Sacrifice (Pegasus Knights Face a Dragon)
Sacrifice
by Mystic
Hot rain buffeted the cliff face in endless sheets, a veritable wall of water that showed no sign of easing. It steamed against rocks that were kept cool by the core of ice that gave the Crystal Mountains their name. This in itself was cause for concern; the rain in the Crystal Mountains was always icy to the point of sleet.
Hot rain could only mean one thing.
There was a dragon in the summits.
Two pegasi huddled in the shadow of a gargantuan boulder, holding their thick winter cloaks tight against their bodies to keep out the rain. Their search for better shelter had been brought to a standstill by the night’s onset, and so they waited in silence, projecting their discomfort towards the slosh of mud at their hooves.
Even in the dark and the rain, their tall spears could be seen lying on top of their packs, elevated to keep the metal tips off the ground. Their worn armour rested in their saddlebags, also in an attempt to keep them as dry as possible. They had few personal items or effects to show who they really were. Only the old knight had his secrets with him. Resting on his chest was a thin silver chain, one that was tied to a feather the colour of a perfect summer sky.
These pegasi were warriors, a knight of the realm and his squire, chosen by their commander for a task that none other had the courage to do, or so they were told.
They were going to slay the dragon of Silver Peak.
The knight looked at his squire, a young thing, a mare barely older than his own daughter had been. She shrunk against the rock, staring at the rain with misery in her eyes.
“It is just rain, Cirrus,” he said, his voice as rough as weather-beaten peaks. “Nothing more.”
The squire looked up, frowning. “The heat makes me sweat, sir.”
The knight’s name was Kite. He was a veteran of more conflicts than he dared to count, all served without question or hesitation. Each battle had left him with a scar, and each of those carried a story that few bothered to hear nowadays. He looked upon his charge sternly, like a school teacher to a misbehaving pupil. “Carry your burdens with silence and strength. There is nothing to be gained by voicing them to the rain.”
The squire nodded, her eyes betraying her reservations. “Yes, sir.”
“It is giving up the little things that makes us strong.”
The squire nodded again. “Yes, sir.”
They slept little that night, the rain providing a constant drumming that pounded away at their subconscious. When both the knight and the squire closed their eyes, their dreams were filled with dragons and high mountains.
The rising of the sun saw the rain degrade into a swirling drizzle, one that slowly seeped into a pony’s clothes, chilling them to their core before they even realised they were wet.
Both the knight and the squire rose without words, shouldering their packs and weapons before continuing their climb. Even with the constant blanket of thick cloud lingering over their heads, the dragon’s smoke could be seen polluting the air in a constant stream of poison. The knight knew that it was the smoke that was responsible for the unplanned rains, the water so dirty that it left grit in their clothes and mane.
They passed through a forest of tall pines. Their branches glistened with the droplets clinging to the pine needles. The air was warm and humid, filled with the musk of earth and rain. The pegasi were following an ancient path cut into the undergrowth. The path was narrow and assaulted on both sides by vegetation, but it refused to fade away completely from the mountain. Up and up it went, the fertile valley sprawling out behind them as far as the eye could see.
At midday, they stopped for lunch. Neither of them said a word as they ate, and when they finished, they slung on their saddlebags before resuming their journey.
The squire grew restless as the day dragged by. She wanted to fly, for she was not accustomed to walking for such long periods. They had already had this discussion, though, so she stayed silent. They weren’t flying because the dragon was watching the skies, Kite had told her.
Why that meant they couldn’t fly up through the tree cover or just above the ground, the squire wasn’t sure. But while her teacher was strange in his methods, he was flawless with his results, so she kept her thoughts to herself––not that she would be allowed to say anything, regardless. She kicked a branch in frustration, and it snapped under the force of the blow. The sound echoed loudly in the empty forest, and Cirrus winced at the noise.
Kite nickered in annoyance. “You are too loud,” he said.
The squire looked up at the old knight. “There is nothing to hear us.”
The knight shook his head. “You think there is nothing to here us.”
Cirrus looked around, confused. They hadn’t seen a sign of a single living thing all day. Or the last. Unless he was talking about the dragon...
Kite sighed. “You must learn to be a knight of the realm, and that demands that you act like one at all times. The knights today are loud and brash and they care only for glory, but they are proud fools because of it. Stay quiet and out of the way, and do not hunt for everypony’s gazes. You must learn these old ways, for who else will take up the banner of our people and protect them from the evils of the world? We succeed because we stay true to who we are, no matter the burden.”
Cirrus nodded her head and returned her attention back to the ground. She heard the knight sigh gently behind her for a second time.
High above, lost somewhere in the perpetual shroud of cloud and smoke, the sky trembled as a growl rippled through the air.
They stopped early in the twilight hours, the misty rain stealing all of the sun’s glory, robbing the earth from its beautiful orange hues. Instead, the world was a sewer of cold greys and browns, the very air waterlogged. They found a small cave set into the rock face, only a handful of miles from the mountain’s peak. It was cramped and dark, and filled with loose rubble, but it was also dry and hidden from the mountain’s summit.
Tomorrow they would reach the dragon’s resting place. Tomorrow they would slay him.
The squire lit up a small fire and cooked a watery soup, but the knight did not complain when eating it. Afterwards, the two ponies wrapped their cloaks around their bodies and watched the fire in silence, waiting for sleep to come to them.
Neither of them would say it, but their minds wrestled uncomfortably at the thought of their task tomorrow. The dragon of Silver Peak was a dragon unlike any they had seen before, and he was well known for his speed and fury.
Cirrus ran her tongue over her teeth, her wings shifting and twitching constantly against her sides. Kite reached up aimlessly every few minutes and touched the feather around his chest, almost as if to reassure himself it was still there.
The knight broke the silence first. “Do you know what happened the last time a dragon threatened our home?”
The squire shook her head, not looking away from the golden flames.
“Dolarg the Vile was his name. Longer than the grand temple is high and stronger than all the knights in the land combined. His scales were the colour of fresh blood, and so it was impossible to tell if he had been wounded.”
“And yet you killed him.”
“Yes, I did. We lost many and much that day, but eventually he fell. It was a conquest many sacrificed their lives for.”
“And we shall kill the dragon of Silver Peak.”
“Will we, now?”
The squire looked up, frowning.
The knight sighed. “The land is breaking apart, Cirrus. The pony races are fracturing and each of them is weaker because of it. Once we would have sent an army against this dragon. Now the Commander watches the borders with fear and ignores the real threats in the mountains.”
“But you are the best, sir. You are Kite Goldenspear. The pony who has laid waste to more dragons than any other.”
Kite sighed, his eyes reflecting the flickering firelight. Never before had he looked so old to his squire. “I am only one pony, Cirrus. The empire asks much, and as her knight I obey without question. But I am only one pony. And if we fail, and the dragon of Silver Peak is allowed to raze more settlements unchecked, I do not think our empire will recover.”
Cirrus was silent, too shocked to say anything else.
“There is much to fight for, though tomorrow we will find out exactly what is required of us. Let us hope that our courage is enough.” With that, the old pony lowered his head onto his saddle bag, shifting the things around inside to make it more comfortable, and closed his eyes.
Cirrus stayed up for almost half an hour. She couldn’t find the will to sleep. Her mind refused to settle, and her thoughts were awash with doubt.
The fire had burned itself down to its dying embers before the mare finally lowered her head.
The rain had let up come morning. The clouds still brooded in the sky, however, dark and threatening, just waiting for a chance to let loose upon the land again. The two ponies rose early, both of them flooded with the realisation that what they were about to do was actually happening. They ate the small amount their churning stomachs allowed before setting off, leaving all of their non-essential supplies in the cave. Kite had said that they would need everything intact for the return journey.
The knight paused at the mouth of the cave, before turning around and slipping the feather off his neck and placing it on top of his saddlebag. He looked at it for a long time before retreating and walking away. Cirrus didn’t ask about it, and Kite offered no explanation.
The last hour of their trek passed in complete silence. Both of them had donned their armour, dull silver plates of steel that failed to catch or reflect any of the weak sunlight. Their spears were strapped to their sides, and their hooves encased in thick metal shoes. On each of their brows was a helmet, a traditional pegasus piece with a crest of red feathers.
Finally, on each of their chests was the symbol of their empire, a reminder to both ponies of their responsibilities and their duty.
At last, they came to the cave’s entrance. The opening was as large as two of the royal unicorn castles stacked on top of each other and as dark as pitch. It was the gaping maw of the mountain, and any who dared entered were swallowed up the second they crossed the threshold.
The earth rumbled when the dragon inside grunted, and a fresh plume of smoke billowed out and into the air, the winds already directing it towards the fertile valley.
Kite took a deep breath. Cirrus followed suit. Together, they stood in front of the cave, not moving, just waiting for something neither of them could name.
“Remember all you have learned,” Kite said.
“I will.”
“For we are the shield bearers of our great empire. We are the defence of its ponies, and the strength in its spirit.”
“On strong winds,” Cirrus said, reciting the words from memory.
“And a clear sky.” Kite nodded. “Have no fear. No matter what, a sun rises tomorrow,” he whispered, more to himself than to Cirrus.
The pair stepped forward, each moment bringing them closer to the cave.
The threshold to the cave was the beginning of the stone floor, and their hoofsteps echoed loudly upon reaching it. Wasting little time, they rushed forward, heading deeper into the cave.
The floor trembled with a steady rhythm, and Cirrus realised that it must be the dragon breathing. She inhaled deeply and willed herself to have strength like her teacher.
There was a bend in the cave, a place where the ceiling was its highest. The vaulted roof stretched out into nothing, supported by a single stone pillar that wearily carried the weight of the entire mountain, the support wrought with a labyrinth of cracks. The crumbling tower disappeared into the darkness, too high to make out the top. It didn’t look natural to Cirrus, but it looked too decrepit and mismatched to be anything pony-made.
Kite motioned for them to stop. A faint glow could be seen around the bend, and Cirrus knew that the dragon must be close. Only dragon-gold and fire could make that kind of yellow light.
The old knight took out several torches from his pack, and with Cirrus’ help they lit them and spread them around the cave. With the light provided from the brightly burning makeshift lamps, the pair could finally see the ceiling, twisted with a myriad of cracks that looked like gashes––battle scars from the aging mountain’s war with time. The entire roof seemed to bulge downwards onto the pillar, almost as if it was too tired to carry its own weight.
With this done, Kite slowly unhitched his spear from his side. He hovered in place, using his wings for the first time in two days, and held the weapon close to his body. Cirrus quickly followed his lead, the thrill of flying banishing her fear for just a moment.
And then the ground rumbled, smoke crawling along the ceiling and obscuring the roof once more.
Kite smiled, his eyes veiled with sadness. “One last time.”
Cirrus didn’t ask what he meant.
And then he turned to the mare, his odd smile still in place. “Stay out of trouble.”
Cirrus nodded, more than a little confused. But again, she didn’t say anything.
With nothing more to say, they moved around the bend, determination steeling their nerves and lending strength to their wings. They were alone in the cave, yet the hope that somewhere, somepony back home was relying on them lent them all the courage they needed.
They stepped out from the corner, and they saw him.
The dragon was curled up on a pile of gold so large that it could put the unicorn treasuries to shame. It sparkled alluringly with the light thrown from ever-burning fires set around the furthest edges of the cave. The dragon shifted, and small avalanches of golden coins tumbled down onto the floor, tinkling quietly.
The dragon himself was the colour of rust, a sickly, mottled orange colour. He was well over sixty feet long, his tapered spines glinting, and his long tail curled around his body catlike.
Both ponies moved forward, daring to hope that the dragon was properly asleep and oblivious to the outside world.
The dragon opened his eyes, and both ponies froze. “Trespassers,” he growled with a voice that was as deep as a well. “Mmhm. Trespassers with armour and spears. But only two. Now that is strange.”
Kite flared himself up, his face a snarl of defiance. “You pillage a town only to cover our lands in darkness and poison! You are the trespasser to these lands!”
“These lands belong to no one. You claim what you do not control, and you are naive because of it. These lands were mine before you ponies could talk. They are still mine.”
“And you kill innocent ponies and destroy their homes. You invade these lands, and I cannot let you do this.”
“Oh? And so they send two ponies at me?” The dragon laughed, sending tremors through the ground and sparking more landslides of gold. “You are fools.”
Kite’s eyes narrowed, his position unchanging. “I will see you expelled from these lands or destroyed. That is my oath, and I will see it through no matter the end.”
The dragon began to move. He uncoiled himself from his pile, almost doubling in height as he stood up, his wings spreading wide. He snarled, thick smoke pouring out and up into the cave roof. “And you will die, pony fool. For that is my oath.”
Kite lowered his head. “If that is my fate, then so be it.” And then, with a wordless cry, he attacked.
He darted forward on his strong wings, keeping his body low to the ground. Cirrus was only a heartbeat behind him, though a little to his right. The dragon roared, almost in surprise at the sight of two lone ponies charging headfirst at him, a veteran of the Timeless Wars. He reared back onto his back legs and inhaled deeply before exhaling a sheet of flame that screamed as it seared the air. Kite swerved, the blast of flame missing him completely, though Cirrus could feel the blazing heat singe her mane and tail.
Before the dragon could move again, Kite twirled upwards, his spear held tightly in his grip. He darted for the dragon’s head, his face a grimace of determination. Though his foe tried to twist out the way, Kite was too fast, and his spear struck the underside of the dragon’s mouth with enough force to pierce steel.
Dragon scales, however, are not steel, and the dragon of Silver Peak had scales that had sent away star metal weapons. The spears of the pegasus empire were a laughable comparison.
The weapon turned, skating along the dragon’s skin, scoring his scales but drawing no blood. Unable to turn his momentum in time, Kite slammed into the dragon, only to fall back down like a stone. The dragon struck out with a claw, clipping the pegasus and sending him sprawling to the ground where he landed heavily, blood seeping from a gash on his chest.
Cirrus cried out, racing to her teacher’s side in heartbeat. Kite struggled to his hooves, grunting with the effort, trying to move out the way of the expected blast of flame that would be sure to follow.
Only it never came.
The dragon laughed loudly, a full body laugh that sent streamers of dust spiralling down from the roof of the cave. He laughed, yet said no words, content to let his mirth alone suck the courage from Cirrus’ veins.
Kite flapped his wings, moving himself shakily into the air. Cirrus moved over and grabbed her master’s spear, handing it to him with more than a little hesitation. The old knight glared at her until his weapon was firmly back in his hooves.
Never give up, his gaze said, and that’s all it needed to say.
With another cry, this one much weaker than the first, Kite charged again.
Cirrus looked around, helplessness creeping along her spine and poisoning her thoughts. She was meant to be fighting; she should have been by her teacher’s side, till death or glory and nothing else.
Yet she stayed firmly on the ground, her spear hanging limply in the grip of one of her hooves.
Kite moved like a dancer, dodging the flying tail directed to crush his body, and moving up to strike again with his spear. This time he was aiming for the dragon’s eyes, though blast of flame forced him away before he could reach. The dragon lashed out with a claw, the limb striking the wall with an explosion of stone and dust. Spiderweb-like cracks spread into existence all around the cave, followed by streams of loose debris.
Cirrus nearly gasped. Inspiration driven by nothing short of desperation burst into life, and she dashed off, pushing her wings as hard as they could go. Kite seemed to spot her, pausing mid-flight to stare at her in shock, almost being burnt alive in payment.
Cirrus reached the pillar, looking up and down its tired length. Some of the cracks were the size of a pony’s hoof, and the entire thing seemed to lean a little to the right. She bucked the rock as hard as she could, hoping against hope for a miracle and that the stone would break.
The pillar didn’t change in the slightest.
Cirrus could almost feel the belief in her heart dying. There was a roar and she looked up just in time to see Kite being thrown backwards once again, his wing crumpled and smeared in blood. He skidded along the ground, landing nearby in a limp pile.
His squire was by his side in seconds. He coughed and spat blood on the ground, again trying unsuccessfully to move to his hooves.
“I’m sorry! I couldn’t fight! I couldn’t do it!” Cirrus cried out, holding her teacher tightly. The dragon laughed, lowering himself down to all fours and slowly lumbering over.
Kite looked at her directly in the eyes. “Run.”
Cirrus froze, not comprehending what he had just said.
“I said run.”
“B-but why?”
“Because of the pillar. We do not have the strength. I saw you. But I know how. I want you to leave, Cirrus. Somepony has to leave.” Kite groaned, his wing hanging uselessly by his side.
Tears began to burn at the corner of Cirrus’ eyes. “I don’t understand!”
“I said run!” The knight screamed, finally forcing himself to his hooves and pushing her towards the cave entrance. The dragon was almost upon them, a smirk smeared across his face.
“But––”
“Remember what I have taught you! Remember who you are and who I am! Do as you are told and run! Be brave and do not fail me with this!”
“I…” Cirrus’ hooves refused to move. They felt far heavier than she remembered, and her mind stalled, unable to process what she was being told.
“Fly!”
Finally, she moved. She flew down the cave as fast she could, her heart pounding in her chest and her eyes burning. Her lungs felt tight and she struggled to breathe. She looked over her shoulder once to see Kite running from the dragon, screaming with a voice that echoed in the dark.
“Kill me you honourless worm! Find your strength and kill me!”
Cirrus couldn’t hold back the tears. The dragon roared, and the cave grew brighter as sheets of fire filled the air. Kite’s laughter echoed loudly.
The dragon screamed, and there was an ear-shattering explosion, the sound of rock being rent apart and shattered into a thousand pieces. The very mountain itself moaned in pain, and the ceiling began to shake as if caught in an earthquake. Stones fell from the roof like hail, shattering around Cirrus with loud cracks.
Daylight was just in front of her. It filled her vision and beckoned her home. Only, the mountain had plans of its own. The earth was shaking so fiercely that she almost lost her bearings, and the sound of an entire peak collapsing on itself was so loud that it threatened to destroy everything and swallow Cirrus whole. The noise grew louder and louder with each passing second, catching up to the pony like a lion chasing its prey.
But the light was closer. Cirrus burst from the cave and flew straight towards the sky, the vast openness euphoric in its freedom. A wave of dust and stones flew after her, but she was too fast, shooting up and out of harm’s way. She cried out in joy, gliding down the mountain, her body shaking with adrenalin.
She was free. She was free and she was alive. The cave was sealed completely, a still-shifting wall of rubble the only sign of it now. The dragon of Silver Peak was crushed and the empire would now be safe.
And Kite was gone.
Cirrus landed clumsily, her hooves shaking violently. She sank to her haunches, trying to gulp down large breaths. Her whole body felt numb, and her lungs ached. Cirrus rocked backwards and forwards like a small foal, unable to stop the shaking.
The clouds finally broke, weeping cold rain that chilled Cirrus to the bone despite her pegasus blood. She shivered violently, her mane plastering to her face and her tail mixing with the mud.
Eventually, necessity begged her to get up. She did so slowly, her hooves slipping on the wet undergrowth, sending her stumbling like a foal learning to walk. The cave with their belongings beckoned her onwards, the promise of warmth and shelter calling to her.
All she wanted was to just stop moving.
Cirrus reached the cave sometime later, her body shaking and her vision blurred, whether from tears or the rain, she wasn’t sure. She stumbled inside, desperate to reach their saddlebags and the blankets inside.
She fumbled with the strap for a moment before stopping abruptly when her lips touched something soft. She moved her head back, finding herself staring at Kite’s feather, the little blue primary glistening with the water that had fallen from her mane. The feather was about to slip from the pack, its silver chain dragging it down towards the dirt.
Cirrus reached out with a hoof and stopped it at the last moment, the feather dangling in the air. The pegasus stared at it for what felt like a lifetime, unable, unwilling, to move. Her fear was that by touching his feather, she was somehow being disrespectful to whatever memory it was that he carried with him, as if she was insulting him.
I want you to leave, Cirrus. Somepony has to leave.
Kite’s words replayed in her head, struggling to make themselves heard in amongst the doubt, the fear, and the overwhelming tiredness.
Be brave...
Cirrus exhaled. Slowly, she reached up and placed the feather around her neck, tucking it underneath her mane and letting it rest on her chest. She stood there for a moment, not thinking, just trying to be brave.
Her limbs began to stop shaking, and her eyes stopped burning. Her breathing eased itself, resuming its normal quiet whisper, her heartbeat providing a comforting rhythm to her silence.
Eventually, Cirrus moved. She wrapped her body in blankets to dry herself off, and she took out a piece of bread to fill her stomach to return some strength. When this was done, she shouldered their bags, both hers and Kite’s, and stepped out into the rain once more, putting on one of their cloaks to keep the rain from soaking her mane like before. And then, with several powerful pushes from her wings, she took to the sky, already heading for home with all possible haste.
She had a story to tell when she got there…
My eternal love and gratitude to Sessalisk for editing. Also, thanks to Ziom05 for permission to use his art as a cover.
Thanks for reading!
Burn What You Create (Discord v Celestia Feat. Luna)
Burn What You Create
by Mystic
Equestria was a place of rolling green farmland, quiet woodland, gentle twisting rivers and sleepy towns. At the heart of this kingdom was a city unlike any other in the entire world. A perfectly ordered spread of buildings, made from pure white stone and the cleanest-cut timber, surrounded a castle of towers that shone like pearl in the sunlight. Colourful flags danced in the wind, each with the signs of the all the old pony tribes.
It was a marvellous city, peaceful and idyllic, the result of decades of work and persistence—a symbol of what ponies could achieve when they worked together towards a single purpose.
Only now, less than an hour after sunset, the city was in absolute chaos.
It had all started with the pale moonlight floating down from the night sky. It bathed the city with a wash of silver, highlighting the shadows and drawing out the colour from the earth. But then, almost without any warning, anything the moonlight was touching began to smoke. It left a misty haze of silver lingering in the air, pooling in great clouds high above the buildings.
The smoke had drawn the first ponies from their beds and out into the streets. They had puzzled over the smoking city, only to step back into the shadows in horror as their coats began to singe and their flesh burn if they stood out in the moonlight too long.
It was then when the first fires had started. White and blue flame licked at the city, spreading hungrily from structure to structure, consuming everything with icy cold fingers. The ponies screamed at each other, trying to understand why their homes were being destroyed in cold fire, and how was it even possible.
The monster was dramatic if nothing else, and it was then he made his first appearance. His shadow was as tall as a building, and just as real as his body. He weaved in and out of the misty haze of silver smoke that filled the air, sending ponies fleeing for their lives, forgetting all of their worldly possessions in their haste.
Every building that the monster touched instantly turned to glass, the crystal reflecting the firelight and throwing it around the smoke, lighting it up in strange and unnatural ways. The ponies packed themselves into these glass structures because the fire couldn’t catch, and the smoke almost seemed to stay away.
Yet with each building he passed, the monster would flick his wrist, his mismatched hands encased in a magical glow, and the ponies inside would die. The buildings exploded upwards in a shower of glass shards that fanned out like a cloud of confetti. Ponies on the streets looked skyward at these glittering clouds of glass, awed in the way they refracted the moonlight, before the glass rained down, cutting and slicing anypony not under cover.
Even as the ponies screamed, trying to flee their homes, the monster laughed in reply. He giggled as he floated through the streets, the hungry fire tickling his skin as he flew absentmindedly through it. His laughter echoed despite the roar of the icy cold and the wind, and it made the skin of the ponies on the ground crawl as if little bugs were covering their bodies.
It was the laugh of someone who was enjoying himself. The kind of laugh foals made while playing in their imaginations in the park.
And he was enjoying himself. In fact, he hadn’t had this much fun in years.
He waved a claw almost lazily in the air, and a whirlwind of icy blue flame twirled high into the sky, setting the smoke lingering in the air ablaze. Loose tendrils of fire drifted down to the city streets, only adding to the confusion and terror. He pirouetted in the air like a dancer, landing lightly on the roof of somepony’s home, before leaping off and causing the entire building to collapse like a house of cards in an explosion of glass and sparks. He laughed again, jumping from building to building, flattening each one as he leapt away.
But playtime was coming to an end. The monster had work to do, and he had places to be and ponies to meet. He knew they had returned after hiding for so long, and he was going to make them burn exactly like their city.
A giggle drifted through the air, mischievous and obnoxious.
“Seriously, Discord! Stop hiding! You promised you would be serious, and this is the perfect way to get somepony to spot you!”
“They have to find me first, and so do you! That’s how hide-and-seek works, Tia.” His voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, making it impossible to locate.
Celestia’s eyes narrowed, her wings twitching at her sides. She looked around, determined to find her younger companion as quickly as possible and thus beat him at his own game. Only then would he finally behave and do as he promised.
The gardens were surprisingly empty, the sounds of the fountains tinkling gently in the background, hidden somewhere by the rows upon rows of trees, bushes and flowers. Grassy paths crisscrossed the gardens, fenced by small interlocking arches of glass that sparkled in the sunlight.
Celestia grit her teeth in frustration. She couldn’t see clues of his presence anywhere, despite the airy and wide open spaces of the garden. It’s not like there was anywhere he could hide easily! That must mean he was a long way away and was probably cheating.
She had only taken her eyes off him for a second too…
Stalking slowly down the path they had been following, she moved her head from left to right, keeping her eyes peeled. Her search failed to produce any results, though, and she felt her frustration burning in the back of her mind and growing hotter with every passing second.
Ugh. She shouldn’t even be bothering. It’s like he—There! His tail! It peeked out from behind a statue of a hydra, the little tuft of fur at the end twitching from side to side.
Struggling to keep the smile off her face, Celestia crept closer. Discord seemed oblivious of her presence, his tail still lying in perfect reach.
At the last second, the little alicorn pounced, trapping his tail with her magic. “I got you—”
Only, the tail wasn’t connected to anything. It hung limply within her golden magical aura, twitching and twisting like a trapped snake. Celestia cried out in horror and dropped it, jumping back for good measure.
She was rewarded with cackling laughter coming from the trees behind her. Discord floated down, his tail snaking up to reconnect itself to his body. He was about the size of a small pony, and his face was lit up with the widest smile. “You should see your face, Tia!” He clutched at his stomach, hooting with laughter. “Priceless!”
Celestia’s face burned in embarrassment. “Discord! Quit playing all these silly games! Somepony will see you, and besides, you promised you would at least try today!”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Tia,” Discord replied, still chuckling.
Celestia harrumphed and stormed out of the small clearing, weaving her way through the trees. Discord hovered behind her, clicking his talons and making silly faces appear in their trunks.
“Where are we going, anyway?”
“To a spot where you can practice without us being spotted.” She really meant ‘where you won’t be spotted,’ but the collective always made him feel better.
“Well that just sounds boring. And besides, I don’t need to practice!”
“Yes you do.”
“You’re no fun. You’re always so serious, Tia. Lighten up a little! Life doesn’t always have to be so stiff and boring.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “You do know that you are allowed to have a little fun, right? Or is that something they hate up at the castle?”
“I’m allowed to have fun,” she replied shortly. She skirted a path along a small pond, graceful willows leaning like old ponies and draping the water’s surface with their weepy branches. “I just know that practicing is important as well. And anyway, you seem to have more than enough fun for the both of us. A little structure in your day will do you good.”
“Structure is booooring.”
Celestia didn’t reply, instead stepping through the curtain provided by one of the willow branches and into a small clearing tucked up beside one of the castle walls. The willows and the pond provided a screen hiding them from view, and the sunlight that drifted in was green and peaceful.
Celestia stopped, turning to her reluctant companion. “Here we are. I come to this spot to read and think, and I think it will be perfect for your lessons.”
“Lessons?! Now you’re making it seem even more boring! How is that even possible?!”
“Discord!” Celestia reprimanded. “Stop it and pay attention.”
Discord made a show of sighing before flopping down to rest on the thin air. He yawned, and then looked at Celestia with his big yellow eyes, waiting as patiently as he could. The fact that he hadn’t changed a tree into foam or something was definitely a good sign.
“Alright,” Celestia said after taking a deep breath, “we both know that you are definitely very good with magic—”
“Yeah I am!”
“—but we also know that you are also limited in the types of magic you can do.”
Discord pouted a little.
“So, while you are very good in metamorphism and telekinesis, things like your ability to create and construct items from nothing is lacking.”
“I can make faces appear in trees! That’s making something from nothing.”
“No, that’s an illusion. Different once again.”
The draconequus folded his arms. “So? What’s the big deal? The type of magic I can do works just fine.”
“But you could do even more, and that’s what I am going to teach you.”
“Teach me? Ugggh. Let’s go turn the soup into bath water or something. That’s way more fun.”
Celestia frowned, but otherwise ignored his comments. “Now, because you think you are so clever, I have a challenge for you.”
“A challenge? It’s already too easy. Make it harder.”
Celestia smirked. “The challenge is this: I want you to grow me a tree. Not create an illusion, or just make a copy of an already existing one, but make a completely unique, brand new tree.”
Discord blinked. “What? Is that it? Make a tree?”
Celestia nodded, her smirk still firmly in place. “Yes, that’s it. It just has to be able to survive completely on its own without magic, but otherwise, that’s it. It won’t be that hard… will it?”
Discord stretched in the air, making his joints pop unnecessarily loudly. “Pfft. Eeeasy. Let’s grow your silly tree and go and make the candles shoot lightning or something!”
“Ah-huh. As soon as you finish.”
“Trust me, this will be over in seconds.”
The monster stalked the hallways of the castle, his misaligned body painting deformed shadows on the walls. The once-lavish furniture lay scattered around the rooms, broken into small pieces, and the carpets were singed and stained.
A small army of walking statues shambled the halls aimlessly, looking for any more of the pony guards they had just finished dispatching.
Despite the castle’s thick stone walls and the fact that the fire was yet to catch inside, the icy cold was nearly unbearable, and the air was being choked with silver smoke. The monster barely registered the cold, though, and he had no need to breathe.
“Come out, come out, Celestia!” the monster cried, his voice echoing loudly. “Hide and seek really is a lot of fun, I know, but I just want to talk… Surely that’s not so hard to believe!”
There was no reply.
“Did you think that I would leave everything like you wanted? Did you really think that things would stay the same? Tsk tsk. You are a very smart pony, Celestia, but heavens above can you be naïve sometimes.” If he was going to be the bad-guy here, he figured he might as well talk like one. After all, it was definitely fun.
He winked out of existence to appear in a completely different room. This one was filled with torn tapestries already being stained by the smoke in the air. With no sign of his quarry, he repeated the process, checking all of the major rooms in the castle one by one. He was certain she would be here… He had expected her to come to him, though, her eyes blazing with fury and fully intending to do battle.
But he couldn’t find her anywhere.
Snarling in frustration, he took himself up to the observatory before closing his fists down violently. There was the tortured scream of stone being rent apart, and the entire tower began to tilt dangerously to the left. The monster teleported outside and hovered near the tower, watching it begin to fall faster and faster to the ground. With a snap of his talons, however, the broken part of the spire stopped moving, hovering in place unnaturally still.
He began to wind his hand back, almost as if in preparation. With his spare hand, he pointed towards the clouds before throwing the tower magically into the sky. It soared in a great arc before plummeting like a meteor down into the residential area of the city, the earth shuddering with the impact.
He had entertained the hope right until the last second that she would come and stop it before it hit, but he watched the tower wipe almost an entire block off the face of the earth with an expression that almost looked like a pout.
He sighed exasperatedly. He wasn’t playing the game very cleverly. He was getting impatient and letting himself down. If he wanted her to come to him, then he would have to change his tactics.
Fortunately, he knew just the thing.
With a flash of bright light to make sure he was as visible as possible, the monster spun around and made his way down to the gardens.
Celestia couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of Discord struggling. He glared at the patch of soil that bulged and shifted underhoof, his face twisted into a snarl of concentration. He held his mismatched hands out in front of him, moving them in complicated patterns as he tried to create a ‘simple’ tree.
Celestia wasn’t sure, but it almost looked like he was sweating… She giggled again at the thought. “See? I told you it’s hard.”
“No you didn’t,” he snapped back. “It won’t be that hard… That’s what you said.”
“Well it’s definitely not what I sound like.”
“Yup. It is. Now stop distracting me! I almost have this.”
Celestia stopped giggling, but she couldn’t quite wipe the smile off her face.
Discord grunted, and he brought his hands up, the earth bulging upwards before splitting into small clumps. A sickly and twisted-looking trunk rose out of the ground, pale brown leaves unfurling themselves and hanging limply even as the tree grew. Finally, it came to a stop standing about as high as a pony, its branches struggling to hold their own weight. Several leaves fell off and floated to the ground where they promptly dissolved into dust.
Celestia looked at it for a long time. “Um…”
Discord cried out in frustration and the entire tree broke down magically into nothing, blown away quickly by the wind.
“Well, it’s definitely better than your last attempt!” Celestia rolled her eyes when Discord growled. “Don’t be so angry. I told you it would take practice.”
“I hate this.”
“Don’t be such a little filly. Just try again. I know you can do it, because you’re definitely getting much better.”
“It’s just a tree! A stupid tree! This shouldn’t be this hard!”
Celestia moved over next to him, her horn glowing gently. “It’s not just a tree,” she said, the earth shifting as something coiled beneath it. “You’re creating something from nothing. You are making something that’s alive.”
With that, a sprout burst out of the ground, slowly working its way upward, branches spreading out in all directions, little green leaves budding and unfurling themselves to the light. The trunk grew thicker, and both of them could almost feel the roots taking hold in the earth.
When the tree was almost as high as the Queen, she stopped its growth. The sapling stood proudly, its white trunk without a single blemish or mark, and its branches wide and its leaves a perfect green.
“See? You can create something just like this. It just takes practice.”
Discord sighed, rubbing his forehead. “You owe me for this…”
Celestia laughed. “I owe you? Well, if you say so. Now come on! You’re so close!”
The monster floated down to the willow trees next to the pond silently, touching his legs down and standing upright. He snapped his talons and the willow branches turned into writhing snakes that moved out of his way to form an arch as soon as he approached. He could see the tree beyond, unchanged even after all these years.
The monster took another step before he heard her:
“Stop.”
He smiled, but did not turn around. “Stop? Why would I want to stop? I am just visiting! And even then, if I remember correctly, I came to this spot almost as much as you.”
“You don’t belong here, Discord. This isn’t your home anymore.”
He chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s a little mean, don’t you think? It never was my home. You snuck me in so the Queen wouldn’t wipe me from existence. And she almost succeeded too. But I made her pay for that, didn’t I? I still am.”
He heard her stamp her hoof on the ground and snort in impatience.
“Well, now that I have you here, we can talk—”
“Leave.”
Discord sighed and spun around, raising an eyebrow at the interruption. “And what makes you think I would do that?”
Celestia glared at him, her multicoloured mane floating around her armoured body like water. She looked so tired with shadows hanging under her eyes, and her armour was battered and bent. “Because I am giving you a chance to leave and stop burning everything that I have helped create and maintain. You don’t have to create chaos...” Celestia took a deep breath. “I don’t want to have to fight you, Discord. Please don’t make me fight you.”
You were my friend...
“Oh so now you don’t want to fight? Make up your mind! I swear, you are as random as me.”
Celestia’s eyes pleaded with him. “Not again. I am sick of fighting, Discord. I just want you to leave the ponies alone. That’s all. You can leave, go back to the Frozen Mountains, just please leave the ponies alone. There doesn’t have to be fire and death. That’s not who you are. You make silly pranks and harmless fun. I’ve done it with you!”
Discord’s face split into a cold sneer. “Go away? Ha! I’m having so much fun, Celestia! What on earth would make me want to leave? Where else can I have this much fun? Silly pranks are foal’s games, and I am no child. I mean listen, can you hear their fear and confusion? I know it’s a little hard to hear them over the flames, but if you listen very carefully…”
Celestia’s expression fell, and she shook her head. “Please, Discord. I can only give you one more chance… If you don’t listen, then that’s it. I’m sorry, but I’ll have no other options.”
“You don’t have any options as it stands, Celestia!” Discord snorted. “I mean, really, what can you do? I was always stronger than you, and now it’s just you and me, completely alone.”
“Not alone!”
Both Celestia and Discord turned to face the newcomer, an alicorn the colour of the night sky, her mane shimmering as if filled with stars. She glared at the draconequus with pure hatred, a blade of blue light floating near her head.
“Oh Luna!” Discord cried out. “Fancy seeing you here! I thought Celestia would have left you back safely at home so you wouldn’t miss your bedtime!”
“Luna!” Celestia cried. “Not yet—”
Luna’s eyes burned like fire. “He must pay for his crimes, sister! He shows no remorse or conscience. We cannot allow him to walk the earth when he insists torturing the ponies. And now he uses my moon to sow chaos and fear! Do not be weak!”
“Please,” Discord said, inspecting his talons as if bored. “You two couldn’t stop me. But then again, who am I to stop you from trying… Come on! Try it! It will be fun! Winner keeps Equestria, okay? That sounds perfectly fair to me. That way I can make sure the whole thing is nothing but a wasteland before moving on. Doesn’t that sound wonderful, Celestia? I told you I would start slow and get bigger and better. Soap roads and candy floss indeed. I am going to create something fantastic.”
Celestia didn’t get a chance to reply before Luna launched herself at the draconequus with a snarl. Her blade of light twirled in the air, aiming for his neck. Celestia cried out for her to stop, but Discord was too fast. He blinked out of existence before reappearing a little to the side, the branches-turned-snakes already stretching out to wrap around and imprison the alicorn.
Luna cried out, her blade slashing at the snakes which turned back to branches the moment they were cut. With a blast of magic, she freed herself completely, the branches falling down like cut string, their leaves scattered around the lawn.
Discord grinned, already waving his hands in the air, waiting for another attack. “I was right. This is fun.”
“Stop it, Discord! I don’t want to fight you.”
“But your sister does, Celestia, and she’s a good match.” With a flick of his wrist, all of the leaves scattered along the ground rose up into the air, curling into thin needle-like spines.
“Don’t attack him, Luna. We can still end this peacefully.”
Luna flashed her sister a look. “He doesn’t deserve peace. He deserves to be imprisoned for millennium!”
Discord clapped his hands together, his eyes glinting. “That’s right. But first you will have to beat me. Maybe then you can bring me to… justice. It sounds like I deserve it, after all. So many dead ponies…”
“Luna… wait!”
Luna didn’t wait. Her horn glowed magnificently as her body was covered in swirling magic, and she charged Discord. The draconequus laughed, and snapped his talons one last time.
There was a flash, and every single one of the needle-like leaves transformed into shards of glistening diamond. With a rasping hiss, they took off like a flight of birds, racing towards Luna in a maelstrom of razor sharp death.
“Luna!”
Luna’s shield bore the brunt of the shards, but she collapsed with a cry as the diamond slashed and tore at her coat, embedding themselves deep in her flesh when her magic failed. Discord waved his hand, and the alicorn went flying backwards, landing down at Celestia’s hooves, her blood already staining the grass.
“You monster!” Celestia screamed. “You hurt her!”
“Ha! That was eeeasy! Make it harder, please! Come on, Celestia. You’re next!”
Celestia ignored him and the raging anger burning so brightly in her chest—turning her vision red—and looked down at her sister, her magic already tending to her wounds. The shards wriggled out of her sides, and Celestia was thankful that Luna’s normal armour had kept any from going in too deep. Even still, the smaller alicorn was soaked in her own blood, and Celestia quickly sealed the worst of the cuts to prevent her from losing any more.
“I told you to wait,” Celestia whispered gently into her sister’s ear, forcing herself to breathe easy.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Don’t be. We’ll be alright, I promise. We can do this.”
“Of course we can…”
“Just like the Oracle said, alright?”
Luna nodded, her eyes shining brightly once again. Celestia helped her to her hooves, and they faced Discord together.
“Oooh, two at once? Double the challenge, double the fun.”
Celestia raised her head up high, her eyes blazing like the sun, her earlier anger held firmly in check. “Discord, Spirit of Chaos, you have no place in this world. I have given you the option to leave peacefully, but you have turned me down. I have no other choice than to sentence you to imprisonment for a period of at least two thousand years.”
Discord began laughing, and didn’t stop. He clutched at his sides as he rocked backwards and forwards, howling with mirth.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Discord?”
Discord wiped a tear from his eye, his laughter dying almost instantly. He looked at Celestia with steel in his expression, drawing a target over his chest with a finger. “Go for it.”
Celestia sighed. Everything was still for a moment, and then her world turned white, and she watched the fear begin to creep into Discord’s eyes. And just for a moment, she saw the small draconequus she remembered. But then she heard the screams from the ponies still suffering down below, and the image faded.
The strongest type of magic is that which creates, and Celestia and Luna had created something wonderful. Rather, they had found something that allowed them to create a magic that Discord could never truly overcome because he would never truly understand it.
Friendship and love need to be nurtured, but with enough effort and skill, they are as steady and unstoppable as a tree growing from the earth.
The garden was engulfed in rainbow light, and for a moment, even the fire burning in the city didn’t seem so bright.
“Discord!” Celestia cried out in shock. “You’re… you’re doing it!”
Discord grunted one last time before adding another, and final, flash to the magic. The tree in front of him stood about two metres high, and was filled with leaves of brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow and even black. The ashen trunk was thick and straight, and the branches spread out in a perfect circle.
“I… did it! Ha!”
“You did it! I knew you could! Look at it, fully grown and perfectly healthy. And all in a day, too!”
“And it’s even bigger than yours,” Discord teased, sticking out his tongue.
“That doesn’t matter! The important thing is that you did it!”
Discord smiled to himself. He looked down at his hands, still glowing with magic.
“That means we can do all kinds of new magic. We can move onto creating more than one tree at once now. Maybe we can make a tree out of glass or something that lives completely off magic!”
There was a flash, and Celestia stared open-mouthed as Discord’s tree burst into flames, burning as bright and as hot as lightning for a little more than a second before vanishing, leaving nothing but a curtain of fine ash that blew away with the wind.
Everything was silent for a heartbeat.
“Discord… what… what did you do?”
The draconequus shrugged nonchalantly. “I burned it. I made a tree, and it was boring me, so I made it fun again.”
Celestia looked around, unable to comprehend his behaviour. “But… but you just destroyed it!”
“Yup! Burned it to ash in less than a second. Look at that!” He chuckled and began to move out the clearing, leaving Celestia standing in shock.
“But… why?!”
He looked back over his shoulder, the smallest smile on his face. “It was fun, and I felt like it. Just make another one if it’s such a big deal.” With that, he left the clearing and moved out of Celestia’s sight.
The rainbow light faded in time, leaving the world as dark as death. The fires and smoke had all vanished the second Discord had fallen, although the destruction remained. The draconequus himself was locked into stone, imprisoned just as Celestia said he would be. The garden had been completely destroyed in the blast, all of the trees stripped of their leaves and their branches torn. All except one.
“It’s done….” Celestia whispered, her legs shaking and threatening to give out. It had required so much energy… “It’s over now.”
Luna murmured something, but all Celestia heard was the word ‘justice’.
Celestia stood next to her sister, looking at the statue with a mixture of sadness and relief. It was laying on its side in the shade of a tall white tree with perfect green leaves, the only tree to appear unaffected by the battle.
Celestia was still for a long time, letting her sister lean on her for support. Eventually, she leaned down and nuzzled her fondly. “Come now, there are ponies who need our help, and we must be there for them together.”
“Discord will stay imprisoned?”
“That he will.”
“Then let us go.” Luna stepped away, holding her wings out for balance support. Celestia horn flashed, tending to Luna’s wounds again.
When she was finished, and Luna could move properly, Celestia smiled. Luna took off, already heading down to the city, her horn glowing like a beacon in the night sky.
Celestia followed a moment after. She turned as she launched herself into the air, casting a look down at Discord, imprisoned in stone, paralysed beneath the tree.
Then she turned away to face her ponies and didn’t once look back.
My eternal love and gratitude to Sessalisk for her input. Thanks for reading!
