“Chrysalis and the changelings are back. They’ve ponynapped all of the most powerful ponies in Equestria Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, Twilight and her friends…”
Discord’s long, disinterested yawn snapped to attention.
It’s working! She knew Discord was powerful. If the ancient legends were to be believed, he single-handedly bested Celestia and Luna. Even Harmony could not hope to alter Chaos. The force of the elements could only hover at a distance, encasing its lord’s physical form in an eggshell of stone. A little quarrel, a little chaos and the shell gave way before the Void. Nopony dared study the Void. The Void had a will of its own. Those who dared impose sanity soon lost theirs.
She knew that power lurked beneath all the simple tricks and gags. The Void lurked between the newfound auspices of its lord, content to flaunt its freedom from The Ruled. Free of worry, free of care, free of Rules, even in its unpredictably chaotic acquiescence to their stringent demands. The Void had one rule: the will of its master. None dared discover that tale, though she suspected it had something to do with his intimate knowledge in the art of manipulation. She knew her village was a mere parlor-trick to his masterful “good fun.” Grateful tales of his larger gambles, well… perhaps, like so many things, his artisanship was of a higher caliber than he let on.
They needed help. Badly. Starlight knew that, while an understanding friend, Trixie was… well, there must have been a severe shortage of screws the day that canon was made. So, she resorted to her oldest and most trusted skill. There was no hope of manipulating the master, but perhaps, in the moment, he would view himself as a Bait Hoofen or the strange Ross painter whose mane he occasionally sported. Maybe an A for effort?
The yawn. Predicted. Don’t mention Fluttershy. Accomplished. The start, exactly as planned.
“They took Fluttershy?!” The interruption, excellent. Now for the big fini-
“Where?!”
Hairs stood on end, crackling. Yellow eyes glowed, pupils narrowing to burning slits of pure, unadulterated ether, before which matter itself can only shrink in fear. Deep in the scalp of a black mane, seams were bursting.
Starlight only saw the eyes, vast smoldering lacerations in a sea of flowing darkness. She stood on the edge of a chasm, beyond which space and time had no meaning. The unchecked Void surged toward her.
*Snap
A deeply disturbed Princess sat in her throne room. Within the wall, the summer sun dwindled to winter’s hopeless light, devoid of its warmth and joy. The Night slept with its Moon, looking more worn than usual. The Sun cannot hide from its reflection. She gave a wry chuckle.
Many things had come. Change, for good or ill, was once again knocking at the door. It would not be left waiting, but the Sun had seen many such changes. They had come and gone, and she still shined. These had been obvious, reruns of past relationships and some ill-fated trials. That was why she had a Star after all. One to unite Sun and Moon and all the rest. The Star shined brightly and her little dragon stood beside her. She remembered that day. One of her greatest achievements. The Dragon Lord thought so too. She levitated her crown before her, face lost in remembrance as she stared at the flawless purple diamond set in its center. Lordstone, they called it, for it only grew beneath the egg of a future Dragon Lord. Likewise, the Sun had seen the days of the Changeling Empire, filled with its kaleidoscopic glow. The Sun had once shone on them all. After Luna, she’d been determined to do it again.
But this was unprecedented. A magic-stealer in Tartarus, a cursed child, a failed attempt at redemption. If only she and her beloved Sun had not been separated for so long. If only it hadn’t been Starlight. If only… The Mage, once redeemed, could never be asked to kill, as the Sun knew well.
One free, bent on vengeance. Two caged, bent on freedom. A great darkness, skulking in defeat in Limbo. Limbo, the Void, the Sun knew names didn't matter. How could it not, suspended as it was, surrounded, inundated. Sun, stars, moon, earth - all was suspended in the Void. And the Void demanded Chaos. How long could its master pacify its newfound vengeful lust?
Darkness crept into the throne room, fading gently round the corners of her vision. Details were lost, swallowed up within the darkness. The Sun knew the Void. Before Her, no mere façade could stand.
*Snap
“How long do you have?”
“Not long. It has already begun.”
Then why are you here? She mused sardonically. The Sun may be subject to the Darkness, but it didn't have to like it.
I always cared enough to warn you. They think it’s good sport.
I'm going to miss playful Discord. She sighed deeply. I guess in the end, we're all just slaves to their whims.
“I have a plan. I’d like you to play along.”
The Darkness was no longer hidden. For a moment (or was it an eternity?) it filled the small room. Like her Sun, she swam in the endless, crackling void as it pressed down upon her. Or did it? Up, down, left, right, in, out. The Sun never knew where to shine, it just shone everywhere, bobbing within the Void, balanced between order and chaos. It could no more choose its path than a log its place on the shore. This was no request. The statement itself was a gift. At least she was given to know.
In an instant, she saw her instructions. Guards posted and reposted. Forces shuffled. A cursed mountain surrounded by weak spells, a cursed cave left open and inviting. A darkened pathway left unguarded. An open alley. Ponies weakened, sickened. Some dead. There were always dead. The Sun shone on both. The Moon mourned them both. The Star would rise to see both and find its own way in the Void.
In a blessedly unforeseen stroke of mercy, she glimpsed the end. A spark of hope hovered in the Void for a moment, then darkness returned.
“Why are you doing this?”
Two vast, glowing slits tore in the Void. The red was hotter, glowing with white rage, darkened by a swirling, sooty shadow. The Sun stared into its own forge.
“They took Fluttershy.”
*Snap
Author's Note
Yay, my first story! This one is a short and since I could never get one of these out, I'm leaving cover art, editing, etc. all TBD. Hope you enjoy it! Leave a comment at the end if you want.
