Galloping up to the tower, I stopped by the guards by the door, quickly deciphering their rank insignia before turning to the left one, an earth pony. “Sergeant. There might be a situation, recall all Night Guard and go to high alert. Do NOT alert the Day Guard.”
That earned me a surprised look but he nodded. “Yes, sir!”
“Be ready to move if needed.” I added before quickly pulling the door to the tower open and galloping up the stairs.
Better safe than sorry in this case. Not entirely sure what the guard could do against Celestia, but better to have them alert and moving than anything else.
Damn it, I had never wished I could teleport as much as I did right now.
Passing the last two guards, I slammed the doors to the outer chamber open without slowing down. I could hear hoofsteps behind me along with a buzzing sound.
I didn't need to check to look what it was, it was Skitter rushing to keep up.
She was always there even if I couldn't see her sometimes. She was really good at staying hidden when she wanted to.
Almost slipping on the smooth floor, I took the corner and barged into the bedroom, a simple spell popping the bubble of silence over the bed as I jumped, landing on it next to the sleeping Luna.
She jerked awake with a flap of her wings, blinking and looking around blearily, blinking. “W-what? Page?”
I almost collapsed next to her, struggling to catch my breath enough to speak.
Damn it.
Really need to work more on my cardio. Shining Armor was so right.
“Page? What's going on?” Luna asked and rolled onto her stomach, giving me a worried look.
“D-do you still have those plans you were going to use to take over Equestria as Nightmare Moon? B-because I think we might need them.”
Luna tilted her head. “Page... you are not making any sense. What's going on?”
“Celestia. She has gone insane!”
“My sister? What?”
Taking a deep breath I started to explain. “Celestia is taking Discord to Ponyville in an attempt to have her student release him and reform him to good.”
Luna stared at me for a long second before her horn lit up and she disappeared in a flash of blue light, the covers dropping onto the bed where she had been.
Collapsing onto the bed I struggled to get my breath back for a second before I forced myself to roll off it and onto my hooves, trotting back towards the door to the bedroom where Skitter was waiting in her natural form, looking more than a bit confused.
“Sir? What's going on?”
“Nothing good. But I don't want to panic just yet, Luna can handle it.”
I hope.
“...Should I alert the hive?” she carefully asked. “I don't know what's happening, but if things are bad enough to cause Princess Luna to teleport out...”
I sighed and shook my head. “No. No need to start a panic unless it's needed. There is nothing they can do anyway if Discord really is released. If there was something that could be done, I would tell you. Trying to prepare might cause him to make things worse out of spite.”
Skitter hesitated but nodded. “...Very well. I trust you, sir.”
Sighing again, I moved past her to look out the window across the city in the general direction of Ponyville.
What in the world could compel Celestia to do something that stupid? Releasing Discord was right up there with 'Let's hit the nuclear warhead with a hammer!' when it come to good ideas.
Still, I trusted Luna to be able to handle it. She could talk her sister out of it.
“Lord Page?”
I glanced back at the open door as Captain Cold Skies walked into the outer chamber. “Yes, Captain?”
He was the leader of the Night Guard.
“What's going on? Why did you put the Guard on high alert?” He asked as he approached. “Where is the Princess?”
Shaking my head, I turned to him. “Princess Celestia is trying to release Discord. Princess Luna went to talk her out of it or stop her if need be.”
The expression on his face was carefully blank, but his ears folded back at the idea. “...High alert it is. You don't think we can trust the Day Guard?”
“I have no idea! I was just being careful.”
A bright blue flash appeared in the middle of the room, signaling the return of Luna. She didn't look happy.
“Luna!” I exclaimed as I turned to her.
She sighed. “Page.” and moved up, shifting to rest the side of her neck against mine.
“What happened? Did you stop it?”
Luna shook her head. “My sister is convinced that Twilight Sparkle will be able to contain him, the elements have been enchanted so that he can not touch them. Having reviewed the evidence, I believe she might be correct. I do not like it, nor approve, but...”
I stared at her in slight horror. “...She is actually going to release Discord?”
“He was released five minutes ago.”
Fuck.
“...Crap.” I sighed, scraping my hoof against the stone floor. “Okay. Fine. I'm going to go throw all the houseplants out.”
Luna gave me a quick nuzzle. “I do not like this either, my Page. But she is right that if his power could be harnessed to defend Equestria, it would be a great boon.”
I nuzzled back before I shook my head. “That's a pretty big 'if'.”
“Indeed. I need to go wait for my sister to return. We need to have a bit of a talk about discussing big decisions with me before making them.” she almost growled as she pulled back, wings raised and her hair moving faster. She didn't look happy.
“Princess?” Captain Cold Skies interrupted. “Your guard is gathered and on high alert. Orders?”
Luna gave me a curious look and I shrugged.
“Figured it wouldn't hurt.”
She nodded with a smile before turning to Cold Skies. “Stand down but remain vigilant, Captain. Report any disturbances to me or Lord Page.”
“Yes, your highness.”
It's funnier to read how casual he is about throwing house plants out of the castle, also Luna's reaction to being 'out of the loop' on grand sweeping choices that effect EVERYONE.
We wonder if the Changelings would invite Page to any cultural events they have, or his secret agent 'bond' could be a Changeling?
Actually, hiting warheads with a hammer is one of the "quick and dirt" ways to disarm them. It will certainly kill anyone in the proximities, but the giant radioactive mushroom will be averted.
Why do I stay up until 2 AM to read this? Especially on nights when I have classes in the morning?
Haha, Luna's gotta love having someone like that who just has a knack for noticing when shit's about to go down. He even put her guard on high alert, and considering it sounded like she agreed with his precautions, he may have earned even more brownie points. She can trust him to keep a level head and think ahead if things go wrong. Unlike a certain pair of ponies who either don't notice horrible evils are around or send woefully underequipped ponies to deal with it, or her student who either doesn't notice important things, or over reacts to everything. All hail Page, master of common sense. Something Equis is distinctly lacking in.
I know that I'll be tired the next day for reading this, but it is so worth it. Ah Page, your casual statement to toss out the houseplants is refreshing as ever, but nevertheless is a good habit to have if Discord is on the lose and possibly nearby, wouldn't chance it either if Luna is into gather dangerous plants.
Also 6840048, the Agent Changling Bond idea might be good one as the hive mind can replace the earwigs (communication devices) and still have access to a lot of information like a computer.
hum interesting I am sure wee all know how the show goes but this is a story and code go either way.
if it was me I would have a bit of fun trolling Page with Discord but this is me and there is a reason I am not a author.
Indeed.
Nice chapter and awesome update speed, great work.
6840074
I was going to say the same thing. Plus, the future explosives in a nuclear warhead are quite insensitive. Hitting one with a hammer is quite reasonable compared to releasing Discord.
I thing juggling nitro glycerin or tap dancing on a land mine would be better analogies.
Tense Jack Ryan action, mixed in with a little Valkylrie, leading up to a doomsday clock that is Discord.
Then...
That was the best! My favorite sequence this far!
We love you Skitter!!!
I predict the Royal Canterlot Voice will soon be used...A lot in the near future
6840074 I was going to say that, but I wasn't certain it was true. I know they are rather sensitive. So they don't go off when you don't want them to, but I thought you would at least need explosives for that.
Okay I know he's in very high standings and all, sleeping with best princess tends to lend you that status, but does he really have the authority to command the entire lunar guard? I mean whenever he's away from Luna and he returns the guards still have to check to make sure it's him, but still, or am I missing something that was already stated in a previous chapter?
6840464 The Medal he was given give him all the right to speak in Luna's name besides giving him free access pretty much everywhere
6840500
Ah see I know I missed something.
I was going to say Celestia's decision makes perfect sense.
She has to play the very long game, and containing Discord is not a long term solution. He broke out once already, even if it took him 1,000+ years. Since he was reimprisoned in the same manner, there's no reason to assume he can't eventually break out again, a little wiser, and more bitter.
I was going to say that, but if Celestia decided this without consulting Luna, then she dun goofed.
6840048
I would love to see that. A little world building between the big drama blowups would be so sweet. If Changeling society is as old as the hills they must have some sort of celebrations, big and small, that Page could get invited to.
Also, the line about Page wanting to throw out the houseplants. Whiff! Went right over my head. I didn't get the joke.
This really, really doesn't sound like the kind of thing that should happen without both parties' approval in a diarchy between "equals," if you ask me.
6840804 yeah. If I was Luna I would really think about leaving and starting my own county.
6840624 Only in a children's show could a being like Discord be given any sort of real trust in the long term. In a more mature, realistic world (like this one) there's no way Celestia's scheme would have worked out in the long term. Heck, even in canon MLP he betrayed them. True, he might break out again, but at least you've had another few centuries without him.
In Twilight's Kingdom, when Discord asks the Elements if they really hadn't seen it coming, I thought to myself: "Yah, I saw it coming."
Any way you spin it, letting Celestia is an idiot, and Luna is a moron for letting her go ahead with her mad schemes.
6840074 That really, really depends on the design of the weapon.
Early models built by the US and Russia truly were NOT safe! They depended upon a supercritical mass that when slapped together would initiate the chain reaction. There were two designs to those early models, and indeed, in one of those designs, they would go nuclear no-matter-what, even if you removed the non-nuclear explosives!
It wasn't until after decades of experiments and mathematical modeling that they learned to construct them with subcritical masses, relying instead on carefully timed and shaped explosives to cause the nuclear material to reach critical density for initiating a reaction.
That's currently the big threat about rogue states building nukes--they don't need or want "safe" weapons, so for them, they don't have to worry about stealing the high tech stuff the US, Russia and China have to make them safe. A quick and dirty 1950's design is all they need to "join the nuclear club" and terrorize their neighbors.
As for Page putting the guard on high alert and waking Luna in such a manner, there's nothing wrong or inappropriate about that. ANYONE should be able to put the guard force on high alert if they see or hear of something dangerous was going on, even if it's just someone in the cleaning staff. What would be inappropriate is if he had told them to stand down when they were needing to prepare for an event. But from Page's perspective, "it was better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."
Although, the whole scene would've been funnier if, in the background, the princesses HAD discussed it earlier and agreed to it.
6840804 I agree; Luna seems to get shoved by the wayside when world-changing decisions such as Sombra or this come up. Celestia is risking the collective world on what amounts to a whim.
6841144
Sooo... I guess I better drop the hammer, just in case
And yes, the worst about Celestia´s actions is the tiny detail she didn´t ask her alleged co-ruler first to make a decission which could endanger the whole kingdom.
Seriously Tia, didn´t Nightmare Moon teach you about not ignoring your sister in princess matters?
6841171
Well, "whim" might be saying a bit much. Discord is ludicrously powerful; if he used that power constructively, he could do an amazing amount of good for everyone. In that sense, it's a very sharp and calculated kind of decision. There is no excuse for bypassing her sister (and really pretty much all the other leaders of the world) when taking a possibly literally world-shaking risk like that, though. That's how you get Nightmare Moons.
6841197 Fair enough. He would be a very powerful ally but the given the circumstances of his previous conflict with the elements {which he very nearly won} I can't see her as having any reason to believe he can be changed beyond naive optimism. I'd imagine the best bet would be to take a chisel to him, assuming it's possible. That's not saying anything of the potential shift it'd have in the national political landscape, Equestria suddenly gaining what amounts to a god. Then again, maybe I'm looking for problems where there are none; reforming Discord never felt logical to me.
6841287
Well, it's ponyland, "naive optimism" is kind of their thing. "Reforming" Discord always worked for me because, in all honesty, there isn't really much there that needs to be reformed in the first place. Discord isn't really a villain. He hasn't hurt anyone and in any case doesn't really want to, he just wants to troll them a bit for his own amusement. That's annoying, self-centered and disruptive, but it isn't really harmful or malicious in the sense of a Sombra or a Tirek. He could have just as well used all that amazing power to turn the floor into literal lava instead of just making it checkered. He's basically just an overgrown playground jerk - reforming him was mostly a matter of whapping him on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper every so often and reminding him that pranks are supposed to be funny to both parties.
6841192 I agree with that. Of course, this is Hiver's story--and many folk here have also done the "neglected half of the diarchy" theme. I have reason to feel most ideas are non-canon, but I have no heartache over them.
The show's canon has occasionally hinted there's more cooperation going on between Celestia and Luna than what the fans assume (the episode "Slice of Life" not withstanding). On at least one of Twilight's earlier missions as a unicorn, Luna asked Celestia if she truly thought TS was ready for the mission (IIRC, it was "Return of the Crystal Empire"), which means they really are consulting one another on world-shaking matters. Given the air time only allows for 20-22 minutes at best, the statement is telling, even if rather subtly delivered.
However, such things make for good and even great stories with the built-in dynamic conflict. They make the fanfics truly more enjoyable with that sort of realism in it.
To be honest, I think the AU tag is entirely superfluous. EVERYTHING here is AU--doesn't mean we can't enjoy them for being non-canon.
6841377 In this case I actually think Celestia didn't talk it over with Cadance and Luna. Because after dropping Discord off, when she left she said a line about 'Needing to attend a royal summit'. I always assumed that was code for 'Telling Luna and Cadance what I just did'.
6841397 That's possible. Or she's got to tell the other nations what she did--the griffons, the dragons, the Saddle Arabians, etc.♫♪
That sort of revelation could be problematic in it's own right, too
Griffon ambassador: "You Equestrians DID WHAT!?"
Dragon ambassador: "Fuck, it's too late to go to war with them for being stupid now!"
6841397
That's the kind of "parent bonus" joke I can totally see this show using.
6840648
Read the previous story, he was tormented by a houseplant during Discord's previous escape...
6841397
Celestia's Way:
Do then Tell
America's Way:
Take a vote, wait 3 years, then do
Best way:
Ask others, then Do
6841144
I know I'm rather late on this (just now getting around to this series from my RIL list), but this is just plain wrong. It did not take decades to go from gun type to implosion type weapons. They were developed in parallel. In fact, the very first man made nuclear explosion (the Trinity test) was produced by an implosion design.
Hell, from the start of the Manhattan Project to the first thermonuclear weapon test was only ten years, two months, and nineteen days. That's a decade, not "decades".
6840648
Oh, thank goodness. I thought I was the only one who didn't get the houseplant joke.
8738301
First book: discord’s jail brake: plant laughing at him.
6840091
the reason for him disposing of the plants is because of his experience with one the first time Discord got out. it mocked him and told really bad jokes in Finnish.
7509409
Yes, implosion-type weapons were designed in parallel with gun-type. As you said, Trinity, as well as Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki were implosion-types.
My post was referring to developing weapons that relied on critical density rather than critical mass, where the weapons will NEVER go full nuclear UNLESS the explosives are all purposely fired--which is what the whole point of making "safe" nukes. That development did take decades.
This is madness... Madness?
THIS - IS - EQUESTRIAaaa!!!
10956243
MC could write an Equestrian version of 300 and sell well.
Q and Picard kind of relationship between Page and Discord?
11503717
Didn't even consider it, great idea!
Griffons versus Yeti perhaps?
So far in my stories this chapter can't happen, by than Discord was already free
This chapter might actually give legitimate reason to attack Equestria, for endangering the planet population towards a impossible to control of threat assessment entity like Discord without the other nations concent.