Princess Twilight stepped inside the throne room after she just raised the sun. As usual, Equestria was quite peaceful. It had been quite some time since the last time it was attacked. Even though she struggled with this job at first, she got really better at it. Yes, a few centuries passed since her coronation, but she was still proud of herself. She knew Celestia and Luna were proud of her, too.
She managed to create order and justice throughout all of Equus. Yes, there were still some villains popping here and there, but none came close to the first threats she faced with her friends. She also had good relationships with the rulers of other races and nations, which really made her believe she didn’t have to hurry and find a worthy successor. She still took personal students under her wing, though.
“Good morning,” She greeted the two guards stationed at the door as she sat on her throne. Both of them smiled warmly. It was a habit for her to greet the guards every morning. She was happy to; and they always felt honored when she addressed them. It frankly embarrassed her a bit.
Now started the most boring part of her day: sitting. When she didn’t have a meeting or a lesson with her student, she stayed in the throne room the whole day (except when it was time for lunch). Sometimes, some ponies requested audiences, she heard them out, but it was rarely anything interesting. At least, she wasn’t really alone in this situation since it was pretty much the same for the guards.
Suddenly, just when she was accepting her fate, a white light flashed in the center of the room. The guards immediately readied their weapons only for Twilight to raise a hoof, stopping them with the simple gesture. The princess already knew who it was. Out of the light came out an old friend, Discord.
“Hey, Discord! Long time no see! Spike isn’t there if you’re looking for him,” Twilight greeted him only to receive silence. Discord simply looked… bored, which wasn’t really like him. Usually, he would joke around or try to prank her.
Then again, she didn’t see him as much as before. After Fluttershy died, he saw little no point in coming to Equestria. Sometimes, he came to visit Spike, and they would play together, but that was it. Fortunately, a few decades ago, he met another pony, who he ended up… liking a lot. Her name was Crystal Breeze.
“Actually, I came to see you,” Discord replied as he floated down to the floor.
“Oh, well… What a surprise! I’m not busy today, so I guess we could talk over tea. It’s not everyday you want to hang out with me,” Twilight chuckled as she came down from her throne. “You could tell me how it’s going with Crystal Breeze,” She added with a smile. It was actually thanks to her that Discord met her since the mare became one of her friends. However, the princess paused when she noticed Discord was frowning. Before she could ask him anything, he voiced his thoughts.
“She passed away,” He finally replied as he crossed his arms.
“Oh. I’m sorry, Discord. I am here if you want to talk about it,”
“I can’t believe you’re saying that to my face,” Discord grumbled as Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Oh, please, don’t play dumb! Alright? Crystal told me everything,” Discord snapped at her as Twilight gained a serious expression.
“Can you leave us, please?” She told the guards, who quickly nodded and left the room without question. “Now, what are you talking about?” She asked again as Discord clenched his teeth.
“You know very well already! I-I can’t believe you would do that!” Discord fumed as Twilight shook her head.
“I still don’t underst-” She started only to be interrupted by a magic blast, which she dodged just in time.
“I told you to stop. Playing. Dumb. Crystal told me everything. On her deathbed,” Discord explained as Twilight sighed.
“I see. I can explain, but I don’t think you would understand,”
“What is there to understand? You ordered her to refuse my offer after she already accepted it!” Discord clenched his fists. The princess rarely saw him angry, but it still didn’t affect her.
“I didn’t order her, Discord. I’m not a tyrant,” Twilight retorted while the draconequus continued to glare at her. “All I did was explain to her the disadvantages of immortality and what it could mean to the world. She was very understandable, but it seemed she couldn’t keep it a secret in the end. I don’t blame her, though,” She added, which only served to make Discord angrier.
“T-The world? That doesn’t even make sense! What’s wrong in making someone I love to live forever with me?” Discord demanded while Twilight rubbed her forehead.
“I don’t know what to tell you when you can’t even understand something so simple even though you’re several millenniums years old,” Twilight mumbled before staring into his eyes. “You can’t make ponies immortal as you please, Discord. Crystal would have lived for eternity maybe, but she would have seen all the ponies she loved… die. And the same would have happened with all the new friends she would have made,”
“Then I would just make those ponies immortal, too! I really don’t see the issue here!”
“Because balance matters!” Twilight finally lost her composure. “You can’t make just any pony immortal without consequences. There is a clear balance to keep here,”
“What about you then? You became immortal, didn’t you?”
“It’s different. I was given responsibilities because I was worthy to rule Equestria. Now stop those childish antics, please,” Twilight retorted, losing patience.
“What about the others then? Were they not ‘worthy’ or something?”
“No, they weren’t!” Twilight stomped the floor, making him step back. “They were wonderful and exceptional ponies, but they would have been terrible as princesses. Now leave, you’ve ruined my day enough. You won’t make any pony immortal, and that’s final,” She ended, slowly calming herself as she walked towards her throne.
Discord stayed silent for several seconds, still glaring at her. The princess didn’t know what he was thinking about, still. But she could only hope he would drop the subject already and leave. Dealing with this wasn’t what she expected when she woke up this morning.
“Alright. Then I’ll bring her back, and she’ll stay with me. No need to make new friends and lose them, is that fine?” Discord asked pleadingly as Twilight sighed.
“No. No, you can’t. Why can’t you just listen? You can’t keep ponies away from every pony else except you. No one would be able to handle that! Crystal wouldn’t, and Fluttershy would even less so!”
Suddenly, Discord’s eyes widened in realization while Twilight stepped back, knowing she said too much.
“Did you do the same with Fluttershy? That time… did you tell her to refuse my offer and let her die?” Discord interrogated as Twilight remained silent. “Did you?!”
“... Of course, I did,” Twilight admitted. “And make no mistake; it tore my heart apart to see my closest friends, and family pass away. And to see it happen again, and again, and again. But I had to move on. I had to do that because it was the right thing to do. The sooner you understand that, the better,” Twilight explained carefully while Discord listened. “If you don’t wish to know that pain again, then you can shut yourself in your dimension, that’s your right. And if you want to create new relationships, then that’s even better. Just don’t make them immortal, okay?” Twilight asked as she flew back on her throne.
She understood perfectly how the draconequus was feeling. She was the same at first, but the more she grew up, the more she understood what it meant to rule, to be an alicorn. Ponies die; all of them do. That was the cycle of life, and she wasn’t going to break it for selfish reasons.
“You really thought I wouldn’t say anything, Twilight?” Discord inquired as Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’m Discord. I’m chaos! I don’t listen to anyone! But good try, though,” He chuckled. “I’m feeling a bit less angry now since I finally understand why you did this. You’ve gone mad!” He exclaimed while Twilight narrowed her eyes.
“And now you’re insulting me? This is really childish,”
“Oh, no, no, no! I’m not insulting you. I genuinely think you’ve gone mad! The so-called princess of friendship has no qualms about letting her friends die!”
“Are you done? Trying to get on my nerves won’t work. I’m used to being around you after all,” Twilight retorted as Discord paused.
“I’m leaving, but I’d rather tell you now, I have no reason to obey you,” Discord started as he glared at her. “I’m going to bring both of them back and make them immortal. And you’re not going to do anything about it,” He taunted as Twilight suddenly stood up.
“Don’t you dare…” She started only to be interrupted by the draconequus.
“Or what? I can do whatever I want, you know?”
“Then I would have no choice but to stop you,” She replied as her horn lit up. “I don’t want to hurt you, believe me,” She warned him, but no surprise, he only laughed.
“Hahaha hahaha! Oh! Alright! I admit it, this is probably the first time one of your jokes made me laugh!” He held his stomach as he kept laughing while Twilight kept her cold glare on him. “Not only you’re not strong enough, but I don’t see any friends here with you! It doesn’t look like your friendship would do anything to me,”
“Believe me, it will. But like I said, I don’t want to hurt you,” She said seriously as Discord shook his head.
“You really have gone mad, then. Try to stop me, princess,” Discord retorted in a mocking tone as he was about to snap his fingers. In a couple of seconds, Fluttershy and Crystal Breeze would both be here with him. He was fine with staying with them in his dimension forever if need be. This time, he wouldn’t let Twilight near them. At least, that was what he planned before a lavender beam hit him straight in the chest, making him stagger. S-She actually attacked him! However, it didn’t hurt at all. “Alright, you surprised me there, but it still doesn’t do anything to me. So why don’t you just stand there if you don’t want me to hurt you, ok?” Discord asked her politely before snapping his fingers.
However, nothing happened. Discord blinked once or twice as Twilight’s horn stopped glowing. He snapped his fingers again and again.
“Is something wrong, Discord? What are you waiting for? Bring Fluttershy back, I’m waiting,”
“What the hay did you do?” He asked in panic as he felt his body getting slowly paralyzed.
Twilight approached him while looking at him from head to toe.
“A new spell I created in case too dangerous threats came to Equestria. Although it looks like it’s not perfect yet since its effects are only showing now,” Twilight explained as she walked around him. Suddenly, he slowly started turning into stone. “I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen to me,”
“T-Twilight… Stop that! You’re not really going to get me back into a statue, are you?!” Discord panic as his legs were now turned into stone.
“If I stop, would you give up on resurrecting ponies? On making them immortal?” Twilight asked in a cold tone, but didn’t really expect any answer as she continued. “Not that I would believe you. I take no pleasure in doing this, but I’m ready to do anything to protect Equestria and its balance; I hope you understand and that this punishment would teach you a lesson,”
“Twilight…” Discord was interrupted when he was finally completely turned into stone, bearing a shocked and terrified expression. Twilight stared at him for a few more seconds, then sighed.
“Guards!” She called out. She didn’t even need to wait more than a second before they both came running inside. “Take this statue in the garden, please,” She ordered them as she went back to her throne.
“Yes, ma’am!” One of them saluted as they made the statue float in their magic grab.
Twilight could only watch the guards leave and close the door behind them. She felt guilty of what she did to Discord, but it didn't matter, it was the right thing to do. She knew he would thank her when he would realize his mistakes.