One Must Fall

by 2006midnight

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Discord, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 1093

When Discord tried to take back Equestria, he managed to defeat the mane six. Now Celestia is the only thing standing in his way.

When Discord tries to take back Equestria, he succeeds in defeating the mane six, and is left with Celestia as his only obstacle. He thinks she is powerless without the Elements, but is she?

Written for One-shotober.

Published 2014-09-29 22:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-09-29 22:20:02 UTC

No Tomorrow

“I don’t ever want to see any of y’all ever again!”

“Me neither!”

“Fine! Rainbow Dash had the right idea, abandoning all this early on!”

“Fine!”

“You’re all a big bunch of weak foals anyway!”

Discord watched from behind one of the houses in Ponyville as the five remaining members of the mane six argued amongst themselves. As Applejack stomped her hooves down on top of her Element of Harmony, Discord made no attempt to hide his glee. He jumped high into the air and shouted exuberantly, “Yes!” With one Element of Harmony destroyed, there was nothing left to stand in his way. Once the five mares had all gone their separate ways, Discord snapped his talons, teleporting away so that he could tell Celestia the news of this joyful development.

A moment later he materialized in the throne room of Canterlot Castle where the princess of the sun was pacing anxiously. She stopped as soon as she saw him. “Discord! What are you doing here? This is a fairly cocky move, even for you.”

With a sinister chuckle, Discord responded, “Cocky? Oh no, not at all. Seeing as this is my castle now, I’d say I can go wherever I like.”

Celestia froze, “Your castle? You haven’t won yet, Discord. My student and her friends will find the Elements of Harmony and defeat you.”

“You mean these ponies?” Discord sneered as he showed what had just transpired in Ponyville. “Tell me, dearest Celestia, how can the Elements of Harmony defeat me if one is destroyed, and the bearers do not have harmony within themselves?”

“No…” Celestia whispered, “Why, Twilight? Why?”

“Yes, princess.” Discord circled Celestia tantalizingly. “Your precious student has failed, and I have won. You are nothing without your precious Elements. There is nothing and nopony left to stand in my way. This castle, and all of Equestria are mine now. Soon all of your little ponies will bow down before me. They will be under my control, and-”

“No.” Celestia unfroze and walked around to face Discord. “You won’t ever take my ponies from me.”

“Won’t I?” Discord looked mildly surprised at Celestia’s defiant assertion. “You have no means of resistance.”

Celestia drew herself up to her full height. “You can take all that I have left. You can take away all of my strength, and demolish every last bit of this fortress I’ve built inside of me. You can tear down all of my masks that I often hide behind. Tear them away one by one, until you expose the core of who I am. The core of my soul.”

She began to stride around Discord in confident circles. “You can burn down all of Equestria, but you will never understand. Never will you be able to comprehend why I’d still be standing strong against you. Even if you destroy all that I’ve built for my ponies, I’d still be there, fighting you every step of the way. Save me, for I am all that I shall have left. Spare me, or the entirety of Equestria shall be damned for the rest of forever. If you want to succeed, then let go of the thing you want the most. Save me.”

Discord gave a short laugh, and began to walk in circles around Celestia. “You think you’re so perfect, don’t you Celestia? If that’s really true, then you’ll already know this. One must fall, one of us must stay in the shadows, and give in to the other. There will be no hope of salvation, for anypony. When the end comes, one of us will buckle under the pressure of the bleakness of destruction. Back out now Celestia, fight no more and just give in. Maybe then, a better day will come, but in the end, nopony will be saved.”

As soon as Discord stopped circling her, Celestia stomped a hoof and immediately countered. This time, her voice had more of a bite to it. “Go ahead then Discord, bring all you’ve got. Make it rain down upon me and all that I have. Bring it down fast and hard, so we can drown in the resulting flood, just like you’ve dreamed. Destroy all that I’ve accomplished these past centuries. Crush everything of me and mine until you’ve drained away all of my blood. Save me then. After all, what could I possibly do to defeat you if I have nothing left? At that point, what are you fighting for? Spare me, or there won’t ever be another tomorrow. Save me, you won’t regret it in the end.”

“Your reign is dust in the wind now,” Discord interjected sharply.

“Save me, that’s all I ask. You’ll find yourself wishing you had if you don’t.”

Angry now, Discord retorted fiercely, “You’re weak Celestia. All you can do is beg. Soon, the time will come when one of us must fall and retreat back into the shadows. There will be nothing left to keep you here. It’ll be hopeless for you to drive me back into the darkness. Nothing will save you when you fall into emptiness. Surrender now, and there might be a chance for a better day. But trust me when I say, in the end nopony will be saved.”

Celestia’s face contorted into a scowl. “No, Discord. It is you who is weak. I do not beg; I speak nothing but the truth. One of us will bend beneath the power of the other. At that point there will no longer be a chance of escape from the clutches of the melancholy of defeat. Give in now Discord. You know not what powers you are tampering with. Maybe then there will be a chance for a better tomorrow. But remember, in the end nopony will truly win.”

As if they were one and the same, Celestia and Discord each reached for their vast reserves of magical power. His talons beginning to glow with magic, Discord growled, “You will fall, Celestia. Fall into the emptiness of the shadows.”

In response, as her horn began to shine with golden light, Celestia said loud and clear, “Spare me Discord, or else there will never be another dawn.”

Neither gave way, instead advancing upon each other. At the same time, both deities released their spells. In unison, just before their magic collided, they shouted, “But in the end nopony can be saved!”

Author's Note

This was my first attempt at writing Discord, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Hope you enjoyed it!