Prologue: The Ultimate Sacrifice
Princess Celestia panted heavily as she stared her opponent down. A cocky draconequus returned the stare, showing no sign of injury or fatigue from the battle. Celestia's eyes shifted to the right. Her sister's body lay on the ground a few feet away. Discord let out a harsh burst of laughter.
"Soon you will join your sister, Celestia! I know that you cannot hold on much longer. This field of battle will be your grave..." Discord said confidently. Princess Celestia staggered a little as a sudden wave of exhaustion forced it's way through her body. This caused Discord to laugh again.
"See, Princess? Soon you will be no more, and Equestria will be mine for the taking!" Discord shrieked, raising his arms up to the skies as a lightning bolt flashed through the sky. Princess Celestia sighed tiredly; if only Discord would just die! Every time he was defeated by the Elements of Harmony, he would just turn into a statue. Just a slab of stone to imprison a being as powerful as Discord. Then somepony would always come along and manage to release him somehow. This time, it was none other than her stupid nephew Blueblood. He had always been a mistake in Celestia's eyes, and would continue to be a mistake for the rest of his life.
"You will not win this battle, Discord." Celestia stated matter-of-factly. The expression on Discord's face turned into one of pure disbelief.
"B-but look at you!" Discord blustered. Celestia had to be bluffing. She was in no condition to be making such statements. Indeed, Celestia was aware of her appearance. She knew that Discord was right. She knew that she could not win this battle without paying a heavy price. The Sun Princess glanced at her sister's ragged form lying on the ground. The dark princess' flank rose up and down weakly, and her royal blood flowed out through many wounds. Suddenly, Celestia felt a drop of water rolling down her face.
Celestia looked up. Was it raining? No. Discord only made the sky filled with lighting clouds. Celestia brought a hoof up to her face shakily. She wiped the drop of water off of her cheek. Celestia had promised herself several times that she would never let anypony or anything harm her sister. And now this had happened. Celestia had almost forgotten that she was able to produce liquid from her tear ducts in a gesture called "crying". The last time she had cried was when she banished her sister to the moon.
Celestia knew that there was no hope. She had to use her last resort. Luna's bedraggled shape started to shift slightly. The Princess of the Night groaned in agony as she lifted her head off of the ground. First she looked at Discord, then she looked towards her sister. Luna's eyes widened as she saw the condition Celestia was in. "Sister..." she began.
"Hush, Luna. Save your breath." Celestia replied to her sister while glaring at Discord. Why doesn't he just die already?! Wiping the rest of her tears away, Celestia became aware of a newfound strength within herself. Her sorrow and love for her sister had made a solid impact on Celestia's condition. It was all Discord's fault. She wanted to kill him. Bad. Celestia just wanted it to be over forever. She wanted Discord to die so that way he would never rise again. Celestia stood up taller, and stared at Discord with unmasked hatred in her eyes.
"You will not win this battle." Celestia repeated. This time, Discord laughed openly.
"You're a fool, Celestia. I knew you were foolish, but I didn't think you were this foolish!" Discord exclaimed, snapping his fingers on his clawed hand. Celestia winced as the chaotic draconequus appeared right in front of her face. Discord grabbed Celestia's chin.
"Look into my eyes, princess. Do you see any doubt there?" Discord asked while gazing at Celestia evenly. Celestia obeyed, and she saw the hunger and confidence in Discord's eyes. Celestia fired a ball of fire from her horn, but Discord was gone before the fireball even left her horn. Celestia froze as she heard whispering in her ears. "Do what you want, princess, you will never defeat me now..." Discord's voice wafted by Celestia's ears. Celestia quickly spun around and saw Discord lounging by Luna. One of his elbows rested on Luna's flank where her lung was.
"Come join us!" Discord beckoned, jabbing his elbow into Luna's side. The latter gasped out in pain as the breath was forced from her lungs. Discord chuckled. "You two were more powerful a thousand years ago! There's no point in prolonging your deaths any longer. Prepare to meet your doom!" Celestia had been thinking for a while, and she knew she had to do it. It was the only way to save her kingdom. Just as Discord fired a beam of darkness from his paw, Celestia teleported to her sister's side. Discord swung around and fired another beam. By the time it reached the spot where Luna was a moment before, Celestia had already teleported a decent distance away. The two sisters were still in Discord's attack range, however.
"Close your eyes and look away." Celestia commanded her sister. There was no need; Luna's eyes were already closed, and she was starting to lose consciousness. Celestia focused her power in her horn for one of her most useful strategies. Just as Discord caught sight of them and raised his paw to launch another beam, Celestia's magic was ready. Celestia closed her eyes and let out an agonizing bellow. That was the downside of this strategy: it required a massive amount of energy to work.
Discord stared in shock as a ball of light as bright as the sun itself blasted over the landscape they were battling on. Discord screeched in pain as the light penetrated his pupils. Discord opened his eyes, but was still blinded by the intense burst of light. Discord quickly cloaked one of his paws in darkness and brought them up to his eyes. This was sure to neutralize the effects of the light. Celestia knew she had to act quickly. She touched her horn to Luna's, and transferred some of her power over. Luna opened her eyes. "W-what happened?" she asked with a quavering voice.
"Discord is too powerful." Celestia began solemnly. "We have to do it. It's the only way to save our kingdom." she told her sister. Luna gasped in shock.
"B-but that means..." Luna trailed off. Celestia shook her head.
"I know. But it has to be done. Discord is just too powerful. I love you, Luna. We'll see eachother again, I'm sure of it." Celestia answered her sister, trying her best to hide her doubts. Luna burst into tears, and Celestia hugged her. Both of the sisters let loose with their emotions, their cries muffled by eachother's flanks.
"Come on now, sister, before Discord recovers." Celestia said, choking back her tears. Discord had began to open his eyes cautiously, hoping that the blindness had worn off. Luna got to her hooves, and wiped her tears away. Celestia knew that she would see her sister again.
This is for Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and every being in Equestria.
The two sisters focused their power in their horns and crossed them. This was their final attempt at defeating Discord. If this failed, then Equestria would be doomed forever. The two sister's lives would be over, but it would be worth it. The beings of the world would be able to live in harmony with eachother.
Discord had managed to expel the blindness from his eyes, and he was now staring at the two sisters. They had their horns crossed together, and there was a powerful aura emanating from them. He knew he would be doomed if they were able to attack with it.
Not if I can help it, Discord thought, forming a ball of mass destruction in his paws.
Celestia knew her life would be over after this, but for now, she cried as she reminisced in her memories. She remembered the days when Twilight was still a little filly, cuddled under Celestia's wing as she read a book to her star pupil, she remembered when Twilight conducted a chemistry project and nearly blew up the castle, she remembered taking care of a filly Luna, her beautiful young eyes staring with admiration at her older sister, and she remembered first battling with Discord when she was at the peak of her power. There was just so much that had happened in Celestia's life. Unfortunately, the princess could not reminisce in all of it. Their attack was ready. Celestia opened her eyes, fresh tears flowing freely down her face. Goodbye, world. Fare you well.
Discord's energy ball grew larger still, but he ceased it's growth as he saw a strange light form around the two princesses. The power contained within was unfathomable. Discord knew this was the end of him, but he refused to go down without a fight. He launched the ball of energy at the sphere of power surrounding the two princesses. Yes, yes! Discord thought as the ball flew towards the energy sphere. His sense of triumph soon faded as the ball was bounced into the atmosphere harmlessly. Discord hoped it would hit a pegasus at least. A loud cracking sound drew Discord's attention back to the princesses. The sphere had begun to expand outward rapidly, destroying everything in it's wake. There were energy blasts being expelled from it, spiraling around as the ball swirled rapidly. Discord knew that he couldn't teleport far enough to get away quickly enough; so Discord closed his eyes and braced himself for death.
Celestia opened her eyes after the power faded from her horn. She felt so hollow and empty now. A weariness like no other consumed her body, and it felt like every bone in her body was broken. Celestia did not doubt that she was dying. Celestia searched for her sister, but the place where Luna's horn had joined hers was now nothing but a fading glimmer in the shape of a pony. Celestia surveyed the landscape. It was now ravaged and torn to bits. There was no doubt in Celestia's mind that Discord had been defeated. She could no longer feel his presence. She could die happily, knowing that the safety of Equestria was assured now that Discord was gone. Celestia smiled as she felt her hooves begin to fade. She knew that she would see her sister after she had moved on from this world.
Celestia now felt more of her body vanish, on it's way to the next world. Soon she would join the rest of her body. Sparkles began to rise up from beneath her as her body faded. Celestia knew that her time was up. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia shed another tear before she was gone from the world completely. The teardrop hit the ground quietly, marking the spot where the glorious Sun Princess had given her life for the good of her kingdom.
Chapter One: Brother and Sister
Sixteen years after Discord's defeat and the tragic losses of Equestria's previous rulers, we find ourselves in the barracks of Canterlot Castle. Shining Armor and Cadence now rule Equestria, and they have given life to two healthy unicorn ponies. Of course, the teenagers cannot resist the normal feelings that even the non-royal ponies have...
Clang! A Royal Guard clad in violet, spiky armor skid across the barrack's floor and crashed into a shelf lined with a variety of spears and battle-axes. The knight made an attempt to scramble to his hooves, but was pinned down by another's hoof that was pressing down firmly on the center of his breastplate. It wasn't really the hoof that was keeping the knight pinned down; it was the rapier that poked into his helmet, sharply stinging his nose.
"Well done, Master Shield." The knight commended from the ground. He held still as he spoke, preventing the rapier from scratching his nose any further. Prince Shining Shield pulled the rapier away, but his hoof remained in place.
"Muscles," he said, ignoring the compliment, "can you tell me where you wronged right now?" Shield asked. Muscles didn't dare to try and attempt to get back up yet.
"Yes. Somepony spent too much time polishing the floor, and unfortunately I failed to notice how slippery it was..." Muscles complained. Shining Shield laughed.
"I'm famished. Wanna go grab something to eat from the dining hall?" Shield asked his friend. Muscles shook his head.
"I can't. Obviously I need more practice." Muscles replied. Shining Shield turned to leave, but looked over his shoulder at his friend.
"Muscles... you are my best friend; do you know that?" Shield asked his friend, not waiting for an answer before turning back around and leaving through the barrack doors. Muscles stood still for a moment, evaluating what Master Shield had said. Sure he knew that they were best friends, but why would he mention it now?
* * *
Shield opened the doors leading into the dining hall, instantly regretting doing so. All eyes were on him as walked down the hall, stopping at a table filled with royal guards. Shield liked to think of these guards as his friends, but more than anything, he wanted their large frames to prevent any further attention on him. Of course, Shield had realized what a silly plan that had been when the guards turned their attention on him. "So, Shield... what's this I hear about you and Golden Blossom?" a guard finally asked. The rest of the bunch burst into obnoxious laughter.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Shield replied evenly. Despite his cool attitude, Shield began to feel himself flush.
"Aha! He's blushing, guys!" blurted the guard sitting across from Shield. Another round of laughter followed as Shield slammed his head down onto the table.
Couldn't I have just been a peasant?
* * *
Princess Amore Diamente (also known as Love Diamond) gazed out of her window longingly. Her object of interest was but a mile away, inside of a residency inside of Canterlot. Ever since the peasant had moved to Canterlot a few years ago, Princess Love Diamond could not help but stare at him. Everything about this peasant was appealing. From the time she had started watching him, Love Diamond could tell that he was hard-working, he was kind, and he was quite intelligent too. The Princess had studied on the magic of sight enhancement intensively, only because of this peasant. Yes, she was in love with him, but she did not even know his name. She often thought about sneaking out and meeting him, but she knew that her brother would have none of that. Love's thoughts were interrupted my the sound of hooves on her floor.
"Staring at peasants again, are we?" Shining Shield asked harshly. Love Diamond's eyes flared angrily.
"That is none of your business!" Love replied, taking a step toward her brother. "What are you doing in my room anyway?!" she asked. Shield shook his head.
"You know that you can't get with him, right? You may as well just shut that window and find something else to do. You can't just stare out of that window all day, sis." Shield finished.
"Oh yeah? Who's going to stop me?" Love asked, her horn glowing threateningly. Shield chuckled.
"Have you forgotten that I'm the one who is in the royal guard?" he asked.
"So? Have you spent hours upon hours studying magic in the library?" the Princess retaliated. Shield growled.
"I actually know offensive spells. I don't study books about stalking peasant ponies." the Prince answered smugly. Princess Love Diamond gasped with shock.
"How DARE you?!" she asked, firing off a bolt of magic from her horn. Shield quickly created a barrier that let the magic bounce out of the window harmlessly.
"Well I guess it's a good thing that you do stalk peasant ponies." Shield remarked, wondering how much trouble they would be in if the magic bolt had hit the window. Shield quickly regretted this remark as he realized that his sister's rage was not yet spent. Her horn glowed a harsh green color, and her fur had turned a dark color. Shield gasped. He had never seen his sister like this before. Thank the old Princess Celestia, Shield heard his name being called. This voice caused Love to turn back to normal, and her horn stopped glowing.
"What's all the fuss about?" asked Shining Armor, walking into his daughter's room. Although sixteen years had passed, the unicorn stallion still looked the same as long as Shining Shield had known him (A.K.A. his entire life).
"Hey, Dad." Shield greeted, giving his father a hug. Royal duties and guard training prevented Shield from seeing his father as often as he'd like to, but it was still enough to let the father and son have a strong bond created between them. Love, on the other hoof, was a different story entirely. She spent her days in her room, staring out of the window at the stupid peasant that she had fallen in love with, caring little about her family or anything having to do with the castle. Still though, she respected her father as much as everypony else in the kingdom.
"Dad, he just came in here and started whining about how I'm in love with a peasant. There is nothing wrong with that, is there?" Love asked.
"Of course there isn't, Flitty." Shining Armor responded. Flitty was the nickname given to Love after Shining Aromor had found out that his daughter's brain had been filled with thoughts of this peasant, and how whenever she thought about him, she would always flit about the castle all happy-like.
"See?" Love asked her brother, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Real mature, sis. Real mature." Shield replied.
"Knock it off, you two. I don't want any problems right now." Shining Armor grunted.
"Why? What's up?" asked Shield.
"I'm going to be gone for a few hours. Your mom was complaining about wanting a bigger mirror or something. She thinks that she's put on weight since she gave birth to you two, no matter how much I try to tell her that she is still sexy as she has always been." Shining Armor replied, causing the teens to facehoof.
"...Nice, Dad. Reeal nice..." said Shield. Shining Armor laughed loudly.
"Don't act like you don't have somepony that you're interested in!" retaliated Shining Armor. "I've heard the rumors about you and Golden Blossom!"
Shining Shield blushed. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about..."
"Don't lie to me, son. There is somepony for everypony. Now, excuse me, I should really be going. You two know how your mother is when she's angry." Shining Armor said, making a horrified face as he exited the room. Brother and Sister looked after their father for a few moments before Shining Shield spoke.
"I'm going to go see what Muscles is doing. See ya!" Shield said, exiting the room. Love sighed and walked back over to her window.
Soon, my love. Soon I will meet you at last...
* * *
Prince Blueblood paced his cell quietly. Sixteen years he had been in this dungeon of Tartarus, and sixteen years he had been planning a way to get out. The constant dripping of water from the ceiling was enough to drive a pony mad. Inside of the dungeons, there was nothing to do but think and listen. There was nothing to see, and taste was pretty much useless, unless you actually wanted to taste the garbage you were fed. Blueblood did not mind thinking, however. He often thought about how he had ended up in this dreaded dungeon.
"Traitor!" called a royal guard outside of Blueblood's cell. Blueblood looked toward the guard, who had shoved some food underneath the cell door. Mold was growing on the food, and its reek could be smelled from a mile away.
"This should keep your trap shut for a while, huh?" the guard taunted. Blueblood had made a habit of trying to annoy the guards as much as possible by being boisterous and stupid. He would always yell obscene comments from his cell and get the guards pissed. While this was sometimes a bad thing for Blueblood, the rest of the dungeon criminals had thought it hilarious. The guards of these dungeons weren't too bright; they often fell asleep on the job, leaving Blueblood and the rest of the convicts free to discuss plans and stuff. Some of the ponies had been there from the time Blueblood got there, and others had been dragged in over the years. But all of the ponies had been conspiring to break free since Blueblood had been there.
"Damn, your cell stinks!" the guard yelled at the pony across from Blueblood. The guard then continued back to the front of the dungeon.
"Mach!" Blueblood whispered after the guard had left. The pony contained in the cell across from Blueblood got up and walked to the front of the cell.
"What?" he whispered back. Blueblood looked around cautiously before continuing.
"That was the dinner round. Another hour and they'll come back to check on us. Is it ready?" Blueblood asked. Mach nodded his head.
"Good." Blueblood responded. The guards placed an anti-magic collar on each of the unicorns before locking them up, but a miniscule amount of magic could still be used. For sixteen years, Blueblood and Mach had been hatching a plan that was sure to get them out of this dungeon. Blueblood had placed a spell on Mach that made his sense of smell very weak. The two villains had been slowly massing their food into little spheres over the years, hiding them under their mattresses and pillows. Sure it was disgusting, but how else could they get out? Blueblood had coated each of the spheres with a thin barrier. As soon as the barrier broke... Blueblood just chuckled thinking about it. The putrid fumes of the food was enough to kill a pony, but Blueblood knew that the guards would find some kind of defense against it.
Blueblood looked down at the cell door. All of the water that had been dripping from the ceiling was being put to good use. Blueblood would gather the water from the ground and splash it on the cell bars each day. Common sense didn't disappoint, and rust had been forming on the bars for years, making them brittle. Prince Blueblood gave a devilish smile.
Sixteen years he had been confined, but in less than an hour, he would be free.
