Child's Play

by OfTheIronwilled

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Discord, Princess Celestia, Alternate Universe, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 6498

A young Luna creates a new constellation...

We had never meant for it to happen. It was all just for fun, maybe a few laughs. It was just a game after all... just a game...

Published 2012-06-27 04:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-06-27 04:14:02 UTC

Chapter 1

It happened many years ago... I'm not sure how many. It was not long after Luna had learned to raise her first small cluster of stars, after she had gotten her Cutie Mark. For countless days and nights, she would crane her neck back to see the pattern plastered on to her flank, to admire it. I can't say her constant pestering about it didn't annoy me. Still, this was special to her, so I humored her for quite some time.

"Tia, Tia! Come quick!" Luna called to me one night.

I had ignored her then, just rolling over on my side in my bed. It was very early in the morning, nearly time for the sun to be risen. All I wanted to do was sleep for just a few more moments before my duty was to be done for the day. Was that too much to ask? Whatever Luna needed, I was sure it could wait until dawn.

A groan escaped my lips as tiny hooves poked and prodded at my face. Luna could be so stubborn at times. She was at a very young age back then, and usually expected whatever she wanted done to be done at one of five times: now, now, now, now, or whenever she had to force you to.

"What is it, sister?" I asked grumpily, fluttering my eyes open. I didn't get up, however, for I wanted to see the importance of what I would be doing before I did it.

"I just want you to see something." Luna replied innocently. "Pleeeaaase, Tia?"

I rolled my eyes before looking back up. She had poked out her bottom lip, and made fake tears well up in her bright blue eyes. She was literally begging me to go with her. I had tried my best to say no, but Luna ended up getting her way yet again.

I trotted slowly behind my sister as she raced to show me... something. We paraded down the grand halls at a somewhat fast pace, though I decided to stop and admire the paintings on the wall halfway through just to irk her.

Luna practically pounced onto my front hooves, and grinded her's into the white, tile floor trying to pull me along with her. In doing so, she had pulled up a bit of one of the tiles, scuffed up many sections of the floor, and broken a bust of our mother in the main room. We would have to clean that up later.

"Please, Celestia. You said you would come see it." she muttered sadly to me.

I raised up my eyebrows. She almost never used my full name unless she was very upset about something. Apparently, whatever she had wanted me to see was something very important to her. I decided then that I would stop teasing her and take a glimpse at this thing.

I don't know what i had been expecting, but I can safely say that it wasn't what Tia had shown me. It was a constellation... or at least, it was supposed to be. It looked like no constellation I had seen before. It looked like a very strange creature of some sorts, with different parts of animals making up it's body. It had no rhyme or any sense of order. It was just in a state of pure chaos,and was difficult to understand.

"It's wonderful, Luna. But... what is it?"

Luna's eyes brightened at this question. I could tell she had really been very eager to explain this to somepony.

"It's my new constellation!" she explained. "All of the others were all the same, and really, really boring. I wanted to make my own after my favorite animal, but I couldn't pick just one, so I put them all together!"

Luna looked at me expectantly, but I said nothing. What could I say to her? This... this...thing she had created was a monster. It was just... strange. It made no sense. Still, I gave her a fake smile, and moved on.

"You can never beat me!" Luna shouted, pretending to shoot a spell at me.

I clutched at my chest with my hoof dramatically, and shouted out in fake pain, before dropping to the ground. It was the same thing as always. I was the villain, and Luna was the hero who would slay me and save the day. I often played this pretend game with my sister, for it was her favorite back then. She had always loved being a hero...

Luna came over to me and started to pout.

"Tia! You did it again! You're a horrible bad guy!" she whined.

Curious, I sat back up on my haunches. She had never complained about the game before.

"What is it? What did I do again?" I asked.

Luna took a deep breath, and I knew whatever I had done, it was pretty bad. She only did that when she was fed up with me. She poked out her bottom lip again, and pounded a hoof on the ground. I winced, and prepared myself for the worst.

"You let me win too easy again, Celestia,"

Oh. That. Yes, I never really was cut out for the villain role. I was always afraid I would accidentally let off a spell, and hurt Luna. If that ever happened, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Because of this fear, I usually let Luna beat me almost immediately after we started, which she didn't like too much.

I trotted over, and nuzzled her lovingly. "Oh, Luna... You Know it's only because-"

"Yeah, I know. It's so you won't hurt me." she replied, pulling away and rolling her eyes. "But it's only pretend, Celestia! There's no harm in pretending!"

I sighed. She did have a point, though the thought of her blood on my hooves still unnerved me. I knew in my heart that I would never bring myself to even pretend to cause her physical harm.

"I'm sorry, Luna, but I just don't want to chance these kind of things."

My sister let out a long sigh, and started to beg again. When I didn't respond, she simply gave a huff, and started to nuzzle me. She could tell she wouldn't be winning this time.

"I love you, Tia."

It was the middle of the night, long after the moon had gone up, when I heard the pitter- patter of little hooves scuttling across the tile floor of our room, and down the hall. Luna had been doing this for the past week or so now, sneaking outside at night to see her new constellation, and she was beginning to worry me. She had given the creature pictured in the cluster of stars a name now: Discord. The word meant chaos and disorder, though she didn't know that. Luna had simply heard me mutter it under my breath a few nights before, and thought it sounded like a delightful name for the thing. It was the constellation Discord, for the ponies who were born on February twenty- ninth, on a leap year.

Luna had also not been speaking to me that often, which was particularly strange behavior coming from her. My sister was never one to confine to herself... or at least, not back then. She was so very talkative, and always had something witty to say. Now, however, she was staying silent when near me. Perhaps I had done something to anger or upset her. I wasn't sure, though I began to think that maybe I should apologize, just to make sure.

I got up, and headed to the observatory.

"Luna, are you in here?" I whispered into the darkness of the room. I began to say something else, but stopped myself when I saw the glow of magic coming from the corner of the cramped space.

My eyes flash over to the sky for a moment, as a star shoots across the twilight above. And another. And another. It took me a moment to realize that these stars were shooting off of the Discord constellation. Luna was tearing apart her first creation, and probably because of my first reaction to it. At least, that's what I thought,

I looked back to my sister as I heard sobs coming from her direction.

"Why!?" she practically screamed. "Why? Why do they hate us, Discord?! All of them are scared of me, or make fun of me..."

My heart dropped. I knew what she was talking about. Luna would often come home from town, claiming that ponies had hurt her feelings. I had gone through the same thing when I was her age, the cruelty and prejudice, and I knew how she felt. Many ponies back then were terrified of us at first. Our parents had just passed, and now the throne was being tossed to two young fillies. Many thought it was unfair, or just hated us for what we are. The things they would call us were horrible, and usually lies.

I didn't know what to do for Luna. I couldn't comfort her about this particular subject, for she didn't like to be disturbed like this, and I couldn't feed her lies by saying that ponies would just start to love her over night. All I could do was watch her tear Discord apart, star by star, and wish that she would make a friend.

But maybe "make" wasn't the safest choice of words.

"Luna, come back!" I called to her.

"No, I'm never coming back! Why should I!?"

I ran after my poor sister, who had tears trickling from her eyes and blood falling from a cut on her head as she ran. Somepony had thrown a rock at her out of spite, and caused her injury, both physical and mental. The pony had already been dealt with, both by the guards, and myself, though Luna was still hurt deeply.

I continued to chase past her, and I was beginning to catch up, but I knew that even if I did, she would try to run from me. Why did they have to hate her? I was the one who deserved to be hated, not Luna. I was the one who had caused the last drought. I was the one who accidentally made it too hot a few days before. My little sister, on the other hand had done nothing to deserve any of this prejudice.

I tried to find just one thing that would make her come back. It was hard to, after all of the things she had went through. I did, however, eventually find one.

"Because your my sister, and I love you!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

That did it. Luna stopped in her tracks, and allowed me to scoop her up in my hooves. I expected her to embrace me, or to bury her face into my pink mane, and cry, as she usually did. I expected her to tell me she loved me. But she didn't do any of those things.

"Your going to hate me." she muttered.

I gave her a confused look. It was the pony who had hurt her that I hated. Whatever would I hate her for?

"Luna, I love you. Just because a pony-"

"I don't care about the rock Celestia!" she shouted before sobbing into my mane. "Tia... I did something bad... I- I only did it because I wanted a friend..."

I stared down at the thing in front of me. I- I didn't know what to do. Luna scooped up the thing in her hooves, and rocked it back and forth in her hooves as if it were her baby. In a way, it, or maybe it was a he, was her foal. She had made it after all, using her magic. Still, I didn't want to believe it...

"See, Tia. I told you that you would hate me... I- I didn't mean to... really... I just... wanted a friend."

I said nothing. I was too busy staring at her creation... Discord. He yawned and moved around in her grasp, trying to fall asleep. Luna had brought him , her first constellation, to life.

"T- Tia... w- we're not going to get rid of him... are we?"

"No." I muttered.

We couldn't get rid of him now. Discord was a living, breathing... thing of some sort. As much as it wasn't adding up, as it wasn't making sense, this monster was now ours to take care of. I used my magic to lift him up from Luna's grip, and looked him in the eye. Discord giggled, before smiling at me, and nibbling on my snout.

I gave a warm smile. Even I had to admit he was cute.

I turned to a heartbroken Luna, and lifted up her chin with a hoof.

"I love you, Luna." I told her. "And right now, Discord is hungry. You're his new mommy now, so will you go get him something to eat?"

Luna's face lit up with pure joy, and she nuzzled me before hopping to the dining room. When I was sure she was gone, I looked down at Discord again. He was chewing at the end of his tail, and giggling at me. What was I getting myself into?

Discord had grown faster than we had ever hoped. I don't know why his aging process was so much faster than that of an alicorn's, or even of a regular pony's, but now, he was almost the same age as I was, in only a few weeks. It was a bit frightening to Luna at first, seeing that Discord now towered over her as I did, though in just a few days, she was back to playing games with him again.

I had to admit, despite his looks, Discord was quite the gentlecolt... well, if you could call him a colt. He had always shown respect to Luna and I, and always seemed willing to help when he could.

"Tia, it's morning." he told me one day. "It's time for you to raise the sun."

My eyes fluttered open groggily. Discord had often been my alarm clock, a job that was once Luna's. Now with Discord to look at and help her with constellations, she had been staying up much later, and was too tired to wake me up in the morning.

"Thank you, Discord." I said, stretching out my wings. "Where's Luna this morning?"

"I'm letting her sleep in. We were up really late last night, and she finally learned how to raise the big dipper. Poor kid was exhausted after all of that." he chuckled before leaving me to my business.

I felt myself staring after him. I didn't think there would ever be a day when I saw the different limbs protruding off of his body to be normal. In fact, the difference sort of... bothered me. I was raised to make order, being the ruler of Equestria, and he was completely the opposite. Just the jumbled up thoughts of a young filly, wishing to feel friendship after being hurt by so many ponies before. In the pit of my heart, I knew thinking these things was hurtful, and wrong, but I couldn't stop myself sometimes. It was my nature.

I trotted to the observatory, and stared up at the blue sky yet again. I loved it, the feeling I got before the sun was to travel across the sky. It was exhilarating. It made me feel responsible, having several ponies across the globe, all depending on me to bring them light, warmth, and guidance. It was absolutely wonderful.

My horn lit up brightly against the dark, murky color of the night, and the magic coursing through me practically throbbed in my veins. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, and locating the sun. I targeted and locked on to the ball of gas, millions of miles away, and readied my spell. Contrary to many ponies belief, I used no fancy, complicated procedures. It was only a simple levitation spell, powered up to the strength of the sun itself. It was much harder back then, to muster up that sort of energy. It took all of my concentration, any distraction would make me fail, and it took a while for Luna to understand why she couldn't bother me during the process. It also took a heavy toll on my body, both physically and mentally. I was afraid that one day, my straining would cause a bone to fracture, or other serious injury. Still, it was my duty, and before long, the sun was high in the sky once again.

Before I left, I turned around once again, to stare at the sapphire blue shade of the sky. What greeted me was rather unusual, but not too alarming. A pony was bobbing around in the sky quite strangely, and I had guessed the pony was either a young beginner, or had some sort of disability. In fact, just a few days before, I had seen a gray mare with crossed eyes flying around almost the same way, followed by a light brown stallion. Following the logic that this was just the same pony, I turned back towards my room to continue my business for the day.

I didn't even stop and look at the pony long enough to realize that it didn't have any wings.

Luna and Discord flew beside me, and helped bundle up the strange pink clouds hovering over the castle. They had appeared over night, and were still soaking the roof with what appeared to be chocolate. I didn't know where the clouds could have come from, and when I asked Luna, she had simply said that one minute, the sky was completely clear, and then the sugary substance was pouring down on both Discord and herself.

"Where do you think they came from, Tia?" Luna asked me.

"I'm... not sure. I've never seen anything like this. Perhaps they floated in from the Everfree." I told her, wondering the same thing.

Discord was silent.

The three of us flew circles around the strange clouds, shifting them closer and closer to one another. Eventually, we had rallied all of them up, and all every wisp of it had gathered in the middle, creating an odd looking, pink, fluffy mass, which was pouring down chocolate at an even more alarming rate now. At this point, if we didn't stop it, there would be enough to swim in, which Luna probably wouldn't have minded.

Looking back, I realized my sister's wings were growing quite tired, and she was now leaning on Discord for support. I would have to get rid of this thing myself.

My wings carried me over to Luna and Discord, and I gave a warm smile.

"Discord, why don't you take Luna to the nearby town. I've got to leave, but I shouldn't be gone for long."

The little alicorn had opened her mouth as if to say something, but changed her mind at the last second as Discord gave a nod of agreement, and carried her down to the ground.

When I was sure they had descended, I turned to the cloud in confusion. This cloud's structure was denser than that of a normal one, so it couldn't be kicked, or torn apart. In most cases, I would use my magic, but this... thing... was so chaotic, I didn't know how it would react to a spell, basic or not. It seemed the only thing I could do was move it to another location, but where? The town was definitely out of question, and if I landed it in Everfree, an animal's home could easily be flooded. Then again, where else could it go? It didn't look as if it was to stop raining down liquids any time soon. It was all very frustrating.

One thing was for sure however: it couldn't stay here. A very large puddle of chocolate had already covered the roof, and I could already imagine what was happening. The sticky substance was surely creeping it's ways through the ceiling and walls, dripping on the majestic red carpet, the dining hall table, the sheets of my bed... Wherever this thing went, it had to be somewhere other than the castle.

I put my front hooves up on the cloud, granting me a disgusting squishing sound, and sticky hooves. I winced, but shook it off, and flapped my large wings faster and faster until both the thing and myself were moving. It was a horribly slow process, and by the time I made it to the backyard of the castle, my entire body had almost sunk into the thing, and it was pouring down even faster now. I just tried to ignore it and move on, though I had to pull myself out of it every once in a while.

My eyes were clamped shut after the halfway mark, trying to keep the liquid from getting in my eyes. While doing this at one point, out of seemingly nowhere, I couldn't feel the cloud anymore. I looked around, making sure it hadn't just gotten out of my grasp, but it looked as if it had just disappeared. At first, I was concerned, but ultimately grew happier realizing it was out of my mane.

I flew in place for a moment, before turning back towards the town.

The trees whipped past me at an alarming rate, and it surprised me that I had managed to go all this way without crashing into one my first time through. Then again, at the speed I was going, I was in even more danger of it now. It didn't matter to me though, for I just wanted to find Luna and Discord, so we could return to the castle in peace, and I could wash the milk out of my mane and coat.

The grass and shrubs passing underneath my hooves eventually led way to a cobblestone road. Cabins and other buildings lined up against the sides of every corner, and ponies walked idly around, heading to their homes and different shops. Everypony dressed basically the same: old raggedy clothes filled with holes, and barely any color. Yes, this city was Canterlot, new and growing.

A few ponies looked up at me as I flew along. I could see their breaths hitch at the back of their throats, before scuttling away. They were afraid of me, though I had no idea why. Usually everypony in Canterlot welcomed me warmly, smiles plastered on their faces. I could tell something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

My eyes scanned ahead, and my heart nearly stopped.

Ponies were nearly piled on top of each other, standing in a tight circle. Shouts of anger exploded from their lungs, mercilessly verbally attacking the poor pony caught in the pack. A few were even trying to buck back with their hooves at the victims of their unjustified rage. And the ponies inside were Luna and Discord.

Poor, poor Luna was a defeated mess, sobbing while trembling on the ground. A terrified look covered her face, and she seemed... lost, almost, as she cried on deaf ears. Discord held her in his arms, stroking her mane to try to calm her down. His face, however, said anything but calm and tranquil. His eyes were nearly soulless, looking across the angry mob he was surrounded by, and I could see a strong emotion building inside of his chest, and causing his eyes to glow an ominous yellow. Pure rage.

"Discord, no!" I shouted, whipping my wings faster and faster, in a feeble attempt to stop him from doing what I could feel was going to happen.

My hoof reached out to him as I dived forward, trying to get to him. But it was all in vain.

A white flash assaulted my eyes, making it unable for me to see for a few seconds. When everything cleared, no ponies surrounded us. Only an odd assortment of potted plants and food. An ominous silence washed over the entire town of Canterlot.

"T- Tia... "Luna mumbled, looking up at me. Her face had gone completely white.

I stared subconsciously stared back down at her, my own face also completely drained. I- I didn't know what to do. Everypony who had been locked away in their homes were trotting outside, and cowering in terror now. I was scared, and confused. What was I to do?

I felt my body practically move on it's own as I walked over to Luna. I hastily slung her onto my back, drug Discord into the air via magic, and flew as fast as I could at the time.

"They wanted a monster..." Discord muttered. "So I gave them one..."

A single tear slid down my cheek.

Discord was now an adult, older than even myself, though it seemed that this was where his growing would stop for good. It had been over a month since the incident in Canterlot, but ponies still discussed the event in hushed secrecy, looking up at the castle nervously from time to time. Though he didn't show it, I knew this hurt Luna's creation on a very deep level. Until now, he hadn't thought of his difference to us as a sign for concern. Now he had spent almost all of his time staring out one of the back windows, listening to everypony's nasty words.Luna had often tried to cheer him up, but to no avail. He just stayed planted in the same spot, staring off into empty space.

Today, however, was different. Scrolling my eyes around the halls, Discord was nowhere to be found. The window he normally occupied was bare, and the entire room stretched around me seemed to be empty. My facial features showed relief. Finally, he had begun reverting back to normal.

Luna's hooves made an audible clapping noise as she trotted around. I watched her for a moment, seeing her poke her head around corners, and topple things over to glance under them. It was a wonderful sight. Perhaps they were playing hide and seek.

After a few moments, Luna galloped over to me.

"Tia, have you seen Discord?"

"No, why? What kind of game are you playing?"

Luna shook her head desperately, tears welling up in her eyes.

"W- we're not, Tia! I haven't seen Discord since last night. I- I thought maybe he was with you."

My breath hitched in my throat then. Discord had never left without reassuring Luna he would be back soon before. Yes, I hadn't seen him all day where he usually stood, but earlier I had seen it as a good thing, a sign that he was off playing with my sister. Still, it probably wasn't something to worry about.

I gave a small, unsure smile, and turned to the little blue alicorn in front of me. A look of concern was on her face, and she was waiting for me to say something reassuring. I scooted over to her, and gave her a squeeze with my wing.

"It's okay, Luna. He probably just went to town and forgot to tell us." I whispered into her ear.

"No, Celestia!" my sister shouted, pushing me slightly away. " D- Discord never forgets, a- and he's been gone all day!"

I sighed. She was being stubborn again, though this time, she had a good reason.

I nuzzled Luna before looking her in the eyes again.

"I know, Luna, but we mustn't draw alarm. If he isn't here by tomorrow morning, I promise you we'll look for him. Until then, we need to be patient, okay?"

And so she was. Luna said absolutely nothing for the rest of the day, just sulked by the window where Discord always stood. Every so often, she would stand and stretch, or get something to eat, but that was it. Every time I passed her, she didn't even seem to acknowledge me. She just stared out into the distance, her hope filled eyes scanning over the horizon, eager to see Discord's figure standing out in front of the sun I had risen earlier that day. Time ticked on around her in this state, and eventually, it was time for her to raise the stars.

Prepared for bed, I trotted toward Luna. A soft mumbling noise escaped from her mouth as I got closer and closer, and for a moment I thought that she was attempting to speak to me. Leaning over on the tips of my hooves to see over her small body slowly rising up and down, however, I saw her eyes were closed in a deep sleep, snores coming from her muzzle, and her hooves bucking slightly out behind her. A slight smile was plastered on her face, and her mane was a mess, falling down in all different directions.

I smiled, and kissed my sister on the forehead. It looked like I would have to be the one to raise the moon and stars tonight.

Walking into the observatory, I began to ready my spell. It had always been slightly easier to raise the moon, seeing as it was much closer than the sun, so it didn't but as much stress on my body, but stars were another thing all together. I lacked the creative ability that went into making constellations, and they always turned out to be a jumbled mess. I bet you anything that back then, anypony could point up to the sky and say, " I guess Celestia put up the stars tonight. " in disappointment.

My hooves carried me over to the nearest window, and my horn glowed brightly for the second time that day. I took a deep breath, located the moon... I was just about to let off the spell... and then I saw it. My concentration was broken, and in the far off distance... I could see a strange looking figure. My heart thudded in my chest. Finally, Discord was home.

Not fretting about the foggy twilight sky, I flapped my wings until my hooves were off of the ground, and propelled myself into the direction of the shadowy figure in front of me. Discord would have some very serious explaining to do. What would he tell me? Did he get lost? Did he forget to tell us he was going somewhere very important?

As, I got closer, however, my spirits and smile fell. Even in the growing pitch black darkness, the pink color of the incoming object stabbed my eyes. This wasn't Discord. It was something much more unnerving. Another chocolate filled cloud.

Poking my hoof into the fluffy, pink cloud, chocolate milk started to cover my coat. I didn't mind that, though, for I was still upset that my hopes of Discord coming home had been crushed. After a moment of wondering what I was going to tell Luna in the morning, a slight movement at the corner of my eye startled me out of the small trance I was in. Looking toward Canterlot, I saw an entire sky filled with the strange clouds, pouring down on the citizens there.

"Oh, no..."

My wings pulled back to leave me in a dive. The sound of wind, and the screams of terror filled ponies poured into my ears. "What is happening?" was the thought that had filled my brain all those years ago, though now, I wish I had never found out.

The ground was in a complete state of chaos. The trees were now a bright purple color, ponies were barking like dogs, some earth ponies were floating in the air, and even the sun and moon were raising on their own. Everypony was speaking in plain gibberish, potted plants were strewn about, several ponies were screaming at each other in hatred, and many more other strange things were occurring that I couldn't even describe. And in the center of it all... was Discord.

Sitting upon a grand, golden, satin lined throne was Luna's creation, nonchalantly watching as the destruction unfolded around him. Ponies flew around him, fanning him, and offering him gifts, which he gladly accepted. Some were even standing guard in front of him, and guessing by their soulless eyes, and flushed faces, I could safely say they were being controlled. Discord, however, was acting the same as he always did, which honestly terrified me. He was being controlled by whatever was causing this madness... right?

Hearing my hoofsteps growing closer, Discord craned his neck back to see me shuffling slowly towards him.

"Ah, Celestia. So glad you could make it." he declared, before snapping his fingers.

A beautifully made, antique chair appeared behind me, scooping me up and setting down near Discord's throne. I was startled, though no sounds came from me. I simply stared off in pure shock, while listening to the nonsense Luna's creation was spouting off.

"You, know, a party's just not a party without the goddess of the sun by my side to enjoy it with me. " he practically sang, putting an arm around my chair and pulling it towards him. "It was getting dull before you came. Nice timing there."

My mouth had gone dry. This wasn't the Discord I knew. The one I had seen as a son but a few months ago.

"W- why..." I mumbled.

My once dear friend tilted his head back and chuckled a bit. Afterwards, with a snap of his fingers, a bag of popcorn was in his hand, along with a soda. He scooted back a bit, getting into a comfortable position, and looked back at me with a grin on his face.

"Everything was so booooring, don't you think?"

He waved around the cup in his hand for emphasis before taking a sip.

"I just had to liven it up a bit."

At hearing this, I sat up straight on my haunches, and shook my head to snap out of it. After I had a chance to gather my senses, I turned to Discord and looked him in the eye. They were still filled with the same yellow color I had come to admire and love long ago. Seeing them almost caused me to choke up, but the words I said next came out low and steady, but strong.

"You're absolutely insane." I told him. His calm look didn't fade.

Discord snapped his fingers once more. My chair suddenly scooted forward several feet, getting a surprised scream out of me, before coming to a sudden stop, causing me to fly out and onto the ground. Dirt and... soap perhaps(?)... filled my mouth, leaving behind a rancid taste etched onto my tongue. I spat out as much as I could, and stood back up with as much pride as I could possibly muster, turning back to meet Discord's gaze once again.

"Why, thank you, Tia, but I didn't bring you here for compliments." he said happily.

A confused look found itself a home on my face.

"What exactly do you mean, 'brought me here'?" I asked, nearly screaming to speak over the disarray going on around us.

"Well, isn't it obvious?!" Discord laughed. "I knew that either you or Luna would be coming to the observatory and see that cloud. No matter which one of you it was, I knew you would come."

He took a few more steps toward me, causing my muscles to stiffen, ready to defend myself.

"And I might be a bit of a nut, yes, but I knew you wouldn't approve of my new hobby. After all, you did vow to help your kingdom, right? So..." he waved an arm over his abdomen, causing a target to appear. "Go ahead. Give me your best shot."

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. Just listening to this, he sounded stupidly cocky, as if giving me a shot that I didn't deserve on purpose, because he believed he could stop it. Looking into his eyes, however, told a different story. He was ready for the end. He wanted to lose.

"Discord, please, stop this. We- we can go home... be a family again." I pleaded, tears running down my face.

"I'm afraid we can't, Celestia. After all, isn't it your duty to help your precious, little ponies?"

He motioned toward the utter chaos surrounding us.

"Discord, I don't want to do this, please stop!" I shouted. At this point, I was broken down in sobs.

Discord raised his arm, preparing to strike.

"I'm so, so sorry..." I mumbled.

My eyes clenched shut. There was the faint sound of snapping fingers, before I let off my spell. A bright flash flew throughout the area, and as it faded, everything fell back to normal, as it should be. When I opened my eyes, where Discord once stood, there was a stone statue putting on a fake mask of shock and fear. It was over. I had turned Discord to stone.

"N- no..." I heard a tiny voice say behind me.

My breath caught in my throat, and I was sure my heart stopped. Luna whizzed by me, nuzzling the statue in front of me.

"Luna... how long have you been there?" I asked trying to get closer and comfort my sister.

Her body stiffened for a moment, and eventually started to shake.

"...go away..." she muttered,seething in rage.

"W- what?! But-"

"WE SAID GO AWAY! WE HATE YOU!" she screamed.

Luna stood tall, and angry, her eyes glowing a pure white. She shot a powerful spell at me, cutting into my side and making it bleed. I backed away from her, fearing another strike would come my way. Seeing the fright in my eyes, Luna calmed down, her eyes and the volume of her voice went back to normal. She dashed back over to Discord's statue and clung to one of his arms sadly, letting her tears flow freely.

"...w- we just want you to go away and leave us alone..."

I took a couple steps forward, eager to help my sister, but decided against it. How could I help her, if my soul was practically destroyed as well? It wouldn't matter even if I tried, however. She was to young to fully understand... all of this... but I knew one day she would. Until then, it was just like always. I was the villain, and Luna was the hero who would slay me and save the day.

We had never meant for it to happen. It was all just for fun, maybe a few laughs. It was just a game after all ... just a game...

I look outside my bedroom window. It's foggy outside, but I can make out a dark figure walking around in the statue garden. The figure walks over to the Discord statue slowly and carefully, before lovingly nuzzling it.

"Mommy loves you..." it mutters.