“Are you certain?”
Discord looked up from the star chart, eyes focusing on the frail mare before him. Even in the auxiliary bridge’s dim lighting, he could note the worry scaring the elderly mare’s already lined face. “It must be so, Twilight. Surely you understand as well as I.”
“But—”
“There is nothing left for us here.” His own voice sounded hoarse and strained, though he tried to maintain his usual note of confidence.
“Yes, but . . . to leave . . . to abandon . . .” Biting her lip, she turned to the still flashing monitors with a frown. “—This is our home, Discord,” she blurted.
Discord’s eyes flashed to the orb on the nearest monitor, still swirling with clouds of soot. “It was our home, Twilight.” He sighed, running a paw through his snow white mane. His old friend’s hooves shook and for the briefest instant, he feared she might slip on the smooth linoleum. Though an alicorn—the last—he had watched the flame of her life slowly flicker and die. Now before him stood a worn mare preparing to leave the only home she had ever known.
As he set the controls, he motioned to the door and the passageway beyond. She followed him slowly, stiffly. Discord knew better than to offer a hand for support. They made their way towards the bridge, stopping occasionally to ensure the cryochambers were set and secure. The solitary journey might have been unsettling to their subjects, but Discord found a comfort in it. Comfort, even in the face of so much devastation.
The newly crafted starship—the first and only of its class—held all the necessary supplies, technology, and equipment for the journey ahead. Such an accomplishment would never have been feasible in the early days of their reign. Now it stood as a monument. A monument to the drive, innovation, and hopes of a planet doomed to fail by no fault of its own. The last ditch effort in a last ditch plan to flee certain death.
No pony, no beast yet living could have foreseen the greatest threat to their survival came not from one another, but from the stars themselves. Meteors held no grudges, betrayed no concern, but acted of their own accord. Even Celestia and Luna had been powerless to stop the cataclysmic domino effect that followed the onslaught of such a force. Especially after . . .
Curiosity taking the better of him, Discord turned to his silent companion. “Has it returned to you?”
Twilight’s eyes went wide with surprise for the briefest of instances before growing distant once more. “No,” she rasped, avoiding his gaze. “It has been lost with our home . . .”
“So . . . it . . . was lost?” he whispered, as if they were striding through a graveyard rather than a ship.
“Ye-yes . . .” Twilight’s gaze focused out the windows at the still smoldering and quivering planet below. “The power resided within the planet itself, Discord. When the stability shattered, so did . . . so did the magic.”
Discord snapped his talon, more out of habit than out of desire to prove a point. The hollow sound resounded down the smooth metallic hallway, drawing a disapproving scowl from Twilight. He chuckled softly, “Forgive me, I could not resist testing.”
She shot him a small, wry smile. “You never could, old friend.”
Discord sighed, pausing at the door to the elevator. Did he dare ask? No. It would be wrong. However, the longer he stared into her eyes, the weaker his resolve became. The words tumbled out before he could stop himself, “Will you join them?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. Then gave a wispy, half-hearted laugh. “Me? Join them?” The mirth faded from her eyes like a dying ember. “No,” she breathed. “This new world . . . it is theirs, it must be theirs.”
The answer he knew she would give and the only answer he would accept. Still, it pained his heart. Knowing that neither of them would live to see this world they had worked so hard to discover. However, it must be so as surely as the sun now rose on its own accord. Theirs had been the era of magic . . . Before their citizens stood the era of technology. He and Twilight were artifacts of a bygone era. Their presence could only hinder the future they had worked so hard to ensure.
Discord gave her the smallest smile, gesturing to the elevator. “You are correct, as you are so often.”
Twilight puffed out her bony chest in a gesture that almost reminded him of that time so many centuries before. Back when the world had been as it always had, back before the foundations of magic had crumbled with the very foundations of the earth. So he returned the gesture, prodding the number on the touchpad and waiting. In a few moments, they would reach the point of no return, the point they had simultaneously longed for and dreaded.
“Thus the torch passes to a new generation,” he mumbled, just loud enough to be heard over the motor.
His companion chuckled mirthlessly. “And what a torch it is . . .” Her eyes flickered with that hesitation that had recently sprung from her like a cancer. “Do they have any idea of the danger we are sending them into?”
“They know of it and accept it,” Discord stated with a decided finality. “Let these thoughts leave you, friend, or they shall consume you.”
“I have already been consumed by them,” she grumbled, looking away. “How can they trust us so?”
“Because they have always trusted us.” Though true, his own words stung like a whiplash. For countless centuries it had been their words, their magic that guided this world. Now . . . now their subjects must find a new path. A path fraught with danger, but also with hope. Surely she saw that as well as he.
The elevator stopped, opening out onto the bridge. Devoid of the hustle and bustle so present in the past weeks, Discord felt oddly sacrilegious striding inside. However, he soon found his place at the helm, typing in the last few codes. Then, he paused, glancing at the final flashing display. The last command . . . “Twilight? Are you ready?”
Twilight did not reply, eyes full of emotion as she gazed fixedly at the planet before them. She turned to him, limbs quivering once more. “Do you—do you see it? It was our home . . .”
“Yes,” he said softly, placing his paw over her withers. “But it is time to go now,” he breathed into her ear.
Twilight nodded, choking back a sob. “I—I know.” For the longest moment, she merely stared unflinchingly back at the planet. The calm, almost peaceful quality of her next words took him back a step, “It’s amazing, you know? For centuries we controlled that place, the sun and moon and stars . . . Thinking that if we did not, nothing would function. But, now we can do nothing more than gaze at them. And yet, we’re still here. Time marches on . . . ponies live and di-die all as before.”
Her almost filly-like giggle made him start. “You know something, Discord?”
“What?”
“Maybe we were never needed at all.”
The words hung in the stillness like a miasma. However, he would not acknowledge their validity, not today at least. Twilight did not need that satisfaction. Discord gave a snort of laughter instead. “Really?” He ruffled her silver-streaked mane affectionately. “What would they have done without us?”
Twilight turned back to him, looking thoroughly distraught. “Discord. They built this ship. They designed the technology. They made a way out of this mess. What did we do?”
“We gave them hope,” he stated simply.
“A false hope,” she spat bitterly.
Discord smiled sadly. “No hope is false, Twilight.”
She snorted. “Whatever.” Her focus turned towards the controls. “Just start the thrusters,” she growled through clenched teeth.
Discord’s paw reached for the control, then froze, hovering over them. With a long, collected breath, he lowered it, pressing the display and feeling the immediate reaction of the engines. He looked out the windows as the planet began slowly fading from sight.
A wild urge struck him. One that he had not felt for centuries now. A song . . . Aye that was what this moment needed. Before he knew why, began to sing in a shaky voice, even as the image of their former home faded from view.
“This home we’ve known is but a dream
a passing constellation
But as we travel on our way
through endless night and dangers,
Even in the depths of the unknown,
Through all the all the tumult and the loss
A new beginning awaits
a hope unwavering.”
Twilight glanced at Discord, eyes clouded over with emotion. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you sing that?”
He shrugged, turning away from the controls. “Just felt appropriate.”
She rolled her eyes, “If you say so.”
As they made their way out of the bridge, Twilight slowed her pace, eyeing the window. “Do you think,” she shook her head, “Never mind.”
“Think what, Twilight?” Discord pressed.
Twilight bit her lip, staring intensely back at him. “Will they remember us?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“A valid one,” she snapped.
Discord groaned. “Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters.”
He shook his head, “Twilight . . . we continually speak of their need for independence. If they cling to the past they will never move forward.”
“So we are to be cast aside? After all we have done?” The slightest hint of an old fire flickered in her eyes before extinguishing itself in an instant. “No . . . you are—you are right. It’s better that way.”
They stood in silence for several minutes, watching until nothing of the planet could be seen. Then, he placed his paw across her back in what he hoped passed as a comforting gesture. “They will not forget, Twilight. Not in entirety . . . Yes, we will fade from memory, but, a piece of us—of what we have accomplished will linger if only in part.”
Twilight did not speak, closing her eyes and leaning against his side. “Our time has finally come, Discord. How long do you think?”
“A year . . . maybe two,” he choked out, fighting the inevitable sting those words brought.
“At least we will spend them together. I should not have had it any other way, friend.”
Discord could only nod.
“An end of one chapter—”
“—and a start of another.”
Author's Note
Just a little experiment of mine. Wanted to get back writing again after struggling through a very long writer's block. I hope it was enjoyable and not too confusing. Comments are ever appreciated.
