Discord Discordant

Chapters

Chapter 1 - One Last Letter
Chapter 2 - Parents Know Best
Chapter 3 - The Real World
Chapter 4 - Dreams and Nightmares

Chapter 1 - One Last Letter

Chapter I

One Last Letter

Canterlot had always been a bustling city around the clock. When the citizens weren’t celebrating some event or another they’d be hard at work.
But today was different. There was still the usual noise, but the difference was that it was an unsure sound. Above the city were gathering clouds of a dark brown colour. Clouds that hadn’t long been gathered above Ponyville to the south of the city. Twilight Sparkle knew it wouldn’t be long before the contents of those clouds began to drop upon the city and had she still been a younger filly what would fall would’ve excited her, but she couldn’t seem to muster a smile.

“Cheer up Twilight.” Spike, her small draconic assistant said, approaching her. He felt like he should’ve said something more, but in the context there really wasn’t anything that would’ve helped. Twilight turned her head to look at her young protégé.

“I’m fine Spike, really.” She said quietly, managing to muster an obviously fake grin. Spike frowned and moved up beside her.

“Sure you are.” He said sarcastically. “You can’t hide it from me." Twilight faced forward again and chuckled in amusement.

“What’s so funny?” Spike asked slowly, unsure as of what made her laugh, although he admitted he was glad she did.

“You, Spike.” She murmured. “You're right. I can’t hide it from you and I guess I should stop trying.” Spike frowned; Twilight had always been a little bit of a pessimist, but this worried him.

“You know Twi, everything will get better.” He said, trying to inspire the young mare. “Twilight shook her head slightly and stood up.

“Have you got everything you need packed?” She asked the dragon. He nodded and she faced forwards again. “I’m just going to check on the others then.” As Twilight headed back into the house behind them, Spike took a seat on the curb and looked up at the dark brown sky.
Krakoom!
A loud crack of thunder reverberated through the air and a few seconds later drops of rain began to fall from the clouds. Spike held out his hand as a drop of the brown liquid fell into his palm. Raising it to his face, he licked the drop off the hand and smiled. It was a shame that an event such as chocolate rain couldn’t have come at a better time.

“You’ve packed enough, right deary-er, I mean your highness?”

“I’m sure, thank you. Aunt Celestia has prepared everything for me; I’ve got all I need.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” The kitchen was almost a blur with all the ponies moving around it. Around the table moved Twilight Velvet and Night Light, Twilight Sparkle’s parents, levitating various foods across the room into cases for travel, whereas just to the side stood two slightly larger ponies. A pink mare with both a horn and wings, with a long purple mane travelling down her face stood beside one of the doors, watching the parents move around the room, muttering to one another. On the other side of the door was a stallion, white furred with an ultramarine blue mane, a unicorn horn sat on his forehead. Occasionally Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle’s older brother, would hazard a glance at the pink mare, wracking his mind for something to say to her.

“How is everything coming along?” Came a voice from the doorway as Twilight Sparkle entered the room. Velvet turned her head fleetingly before returning to levitating necessities back and forth.

“We’re nearly done honey.” She said loud enough that she could be heard. Twilight turned her head to the other two ponies stood beside the door.

“And the both of you?” She inquired blankly.

“We’re ready to go Twilie.” Shining Armor said with an enthusiastic smile. Cadance nodded in agreement and Twilight nodded back before turning to leave again.

“Twilight honey, I was wondering, what about your friends?” Twilight stopped on the spot as Velvet spoke. “Are they coming too?”

“...What friends?” Twilight said bitterly before continuing on her way. Cadance and Shining looked at each other and frowned. Shining sighed and looked to his parents.

“I’m going to go and get hooked up to the wagon, okay?” He said, also turning to leave.

“Okay son, we’ll be out in a little bit, alright?” Night Light said quickly, turning to give a quick smile to them.

“Alright.” Shining said as he left the room. Quietly, Cadance followed him as they made their way out to the front of the house. The two of them looked up as they noticed the already falling rain.

“It’s...brown?” Cadance asked quietly.

“Chocolate actually.” The two ponies looked just off to the side of them; Spike was still sat on the curb, trickles of rain lining his scales.

“Chocolate rain?” Shining asked again with a raised eyebrow. Spike nodded.

“Yup. Bet you wouldn’t believe me if I told you that the clouds are pink past all the chocolate.” Spike’s words were beyond believable, but the rain was already quite heavy and droplets were already trickling from their noses down to their mouths; they were indeed chocolate flavoured raindrops.

“That’s...weird.” Shining said quietly. Spike nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, next there’ll be a blizzard of gemstones.” There was a brief silence after his words.

“...that one was a jo-“ The last half of the word was muffled as cloth covered his face. Spike flailed around in shock before yanking it off; it was a cloak. Twilight had just trotted out with her own cloak wrapped around her figure, passing coverings likewise to the other two ponies.

“Hey, what gives Twi?” Spike asked curiously. “It’s the middle of sum-“

“Summer, I know.” She interrupted the little dragon without turning to him. “We wouldn’t stand a chance where we’re going in winter.” Spike raised an eyebrow.

“Where are we going anyway?” He asked carefully.

“Heifngard.” Cadance said quietly.

“Heifngard?” Shining repeated. “As in, the capital of the griffonian dominion?” Cadance nodded in confirmation.

“Why are we going all the way there? Isn’t travelling on the ground there too dangerous?” Spike pursued. There was a short pop as Twilight teleported up onto the wagon, along with her and Spike’s belongings. Another pop and Spike was sat up beside her.

“According to Princess Celestia, we don’t have time to head elsewhere.” Cadance said calmly. “I’ve been there before, but the need was never quite so urgent and we had far more supplies to make the journey easier; Lord Hjalmar is an old friend of ours. He’ll be sure to accept us.” Spike corrected his seating uncomfortably.

“And what about Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” There were a few silent moments, other than the echo of thunder far above them.

“...What?” Spike asked unsurely.

“They won’t be leaving Canterlot Spike.” Shining eventually said quietly, looking sideways at Cadance, who had started levitating her own belongings on the back of the cart.

“But why not?” The young dragon asked confusedly.

“It’s because there’re some ponies that refuse to leave their homes and lives here.” Cadance said quietly. “Both Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna vowed that they wouldn’t leave Equestria until they were certain that every other pony was safe from harm.” Spike frowned in even more confusion.

“From harm? What would possibly harm them?” Spike would’ve been right, but they all knew better. There had been small signs of uneven harmony all across Equestria so far, but it was merely a calm before a storm and they knew this all too well.

“Shining, we need to be ready to go.” Twilight said quietly to her brother who nodded in response and moved round to the front of the cart to secure himself while Spike’s eyes fell back on Twilight worriedly.

“...Twilight?” He murmured. The greyish-purple pony then gave a flash of her horn and a scroll levitated out from under her cloak and landed in Spike’s lap: it was sealed tightly, much tighter than any other message Twilight had ever sent to the princess.

“Send that to Princess Celestia please Spike,” She said, ignoring his question. “and don’t read it.” Spike picked the scroll up and stared at it for a second. Turning his glance to Twilight who had already looked away he gave a sigh, mustered strength from the back of his throat before breathing out. A puff of green flame burst from his lips over the parchment, seeming to incinerate every inch of it.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I imagine you can understand why I’m writing to you. First of all, I feel it is suitable that I apologize again; after all, I was the one tasked with dispatching Discord but failed. I had imagined that this meant that Equestria would simply become a more chaotic place, but now that I know better Equestria seems to be fading away in front of my eyes.
I’m not sure what you expect us to achieve by making us evacuate to our neighbouring countries, but I trust that you know what you're doing; you always do. But with all the recent events that have come to pass I don’t know what to believe, or what I should do. It feels bad enough that I leave you to whatever grim fate you know that I don’t when I should be there beside you.
It was upon your orders that I left Canterlot, but I now feel like I've failed you by not defying your words. Even now, every moment I look back towards the palace I fight the urge to run all the way back to your side. But although I feel I have failed you I can still make the promise that I'll make sure I can see you again, to say sorry, defeat Discord and repair the damage I have undoubtedly brought on Equestria.

And if your words are as sincere as I expect, I'll have to fight for it; if this is to be the last lesson you teach me, then I'll be as faithful a student as I've always strived to be.

Hoping this won't be my last letter to you,
Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

"How touching. You really should feel lucky to have such a student Celestia."
It had been well over a thousand years since the three individuals present had last stood together in Canterlot palace's courtroom. Against the furthest wall was a small set of stairs leading up to two impressive-looking thrones overlooking what should have been a room full of wellwishers to the monarchy; one white and one identical black seat. Princess Celestia couldn't help but notice how odd it was to look up the steps instead of down for once. Beside her was her sister, the mare of the night, Princess Luna, while at the top of the stairs was a long serpentine creature, with various appendages of conflicting animals.

"You're right. Twilight is dear to me; I am indeed lucky." Celestia agreed quietly.

"Not lucky enough though, am I right?" Discord, the peculiar creature sat in Celestia's throne, chuckled to himself, scrunching up the letter from Twilight in his hand, curling his fingers around the parchment before throwing it in the air but instead catch a small ball. Such was the power of the spirit of chaos and disorder, even if said power was slightly misused.

"I don't understand why we have to sit and suffer your detestable jesting." Luna spat in disgust at the draconequus before her. Celestia wanted to answer her sister, but she couldn't find the words. All she could do was sit and watch the ball rise and fall as Discord tossed and caught it. Thoughts were spiralling inside her head, trying to find any upside to the situation; some way of turning the disadvantage to their favour.

"Because it would be bad sport to attack me if I mean no harm to you." Discord said with a teasing laugh, rolling sideways and laying upside down on the throne, still throwing the ball, but instead letting it fall before it began to rise again into his hand. "It's common gaming etiquette after all."

"I don't care for your games!" Luna growled angrily. "Our kingdom is panicked by your changes, yet we stand before each other merely mincing words!" Celestia lowered her head guiltily; her sister was right. Equestria needed them, but she couldn't raise a hoof to take action.

"But you're a princess aren't you?" Discord sneered back at Luna. "Why, no-one should be able to stop you, yet here you are, standing idly before me like a lemon." As the final word was uttered the ball turned into the round yellow fruit which he then threw at Luna; it was far from catching her off-guard and with a sharp flick of her head following a flash of her horn the lemon changed course midair and ground into a wall with a splat.

"Messy. Makes a nice change though; Canterlot is far too clean in my opinion." Discord continued with a grin. "Yet, it does prove my point; you obviously drove that into the wall yourself instead of just deflecting it. You want to get at me, don't you Luna?" The dark alicorn gritted her teeth; he was right, she wanted nothing more than to dive at the smug abomination, but something was holding her back.

"And what about you Celestia?" Discord's head seemed to rotate 360 degrees as he looked at the larger pony. "You just know that this is all your fault, don't you?" Celestia remained silent, trying not to give him the satisfaction of a response. "Why, you're so dedicated to Equestria, you're afraid to do anything in case you make matters worse."

"Do not pay heed to his words sister." Luna assured Celestia confidently. Celestia tried to turn to face her younger sibling, but couldn't manage it before she felt a cold grip on her shoulder, making her snap her head in the opposite direction.

"A brave but worthless statement." Discord hissed from beside the white Alicorn. "Not listening to me wouldn't help poor Tia here. After all, I know what she's thinking that anyway." Luna glared at the talons on Celestia's shoulder; that was the final straw.

"Unhand my sister, filthy abomination!" She snarled, sending a small burst of energy shooting from her horn in Discord's direction. He merely laughed aloud, his body twisting and spiraling around the burst of energy before rematerialising high in the air, leaving a crackling sound behind them as the spell collided with the wall.

"I told you, it's common gaming etiquette to respect others as you expect to be respected." The draconequus said with mock disappointment.

"And I told you that your games are meaningless to us." Luna spat at Discord, causing him to smack a palm to his face.

"Alright, fine, how about I make it more practical then?" Discord groaned, clicking his fingers with immediate noticeable effects of his magic around the room. Floor tiling was ripped up as pillars rose from underneath, seperating the two princesses from one another. Celestia turned her head to look around; the throne room wasn't terribly large, but Celestia couldn't deny that the walls had vanished from sight. She could see the ceiling, but no wall; the room just seemed to stretch on forever.

"Luna!" She cried out worriedly. "Luna, where are you?"

"We are safe sister; do not fret!" Luna's voice was heard from behind the pillars to Celestia's right, causing her to sigh in relief.

"Discord?" Celestia called out again, this time for the chaotic creature that had seperated them. "What is this nonsense?" A laughing reverberated through the room, echoing deeply.

"Your lives have just become a much larger game." Discord's voice was full of glee as he clearly took too much enjoyment out of the situation. "Not long ago your beloved elements of harmony traversed a similar maze before leaving as enemies. I must say, I'm getting a kick out of the mazes; so many twists and turns, coils and spirals."

"So we must escape this maze?" Luna asked in annoyance. "Do you simply intend to waste our time?" Celestia shook her head.

"There's a catch," She answered. "there's always a catch." Discord's laugh echoed through the maze again.

"Yes, there is and it seems to me like Celestia's finally catching on to my humour. Hah! Did you see what I did there? Oh, I crack myself up, really I do." He cackled hysterically before calming down a little and continuing. "No? Well, I guess you've heard it before. Yes Celestia, there is a catch; there's no thrill in the chase, so I propose a bet of sorts. If you win said bet, I'll leave Equestria in peace forever." Celestia blinked in surprise; that was quite a hefty price for him to place on a game.

"And what, pray tell, do you obtain should victory be yours?" Luna asked carefully.

"In a word?" Discord asked simply. "Your powers. Although I don't want them; too peaceful and boring for my liking. No, you'll lose your ability to resist me; in fact you'll really only be normal unicorns...with wings, stuck in this maze as my playthings forever." Celestia had frozen up as Discord had said that.

"And what makes you think we'd actually accept your challenge?" Luna shouted defiantly, answered by another hearty laugh.

"Well that's the best part, honestly." Discord's voice said loudly. "Both of you must play fairly, no magic or flying, or you forfeit and I win!" His voice trailed off into crazed high-pitched giggling as Luna gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Fine Discord." Celestia said with some of her usual composure. "We accept your challenge and will best you at it. Luna, we'll meet outside the maze."

"Indeed we will!" Luna boomed in her royal Canterlot voice before charging off along the pillar walls and into the maze. Celestia took a moment to compose herself again before taking a step.

"The clock's ticking Celestia and Twilight is waiting for a letter, remember?" Discord snickered before Celestia gritted her own teeth and galloped her way into the maze as well.

"Through these paths find the truth in your heart; can you make it to the end, or wind up back at the start?"

Chapter 2 - Parents Know Best

Chapter II

Parents

Twilight had found that chocolate rain was nowhere near as entertaining as anyone might’ve thought at first. The downpour of chocolate rain hadn’t been at all that bad until they’d travelled under the city of Cloudsdale. The group had stopped to put a cover over the top of the cart, but that hadn’t helped them with their already soaked cloaks and manes. A heavy tapping was heard from the canopy of the cart as the chocolate milk downpour hit the top with force. Twilight wrenched her soaked cloak off and threw it aside in annoyance. She’d likely catch a cold if they started getting towards the colder reaches of Equestria before everything began to dry; something she wanted to avoid having in the next country.

“You okay out there Shining?” Night Light asked his son who was still trotting along, mightily pulling the cart along by himself.

“Yeah, don’t sweat it.” Shining Armor chuckled from beneath his hood. “It may be soaking wet, but at least it tastes nice.” Cadance had pulled down her own hood and looked out towards Shining.

“You’re sure I can’t help?” She asked quietly. Shining shook his head.

“As much as I’d like to see you wet, I think I’ll pass. You need to conserve your energy.” Shining said teasingly, making Cadance’s face flush red.

“So Twilight, if we’re under Cloudsdale at the moment, how long do you think it’ll be until we reach the border?” Spike asked the dull violet mare. Twilight’s horn glowed for a second and a map flew from her saddlebags and opened in midair.

“From here we’d usually head in the direction of Manehatten, making for the quickest route to Heifngard.” She said loudly enough that everypony could hear.

“Usually? Which direction are we going this time?” Night Light asked curiously.

“Straight north.” Twilight answered.” There’re train tracks between Canterlot and the Crystal Mountains that go through to the dominion on the other side.” Night Light tilted his head in confusion.

“But, wouldn’t that make the journey longer?” He asked, answered by a nod from his daughter.

“Yes, but Princess Celestia told us that we should take the route that got us out of Equestria fastest.” Twilight explained. “She didn’t say why.”

“Well, if the princess was so sure of it, then I guess she must’ve known what was best.” Velvet said with a smile which Twilight nodded in agreement.

“Once we’ve passed around the Galloping Gorge we’ll need to prepare for colder weather.” She said quietly. “The Frozen North range is far from a walk in the park.”

Princess Celestia felt like she had been walking forever. She had no means of telling how long exactly she had been in the maze, but she was sure that it had least been four hours, if not more. The alicorn mare couldn’t help but feel anxious at the eerie silence that had followed her since her first turn in the maze, broken only by her own hoofsteps.
‘What is Discord playing at?’ She asked herself constantly, trying to figure out the draconequus’ mindset. He hadn’t said anything to her since the start of the maze and Celestia couldn’t figure why he’d just let them get on with their task instead of bothering them every few seconds. Discord was a difficult creature to read as it was, but this behaviour completely baffled her.
“Arghhhh!”
Celestia’s ears pricked up as she came to attention. There was no mistaking that sound. It had been Luna, screaming. Her heart sinking in fear for her sibling, Celestia broke into a gallop, twisting and turning around the corners of the maze, trying her best to get closer to the source of the sound.

“Luna!” Celestia shouted out worriedly. “Luna, where are you?” Another scream was heard, this time much louder and closer. Celestia continued dashing along the path until suddenly she halted on the spot. There was a mare in front of her, but it wasn’t Luna, although she was a similar size.

“Hello Celestia.” The mare said quietly, looking up at the princess, causing her to freeze up as she took in the familiar face. She was a light violet colour, with a long flowing mane of dark blue, a long and slender horn protruding from her head.

“What’s wrong?” The mare said with an emotionless voice, taking in the shocked expression on Celestia’s face. “Aren’t you happy to see me? I can imagine why you wouldn’t be, after all that you’ve done.” Celestia’s eyes widened and she could feel sweat running down her neck, taking a step backwards as the mare in front of her took a step forwards to keep the distance between them constant.

“I-I-“ Celestia stuttered, lost for words as she found herself without any words.

“I should never have let you take the throne.” The mare said quietly. “You banished your own sister, nearly let Equestria fall into ruin on a number of occasions and worst of all, finally broke Equestria’s seal just because you couldn’t express kindness to the one that claimed love for you.” Celestia gasped at the last point, thoughts and reasoning spiralling through her mind. It was all just a trick.

“Discord!” She shouted aloud. “What’re you up to?” There was no answer though.

“Discord!” She shouted again, followed by laughing from the mare in front of her.

“Come Celestia.” She said, turning and trotting elegantly around the next corner. Celestia stood, rooted on the spot as she considered her options. There were no other directions for her to go, so she had no choice but to follow. With a deep breath she stepped forward, finally finding strength in her legs again; ready to face whatever challenge Discord had prepared for her.

Twilight had never imagined that a railway line could successfully run through a region as inhospitable as the Crystal Mountains, but a strong bridge had been built through the range to keep the passing trains steady. This rail was the one the group had chosen to travel on, although none of them particularly liked doing so. Twilight was unsure whether the train station at Canterlot had stopped running and she couldn’t help but grow cold every time she heard a sudden noise or when the wheel of the cart met a bump. Luckily for the group however it didn’t seem the rail was in use and the journey became a bit less cautious.

“So, you’re saying that this entire range is covered in crystals?” Spike asked with wide eyes, responded by a swift nod from Cadance. “That’s awesome! Maybe I can hop off and grab a-“ Twilight was the one to draw up a hoof to his lips to quiet him.

“Not so loud Spike...” The grey mare murmured to the young dragon. “We don’t want to trigger an avalanche.” Spike scratched his head in confusion.

“But don’t trains run through here all the time?” Spike asked. “There’s no way I’m being noisier than a train.” Twilight turned her head back to her assistant and shot a disapproving glare for talking back to her, causing Spike to shrink on the spot. Twilight turned back to her viewpoint out the back of the cart, magically pulling her cloak back around herself to take the chill off of her.

“...Twilight honey, are you okay?” Night Light asked quietly, approaching his daughter. Twilight simply nodded. “You’re sure?” Twilight nodded again.

“Does it matter?” Twilight responded blankly. Night Light frowned and sat down.

“Of course it matters.” He murmured to her. “You’re my daughter and it hurts me to see you unhappy.” Twilight didn’t respond, so Night Light continued. “Are you thinking about Princess Celestia?”

“...No.”

“You are, aren’t you?” Night Light pursued adamantly, leaving Twilight silent. “I know how to tell when you’re lying Twilight. Do you want to talk about it?” Twilight stayed silent for a few seconds, pondering the moment. She certainly didn’t want to let her problems hinder the rest of them, but she knew her dad wouldn’t stop until she said yes.

“...Okay.” Twilight said quietly. “But can we talk alone?” Night Light blinked for a second, glancing at Velvet for a second before nodding. With that Twilight stood and hopped off of the cart, standing on the bridge behind it, waiting for Night Light to follow.

“So, what’s got your goat?” He said after dismounting the cart as well, carefully being watched by Cadance, Spike and Velvet. Twilight waited for a little distance from the cart to be gained before she continued.

“I’m just worried.” She responded quietly enough that she couldn’t be heard, even with the echo of the mountains.

“About the Princess?”

“Sort of.” She said vaguely. “She’s capable of taking care of herself. So I don’t need to worry about her wellbeing.” Night Light tilted his head confusedly.

“Then what are you worried about?” Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but procrastinated for a second.

“O-our wellbeing.” She finally said, causing her father’s eyebrows to rise in surprise.

“Oh?”

“There’s something Princess Celestia hasn’t told us. That’s the feeling I get.” Twilight explained carefully.

“So you’re worried that whatever it is she hasn’t told us is a potential problem to us?” Night Light asked for confirmation.

“Maybe.” Twilight said. “I’ve never actually felt so mistrustful of her though. I’ve always looked up to the Princess as a source of help and protection.” Night Light’s expression softened at this.

“I don’t think she could blame you for that Twilight.” He said softly. “She gave us just enough information for us to understand what we should be doing, but other than that, nopony understands what’s happening.” Twilight looked up at him with wide eyes. “You’re not the only one in this boat honey.”

“I-I-“ Twilight’s words faltered at her father’s glance. He had missed her point, but she admitted that she hadn’t put it across very well and even so, his words had dug deep into Twilight’s mind.

“Me, your mother, Shining, Spike and even Cadance are here with you now.” Night Light continued. “None of us know exactly what’s happening, but we’re all sticking to it for each other’s sakes. We’ll all find out what’s happening in our Equestria together, alright?” Twilight finally managed a small smile. It had always been her dad’s style to get all passionate about his pep talks and instead give a speech and this time it had been especially welcome.

“Th-thanks Dad.” Twilight whispered as Night Light stopped to give her a loving hug. “You’re right. We’ll do it tog-“
CRACK!

Celestia felt like she had been following the mare before her for hours, but she didn’t dare ask more. It had been a millenia since Celestia had last seen her and she had never for one moment thought she would have seen her again. She wanted to ask her so many questions, but she was unsure of how to go about them. For all she knew the pony before her could’ve just been an illusion of Discord’s. As Celestia turned the next corner she noticed she was in a wider area, but that wasn’t what caught her interest first. The maze had opened up and she could see a crowd on either side of the room, all watching the thrones at the front of the room in awe. By the thrones were several ponies. The mare she had seen before, alongside two younger-looking alicorn mares, one white with a short pink mane dropping over her eyes and the other with a dark azure coat and blue-gray mane twisting into a plait down her neck. It took a second before Celestia realised that those two were Luna and herself. She thought back to the time she had last seen the image before her, over two thousand years before. This was her crowning ceremony.

“Proud citizens of Equestria, we are gathered here on this most joyous of days to witness the crowning of Equestria’s new queens.” Celestia jumped as the voice of the first mare rang through the hall.

“On this day my very own daughters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, shall taketh from us upon themselves the burden of caring for our beautiful country.” She continued, her voice amplified thanks to her own royal Canterlot voice.

“Long live Princess Celestia, long live Princess Luna!” The crowd called in chorus. Celestia watched the two young mares beside the first mare stand adamantly on the spot with serious looks on their faces. She recalled how nervous she had been quite well.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, are you ready to take the vow of service to the kingdom of Equestria?” The mare asked the Celestia and Luna from the past.

“We are.” Past Celestia announced blankly.

“Then we shall begin.” The light violet mare turned and approached an altar behind the thrones, where seven gemstones were laid out; the elements of harmony. The two young princesses followed her and stood straight again.

“Princess Celestia, step forward.” The violet mare said to the pink-maned mare, who did as was commanded, standing before the altar. “Repeat after me.”

“I Celestia, princess of Equestria, hereby swear to uphold the harmony and peace of this fair kingdom. I swear to show care and compassion for all things great and small, to breath life into the relations between our neighbouring nations and to protect and serve all who deserve it. I swear this now in the presence of the elements of harmony; honesty, generosity, loyalty, kindness, laughter, love and magic.”

“Very good. Princess Luna, step forward.” The violet mare said, this time facing Luna, who approached as well and repeated the oath.

“Then I, Clover, high queen of Equestria, hereby abdicate my crown, my subjects and my kingdom to you. Long live Equestria, long live High Queen Celestia, long live Queen Luna!” As the mare violet mare, Clover, finished her words a burst of applause reverberated throughout the throne room as crowns levitated forward, each taking their places upon the mares’ heads.

“Long live the queens! Long live Equestria!”
The real Celestia smiled slightly. Their coronation had been a proud and happy day and it felt nice to relive the experience. But the feeling was fleeting. Something was amiss about the situation. Why would she have seen her coronation again? What did it have to do with the current situation, or with Discord?

“I was so proud of you.” Celestia looked back up from the floor to see Clover again before her, the crowd and the wide room vanished from before her. “But where did I- no, you, go wrong?” Celestia’s throat clenched at these words.

“Mother...” Celestia tried to stay, but was silenced by a shake of Clover’s head.

“No Celestia.” She said blankly. “You broke that vow several times. You banished your sister, allowed the kingdom to fall into chaos and used the instruments of peace, which you even swore upon, as instruments of conflict.” Celestia gritted her teeth.

“Enough Discord.” She said quietly. “I’m not a fool and this game has gone far enough.” Clover’s expression didn’t change.

“Discord.” She said quietly. “Even now you’re complacent and uncaring for him.” Celestia frowned further.

“The game is up Discord.” She said, ignoring Clover’s words.

“He’s not here Celestia.” Clover answered. “He’s likely toying with Luna as we speak. She never would have had to be involved in any of this. She never had to be involved in this if you had stayed to your vow.” Celestia grunted in anger and stamped a hoof.

“I said enough!” Celestia growled, her composure starting to flake away. Clover shook her head in disappointment and stepped aside again, the wide throne room coming back into view. Celestia jumped as ponies appeared with the sweeping of Clover’s mane, but then looked around in confusion as she realised that Clover was gone.

“You’re sure?” Celestia looked up to see another past incarnation of herself, a mare slightly larger than the average pony, her mane now beginning to flow on the solar wind, a few colours appearing and disappearing with each sweep of the hair.

“Absolutely sure your highness.” Said a royal guard. “Shall I show him in?” The past Celestia nodded in confirmation.

“If draconequus are here in Equestria then it’s a matter that I should address.” As she heard her past self say these words Celestia frowned, turning to the doorway as it was opened, a familiar snakelike figure slithering in before breaking into a rather pompous-looking strut.

“Ah, Queen Celestia, am I correct?” Discord said, approaching the emotionless mare upon the throne. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine good sir.” Celestia said respectfully, giving a bow of her head in response.

“I’m pretty sure I claimed it first but I’ll let you get away with it.” Discord chuckled. “I must commend you on the manners of your kingdom. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so welcome.” Celestia nodded in response.

“Here in Equestria anypony, or body for that matter, is welcome.” She said proudly. “But I must ask why a draconequus graces our halls. I was under the impression that we were exempt from the chaos your kind bring.” Discord laughed quietly.

“With all due respect Princess, I am not your ordinary draconequus.” He said with a puffed out chest. “No, I hate bringing such unhappiness to others.” Celestia’s expression was one of shock.

“Is that so?” She asked with curiosity.

“Indeed.” Discord said, leaning back as if he was leaning on a wall. “The world is a very unhappy place and it certainly makes my day when I manage to make somebody smile.” With this Discord reached up to his ear and seemingly pulled a bouquet of flowers out of it, before tossing them into the air, and with a click of his fingers, levitating them over to Celestia.

“They’re beautiful, thank you.” Celestia said fleetingly, not wanting to bypass her manners after the kind action. “But I must say, I am quite surprised. It is common rumour that draconequus such as yourself enjoy the mischief you create.”

“Never judge a book by its cover if you ask me.” Discord said with a scowl. “I came to Equestria to seek a means of making a better image for myself. Something more...popular, if you know what I mean.” Celestia tilted her head.

“That’s a fairly carefree action for one such as yourself.” She said questioningly. “I have been told that your kind tend to keep to yourselves unless you have ‘business’ to attend to.” Discord nodded.

“You were told right then, but as I said, I’m an exception to usual draconequus.” He said with a smile. “I merely wish to begin a new life in Equestria and learn to overcome my chaotic past. Celestia was silent for a second before smiling softly.

“You are granted the means to live as any pony in our fair kingdom...” Celestia started, pausing slightly.

“Discord, your highness.”

“Then, you are granted the means and right to live as any pony in our fair kingdom, Discord.” She repeated with a kindly smile. “May you find the salvation you seek.”
The real Celestia’s face was full of disbelief. She had known of this past, after all, it was hers, but she felt horrified that she had made such a mistake.

“Are you starting to see yet?” Celestia jumped and twirled on the spot to see Clover behind her again.

“I-I-” Celestia turned her head again, noticing that her past self and Discord had vanished from the throne room and they were yet again alone. “I never should have said yes.”

“No.” Clover said simply.

“But this could have all been avoided if Discord had never st-”

“No, that was not your mistake.” Clover interrupted. “I see that you still don’t understand, so we shall continue.” Celestia watched nervously as Clover stood and walked back the way they had came, back into the maze. Celestia stood on the spot for a moment. She was following orders from an illusion. She knew that she shouldn’t play Discord’s game, but there was something about it all that made her uneasy, that made her feel like the only way forward was to continue as she had done so far. What scared her most was that she kept forgetting that these were all illusions made by Discord and that she was talking to Clover the Clever as if she really was the pony she had known and loved. One thing was for sure; Celestia had to find a way out of this maze while she still had the will to do so and fast.

Chapter 3 - The Real World

Chapter III

The Real World

“Twilight!”
Twilight was awoken abruptly by the call of her name above her. It took her a few seconds to be able to focus her eyesight or move in the slightest and even when she did her entire body cried out in agony.

“Twilight! Dad!” Came the voice of Shining Armor above her. “Are you alright?” Twilight took a moment to find her voice before raising her head.

“I-I’m fine!” She shouted hoarsely, her throat distinctively feeling like sandpaper as she spoke.

“Oh thank Celestia!” Twilight heard the voice of Velvet above her. “Twilight, can you see your father?” Twilight looked around but couldn’t make out the shape of Night Light anywhere around.

“N-no, I can’t see him.” She called back.

“…Okay honey, stay right where you are.” Velvet ordered her. “We’ll be down to get you as soon as we can.” Twilight frowned. Something wasn’t right. She tried to remember back to before she had fallen.

CRACK!

That was it, she was sure of it. A cracking sound had come from the ground below them as she and Night Light had been walking behind the cart along the railroad tracks. Both of them had fallen, but then…
Twilight gasped as the events came back to her. Night Light had pushed her off of the tracks before they’d fallen away completely. She looked around frantically as she tried to see any sign of him anywhere. It was then that she turned her head behind her and her heart fell. There was a large crevice beside her. They’d been walking along a bridge when the ground gave way.

“N-no…” Twilight told herself. She focussed all of her strength into getting up and after a couple of seconds, was managing to budge herself from her place on the ground, shakily rising to her hooves. Once she was sure she wouldn’t give way and fall back over, Twilight looked over the edge of the crevice. There were a few ledges below, but none of them had any signs of Night Light on them. Twilight brought a shaking hoof up to her face and tried to calm herself down. It wasn’t possible, he couldn’t have fallen. Twilight took a second to collect her thoughts before sending a small surge of energy through her horn and in a flash she was on a lower ledge. Her head was already spinning from exhaustion, but she couldn’t stop there; she had to find out what happened. Another second of focus and she popped down to another ledge, then again and again, continuing down the cliff face, only stopping to look for another ledge below to use as a platform. As she started to get lower she began to finally see the ground below her, but even after squinting she couldn’t manage to make out any familiar shape, especially when her eyesight was so distorted. Lower and lower she travelled down the cliff face until she was close to the ground and stopped. One of the ledges below her was stained with a dark red splatter against the dark blue of the stone. Twilight’s breath thickened more and she teleported past the ledge, faster towards the ground. As her panic peaked, her legs finally gave and she slipped on one small ledge, falling sideways and heavily hitting the ground not far below her with a thump, knocking the air out of her lungs. Stopping for only a second, she scrabbled back to her hooves and tried to call out.

“D-dad?” She wheezed, barely audible past her lips. Carefully she limped around the small clearing below, a small stream flowing just off to the side of it. Her eyes passed over the area several times before she stopped and did a double-take.
There he was, not far away, laid limply upon the ground with a large chunk of rock resting on his stomach. Twilight’s throat clenched tightly, gasping for air for a few seconds before limping as fast as she could, although clumsily, over to his side.

“D-Dad!” She heaved, rolling the rock off of him her teeth gritting as she heard a blood curdling crack as she did. “D-Dad, come on, get up!” She pulled a fake smile, trying to make best of the situation. There was no response.

“Come on! Dad! W-we have to get moving if we want to get anywhere!” She laughed a bit hysterically. There was still no answer. Twilight’s face slowly fell as the realisation flooded over her.

“…D-Daddy?” She murmured; nudging him again Twilight was still trying to cling to the miniscule hope that maybe he was just unconscious or having a badly chosen nap. There was no breath at all and Twilight’s eyes began to fill with tears. Reluctantly, the truth washed over her and she lowered her head beside the bruised and bloody head of her once living father. It didn’t feel possible and shouldn’t have been possible. She tried to find words to say to him that might change the truth and could perhaps bring him back to her but no words came. Her father was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.

By the time Velvet, Shining & Cadance had got to Twilight it was already dark. The group had left the cart at the top just off of the train tracks and decided to set up camp far below. It was quite a climb to get back, but none of them could seem to find the will to leave that spot. By the stream was a disturbed piece of earth; soil that had been dug up to make a grave for Night Light. Nearby was a tent with Velvet, Shining, Cadance & Spike sat just in front of a campfire. It had been a quiet evening, with only the occasional sounds of one of them comforting another. Twilight was wide awake still, deep in thought, but she had lain down beside the earthy mound, her puffy eyes not even bothering to stay open. They all thought she was asleep and that’s how she wanted it.

“You okay?” Cadance finally said quietly to Shining. The alabaster stallion sighed gently.

“I’m not sure.” He murmured. “I’m not entirely sure what to feel at the moment.” Cadance frowned, nuzzling against him.

“…I’m so sorry.” Cadance responded, unsure as to what she could possibly say to him. Shining simply smiled.

“You don’t have to be.” He assured her. “There was nothing anypony could’ve done to prevent this. At least we know how seriously we have to take this from now on.” Cadance thought for a second, but couldn’t seem to think of any words of comfort.

“So, is Twilight okay?” She asked, resorting to small talk. “I mean, outside of the obvious.”

“She’ll live.” Velvet said quietly from beside them, nestled up beside Spike. “She had a cracked rib and a few bruises, so she’ll be a bit uncomfortable for a while, but I’ve patched her up the best I can.”

“Well, at least she’s not badly hurt.” Cadance said with a small smile. Velvet nodded in response, gently stroking Spike’s head with a hoof.

“But her hurt does go deeper than her skin.” She continued. “She hasn’t left Night Light’s side all evening. I can only shudder to imagine what’s going through her head at the moment.” Shining rested his head down on his hooves and sighed.

“I wish there was something I could do to help her.” He said wistfully.

“This is probably going to be something that she’ll have to work out by herself.” Velvet answered solemnly.

“But we can do our best to try and make things easier for her, right?” Cadance asked in response.
Twilight herself had listened intently to their words, but couldn’t string her thoughts together to make a judgement on them. Her every other thought was of Night Light and the rest Princess Celestia. Something was wrong with the entire situation. Had she disobeyed Celestia’s orders the entire tragedy could’ve been avoided. If she hadn’t asked for Night Light to get off the cart with her he’d still have been alive. If she had prioritized safety over speed they wouldn’t have had to enter the mountain range anyway. No matter which way she looked at it, she could only see herself to blame for her dad’s death. Once again she felt tears well in her closed eyes and although she tried, she couldn’t avoid a half stifled whimper. The others behind her all went silent as they listened to seemed like a filly crying in her sleep. Twilight tried again to hold back the tears but it was no good and she simply continued sniffling. A few seconds later she felt something touch her and she tensed up before realising she had been covered by a blanket. She tensed again as she felt lips touch her tear-soaked cheek and give her a loving kiss.

“…I love you Twilight.” Velvet’s voice whispered before she turned and returned to the others. It took Twilight a moment to work out what had just happened. She had always been one for pinpointing details and there was a very precise one in her words. Velvet had always used to say “we love you” to her before bed. Even when she left for Ponyville it was always “we love you”. When she visited home, “we love you”. When she wrote a letter, “we love you”. There was no we anymore, just a single parent who likely felt as much woe as she did; a sorrow she had brought upon her own mother. Twilight gritted her teeth before burying her head under the blanket, letting her tears flow freely.

It was very late when Velvet awoke from her own slumber. She looked around to see Shining nearby with Cadance beside her, her forelegs wrapped comfortingly around his neck. She felt a poke in her side before remembering that Spike had been pushed up against her coat as he fell asleep. Gently she slid out from under him before pulling her own cover over his side so as not to wake him. When she was confident Spike wouldn't awaken, she turned around. The last embers in the makeshift fire were dying, but a dim light was still being cast over the area. Quietly she stepped around the fire towards the mound not far away. Twilight had fallen asleep hours before, or rather cried herself to sleep. Velvet was fully aware that her daughter had been pretending to sleep while she listened to them converse; it was a habit she'd had ever since she was a filly. But now she was confident that Twilight was asleep, so she reached down and gently pulled the blanket covering her over her shoulder comfortingly, stroking her mane softly. It had been hard to see her daughter go through so much torment that day, but there was little she could do to help, which made it that much worse.

Standing up again, Velvet looked at the earthy floor before her, where Night Light had been buried unceremoniously. She stared long and hard at it before exhaling heavily.

"Good night," she whispered. "...my guiding light." Velvet stood idly beside the mound, listening closely as the night wind blew softly past them. She could've sworn she could hear the faint response of her special somepony and she nodded to herself. She had got the goodbye that she had wanted; her tears would have to wait for another day.

Chapter 4 - Dreams and Nightmares

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Chapter IV
Dreams and Nightmares
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It wasn’t often that Princess Celestia felt the cold, and this was one of those times. Discord’s maze kept twisting and turning, with Celestia always just a little behind Clover. The more she walked the colder she became, eventually finding herself shivering from head to hoof. It felt like forever since she had stopped to watch the illusion of her past and her legs had started to ache.

“We’re nearly there,” Clover’s voice rang out, causing Celestia to raise her head in acknowledgement.

“N–Nearly where?” Celestia asked, although she was sure she didn’t want to know.

“To your second mistake.” Clover answered, turning a corner and catching Celestia with the corner of her eye. Celestia paused, paralyzed by the look Clover had given her. She knew that the real Clover the Clever had died centuries before, but the illusion was so lifelike that she found herself doubting what she knew. Discord had never met her, so how could he have known everything that happened before he came to Equestria? With a sigh, Celestia took another stiff step forward, wincing in pain as the chill around her ran up her hoof again. It took a bit longer than before, but she got herself moving again, despite her discomfort and she finally turned the corner.

“Good morning Celestia! I hope you slept well!” The familiar voice drew Celestia’s attention to a doorway to her left. She took a moment to look around, finding that the maze had vanished and she was stood once again in the open throne room. Looking back at the door she saw the familiar serpentine shape of Discord strut towards the figure sat in the throne to the opposite side of her.

“Discord, please hold the pleasantries. You know why I called you here,” Celestia’s younger self said with a disapproving tone.

“I do?” Discord asked innocently.

“Princess Luna has told me of your ‘antics’ over the period of the past months and I am very disappointed at what I’ve heard,” The pink-maned Celestia said.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean Celestia,” Discord responded.

“A bonfire was lit in Canterlot’s city square last night and at three ‘o’clock in the morning you were reported to have turned said bonfire into fireworks,” Celestia said.

“And that was a bad thing? Everypony in Canterlot always looks so stuffy and boring, so I tried to lighten then up a bit with some entertainment,” Discord said, puffing out his chest and folding his arms proudly.

“Trust me when I say that you didn’t raise their spirits half as much as you razed their homes.” Celestia’s voice was like ice.

“I-Wait, what?” Discord said. “I don’t understand.” Celestia glared down from her throne at the draconequus.

“No less than twenty Canterlot citizens are currently being offered solace and compensation within the palace after they lost their homes to a barely controllable wildfire in the city square last night.” She said angrily. “You have ruined twenty ponies’ lives in one fell swoop. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I-I but, I never meant-” Discord looked distraught at the situation.

“You always say that you never mean to, but it still happens!” Celestia shouted. “How long must you keep neglecting what you promised me?” Discord looked down at the floor.

“I-I’m sorry Celestia, really. I really didn’t mean to cause any harm.” He said quietly.

“Then why are you still doing reckless things like that? Transferring chemical reactions into explosive projectiles is never bound to end well, so why do you pursue in such foolish actions?” She asked her face still contorted furiously. Discord stood silent on the spot. “Well?”

“B-Because I want to make ponies happy! Because I want to make people smile when they look at me, instead of grimacing, or running in fear! Because I want to make Canterlot the most celebrative city in all of Equestria! Because I want your recognition that I’ve become something other than a monster!” Celestia was stunned at the backlash her shout had received. “Because I want to stand a chance at being somebody you would want to spend your time with.” Discord’s chest heaved as he finished shouting, trying to regain his usual composure.

“Discord, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked quietly, motioning a hoof to her tense guards for them to leave. Discord waited until the guardponies had departed before nodding.

“You’re a beautiful creature Celestia and I’m just a jam of random animals with emotions. But the way I’ve felt about you since we met made me feel like I was more than just a monster.” Discord said. “I-I love you Celestia.” Celestia blinked, her face heating up at the compliments.

“I-I beg your pardon?” she asked. “How long have you felt this way?” Discord looked up at her with a small smile, a glimmer of hope shining in his eyes.

“From when I first saw you! You were so breathtaking that I simply couldn’t help but feel that way.” Celestia couldn’t believe her situation; a draconequus, an embodiment of disorder and chaos itself was confessing its love for her. It was flattering, admittedly, but she cared little for his rude and mischievous nature and certainly didn’t feel any kinship or love for him in return.

“Discord, who am I?” Celestia said finally.

“The most beau-“ Discord said, but stopped when he caught Celestia’s glare.

“I’m serious Discord, who am I?” She repeated. Discord looked down at the floor again, the glint vanishing.

“Pr-Princess Celestia, princess of Equestria.” Discord answered, to which Celestia nodded.

“Did you know that when a new leader of Equestria comes into power he or she must swear upon the elements of harmony?” Celestia’s words struck deep.

“Y-You mean-?” Discord started, silenced by a stamp of the hoof from the princess.

“You are a spirit of chaos. That is what you were born to spread and there can be no union between two such different creatures as we. However, I must remind you of what I previously told you. You are welcome in Equestria so long as your promise of bettering yourself is true. If it turns out that that was a farce meant to get close to me and you cannot honour your promise, you will be asked to leave.” Celestia finished, staring down at the out-of-character creature. “Am I clear?”

“Y-Yes, Celestia.”

“Princess Celestia, if you please,” Celestia said. “You’re dismissed, Discord.” Discord looked back up one last time, as if he might see Celestia grinning down at him before laughing teasingly. But all he saw was a frown on the her face. Reluctantly, Discord bowed and turned to leave as the doors were opened by Celestia’s magic, letting her guards return to their stations by her throne. Once Discord had left, Celestia let out an exasperated sigh.

“Forgive my intrusion your highness, but was master Discord troubling you?” One of the guards asked her. Celestia shook her head.

“I fear I may have been too heavy-hoofed with him,” she answered, wiping her brow with a hoof.

“A firm hoof never hurt anypony your highness,” the guard said..

“I hope you’re right.” Celestia murmured. “Could I ask you to send a message to Princess Luna? I feel I have some important matters to discuss with her.”

“At once your highness!” the guardpony said with a swift salute before taking his leave and marching out of the throne room.

The present day Celestia felt a greater chill run up her spine as she had watched herself lecture Discord. She had long since pushed the reason for Discord’s insurgence to the back of her mind for whatever reason, perhaps guilt, but now the reality of that memory had returned to her fully. Was this it, the reason for the whole crisis in Equestria? Had her rejection simply been taken badly? Could it have been avoided if she had just chosen her words better, or satisfied his wishes?

“Do you see yet?” Clover said, walking out of the shadows beside Celestia.

“I-I was so unwelcoming and harsh.” Celestia said to herself. “Is that what the chain of events moving?” Clover frowned.

“It’s a start, but you still don’t understand. I feel that you are close to the answer however,” she said. “We shall continue.” Celestia didn’t respond; after all, what could she say? She was so lost in her thoughts that she had not only stopped noticing just how cold she felt but also the scene before her change.

“Discord, you are hereby accused of treason against Princess Celestia, Equestria and its populace!” came a loud booming voice, obviously boosted with the help of magic. Celestia was shaken from her thoughts and looked to find that the palace had become lit up, with not one, but two thrones upon the altar at the front of the throne room. Sat in the centre chair was a midnight-coloured alicorn, while the other had the younger Celestia sat in it, looking exhausted, distraught and furious.

“N-No! I never meant to har-“ Discord whined.

“Silence!” Princess Luna’s voice rang out louder as she interrupted the draconequus’s voice. “You are accused of poisoning Princess Celestia with a love draught. Her mind was fooled into thinking of nothing but you, which has resulted in the failure of the raising of the sun for no less than ten full days. Had you not been apprehended and the situation not dealt with when it was, the summer solstice would have passed without Princess Celestia’s action, which could have eventually led to various deformities in Equestria’s growth. According to order seven thousand, eight-hundred and twenty two, issued by the court of the united nations of the known world, Equestria has been exempt from the discordant reach of the natural order of the draconequus due to services to the world; however, you have proceeded to break that law as well. The proof has been validated and you are exempt from the right of defence for this reason. You will hereby be banished from Equestria until the end of time.” Luna had always been the better public speaker and she seemed fuelled by dislike for Discord, which made it even easier for her to swallow the words as she voiced them. Discord was completely distraught, looking to Celestia constantly for some means of support.

“I-I- Celestia, please!” Discord cried out.

“Silence!” Luna shouted again.

“Don’t you dare talk to me,” Celestia finally murmured.

“But I-!” Discord tried to defend himself.

“No!” Celestia screamed. “I trusted you to better yourself despite my better judgement! I even gave you a second chance, but you abused my trust without fail! What am I to you? Am I merely the object of your sick perversion? Am I, Discord?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Lies!” Celestia said, cutting off her sister trying to calm her down. “I have respect for those higher than I, but you, you aren’t deserving of that respect! Your words are poison, your intentions are insincere and your existence is monstrous!” The verbal onslaught was sudden, especially for a pony as demure as Celestia, but they silenced Discord entirely. The draconequus simply looked at her with horror on his face.

“Do you hear me?” she screamed again. “You are a monster!”

“Guards, take him away. His sentence shall begin at dawn.” Luna finally cut in. Guards surrounded Discord and shoved him in the direction of the door, leading him away from the thrones.

“Fine,” Discord muttered. “If a monster is all you can see me as, then maybe I should become a monster.”

“Silence! Away with you!” Luna demanded, glaring at him as he was removed from the room. Once he was gone, eyes fell on Princess Celestia, whose breath was hard, her entire figure shaking. At last she gave in and buried her face into Luna’s shoulder as she wept.

“Now, Celestia, do you remember what happened after Discord was banished?” Clover asked the real Celestia. She seemed to have lost her natural radiance and graceful posture. Her eyes were sunken, and her mane had wilted, ceasing its midair wave and falling beside her face.

“Y-Yes.” She murmured. “Because I had been unable to fulfil my duty of organising the Summer Sun Celebration, Luna instead had gone ahead and done it for me. However, just before the celebration was due to take place, Sombra attacked the unprepared Crystal Empire. This caused the... your equestrian seal to weaken because of how much harmony the crystal ponies held opposed to the rest of the kingdom. When the seal weakened, Discord made his way back into Equestria. He was so much different though... like he was driven for revenge. Revenge against me... Discord weakened the seal further by forcing disharmony into our borders until Luna and I defeated him personally.” Celestia couldn’t stand any longer and slipped to the cold floor below, her head hitting the ground sharply.

“A-All because I couldn’t find the strength in my heart to love him back...” she whispered. A second passed before Celestia heard another sound. Laughter; the laughter of a mare, steadily deepening into a familiar tone.

“Are you cold Celestia? I should have mentioned just how cold chaos is.” Discord sneered at the fallen mare, lowering himself down beside her. “The weakness you’re feeling? That’s not a draught, no, that’s your guilt, sadness and regret sinking in. This is how I felt when you assured me of what I am. I could get over rejection; after all, you’re not the only being in the world. But when you told me I was a monster, I knew from then on that that was exactly what I was.” Discord’s tone was nothing like Celestia had ever heard from him. It was dripping with contempt and malice, all traces of his previous jesting personality vanished.

“A monster!” Discord roared aloud. “That’s what I am! A beast! An animal! But I wasn’t the only one, was I? You made me into a monster Celestia! It was you and your meddling sister that turned me into this, the creature that tore the elements of harmony at the seams!” Celestia looked up at the draconequus, waving his arms around frantically as he continued his insane rant. Was this it? Was Discord’s steadying loss of sanity the ultimate chaos? Discord burst out laughing hysterically, occasionally flicking his head back to check that Celestia was still there.

“But now, I’ll do you proud Celestia! I’ll be what you wanted me to be! I’ll be the most monstrous monster in the history of all monstrosity!” He cackled, pointing a claw at the figures in the flashback. “The last time I tried this sort of revenge, you banished your beloved little sister! But now you’re in my domain! A world of chaos and and and... DISCORD!” Celestia was lost for words as she followed the mad creature’s directing to the throne. The remaining guardponies were gone, as well as her own crying self. All that remained was the dark grey silhouette of Luna.

As the midnight blue form of Luna hit the floor her breath was knocked out of her lungs. How could she have let this happen, she thought. She had been so confident of herself before, but now she didn’t know what to believe. Luna was brought back to real time by the sound of an armoured hoof hitting the marble floor. She looked up to see the violet form of Clover, clad in thick gold armour that covered her from horn to hoof, glaring down at her.
“Mother! What are you doing?” Luna stammered with a wheeze, still recovering from her initial fall. Clover’s horn flashed as a powerful blast of energy covered the little distance between the two, a wave of magical wind sweeping Luna back off of the floor and throwing her across the throne room. The alicorn couldn’t help but cry out as her back hit the wall with a blood curdling crunch.
“Mother? Why in Equestria do you still persist in calling me such a name?” Clover said, her voice laced with malice. “You were always such a disappointment. I was ashamed to call you my daughter.” Luna shook her head.
“I have made numerous mistakes, that much is true. But I know that what you’re saying now is false!” Luna’s words were noticeably forced as she just barely managed to get back to her hooves. Clover simply sneered at Luna’s weak attempt to defend herself.
“We both know that that is the lie Luna, or rather, Nightmare. You could never stand being a step down from Celestia, being the least loved pony in all Equestria. It drove you mad that nopony cared, let alone appreciated your works of art constellations.” Clover said through bared teeth.
“I am no nightmare! I overcame the petty weakness that caused it to come about in the first place! And I know my place in Equestria so much better now for that reason.” Luna adamantly retorted.
“You never overcame that weakness. You were forcibly stripped of it by commoners. Even though you fool yourself into thinking that Equestria needs you you wouldn’t even be able to back that up with action.” Clover continued, her horn flashing as another small burst of energy flew at Luna, her legs barely just managing to keep her stood in place.
“Admit it, Nightmare! You’re just a snivelling, rejected little filly, looking for a way to prove your worth to the world. Over two millennia and you still haven’t found that way.” Clover said loudly, emphasising the insult.
“You’re wrong. I always thought that I had to be the model princess, but after my imprisonment I realised that life is too hard to stand idle. Nopony appreciated my night because they were exhausted from their daytime work. My efforts were wasted on ponies that wouldn’t have been able to admire beauty because of fatigue. No, I realised that I was so much more than that. I’m a sentinel, a guardian to all who live in Equestria as they rest.” Luna smiled confidently at Clover, her returning glare daring the unicorn to just try and match her opinion.
“From what?” Clover asked simply. Luna blinked at the unexpected question.
“What?” Luna asked back.
“You guard the citizens of Equestria from what?” Clover repeated. “The wild beasts of Equestria have long since shrunk away from under Celestia’s hoof to the Everfree Forest and the Equestrian Seal repels the possibility of external invasion. So what are you protecting Equestria from?” Luna felt a lump gather in her throat. On hindsight, she realised that there really wasn’t anything for her to protect Equestria from. The kingdom had already been a utopia before she returned.
“I- But- The moon!” Luna said through hard breaths in panic, clutching at whatever small shred of confirmation she could reach.
“The world did without you for one thousand years, in which time Celestia took your task of controlling the moon and bested you at it.” Clover responded simply. She was right and Luna knew it. Was she really so unwelcome in Equestria?
“But don’t fret my foal.” Clover continued, approaching the shaking alicorn. “Destiny is not a set path. You can create your own story as you wish. You just need a little determination.” Luna looked up at the lavender unicorn, a few tears struggling against her will to run down her cheek. Gently Clover reached over to Luna’s head and stroked the side of her face affectionately.
“H-How though?” Luna asked, only just noticing the strange sensation surging through her face.
“You remove the barriers standing in your way yourself.” Clover said with a bit more assurance, stroking further up Luna’s face, causing her to instinctively close her eyes, but gently leaning further into the touch.
“Where would I start?” Luna asked quietly. Clover smiled and looked behind her.
“How about there, where your life’s problems have laid the roots?” Clover whispered to her daughter. Luna opened her eyes followed Clover’s glance to the other side of the throne room, where the crumpled form of her sister could be seen sprawled across the floor. She had dismissed the peculiar sensation, but hadn’t noticed the change it had had on her. Luna took a step forward, a dark grey figure lit up by two glowing turquoise eyes.

“Wh-what?” Celestia said croakily. She would have said more, but she was silenced by the raising of Luna’s head. Underneath her star-dotted mane were slender irises of draconic turquoise, a toothy grin breaking out on her face. Celestia shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s not possible... Twilight freed you! I saw it myself!” Celestia said with a whimper to her voice as Luna took a step towards her. “Please Luna, not again!” Luna chuckled to herself, her tone deepened into a more mature sound.

“Luna was always such a poor name. It reeked of failure and desperation!” she said with a sarcastic laugh, only just managing to be audible over Discord’s shrieks of laughter. “Stand for your superior Celestia. Stand for the queen of Equestria!” Celestia felt tears well up in her eyes as Luna started to overshadow her. “Stand for Nightmare Moon!”

“Luna, please don’t do this! Don’t you remember all the fun times we had since you were freed from her grip?” Celestia said pleadingly. Luna, or rather Nightmare Moon, simply bared her teeth at the pathetic mare below her and with a swift movement, brought a hoof down heavily on Celestia’s foreleg. A crack became audible and Celestia screamed in pain.

“Twice before we had this opportunity, but every time we made the mistake of letting you bide for time, or hide behind other ponies! But not again!” Nightmare Moon’s words brought tears to Celestia’s eyes. A flick of the starry tail and Celestia was thrown from the floor across the room, sliding across the marble floor. Nightmare began to approach again, gazing upon her pathetic sister desperately try to get to her hooves, blood trickling down her shattered leg.

“L-Luna, don’t do it!” Celestia repeated, distress becoming apparent in her voice. Nightmare simply laughed.

“Tonight Celestia, you’ll die by our hoof.” Luna’s horn flared with black magic as Celestia was forcefully thrown into the air, holding her tightly suspended above the ground. A second flash, this time a white surge of energy from Nightmare’s horn caused a light to appear below the alabaster alicorn. Steadily the light grew in size until it was at least three times the width of the mare above it. Celestia’s eyes widened as the light became blinding, erupting from the floor and immersing her. Celestia never counted how long she was veiled by that light, but it felt like an eternity. The searing heat around her pulled at her hide, burning away all traces of fur before setting to work on the skin below. Every inch of her body was screamed to her in agony as that too was burned away, leaving only a scorched black colour on her body.

The torture ended and the beam of light ebbed away. Celestia’s chest was tight, her breathing scarce. Her senses had already given up on her, her eyes blinded by the intense focus of light and her hearing naught but a high-pitched screech, tearing at what was left of her mind. If she could feel any sense of touch she might have cried out when she was dropped limply and unceremoniously to the ground. For a second, she thought she could see a dark shadow above her, which was confirmed when she felt a gentle nuzzle at her face.

“L-Lun... Luna...” Celestia barely managed to utter. She couldn’t have said much more anyway, but any chance for final words was taken from her as she felt a long slender point enter her mouth, a hoof softly opening her jaw for her.

“Rest in peace, dear sister of ours.” Nightmare Moon murmured as her horn came into contact with the back of Celestia’s throat. Celestia merely managed a sob before the dark mare plunged her head further, the horn piercing the flesh, cracking through bone and then rattling loudly as it hit the floor underneath.

The loud cracking had been enough to wake anypony, but only Cadance had been able to fly up the cliff-face to the sky to get a look at the source. She hovered in midair as she watched a black aura rise up from the ground before her, reaching far out to the ocean in the east and causing the surroundings to shake from the magical pressure. Cadance’s expression was that of horror as cracks began to appear in the aura surrounding Equestria as if it was glass.

“Wh-What’s happening?” she said to herself quietly, loud crackling sounds ringing through the air. It was merely seconds later that a loud boom sounded as the cracked aura finally shattered away, a huge explosion spreading out from where Cadance could only imagine was Canterlot. The entire sky was lit up for minutes as Equestria was bathed in the blood red inferno. Cadance found tears starting to run down her cheeks and after a few more minutes of helplessly watching the destruction she couldn’t handle it anymore and darted straight downwards back towards the camp.

Equestria’s sun had fallen.

The mountain and metropolis that was once Canterlot no longer resembled any habitable city, but was instead a pool of rubble and superheated magical plasma. The mountain had cracked under the sheer pressure of the explosion, and fallen to pieces into the superheated plasma that was previously Equestria’s sun. At the very highest point remaining in the area was a suspended but blackened section of the palace, connected flimsily to the rocky mound where the once proud mountain had once stood by elements used to build the city in the first place.

Inside this room were three individuals, although only two were moving.

“At long last, there will be nothing to stand in the way for conquest!” Nightmare cackled loudly. “What a glorious night this has turned out to be!” Discord was stood behind her, staring down at the twisted corpse form of Celestia with a maddened grin.

“She’s dead! At last, she’s dead!” Discord muttered. “She’ll never call me a monster again! Never trap me in stone again! And she’ll never rip my heart into tiny little pieces again!”

“Yes, Celestia is dead.” Nightmare said with a chuckle, wiping away a line of blood that had run down her horn to her face. “And you have my thanks for providing us with the chance to make it possible.” Discord continued laughing hysterically.

“No, no no no no! Thank you! I am free from her now! A free Discord!” He cackled maniacally. “Finally I will be able to pursue my wish! I’ll make everypony smile and I’ll become a loved Discord, not a MONSTROUS DISCORD!” Nightmare smirked at the maddened creature before her.

“We are glad that you will finally have the chance to fulfil your wish,” she said with another laugh. “We wish you good luck and health in that endeavour.” Nightmare couldn’t help but laugh aloud when Discord popped, disappearing from view, leaving only a loud howling laughter to reverberate through the air around them. She knew that she’d see him again, as her own personal quest was just as destructive and could quite easily end life entirely. Maybe eternal night would become a much more hospitable life than it was.

“First Equestria and soon, the rest of the world.” Nightmare laughed aloud, her own voice ringing through the air just as powerfully as the draconequus’s.