Chapter 4
Celestia was alive.
She laughed as she flew through the air, the wind whipping her mane and tail behind her in a streak of pink as if the sky itself was trying to hold her back as she zoomed ever higher. Her lungs burned as the cold air rushed into her airways and her muscles cried out in protest as she urged them on harder in an attempt to be truly free of her earthly burden.
On the ground she felt trapped by having her movements restricted; only being able to go where the ground led her. But here in the sky she could move anywhere with nothing to stop her except her own limitations. But not today, today she was in too good of a mood to even let that stop her. She wanted to know; no… she needed to know what waited for her on the other side just as desperately as her body needed air.
She heard a voice call out from behind her and allowed herself to look back, seeing her younger sister Luna off to her right struggling to catch up with the larger pony. Laughing again she called back for her sister to keep up and continued on higher into the atmosphere passing through a layer of cirrus clouds, their moisture cooling her hot skin for the brief moment it took to pass through. The air was thinner up here which allowed her and Luna to pass through it much easier, but at the same time it would have been impossible to breathe if she didn’t have her magic to rely on.
As she continued higher she could see the sky in front of her begin to fade from blue to black with little pinpricks of starlight peppering the black abyss. About that time she felt her wings go light as exhaustion began to overtake her muscles. Catching sight of a patch of translucent ice clouds shimmering in the sunlight she landed down on it lightly, the crunching sound of the ice filled her ears as it compressed under her weight. Soon she was greeted by the sound of Luna joining her on their perch at the top of the world, obviously out of breath by her ragged breathing.
“C…C-Celestia I don’t t…think that we should…be so far from mother and father…-“ Luna took a minute to catch her breath which took longer than normal even with the magic helping, ”-what if they become worried? Thou knowest how worried mother gets when we fly too high.”
“Dearest Luna-” Celestia began as she gave a smile through her own heavy breaths, “-thou hast to learn to stop being so serious and learn to have some fun.”
Luna furrowed her eyes at her older sister, “Thine idea of fun and mine are two different things sister.”
Celestia just gave her navy blue sister a look of mock shock bringing a fore-hoof to her chest. “Thou hast wounded me sister with such harsh words…but-“ her face turning into a mischievous grin, “-it was still fun was it not?”
Luna chose not to reply and instead just looked away from her violet eye towards the planet below; causing Celestia’s grin to grow bigger knowing that her sister agreed with her, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Celestia knew that behind Luna’s up tight and proper attitude was a mare screaming to break a couple of rules and have fun.
“Tis beautiful tis it not?” Luna finally said.
Celestia looked down and had to agree with her sister, it was beautiful. She could see the mountain range and valley where they had come from below them but couldn’t make out any serious details other than that. Gone where the borderlines and landmarks that separated the different countries and in its place was a simplified picture of a unified world. Even the lower cumulus clouds just looked like freshly fallen snowflakes on an early winter morning, their shadows being cast out onto the land below them by the still rising sun. Off on the horizon many hundreds of miles away, she could see a cumulonimbus stretching up into the sky as its top flared into an anvil. Flashes of lightning danced all around the storm cloud like a swarm of the brightest fireflies. Going higher up to the level where she and Luna where standing, she could plainly see the curve of the world and make out the border between the blue of the sky and the blackness of the unknown beyond. As she looked out from their overview Celestia found herself having a strange sensation of her soul being separated from her body only to be combined with the very soul of the planet itself.
Finding herself lost in the sheer awe of the moment she had to pull herself away when she remembered that they still had a festival to get to. Placing a hoof gently on Luna’s shoulder to get her attention, she simply smiled at her younger sibling.
“Let us go Luna, mother and father are waiting.-” as she neared the edge of the cloud she looked over the edge once again and her sense of adventure kicked in once more, “- Try to keep up!”
And before her sister could protest Celestia leaped off the edge of the cloud, shattering the fragile ice in the process which sparkled around them like diamonds in the sunlight, and the two where soon falling back to earth. Hoping to take advantage of Luna’s moment of surprise, Celestia tucked her wings close to her body and pointed herself as perpendicular to the ground as she could and was off in a streak of pink and white. Faster and faster she dove until she felt a small jolt rack her body as she slipped past the sound barrier and continued to accelerate.
After a couple more moments of freefall she chanced to look behind her only to see Luna right on her tail. In fact she seemed to be riding the vortices that were swirling off of Celestia as she cut through the air. Knowing that by riding that lower air pressure it wouldn’t be long before Luna would pass her and she wasn’t about to give her sister the win that easily.
She extended her wings just enough to give herself some maneuverability, and began to do a tight corkscrew so as to break up the wake behind her. But Luna must have been expecting this as she broke away so as to not hit Celestia as she slowed ever so slightly in her maneuver. Celestia righted herself from the spin to see Luna now in a dead even heat with her in their race to reach the ground first. Figuring she had an easier chance now that they were on an even playing field she gritted her teeth and knew that it was time to take off the brakes and go all out.
Extending her wings fully she began to beat them for all they were worth, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears once again. Faster she went as they reached the halfway point neither of them were giving any ground as the air vapor in front of them compressed into a bowel shape. As they continued to pick up speed the vapor slowly began to collapse as the sisters pierced the very sky.
Harder Celestia pushed as her vision began to bleed away into a field of blinding white, beating her wings until she felt like her muscles would give no more. She stole a quick glance towards Luna to see her little sister still neck and neck with her, determination on the night blue pony’s face. Digging deep she willed her muscles to give the last amount of strength that they had, as the last of her vision faded away.
Meanwhile on the path into town, Gold Rush and Lavender Breeze were walking side by side admiring the scenery around them. At least that’s what Lavender would have been doing if she didn’t have her sights skyward scanning for any signs of her daughters.
“Where art they? “ She asked absentmindedly, more towards herself than to anyone in particular, “They know that I don’t like it when I can’t see them.”
Gold Rush just had to give a chuckle at his wife’s over protectiveness, which earned him a glare from the lilac mare in question. She had always been a watchful mother-hen to their daughters ever since the day that she found them in the barn, always fretting when she didn’t know where they were. The two sisters would go off and get into the kind of trouble that siblings do, while Lavender would nervously pace a hole into the floor until they returned home and she knew that they were safe. He was about to reassure her when she started to rapidly tap one of her hoofs on his shoulder as she pointed skyward.
“Gold Rush, look here they come! Oh, it looks like they’re in trouble!” She cried out in a worried tone.
He looked up to see what she was talking about to only see something that he had never seen before in his life. In the sky, almost too far away for him to see clearly, were his daughter’s racing to the ground at an unbelievable speed. They streaked towards the ground like a couple of arrows, trailing ribbons of pink and navy behind them back up into the sky. Then suddenly before his eyes they seemed to erupt into a flash of white, temporarily blinding him and Lavender. Once he regained his sight he was greeted by a sight almost beyond words.
In the sky, slowly spreading out like ripples in a pond was a blue and pink tie-dye colored shockwave which seemed to rip the very sky itself as it went along. He watched slack jawed as the wave spread out further above him and Lavender before continuing on its way. About that time he heard the sound of the flash he had seen moments ago rip through his ears with such ferocity that he thought he was going to go deaf. As the echoes began to fade he dared to look skyward again to try and find the where about of his daughters, worried that they might have been hurt.
He found them a little ways below where he had spotted them last, and a sense of relief began to flow through him. The little daredevils had seemed to give up on their little head on race and instead now seemed settled on trying to outmaneuver the other. They danced through the air like a pair of dragonflies on a hot summer day, each trying to get the better position on the other. As one of them would bank hard their wings would sprout vapor which would tapper off of their wings like white ribbon. Watching them fly with each other seemingly without a care in the world, he could honestly say he was jealous of the freedom that they had earned.
When they finally reached treetop level it looked like Celestia was in the lead, but at the last moment Luna dove under her sister and managed to pull ahead at the last moment. Her hooves touching down on the dirt path in front of Gold and Lavender and was shortly followed by Celestia, both of them throwing up dirt and dust as they skidded to a stop. Lavender rushed over to make sure that her children were alright, and Gold planned on giving the two a piece of his mind for the stunt they had just pulled.
As Gold walked over he found his daughters laughing and boasting to each other at their accomplishment, and pointing out the moments when they thought the other didn’t play fair. Gold knew these conversations well, from his days of his colthood with his own siblings. But that didn’t excuse their actions any less than it did him all those years ago.
“What dost thou think thou were doing?” Gold Rush asked irritated at his daughters.
The two young mares’ smiles quickly left their faces under their father’s admonishment, and they were quickly shrinking under the large stallion’s gaze as he looked down on them with a stern look.
“Ye two practically gave thy mother and me a heart attack with that display thou just did! And what if thou had gotten hurt or heaven forbid thou hurt someone else! Did thou even thinketh about what it would do to thy mother and I?” Gold continued to berate the two almost grown mares like a pair of young foals.
Lavender, always her daughter’s savior, must have figured it was best to try and diffuse the situation before it continued to escalate, as she placed a hoof on Gold’s shoulder. Gold immediately turned his fiery stare towards her momentarily before she felt his muscles relax as he let out a sigh.
She turned her attention to the two mares in trouble, and spoke to them in a gentle voice to let them know she wasn’t angry at them, “Me thinks what thy father means is that you two need to be more careful. Thou two knowest that thine abilities allow thee the possibility to do things that most ponies could only dream of. Now not everypony is going to like this fact, some might even be outright hurtful to thee because of it.
“Which means that the two of you need to practice restraint at all times and keep an eye on for each other, because thy father and I will not be there all of the time. Dost thou understand?”
Celestia and Luna just nodded their heads slowly in agreement never daring to look up. Lavender gave them a little smile before continuing on down the path and Gold followed her, who was soon by her side again. Lavender called back behind her at the two sisters.
“Come along ye two! We still have a festival to get to!”
The two sisters followed their parents with their heads still hanging a little low as they continued on down the path towards the village.
After about another hour of continuing down the dirt path they came to the outskirts of the town. The mood in the group had lightened up considerably as they neared the village. Celestia was talking to Luna about all the games they would have there, while the younger one listened with interest. Meanwhile Gold Rush was fantasizing about all the good treats he would get to eat, while Lavender teasingly warned him about eating too much lest he get too big. Gold just snorted as the girls all shared a laugh at the big stallion’s expense.
The laughter immediately stopped as they came to the wooden bridge that crossed over a stream at the edge of town. On the other side they saw the town in disarray, it wasn’t under attack at least not in the traditional sense but instead it didn’t look anything like the town they all knew. The grass was no longer green but instead now was a checkered pattern of dark and light blue. Houses were in all sorts of states, some were cut up like Swiss cheese, while others looked like someone had turned them inside out exposing their guts, and even others were floating upside down in the sky. Gone were the leaves on the trees replaced by what looked like pink cotton candy.
“What happened here honey?” Lavender whispered to Gold so as to not alert the other two.
Gold just stood stunned as he tried to absorb what he was seeing, slowly he shook his head, “I don’t know? You three stay here while I go and check it out.”
“There’s no way I’m letting thee go by thyself.” Lavender said as she grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving, Gold solemnly gave her a nod and they slowly made their way into the village.
Everything seemed wrong to the family as they walked into the town square. From the clock tower now being a giant bananna, to the group of muscled out pigs that were currently having a pose-off on the other side of the square. Suddenly Luna saw a pony walking up from an alley way off to their right; she touched her father to point her to the figure walking towards them. The stranger was a red pegasus stallion with a white mohawk for a his mane, Luna figured her father knew this pony because he quickly ran over to him.
“Velvet what happened here? What happened to our village?” Gold asked this new pony.
Velvet just looked at Gold for a moment before opening his mouth, but instead of words they just heard the bleating baa of a sheep. As Gold and his family stood shocked yet again by the weirdness that their town had become they heard a deep almost maniacal laugh ring out from everywhere. Upon hearing the laugh Velvet Skies quickly dashed for safety as fast as his legs would carry him.
“Father what is that?” Celestia asked as she and Luna crept closer to the safety of their parents.
“You mean ‘who’ is that, -“ the mysterious voice spoke again before there was a flash of light in the clearing, leaving a strange looking creature before them giving a little bow, “- the name is Discord.”
Standing in front of them was the single weirdest creature Celestia had ever seen. His overall appearance reminded her of a serpent like dragon but he didn’t look like any kind of dragon she had ever heard about. Every part of him was made up of a different animal and he stood on two legs at least four times taller than anypony she had ever seen. His left leg resembled a goat’s with its brown hoof and tan color fur, while his right leg was that of a green scaled dragon. His tail continued the dragon look except instead of green scales it was coated in shimmering red ones and ended in a tuft of white feathers. His snakelike torso was coated in the brown feathers of an eagle with a set of wings on his back. The left wings looked like it had come off a bluebird while the right one sported the leathery skin of a bat’s wing.
Judging by the smaller stature of his wings in relation to the rest of his body Celestia had to wonder how he was able to fly with them if at all. The eagle motif continued to his left arm which was the claw and talons of the raptor. Meanwhile his right arm was a powerful leg from some kind of big cat, a lion, if Celestia had to take guess at it. His neck and head was that of pony but on a much longer neck, and was grey in color with a black mane. On top of his head sat pair of horns but not even those matched as one was the antler of a deer while the other was something that resembled the horn of a goat.
His shifty looking irises were blood red and set in a pair of sickly yellow looking eyes. Rounding his face out were his bushy eyebrows that was the same silvery color of the skinny beard set on his chin. He gave them a wily smile, a jagged tooth sticking out menacingly, as he gave them a low bow.
“Lord of chaos and Ruler of Equestria,” Discord said as he rose from his bow.
“Ruler of Equestria?” Gold Rush pondered in disbelief, “That is a fallacy; Equestria is ruled by the tribal council.”
“Yes I know that I haven’t been able to make it to the more rural locations yet, plus-” Discord snapped his fingers and in a flash of white he held an hourglass in his right paw,”-the change of supervision was only recently.”
The four ponies had to squint as Discord held out the hourglass for them to see. Inside of it they could make out what looked like nine ponies, three from each of the different tribes.
“W-who art they?” Luna asked timidly.
Discord just continued to grin as he snapped again, causing the hourglass to disappear once more, “Why they’re the tribal council my dear.”
The four ponies let out a gasp of shock at what this creature had done, and a sense of fear began to creep up at the fact he had seemingly done it with ease. It was Lavender who managed to find her voice first.
“Whatfore art thou doing here?” She asked with as much bravery as she could muster.
“Why I’m here to reshape this land into one more of my liking, don’t you like what I’ve already done with the place?” The creature asked as he presented the town to Lavender and her family.
“Tis an abomination of nature,” Lavender said which caused the him to frown at having his work insulted.
“You ponies and your lack of imagination always so satisfied with the mundane way of living, never relaxing and allowing yourselves to have a little fun. Honestly it’s such a bore.” Discord said before flashing a smug smile, “So I offer this choice, either join me in changing this world into a better one, or join the fate of your council and cease to exist in it at all.”
Fear rushed through Gold as he turned to his family, “R-”
But it was too late as they heard the snap of his fingers before the four ponies were consumed in a burst of white light. Once it faded Gold and Lavender were no longer to be seen leaving Celestia and Luna behind, the look of horror still etched on their faces. Shock flashed upon Discord’s face for a moment before he pondered what had just happened a slight frown began to form on his lips.
“Odd…,” Discord said thinking to himself, “usually that works.”
“Where art our parents? What did thoust do to them?” Celestia asked, her voice trembling, when she managed to gather the courage to speak.
Discord just gave them a shrug, “I told you already, they are no longer a part of this world, and I will not have troublemaker’s mucking about trying to ruin my good fun.”
“Thou art a monster.” Luna spat at him in disgust momentarily loosing her fear of the creature, but he just reacted in fake shock.
“Me… a monster? You wound me madam. Very well then I bid you two goodbye,” And with that he vanished in a flash of light.
The two sisters waited a moment, wondering if he was truly gone before they heard his deep voice coming from above him.
“Still I wonder… why didn’t you two disappear along with them?” The sister’s looked up to see him lounging on a hammock made of marshmallows staring down at them. “What’s so different about you two? I wonder if it has something to do with your physical oddities.
“Now I’ve been all over this planet in my life and can honestly say that you two are the first of your kind I’ve seen. That makes you two an anomaly to this world like me. Almost like we were cut from the same cloth why don’t you join me? We could mold the world in our own chaotic image.”
“We art nothing like thee!” Celestia yelled at him, the sister’s fear of him diminishing by the moment. Being replaced with anger as their horns began to glow with their magic, yet Discord still seemed unfazed by this threat. “We’d never join someone like thee! Now release our parents!”
“No… no I won’t,” Discord said plainly, obviously not impressed with their threats. “They are now part of my perfect world so why would I let them go. And don’t think that the glowing horns of two young mares are going to scare me. Do you honestly think that two of you are the first ponies to ever threaten me with unicorn magic?"
But the sisters didn't answer him, continuing to stare him down until he let out a sigh of frustration before flashing back on the ground in front of them.
“Very well then take your best shot.”
With that a nice red and white bull’s eye appeared on his chest as he placed a blindfold over his eyes and began to smoke a cigarette. Celestia’s anger boiled to a point till she could no longer hold it in and let it flow out from her in a hot yellow wave of vengeance. Discord didn’t bother to even dodge as he was swallowed by the attack that continued off into the horizon. As her energy dissipated and the wave tapered off the two sisters were disheartened to see that he had been telling the truth as he still stood there, although this time holding a sheet mirror under his chin and sporting a pair of sunglasses.
“See, I told you. I’m immune to pony magic.” He said as he discarded the objects which landed with the sound of a quack on the ground.
Celestia and Luna just snarled at the arrogant creature, Luna finally spoke up defiantly, “We shall beat you Discord.”
Discord waved off the threat, “Please like I’ve never heard that before,” after looking at the two ponies who were still snarling at him he let out another sigh, “You guys are no fun. Very well then how about we play a game? If you win I shall free your parents and return your village to the way it was.”
“And what if we lose?” Celestia asked warily but Discord just grinned at her bringing his fingers together.
“Oh, let’s not worry about that just yet. So do we have a deal or not?”
Celestia looked at Discord with narrowed eyes before glancing over to Luna who gave her a subtle nod. Turning back towards him, “Very well we accept.”
“Excellent and to make sure that you don’t just skip out on our little game, I’ll be watching.” And with that he disappeared leaving the sister’s wondering what they had just gotten themselves into.