A Storm is Coming

A Storm is Coming

Chapter 2: The Unveiling

Taranis gazed into the fire, watching the flames dance. He was sitting in his mother’s quarters, and she and Luna had regaled him with a brief history of Equestria in the last several thousand years. It hadn’t been the easiest thing to come to terms with.

Over three thousand years…I’ve been missing for over three thousand years.

Celestia and Luna kept their eyes on him, waiting for him to respond. Luna’s gaze would occasionally jump over to Celestia, gauging her reaction to this turn of events. The white Alicorn looked as though she was trying hard not to blink, as if when she stopped looking at him, he would vanish.

Slowly, Taranis turned and looked at his mother and aunt.

“Discord? He is still stone?”

The sisters nodded in unison.

“And you say that after the Changeling Queen and her minions were defeated, they were not heard from again?”

Celestia shook her head.

“No, we haven’t heard from them since the incident. It’s curious really. With Shining Armor and Cadence away on their honeymoon, there is no one left to create the shield spell. I can only assume they are licking their wounds.”

“Indeed,” Luna added. “We haven’t seen the last of them.”

“I suppose that explains why you had me evaluated before I was brought here. You thought I might be one of them.”

“Yes. In the end, we decided it would have been impossible for you to be a Changeling, since they need a subject to transform.” Luna answered.

Taranis nodded and looked back at the fire. The logs were crackling from the heat, and for a while, it was the only sound that filled the room.

“And what of the Wonderbolts?” Taranis asked, without turning around. “Are they still active? Who commands them?”

“After your…disappearance, the Wonderbolts remained active, but we had entered a period of relative peace, and their military aspect was downsized, until now, they mostly just perform at air shows and races. They are still trained as soldiers, so theoretically, they could still be used as an air force.” Celestia said. She figured Taranis would not like the idea of the Wonderbolts as stunt flyers.

She was not wrong. Taranis snorted at this turn of events, and shook his head.

“Taking the best squadrons in Equestria and making them a circus act…” Taranis spoke to the fire, his back still to the sisters. “I can’t believe it. I can hardly believe any of this.”

Finally, he turned back to the other Alicorns. He sighed heavily.

“My only question is how. How am I alive? I thought that when Discord hit me, I’d be toast. Instead, it feels like a grand total of a few minutes pass, and I wake up three thousand years in the future. Everypony I ever knew, aside from you two, is dead. How am I here?”

Luna and Celestia looked at each other for a few moments. They had been pondering that same question ever since Taranis had appeared before them. They had both been there. They saw what had happened with their own eyes. Neither had a conclusive answer.

Finally, Celestia looked back at Taranis.

“We don’t know exactly. It might have been Discord’s idea of a prank. Cast you into the far future, and make us think you were dead. His last little ‘gift’ of chaos, if you will.”

Taranis rose from his seat and crossed to the window, and looked out at Luna’s moon and stars. She had outdone herself tonight, and had even thrown in a few new star clusters to celebrate his return. Celestia’s eyes stayed locked on him. Her son had been miraculously returned to her. If this was, in fact, the aftermath of some small act of chaos, then for once, she was grateful to Discord. She was starting to wonder if her heart would ever return to its usual functions, instead of jumping against her ribs.

Taranis turned from the window and face them fully. The light from the fire seemed to make his yellow mane glow.

“So what now?”

It was a simple question, but it had no easy answer. Not all of Equestria knew about the return of the crown prince, except those who had been present to watch the chase with the Royal Guards.

Celestia was hit with a sudden inspiration. A small smile played at the corner of her lips.

“Now, I write a letter.”

Twilight Sparkle paced across the floor of her library. Her mind was still mulling over the letter that the princess had sent her. Upon reading it, she had sent Spike out to fetch her friends, and was now impatiently awaiting their arrival.

She was beginning to create an indention in the wood when the young dragon walked through the door, trailed by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, bouncing happily along behind the others.

The rainbow-maned Pegasus stifled a yawn with her forehoof.

“What was so important that it had to interrupt my afternoon nap, Twi?”

She received a jab in the ribs from Rarity, who stood next to her.

“Darling, at least pretend like you’re interested. Twilight could have something important from Princess Celestia.”

“Well, what could the princess have sent that was important enough to interrupt my afternoon nap?” Rainbow asked stubbornly.

Twilight grabbed the parchment laying on her desk, bathing it in a lavender glow, and held it before her friends’ eyes.

“This,” she said.

She held the paper before her and began to read.

“My most faithful student, the content of this letter is meant for you and your friend's eyes only. Recently, my sister and I sensed a strange magical anomaly in the old ruins of Everfree Castle. I will not disclose the cause of the anomaly here, for fear that it might fall into the wrong hands. I need you and the other Elements of Harmony to travel to Canterlot as fast as possible, and discuss this with you in person. There is somepony you must meet. Yours, Princess Celestia. Burn this letter after sharing it with your friends.”

Twilight glanced up from her parchment and saw that her friends all wore looks that showed that they understood it about as well as she did.

Applejack shook her head.

“Ah don’t get it. Why would the princess be so secretive? ‘Taint like her at all.”

“I don’t know, AJ. But this is why I’ve called you here. Make arrangements.” Twilight looked at each of them in turn. “We’re going to Canterlot.”

The train ride to Canterlot had been uneventful. Twilight and her friends arrived to find a stronger presence of guards than usual. It reminded her too much of the Changeling crisis, and that did nothing to ease her unease. Fluttershy looked as though she were going to shrink behind her hair the entire time. Pinkie patted her on the back, causing the timid Pegasus to nearly have a heart attack.

“Cheer up, Miss Scaredy Pants! Its just extra guards. Its not like there’s a new Alicorn we’ve never heard of before like with Princess Cadance or anything! Nothing to be worried about!”

Twilight just rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s shenanigans, and walked toward the edge of the station. She was greeted by a Pegasus guard and his squad,  pulling two sets of chariots.

“Colonel Steel Hoof, nice to see you again,” Twilight said as she approached the older guard. “Keeping new recruits in line?”

Steel Hoof smiled, a bit more tersely than usual.

“Trying to, Miss Sparkle. We’ve been assigned to take you straight to the Royal Sisters. If you would please hop in,” he said, gesturing to the chariots.

Twilight complied, and was followed by Applejack and Fluttershy. Rarity and Pinkie got into the other one, but Rainbow simply rose into the air.

“I’ll just fly myself, thanks.”

With that, the two chariots lifted off the ground, trailed by the cyan Pegasus. The guards pulling the chariots were grunting more than usual, and Twilight noticed that their wings had bandages on them.

“What happened to your wings?” she yelled over the wind.

“Had a little spill during drills, nothing too severe.” Hoof answered, turning his attention back to pulling the chariot.

Applejack’s brow furrowed. She didn’t know if it was her Apple upbringing or her status as the Element of Honesty, but she felt as though the guard was not being completely open to them. She leaned over toward the lavender unicorn.

“Somethin’ tells me he ain’t tellin’ the whole truth.”

“You’re telling me. Shining Armor said that Steel Hoof had a terrible poker face, and he wasn’t kidding.”

Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it as the towers of Canterlot Castle came into better view. The chariots pulled up to the gates of the castle, and the five mares dismounted from them, followed by Rainbow Dash’s landing. A Unicorn guard greeted them at the gates.

“The princesses and their guest are expecting you. Please follow me.”

The six did as they were told, and followed the guard to Celestia’s quarters. The guard opened the doors. He stepped back and bowed, allowing them to pass.

Rarity vaguely resembled a bobble-head, as her neck struggled to keep her wandering head on her shoulders as she looked over every inch of the princess’ quarters. This was the closest they had been to Celestia’s inner rooms. Befitting her status, they were quite spacious. Portraits of Equestrian landmarks were hung next to marble busts of famous ponies of Equestrian history, and the carpets felt nice and soft under their hooves.

Twilight fixed her gaze forward and saw Princess Celestia waiting for them, seated next to Luna.

“Girls! Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. I’m sorry I couldn’t divulge more information in my letter.”

“Of course, princess. What did you need us for?” Twilight asked.

“And who are we meeting? Is it a he or a her? Is he or she nice? Does he or she like parties? What is he or she like? Wha-”

Pinkie was interrupted during her questioning by Rainbow Dash’s hoof covering her mouth. She still talked in a muffled tone for several seconds before quieting down.

Celestia seemed unfazed by her outburst. She rose from her seat, extending to her full height. Luna joined her. Celestia turned her eyes to the window.

“He should be arriving at any moment. He went to meet with the Wonderbolts.” She paused as Rainbow Dash let out an involuntary squeal. “Ah, here he is.”

The six ponies followed Celestia’s gaze, and saw a dark gray Alicorn fly toward them. His golden mane flowed behind him, settling into place as he hovered briefly, and landed in the room.

Pinkie leaned toward Fluttershy.

“Huh. I guess it IS an Alicorn we’ve never heard of before.”

“Hush, Pinkie,” said Rarity.

He looked at the newcomers and bowed deeply.

“I suppose you are the new Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I have heard a great deal about you. It is truly a pleasure to meet you all.”

He strode toward them and addressed each in turn.

“Fluttershy, Element of Kindness, graceful caretaker of animals.” He offered his hoof to shake, and she accepted, only to let out a soft squeak of surprise when he leaned down and kissed it. Twilight thought if she blushed any harder, she would be redder than Big Macintosh. He turned next to Rarity.

“The lovely Rarity, Element of Generosity, dress and suit maker extraordinaire.” He repeated the process with her hoof, and she giggled in such a way that Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Taranis approached her next.

“Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and the best flyer in Equestria.”

“Yep, it’s all true, but you aren’t kissing my hoof. I don’t like ponies touching my hooves.”

Taranis looked taken aback for an instant, but simply nodded his consent and continued down the line, stopping at Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter and party pony.” He kissed her hoof and continued down to Applejack.

“Applejack, Element of Honesty and quite the cider maker, from what I hear.” He kissed her hoof.

“Aw, shucks. Ah do what Ah can.” Applejack smiled, pleased to be treated so well by a total stranger.

Taranis ended with Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and quite possibly the most powerful Unicorn alive today.” Twilight could feel her own cheeks growing hot as he picked up her hoof and kissed it. She silently prayed that he didn’t notice. He stepped back from the six mares and bowed again, so deep his horn almost touched the ground.

“I am Taranis, Lord of Storms and son of Celestia.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped so quickly she was afraid it might come off its hinges. Her own gasp was drowned out by the gasps of her friends.

Celestia walked to her son and nuzzled him briefly.

“But. But. What?” Twilight asked incredulously. She looked to her teacher. “How do you have a son?!”

Celestia walked over to her.

“Its true. For three thousand years, I thought that my son had perished in the battle with Discord. Recently, it was revealed that he had returned to us, either through magic or some other miracle. This is why I could not reveal his identity to you in a letter. The only ponies who know of his arrival are myself, Luna, the Wonderbolts, a few of Canterlot’s citizens…”

“And several Royal Guards I led on a merry chase above Canterlot.” Taranis finished. He chuckled slightly. “I hope they haven’t taken that little trick with the Nightcrawler’s Gambit too hard…”

“And now you six.” Luna added. “It was decided that the Elements of Harmony should be the among the first to know of Taranis’ return.”

Twilight’s mind was churning at the possibilities this new occurrence could mean. Finally, she addressed Taranis directly.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Mister Taranis, what exactly happened when you vanished during the fight with Discord?”

Taranis’ expression darkened.

“It would take far too long to explain.” He walked slowly back toward her. “It would be better to show you.”

Before Twilight could object, Taranis touched his horn to hers. Celestia and Luna followed suit.

“Everypony, place a hoof on Twilight.” Celestia commanded.

The other five ponies complied, and the walls of the princess’ rooms faded, replaced by a black expanse that seemed without end.

“Oh, this is so cool! ECHO!” Yelled Pinkie. Her voice reverberated back and answered her, a cacophony of echoes that slowly faded away. The blackness was replaced by the image of the main hall of a beautiful castle.

“Ah don’t think we’re in Canterlot anymore,” Applejack stated.

“What you are witnessing, Applejack, are the combined memories of Celestia, Taranis, and myself” said Luna. “They will show you what occurred during the battle.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, and realized with a start that she was floating, an astral projection overlooking a past memory. The three Alicorns flapped next to her, looking grimly at the scene unfolding below:

A younger Luna galloped toward her sister. Celestia turned and nodded, acknowledging her arrival. Both of the Royal sisters were adorned in ornate breastplates, Celestia’s gold like the sun and inscribed with a sun, Luna’s, black like the night and covered by a crescent moon. Screams could be heard outside the gates. Occasionally a boom could be heard as well. A battle was indeed taking place. Her friends watched intently.

“Sister! Our forces cannot hold him forever! He has done something to the area surrounding Everfree Castle! It feels almost alive! We need to charge the Elements and defeat that monster!”

“Thou art correct, Luna. I cannot do it alone. We need your help to charge the Elements of Harmony to their full potential.” Both sisters were speaking with the regal tones of ages long past.

Luna took her place next to Celestia and set her horn aglow, charging the five stones in the center of the room. Together, they would become the Element of Magic.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and Taranis was flung across the room, and rolled to a stop in front of the sisters.

“TARANIS!” Celestia bellowed.

Taranis struggled to his feet.

“Do not fret over me, Mother, it was just a scratch. Charge the Elements. I shall give you the time you need.”

Maniacal laughter emerged from the open gateway. Hearing it made Twilight’s blood run cold. She had heard that laughter before.

The Draconequus flew into the chamber, and landed with a thud in the center. Taranis assumed a fighting position, setting his body as a barrier between Celestia and Luna and the new arrival.

“Oh, this is just too much fun!” shouted Discord. His gleeful laughter filled the room again. “Little Taranis. Are you really intending to fight little old me? You should know better than to pick on your elders. Didn’t mommy and daddy teach you better?”

Taranis seemed physically hurt by the jibe.

“I don’t want to fight you!” Taranis said, his voice seeming to break slightly. He spoke again, this time less audible, “Please don’t make me fight you…”

“Looks like you have no choice here, kid.” Discord said. “Or I’ll have to spread my delicious chaos elsewhere.”

Taranis narrowed his crimson eyes.

“So be it.”

Taranis spread his wings as far as they could extend, and slammed them together with as much force as he could muster. The resulting boom and shockwave shook the palace, and several columns lost bits of marble. It caused Discord to stumble, caught off guard by the attack. Taranis used the distraction to fly toward the Draconequus and jam his right forehoof, crackling with an electric current, into his ribs. The current was so strong, the outline of Discord’s skeleton was briefly seen. Discord cried out and coughed, spitting out blood, and went flying across the chamber.

The Lord of Storms took flight again, and shot toward his foe. He flew in tight circles around Discord, creating a miniature tornado. Before he could complete it, however, he felt a clawed hand tighten around his throat. Discord slammed him into the ground, and Taranis’ whole body was lit up with pain. He could vaguely hear his mother’s screams again. Discord kicked his prone form away and flew toward the sisters, still charging the Elements.

“Do you think that those little Elements can stop me? Silly, silly Celly. Nothing can stop me! I am Discord, bringer of chaos! Beautiful, beautiful chaos!” Again, he cackled. He flew forward, only to see Taranis, beaten, bloodied, but not down, teleport in front of him with an audible “BAMF.”

“I’m not finished with you yet.” Taranis spat. His breathing was ragged.

Discord let out an exasperated sigh.

“Kids these days. They just never learn to respect their elders. Very well. We’ll play this the hard way.”

Discord flew back a few steps and formed a ball of white light in his fists. He charged it, grinning at Taranis.

“One hundred bits say you dodge this and let it hit your precious mummy and auntie.”

Taranis said nothing. He merely stood still, red eyes locked on the Draconequus. Discord shrugged, disappointed at his lack of a response, and heaved his ball of magic straight toward the gray Alicorn. Briefly, Taranis tensed, and looked as though he might move, but he stayed in the path of the ball. It made contact with his gold brestplate, and in a brilliant flash of white light, he was gone.

Celestia screamed. Without another hesitation, she and Luna concentrated their sights on Discord, and the familiar rainbow light burst forth from them, twisting into a double helix and slamming into the god of Chaos. When all present could see again, Discord was frozen, as he was when he was first imprisoned. He looked as though he were singing or laughing, probably at the fact that Taranis had not moved.

Celestia and Luna looked at the statue, half expecting it to be some trick. Luna glanced at Celestia, ad saw that her sister was weeping. She tentatively reached a forehoof out to touch her shoulder.

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!” Celestia shouted with such force that the castle shook. She glared at her sister, who only cowered before her. Her purple eyes were alight with rage, accented by the tears still flowing down her cheeks. Without another word, she flew off through the nearest open window, leaving Luna alone. She bowed her head sadly, and grew steadily smaller as the onlookers left the memory.

Twilight and the others found themselves back in Celestia’s chambers. The three Alicorns had stepped back a few paces, and Taranis had his left wing folded over Celestia as she cried quietly. Twilight did not presume to imagine that she knew what was going through her mind. She could not possibly know what it was like to watch her son vanish before her eyes. Celestia wiped her eyes with her own wing and faced the six Elements again.

“There you have it. Discord had invaded the castle, and enchanted the grounds, making it what you now know as Everfree Forest. It grew chaotically, not governed by ponies. Luna and I had charged the Elements of Harmony, but we could not pause what we were doing to fight Discord. Taranis bravely defended us so that we could stop him. We thought he had died a hero.”

Twilight shook her head, vestiges of the battle still playing in her memory.

“But, I don’t understand. Why have I never heard of him? I’ve read every book available about Equestrian history, and he isn’t mentioned at all. You would think that someone who helped stop Discord would be talked about in history classes.”

“It probably has something to do with the identity of my father.” Taranis spoke up, startling the mares. “Ponies might look less kindly on my mother if they knew who he was. So they just let my role in everything stay hidden. I may not like it,” here he tossed a glance to his mother and aunt, who looked down sheepishly. “But I understand their reasoning behind it.”

“And who was your father?” Twilight asked, one eyebrow cocked in suspicion.

Taranis sighed and looked her straight in the eyes.

“You just saw me fight him.”

Twilight wasn’t sure if she could handle any more big surprises today. The only non-Alicorn in attendance that didn’t have a look of shock on her face was Pinkie Pie.

“What a twist!” she exclaimed.

“Discord is your…your…”

“Father!” Rainbow Dash finished Twilight’s sentence for her. She flew in front of Taranis. “How did that work?”

Taranis focused his attention on all six ponies.

“The being you know as Discord began life as an Alicorn named Order. He, my mother, and Luna were the first of the Alicorns to appear, blessed by the Spirit of Harmony. They came upon the newly united Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn tribes and lead them to a state of prosperity. Order and my mother married, and I was born afterwards.

“The years that passed were good ones. My mother took charge of raising the sun, Aunt Luna took control of the moon, and my father completed two of his masterworks. The first were six objects known as the Elements of Harmony, which would aid him in his task of keeping peace and prosperity. The second was the organization of Tartarus, which was in a chaotic state before my father dealt with it. It has eight levels, one for each Element that ponies and other creatures blasphemed, one for those who lived before the arrival of the Alicorns, which was the original part, and one section reserved for the very worst sinners where they would be eternally punished. In this way, he kept order. As for me, I grew up, gained my cutie mark, taught Pegasus ponies how to better control the weather and trained to be a warrior. Eventually, I took the best flyers from among the Pegasus guards and turned them into Wonderbolts, a crack team of soldiers that could take on operations that the regular soldiers could not handle. I was their commander.”

Rainbow Dash squealed in so high a tone that everypony in attendance was afraid that glass would shatter. She flew into his face, so that only a few inches separated their eyes.

“YOU CREATED THE WONDERBOLTS? THAT IS AWESOME!”

Taranis backed up a few paces.

“Indeed. Can I finish my story?

She grinned sheepishly.

“Oh. Uhh…Yeah. Sorry.”

Taranis waited for her to fly back to her place and cleared his thoat.

“Anyways, sometime after I reached stallionhood, my father began to change. I don’t know what corrupted him, but eventually, he was warped and twisted into the antithesis of his original purpose. My theory is that working in the depths of Tartarus got to him. He brought chaos to Equestria, and we had to stop him. It is ironic that he would be beaten by his own creations.”

Taranis paused briefly.

“I can only surmise that the reason he escaped was because the Elements weren’t given enough time to charge to their capacity. When activated, they trapped his physical form in stone, but his soul was carried down to Tartarus to dwell among the souls he had judged for years. But the Elements created an imperfect prison, which he was able to break through. Or, it could be because he made them, and exhibits some sort of control over them that the wielders know not of.”

Applejack whistled, impressed at the story. Fluttershy timidly spoke up, for the first time that day.

“Um, Prince Taranis, sir, just out of curiosity, why didn’t you move when Discord threw the ball at you? That is, if you don’t mind telling us…”

Taranis lowered his head and considered the question for a few moments, brow furrowed. Finally, he looked at them.

“The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few,” he said simply. “Plus, he said I would move, and I wanted to prove him wrong. I’ve always been a bit stubborn.”

That drew a chuckle from his audience. Celestia cleared her throat.

“Back to the point of you six coming here, it was mainly to meet Taranis, but it was also so you could all be guests of honor at the celebration here in Canterlot that we will throw in honor of his return. Here, we will reveal his existence, and his role in the history of Equestria to the world.”

She focused her gaze on Pinkie.

“And I can think of no better pony more qualified to help organize such an occasion that Equestria’s premier party pony. It would do me great honor if you would assist in this endeavor.”

Pinkie broke out into an impossibly huge grin, jumped and seemed to float in the air, and dashed out of the room, saying something about how she had left half of her party supplies at Ponyville. Taranis simply looked at the cloud of dust she left in her wake, a bemused look on his face.

“I don’t know if I should be terrified or amused,” he said slowly. “And I’m not sure I really want to have a celebration.”

Twilight walked forward and stood next to him.

“It’ll be fun. And don’t worry about Pinkie. You get used to it after a while.”

END OF CHAPTER TWO