//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 – No Obligations Holding Her Down // Story: Being Chaos Malcontent // by Digodragon //------------------------------// The castle throne room was abuzz with a dozen advisors that gathered around Princess Celestia. The colorful morning sunlight that shined through the multi-hued stained-glass windows drew strange shadows upon the floor underneath each advisor as they paced around and exchanged information. These ponies attempted to consolidate the state of Equestria’s economy for a very important trade proposal with the Griffon nation of Griffico to the southwest. The Griffon dignitaries changed their travel plans, however, and instead of visiting next week they were to arrive tomorrow morning. Celestia’s court had twenty-four hours remaining to throw together a document that normally took four days to construct. Today was going to be a very efficient day for Equestria’s government. Princess Celestia half-heartedly listened to the interest rate buzzwords spoken by Secretary of Finance Benjamin Greenback. The princess paid more attention to the letters on the document that hovered before her, letters that danced a conga line before her tired eyes. All except the word tariff which only stuck its tongue out at the princess. Celestia wanted to blame Discord’s magic for the rude gesture, but the draconequus only performed that trick on Fridays. No, the princess very well knew the real culprit was her hunger due to a missed breakfast. Celestia narrowed her eyes as she tried to get the jumble of words to hold still. “Your highness?” the brown colored Unicorn asked of his monarch. “Are you alright?” Celestia blinked and came back to a conga-less reality. “Oh, yes, yes I am,” she assured her head of finances. “My mind blanked for a second there. I believe we were discussing adjusting the interest rates to account for inflation?” “That was fifteen minutes ago,” the banker said with concern. A wide-eyed Celestia snapped her attention to the clock that hung on the wall. Fifteen minutes had indeed passed since the conga of letters began their dance. “Ah, so it was,” Celestia said sheepishly. “I’m sorry about that, Benjamin. Do go ahead with your recommendation. I trust your judgment.” Without a pause the Minister of Trade, Farah Tradesworth, jumped in with her part of the report. “Your highness,” the violet colored Earth pony began, “We continue to see a growing surplus of our apple production, but exports of apple products have remained steady. We can overcome this issue by providing subsidy incentives to the farmers for growing more carrots.” Celestia thought about subsidizing carrots, which sounded like a good proposal. This quickly escalated to subsidizing carrot cake, except with less subsidizing and more eating. A large cup of coffee materialized in her imagination next to the cake, complete with extra whipped cream. “Uh, your majesty?” Farah asked aloud. Celestia jolted back to reality once more. Her mental traveling expenses were apparently quite high this morning. She rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry, yes?” Celestia asked. “Y-You were drooling on the annual collected tax reports,” Farah pointed out. There was an uneasy pause of silence that hung high from the room’s vaulted ceiling. Even the shadows appeared to have halted in anticipation, held steady upon the red carpeted walkway that lead from the throne to the gilded twin-door entrance. Celestia’s pet phoenix, Philomena, sat in her gilded cage to the right of the royal throne. The fiery red bird covered her face with a wing. “Uh oh” the phoenix cooed with a dramatic tone to break the silence. “I apologize, my loyal subjects,” Celestia finally said. “I have had a very busy morning and I skipped breakfast on my way here. May we take a five minute break?” The Pegasus guard to Celestia’s left let off a firm cough as he stared at Celestia’s advisors. The group collectively understood the guard’s cue. They all agreed to take a short recess so that their princess was able to address her hunger issue. The guard smiled coyly. Celestia waved a page colt in the throne room forward. “Please bring me a few bagels from the royal kitchen, with cream cheese if possible.” She watched the page bow and then exit the room quickly to retrieve her order. “Oh and some coffee!” Celestia shouted just as the doors closed. Shoot, had the page colt heard that last part? Celestia hoped he did. She normally drank tea, but this morning warranted something stronger. The advisers mingled in small groups as they organized their reports. They continued to compare their findings on Equestria’s economy among themselves as Celestia looked on. The princess watched as Benjamin recited numbers on Equestria’s treasury. She listened to Steel Shield, the new Captain of the Royal Guard, as he explained why a twenty percent increase was needed in the military training budget. She watched as Discord rode a winged pig outside over the castle gardens. “Wait, what?!” Celestia said loudly. The advisors all turned to follow her majesty’s gaze and they witnessed the draconequus crash his airborne pig into a tree in the garden’s hedge maze. “Your highness,” shouted the Secretary of Defense, “That… thing must be leashed before the dignitaries arrive tomorrow!” The well-aged orange colored Earth pony approached Celestia with great concern. Celestia shook her head. “There isn’t much we could do that would keep Discord tied down, Manny,” she explained. “Besides, he is a resident at the castle and locking Discord in his room would upset the delicate trust we have forged with him.” Manny Fester was not swayed by Celestia’s reasons. “Then have him transported to Ponyville for the day,” he said. “Princess Twilight can watch over him there while the Griffons are here on business.” “I suppose I could ask him,” Celestia pondered verbally. “Command him if need be,” Manny countered. The aged stallion brushed back his short, blonde mane. “He may be a creature with feelings, but he is still a threat to Canterlot’s security despite what the reports Captain Shield has been handing to me.” “He hasn’t done anything worse than harmless pranks,” Steel retorted. “Discord is quite like a child. If we keep him busy he will not have time to meddle in our own affairs.” Steel glanced at Discord outside as the chaotic spirit attempted to dislodge his winged pig from the tree. After a failed attempted, Discord snapped his fingers and turned the pig into a meadowlark. However the transformed creature still retained the nose, tail, and legs of a pig. It was also barking like a dog for whatever reason. “Excuse me, captain, if my faith in your abilities to babysit this ‘child’ is questioned,” Manny said dryly. “My dear princess, the creature needs discipline if he’s to remain here.” Celestia rubbed her temples. True, Discord was a hoof-full at times, but after Fluttershy befriended him and showed the draconequus how he could be more productive, Discord was more aware to respect the feelings of ponies and animals around him. Well, pig-legged meadowlarks notwithstanding. Celestia began to envy Discord’s care-free lifestyle. “I believe Manny has a valid point,” one of the other advisers said. “Discord needs a firm hoof to guide his actions.” Farah shook her head. “He’s a contrary creature. Forcing him to behave will just incite him to be even more incorrigible. Your highness, we should give him the choice on staying here or not.” Celestia nodded her head. “But we cannot just let him roam free while the dignitaries are here!” Manny countered. Yet another adviser chimed in her opinion. “Why not use reverse psychology as one does with unruly children? Give him the illusion of choice so that he feels empowered, but ultimately agreeing with us?” Celestia gave an uncommitted shrug. “My point is,” Manny restated, “That Celestia is the sovereign ruler of this country and even her friends must follow her decree!” The princess sighed. “That’s right, you are the ruler of Equestria!” shouted one of the advisors to Manny. Celestia wasn’t sure which advisor though; her focus was like jelly on a camera lens. “You must be firm with Discord and explain why he needs to vacate the city for a day.” “You can’t treat friends like that!” “I don’t see you hanging around with him!” “Well maybe she could after we deal with this report?” “Don’t speak for me! We have to focus on this report right now!” “This report won’t happen with a draconequus distracting us!” “Well maybe if you showed him more tolerance!” “Your citizens demand a stadium, princess!” “Princess Celestia,” Benjamin asked, “Certainly you can convince Discord to spend the day at Ponyville, could you not?” “I don’t know and don’t call me Shirley!” Celestia roared out in frustration. The lit candles on the chandelier above shook and flickered in response to a voice that nearly rivaled Princess Luna’s high volume. Silence quickly returned to the throne room as all eyes returned to Celestia. The princess’ stomach turned in a painful knot. She was unable to decide with the stress and hunger that clawed at her mind. She had woken up late, Discord was being unruly today, and there was just too much to do to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting with the Griffon kingdom. Princess Celestia resorted to the absolute last desperate executive decision reserved only for the most extreme situations such as this one that required equally extreme measures. Celestia leaped out of her throne and ran out of the room screaming. The monarch threw the large gilded doors open, turned left, and barreled her way down the hall. In three steps Celestia trampled the page colt that carried a tray of bagels and coffee. The tray became airborne for a mere second before the colt’s body was splattered with the food. The princess skidded to a halt from her panic to ensure she did not injure the little foal. She lifted him up gently from the floor. “I-I’m terribly sorry!” Celestia apologized. “No, I’m fine your majesty,” the blue-maned colt assured. “Um, here is your bagel.” The page quickly picked up the fallen tray of food and presented it to Celestia. The colt’s vest dripped of uncomfortably warm coffee that was once on the tray too. “I’m sorry about the coffee, your highness. I’ll fetch you another cup.” “No, that’s quite all right,” Celestia interrupted. “It was my fault entirely.” The princess levitated one of the bagels with her magic horn and took a bite. She closed her eyes as she chewed. The smooth, sweet cream cheese melted deliciously in her mouth. Celestia shivered with delight, her wings twitched with excitement, and her stomach praised the food with a joyous chorus of angelic growls. “Will there be anything else, your highness?” the page colt asked. “No, this will do nicely,” Celestia responded. “Thank you. You are dismissed to change your vest.” Celestia resumed her screams and ran down the hall once more. The bitten bagel magically sailed off behind her in all its toasted wheat glory. Celestia galloped down the castle halls to escape the suffocating responsibilities that battered her from the throne room. The advisors all stood in the doorway and watched their beloved princess flee. The guards shifted uncomfortably in their place as they attempted to remain stoic. Eyes turned to Benjamin who was only able to scratch his head. “What? I said ‘certainly’, not ‘surely’,” Benjamin muttered in defense. ~ ~ ~ Celestia hid herself down in the basement levels of Canterlot Castle. The dull-gray stone floor reflected only a modicum of light from the scarce few magical candles down here. Celestia kept away from the pantry storage as that area was frequented by the cooks. Instead she opted to walk toward the second basement below where old furniture was kept for long term storage. The princess carefully descended down into the dark halls of the castle’s bottom rooms. She thought how often she had been down this far in the castle and that number was quite likely smaller than the number of times Celestia got Discord to sit still for more than two minutes. The air was cold down here and the brick walls likely never had the taste of sunlight since the day they were laid. Each step Celestia took echoed eerily around her. The old wooden doors showed their ages with the numerous cracks in their boards and the many rust stains on the handles. Celestia stopped to take another bite of her bagel. She had nearly finished it on her way here, but wished she was able to trade it now for something warm to drink. Celestia felt foolish that she ran away from her royal duties. She was the ruler of Equestria, the rock of confidence that her nation relied upon. A petty outburst of weakness was not an act that befitted a royal monarch. Also, had she walked away from the throne room, she wouldn’t have trampled that nice hot cup of coffee the page carried. Celestia turned a corner and bumped her horn against an archway. The magically levitated bagel quickly became less magical and plummeted to the stone floor with a soft splutter of cream cheese. The princess rubbed the soreness away from her horn before she sighed at the loss of her meal on the ground. She was pretty sure the floors down here were not cleaned anywhere near as often to allow the ten-second rule to apply. Princess Celestia looked down at the remains of the bagel. It was the final culmination of her terrible day. She slept poorly, woke up late, had to deal with unruly friends, and the stress of the meeting with the griffon nation just… Celestia sat down and let tears well up in her eyes. Protocol was tossed aside. She allowed herself these two tears to express her frustrations. To her left, a small spider slowly descended to her eye level. The princess took hold of the silk strand the spider hung from and helped the arachnid reach the ground. “We’ll keep this moment of weakness to ourselves, my little friend,” Celestia whispered. The tears fell down her cheeks and Celestia wiped them away. Her mood improved as she watched the spider scurry away to a dark crack in the floor. A cold breeze crawled up Celestia’s spine. The now concerned princess shivered again and turned to find the source of the unnatural wind. She was in a deep basement underneath a deep basement. The air down here never touched the sky, so the only ‘wind’ found in such a remote location was from servants who had a bean-heavy lunch. Celestia looked in the direction the air came from, the hall beyond the archway she collided with. Cobwebs hung quietly from an unusually low ceiling and there were no lights down this hall, magical or otherwise. Why was this hallway so short? Her curiosity was piqued and the princess created a magical orb of yellow-white light at the tip of her horn. She ducked her head and proceeded down the enigmatic hallway. The hall stretched for a good distance, perhaps thirty to forty feet. However, there were no doors in this passage. Instead it terminated at a dead end with nothing more than an old crate that sat against the far wall. Perhaps Discord created this place to escape Princess Luna’s wrath whenever one of his pranks failed to make the princess of the night smile? Well, Discord’s pranks failed to make Luna smile quite often so the theory held some merit. Celestia used her levitation magic to grasp the crate’s lid and lift it. The container did not protest as the lid creaked and rose up into the air. She looked inside and saw a collection of children’s books within the crate. Celestia magically levitated one of the books toward her and read it under her magical light. Little Red Riding Pony. Ah, a classic tale. Celestia flipped through the pages of the book. The story read exactly as she remembered it, right down to the ending where the lumberjack stallion chopped the timberwolf open with his axe to save Red Riding Pony and her grandmother. What foal didn't like a little violence to resolve a good story? Then again, that was likely why these stories were known as 'classics' and not still widely circulated among the children. Celestia nonchalantly dropped the book back onto the stack. There was a sharp crack of splintered wood and the entire pile of books sank two inches further into the box. She took a step back from the crate. Had the crate’s bottom given out? Even so, it was already on the ground. This was obviously a strange situation that warranted more prodding. Celestia grabbed the entire crate with her magic and pulled it off to her left side. Books tumbled out of the shattered bottom, but under the magical light she saw that the crate had sat on a recessed trap door in the stone floor. The princess lived at this castle for a long time and never did she remember there being a third basement. Perhaps this door led to the fabled crystal caves under the castle. Her former student Twilight had told her that a series of old caves did exist below the castle, but Celestia was sure she had all the known entrances sealed. Apparently this trap door escaped the detection of the royal architects. That was quite a feat for an object that never moved anywhere. Celestia grabbed the rusted handle with her magical levitation power and pulled firmly. The trap door resisted mightily. She gave it a second attempt as she focused her full magical strength on the old handle. Her magical light momentarily dimmed as the princess’ focus poured into lifting the trap door open. The door groaned and whined, but it lost the battle. Celestia opened the hatch and sighed in satisfaction. Her magical light resumed its generous brilliance. She peered down into the darkness. The darkness sat there quietly and stared back. Celestia leaned closer to the dark doorway on the floor. She tried to shine her magical orb of light into the passage, but it was swallowed up wholly by the darkness. Just where did this trap door lead to? Celestia felt her forelegs slip. She stumbled to catch herself but the shoes on her hooves could not grip the inexplicably smooth stone floor. Some invisible force gently pushed her forward. The regal princess slipped into the trap doorway as her magical light completely extinguished itself. The cold arms of oblivion welcomed her into the darkness. Celestia’s last thought before the void swallowed her was that she wished she had brought a sweater to such a cold doom.