The Chronicling of The Fall

by Timefly

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Discord, Princess Celestia, Sad, Princess Luna, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Nightmare Moon
Length: 6040

The founding of Equestria was a bloody business, but it was it always leading to the fall of Luna?

The world lies in ruin after 1000 years of Discord, but with peace a new start is possible. Or so Luna and Celestia hoped as they built Equestria. But how can two sisters who have climbed so high, fall back down so easily? And was there more to the birth of Nightmare Moon than meets the eye?

Published 2011-11-17 17:02:03 UTC
Last updated 2011-12-07 00:47:10 UTC

2) - Mutual Hostility

Chapter 2: Mutual Hostility

The sun was beginning to rise upon the world as Celestia and Luna marched on through Everfree, the once tranquil paradise of their memories now lost to the poisonous wild the world had become under Discord. Luna was walking a stride behind Celestia, unsure of whether or not to ask the question which choked up her throat in fear as she thought upon it. She peered anxiously towards her sister in front, trying to gauge her sister’s emotional state by examining her body language. Celestia gave away nothing keeping a steady stride, but not out of confidence or determination. Rather, it was out of a forced discipline, almost like that of a soldier or warrior. Luna decided to take her chances though, deciding that that which bothered her was far too pressing to wait.

“Tia, may I ask you a question? It is about something that is deeply troubling me.” Luna barely managed to maintain her tone as she began to speak, her body tensing up with anxiety.

“Of course Luna, what is it you wish to ask?” Celestia’s voice was even and calm, too calm. Luna suspected she knew what the question was going to be.

“Tia, for years beyond count Discord has ruled these lands, he has only ever brought misery and suffering to all those within them. After all this time, how can we expect anyone to greet us with open arms?” Celestia stopped dead in her tracks, snapping her head around to meet Luna’s gaze. Her eyes gave a quizzical stare, desperately masking a deep unspoken fear. Celestia knew exactly where this was going.

Luna continued; “After all this time, how can we expect ponies to be able to form a kingdom, a country, a society? How can we expect them to yield so easily to our authority when the last ruler they had was one who abused power as if it were coal to a fire? How can we know that these ponies that once lived and loved are still capable of such things after all they’ve been through? What do we do if the chaos that was sown from Discord has taken root in them?” Luna turned her face to the floor as she finished speaking. She panted for breath trying to fight back the rising panic.

It was at that moment that Celestia began down the only path left.

“Luna, we will come to them in peace. We will come in love. We will come to them with our hearts open wide. But if they refuse us then I am not sure what we can do. For too long has chaos reigned but we cannot let it reign any longer. Discord is gone now, but he has not lost yet. I fear that in order for the greater good, sacrifices may have to be made…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna had been afraid of this for longer than she could remember. She had had countless sleepless nights over the years, desperately trying to find a way out, but she never had found one. The years of Discord’s reign had hardened ponies, leaving what once existed of the pony heart as little more than stone. Luna knew that it was not long before she and Celestia would begin forging a kingdom, the only chance at peace in a broken world. Luna also knew that there would be a struggle, ponies were going to resist and there would be blood. Years of turmoil and war had turned Celestia and Luna into soldiers, they had lost that touch; the thing which made them distinctly pony. Luna feared that they were now more like monsters, shadows of their former selves. But Luna also realized that she and Celestia had to bring pony-kind together before there could be a civil war. Luna just desperately hoped that time would heal their wounds.

Luna and Celestia had not spoken for over an hour. Luna followed as Celestia kept pace. They were nearing the edge of Everfree and were coming into earth pony territory. The forest was starting to thin out, the sprawling metropolis of the undergrowth giving way to a much thinner forested area. Clearings began to appear every so often, letting rays of sunlight pierce onto the shadowy ground below, revealing a greatly detailed forest floor engrossed in a mesh of roots and ferns. The calls of wildlife began to grow fainter as screeches were replaced by the thundering of a river up ahead. Luna looked up towards her sister.

Celestia was walking silently, her head bowed but her gaze fixed ahead of her. Celestia walked with a purposeful stride now, she knew they were nearing their destination and she did not want to be caught unawares. Earth ponies had a knack for knowing the land and Celestia feared an ambush. She was tempted to spread her wings and take flight. She quickly dismissed the thought from her mind, she wanted to meet the earth ponies on peaceful terms and that would be near impossible if she flew in to meet them. Earth ponies were proud, too proud, they let their keen dislike of pegasii get in the way all too often, meaning that neither group was particularly on good terms with one another.

Celestia halted abruptly. Luna didn’t see her stop in time; her horn collided with Celestia’s rear causing Celestia to keel over onto her face with a sharp yelp. Luna was about to apologize when she looked forward and suddenly saw for herself why Celestia had come to a halt. In front of them lay a bear, an extremely large bear, with huge fangs and a cosmic coat. The bear was dead. It should have had a scalp. Instead its head was peppered with an array of scorch marks and three deep claw marks were deeply ingrained from the tip of its nose right through to its left ear. The skin upon its head had been torn back to reveal a skull reddened with blood and large recesses where chunks of skull should have been. Each hole in the skull had jagged edges and was smeared with thick, black bile and grey matter. Whatever had killed this Ursa Major had not done so in an efficient manner. Luna felt herself heave but managed to compose herself before she could vomit. ‘She had seen worse’ she reminded herself.

Celestia pulled herself up off the floor to sit on her haunches. She stared upon the corpse of the beast and took it all in. She attempted to look for clues about what might have killed something so large in such a vicious way. Her eyes furiously flicked over the body looking for clues, she spotted one, in fact better than that. On top of the Ursa sat a reptilian figure, a dragon. Tall, slim and lean the dragon was built like an arrow, his scales were a dark crimson and his spines and black like coal. The dragon was sitting upon the Ursa looking decidedly bored, staring up into the clouds. He didn’t notice as Celestia began to move towards the corpse. Luna glanced over to her sister and realized what she was doing but before she could stop her it was too late. Celestia was going to talk to the dragon and all Luna could do was watch apprehensively, she feared startling the dragon might anger him. Now Luna had fought much worse than a dragon but she still felt exhausted after the ordeal with Discord, plus she really wasn’t in the mood for more bloodshed today. Luna bought her wing up and gave a brief look at the Elements of Harmony which were resting just beneath her feathers. Their presence comforted Luna.

Celestia stopped about a hundred feet away from the corpse. Her horn glowed briefly as a faint flash revealed the presence of a force field she had summoned around her, She wasn’t going to be stupid about this. With a quick cough to clear her throat she projected her voice directly towards the dragon.

“Um, excuse me.”

The dragon snapped its neck around at once to glare down at whoever dared to have the stupidity to address him directly. His neck went tense as he saw before himself something he had not seen for a very long time.

Celestia saw the daggers he was throwing her turn to pinpricks of surprise and distrust, upon this note she started…

“Good afternoon, sir. I am Celestia and this is my sister Luna. We were just passing through and we happened to notice this dead Ursa Major lying here. We were mightily impressed by such a fine kill. We were just wondering if you may happen to know who killed this beast and for what reason?”

Luna felt her stomach twist in bewilderment. “What on earth is Celestia doing?” she muttered under her breath, biting back the questions for later.

The serpentine face reared back at Celestia’s question, it was stuck somewhere between anger and pride. Celestia knew exactly what buttons to press with dragons, always going for the ego first. She was not comfortable though as she noticed the dragon role onto all fours in a stance which was neither defensive nor aggressive but rather, a stance which somewhere between the two. After a moment of silence the dragon finally let himself relax a little, his bulging muscles loosening out a bit, before addressing the Alicorn before him.

“If it were not already apparent I am he who killed this ‘beast’, and it was hardly a ‘fine kill’, rather a necessary precaution to stop this lummox from flattening such fine forestry.” The words came out of the dragon’s mouth begrudgingly with only hint of venom. He continued, “What I think is a far more interesting matter at this moment is what two goddesses, the likes of which the earth hasn’t seen for centuries, are doing just wandering the Everfree forest? The sight of an Alicorn is unheard of, but two, out here, well that requires an explanation.”

Celestia was hesitant for the briefest of moments but quickly made up her mind of what action was necessary.

“We, my sister and I, are going to form a nation.” Celestia said the sentence as if it were common knowledge, her nonchalance instantly making the dragon rear up in annoyance, puffing up his chest. Celestia held back a snigger at how predictable his actions were.

“And who are you to found a nation? Just going to prance into the land of the earth ponies and tell them that everything’s going to be alright now, are we?” The dragon’s voice dripped with sarcasm. Celestia bristled up at the remark, even though she had been expecting it. There was something about this specific dragon which she found highly irritating.

“We, my sister and I, The Royal Alicorn Sisters of Everfree, the rebels of ponydom, the sisters of a martyr, the slayers of Discord…are we cut out for the job? Yes! Yes we are! And we are indeed going to walk into earth pony lands and tell them everything’s going to be alright. We shall word it a little better of course, and we will have to deal with resistance, but I’m afraid a nation’s about to be born and we don’t have time for this.”

Celestia’s words were said with a resolve and determination which made the dragon raise an eyebrow. She prayed her gambit would pay off as she turned and began to walk away. She had played every emotion to perfection; she just prayed the dragon would take the bait. Luna stared on at all this with a blurry confusion in her eyes, she had no idea what Celestia was trying to achieve.

“One moment…” Bingo! Celestia slowed to a halt and then slowly swirled round her head, meeting the cold gaze of the dragon.

“Do you know who I am?” He said these words with a hint of trepidation.

“No, should I?” Celestia knew she had him now, she was just a little disappointed that he hadn’t been more impressed by the slaying Discord part of her speech. Either he believed her fully or he was playing the same game as Celestia was. Celestia assumed the latter; war turns you into a pessimist.

“I am ThunderClaw, The Dragon Baron of Everfree, everything you see in this forest is within my dominion, this is my territory. I do not know why you refer to yourselves as the ‘Royal Alicorn Sisters of Everfree’ but I can only assume you are descended from the alicorns that once ruled this land. Some may think it foolish that I do not strike you down here where you stand as competition to my throne, but I am no fool. While I may be impervious to magic I do not wish to gamble my life away fighting alicorns. Now, I’ll go ahead and cut to the chase. I don’t know what you two are really up to; you may be as crazy as you sound and actually want to build a kingdom but here it is… YOU STAY OUT OF MY WAY AND I’LL STAY OUT OF YOURS!”

The last words were not shouted but rather whispered with such ferocity that they stung the ears of all those that heard. Celestia briefly felt a twinge of fear but countered with the question…

“And why should we keep out of your way?”

“It’s lying underneath me.”

The words found their target and made impact, both Luna and Celestia glanced over the corpse and back at the dragon.

“Agreed.”

Luna spoke these words with a finality that made both ThunderClaws and Celestia dart looks of mild shock towards her. With a nod Celestia began to turn around and start on her way, Luna filing in behind her. They shuffled away in silence, heads hung low, a meditative atmosphere descending upon them as the dragon watched them go.

ThunderClaw’s words were but a whisper heard by none…

“Better prepare, a storm’s coming.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was directly overhead as Celestia and Luna crested the hill. They stopped a while to take in the view, basking in the sunlight. Luna lay down onto her chest, trying to dry herself off from the bath she and Celestia managed to briefly steal in the river. As she lay there she began to look into the valley below. The land was rugged but pleasant, good farming land scarred by a brook or a small cluster of trees here and there. In the centre of the valley lay a small village filled with cute wooden houses and barns. Under the noonday sun small specks could be seen moving through the town, most likely to be ponies.

Luna soaked up the view, the idea of normality flirting with her mind, a temptation she could never yield to as there really was no temptation, just a fantasy. She looked upon the panorama that presented itself to her. Fluffy white clouds sparsely populated the crystal blue sky, adding the hint of purpose to the endless sea that the sky had become to her. The sky…Luna loved the sky, be it at day or night. She loved the idea of a vast nothingness…space, true space with nothing in it. Luna often imagined falling through space, the peace, the tranquillity. She loved the sensation of falling, the feeling of weightlessness, it was the one thing she had liked about the time she had almost died many years ago. She was scared of falling into the ground, of course. But she could dream, how ever strange her dreams may be.

“If there were nowhere to land I wouldn’t be scared at all.” She thought to herself.

At that moment she snapped out of her train of thought, and then she noticed it; the ugly scar in the heart of the valley, the castle upon the cliff-face. The cliff was vast, spanning most of the right side of the valley, like a huge wall that separated two halves of creation. Dead in the centre it stood. The castle must have been elevated fifty feet up. It loomed over the valley with its monolithic spires piercing into the sky. Every inch of it was screaming its presence, assaulting the vision of all who looked at it. It was a slab grey with hints of jet black running through it. It consisted of a main courtyard carved out base at the bottom with what appeared to be something akin to terraced levels all linked up by a series of ramps zigzagging through the city. Each level consisted of an open platform area hidden behind a small curtain wall lined with buttresses. Behind each platform lay a series of archways peering in to the innards of the castle; the archways were each carved into a much larger wall running up into the next level. On the top level was a domed building with three spires cascading from the sides. Luna looked upon the castle with awe, even from such a great distance it was a sight to behold.

“Celestia…”

“Yes, Luna.”

“If things go pear shaped, I think we may have our work cut out for us.”

“I know.”

“How did they build this thing under Discord’s nose?”

“I think Discord built it for them.”

“When?”

“Towards the end, just after the chaos abated, Discord focused all his energy into building castles such as these.”

“Why?”

“He was planning a war for his amusement.”

“I think he may have already succeeded."

1) - Foreword and The Fall of Discord

The Chronicling of The Fall
- By TimeForKronos

Chapter 1: Foreword and The Fall of Discord

Since the reinstatement of our beloved Princess Luna, two years has now passed. These two years have been both uplifting and unsettling in many ways. For the first time in recorded history, a precise and accurate history of Equestria has been compiled. This history; “Of the Origins of the Equestrian Peoples, Nations and Territories”, is the most significant piece of literature to have ever graced the nation. All research and chronicling of all cited articles and evidence was performed by Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, one Twilight Sparkle. The freedom given to Miss Sparkle to undertake such an endeavour was granted by Celestia herself. Now, at this point you may be wondering about matters of bias and censorship. To anyone who reads this history though, it becomes instantly clear that not only is this history audacious in its task, but is also brutally honest in its approach. Miss Sparkle has tenaciously given the most balanced view of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna possible with both the ups and downs of their rule presented as clear as day. From this, is portrayed a very heartfelt and moving history of both sisters and all that they’ve been through over the course of time. Hence, the motivation for this book.

This book is written to dispel the vicious rumours which currently circulate the land; rumours of civil wars and Luna republics and other absurdities. Anyone who begins to read “Of the Origins of the Equestrian Peoples, Nations and Territories” will quickly come to realise that it is not light reading. Because the weight the book carries, being given the royal seal of approval from day one, the book is written in a purely academic form and, because of this, is very hefty reading for the ordinary laypony. And so this book is written in such a manner that said laypony may understand one of the most important aspects of the history; the events that transpired before, during and shortly after the rise of Nightmare Moon and the fall of Princess Luna. To really understand the events a reading of the history is completely required as there is a vast web of complexities arising, but for those who would like a simple grasp, this book will suffice. It is written in a narrative form, but not in such a way that would provide factual inaccuracies. And so, all I wish the reader to be able to do is to understand the extreme and often heart wrenching emotions that bought about ‘The Fall’.

Brief Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Miss Twilight Sparkle for compiling “Of the Origins of the Equestrian Peoples, Nations and Territories” and also editing this book, providing useful help, suggestions and feedback. Also many thanks to the following from Miss Sparkle:

Miss Zecora Zebra for providing Zebraan histories.

Miss Futtershy for providing histories of Everfree.

Mr Soarin for giving first hand accounts on the founding of the Wonderbolts.

Mr Spike for help, support and his duties as a scribe.

Princess Celestia and Luna for first hand accounts and interviews on gaps in the history and also supporting the history throughout.

And also from me, many thanks to my dearest Sunny Days, I love you greatly.

The Fall of Discord

Celestia felt the shockwaves rise up through her legs and coalesce in her ribcage. Her heart skipped a beat as she the realization hit her like a comet. With a deep breath she overcame her exhaustion. Drawing energy from a secret well in her soul she gathered the last of her strength together for the final push. With a sudden majestic aura encapsulating her being, she raised her head and began to pour her strength into her horn. She turned round to face the oncoming horde one last time, and with all her might she summoned forth a spell unlike any she’d ever performed before. Sparks began to shoot upwards towards her horn as her eyes glowed like coals in a fire. She reared up onto her back legs as bolts of lightning began to travel from the ground up to her horn which glowed like surface of the sun. With an almighty roar she forced her front limbs down with the power of a supernova. The instant her hooves touched the ground she unleashed her payload.

A huge cascade of energy erupted forth from her horn rupturing the air around her as her body shuddered under the tremendous volume of energy unleashed. A shockwave advanced forward, like the armies of the old world, immediately disintegrating anything that got in the way. The throng of possessed ponies turned to dust under the magical presence that pervaded their very being. There was no hiding from the spell, for it was Celestia’s very being that fuelled it. She had funnelled the entirety of her will into that last spell because hope was here. Luna had arrived.

Celestia fought to maintain consciousness as the exhaustion threatened to overtake her, but with an iron handed discipline she shut her eyes, took a deep breath and then opened them. What lay before her was the devastation that Equestria was to be born into. She observed with her heart, from a distance, the sorrow that she had seen countless times before. Ash was all that graced the floor of the stony mausoleum the Everfree castle had become. She had just killed her own children, ponies of all types; Pegasi, Unicorns and Children of the Earth. She had decimated their very being, but she had no choice in the matter. They had all been possessed by Discord, they had become puppets of a warlord, the God of Chaos. Discord, would have no difficulty killing Celestia at that instant if he only wished to, but instead, Discord wished to see Celestia and Luna suffer. He gained satisfaction, mere amusement, from watching the turmoil that they had to go through as he found new ways to torture them; physically and emotionally. This is what the Chaos Wars were, merely a way of Discord getting kicks out of slowly wearing down to goddesses. Until he got bored of course, then he would simply kill them, like all the others who dared stand up to his rule of madness. But now…now Luna had arrived, and she bought with her the elements of Harmony.

Celestia’s mind evaporated into glistening vapours in the noon-day sun as she thought about the ‘Elements of Harmony’. As she reflected upon them she felt the sweet kiss of something she had not had the courage to feel for such a long time, hope. Before them, hope was just a dream, a flight of fancy, but now it was possible. The Elements were the heavenly embodiment of hope, love and peace. In a world of Discord, that’s exactly what you need, for without it Celestia and Luna were just another pair of freedom fighters, dreaming for a better world. But with it, they were the oncoming storm, the ending to the famine that Discord was. On that thought she took a deep breath and screamed forth at the top of her lungs… “We’re here Discord! It’s time. THIS ENDS NOW!”

Just as she finished her battle cry a silhouette like apparition landed beside her. Wings majestically unfurled and eyes shining with the vicious determination of desperation. Luna’s mane billowed and buffeted in what could only be called a nightmarish storm as she turned her head towards her sister and whispered, “I love you.”

Her whisper was filled with a quiet determination, one of an unachorable rage at the way the fates had treated them. Luna was scared. But she was not scared like a young foal crying out for her mother but rather scared for her sister, and it was that fear that drove forth a determination. She was not going to let anything bring harm to her sister. She had given up hope on saving the Earth, but she had not given up hope on saving Tia, her Tia!

Celestia glanced over to see her sister wielding the Elements of Harmony. With a wordless gesture she began to levitate the tiara over towards her, bringing it to rest on her own head. Luna did not mind her sister taking the lead, for she held no hope in the Elements anyway. Luna began to tense up as her senses awakened to her surroundings. She eyed Celestia nervously and, catching Celestia’s eye, she communicated everything she wanted to with a single look.

Celestia saw, at the moment, the unbridled ferociousness that Luna’s love for her was. She too stared deep into Luna’s eye and gave back the same message. In that one look they both exchanged their hearts with each other. This was no longer just about ideals, this was personal. They were going to rip Discord apart piece by piece, taking everything he was and tearing it asunder. This was to be his end.

Celestia once more shouted out, “Show yourself Discord.”

Her voice rang out like a bell, echoing off the walls and resonating in the glass of the slowly fading castle. The castle, once majestic and awe-inspiring was where the Alicorn sisters had grown up together; all three of them. Their parents magical protection had been sufficiently enough for many years to let the three sisters grow up in peace. But one day, it happened. Their mother fell ill, slowly becoming weaker and weaker until one day she passed. Her father went into bitter morning. He did his best to raise the girls on his own, but the bitter pain ebbed away at his heart, until one day it broke. One day his will splintered to dust and at that instant, Discord was able to enter. At first it was barely noticeable, the entropy of their existence barely increasing, but then one day their father too was killed. They never found out how, it was as simple as he was alive and then he was dead. But it scarred the sisters deeply, and they knew who to blame. That’s when they started their war against Discord. Many years of struggles and here they were, or two of them were. The war was not without its casualties.

“Oh how fun, Celestia.” Discord’s unmistakable voice rang out. “A last stand, how quaint. Is that like a dance battle finale to ‘the war’, as you like to call it?”

Discord sounded amused, as always. Celestia felt sick to the stomach, the endless onslaught of death was beginning to get to her, she knew she needed to be strong, but it was so hard at that moment.

“If so, I have do a brilliant ‘running minotaur’ that’s simply delightful.”

Discord materialized barely ten feet away from the sisters. He bore a big smile and his eyes glinted with a malicious sadism. Doubt began to fill Celestia’s mind as she looked upon the Serpentine-esque figure standing before her. She began to let fear take a hold as shivers ran down her spine. How were they supposed to defeat the most powerful creature in the entirety of creation?

Luckily, before Celestia’s fear got the better of her, Luna took a step forward. With an aura of intense rage around her she placed her hooves squarely on the ground and began to lower her body into an attack stance, her eyes trained on Discord, glowing with the heat of a supernova. She began to speak, projecting her voice with a tone as cold as the glacial misery of the one hundred years she’d spent fighting.

“Discord, God of Chaos, we, the Royal Alicorn Sisters descended from the fourth dynasty of the Everfree kingdom, hereby sentence you to death. Your crimes include one thousand years of pain, suffering and death to the inhabitants of Equestria, treason and the murder of a princess of the Everfree kingdom. Do you have any last words?”

The ground underneath her felt unsteady as the rage began to pour forth, breaking the walls of the mental damn that encapsulated it. Discord looked her directly in the eyes, and smiled.

“My Dearest Luna, I find you most hilari-“

“YOU ARE GOING TO DIE, TODAY!!!”

The foundations of the earth shook as Luna’s scream tore through the air shattering the smile on Discord’s face to a fragmented past. And so it was done, the toying was over, the battle lines were drawn. The God of Chaos began to look angry, he began to boil, he began to overflow with wrath.

“No Luna, it’s time for you to lay your head.”

Discord’s words were but a whisper but punctured the air with such aggression that Luna almost choked. Her heart rose up to her throat as she felt it. It began as a quiver, turned into a shudder and then an almighty shake. A roar exploded into the air from Discord’s mouth as he arched his head down in a gaping arch, summoning towards him the very energy that kept the earth together.

“LUNAAAA…!!!

Celestia shouted towards her sister but her cries were cut short as she felt the energy surge towards Discord. A blinding white light flashed around him as his profile began to rise into the true size of its hulking form, the light enveloping his form with a luminescence not of this earth. Wordlessly, Luna and Celestia both knew what they needed to do. Celestia, with all her might, flung herself at Discord, as she neared him she sliced through the air with her horn in a wide arc. Her horn collided with Discord’s throat slicing through like a Hattori Hanzo sword through a baseball. Discord reeled back in pain with a roar, clutching at his throat. Blood spewed forth like a fountain but Discord quickly diverted the energy flowing through him to healing himself. Under the bright illumination of Discord’s magical power, Celestia was only able to tell she’d hit her mark by the warm blood that began to soak her coat. She knew she’d only managed to buy herself and Luna only a few seconds but it was enough.

A shout rang out as Celestia and Luna sacrificed all they had left to the elements of Harmony. They gave them everything, for what they needed required everything. Their offering upon the altar was considered by the heavens and was found to be enough. With a huge rumble of the ground and a light that dwarfed that surrounding Discord Luna and Celestia were hoisted into the air. Their eyes were ablaze with the heat of a thousand suns and the beauty of the two in their awesomely powerful tranquillity was deadly. In an eruption of colour a spectrum of light was unleashed upon the world and at that moment Discord looked up, as he did his mouth dived into free fall, his end was here. He never imagined that he’d see it. Tears began to crawl down his cheeks after he thought of all the souls he’d never be able torture, and on that melancholy regret, his thoughts stopped. His life processes were frozen as he turned to the coldest stone in the brightest day. It was over, Discord was defeated.

Celestia and Luna fell to the ground, unconscious, as the light around them began to dissipate and the chaos that enshrouded the world began to depart. The Elements of Harmony dropped to the floor with a metallic clinking sound, and that’s all they were once again, worthless metal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia was the first to come round to consciousness; she glanced up and saw nothing. She took a double take and saw before her, Discord. Except he was unmoving, he had been turned to stone in a pose which she could not tell if it was of sorrow or of anger. Celestia looked down towards the floor. She tried to remain brave, but then they began to come. In shuddering wretches she began to sob, she began to sob like she had never done before. For the first time in one hundred years she looked at the faces of all those she’d killed. She actually looked at their faces and saw their pain and anguish, and the worst part was she felt for every one of them. She cried for the destruction. She cried for her mother. She cried for her father, and most of all, she cried for her, her sister, the one she could have saved but failed to.

At that moment Luna came back around to the world of the living. She groggily opened her eyes and just sat there a while, watching her sister cry. Luna was overflowing with joy, her sister had lived. She thanked the heavens for her. She wanted to go over to her sister and nuzzle her and hug her and never let her go, but she knew better, she knew Celestia needed her time, and she knew that she too needed time. She shakily stood up and hobbled away, over to a corner. There she sat down, she thought about her lost sister, and she to, broke down crying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neither knew how long they just sat there and bared their souls, all they knew was when it was time to stop, duty was calling. At this point Luna looked up and for the first time saw the statue of Discord.

“I thought he was dead?”

She whispered over to Celestia who was still composing herself.

“He’s a god Luna, and we are but mere demigods. He cannot be killed but we can, the only thing that can happen is what has happened.”

“And pray tell what has happened.”

Luna’s words were almost a whisper carried on the wind, she said them with a worry that buried its way into Celestia’s heart.

“He is frozen in time. The heavens smiled upon us and decided that the reign of chaos is over, but for how long I do not know.”

“So he may come back at any moment.”

“Yes, and there is nothing we can do about it, fate has sealed his and our destinies.”

“But why?”

“Because this is our role in life Luna, this is our responsibility.”

The room descended into an uncomfortable silence as both Alicorns wondered what they should do next. Luna spoke up first.

“Sister, it’s time to start with our work.”

Celestia sighed within herself as she considered the work that lay ahead.

“You’re right Luna, it’s time…to build a kingdom.”

Celestia shuddered at her own words for she knew that the war was over, but the real conflict was only just about to begin…