Chapters It was a warm summer evening in the small town of Ponyville, and everypony was going about their routines as normal. The earth ponies could be seen finishing a hard day’s work and heading home for the night. Pegasi were clearing the last of the clouds to make room for what was to be a clear starry night, and as the last of the clouds were moved the moon began to slowly rise into the night sky. Stars filled the sky like a million little diamonds, and the darkness began to envelop the town and bring out softer shades of colour. When the pegasi returned home, one could look up and see a clear and beautiful sky, the kind that few living ponies had been lucky enough to see before Luna's return.
Ditzy Doo wished she could stay awake, and simply wander around and take in the new world that began when the sun went down, but she'd have to be up early to deliver mail. She sighed, and turned from the window to see her daughter Dinky desperately trying to lift a book with her magic. Ditzy held back a chuckle, her daughter always got the funniest look on her face when she tried to do magic.
"I think you've practiced enough for today Dinky," Ditzy commented. "It's time for you to go to sleep."
"But I'm not tired, and I want to stay up and practice my magic," Dinky complained. Ditzy let out a little giggle in response. Dinky seemed confused. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, it's really nothing. I just remember saying the same thing to my parents whenever I wanted to practice flying. Now go get some sleep, you'll need your rest if you want to do magic."
"Will you read me a bedtime story?" Ditzy tried to roll her eyes, but failed. Besides, she wouldn't ever be able to say no the face her daughter had at the moment. It was just the cutest little look, with her big eyes and innocent expression. Where doe's every kid learn to do that? You can't say no to that face!
"Oh alright." Ditzy gave in. "What story do you want tonight?" Dinky was already at the bookshelf looking for the book she had in mind, then pulled a small blue story out from the bottom shelf.
"This one! Read this one!," Dinky exclaimed. This time Ditzy succeeded in rolling her eyes at the little filly. Like I even needed to ask. Dinky always asked for the same story, without fail. Ditzy took the book, carefully tucked Dinky into her bed, and began to read.
A long, long, time ago, before Celestia or even Discord ruled the land, there was a small village where nopony was friends with anypony else. In this village there was no love, but nor was there any hate. Everypony there was content in their village, and so they never thought to venture beyond its borders. It was their home, and everypony was satisfied there.
It was a peculiar village, but even more peculiar were the ponies that inhabited it. There were no colourful pegasi, earth ponies, or unicorns. There were only colourless ponies, who didn't know the power of friendship, or the power of magic. They only interacted with the other ponies if it would benefit them in some way, otherwise they were solitary and alone.
In the village lived three little ponies. One of them was dependable and strong, but also caring. Another was daring and quick, and always kind. The last was the smartest and most beautiful, yet never boastful. These three ponies were different than anypony else in the village. They wanted more out of life, they wanted adventure. So they set out into the unknown, although nopony in the village could fathom why.
After weeks of wandering aimlessly with no hints as to where they go, they turned back to return to the village. But them, all of a sudden they saw a pony flying across the sky. They couldn't believe their eyes, and followed the wondrous flying pony to its destination.
When they finally caught up to it, it had stopped at another village. But this village was far different than the one the ponies had come from. This village was filled with pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies of every colour imaginable. Here, ponies were flying and using magic. But the biggest difference was that here, ponies were friends with other ponies. The three little ponies then realized that upon finding the village, they too had become colourful. The daring one grew wings, and took to the air. The smartest felt a horn grow from her head, and magic now flowed through her. The most dependable could feel power flowing through her. She was stronger than before, but what had caused this?
They asked the ponies in this new, wonderful, village, and learned that the three little ponies had gained these powers because there was magic in the air, which had appeared the moment the three ponies had become friends. The daring one's newfound magic had turned them into a pegasi, granting them the power of flight. The dependable one had become an earth pony, connected with nature and stronger for it. The smartest and most beautiful became a unicorn, able to channel the magic to her will. They thanked the ponies of this new village, and returned to their own to spread the magic of friendship.
Upon their return, they immediately began befriending the ponies of their home town. Soon everypony was filled with colour, and happier than they'd ever been before. On that day, the three little ponies agreed to travel the lands as long as they lived, spreading the magic of friendship wherever they went. They all lived happily ever after.
Ditzy closed the book to find Dinky sound asleep. When Dinky first heard the story, she'd had so many questions about what the story meant. Ditzy remembered telling her for the first time.
"The story means that magic only exists because friendship does, and magic is what gives all the ponies their powers. It's why pegasi can walk on clouds and ponies have special abilities that other ponies don't. If it weren't for friends, everypony would be like the ponies in the village. This means that magic only exists as long as friendship does, and there is only so much in a given area unless more is being generated by acts of friendship, such as making new friends or kindness." It was almost a lecture, and she'd repeated it several times before Dinky understood. Of course she was glad Dinky knew, it really helped to answer a lot of Dinky's other questions, particularly the ones about Pinkie Pie.
Ditzy chucked to herself at the mere thought of Pinkie Pie. That pony had so many friends her magic could break physics itself, and she only used it for laughter. Finally, Ditzy put the book away, kissed Dinky on the forehead, and returned to her own room to sleep. Tomorrow would be another big day, and she needed her rest.
As she dropped off into her dreams, Ditzy thought about one of Dinky's questions that had always bothered her about the story. She'd never quite been able to answer it, and it always bothered her.
If magic only exists because we have friends, then what happens if we run out of magic?
Discord brooded inside his stone prison. He knew that one day he'd be able to escape again, but when that day came he needed a plan. He wouldn't let another chance at creating some wonderful chaos go to waste, but what would he do about those pesky Elements of Harmony?
I shouldn't have underestimated them last time. Now think, I know all of their power comes from their pesky little friendships, that’s why I used my Draconequus powers to turn them against each other. But that party pooper Celestia had to remind them with her letters. Why doesn't anypony appreciate some good old fashioned chaos anymore?
He was then interrupted by a mother telling her child a story inside the trophy garden. It was one Discord had heard many times before, but never really thought about. It was about three little ponies who gained their magic from friendship. He listened to the story, and thought about it.
Funny, when I took away the Element's magic and friendship, they turned colourless like the ponies in the story. All magic comes from friendship, everypony knows that, but I can't win by taking away their friendship. As long as at least one pony still has a friend they can show the other ponies friendship and ruin my eternal chaos. But there's only a finite amount of magic in the air, unless acts of friendship are being performed nearby. Maybe that means that-YES! That's it! i know exactly how to defeat those little ponies and bring about eternal chaos! Oh how i wish I could laugh maniacally right now! Now I can think about what kind of chaos to bring. I already did chocolate rain, maybe I can try strawberry or...
Having decided how he would defeat the ponies, Discord waited for his next opportunity to escape. Little did he know it would come a lot sooner than he realized.
The darkness began to fade as dawn arrived. The moon once again relinquished to the sun, and Spike was up bright and early to help Twilight re-shelve the books. To his mild surprise he found Twilight with a book at her desk, barely awake and surrounded by burnt out candles. If she noticed Spike coming downstairs she didn't show it, completely absorbed in whatever she was studying.
"Twilight I don't know why you’re always up so late studying. I mean Celestia only kept you here to study the magic of friendship, shouldn't you save your energy for, you know, friends?" Despite her tiredness Twilight immediately sprang into a lecture, eliciting only a sigh from Spike.
"I'm studying because we should be trying to learn as much as possible about anything we can Spike. Don't you ever wonder why the world is the way it is? How we came to be and what we will become? Why the sky is blue and the grass is green? Don't you ever look around and ask why?"
"No," Spike replied flatly. "And you really should be saving your energy for studying friendship, you don't want to go a week with nothing to report again do you?"
"Actually Spike I am studying friendship. I assume you already read those books I gave you about where magic comes from, didn't you?" He hadn't.
"Yeah, about that..."
"Spike, you need to keep up with your studies. I am in charge of your education after all. In simplest terms magic comes from and is strengthened by acts of friendship. There's only so much magic in a given area, and if someone uses too much of it they can't use anymore. While only unicorns can control magic, earth ponies and pegasi still use it in their innate abilities. Pegasi use it to walk on clouds and leave trails,, and it gives earth ponies a connection to the land. Do you understand so far?"
"Absolutely Twilight," he lied, hoping Twilight would stop. She, of course, continued as always.
"Everypony also has magic that helps them with their special talent, see a pony doesn't just get a cutie mark when they get their special talent, it also marks the point at which their magical abilities develop to their fullest and give them their innate abilities," Twilight continues to lecture.
"Kind of like Pinkies' pinkie sense?," Spike offered.
"Not exactly," Twilight explained. "But similar to that, yes. Anyhow, I was wondering how Discord and Nightmare Moon had such powerful magic even though they had no friends, and as it turns out there's actually two different kinds of magic."
"Wait," Spike interrupted. "Is that even possible?"
Twilight elaborated. "Yes, you see the kind of magic most ponies use that comes from friendship is called harmonic magic, hence the Elements of Harmony. It's the only kind most ponies are aware of since it's the only kind we use, but there is another kind that's the exact opposite. It's called disharmonic magic, and it gains power from hatred and disharmony the same way harmonic magic gains power from friendship and harmony. It's almost the same, except it's the exact opposite."
"Twilight?"
"Yes Spike?"
"I barely understood anything you just said."
"I'll give you some books that explain it, now I'm going to go get some rest while you clean up this mess."
Spike sighed. "Yes Twilight, right away Twilight." Twilight trotted upstairs, leaving Spike to his own devices. I still don't know why she doesn't just save her energy for her friends, or at least napping. Oh Celestia how I'd like a nap right now, but no, I have to clean up after her late night studies. Sometimes I really hate that mare.
Twilight settled into bed upstairs. As she tried to sleep she found that she'd worked herself up too much in her lecture to Spike. She was about to give up and just get some coffee, but then, all of a sudden, she felt just a little weaker and drifted off into sleep.
"It is unfair sister! We never get to participate in official events! If we have the same power as you do then why can't we be treated equally?
Luna and Celestia were in the latter's bedchamber arguing. It was an argument they often had despite the fact that it went pretty much the same way every time. Celestia would return from some political event to find Luna waiting in her bedchamber, furious that she hadn't been invited to come along. The solar princess sighed and began to explain once again.
"Luna, I told you to stop referring to yourself as we. That's exactly why I can't have you coming to these things; you haven't learned how to blend back into normal society yet. I can't exactly have you yelling at other ponies in the Royal Canterlot Voice at every meeting we go to, can I? It's not the same as it was a thousand years ago, and you've been gone too long for it to be easy for you to adjust."
""So we- I mean I've been gone too long to know how society works now, have I. Now whose fault could that be?" Celestia winced. She hated it when Luna used that against her, mostly because she was generally right whenever she did. Luna let a small smirk form on her lips, knowing she'd won a small victory. "And besides, I got along fine with the regular ponies at Nightmare Night didn't I?"
"Yes you did, but not until after you scared everypony away and got help from Twilight. If it weren't for her they'd still think you were going to try and eat him."
"That's beside the point sister, and you know it! I have done everything you have instructed me to in helping me to readjust. I spend an hour a day with that entirely insufferable speech coach, I spent hours reading all of Ms. Sparkle's friendship reports to learn how the common folk interact, and I read that balderdash book of yours about making friends. It's time I go out and earn the same admiration you receive, and the only way I will is in the eyes of the people." Luna was angry again now, and Celestia recoiled slightly at her sister's outburst. Perhaps it is time I let her try, at least at some of the less important meetings. Nightmare Night wasn't that bad after all, and in all fairness she was delightful at the wedding reception. Besides, if I give her something unimportant to do I don't have to risk her causing an incident.
"Very well Luna, perhaps you are right. I have a speech to give at a celebration in Fillydelphia tomorrow, why don't you go in my place? One of my guards has the details; he should be in the barracks. Just ask Shining Armor, he knows which one." That ought to do it.
"Thank you Tia, you won't regret this." Luna called her by her nickname to show she wasn't upset, but when she left she turned not towards the barracks but towards her own bedchamber.
I knew she'd just throw me a bone to keep me busy. If she doesn't think I can do this without causing an incident, well then I might just have to prove her right.
With that thought, Luna went to her chambers to rest and plan for the next day. If she had her way, it's be an eventful day in Fillydelphia to say the least.
Ditzy Doo had had a long, long day.
It had started with the mail, as it always did. Normally she'd be up early and finished by ten or ten thirty, but she'd slept in and it seemed everypony had packages that day. After that she had to get groceries and do several errands, and now Dinky was going to beat her home. And as smart as Dinky was for a filly, she was still a filly and Ditzy would not have her locked out by herself. The gray pegasus put on a burst of speed.
"Ditzy! Down here, I need to talk to you!" The voice was coming from a blue unicorn on the ground. Damn it. I need to get home. "It's important Ditzy! Get the buck gown here!" Alright, I'll just take a second to see what it is and then go home. Ditzy began her descent towards the newspaper brandishing pony.
"What is it Colgate, I need to be somewhere right now." Ditzy was visibly annoyed, but Colgate was too excited to notice."
"Did you see the news Ditzy? It's everywhere!"
"Colgate, I have no idea what you're talking about," Ditzy stated flatly. "So spit it out before I leave, I need to beat Dinky home."
"Here, just look at the paper!" Colgate exclaimed as she pushed the newspaper into Ditzy's face. Derpy removed it and focused her eyes so she could see the small print.
"Local Librarian Ousted at Book Club. Colgate, why would I care about-?"
"Not that headline Ditzy! Read the other one!" Ditzy flipped to the front page.
"Luna Announces Intent to Overthrow Sister." She started reading the article. "At a speech in Fillydelphia the Moon Princess Luna announced that she intended to oversee all political activities in place of her sister, the Sun Princess Celestia. Luna was quoted as saying the following: "The time of my seclusion from society has passed; it is time for me to assume my full duties and the princess of moon. If my sister will not allow me to take my place as her equal, then I will be forced to take my place as her superior."" Ditzy looked up to check for a reaction from Colgate.
"Keep reading it!" Ditzy continued.
"When Princess Celestia was asked about her sister's speech, she responded as follows: "My sister has been away from our society for a millennium, and it is too soon for her to attempt to reintegrate into our society on a large scale, especially while attempting to take on my responsibilities. If she believes she can take over just by saying so then she is sorely mistaken." Wait, what does this mean?" Ditzy asked.
"What it means Ditzy, is that both princesses want to be in charge and neither of them can agree who should be. Since they have equal power, in theory anyhow, the decision is going to be left to the general populous." Ditzy was surprised, Colgate generally wasn't so coherent.
"So this means that we have to decide who's in charge?" Ditzy inquired.
"That's right my pegasus friend, every pony in Equestria has to make a choice. You're on one side or the other Ditzy, and it all comes down to one decision."
"And what decision is that?"
"Are you Lunar or Solar?
Historians would refer to the events immediately following the Fillydelphia Proclamation as "The Split", and although it was rarely the focus of historical studies (due to more interesting events immediately following it) there was no more apt term for what transpired across Equestria when Luna announced her intentions to take over.
Every group was almost evenly split in their support, despite her absence her followers existed in numbers matching those of her sister. This has since been attributed to a need for change, after a thousand years of seeing the country run the same way many ponies felt that things could be improved. Others were scared that their nation's peace may not last under a new rule.
Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi from every walk of life populated both sides for reasons as varied as the ponies who stated them. You couldn't avoid the question, it was a fact of life. You were on one side or the other, and that held priority over anything that might have mattered before. It dictated who you hung out with, what events you went to, and for many ponies who you were. Few were undecided and none were unaffected, and every pony in the land was heavily opinionated.
Twilight was studying in her library as she generally did, reading up on astronomy in preperation for some stargazing. It was however more difficult than usual due to the fact that there were actually several other ponies in the library for once, although it took an event the likes of which hadn't been seen in Equestria for a thousand years to get them there. Every one of them was reading about something pertaining to the princesses, from Equestrian history to basic astronomy.
Well, they were supposed to be reading but the library had mostly become a location for noisy gossip. Things like who was on what side of the issue and largely about the princesses themselves. Everything from their wardrobes from their favorite foods were set out for the world to see, and rumors were created, debunked, and once in a rare while confirmed in the span of days or even hours.
At the center of the rabble was the always attention grabbing Rarity, dishing out the latest and greatest gossip like nopony else could hope to. Twilight just thought it was silly. Why does everypony care so much? Just because somepony likes one princess over the other doesn't make them different ponies. Evidently most ponies didn't share Twilight's views, and Rarity's gossip proved it.
"Oh and did you here about Vinyl and Octavia? Why they aren't even speaking anymore!" The dressmaker clearly had the rapt attention of all ponies present, including Twilight, who was in relative disbelief at the last statement.
"You must be mistaken Rarity," Twilight protested. "Vinyl and Octavia are one of the closest couples in Ponyville! They have their share of fights, but there's nothing that could keep them apart."
"Oh but there is Twilight. See Vinyl is a mare of the night, you know how she loves here raves, although I can't imagine why. Now Octavia is much more like me, much more fond of some well deserved beauty sleep. When they found out that they were on different sides they just couldn't get over it. Of course I doubt I could either, I never did understand those lunar people, so vulgar." The ponies all nodded in agreement, somewhat confusing Twilight.
"Wait, are there no Luna supporters here?" Twilight asked. She figured that in a given group of people there's be at least one pony who preferred the night.
"Of course not darling! Didn't anypony tell you? Your library is practically the solar headquarters, I mean your the princess's prized pupil for Celestia's sake!" Twilight had an immediate response to this.
"Well that would sense, if I ever gave you permission to make my library the headquarters. After all, why would a lunar pony let her library be the headquarters for the opposite side?" Gasps were heard around the room, and Rarity's face was the most shocked of all.
"But Twilight darling, I thought you of all ponies would support Celestia. You're practically family, how could you support Luna?" This triggered one of Twilights trademark lectures.
"Oh Celestia is a great teacher, but I'm not sure she's the best leader for Equestria. Rarity we've had to help save this country three times, and the only time she actually tried to do anything she got her flank handed to her. And I identify much more with Luna anyhow, you know I was never really good at making friends until I moved to Ponyville, and she kind of has the same problem. It's been a thousand years of the same Rarity, it's time for a change." The ponies in the room had mostly fallen silent at this. Rarity however was angry, and replied with an outburst of her own.
"Oh, and Luna is soooo helpful. Need I remind you that of the three times we had to save Equestria the first time was from her? The reason Celestia has ruled Equestria for a thousand years is because she cares about her citizens, and that's why when the changelings attacked she actually tried to do something. Where was Luna? Oh that's right, she slept through the entire thing!" The room had fallen silent at this point. Twilight and Rarity were staring each other down, and most of the other ponies were in shock. The silence was broken by a knocking at the door, followed by the entrance of Pinkie Pie in a ridiculous outfit. She then immediately, to the surprise of nopony, began to sing.
This is your singing telegram, I hope it finds you well. You're invited to a party 'if you think that Luna's swell!
Luna's gonna take the throne, So help us celebrate-- The cake will be delicious, The festivities first-rate!
There will be games and dancing, Bob for apples, cut-a-rug! And when the party's over We'll gather 'round for a group hug.
No need to get dressed up, Being there will be enough... We'll talk about our favorite princess, So don't you huff and puff.
It won't be the same without you, So we hope that you say "yes." So please, oh please, RSVP And come and be our guest!
At this point rather then staring at Rarity and Twilight everypony was staring at Pinkie, until finally Twilight spoke up.
"I'd be happy to come Pinkie, in fact do you mind if I just go with you now? I'm not sure I'm particularly welcome here right now." As Twilight left with Pinkie, she realized something. This split really is serious. If it could keep Vinyl and Octavia apart, and it made Rarity and I fight like that, who knows how it's affecting the rest of my friends?
When Twilight left, Rarity was angry. She didn't know how her friend could treat her like that. Twilight supporting Luna. I can't believe it. Although, perhaps I was a bit harsh. Still, she has no right to treat me like that! But she has her right to an opinion too. I should apologize. Rarity teleported to try to catch Twilight and Pinkie, but only made it about halfway across the room. That was strange. Undeterred, she ran to go and catch her friend.
Back in the library some of the unicorns there tried to put away their books, but the levitation spells were failing them. There was simply no magic there for them to use.
"Luna! You must stop this madness! You are tearing this once peaceful nation in two!"
Luna and Celestia were meeting in private to avoid the press. Even the guards had been caught leaking information, they trusted nopony. They'd decided to hold their meeting in Luna's bedchamber, and had cast a deafening spell around them to deter eavesdroppers. They were cut off from the rest of the world in a private bubble, finally free to speak their minds without fear of having their words twisted. Celestia was exercising this right to its fullest.
"Thou does not have to yell, we are right next to thou sister," Luna stated.
"STOP TALKING LIKE THAT! Can't you see what you're doing? I get that you want more duties, but you're just not ready. The one time I let you do something you split the entire country!" Celestia was definitely not her normal composed self, clearly thrown off by the constant pestering from newsponies.
"Not ready sister? Clearly many of the ponies disagree. Otherwise there wouldn't be such an issue." Luna, on the other hand was as cool and collected as her sister usually was, having been released from her relative isolation (although the paparazzi was still a bit much for her as well). "Now why did you want to meet with me?"
"I wanted to meet with you because we're on the verge of civil war. There have been several violent incidents due to this whole Lunar/Solar debacle, and it's only going to get worse if we don't come to some kind of agreement. Why would you start something so destructive in the first place?"
"Allow me to explain using a metaphor. Life is a game of cards, there are thousands of hands you can have, and what you do with them determines how well you do. You dealt me a bad hand sister, my cards had me cooped up in this castle because you didn't think I was competent. I escaped from the moon just to be imprisoned again here. And I waited sister; i waited to be dealt a new hand. A new opportunity to move forward. But none came to me, I remained trapped here. Now Celestia, what would you do if you were trapped in a hopeless game of cards?" Celestia was surprised at her sister's unusually eloquent metaphor. I guess a millennium alone gives you time to think.
"Simple. If I can't have fun playing this game, I'll play a new one," Celestia replied.
"And that's exactly what I did. I flipped the table sister. I gave up playing a game where you dealt the cards and started dealing my own. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some of my own duties to get to." With that Luna pushed Celestia out of her room. Celestia began to form her own plan. Well if Luna flipped the table, i guess I'll have to too.
Ditzy again found herself flying over Ponyville, although it was a very different place than the one she had known before. It seemed normal at first glance, but a closer look revealed that the normal mish-mash of ponies now moved in distinct groups, each group altering their path to avoid certain other ones. Two groups would meet, sometimes to merge but often to fight. Harsh words could be heard even at Ditzy's height, and it sickened her.
She tried to just fly by and ignore it, and was somewhat successful until a familiar voice reached her ears. No way. Not her. She wouldn't be a part of this.
"I can't believe those lunar ponies. Everyone can see the day is better, the night is so un-rainbow." It was unmistakable Rainbow Dash, and while Ditzy could withstand strangers saying bad things she would not hear it from her friends. She banked towards Dash.
"Hey Rainbow Dash! What the buck are you doing? You shouldn't say those kinds of things!"
"Oh, I shouldn't Ditzy? Or should I call you Derpy, it figures a numbskull like you would support those idiots." Ditzy was shocked at Rainbow's behaviour. She'd never seen Dash acting so cruel.
"Who said I supported either side? Why would I have anything to do with this debate if it makes ponies act like this! Look around you Rainbow; look at what we've become! I'll never support anything that causes this!" Everypony in the square was staring now, but Ditzy was nowhere close to finished. "I thought you ponies wanted to be happy, but all you want to do is fight! Look at you Rainbow Dash, you used to be one of the best friends a pony could have and now you're a bigoted ass! This debate as torn us in two, and I will not stand for it anymore! Lunar or solar, YOU ARE ALL BEING IDIOTS!" Ditzy inhaled again to continue, but somepony cut her off.
"Now wait there one minute Ditzy!" Applejack had arrived. "Now Ah don't like all this feuding and fighting either, but do you honestly think being neutral will solve anything?" Murmurs were heard throughout the crowd. "We will only end this when somepony wins, and Ah say it should be the pony that’s not going around trying to start things!"
"What are you saying Applejack? That we should keep hurting each other so somepony can win?"
"Ah'm saying that we need to be together on one side, and that should be the side that's not causing so many issues. Luna went and caused all this with her speech, and we were all fine without her before! Ah say we all just work together, on the right side! Ah say-" Applejack was interrupted by a hoof to the side of her face. Nopony really noticed who threw the first punch, nor did they care. All they knew is that somepony had started a fight, and somepony was going to win it.
All Ditzy saw was violence. It had all escalated so quickly, just last week she'd known these ponies. She'd known the brawler who she bought celery from each week. She knew the fighter who said hello to her each day. She knew the farmer and the flier who'd once been so admirable. But all she saw now were pointless participants in a fight that shouldn't be happening.
All she saw was chaos, pure and unbridled.
In the Canterlot statue garden, one of the statues shook and grew still again. Across its chest was a single, sharp, crack the width of a hair. "Soon," thought the statue. Soon.
Luna flipped the table. He was going to burn it.
Chapter 5: Making the Rounds
Nurse Redheart collapsed in her triage booth. A lot of ponies had come through the hospital tonight, and she was exhausted. Most of them were pretty much fine, with one or two exceptions, but the riot had kept everyone in the hospital busy all night. It seemed half the town had been injured on one way or another.
She stole a glance at the clock. Damn it, time to make my rounds again. And to think I actually thought I'd get a moment to myself tonight. Oh well, duty calls. With that thought she put on a smile and left the waiting area to check on the patients.
Walking through the hospital at night was always unsettling for the nurse. It was usually so quiet and eerie, even though it looked the same as it did during the day. During the day there was noise and movement everywhere, but during the night she felt alone. Like there should be something there that wasn't. It wasn't as bad as normal due to the riot, but it was still off putting.
She arrived at her first patient's room, a familiar face. She'd been brought in unconscious after the riot but seemed mostly uninjured. They seemed to be awake.
"Hello Rainbow Dash, back again so soon? No broken wing this time I see." Redheart smirked.
"Well I see you're as nurturing as ever, " Rainbow stated sarcastically. "Got your hooves full with that riot I started?" Then nurse's smirk briefly disappeared, but she quickly had a response.
"I don't see how you crazy ponies can start stuff like this. Lunar, Solar, you're all despicable." Nurse Redheart stopped herself from spitting. This was after all supposed to be a relatively sterile environment.
"Oh, are we the crazy ones?" Dash chuckled. " I'd have to disagree. We have to pick sides."
"Why? So you can beat the crap out of the other side and make my job harder?"
"We take sides to make your job easier Redheart. I may not be the brightest Pegasi, but I know that much?" Redheart didn't believe her for a second.
"How the hell does you going and starting fights make my job easier?"
"What do you think happens if we don't? How do you think the princesses are gonna settle this if we don't settle it for them?"
"Well, uh-"
"They'll do the fighting themselves. You think that's gonna be pretty? The leaders of our nation duking it out? We'll have a war on our hooves."
"You don't think they can resolve it on their own?"
"You think they can? Last time they tried to Luna ended up on the moon. Now get out of here and go check on someone who cares." Nurse Redheart left. She's even more cynical then I am. Maybe the next pony will be more amicable. She went down the hallway again to the next patients room. This pony was a bit of a regular at the hospital, and always friendly. Thank Celestia, Ditzy's here. THis ought to cheer me up.
She opened the door and her hopes quickly fell. Unfortunately the mail mare was sleeping, so the Nurse just checked her charts and left. Damn it. Oh well, at least there's only one more patient to bug me before I call it a night.
One last time she entered the dark corridor to make her way to the final room on her rounds. She hated going to the last room, it might have been that it was around a corner or that it was at the end of the hallway rather than set into the side, but it just made her feel so isolated. Like she was alone, at any time something could come and change her. She arrived at the third and final room, and entered.
Inside was a room with a bed, a window, some medical equipment and a pony with a purple coat. The pony, a unicorn, was sitting on the provided bed and sobbing, tears darkening the sheets as they fell from her face. Nurse Redheart hesitated, but immediately knew what to do. After all, there was a reason nursing was her special talent, and cynical as she could be, she did care about her patients.
"Hey Twilight." Redheart was careful to use a soothing tone rather than her more biting standard. "What's wrong?" Twilight sniffled and looked the nurse in the face, only just now realizing she was here. She choked back a sob before speaking.
"Everything is wrong. Everything about this whole damn debacle." Twilight took a surprisingly agressive tone. "Everything, everypony, every single numbskull who decided we needed to fight." It wasn't what Redheart expected, but she kept up her supportive facade.
"Well we've all had out issues with this Twilight, but some might argue that we have to pick sides." Damn it, that rainbow-maned idiot is getting to me. "I mean, what would happen if we let the princesses figure it out on their own?"
"I never said we shouldn't pick sides, I said this violence was pointless. The townsponies were idiots and my friends were idiots and I'm an idiot for letting this happen. There was a riot Nurse Redheart, he have nothing to look forward to right now."
"Hey now, cheer up. Things don't look so great in the big scale, but surely there's something for you to look forward to in the next few days? Even the little things can be really helpful." Don't look great in the big scale. Understatement of the freaking century there.
"I suppose you may be right. There is that party Pinkie was throwing, so I guess that's something."
"See, you're feeling better already. Anything else you need?"
"Oh no, you've done plenty nurse. That'll be all." For the first time that night the nurse genuinely smiled. Sometimes she forgot why she took this job, but it was always worth it. She returned to triage to rest for the rest of the night.
A few hours later the sun began to rise, and it was finally time for the nurse to leave for home. The town was bathed in the light of dawn, casting everything in a soft golden light. Redheart stopped to admire the view, and for a brief moment she left herself. She forgot about all of the the crap that'd been going on in the past few days, the riots and debates and pointless violence, about lunar and solar and picking sides, and the events that brought about all of it. For one blussful moment she forgot the world around her and saw night and day intertwined as a thing of beauty.
After all she'd heard from the patients tonight trying to bring her around to their way of thinking and failing, she found herself utterly defeated by a daily event. Maybe if every pony saw this they might realize the futility of the entire thing. Maybe they'd just get together and watch the cosmic ballet.
The nurse arrived home to see a newspaper on her doorstep, and read the headline. Shit.
If the ponies were going to get together, it wouldn't happen anytime soon.
The news spread like wildfire. If there existed a pony living under a rock, several hundred miles from any other pony and wearing noise cancelling headphones, they still would've known within hours if not minutes. It was all anyone could talk about, and all anyone really wanted to.
The papers all had the same headline. "Luna imprisioned for crimes against the crown!" Within they described how Celestia had gotten Luna arrested and thrown in jail for her attempted takeover, citing a long dead law as her reason. The reactions from ponies on the lunar side were all pretty much the same, pure unbridled anger. On the solar side emotions were more mixed, although many celebrated few of them wanted to "win" like this. Celestia had played dirty, and everypony knew it.
Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly depending on your point of view, Pinkie decided to continue with her planned lunar party, despite the fact that any reason to celebrate was gone. One of the first guests to arrive was Ditzy Doo, and Pinkie Pie of course was on her like, well like Pinkie Pie when she saw anyone she considered a friend.
"Oh hey Ditzy, it's so good to see you. I was worried no one would show up because of all that funny business. Why do they call it funny business when it's never funny? Those silly fillies, thinking business is funny. Anyhow I'm so glad your here, I had no idea you supported Luna, which is really good because-". Ditzy cut her off at this point.
"Calm down Pinkie, I'm just here because I feel bad that Celestia threw Luna in jail. I'm here to support you guys, not either of the princesses." Pinkie still remained excited.
"Okay, that's fine too, so long as you remember to have some fun here!"
"I will Pinkie."
Ditzy took in the room around here. Although Pinkie looked the same, there was definitely something different about her. It showed in the decor as well, while the decorations at Pinkie parties was usually quite colourful and hard to ignore, today it was much more bland and reserved. The recent events were clearly getting to everypony.
Over the next hour or so many other ponies arrived at the party, including Twilight and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was being quiet as usual, but Twilight just looked upset. Most ponies present didn't notice, but of those who did most simply attributed it to Luna's imprisonment. They assumed incorrectly.
Ditzy noticeed something was amiss. Twilight seems to look... different than usual. Maybe I should ask Fluttershy what's up with her. Knowing Twilight I doubt shes probably too upset to talk about it, but Fluttershy probably already figured it out. Confident in her plan, Ditzy approached Fluttershy
"Hey Fluttershy, do you have any idea what's going on with_" Ditzy stopped as she saw Fluttershy shrink back in slight terror. This might be a little more difficult then I thought. "Just calm down Fluttershy, there's no reason to be scared of me." A very quiet voice came from the yellow pegasus.
"But everypony is so angry, I... I wouldn't want to start anything by accident. I could never let anypony get hurt because I said the wrong thing."
"Well, yeah, I guess I see what you mean-"
"And everything is just so tense late, what with the thing with Luna and all. It could erupt at any moment, and it's hurting us all so much." Fluttershy was opening up more now. "I mean just look at Twilight, her mentor threw one of her idols in jail, she's just devastated. I can't believe believe Celestia would do such a thing and-" Twilight interrupted her.
"I think that's plenty Fluttershy. No need to tell everyone about my personal life."
"Oh, um, sorry Twilight." Fluttershy shrank back again. "I'm just worried about you is all." Ditzy broke in again.
"Well I'm sure you'll be fine as long you have your friends to support you."
Ditzy started to walk away but stopped when she heard a quiet voice, like someone mumbling to themself, coming from Twilight.
"As long as I have friends to support me. Wouldn't that be nice." Ditzy turned back to speak to them again.
"What was that Twilight? Did you say something or am I just hearing things?"
"You're just hearing things," Twilight snapped back a little too quickly.
"Alright then," Ditzy said. I wonder what got Twilight so angry there. I said something about her friends being there to support her, so she shouldn't be upset at that. Unless they aren't there to support her. Then it hit her. Wait,maybe... No, there's no way the split was gotten that bad.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash coming from the door. She turned to look and saw that there was no door to speak of, instead there was a group of three brightly dressed ponies, one of which immediately began yelling at everypony present.
"What in the hay do you ponies think you're doing? Having a party at a time like this. Newsflash, you guys lost. Big time." The other two ponies snickered, but stopped when they heard somepony in the crowd yelling back.
"Hey, we're just trying to have a good time here and you disrespectful punks burst in here just to rub it in that you 'won'? You daywalkers wouldn't even have the chance if you're princess hadn't bent the rules." All of a sudden there was a full blown yelling match in which few ponies could be heard.
"Daywalkers? That's crossing the line buddy!"
"Who are you calling buddy you incandescent dunderhead!"
"Big talk coming from a moon muddler"
"That does it, you're going down!"
Ditzy flew up above the chaos and saw very much the same thing she'd seen a few days prior. Pure unbidled destruction and needless hatred. There's no place for me here. She escaped through a window just before Twilight started yelling.
"What are you ponies doing! Stop! Don't you see! None of this fighting makes any sense!" Twilight was trying to be heard over the babbling of the ponies present, but no one at the party could hear her, with the exception of a figure at the door, or more accurately where the door once stood. He spoke, bringing everypony in the room to a sudden stunned silence.
"Oh Twilight, what fun is there in making sense?"
Discord had arrived.
Every single head at the party became alike, with cavernous gapes across the muzzles and unblinking eyes. In an instant any notion of the former royal debate left the collective minds of the group, only to be replaced with thoughts of even greater chaos, thoughts of Discord. Pinkie was first to regain herself.
"Discord? But, we trapped you in that statue thing! Remember there was the thing, and we were all gray and turned into meanies, but the Twilight came and fixed us and all of the elements were like WOOSH and everypony had glowing eyes and then-"
"Pinkie my dear," Discord interrupted. "You can't of possibly thought you foals could trap me if your all-powerful Princess Celestia couldn't? I'm actually a little insulted, I thought you might enjoy this." He conjured up a blue stormcloud, which was spewing white rain. "Look, the cotton candy clouds even have new flavors. They come in vanilla now!"
"Isn't that almost the same thing as last time? Come on Dis', you can do better than that. Have some originality," Pinkie smirked.
"Pinkie, what the hay are you trying to do? You're going to get us all-" Twilight swas stopped by a nudge from the pony next to her, who discretely motioned towards the now ajar backdoor. Fluttershy was nowhere to be found. Twilight nodded and turned her head back to Pinkie and Discord. Pinkie was continuig to try to egg Discord on.
"Originality Pinkie? I'll show you true creativity!" He laughed as he conjured up a myriad of seemingly ordinary objects, but it soon became apparent that they had myriad abilities. A ball had been blessed with a sort of magnetic attraction, except that it's main attraction was ponies. It zipped about the room making random noises and shifting into different materials, from a jelly-like blob to some kind of nougat. Some items seemed to blink in and out of existence, leaving the area around Discord only to appear behind an unsuspecting pony. Something about the chaotic being was cackling maniacally, although it was impossible to determine the source of the noise.
The unpredictable atmosphere was emphasized by an ear-shattering smash produced by the removal of the window. A rainbow blur landed among the now fragmented glass, followed by a soft yellow shape that gently grounded itself along side the now upright blur. The backdoor was kicked open to reveal a frenzy of orange fury, backed by a purposeful white unicorn entering the room. All were adorned with necklaces, and the unicorn held one with a pink balloon in her telekinetic grip, along with a tiara set with a purple jewel.
"This ends now, Discord!" Rainbow yelled. She flew over to Rarity and retrieved the elements of Laughter and Magic respectively, quickly returning them to their individual holders. Each holder bore a look of determination on their face as they stared down the Draconequus. They stood in formation, ready to launch their attack at a moment's notice.
"Well isn't this a familiar scene. The ever-confidant and frankly handsome me on one side and you little foals and your relements on the others. I do remember last time we found ourselves like this, and I was enconsed and stone for a brief time. By the way, I've been meaning to thank you for giving me the time to think, and just want to let you know you'd be perfectly justified to imprison me again. In fact, I encourage you to." He created a throne of gold and velvet, and sat upon it with a derisive smirk. "Fire when ready girls."
Had she been of more stable mind, Twilight may have realized how suspicious the entire situation was. No remotely sane being would go to the trouble of escaping something just to get put back in, and with the time he had to think Discord would surely have some kind of plan at this point. Even a god of chaos has the sense not to fall for the same trick twice. However the stress of the last few days had been hard on everyone, Twilight in particular. All were eager to get rid of this new problem so they could return to focusing on the old one.
Nonetheless, with a mighty yell of "Fire!" Twilight gave the order to use the elements, and each holder was raised into the air with the element's power. Eyes glowed brilliant and blinding white, colors swirled around bodies and combined into a rainbow of pure magical energy. This stream of energy arced towards it's target quickly, striking him in a massive flash of light and blinding everyone. When Twilight regained her vision, she only saw Discord standing and laughing, one hundred percent the same being he was before the assault. The holders however, were standing dumfounded.
"What the hay is goin' on?" Applejack protested. "I thought these darn things were s'posed to help us beat bad guys."
"Well, it's a tad more complicated that that, my dear Applejack, but I doubt it's of much concern to you now." A wheel of cheese floating expanded and popped like a balloon, emphasizing his point. It splattered confetti everywhere. "After all, your main concern will soon be with chaos and lies."
Twilight felt a nudge again, this time from a very concerned Rainbow Dash.
"Um Twi, why exactly aren't these things working? We're kind of screwed without them."
Twilight had no answer for Rainbow, at least not at the moment. Discord randomly appeared about the room, casting some kind of spell over the ponies. Each victim was turned to shades of gray, color leaving them completely. Soon everypony in the room was under the spell, and not long after the entire town was discorded. Chaos reigned again, and nopony had the power to stop it.
Well, almost nopony.