Discord Daze

Chapter 2: Refugees

"Hey, wake up." Starry blinks, eyes opening up to the beautiful mare. She kisses him on his muzzle, just over his nose and then gets herself up. The first light of day begins to shine past the distant hills to the east, creating long shadows from everything it touches. "Time to wake up, sleepy head." As she rises, the mare puts her cloak back on, hiding away her dark blue coat, and her mane.

"What?" he mutters as he stirs from his sleep. He shifts around, rolling onto his belly, and slowly lifts himself up off of the ground. He reels back a little as the sun shines on his face, and turns his head as he lets out a yawn. "Moonlight," he mutters softly as she starts to trot away from him.

"Yes?" she says as she stops, and turns to face him again.

"Good morning," he says, a grin coming over him, "I love you."

"I love you too. Good-bye."

"Bye."

I hate saying good-bye like this.

After she leaves, walking back through the city gates and past the buildings, Starry Knight flies into the air, staying low as he heads back to his house in the city. During his flight, however, he notices a long line of ponies, earth ponies, pegasi, and a few unicorns, and decides to investigate. Flying towards the front of the line, he lands, touching down in a city square before the gates of the castle.

Upon further inspection, he discovers that these are a mix of war ponies, and civilians, all wearing thick, tattered clothing, carrying satchels of personal belongings, and looking worn and tired. The soldiers are even worse—beaten, bruised, wounded, but what seems worse than anything, a miserable look of defeat and hopelessness about them. All of the soldiers bore insignia of the different regions of the Northern Kingdom.

"You there," he asks a heavily armored alicorn guard escorting them, "What's all this about?"

Recognizing him, the guard steps closer upon being called out, and removes his helmet, clipping it to a saddle. "Northerners, sir, all of them. Fleeing to the safety of our great nation from the wrath of our common enemy."

He says common enemy as if we're lifting a hoof to help fight.

"Where are they going?"

"Well, to the king, sir," the guard replies, a very formal tone.

"Starry," a voice calls out as a hoof places itself on Starry's shoulder. He turns to see the prince addressing him. "Starry, We need you in the council chambers. We checked your house, but you didn't answer. Where have you been all night?"

"Sorry," he says, cutting off the line of thought as soon as he could, "I must be a heavier sleeper than I thought. I'll head straight there."

"Then come with me," he says, "I'm sure you already have some idea of what this is all about."

"Try not to be so naive," an advisor spoke directly to another within the court as Starry arrived, "Where will they stay? Who will feed them? We don't have the resources to take them all in."

"We don't have the resources?" a younger stallion spoke back, "Look at us. We're at our most prosperous in several generations. You can't seriously sit here in this marble palace, eating exotic fruits and drinking the finest wine, and say that we don't have the resources."

As Starry trotted into the large room, he stopped, and looked at the throne. Not a single member of the royal family was present. "Where's the King?"

The entire panel of advisors stopped talking, and turned to the new arrivals, Prince Silvercoat, and Starry Knight, as they came in. "The commander asked you a question, gentelcolts," the prince says in a rather snarky tone to the panel, "And... of course, gentlemares as well. I do too wonder, where is my father in this most . . . pressing hour?"

"The King was not feeling himself, this morning," another advisor spoke, "And as such, this council has the authority of law, since neither the King nor the Queen are present here."

"Well, I'm here now," the prince says, taking a seat on his father's throne, "So I think that makes me in charge. Starry, brother-to-be, what's your take in this matter?"

The prince hated the entire council. This put me in a tricky spot.

"Well," he says, thinking for a few seconds, "I think that we have some blood on our hooves, here." The council doesn't seem to like that, they immediately begin to protest all at once.

"Quiet." The prince hushes the council as they argue. "I want to hear what our commander has to say."

"I hate to say it, but it's something we've got to address. Last night, we heard a plea for help from an earth pony, who told us that something like this would happen. The king ended the meeting prematurely, and now, we have to deal with the consequences. Our armies would have been more than capable of defending at least one or two towns in the Northern Kingdom. With our aid, we might have been celebrating a victory right now. But instead, they have suffered a terrible defeat, and now they merely seek refuge from their foe. Their towns being destroyed, their brethren being slain . . . we could have stopped that."

"Sir," the oldest advisor turns to face the prince, who was lounging, nonchalant, in the throne, "This hardly the time to let any feelings of guilt cloud our judgment. Yes, we might have won that battle, but how many more after? The war against Discord never ends. We can only protect our own kingdom."

"Well, council-members," the prince says as he gets up, "If we can indeed protect this kingdom, then I don't think that we have any reason to send these northerners away, since to do so would be to send them to their deaths. So you have my ruling on that matter, at the very least. Now, we do have quite a surplus of resources, and oh, yes, our magic. I'm sure that you will have no trouble at all deciding amongst yourselves how we will aide our guests in the times to come."

After speaking, the council didn't retort. The prince got up, and trotted away, Starry Knight following close behind. "So are we going to see what's wrong with your father, then?"

"No," he says, "He's fine, I slipped him a small amount of Wilt Flower Nector before he went to bed."

"And that would be . . . "

"Oh, well, if you drink a lot, it will kill you. But the amount I gave him is simply meant to keep one asleep for extended periods of time."

"Wait, so if you knew he wasn't going to be here, then why did you need me?"

"Two reasons," the prince explains with a cunning smile, "One, because if this all goes awry, I can blame your bad advice, and two, to show you that I have ways of seizing power if I really want to."

Starry Knight stops, and the prince keeps on going through the castle halls. He then decides to let that one go, and turns to leave.

It's true, the prince can be a cunning, two-faced stallion, but at least he tries to do what he thinks is right, as long as he sees it as no threat to himself. The king would have been likely turned the northerners down.

Suddenly, Starry Knight is attacked, being grappled from behind and held tight by the most fearsome thing imaginable. A creature with soft, white fur, and a brilliant peach mane has gotten a hold of him, and now threatens to drain his blood like a vampire as her lips press to his neck. "Mwah. Hi Starry."

"Hello, Crystal." After she squeezes him, she lets go, and Starry turns to face her. A smile comes across his face, and he gets a glimpse of their future together, what she looks like after waking up in the morning, before she's pampered, combed, and only she knows what else. The real her, which is a rare sight for royalty. "You look stunning," he says to her.

I never said she wasn't attractive. I'm just in love with somepony else.

"Oh stop it," she says with a giggle, playfully punching him in the shoulder with her hoof, "I haven't even done my mane yet."

"I mean it," he says back, a moment of sincerity, "You look beautiful. I can only imagine what every morning will be like waking up next to you."

Rather dumbfound by the compliment, she blushes, and leans in to give his cheek a loving peck, her lips pursing and pressing against him. "Thank you," she says with a smile, and then snaps back to the moment, away from that point of love, frozen in time. "Six more days and you will."

"Days?" he says, joking with her, "It's just days now? Yesterday I still had a whole week."

Somepony save me, or else soon I'll have two loves.

Crystal Clear giggles and pushes at him. "Oh stop it," she says, a bit more sincere in her request this time.

"Alright," he says, pulling her into a hug, and kissing her back on the cheek. "Six days, though . . . I hope we can have a proper wedding with all of this craziness going on."

"What craziness?"

He pulls back from her and blinks at her. "Oh right," he says, pressing a hoof to his face, "You just woke up . . . Last night, Discord made his move against the last of the Northern Kingdom. The survivors have come here for refuge."

"Dad agreed to that?" she blinks at him as he starts to continue down the hall.

"No, your brother did," he says as he waves a hoof good-bye, "And he's pinning it on me if anything goes wrong. I've got to help them sort everything out."

"He's a bastard."

"That'd make things a lot easier on me, but as luck would have it, no, he's not a bastard."

"Bye!"

"See you soon."

"I love you," Crystal's last words echo, but never return to her. She sighs and goes back into her room, getting along with her morning affairs.

When Starry goes back into the court, it's flooded with northern ponies, guards, and a council of advisors that didn't know how to deal with them. He lets out a slow, calming breath as he looks at the crowd and enters the room. Before he gets far, an earth pony approached him, Iron Sword.

"Sir," he says, "I heard what you did. Thank you."

If I'm going to take the fall for this, I'm going to take the credit too.

"You're welcome. Just . . . trying to do what's right." The room is a stir of voices and rambling. "Alright, everypony," he says, trying to get attention but fails. His horn lights up, and then a loud, screeching sound is heard through the room, silencing everypony. "Alright!" he says as he clears his throat. "No doubt you are all in a desperate situation, but please stay calm, we're doing everything we can now to help you. Now, the council, and the prince himself will see fit to blame me for any problems that you bring here, so you are all my responsibility. We may have food, and water for you, but as of right now, we don't have shelter, and I'm pretty sure that the civilians of this great kingdom are going to be rather cross if we force them to share. So, here's the plan: Every single pony in this room that is able to work, will work. You'll start by building your own shelter. There's no room inside the city walls, but I assure you, it is just as safe outside, and that's where you will start building. Meanwhile, I will have the city guard look for volunteers to assist you, feed you, and perhaps even offer up a place for you in their home. The only thing that I want from this council," he turns to face the advisors, "is assistance in planning the construction that will take place, and organizing volunteers. I'm sure that you are all hungry and tired. I want to remind the council that the castle food stores are more than sufficient to feed the entire city for a single night, and therefore, there is plenty for you all to eat... at least until you can start producing food on your own, or buying it from local markets. The grounds are also safe, and fairly large, so as long as nopony sleeps in the hallways, you should be able to rest here."

After that, Starry Knight keeps on moving, and leaves the court, going out of the castle and into the city to assemble some of the guard. Iron Sword follows him, and catches up after a short while of pushing through the crowds. "Commander," he says as he gets his attention.

"Yes?" he says, turning to him.

"I don't remember if I got your name."

"Starry Knight, can I help you?"

"Actually, I was about to ask the same thing."

"What, you didn't hear the speech?"

"No, no, I heard. I just want to return the favor somehow."

"Look," Starry says as they walk out into the castle grounds, "I know you think it's a big deal, but it really isn't. Trust me on this, the best way you can help me is to forget about it."

Iron Sword stops as Starry keeps on going. "Umm, okay, sure. Whatever you say, mister. I owe you one though . . . any time!"

"The topic, gentlecolts, is Discord," an armor clad pony says from his seat at a large, round table. He is a light gray alicorn, with a series of scars over his left eye, and he is much more highly decorated than Starry Knight, who sits a few seats away in a chair of less importance. "How do we kill him?"

Everyone sits in silence. Nopony can think of anything.

"I hate to disappoint, General." Silvercoat speaks up. "But we don't know. Nopony knows."

"Our weapons cannot cut him; no physical force can hurt him," another officer says in response, "Magic seems to be the only option."

"Haven't we tried to use our magic against him already?" the prince replies.

"Yes, but maybe it just wasn't enough."

"I know who might be powerful enough to stop him," a third officer says.

"Who?" the general asks him.

"Harmony."

Starry Knight rolls his eyes at the notion, and the reaction of all of the other officers doesn't seem very enthusiastic either.

"Get real," the prince says, chiming in again, "Harmony hasn't been around in hundreds of years." After he speaks, he gets up from the table and heads toward the door. "If you'll excuse me gentlecolts, but this is just a waste of time."

"We have the Sunraisers," Starry says, "It's a stretch, but they fight Discord's power with their magic every day, and the Moonbringer's every night. It might be a good place to start."

After nopony else says anything, the General rolls his eyes and gets up. "Fine," he says, "Go talk to the pansies and see if they're any help. Everypony else start recruiting extra soldiers, we need to strengthen our defenses in case Discord does come here."

As everypony leaves, Starry glances at the middle of the table. At its center is a single, large sword sheathed within its oaken construction. The sword's hilt is bright white, like marble, and embedded with gold-set, bright pink jewel, formed in the shape of a heart. There is an engraving on the silvery blade, though the letters are indiscernible.

A forgotten weapon. It was once wielded by a righteous king. The old engravings read "The Greatest Weapon." I only know about it because my father told me, and my father's father told him.

"Ahh, Starry," the voice of an older pony speaks as Starry Knight walks into a large, marble room. The room is adorned with great columns and in the center lies a marble statue of an alicorn. "It's been too long."

"Sir Daycaster," Starry says as he trots up to a marble altar before the statue. The alicorn that stood there was tall and white with bright, yellow eyes and a pale yellow mane.

Daycaster isn't his real name, but nopony calls him by his real name anymore—not his friends, not himself, not his mother; nopony—He is one of the Sunraisers, a society of very powerful alicorns responsible for managing the sun for ages and ages.

"I don't suppose you've come to make amends with the Paragons."

"You know me," Starry says as he eyes the statue, wearily staring at it out of the corner of his eye as he turns towards the other pony, "I've never been one for religion."

The Paragons—the great guardians. There's hundreds of stories about them, but the last Paragon disappeared hundreds of years ago and nopony's seen one since. The Paragon of Magic is who made the alicorns powerful, and the one who taught us how to take control of nature against Discord.

"Harmony and Prosperity are still with us, with the kingdom. But if you didn't come here for that, then why are you here?"

"You were my mentor for a very long time," Starry responds, "And being a Sunraiser, you have experience fighting against Discord's magic, personally."

"So what is it that you're asking of me?"

"Do you think he can really be defeated? Is there any hope for us to take the battle to him?"

"You come here looking for hope, but you have no faith. So for you, there is none."

"I hate it when you talk like that. Just tell me: What would it take?"

"Discord is said to be our kingdom's worst enemy, because he is the opposite of all of our values."

"Yea, I get it, discord is the opposite of harmony. But you have to be honest about us. We don't exactly exemplify our virtues."

"Discord is not the opposite of harmony, Starry. Discord is what happens when you take the principles of harmony, and twist them, and corrupt them the way that this kingdom has done. Discord himself may not reign over us, but we are certainly a kingdom in discord."

"Okay, but do we stand a chance? Can we fight Discord?"

"Think, Starry. How do we fight the discord that plagues our kingdom?"

Starry sighs, and rolls his eyes. "I suppose we would start by breaking the essence of harmony down into its basic elements, whatever those might be. But I don't see how—"

"What makes a kingdom harmonious?" Daycaster interrupts him.

"Well, magic's pretty helpful. We got that part down."

"Good. What else?"

"We sure could use a figurehead that we could actually look up to. A good king, for once."

"Then what makes a good king?"

"They'd have to be kind and generous. A royal family that isn't stabbing each other in the back would be helpful . . . And it'd also help if they were honest with their people. So, can you tell me if we can fight Discord now?"

"Don't think of Discord as some powerful, maniacal monster. Think of him as simply discord. A small problem creating bigger problems. Start by rooting out the smaller problems. If we can't deal with the discord in our own kingdom, then what hope do we have of fighting the one and only Discord?"

"So you don't think it's possible?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if our kingdom returns to harmony, maybe Harmony will return to us."

With a sigh, Starry turned and left the room. Behind him, Daycaster simply shook his head and turned to go the other way.

After leaving, Starry flies from the temple and through the city. He lands in some obscure area and trots to another, staying out of sight as much as possible. Finally, he comes to a secret place where he waits for his lover to meet him again. "Moonlight," he says as he trots toward her to give her a gentle kiss to the lips. "Things are crazy."

"I know," she says as she pulls the hood of her cloak down. "It won't change your plans will it?"

"I wouldn't miss you for the world."

With a blush, the dark mare leans in to kiss him back, and they trot into the dark where they enjoy the night with each other, and split as soon as the sun rises. And Starry never goes home to sleep.