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// 19 -Celebrations - One minute 
// Story: If Chaos prevails... 
// by The Marshmallow 
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In Canterlot, less than one minute before the princess had started her fight with Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor, everything was still seemingly normal. Thousands of ponies were still filling the large main square, all still absorbed by the show the magician had carefully crafted, and so were the three dozen nobles and dignitaries from Equestria and many other countries, sitting in the floating tribune a few meters above the crowd. After a few minutes without Discord, they had mostly stopped thinking about his absence. Nocreature doubted his abilities, his infallibility even, so they correctly assumed he was just messing around. Also, nopony besides them had noticed, so there was no reason to fret.

"Mares and Gentlestallions..." Not even Trixie, the only pony facing in the opposite direction, could easily see what was going on up there. But even if given the possibility, she would have probably been too focused on the crowd in front of her and on her own trick. Something was off. Her magic was now enveloping the magic box which had briefly held Pinkie Pie, her gestures making it the focus of everypony's attention. "The great and powerful Trixie's lovely assistant..." She then made the box snap open with her magic, revealing the emptiness within. "Is no more!" She wanted to release a breath of relief, but she managed not to. The agreed signal wasn't there, so it was a bit of a shot in the dark. She had it coming for working with amateurs, she guessed, but she was experienced enough to go on without missing a beat. "And Now..." Now she had to get her back. Making some spectacle, taking the audience's focus elsewhere. And then surprising everyone with her sudden entrance on stage, exactly as they rehearsed.

Just under the stage below her, together with the rest of the supporting staff, did sit Applejack. Like them, she was nervous. Their restlessness came from not knowing where Pinkie was. Hers came from knowing. She even had to reassure them somehow, to lie to them, and that wasn't her forte. Vanishing like that and then reappearing from nopony-knows-where would have been nothing new for the Pink mare, and even in the short time they had worked with her, they all had the chance to verify it. Also, she was the king's favourite, and therefore going against her wishes was out of the question. probably she was just 'Pulling a Pinkie', as Applejack had said. Such a lie was already enough to fill her guts with guilt and disgust, but she was managing to keep it together fairly well. She was fighting for a just cause, she was fighting to give everypony a better life. Also, she only had to keep her poker face a little bit more.

As she heard Trixie revealing that Pinkie had vanished, she was sure it was the moment to act "This is weird, guys. I'd better go looking for her!" Nopony else had nothing to object to the suggestion. She had helped to build a few of the props, but the job of making sure everything ran smoothly wasn't hers. It was, therefore, the perfect candidate to go looking around, to go searching for the pink mare. She had other plans, though. Walking calmly at first and then progressively accelerating her trot, Applejack got out of their sight and swiftly moved towards Rarity, soon reaching her. The Fashionista was still absorbed by fitting the dress on the bride, and the farmer did almost envy how relaxed she still seemed, how dedicated she was to her task despite their mission. Still, she couldn't afford to let that go on. They needed to go, to do so before it was too late. "Rarity? I think we should..." She didn't want to end the phrase, not to attract too much attention. She hoped the innuendo was more than enough.

It was. And Rarity seemed extremely calm as she replied, without moving her gaze away from the details of the dress in front of her, and the way it fell on the delicate curves of Fluttershy. "That's perfect, darling, I will be done in just a moment." The yellow pegasus tried not to show it, but she was a bit relieved the fitting would be over soon. She wasn't impatient or anything, but having another pony lodge in her personal space for many consecutive minutes was a bit uncomfortable. "Magnificent! You look simply divine!" The pegasus blushed slightly. Rainbow Dash, who was relaxing nearby, looked up for a moment and soon started blushing too. She obviously liked what she saw. The outfit wasn't at all revealing, just like Fluttershy wanted, but it highlighted her slender figure in all the right ways. The perfect artisanally made butterflies in lace were a sight to behold. When she had heard Rarity describe them, the blue mare had thought they would be way too girly, probably lame... But now even she would have had a hard time denying their awesomeness. Rarity looked almost completely satisfied, but there was still something bothering her "It's not too tight, is it?"

Fluttershy took a few moments to answer. She was looking intently in a nearby mirror, but it wasn't mere vanity distracting her; it was a plethora of conflicting emotions. The dress was beautiful, and frankly, she loved how well it fit her. She never, not even in her wildest dreams, could have imagined that one day she would have owned something like it. And it was but a small sample of what she could have had, and what she could have shared with those close to her, just by marring Discord. On the other side, though, it was a sharp reminder of what was going to happen in but an hour. Something she was not ready for. She didn't dislike Discord. She felt some affection, maybe some feelings of Friendship. But love?  She sighed. "No, it fits perfectly. Thank you." She managed to muster a timid smile, trying to hide her feelings.

It was with a large smile and relief in her voice Rarity finally answered, as if trying to convince herself too: "Then we are done!" She started putting away her tools in the appropriate place, rather quickly, while a hopeful Applejack thought they would finally have the chance to get out of there. But something was off. There was hesitation in her magic, useless delays in the movement of the clothes and of her tools, tension in her smile, and then there were quick, furtive glances given at Fluttershy herself. "Let's go have... A snack!" 

"My wonderful audience, now the Great and Powerful Trixie needs help from all of you!" The magician was still moving around the magic box with careful steps, until she finally stopped, keeping it at her right side. Her every gesture was extremely theatrical, her voice powerful "I will need to prepare a lot of magic for this trick to work. So I will be counting to three..." She waited a moment before going on, letting what she had just said sink in the crowd's collective mind. The following request did appear therefore quite natural "Count together with me, so you can all lend me your strength!" Even the trained unicorns in the crowd, in a collective suspension of disbelief, seemed to momentarily forget that obviously magic didn't work like that. But few ponies could be as confident and convincing as Trixie on a stage. So, with a confident smile, she started: "One!"

The magician's every word was being magically amplified, reaching the crowd with ease. As a consequence, it was heard clearly even in the backstage, making Applajeck grow more and more wary with every sound. "Rarity... I think we should..." She swallowed, even a small lie like that required all her effort. "Go have that snack!" The fashionista didn't answer immediately. After a moment, she gave the farm pony a meaningful, conflicted look. There was something holding her back, but Applejack didn't yet understand what.

"Two..." the whole crowd answered repeating the same world, only many times more loudly. Seemingly with ease, Trixie got on her rear hooves, and started to dangle a bit her now freed forelegs. As the word "Three" came out of her mouth, she explosively extended them in the general direction of the box, as if she was transferring some kind of 'magic' to it. And as soon the crowd echoed the number, the rumble of thunder was heard clearly by all, as a flash of light accompanied it, exactly in the direction Trixie had pointed to. Everypony was in shock. The nobles were legitimately worried, as many of them had no mean of getting out of that flying tribune by themselves, while the crowd looked at the magician with hope. That had to be part of the show, right? It wasn't, and Trixie was probably the most shocked among them all. In her mind, she was pondering how great and powerful she was, even more than she expected. Probably too much for her own good. Still, she managed to speak again without missing a beat: "Mmmh... That didn't work..." And she seemed so calm that she managed to trick many, even eliciting some uncomfortable laughter. Most likely avoiding the dangerous rush to the exits that might otherwise have happened.

In the backstage, Applejack was legitimately terrified. She correctly guessed that Twilight had been discovered, and despite trusting her fully she couldn't but feel worried for her. But just one moment afterwards she realized that she had reasons to be even more worried for someone else. Someone that would fairly easily be associated with the lavender unicorn, and for whom any moment now some guard could be sent: "Rarity!" She was going to be in danger, and Applejack felt the need to protect her. Even if she had to take her away by force. Her tone of voice was therefore much more firm, decisive "Now!"

Rarity gave her a somber look, biting her lower lip slightly, before turning to Fluttershy. "I... I meant it!" Finally, she managed to speak. Her voice was a little bit shaken, she was still kind of afraid of what she was going to say, but Both Applejack and Fluttershy shared for a moment the exact same confused expression. Neither did anything to interrupt her "When I said you don't have to do anything you are not comfortable with, I meant it."

She did say that, didn't it? The context was different, previously, but now the implications were quite clear. "B-but..." tentatively, she tried to object. She didn't even really know what exactly to say. She thought the king would be very unhappy with her refusal. She didn't think he would do to Cloudsdale what he promised, but she wasn't fully sure. She then managed to sum all of her worries in a  single word, a single name.  "Discord..." But then she had to stop. There were no objections in front of the earnest eyes of the fashionista, and her reassuring tone of voice.

Rarity was shaking her head and gave Fluttershy an earnest, comforting look "We can protect you." Each soft-spoken word was meant, and Fluttershy understood it perfectly. Moved, she blushed slightly. At the same time, Applejack became pale. "Just come to Ponyville and mmph!" The farm pony had thrown herself on Rarity, using her left hoof to block the unicorn's forelegs and her right one to force her muzzle close.

For a little while, Rarity tried to wrestle herself out of the lock, but to no avail. The earth pony, despite being in fact fairly gentle with her, was many times stronger. "What's wrong with you head, Rarity!?", she whispered. There was Concern in the mare voice. She didn't want her friend to throw away the plan, all the chances of the resistance, for nothing. But then Rarity stopped struggling, and the orange mare found herself on the receiving end of a very disappointed look. At that point, she couldn't help but relent.

The same disappointed look stayed on rarity's face for a few more moments, as Rarity spoke her remark with a serious tone: "What's wrong with your heart, Applejack?" There was a mare in need of help right in front of them, and Rarity just couldn't turn a blind eye. And, despite being torn between the two alternatives, Applejack realized that that kind of conviction was exactly what she respected in her friend. So she just lowered her head and nodded, letting rarity go on. Neither Fluttershy nor Rainbow dash fully understood the significance of what had already happened, but they would have in time "Go to Ponyville's mayor, and tell her you had scheduled an appointment with Rarity." A simple sequence of actions which could have easily led her to meet with the resistance. She didn't yet know what that would implicate, though. "We can offer shelter, we can even get you out of Equestria. If we succeed, we can make Equestria a better, safer place!" Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder right then. Without a word, she conveyed perfectly her message, namely 'that's enough' and 'we've got to go'. So, Rarity had to wrap it up "Whatever your choice is, let it be your choice!" And with one last smile, shìe bowed slightly, levitating all her tools with herself, as she started to run away.

Applejack did exactly the same one moment later, right after having tipped her hat to her and having left the two pegasi with a few more words "And please, sugarcubes, don't say nothing to Discord." And Fluttershy, still speechless after everything that had happened, could do nothing but nod, as the two mares ran away. Neither her nor rainbow dash had any idea what was happening, but exchanging a quick look they both shared the same concern.

The magic box was opened, and the empty interior was revealed to all, with Trixie great disappointment. Then she closed it again, just to open it a moment later, but the result didn't change. "My wonderful audience, this... Was not supposed to happen." Some were starting to realize there was some problem, but just as many were convinced the magician had everything under control. She was just so confident that it was certainly just some planned comedic act "No big deal." The way she shrugged her shoulders seemed to confirm that, without leaving room for any doubt "the Great and Powerful Trixie is going to try again!" And after a few suspenseful moments in which she moved her eyes across the crowd, she went back to looking at focusing on the box, ignoring the background noise of the ensuing battle "One!"





While in battle, looking away from one's enemies is often a costly mistake. For Discord, it was nothing but another way to taunt them, so to have at least some fun out of the completely unbalanced fight. At least, that what it was supposed to be. When he looked away then, it was because he had picked something unexpected vibration in the flow of magic. It came from Canterlot, not too far from the stage itself, and it was the act of a fairly powerful unicorn. Soon, it was followed by an even more powerful spell, then two more and finally he felt his dear nephew cast some spell of her own. Pure confusion overtook his usually confident expression, and the ponies around him -although not understanding what was happening- for a moment were filled with hope. It really looked like the bolts of magic, and especially some dark-purple fireballs Sunset was throwing at him, were really going to hit.

Once again, that hope was crushed. Not only he snapped his talon in time, making every approaching magic vanish instantly, but he decided to unleash a powerful shockwave together with it. It wasn't especially original, creative or funny... And it was arguably the most direct way of inflicting harm he had used by then. No weird transformations, no weird creatures popping up, just a pure and simple attack. Everypony understood immediately that something had just changed. Or at least, everypony but the unlucky few that -being too close to him- ended up being knocked out immediately. "What is happening in Canterlot?" his voice was now more serious, and his cold, inquisitive gaze was now striking terror in those it grazed until it finally reached Sunset Shimmer.

Surprising even herself, and maybe thanks to the amount of spite he felt for the monster in front of her, Sunset actually managed to keep her cool. She had no idea what he could actually perceive. If it was something as delicate as teleportation, although unlikely, it would have been bad. The likelihood of escaping from him would have been even lower then they estimated. But if it was actually something on a larger scale in which twilight had been caught in, like a magical battle, it wouldn't have been much better. She needed to keep him away from the festival as long as she could. So her answer came together with a confident, mocking smile. "I wonder..."

In a flash, Discord was in front of her; mere centimetres separating the two, and now an incipit of rage building up in the Draconeequs. "I am not going to repeat my question." But as his claws tried to catch the mare, with a quick spark of her horn she once again turned herself to sentient dust, her consciousness floating in the purplish mist her own magic had created, out of reach even to Discord's Chaos. He was going to have none of it. "You know what my favourite source of dark magic is?" Every word coming out of his mouth was authoritative and impactful, made even worse by the cruel smirk he showed. Except for Sunset, nopony even dared to move, or say a word, some frozen in fear, some captivated by the confrontation. Discord seemed even more terrifying and out of reach than he previously was, and yet Sunset was still opposing him with all her might. but that was before the transformation started. He had the thumb and the two side fingers of his paw move closer together, while the middle one moved in the opposite direction. And then the shape of it slowly started to change, in a chilling sequence of wet noises interspersed with creepy crackling sounds. It soon stopped resembling the appendage it was and started becoming more and more akin to a unicorn head, with a purplish mane and a green fur with yellow spots. When the process was done, moments later, the expression on that face matched the one of those around him. Pure, unadulterated horror. "Fear..."

A low-pitched wailing came out of the newly formed mouth, as a dark aura matching perfectly that of Sunset Shimmer enveloped its horn, and a similar purplish smoke started forming around its wide-open eyes. The... Thing seemed to be suffering, as the dark magic was forced through it. Almost instantly, Sunset was shaken out of the numbness her current form provided, and so she felt every single particle of herself drawn to a single point in space, where she soon ended up converging, again taking the approximate shape of a mare. before she could even react, she was forced back in her original form, right in front of Discord, incapable of running away again. She still felt the rage building up, the dark corrupting energy moving through her body, but now she had no way of manifesting it outside herself. And for the first time since the start of the battle, she fully realized her own powerlessness. That dark magic would hardly reach the Lord of Chaos was a disappointing but reasonable reality, that she had long accepted. But to think that he could nullify it with ease, with some mock dark magic of his own, that was simply terrifying.

Discord didn't even need to grab her, to hold her. She could do nothing but levitate in front of him, enveloped in dark magic, with no way to get any closer, no chance to try hitting him, and no opportunity to move any farther and run away. "So?" His eyes were still pointing straight at her, and the fury in them startled her. Realising he had been tricked, lured away from where he should have been, was aggravating enough. But besides that, he also had no idea what their actual plan was.

Now Sunset had to think, and think quickly, trying to find the best solution. At that point, defeat was a sad reality. What she could still do was trying to minimize her loss, and improving the chances of those back in Canterlot at least a little bit."W-With your magical sense, you should be the one telling us!" The tone was as flat as it managed to be. She had to play a little hard to get, but not too much. She didn't want him to try to manipulate -or read, if he was capable of that- her mind. She had some protections in place, but the effectiveness was not completely certain. Furthermore, having him discover the existence of the advanced magic (meant exactly to counter chaos) would have only raised more questions. Questions she couldn't afford to answer.

"Princess Mi Amore is fighting somepony. A friend of yours, I imagine?" Discord answered without even blinking. Naively, maybe, or maybe he really wanted to verify if that was the case. there was no comment or visible reaction from Sunset, so he went on "Seems that my nephew is winning easily, though", he lied. But that was enough to elicit for just a moment a worried look on Sunset's face "Ah, I knew it!!" For a moment, he smiled proudly, relaxedly, as some minuscule fireworks popped behind him as to highlight his 'gotcha' moment. But a moment later serious discord came back, and sunset felt Discord's dark magic clenching around her tighter, as the expression of pain and anguish on Discord's pony shaped hand became more intense. "What's your game?" He could have taken hostages among his defeated enemies, but he didn't. he doubted, after seeing how Sunset had used them, that she would care much. On the contrary, she was starting to consider just using his magic...

"As you were fighting us, our allies have infiltrated Canterlot!" She finally decided to spoke, lowering her gaze to the ground, as if accepting her defeat fully "To kidnap some of the nobles." And then it was her turn to lie, to make the situation more chaotic in Discord's eyes. Still, she doubted that would be the kind of chaos he was going to like "Probably they have failed with the princess..." the implications were clear, she was suggesting she was a target too. Despite not knowing exactly what was going on in Canterlot, she had an idea of how she wanted things to go down, to how she wanted discord to act "But there are more. probably many have been captured already?"

Sunset Shimmer fell to the ground, suddenly, hitting it with her bottom. It wasn't especially painful, just surprising. After all of that, was he really going to let her go? "It was fun, for a while" Discord was laconic. He ignored the larger part of the resistance and gave Sunset herself no more than a last look, as his dark magic was dispelled and his paw became a paw again. A moment later, he vanished among the strained folds of reality, without a sound or a flash of any kind, leaving everypony silent.

Sunset expected, in some way, more. Some curse on the whole resistance to punish them, maybe one other powerful attack to leave them forever in fear. At the very least, some snappy remark or one last joke. but no, he was serious, and that was possibly even worse. "We have to run, help me taking those that are unconscious!"  There was nothing they could do at that point. getting in Canterlot, given the interdiction to teleportation, would have taken way too long. And even if they could go there, to what avail? just to be defeated again, and maybe captured? No, they had to disappear back in their tunnels, leaving no trace behind.

All while hoping that their effort, their sacrifice, could be enough to let their friends succeed.