The Origin of a Legacy

by QuiteNiceDynamite

Tranquility Returns

As the chariot cleared Stalliongrad and approached Canterlot, Luna continued to hold her dead love, even if he was for only a few moments. Celestia laid a hoof on her heartbroken sisters’ shoulder. Cirrus was stood at the back of the chariot, looking back at the moon and the death they had left behind them from the chariot’s tailgate, the old Pegasi wept slightly, he had only known Raider for a few days, but his bravery and the unity he instilled within the group while he was alive had made the Sergeant one of his friends.

The gunners on the chariot left their stations and were sat on the base of the chariot, helmets removed, looking at the body of their dead Sergeant. They had always thought that the Sergeant was a sort of machine that would never been defeated, that he would be the shining light of the Royal Guard, the future Captain that would make Canterlot the core of Equestria.

Then the radio buzzed into life again.
“Raider? Report!” Steel Hooves yelled, he didn’t know if the battle was over yet.

Celestia grabbed the radio and walked away from Luna towards the back of the chariot and stood next to Cirrus.
“Captain.” Celestia sighed sadly. “Raider’s dead.”

The Captain exclaimed in shock, and Celestia heard him groan sadly and sniff loudly.
“Did he go out like a true soldier?” Asked the sad Captain.

“Yes, he sacrificed his life to save Luna.” Celestia replied.

“Well, at least he went out with a bang, and not a whimper.” Steel Hooves said, mournful at the loss of his second-in-command. “Has he told Luna about…” The Captain left the question hanging.

“Yes,” Celestia nodded. “He told her about his…feelings."

“Good, he hadn’t been the same since he’d seen Luna for the first time, I’m glad he got it off his chest before the end." Steel Hooves muttered quietly.

“How far are you from home?” Asked the Captain.

“We’re landing on the runway now.” Celestia said as she hung up.

---

The chariot reached the runway outside the military barracks and landed smoothly. Several soldiers were stood on either side of the runway, waiting for the scouting party. Captain Steel Hooves stood in the middle of the runway; he slowly approached the chariot-pulling Pegasi and spoke to them quietly.

“Go and rest up, you’ve done well.”

He then looped around the back of the chariot and opened the tailgate, he saw his dead Sergeant on the floor and looked to the ground, shocked by his death, but also immensely proud of his sacrifice. The Captain quickly composed himself and looked to the two shocked gunners.

“You two, go and rest up, you did well.”

The two gunners slowly got up and trotted off to the barracks, saluting their Captain as they walked past him. Steel Hooves returned their salute and looked at the victorious, but depressed group.

Steel Hooves trotted onto the chariot and knelt beside Luna at the Sergeant’s side.
“I’m sorry,” The Captain whispered to Luna. “I know what he meant to you. We’re having a service for him tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Luna whispered back tearfully.

---

Steel Hooves looked down at the brave Raider, still holding his stomach and that last smile he ever made, his eyes still wet from the tears of his life as he vacantly stared up at the moon.
The Captain closed Raiders’ eyes as he looked solemnly down at his dead right-hoof man. Luna finally took her eyes off of Raider, stood up and peered towards the kneeling Captain. The Captains' bottom lip was shaking as he held a hoof to his head and his midriff rocked slightly, as if he was choking back tears. Luna saw a single small tear fall from the Captains’ eyes, glinting in the moonlight, as it fell beside Raider.

“Goodbye, Raider.” Steel Hooves whispered almost silently.

---

The Captain slowly stood and wiped his eyes for all to see, he wouldn’t hide his true emotions towards his Sergeant, his best friend.

Steel Hooves looked at Luna, Celestia and Cirrus and noticed the Elements of Harmony around the sisters’ necks.

“Well done.” He then spoke loud enough for all to hear.
“We are all in your debt for what you’ve been through for us.” The Captain removed his helmet to salute the three, and all the troops followed suit.

“Come on,” Steel Hooves said at his normal volume. “Let’s go and get Discord before the night is through.”

Luna, Celestia and Cirrus followed the Captain out of the chariot and walked towards the castle where Discord and Princess Solaria were waiting, the troops and citizens of Canterlot followed them to watch the spectacle that would be happening soon.

---

Princess Solaria was stood in front of the castle steps, with Discord and several troops stood near her. The ponies that lived near the castle were already lining the streets, waiting.
“Captain.” The Princess said as Steel Hooves, Cirrus, Luna and Celestia bowed down low below them.

“Your Highness.” Steel Hooves started. “Mission accomplished.”

The Princess looked at Cirrus, Luna and Celestia.

“Well done, I and all of Equestria honour your sacrifice and determination.” Said the Princess.

“Now, we must conclude business. May I have the Elements?” Solaria asked as she held a hoof out.

Luna and Celestia took the necklaces from around their necks and gave them to the Princess.

“But there’s two necklaces.” Steel Hooves asked. “How will you use them?” He asked.

“That does not matter, Captain. They will revert back to one necklace after I have used them. As I am the only pony capable of using the Elements, they will change to suit me.” The Princess pointed out.

“Discord?” The Princess asked the reformed villain.
“Anything you want to say?”

---

Discord was surprised that he had been given such a generous opportunity to speak before he was imprisoned, so he said for all to hear.

“I apologise for what I did, but I could never do enough to make up for it, so I respectfully accept any punishment you wish to hand me.” He said while he hung his head in self-shame.

Solaria replied to Discord as she donned the Elements of Harmony.
“I shall imprison you within a stone statue for one thousand years, no more, no less.”

“Oh, Princess!” Discord exclaimed. “You shouldn’t be so lenient!”

“When you are eventually released, make sure I don’t regret my decision by being so easy on you.” Solaria responded.
“Are you ready, Discord?” She asked.

“Yes, I accept my fate.” He responded sadly.

Solaria stood in a secure stance and her horn glowed as she charged her magic and channelled the magic of the Elements. When she was ready, she fired a beam of magic at Discord. But the beam didn’t imprison him, or even do any damage. Discord didn’t even feel it.

Many watching ponies gasped as their Princess failed, the sound of nervous murmuring came from the crowds.

“Discord?! Is this your doing?!” Solaria yelled angrily at the Draconequi.

“What? No! Like I said, I’m ready to be disposed of.” Discord gasped back, surprised that the Princess doubted him.

Princess Solaria turned and stared furiously at Luna, Celestia and Cirrus.
“Did you fools manage to steal fake Elements?” She screamed.

Luna, Celestia and Cirrus looked back at the furious Princess, unsure what to think.

“I don’t…think so.” Cirrus stuttered.

“Yeah.” Luna said. “They worked fine for us.”

The Princess’ ears pricked up sharply.
“What do you mean, ‘they worked fine for us?’” she growled menacingly.

Luna looked down at the ground, not sure how to respond.

“Well…when the Changelings chased us, me and Tia used magic of a power we’ve never experienced before, much more powerful than we could ever manage. I felt the source of my magic come from the Elements, not my horn as it usually would. When me and Tia unleashed that magic, the Changelings were all killed instantly, but the Pegasi from Stalliongrad remained unscathed by it.” Luna described.

“That makes sense!” Cirrus butted in. “The Elements can only destroy anything evil, so the ponies on our side would be safe!”

Discord spoke up. “They are correct.”

“WHAT?!” Yelled the Princess, seemingly going insane.

“I thought I felt an increase of magic in the atmosphere when they came here, and ever since you took the Elements from them, that atmospheric change died down.” Discord described.

“No…I won’t believe it. I’m the Princess, only I can use them” Solaria responded resolutely.

“Princess.” Steel Hooves started. “Please, hand over the Elements.” Steel Hooves held out a hoof for the necklaces as the Canterlot ponies waited nervously, unsure of how their Princess would react.

Solaria sighed sadly and removed the Elements.
“Fine. Do what you please, it won’t work anyway.” She mumbled, ashamed at having been embarrassed in front of the entire town.

Steel Hooves took the Elements and handed one each to Luna and Celestia, as they put them on, Steel Hooves asked.
“Ready, Discord?”

“Yes, Captain." Discord replied.

"Girls, fire when ready.” He said as he presented himself.

---

Luna and Celestia looked at each other, then looked at Discord. They weren’t too sure of how to use the Elements properly, so Luna thought to use a regular imprisonment spell, and hopefully the Elements would do the rest. Luna charged her spell, and she felt the source of power from the Elements course through her veins up towards her horn. Luna’s spell travelled to Celestia and they were both lifted into the air, the bright white light returned as the magic of the Elements were ready to be released.

Wind started to rush through the air as Luna and Celestia hovered, their manes swirling around wildly, making them seem all-powerful. Their eyes both glowed a solid white, then a rainbow-coloured beam of magic came from their horns, both wide of Discord. As the beams of magic intensified, they joined together and shot to Discord. As the beam hit Discord, a blinding white light exploded throughout Canterlot.

---

As the light died down, the ponies of Canterlot uncovered their eyes to see that a stone statue of Discord had appeared on the castle entrance, the statue still held the expression that Discord had been pulling as he watched the beam of magic approach him.

Princess Solaria looked at Luna and Celestia in awe, unsure of how they used the Elements.
Captain Steel Hooves composed himself and trotted to the castle’s entrance, then bellowed to the crowd.

“Only the Princesses of Equestria can use the Elements of Harmony, so all bow before our new royalty!” He ordered as he and all of Canterlot bowed to the ground before the new Princesses, Luna and Celestia.

---

After they had worshipped their new royalty, ponies of Canterlot began to party in the streets. Ponies were dancing and singing, even with ponies they had never seen before. Canterlot had become their utopia again, a land of peace. Harmony had returned to Canterlot.
The troops were all happy, but didn’t feel like celebrating. They had all lost a friend in Raider, and partying wouldn’t feel right.

---

With the backdrop of partying ponies and the night sky, Cirrus, Luna and Celestia all trotted over to each other and stood about two yards apart. They seemed to be in their own time, with only silence following them. They looked at each other and started to cry, and then they all hugged.

They had done it. Despite the overwhelming odds, the lack of backup and the lack of weapons, the thrown-together group of a Sergeant, an old Pegasi, and two young alicorn sisters had taken on the harsh environments and the Changeling Kingdom to imprison Discord, and they had done it!

---

The group continued to cry and laugh at the same time in celebration until Princess Solaria trotted over to them and spoke.
“You two, could you meet me in the castle, please? ASAP.” She asked kindly, but reservedly.

Then she trotted away and asked Captain Steel Hooves to accompany them. As Princess Solaria walked into the castle, Steel Hooves shrugged at the sisters to show that he didn’t know what she wanted, but obeyed her nevertheless.

The new princesses waved goodbye to their adoring public, opened the doors and followed the Captain and the Princess into the castle.