King Sombra burst into the ballroom, sword held high in his magical grasp. No sooner than he had entered did the doors slam shut tightly behind him.

“Celestia!” He called looking down from the upper level of the ballroom down into a room swirling with mind-muddling chaos.

A dark chuckle filled the air echoing off the walls of the ballroom.

“Oh what luck!” The disembodied voice taunted, “King Sombra has come to join the party!”

Sombra stood ready for a fight as the chaotic creature known as Discord apperated before his very eyes, floating casually in the air. “And here I thought I would have to chase you down."

The wide smirk that crossed Discord’s lips was nothing short of unsettling. The king had heard many stories of the draconequus, though never had they interacted before this. And it was because of those stories that he knew the importance of this battle. The next few minutes would determine their future. And he would not lose.

“There’d be no chase,” He stepped forward cooly, “For I have no reason to run from you,”

The Draconequus' smirk only widened to a cheshire cat-like grin, “Oooh, am I really so little a threat to you? Not powerful enough a foe for you and Celestia?”

The way he spat her name as if it was the most vile of venom set his blood on fire. His eyes flickered past Discord for an instant, searching for his queen. It worried him that he had yet to spot her or even hear her despite calling out to her.

Discord raised a brow, “I haven't done anything to her if that’s what you’re thinking. At least, not yet,”

He seemed to expect Sombra to race down after her with how he stared, but the king stood his ground, unmoving despite the growing desire to fight this battle by her side.

“Go on,” He prodded, gesturing down the grand stairs, “I know you want to,”

Warily, Sombra stepped forward, his gaze locked on the draconequus. Whatever his next move, Sombra had no intention to be caught unawares by it. In his mind, letting your enemies converge was the worst thing you could do in battle. The fact Discord was willing to let him waltz right up to Celestia’s side raised many questions. Unwilling to turn his back on the Chaos Lord, but finding it necessary to seek out his queen, he slowly and hesitantly shifted his gaze when realizing the draconequus had yet to move.

It didn't feel right. He shouldn't have been able to walk up to his most powerful ally and make it unharmed. It seemed Celestia felt the same when he found her standing tall, defiant, and prepared to fight her adversary in an instant.

Their uneasy glares turned back to Discord who raised his paw and claw in a more theatrical show of defence, “Oh come now, there’s no need for a fight. Surender Equestria to me, or face total and complete destruction,”

A barrage of magical blasts headed straight towards him. He easily dodged each magically charged missile. They zoomed past, impacting hard against the walls causing chunks of marble to crumble to the floor and impacted sections of wall to become charred.

He chuckled darkly landing on all fours in front of them, “I hoped you would choose destruction,”
his gaze lifted and flickered with red and gold fire , but his next words left Celestia cold.

“Tell me, where is your sister?”

Fear flashed in the rulers’ eyes, no matter how they tried to mask it. A split second reaction told him all he needed to know. Luna was in possession of something precious. Something they didn't want falling into his paw and claw. She had failed already, and that brought him the greatest satisfaction.

With a snap that echoed through the halls despite its current lack of acoustics, five mares appeared in a flash of white light. Five mares teleported into the ballroom and bound in Discord’s magical aura. Each dressed elegantly, each bearing a golden tiara a shaped gemstone embedded in the finely crafted metal of each.

“Daughters!”

“Look who I found sneaking out of the ballroom,”

A flame of fury ignited in Celestia at the sight of her daughters in the heathen’s grasp, “Release them,”

There was that authority she assumed herself to have over others.

“Now why would I do a thing like that?” He teased watching with delight as Celestia’s mane turned to fire, the same fire that burned deep within the depths of her eyes. Her divine form. If these mares were enough to cause such an easy shift in her, he couldn't wait for the ruin he’d bring to Celestia through them.

“You are too much fun little Tia, quicker to anger than ever before now too,” He noted as a ball of fire flew past him, “So quick I do believe you forgot one little detail,”

Before she could make another move, or even ask what he meant he gestured back to the five daughters of Celestia, “You forget that these fine and precious young mares are within my grasp, I’d hate to see what happens to them if you were to provoke me,”

She knew him enough to know he wouldn't hesitate to bring them to harm if it meant getting to her. So she spoke lowly, dangerously, the fire never ceasing to burn around her.

“What is it that you want Discord?”

“To win,” He replied simply, taking note of the surprise in her eyes, “What? Are you expecting a monologue? Well you wont get one. Because all I want is revenge on you. To make you feel as I felt once. To be stripped of everything you know, and to take away everything you hold dear.

“Your power,” He snapped and her magic dissipated into thin air, her charged horn now useless.

“Your kingdom,” Another snap. Her royal vestments shattered, falling from her neck wings, and hooves and to the floor creating a pile of a thousand golden shards, only her crown remained.

“Your family-”

“Stop!”

He lowered his claw as she screeched in her anger. Anger that remained hot and undamped by her growing fear. He did miss fighting that fire. “Stop this all Discord, or else!”

“Or else what?” He shot back without missing a beat, “You no longer wield the Elements of Harmony. You have no power over me, you lost that the moment Twilight was born. And you know it. There is nothing you can do,”

“Maybe I can't,” She said standing taller, “but as long as the Elements of Harmony-”

The laughter that erupted from him was deafening. “The elements!?” He cried out, “You mean these elements? Right here?”

He gestured to the mares beside him, “You think they have any chance? You practically handed me your greatest weapon!”

“Discord,” She warned, but received a defiant smirk from him. He hadn't changed. In a thousand years he’d never grown up. He remained immature and impish in all his actions. It was clear now, exile had done nothing but worsen that.

“Celestia,” He purred dangerously, “You. have. no. power.” Each word was emphasised by a gem being torn from the tiara of each of the daughters present. Then, when he knew he had every last shred of attention she could possibly give to him, his paw twisted and clenched shut, the magical aura around it flashing dangerously. To her absolute horror, the elements shattered in his magical grasp.

It was silent.

Absolutely still.

Celestia’s heart thundered over the sound of shattered gems hitting the floor.

With a satisfied nod, he brushed his paw and claw together, “Have you anything else to say in order to dissuade me?”

Her mouth opened. No words came. She closed it again. Several times she attempted to speak and struggled for words, to say something-anything.

Instead, Sombra took action, his magical aura shifting from it’s golden color to a deep green spotted with purple as he hurled his sword with surprisingly accurate aim. Unfortunately, Discord was faster than he’d hoped and stopped the sword midair, inches from his chest. Along the blade magical engravings had lit up green and glowed with such fire reacting to the commands of his magic. Now, they faded away, that fire dying alongside Sombra’s magic.

“Impressive,” Discord laughed, “But still not enough,”

In a matter of moments the rulers of Equestria were subdued and locked in a paralysis spell. Discord couldnt help but feel a bit of pride over havnig so quickly incapacitated his enimies.

In just a few moments it would be finished for them and his plan would be complete.

“I do so regret interrupting the festivities,” He drawled, brushing an array of streamers from off one of the marble banisters, “But oh, look at that,” He summoned a paper calendar, the day’s date circled obviously in a bright red, “It’s the anniversary of our last battle! Remember that?”

In a flash of light he disappeared from the balcony, reappearing so he was nose to nose with Celestia, “You had me beat then, but I told you I’d be back,”

When the queen growled, his response was but a small laugh. She tried too hard to be tough. To resist. To be fearless. But he knew her better. He knew she feared his next move, whatever he had planned next. Whatever mask she tried to uphold, he always knew, even her eyes would betray her sooner or later.

His playful yet mocking demeanour melted away as he plucked her golden crown from atop her head. Taking it in his paws he gazed long and hard at the thing. His reflection caught in the metal and gemstones, his ruby eyes staring right back at him cool and calm. Dangerously calm.

“You didn't think I could do it, did you?”

In that moment he’d surprised Celestia greatly. Discord had mocked. He had scorned. Everything he had said had been said to belittle her, undermine her throne, her family, and her reign.

Except that.

Oddly enough he, he who never took things seriously and played life as a game, was… reflective. Was there regret in his eyes? In his voice? Or was she too easily mistaken? Perhaps it was simply the fact she’d been accustomed to him without any mirth about him. Even when angry, he’d had a bitter mirth she thought impossible to possess. Not even that was present.

“You underestimated me,” His gaze remained fixed, his voice hardly rising above a whisper, “You always did,”

Her brow furrowed, “Dis-”

Any thought died on her tongue as Discord’s eyes returned to hers, cold with hatred.

“Don't you remember how you got this crown?”

“That was long ago,” She replied, meeting his cold stare with an equal one of fire.

“And we were playing a different game,” He hissed, reminding her of her place.

“What is it you want?” The king cut in, anger blazing in his eyes. It was clear: this stallion wasn't afraid. This was child's play to him. Sombra knew too little of Discord. Too little of the Equestria that existed long before his defeat in the Crystal Empire.

He too, would soon tremble in fear of the master of chaos.

The thought revived the smirk on Discord’s face.

“What I want,” He growled dangerously through razor sharp teeth, “could not be expressed in mere moments, or with simple words, but I will try. What I want for you, Celestia… is to see you suffer,

“I want to see you cast out, forgotten, torn from every pony you loved and left behind by every pony you thought loved you. I want you to see the world pass by as you rot away in a stone cold prison for a thousand years. I want you powerless as I was. I want you to know you could have changed this, all of this.

“But you didn’t,

“I want you to regret underestimating me… and I’ve already begun,”

He snapped and the silent images of her five daughters faded to nothing, revealing themselves as nothing but an illusion, though the Elements had been very much real.

“What did you do to them!?” Celestia nearly screamed out. The thought of her daughters in his possession was bad enough, but to think- whatever he’d done had left them in a situation where Discord wouldn't be able to use their lives to play her into his hands, “They were innocent in all this! How could you hurt them!?”

“I didn’t,” He barked, “Because you’re right, they are innocent, and letting them remember all of this would be the cruelest thing I could do to them,”

“R-remember?” She froze again.

He nodded, “I’ve scattered them across Equestria, with no memories of you, no memories of each other, no life to go back to. Come morning, they will forget who they were or that any of this ever existed. They will be normal ponies, for the rest of their lives,”

“But what about-?”

“Your other two?” He cut in. Yes it was clear only five of the seven daughters had been in that room. But that changed nothing, he would have them soon enough. The night had only just begun. “Oh don't worry, Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy-poor girl-they will forget too and be forgotten by Equestria like all the rest,”

Celestia sucked in a breath fighting back the tears that threatened to show. What she asked next left her throat heavy till she had to force the words out, “What of me, then? Am I to forget my daughters too?”

“... No.” He crossed his hands behind his back standing taller, “You shall remember every moment. Every loss. Every pain. Luna likewise. And I will never let you forget it. It’s time I repaid the favor you once bestowed upon me,”
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Author's Note

I didn't really want to split the first two chapters, but found it crucial to the flow and understanding of the story, and you'll soon understand why. Anytime flashbacks occur to this night (for example what happened to the five sisters? What happened to Sunset, and Fluttershy) they usually happen between parts 1 and 2. So keep that in mind.