up once more, “Now that you have seen what I can do, I would highly recommend surrender. If you do, I will let you all live out the rest of your miserable lives in relative peace. If you choose to fight, your planet will cease to exist. So what shall it be, Your Majesty? Corruption… or destruction? You know you cannot defeat me.”

Celestia, for the first time in her five thousand year life, cried. She wept for her ponies, for she knew they had lost. The Lightshield was the most powerful spell known to ponykind, and Sin had cut through it like tissue paper. The Elements of Harmony would not be powerful enough. Speaking of which…

She saw a bright light out of the corner of her tear-filled eyes, and when she glanced over, said eyes widened.

‘Oh no!’

...

The Bearers had seen enough. They knew that after that display, there would be no signal. Fluttershy had never felt so traumatized, Pinkie’s mane had gone completely flat, and the rest were just barely remaining composed. They would not let such a horrifying act of cruelty go unpunished.

Twilight was the one to speak the words on everypony’s minds, “Alright girls, we have no choice. Equestria… no, Equus needs us. Get ready to activate the Elements.”

Everypony nodded vigorously. It was time to make sure their fellow ponies’ sacrifice was not made in vain.

A familiar white glow surrounded the Six as their jewel necklaces lit up like stars in the night sky. The mares could feel the ancient magic flowing through them as the Elements used their bodies as living conduits to channel their power.

Meanwhile, Vice noticed Celestia’s horrified expression and turned his attention towards the source. What he saw made him giddy.

Or at least it would have if he could feel positive emotions.

The Bearers had fallen for his trap hook, line and sinker. They were going to use the Elements prematurely. He knew their type well: if provoked with an ample display of force, their emotions would take over and demand justice.

Too bad for them; today, justice was going unserved.

“NO!” Celestia, Luna and Discord all tried to warn them, but it was too late.

The Six had unleashed the powers of harmony upon Vice.

As always, a large rainbow beam shot out from the Elements united. It traveled towards Vice who merely stared at it with disinterest.

When the beam was about ten feet away from him, Vice simply stuck out his hands and set up a cocoon of Dark Energy around himself.

The beam collided with the shield in a manner reminiscent of one million years ago with the Godshield.

However, unlike last time, there was hardly a struggle. The assault held firm until Vice decided enough was enough, and sent out a pulse of even more Energy, which literally broke the rainbow beam in half.

The failed attack sent ripples everywhere that surpassed even Vice's earlier Dark Spear. The Mane Six were sent flying in all directions, rendered momentarily unconscious.

When they came to, what they saw somehow made their hearts drop even further than before.

The Elements of Harmony had shattered into pieces. This was not looking very good.

Crestfallen, the girls could do nothing but stare in disbelief as the Dark Being gloated above them.

“You ponies are so very easy to manipulate. I’m beginning to see why you find them so amusing, Discord,” – the spirit frowned at this – “You witness one atrocity and suddenly your whole world comes crashing down around you. Even now, all you can do is… cry. How pathetic!

“But I suppose it isn’t entirely your fault. The one you should really blame is the Princess of the Day here,” Vice pointed at Celestia, “For feeding you the same lie all these years: that nothing is more powerful than friendship. As you can see, I have just disproven that theory.”

Vice desperately wanted to lay into the ponies some more, to cause even more despair before they died slowly, but merely being in their presence was making him ill.

So much so, that he decided something else was in order… something much worse than death. These Element Bearers who dared stand against him would become the newest residents of the World of Vice.

For a long time, nopony spoke. What was there to say? The Elements of Harmony, the most potent magic known to ponykind, had failed. Vice was going to either corrupt or destroy Equestria, and they would not give him the satisfaction of begging for their lives. They would die as they had lived- virtuously.

Rarity and Applejack’s final thoughts were of their sisters and their wellbeing, while Rainbow Dash thought of the little orange pegasus she had come to care for so much.

Finally, the leader of the group spoke up, “Well girls… All I can say, is that it’s been an honor and a privilege getting to know you all. We’ve had some great times together, haven’t we?”

The others smiled at this. Rainbow took the initiative, “You all know that I’m no good with this sappy stuff but… you’re the best friends a pony could ever have. And I’ll be with you all ‘till the end.”

Everypony else in the group gave similar speeches, and the six shared one last group hug.

“K-kill us if you want Vice, but know this: You will fail. Maybe not on Equus, but one day. You may have destroyed the Elements of Harmony, but you will never destroy the Spirit of Harmony that resides in every living thing. So go ahead, do your worst.”

The six all held hooves and closed their eyes, waiting for oblivion to take them…

But it never came. Instead, they heard only an insidious laughter.

“How adorable. They think I’m going to kill them. Well, that was the original plan, but you see girls, luckily for you, you get to be my personal experiments instead.”

Finally, after a long silence, Celestia spoke up, “No, please Vice! Do not make them suffer any more than necessary. Y-you have won, so go and do what you must. Take me instead if you have to!”

Vice did not let his mild surprise show. This was unexpected, but it opened up new possibilities. He would play Celestia’s game for now (albeit on his own terms), but had no intention of actually playing by the rules.

“No Celestia, I think you and your sister will stay here with me and watch your world die. However… if you can convince my wayward Chaos-spawn here to parley, we might be able to come to an arrangement.”

The two alicorns turned their attention to Discord, looks of desperation plastered on their faces.

Luna spoke for them both when she said, “Discord, we will not force you to do anything you are uncomfortable with. I cannot imagine what sick, twisted things you would have to—

Discord cut her off, “I’ll do it, Vice. Ease the Bearers’ suffering and you can do whatever you want with me. I probably had it coming anyway.”

All those present were stunned. Discord had always been an… ally, sure. He would cause his Chaos and generally try to get on everypony’s nerves, though always in good fun. But to do something so selfless? To subject himself to whatever horrors Vice had planned for him just to help the ponies who had, admittedly, never treated him all that well? It was touching.

Before any of the Mane Six could think of a response, Vice chimed in, “Fantastic! Now listen well ponies, here is what’s going to happen. For your act of defiance, you are hereby sentenced to the World of Vice. It is a realm of my own creation. It is split up into seven sections, each representing a facet of my personality: arrogance, avarice, desire, envy, gluttony, fury and torpor.”

As he spoke, the ponies looked absolutely appalled. Equestrian society promoted love, friendship, tolerance and selflessness. To know that a being such as Vice could exist was a major slap in the muzzle.

Each of you will face one of these sections, one at a time, by yourself. As part of his punishment, Discord will be joining each of you during your test. If all six of you manage to conquer the trials ahead, I will grant you a fast and painless death. If you fail…” – he cackled wickedly – “well, let’s just say you won’t enjoy it.”

“An’ what if we refuse?” asked Applejack. The farmpony did not like being told what to do, no matter the circumstances.

“You don’t have much of a choice, Applejack. And that’s the honest truth.” Nopony but Vice found that remark particularly amusing.

The Dark One then delivered his verbal coup de grâce, “This whole situation just makes me laugh. I could kill you, but that would be the generous thing to do, and I simply must remain loyal to my true nature. Now, if you all would be so kind as to stand in a circle, so I can work my magic.”

Vice's ever-present black aura suddenly shot out and circled around above the girls. From it, a portal formed that started to suck them up. They tried to resist, but found themselves able to even move.

Though he was a distance away, Discord found himself being drawn into the vortex as well.

“Be brave everypony! I believe in all of you! F-farewell…” yelled Celestia, and she could not help but cry for what felt like the millionth time in the past thirty minutes. Would this really be the last time she’d ever see her most faithful student and her friends she had grown so fond of? It just wasn’t fair! Somehow, someway, Vice was going to pay.

The six mares found they could not speak either, so they could not even say goodbye. To the Princesses, Discord, or to each other. In a matter of seconds, they were… gone. Just like that. As the portal was closing, the only thing to escape from it was a single heart-shaped tear.

…

As soon as the seven were gone and the portal finally dissipated, Vice turned towards the only two ponies left- Celestia and Luna. He reached out his hand and seized them with his magic. They did not (and could not) offer up any resistance.

He looked somewhere between disgusted and bored, “I’m not even going to gloat at this point. Gloating would imply there was some kind of obstacle I had to overcome in the first place. I knew you cretins would pose no threat, but I never even dreamed it would be this easy. What a shame.

“Now, you two are going to just love what I have planned for Equus next. I’m going to make the mortals’ lives as miserable as possible before destroying this paltry excuse for a planet. And you get to witness it all with me; isn’t that just wonderful?”

The future seemed grim indeed.

...

The six mares had lost control of their senses; it was like being in a vegetative state, flowing through this endless void of darkness. They knew they were alive, but felt totally empty.

That was until a single light popped into existence. Then two. Three.

Six flickers of light, one for each mare. They were barely conscious, but could vaguely see the outlines of the lights. Were those… their cutie marks?

A voice spoke to them, with a soothing, almost unearthly echo, “Greetings, Bearers of Harmony. We are afraid there is not much time. Our powers are greatly limited here in this unholy place. There is much to tell, however, so We shall be swift.

“The new Princess was correct when she spoke of the Spirit of Harmony. Darkness Incarnate may have destroyed the Elements’ physical shells, but the magic remains, unbeknownst to him.

“We are the soul of the Elements, the final vestiges of King Mundus and Queen Stella, your creators. Two became One on that fateful day, and We have overseen the Elements and Tree of Harmony ever since. We are… proud of you ponies, but We digress.

“This… World of Vice you now find yourselves in is a nightmarish place, the opposite of Equus in all ways. Everything you encounter here will try to twist and corrupt your minds, bodies and souls. The Darkness will target your weaknesses and expose your darkest secrets. Nothing will be considered too sacred here.

“We do not need to remind you that you all must resist. No matter how difficult, how tempting, you must stay strong. The fate of Equus depends on it.”

Suddenly the six lights began to flicker, “It would seem our time is almost up. There is one last thing you need to know. The sections of this world represent the inverse of the virtues you all display so well. If you manage to conquer them, you will, in a way, become one with your Element. United, you will be strong enough to challenge the Darkness Incarnate. He does not know this, and you mustn’t let him find out.”

The voice was almost unintelligible by this point, but the ponies could make out one last thing, “Remember, for every dark night, there is a brighter day…”

Rainbow Dash had never felt so miserable. She had confidence in her own ability to beat Vice at his sick little game, of course. Winning was her thing, after all. But she had to do it all without her friends. Worse, they were all alone and probably scared out of their minds. And there was nothing she could do about it…

“What’s done is done, Dash. Nothing you can do about it. Now let’s see what—

She stopped mid-sentence as she took in her surroundings. This place was just… wrong. Like, on a primal level. Dash remembered when Twilight had explained the concept of ‘uncanny valley’ at one of their group picnics. When something closely resembles the original, but not quite. It makes the object in question seem really bucking creepy.

That was what this World of Vice was. It almost looked like Equestria, but there were differences; the sky was darker than normal, there were no clouds, the grass was dead, and the architecture was too jagged, just to name a few.

Dash was about to go explore when a shadowy projection of Vice appeared before her, “So, Miss Dash, how do you like it? I’m really quite proud of the place,” he said in a smug voice.

The pegasus was oh-so tempted to retaliate, but she knew what Vice was doing. The more frustrated she got, the easier it would be to lose sight of her goal. And she would not let her friends, or Equus, down.

“Where am I, Vice? What layer of your stupid world is this?” Dash decided to ask. Knowing herself, she already had a good guess as to what it was, but needed to make sure.

“No brash retort, Dashie? Given your abysmal intellect, I must say I’m rather surprised.” Vice tried once more, but Dash stayed vigilant.

“Very well. I can see your will remains strong as ever. Don’t worry… that will soon change. You have been brought to the World of Arrogance. You do know what arrogance means, yes? It is a nine letter word after all. Assuming you do, I needn’t explain why you were chosen to come here.”

‘Must resist. Stay strong.’ Dash repeated the mantra in her head over and over.

“Of course, like I said earlier, my great failure, Discord, will be here to… assist you. I suggest you make use of him. Farewell Rainbow Dash. I wish you the best of luck. You’ll need it!”

The projection faded away, and in its place laid a pale Discord.

‘Well, this is going to be… fun…

Arrogance- Part 1

‘Well, they don’t call me the Element of Loyalty for nothing, I guess…’ thought Rainbow Dash as she went over to see if Discord was alright.

“Uh… you okay there Discord? You don’t look too good…”

It was true. All of the color was drained out of him, it was as if his very soul had been sucked away. The mare was not particularly fond of him, but he had never truly wronged them in the past, so her concern was (relatively) genuine.

Luckily, Dash’s voice caused the Draconequus to stir, “Huh? What? Where am I?” – he looked around the area quickly before his eyes settled on the lone pegasus – “Oh, that’s right. Rainbow Dash. I’m supposed to help you here. Well, I would of course, but it appears as if most of my power has been drained so it seems I will be relegated to a guide. This is the World of Arrogance, is it not?”

“Yeah. Vice thinks he’s being clever dropping me here, but he’s wrong. I’m not arrogant, I just take pride in my achievements. Is that really so bad?”

Discord gave her a deadpan look, “Remember that whole ‘Mare-Do-Well’ incident?”

Dash’s cheeks erupted into flames, and she attempted a glare at Discord, “T-that was one time! But I learned my lesson, and I’ve tried my best to be more humble ever since.”

“We will see. Seeing as how we will be spending quite some time here, I suppose a brief explanation of this particular World is in order. It’s my second least favorite of them all, so not a good start in my opinion—”

“What’s your least favorite?” Dash interrupted, unable to hold back the curiosity in her voice.

“… Fury. They’re just nasty in that place. You try to have just a little fun and…” he trailed off briefly.

“Anyway, I digress. The… ‘residents’ you will meet here are actually the deceased spirits of those ponies who lived their lives without a shred of modesty. They thought of everypony as beneath them, and held themselves up as perfection. Now they spend their afterlives constantly trying to become greater than each other, and even plot to overthrow Vice from time to time. Some have been here for thousands of years, while others may have just died yesterday.

“They are egotistical, condescending, and just all around unpleasant to be around. You certainly have your work cut out for you here, Rainbow Dash.”

This place sounded terrible, to be sure. Despite what that Light had said, she was beginning to doubt that she’d ever see her friends again. But then she remembered who she was: the one and only Rainbow Dash! Her loyalty to them would keep her going no matter what Vice threw at her. So long as she kept on believing in that, she knew she would prevail.

However, there was one pressing issue Discord had neglected to mention, “Alright, so this all sounds pretty lame. I got that. But how am I supposed to beat this place? The voice from before said I’d have to ‘conquer’ arrogance or whatever to become one with my Element. How exactly am I supposed to do that?” she asked. Discord paled even further.

“I… don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Dash was furious. How could he not know? Wasn’t Discord like… from here or something? She was about to dig into him, but apparently he saw this and quickly amended his statement.

“B-but I do have a guess of course! Seeing as how the sin of this World is arrogance, I think that your best bet would be to inspire an act of humility among one or more of the realm’s inhabitants. Show them the error of their ways, if you will. How you go about doing so is all up to you. I’m just along for the ride.”

‘Hmm. I guess I could try that. Kind of like that time with Lightning Dust at the Wonderbolts Academy! Putting my friends over my life’s dream was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do, but in the end, I felt… really good. Maybe if I could get somepony else to experience that feeling… maybe…’ Dash was brought out of her musings by an over-the-top yawn from Discord.

“Any day now Dashie. The longer you spend lollygagging, the more ponies and others will suffer back on Equus,” he said.

Just when she had almost forgotten, the reminder came once again. Not only were her friends counting on her, but the world as well. If she didn’t succeed… billions would perish.

“Yeah I’m coming, hold your horses,” Dash grumbled. Time to start the long battle against Vice.

The colorful duo made their way towards what looked like the World of Vice equivalent of Ponyville. Discord was too weak to teleport and too heavy for Dash to carry, so they had to travel by foot.

Not flying bored the pegasus greatly, so she decided to strike up a conversation, “So I was thinking, it’ll get real annoying real quick to keep saying ‘World of Vice’ over and over again, so from now on I’m going to call it ‘Wov.’”

“Wov? Why Wov?” questioned the spirit.

“It’s like what you get if you sound out W.O.V, the y’know… what’s the word… abbreviation for World of Vice! Pretty clever, huh?” asked Dash, expecting validation.

“No. No it’s not,” Discord deadpanned.

He received an eye roll in response, “Yeah well what do you know? I think it’s a cool name! Well, as cool as this place can get, which is not much.”

“Oh, would you look at that? We’re here. And I was having so much fun talking with you, Rainbow Dash!”

Dash’s glare could have given Fluttershy’s trademark ‘Stare’ a run for its money, but the Draconequus was immune to such things it seemed.

Though as soon as he caught sight of the town’s spirit ponies, he wished he could go back to Dash’s painful attempts at conversation. Fate, however, was a fickle mistress, and the townsponies soon turned their eyes on him as well.

All of this World’s inhabitants appeared as alicorns. In Equestria, they were seen as the pinnacle of ponykind, having the strengths of all three pony races and none of the associated weaknesses. Thus, arrogant ponies would take on their form in death, further solidifying their beliefs in their own superiority.

One particular stallion, the biggest and oldest of them all, decided to approach the two. He had a dark purple coat, a jet black mane with yellow streaks, and an ornate mirror for a cutie mark. When he spoke, they both had to seriously refrain from gagging, “Ah, the wayward Spirit of Chaos returns after all these years. I see you’ve brought a pet as well.”

“Hey! I’m not a pet! I’ll have you know that I’m the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, and I’ve saved Equestria more than once. What did you ever do in your life, huh?”

“Actually, I believe you’re the former Bearer of Loyalty. You and those peons you call friends couldn’t even utilize the Elements correctly, and now they’re gone,” – he snorted – “Strongest magic in all of Equus, and you squandered it. How pathetic.”

Discord could tell that the alicorn was getting under Dash’s skin with downright laughable ease, and chose then to step in. “Rainbow Dash, you need to calm down. Remember what’s at stake. If you lose yourself, it’s all over. Why don’t you remove yourself from the situation and calm down. I’ll handle these delightful fellows.”

Dash still looked furious, but luckily there was no further incident. She curtly nodded her thanks and trotted off.

He turned his glare on the black alicorn, “Now, would you mind telling me what exactly you want, Divine Reflection? You’re always up to no good, so spill the beans.”

“Want something from you? Or that filthy pegasus you seem to have befriended? How laughable. No, I have no interest in whatever it is you’re doing here. If you’re trying to defeat Vice, then go right ahead. I doubt you’ll be able to, but I certainly won’t stop you.” Divine Reflection didn’t even give Discord time to respond and walked away.

“I can’t stand that stallion…” Discord grumbled, “Well I’d better go find my good pal Rainbow Dash, she must be missing me terribly.”

He found the pegasus sitting by the town river, looking uncharacteristically downtrodden. While Rainbow Dash was far from his favorite pony, he didn’t want to see her suffering like this.

“What seems to be the problem Dashie? It’s not like you to get down so easily,” Discord said, as sincerely as he could.

“I don’t know, it’s just… I hate to lose. A lot. But sometimes I get really nervous about stuff. Like that time at the Best Young Flier Competition, and that was just over a silly trophy. Now the whole world is literally at stake and… I’m scared out of my mind, I’ll admit it. I’m on edge, and if everypony here is as bad as that Reflection guy, then I’m bucked!” Dash was not good with sentimentality, so this was very hard for her. Especially with Discord.

‘Ugh. Oh Discord, why did you sign up for this?’

“Look Rainbow Dash, one thing that we have in common is that we’re not really all that good with ‘mushy’ stuff, so I’ll spare you my half-hearted attempt at a motivational speech…

“I don’t have much magic left, but I can show you something,” said Discord as he gathered his remaining Chaos energy to create a translucent floating mirror with several images. “This right here? This is what you’re fighting for.”

Dash could see what must have been thousands of ponies all across Equestria praying for them. Praying… For her and her friends.

“We believe in you Elements of Harmony!

“You can do it girls! Show that monster what ponies can do!

“We’re all depending on you, so please win…”

All these voices served to motivate Dash, but one in particular stood out. She had to focus hard to find it, but when she did, it cemented her determination.

It was Scootaloo, the little filly she had come to regard as family, who was whispering, “I know you can do it Rainbow Dash, you’ve never let us down before…”

Dash let out one single tear before standing up, “Alright Discord, I’m ready, for real this time. Let’s do this.”

As the pegasus departed for Anti-Ponyville, Discord let out a long sigh, “I really hate to lie to her like that, especially with that adorable little orange filly, but what else could I possibly do…?”

Dash made her way back to ‘Woville’ (as she had taken to calling this world’s Ponyville equivalent) with a new aura of confidence. ‘I can do this. I’ve never failed before and this time will be no exception,’ she thought.

While walking through the streets, she drew more than a few disdainful glares, but luckily nopony tried to halt her progress.

‘Hmm. They probably see me as too beneath them to even address. As much as that gets on my nerves, it’s probably for the best.’

It was only once she had reached the Town Square that Dash realized that she only had a general idea of what to do in order to overcome her circle of Wov, but no solid plan to carry out.

“Ugh. This is why I let Twilight handle this planning junk, I hate it. What can I do? Think Rainbow Dash, think…” she scolded herself out loud.

“Maybe if I just go around to everypony in town and find the one who’s the least snooty and jerkish, I can convince them to try being good!” Dash beamed at the sheer and utter awesomeness of her plan.

Meanwhile, an almost sick looking Draconequus performed the biggest facepalm in the history of facepalms. “Must I do everything for this pony?” he questioned under his breath.

Because of the sheer and utter stupidity of her plan, Discord decided to have some of his trademark fun. He began to clap loudly.

“Bravo, bravo Rainbow Dash! That may just be the greatest plan that I have ever heard. Truly, your brilliance would make Einstallion himself green with envy. I don’t know how you could’ve—

“Shut up Discord! I know what you’re doing; I’m not that stupid! You gave me a general idea for a plan earlier but no details. Now I have to fill in the blanks, so unless you can give me something better, then zip it,” seethed Dash. She would not let herself be ridiculed by Discord at a time like this.

“Actually Dashie, I d—

“And stop calling me Dashie! Only Pinkie Pie is allowed to call me that!”

“… Very well then, Your Awesomeness, the one and only Miss Rainbow Dash, as I was saying… I actually do have a more in-depth plan, if you’re willing to listen.”

“Now that’s more like it. And of course I’m willing to listen. As long as it gets me and my friends closer to beating Vice, I’ll do whatever you say Discord… Within reason,” she said dubiously, knowing what her companion was likely thinking.

“And just when I was about to pull out the frou-frou dress and pom-poms. Perhaps next time. Alright, so here’s what we’re going to do…”

Arrogance- Part 2

Dash had to admit, Discord could be pretty bucking smart when he wanted to be. After he had finished explaining his plan, she tried desperately to find flaws, even small nitpicks, but found that she could not. Maybe not foolproof, but as close as they were going to get. It was a thoroughly efficient yet simple premise.

With one glaring exception.

Step one was to infiltrate Wov’s annual race that was (conveniently) coming up in another three days, the ‘World’s Greatest Flyer Challenge’.

“Are you sure they’ll just let me join? You saw how everypony here has a stick up so far up their flank it almost comes out the other end! I doubt they’ll let a ‘filthy pegasus’ like me compete,” Dash complained. His strategy may have been sound, but it relied entirely on her admission into this competition.

Discord sighed, “I already explained this, Your Awesomeness” – he stuck his tongue out at her – “These foals will do anything to prove that they’re better than everypony else. A chance to show you up, a Bearer of Harmony? They’ll eat something like that up. But remember: when you go to sign up, you must act humble and you cannot lose your temper no matter what. Do you understand?” he asked.

Dash remained skeptical, but he sounded confident that she could pull this off, so she nodded, “Yeah, I got you Discord. Besides, if I swallow my pride now, it’ll all be worth it once I wipe the floor with them in the race!” she exclaimed excitedly.

“Exactly. None of these ponies actually train like you do, they all think their ‘natural talent’ will let them wipe the floor with their competitors. So imagine their surprise when you leave them eating dust after one of those Sonic Rainbooms!” Discord proclaimed with a devious smile. He was enjoying the thought of showing up the arrogant spirits just as much as Rainbow Dash.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Dash said, “I know, I can’t wait, it’s gonna be totally awesome! Okay, just wait here, I’ll be back soon.”

Discord waved goodbye before letting out a sigh and searching for a new Thinking Tree to gather his thoughts. He was still feeling somewhat fatigued by his rather brutal entrance to this realm, and while he was usually not one to worry about the future, preferring to live life day-by-day, the Draconequus also happened to know what they were up against.

Vice was omnipotent and omniscient here in Woss. There was no doubt he knew what they were planning, and would take steps to sabotage them every step of the way.

Yet this also presented the Bearers’ greatest advantage, and perhaps their only chance to succeed. 'Not even gods are without their weaknesses. Vice's is his confidence that Wov, his ‘perfect’ world, will be too much for the Bearers to handle. He’ll certainly make the task difficult, but never impossible,’ Discord thought.

“Bah! What am I doing? I’m the Spirit of Chaos, not some angsty pre-teen filly! Time to bring these ponies down a few notches…” he snickered evilly.

Back in Equestria, Rainbow Dash loved to take in all of her surroundings whenever she flew. It was relaxing, watching the natural beauty of her home world pass her by from the skies.

Here, it was a whole different story. Just glancing at the dreary landscapes below filled the pegasus with a sense of unease and depression. She couldn’t wait to be done with this awful place.

Luckily, she managed to get to the sign-up station in no time at all. Since everypony else had already signed up weeks ago, there was nopony else in line, so she strolled on up to the counter, where a bored looking mare sat behind the booth.

“Um… Hello. I’d like to compete in the race. My name’s—

“Rainbow Dash, I know. Everypony here knows. You honestly think you even have a chance? You’re just a lowly pegasus. Don’t you have anything better to do, like take on Vice? Or have you already forsaken your ‘friends’? How sad…” the mare interrupted, quite rudely.

Dash was positively fuming inside. She wanted to buck this whorse right in her smug face so bad, but instead replied calmly, “No, ma’am, I haven’t given up on my friends, I’m still just thinking of how to beat Vice is all. In the mean time, I figured I might as well compete to keep my mind off this terrible situation, even if I don’t have a chance to actually win.”

The alicorn mare rolled her eyes, but nodded, “Whatever. It’s not worth my precious time to care what you do. Vice already told us to let you compete if you asked, but you have to take up the rear. Now get out of my sight.”

The mare abruptly closed the window, leaving Dash all alone. She shrugged before turning to leave and go find Discord, but was stopped at the entrance by the big alicorn from before, Divine Reflection if she remembered correctly.

“Well, well, what do we have here? If it isn’t the little pegasus, trying to compete with the real champions. You may have been hot stuff back in Equestria, but you’ve never faced anypony like me before. I have won the World’s Greatest Flyer Challenge almost every year since its inception. You don’t stand a chance.”

Dash replied with the fakest smile of all time, “Well, that might be true, but I’m going to try anyway. My friends are depending on me here. I’m looking forward to racing with you though, it should be fun. Good luck by the way, I’m sure you’ll do awesome.”

'It’ll be fun alright. Fun when I get to see the looks on your faces when I pull off my Sonic Rainboom,’ she thought eagerly.

Divine Reflection raised his eyebrow for a moment before responding, “Yes… It will be a grand time for sure. And I most certainly do not need to rely on such superstitions as ‘luck’ for my victory,” he stopped speaking for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something further but debating whether to or not.

Eventually, however, his curiosity prevailed, “Let me ask you something, former Bearer of Harmony: Why do you try so hard to embody loyalty? You owe nothing to anypony. Time immemorial has shown us that the strong survive and thrive, while the weak struggle and perish; therefore, why concern yourself with others, especially when they are not as great as you? They only bring you down with them. Answer me this, and I will let you go without further incident.”

The pegasus was totally blindsided by what she was hearing. This was the first time since she had arrived that anypony (other than Discord) had actually talked to her in a non-hostile manner. It was a wonderful change of pace, even if it was a deep, philosophical question, something she was not a fan of. Leave that egg head stuff to Twilight she figured.

‘Wait a minute… Maybe… Could this be my chance? Is Divine Reflection the one? Ugh Discord, the one time I actually wish he was here, he’s not…’ she mused to herself.

After a moment of quiet deliberation, Dash found it easier than expected to respond with genuine sincerity, “You know, I used to think the same way. All the way back to when I was a filly at flight school, I thought I was better than everypony else, and with good reason. I set records weekly, won every competition, and even pulled off the first ever Sonic Rainboom,” she smiled at the memories.

“But my good friend Fluttershy always kept me in check. She made sure I never pushed myself too hard, or do anything I’d regret later, and I looked after her in return. It was, and still is, an even better feeling than winning any race. All of you guys here in this World have it in your heads that making friends and caring about others is a sign of weakness, but it’s really the opposite. I think it takes a lot of guts to be open and honest with yourself and others.

“If you go through life never having anypony there for you, it stinks. You can pretend like everything is cool, and put on a mask for everypony else, but really you’re only fooling yourself.

“When Fluttershy left to go live in Ponyville, I found that I had nopony else to talk to. I was lonely, and well… depressed. So I left too, and it was the best decision I ever made.

“I would be nothing without my friends. They’re always there for me no matter what, and when they praise me for how awesome I am, I know that they mean it.

“And maybe you’re right. Maybe I can’t win this race. Heck, maybe it won’t even be close. But you can be sure that I’m gonna give it everything I've got, because my friends and all of Equestria are counting on me. So yeah… that’s my answer.”

Dash was slightly embarrassed at how sentimental she had gotten there and gave a small blush, but she truly meant every word of it.

On the other hoof, Divine Reflection had a deeply contemplative expression on his face, and for what seemed like an eternity, there was silence.

Finally, he bowed his head ever so slightly and spoke softly, “I… see. Well, I said you could go after you answered, so… Leave me be. I’ll see you at the race.”

Not knowing what else to say, Dash gave him a small smile and nodded, then took off to the skies of this nightmarish world once more.

Meanwhile in Wov-Canterlot, a certain Spirit of Chaos was having the time of his life.

“I do so LOVE being me! These ponies think they’re oh-so-special, yet they squeal in terror at the first sign of trouble! It is the most satisfying… Wait, why am I talking to myself?” Discord pondered this for a moment before shrugging it off and going back to hysterical laughter.

‘Now what can I do next…’ he thought after finally calming down from his last prank which involved copious amounts of soapy roads, chocolate rain, and asymmetrical geometry. Oldies but goodies.

Before he could act further, he heard his good pal Rainbow Dash calling for him back in Anti-Ponyville. Earlier, he had established a psychic connection between them, so he could be there for her like the good friend he was.

So naturally, he decided he’d do so after another hour or two of chaos.

…

“Ugh! Where are you Discord? I’ve been waiting in this dump for almost an hour…” While she didn’t exactly have anything else to do, Dash wanted to give her ‘friend’ a progress report.

She didn’t have to wait long, as she soon saw the Draconequus floating down towards her with… a safety pin, a bottle of lotion, and a jar of peanut butter?

“Do I even want to ask?”

“No, you probably don’t.”

“Whatever. So I have good news. I signed up for the World’s Greatest Flyer Challenge, and I think I might have even found the pony we can… uh… convert?” she said.

Discord looked positively jubilant at this news and said, “High hoof RD! Or high claw? High haw!” – Dash did not high haw back unfortunately – “Fine, be that way. But in all seriousness, terrific job. Who is the pony you’re going to show the light?” Suddenly Discord acquired a halo over his head and angelic wings and clothes.

“It’s that Divine Reflection guy. He may be king of the jerks, but in that sign-up place… I don’t know, I think he showed another, non-jerkish side to him.”

Upon hearing the name, Discord’s angelic features immediately turned into devilish ones, complete with bat wings, horns, and a pitchfork.

“I highly doubt that. Divine Reflection is far beyond redemption. For thousands of years, he’s gone out of his way to make everypony’s lives as miserable as possible. Not that everypony here doesn’t deserve it, but still,” he said grimly.

“I know it’s a long shot, but I gotta believe, you know? We don’t exactly have a ton of options here,” she said, standing by her opinion.

It was obvious that he wasn’t buying it, but he at least ditched the whole demon get-up, “If you say so. But like I said before, you definitely have your work cut out for you here. Well, I’ll see you in three days time. Ciao!”

With that, Discord snapped his fingers and vanished, leaving Rainbow Dash all alone once again.

Not knowing what else she could do, Dash decided she’d spend the rest of her time until the WGFC doing some intense training. While she felt confident in her ability to win any race, it was always better to be as prepared as possible.

She took off to the air and began searching for a big, open field to practice her sprints and aerial maneuverability exercises. She decided it would be best to hold off on any Sonic Rainbooms until the race itself, in case somepony saw and took measures to prevent her from performing it.

After roughly an hour of frantic searching, she finally discovered a nice (by Woss standards) little meadow that was untouched by the hooves of these spirit ponies, a far cry from the vast countryside of Equestria.

She started with a few warm-up exercises, then some timed laps, followed by some of her more daring tricks. Dash had discovered that while in Woss, she didn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep, so she kept at this for nearly two days straight, with only a few breaks in-between to recover from fatigue.

On the dawn of the third day, as she was preparing for her last round of training, a terrible voice that she hoped she’d never have to hear again spoke from behind her, “So, how goes the training, Dashie?”

The pegasus glared at the astral projection of a smirking Vice and said, “I have nothing to say to you, Vice, so get the buck away from me.”

“My, my, so hostile. I only wanted to wish you good luck in the race. I really do hope Chaos’s little plan works; it is quite amusing watching you mortals think you have a chance of defeating my World,” laughed Vice.

“That doesn’t even make any sense. If Discord’s plan works, then I am defeating your World,” Dash smirked right back.

“Yes, you would defeat my World. But that doesn’t really matter now, does it? Remember our deal: you only win if you all succeed,” he said, then gave yet another of his trademark smirks, “and can you honestly tell me you think all of your friends can find the same success you seem to be having thus far?

“Hehe, and let’s not get ahead of ourselves, even you haven’t won yet.”

“O-of course I believe in my friends! There’s nothing they can’t accomplish!” Dash stuttered for just a moment, but that was all Vice needed.

“You keep telling yourself that. Well, you’re practically seething at this point, so I shall make my leave. I’ll see you again once one of your pathetic friends fails their mission,” mocked Vice as his projection faded, leaving Dash alone once again.

“I’ll show you Vice. We’ll all show you. You’re gonna pay big time for underestimating us,” she whispered angrily before resuming her final preparations for the race.

Rise of a Nation

5,000 years ago

Darkness. That is all the young alicorn could see when she opened her eyes for the first time. “Mother? F-father? Are you there?” asked the small white alicorn. No sooner had she spoken when suddenly her mind was overwhelmed with a seemingly endless flood of memories.

‘Celestia. Dark Comet. Sin. Elements of Harmony. Kingdom of Equestria… Prepare.’

‘This… this must be my- no, our, destiny. Luna and I. To unite Equestria and one day fight the corrupting influence of the Darkness. Mother, Father, I know you’re still out there somewhere, and I know what I must do.’ Just as Celestia was finishing with her thoughts, another small form, this time a dark blue alicorn, began to stir.

And just as with her sister before, the young filly experienced the same memory transference spell. “Sister? Celestia? Are you here? I-I am scared…”

Celestia trotted over to her little sister. “It will be alright, little sister. You know what we must do, yes?” Luna nodded. “Good. I want you to know that I will always be there for you, to protect you. Do you understand?” The elder’s smile was kind and warm.

After a few seconds of silence, “Yes I do Celestia. And I am ready to carry out our parents’ orders. We will ensure these ponies do not fall victim to the Darkness,” said Luna, a strong conviction evident in her voice, to which Celestia could only

With that, the two sisters made their way out of the cave they had been sealed in for almost a million years. A few hours later, they finally made it out, and what they saw was in no way encouraging.

It was a frozen wasteland.

Celestia and Luna looked on in awe, frightened at what they were seeing. “What happened here?” asked both sisters in unison.

From the imprinted memories left behind by their parents, the part of Equus they were on was supposed to be a region of diverse climates- mountains, deserts, seas, grasslands, forests, etc. but there was only snow as far as the eye could see.

“You don’t think… the Darkness has already gotten to the ponies do you? Have we awoken on a dead planet?” asked Luna. It was certainly a discouraging thought.

“We can only hope that is not the case.” Even though she had her own worries and concerns, Celestia knew she must stay strong, for herself and for her sister. “Stay here Luna; I will scout out the land and see if there are any survivors.”

Celestia took flight, while Luna looked on with pride. ‘Tia is going to make a fantastic leader one day. I only hope the same holds true with me…’

Celestia was using her natural solar magic to keep warm in the blistering cold, which was only pronounced by her high altitude. ‘I don’t know how anypony could survive in this cold. Perhaps while we were asleep, the Darkness sent Equus into an eternal winter, and everypony has already frozen…’ she thought, worriedly.

She had been on the lookout for almost three hours now, and so far her search had bore no fruit. She was starting to give up all hope when suddenly, she heard a rather odd sound coming from a nearby cave. “Is that… crying?” she asked aloud.

And that’s when she saw them for the first time. Creatures of Darkness. The cause of her parents’ demise.

They appeared to be translucent, almost ethereal-looking ponies, or perhaps horses. Celestia could practically feel the evil magic stemming from these abominations. They were feeding off of negativity. ‘But wait, doesn’t that mean…?’

“There must be survivors- presumably in that cave. I have to go save them!” said Celestia with a sort of excited desperation. There was no doubt about it now- there were ponies, suffering ponies, in there.

“First things first. I need to find a way to warm them up. They must be suffering from severe frostbite in that cave.” Being the Ruler of the Sun, there was a simple, albeit temporary, solution to that particular problem.

She cast a Solar Barrier spell around the cave, which started melting all the ice in the vicinity. Of course, the monsters were not to happy about this, but even in her ‘infantile’ stage, Celestia was too powerful… for a time. She would need to make this quick.

The immediate problem now dealt with, Celestia now focused her attention on the noises coming from within the cave itself. Whereas before there was a miserable weeping emanating from its depths, now she could hear what sounded like confused whispering.

Before venturing inside, she sent a telepathic message to her sister instructing her to meet at this location post-haste.

As the filly descended into the cavern, the voices became steadily louder. And while her shield still held strong, the icy creatures’ assault was beginning to take its toll.

“Hello? Is anypony in here?” shouted Celestia, “I’m here to help!”

She heard a very faint voice in response, “i-in t-the circular r-room…”

Ponies! Real, live, ponies! In her… six hours of life Celestia had never been so thrilled, although the severity of the situation helped keep her enthusiasm in check.

“I will be right there, My little ponies! You shall fear the Darkness no longer with my aid,” proclaimed Celestia with a surprising amount of vigor for such a small pony.

Just as the alicorn was drawing close, she heard several excited voices saying, “Could it be true? Have the Gods answered our prayers at last? Is our salvation at hand?” Celestia could not wait to see the excited looks on these ponies faces when they realize their princess has arrived! …

…

Needless to say, that is not the reaction she received.

What she saw instead was six ponies, only three of them were frozen solid. The other three looked at her with disappointed eyes that showed they were expecting more.

The pegasus of the group spoke up, “Oh… hello little filly. Are you lost?”

“No, of course not! I’m here to announce my sister Luna and I’s coming regency, once we’ve taken care of the ice monsters of course,” replied Celestia with a genuine smile. The three older ponies could only stare at the filly, then at each other, before bursting out laughing.

“HAHAHA! Oh, that’s rich. The little white filly is going to save us all from the windigos,” laughed the earth pony, followed by further chuckling from her comrades.

“Listen, sweetie,” began the pegasus, barely holding back her mirth, “You are of course welcome to stay until the windigos get us all but, and don’t take this the wrong way, you are not going to stop them. If the grown-ups haven’t managed to do it in centuries, then neither can a foal.”

Celestia was beginning to feel disheartened. Had these so-called ‘windigos’ really twisted the ponies’ minds this much, that they could not even recognize the daughter of Mundus and Stella?

Unbeknownst to the four, another young filly had arrived and had seen the three mares mocking her sister. This did not sit well with her.

“How DARE thee! My sister saved you thankless whelps with her Solar Barrier, and ye have the audacity to ridicule her? That sudden wave of heat was all her doing,” exclaimed Luna, making her presence known.

And her older sister could not have been more proud. ‘She will make a fine leader one day, I just know it.’

“Wait… you managed a Solar Barrier spell? I thought them to be but a myth! Just who are you, young fillies?” asked the unicorn, speaking for the first time.

“Yes, I am indeed responsible. You see my ponies, to me it comes naturally. I am Celestia, Ruler of the Sun, and this is my sister Luna, Mistress of the Moon. We are the daughters of King Mundus and Queen Stella, the creators of this world.” Celestia let that one sink in for a moment.

Shock filled the faces of the three ponies, but unlike last time, there was no raucous laughter. Obviously, knowledge of the Divine Duo had somehow weathered the sands (or snow) of time.

“A bold claim you make, but seeing as how you managed such an impressive spell at your age, I’m inclined to believe it,” said the earth pony, “What do you make of this, Clover?”

“I believe it,” replied the unicorn instantly.

“Well, that was… quick. How can you be so sure?” asked the pegasus.

“It’s actually quite simple. Do you notice anything… different about these ponies Private Pansy? What about you, Smart Cookie? Besides the fact that their magical abilities are off the charts, and they speak with the sophistication of royalty.”

Private Pansy and Smart Cookie took a moment to really observe the fillies before them for the first time, and when they saw it, their eyes went wider than saucers.

“They’re… alicorns!” both exclaimed at the same time. “So those legends were true…”

“Indeed,” replied Clover. “One test, however, just to be certain.

“Young fillies, Celestia and Luna, we ponies have a prophecy that foretold your arrival. Tell me now; what is your mission here?”

The two sisters looked at one another, before Luna gestured for Celestia to speak. “After our Awakening, we are to unite all of ponykind under one banner, in order to protect them from the Darkness. Our parents gave their lives to give us this mission and create the Elements of Harmony, a—”

“Say no more, Celestia,” Clover interrupted, “It really is you. For centuries, the ponies of this land believed you and your sister would come, but… we had given up hope. Now that you’re really here, it will change everything! You can save us from the windigos and then dispose of our existing leadership. It is rather disgraceful I must say.” At this, the other two ponies nodded their heads vigorously.

Celestia was overwhelmed with what she had just heard. Would it really be that easy to gain their throne? Sure, her and Luna were not expecting war, but what was happening went beyond her expectations.

“I’m sorry, not to look a gift pony in the mouth, but that’s it? I was expecting at least some negotiations or… something!” said a bewildered Celestia.

“Normally you would be correct in that assumption,” said Clover with a nod, “But there are two very important details you would not be privy to, having just awoken and whatnot. Pansy and Cookie, if you two would?”

“Of course,” said Pansy, “You see, ponykind has been on its last leg for decades now. We, as a people, have not experienced comfort, happiness or anything positive since long before I was born. We are scattered, living miserable lives in the harsh caves of this land. We are… desperate for hope. Your presence here is the first sign we’ve had in years that maybe there will be a brighter tomorrow. For this reason, we, as the last semblance of leadership our people have, would be honored to have you as our diarchs.”

“And the other thing,” began Cookie, “Is that after all these years of petty leadership and open hatred, none of us are too keen on taking up the mantle. In fact, none of us even thought we would survive. These were to be the final years for our species. So… if you can save us, you’re welcome to the throne. We can convince the survivors to support you so long as you promise to keep everypony’s best interests at heart.”

Celestia and Luna had no idea how dire things truly were for these ponies. Their lives were filled with misery and desolation, the opposite of what their parents had so desired. When they spoke, it was in unison, “We solemnly swear to uphold the virtues and justice that all ponies deserve,” then Celestia alone, “We will serve not only as your leaders, but as your friends,” and finally Luna, “And any threat we may face, we will face it together. So long as there is one pony who believes in harmony, then there is no obstacle we cannot overcome together.”

“Hail!”

“So it shall be!”

“We will survive!”

The cheers of their very first subjects were the most wonderful things to ever grace the sisters’ ears. As the cheering finally died down, they all felt something…

The strain on Celestia’s Solar Barrier began to weaken. She could sense it, the unity and friendship she had just forged with these new ponies was driving the windigos away.

All of a sudden, a giant pink heart formed over all those present.

“My ponies, my… friends, this heart is the Fire of Friendship. It is a magical representation of all we can accomplish if we learn to love and care for one another. As we speak, the Fire is dispelling the windigos once and for all. I did not even have to do anything; it was the spark of friendship that lies within us all,” explained a smiling Celestia to the joy of the three mares.

Everypony spent the next few hours waiting for all the snow across the land to melt away. They shared stories, told jokes, and learned how to truly see each other as friends. ‘For if we are to survive, we must all learn this.’ Thought Celestia, grimly.

Some time later, the three other figures who had been frozen the whole time began to thaw. Clover mentioned their names were Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane and Chancellor Puddinghead. Everypony shared a few chuckles at that last name.

When they came to, to everypony’s surprise, they seemed genuinely pleasant and willing to try getting along with each other. It was almost as if these three hadn’t spent their entire lives quarelling with each other. They had been conscious while frozen; they heard and saw everything.

The next few days were spent in preparation for the new Princesses’ coronation. Everypony was thrilled at the idea of the alicorns leading them to a good future, some even began worshipping the two as their gods.

On the day of the coronation, Celestia and Luna were reflecting on recent events, “Sister, this has all been wonderful. But it has been too easy. The windigos, it would seem, are the weakest of the Darkness’s forces. And these ponies were only so welcoming to us because of their long time spent suffering. I am nervous about what may happen. Will our ponies grow tired of our rule? Will the Darkness send an enemy that is too powerful? What about—

“Celestia, get ahold of yourself! We are the children of Mundus and Stella. They entrusted us with this mission and we shan’t fail them. Once the Elements of Harmony are in our possession, nothing the Darkness can throw at us will be enough. Now, let us go. It is time for us to claim our rightful throne.”

Despite her sister’s reassuring words, Celestia could still not shake the feeling of doubt. The rest of their victories would surely not be as simple as this one…

“Ponies, formerly of Pegasopolis, Unicornia and… Earth, we are gathered here today to usher in a new age for our people. One free of the burdens that plagued us in the past. We will be a kingdom united, bound to our Princesses so long as they may live. And they, in turn, will help guide us towards the Paradise ponies have so long desired. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, are you prepared to speak your vows?” asked Clover the Clever, whom it was decided would act as an advisor and magical mentor to the young diarchs.

“Yes, we are ready.”

“Very well, then we shall begin. First, Princess Luna. Repeat after me: I, Princess, Luna, Daughter of King Mundus and Queen Stella…

And so on and so forth.

At last, Clover spoke the final words, “Then it is done. Ponies of this new land, I present to you:

“Princess Luna, Artemis, Bringer of the Night, Mistress of the Moon.

“Princess Celestia, Phanes, Herald of the Day, Ruler of the Sun.

“Newly appointed diarchs of the Kingdom of Equestria!”

And so began the long rule of the immortal Princesses. For millennia, things were perfect. No conflict, and peace reigned supreme across the land. The Elements of Harmony were not even needed. It was not until roughly 3,500 years later that an old foe decided to once again rear its ugly head…

“Sister, have you felt—

“Yes, Luna, I fear the Darkness has tired of this long waiting game and wishes to finally test the might of Equestria,” replied a determined-looking Celestia.

Luna’s face was covered in worry, “Are we ready for it? Who knows what monstrosity it will send our way. After such a long period of inactivity, surely this next attempt will trump the last?”

Celestia merely smiled at her sister’s concern, “I’m disappointed in you Luna. You seem to be forgetting our secret weapon.” The elder sister let that one sink in for a moment.

Suddenly, Luna’s face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming Eve Tree. “Of course! How could I be so dense. The Lightbringers…”

“Exactly.”

Several weeks later, it was time for Celestia’s bi-monthly address to the various factions, guilds and noble houses who sought her attention on a daily basis. She had to travel all the way from her castle in the Everfree Forest to the Capital, Canterlot. ‘We really must change that one day. Why did we build the castle away from the capital city in the first place?’ thought Celestia idly.

Normally, she could give or take with these addresses. On the one hoof, it was important her and her sister keep up to date on current events, and every once in a while, a brilliant idea would be proposed. On the other, there was the thrice-damned bickering. Oh, how she loathed it so.

On this day, however, there would be no petty politicking.

“Greetings, Our little ponies. We are afraid that this address is not a pleasant one. An old enemy is threatening Equestria. We will be blunt, this is a national crisis,” already she could hear the panic setting in, “But fear not! Upon taking Our throne, We swore to protect this land and everypony in it. We swear to you all, you shall not come to harm, so long as you do as instructed.”

The air was still thick with tension, but Celestia knew her subjects would listen to her. Such were the perks of running (as some of the more cynical ponies called it) a benevolent dictatorship.

“The enemy feeds off of negativity. Every time somepony acts selfish or cruel, it grows stronger. We cannot divulge any further information at this time, but We must ask that everypony, please, maintain the harmony that makes Equestria the most wonderful nation on Equus. So long as you do that, We promise your safety. Now, We apologize, but due to the urgency of this matter, Our monthly address must be cut short. Fare thee well, Our little ponies.”

Loud cries filled the room as Celestia made her exit. She hated to ignore her subjects, especially when she just dropped a proverbial bomb on them, but there was no time for games. The Darkness grew stronger by the minute.

When she arrived back at the Castle of the Two Sisters, she made her way to the Forbidden Wing. Here, among other things, is where she would find the aforementioned “secret weapon”.

Lux Invicta, or “Unconquered Light” in the modern tongue, commonly known to the sisters and its members as the Lightbringers, were a secret order established shortly after the founding of the Kingdom.

Their sole purpose: to combat the Darkness when it finally arrived. They had remained inactive yet vigilant for thousands of years, quietly perfecting their particular brand of Light Magic. Now was the time to act.

“Commander North Star,” greeted Celestia cordially.

“Your Majesty.” North Star gave a reverent bow, “Our forces are ready. In fact, I would say we’ve never been better. We are yours to command.”

Celestia gave a firm nod, “Luna has been keeping you briefed on the situation, correct?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, “Largest concentration of Dark Magic since pre-historic Equestria, of the Chaotic variety, causing arcane disruptions all across the Everfree Forest.”

“Precisely. You are aware that, should all else fail, we will have to use the Elements of Harmony, correct?” This question caused even the tough-as-nails Commander to flinch.

“Y-yes ma’am, though I am sure it will not come to that,” was the half-hearted response.

Celestia noted his shift in expression, “Worry is unbecoming of you North Star, but we shall see. So long as the Lightbringers perform their duties, all should go well.”

“Of course. We have total faith in you, Your Majesty,” replied the real North Star, the one Celestia knew and respected greatly.

Satisfied with the conversation, “Very good. Now, let’s mobilize the troops.”

Exactly one month after they had first felt the disturbance, the Princesses, a Legion of Elite Royal Guards, and the Lightbringers were all gathered in the middle of the Everfree Forest, an extremely dangerous area and the epicenter of the Darkness.

“Get ready everypony!” boomed the Sisters in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “the enemy will be upon us shortly.” First Celestia, “You all know what you fight for, for freedom, peace love,” then Luna, “For Equestria!”

A thunderous applause filled the air as the morale of those present skyrocketed—

When suddenly, all the Chaos Magic in the entire forest, if not the country, consolidated into one spot. It began to take form as a…

Draconequus?

“Exactly! Hello there, My Little Ponies! How are you all doing on this fine day? Before you ask, I’m doing splendid, thanks for asking! Now wasn’t I supposed to be doing something? Fighting with two Princesses? That sounds boring. Maybe later. Hey, you there in the front, that’s a dashing suit of ar—
“Silence!” shouted Luna in her loudest voice yet, “Speak sense creature! We know you are a being of Darkness, and you shall not corrupt this land we have worked so hard to build!”

“Sense? What fun is there in m- actually, you know what? I think I’ll save that line for… I don’t know, 1,500 years from now maybe. Or not. I don’t know. Anywho, to answer your other query: greetings, one and all, I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos, Disharmony and Cheese! Wait, scratch that last one, that’s a friend of mine. Now, I know what you’re all thinking, and you know what I say? Destiny can go take a hike. In fact…” With that, Discord somehow pulled the word ‘Destiny’ out of nowhere, gave it hikers’ clothes, and sent it on its merry way.

Don’t ask.

“So I know we’re supposed to fight and everything but… I don’t really want to. Papa Dark Comet wants me to mess with you ponies, but I am the embodiment of Chaos. Kind of shot himself in the proverbial foot with that one, since doing what I’m supposed to isn’t really my thing. So I propose a deal, are you willing to hear it?”

Everypony present was shocked, to say the least. This was… not going as expected. No response was given as thoughts were being collected.

“Take your time, I’m in no hurry. I am immortal after all.” Discord snapped his finger and what would later be referred to as a ‘couch’ popped out of nowhere, and he sat down on it, whistling a nice tune all the while.

Finally, the eldest Princess was able to offer a one word answer, “Speak.”

Discord woke up from his five-second long nap and immediately started in, “Wonderful! This is so much better then fighting if you ask me. Now, the Darkness will be… less than pleased with my defection, but I’m making you an offer here you can’t refuse. I will help defend your precious Equestria, and in exchange, you offer me a place to stay in the Castle with my own monkey butler, and a license to commit small-scale, harmless chaos whenever I please. Are these terms acceptable?” asked Discord, turning his face into that of an adorable puppy dog.

Despite the… oddness of the situation, Celestia and Luna came to a mutual response quickly, with Luna taking the initiative this time, “We… tentatively accept your terms, Discord. So long as you keep up your end of the bargain, we will honor ours.”

Discord was practically beaming at this point. “Terrific! Oh, I just know we’ll all become the best of friends.”

Somehow, the thought made both sisters nauseous.