Canterlot Gardens
For the fifth time in the past twenty minutes, True Heart glanced up towards the night’s sky with a sense of worry. The sky, which had been scheduled to be crystal clear, was overcast with an ocean of black and gray clouds. He kept expecting to hear the rumble of thunder or feel the cool drops of rain but neither came. He shifted hoof to hoof as his dark blue eyes searched the skies for any sign of trouble.
“You are just over-reacting,” he muttered to himself. “There is nothing wrong. It’s just the weather acting all funky again, that’s all. The Pegasai will take care of it in the morning.”
He tried to calm his nerve but there was just something…ominous about the sky. He didn’t like the fact the he could not see either the moon or the stars. Even during the stormiest of nights, there were tiny breaks in the clouds that allowed him to see the heavens above. Tonight, though, was a different story. It was almost as if the skies themselves were conspiring against the moon and stars, doing its best to keep their light from reaching the earth below.
A soft clicking sound tore his attention from the sky. He lowered his head a bit in a threatening gesture while staring out into the blackness before him. “Who goes there?” he snapped.
No pony answered.
With a frown he cleared his throat and repeated the question. “Who goes there?”
“No Pony,” a soft male voice whispered. True Heart took a step forward while squinting his eyes in hopes to clarify his sight. It didn’t work. “No pony at all.”
“Show yourself!” he demanded. “Lest I rouse the guards and have you put into royal custody!”
“Oh,” the voice replied. “While I do enjoy an audience, there is no need to go to so much trouble for little ol’ me.”
True Heart heard the sound of scales slithering against the cobblestone walkway. He spun around trying to see what exactly was sneaking through the gardens. To his horror he discovered that he could no longer see the gardens themselves. So dark was the night that he couldn’t see two feet in front of him.
“No,” he whispered. “What is going on here?”
Another clicking sound echoed throughout the garden. As it faded away so did True Heart’s hearing. He tried to shout a warning to the other guards but found that his lips had suddenly melted together. He slapped his hooves over his mouth in hopes of prying his lips apart but to no avail. He fell backwards onto his rump, whimpering in horror at what was happening to him.
“You’ve worked far too hard these past few days,” a voice whispered though True Heart couldn’t hear it. “I think it is time for a nice long nap.” A cool talon pressed itself against True Heart’s forehead and he fell forward onto his chest, asleep before he could hit the ground. “That’s much better,” the creature chuckled. It patted its palm against True Heart’s forehead before slithering further into the gardens.
“So it is true,” the spirit known as Discord said with a sigh. “Oh how I had hoped that the stories were false.” He ran his claws down the statue’s face. “How I will miss the anger in those eyes, the irritation upon your face. You were such a bore, Celestia, but how I loved toying with you. Those were good times, were they not? You were always too serious. I wonder if you ever learned to loosen up?”
Discord stood before a pair of marble statues. The one he was caressing was a statue that had been erected in the memory of Princess Celestia. She was standing on her back hooves, her head held high with a noble expression upon her face. Discord stared into those stony eyes. He resisted the urge to drag his claws across Celestia’s beautiful face.
“Et tu, Luna?” he turned his attention to the second statue. Luna’s memorial depicted her on all fours, her back straight, head facing forward with a stern, serious look upon her face. “You were always my favorite. You always appreciated a good laugh even if it was at the expense of others. Why couldn’t your sister be more like you?”
He ran a single talon across Luna’s jugular. “I do not approve of this one bit. What do these ponies know of your true self?” His lips curled into a vicious grin. “Do you remember the time I turned the rivers into chocolate fudge and the fish into licorice? I could have sworn that you were going to die from laughter. It was delightful.” He drove his claw deep into the statue’s throat causing several cracks to spiderweb out. “But all good things must come to an end, I guess.” He looked over his shoulder towards Canterlot castle. “I have enjoyed playing with my new toys.” He shot the statue a cool look. “Oh, do not worry. I have kept up my side of the bargain. Your precious little ponies have no idea that I have been freed but that won’t prevent me from toying with them.”
He chuckled as a thought struck him. “You know what, Luna? With you gone there is nothing stopping me from bringing chaos back to this pitifully boring world. Why, I could remove your sister’s protégé from the throne with a mere snap of my claws. With her out of the way the Elements will become useless.” He drove his claw deeper into the statue. Small marble pebbles fell out from around his claws.
“But I won’t.” he ripped his claw from the statue’s throat. “Not yet anyway.” He looked up at the night’s sky and snapped his claws. He intended to remove the clouds but they did not budge from where they hovered. He frowned at this. “Dark times are coming, Luna, and I fear that your little ponies will not be able to handle it.” He stared into the statue’s eyes. “For as much as I do not wish to admit it, there are elements in this world much stronger than chaos.” He glanced up towards the cloudy sky then back down to the statue. “I enjoy my toys very much, Princess, but if he returns I will be helpless to stop them.” He rolled his right wrist and brought his thumb and index claws together. “There was a time in which I could turn back the clock and give life to the deceased but I find that lately I cannot.” He clicked his claws together while staring at the statue. As expected it kept its stony state. It did not become flesh and blood as he had wanted it to be.
He ran his palm over Luna’s cheek. “He will come,” Discord whispered into her ear. “And he will put an end to everything you hold dear.” He ran his claws down her face scarring the statue. “Wherever you are, my precious Luna, I hope you protect your little ponies. I would hate it so very much if I were to lose my favorite toys.”
He pulled back from the statue. “Arrivederci …” he whispered. With that, Discord vanished leaving the statues alone in the darkness.
