On Wings of Fire

by iAmSiNnEr

The Era of Discord

“Mena.”

“Yes, Your Majesties?”

“We have one last task for you. One that is of the utmost importance.”

“As you know, I live to serve. Even now, when everything is falling apart.”

“Protect our daughters, Mena. We will be leaving soon to face Discord, and we are afraid that we...we won’t make it back. The chaos lord has proven to be as wily as a fox and as dangerous as a god. In the event that we don’t come back...you must protect them. They will be the only hope Equus will have left after we are gone.”

“Only hope? Your Majesties, they are only fillies.”

“Which is why you must keep them safe until they are of age. We hope we will be victorious, and make it back to raise them ourselves, but know that Discord could be more powerful than both of us put together."

“Then I will gladly take up this task. I swear, I will keep them safe. No harm shall befall your daughters.”

“Thank you, Mena. That makes us feel much better. We won’t be saying goodbye to them. It’d make this harder than it’s going to be. Tell them we love them for us, will you?”

“Of course. Safe travels, and good luck, Your Majesties.”

Protect them, for we weren’t able to.

Philomena sighed as these last words echoed through her mind. She looked ahead, her eyes darting for the slightest hint of a shadow emerging from the foliage. They were on their way to the Everfree forest, where apparently, according to the Queen, it was one of the only places Discord hadn’t touched yet, and would keep the two fillies safe. 

For now.

“Why did Father send us away?” Luna grumbled. 

“Luna,” Celestia gently chided her younger sister, “Father must have a reason for sending us away.”

“Indeed,” Philomena added stoically. “Your father...he wanted you two to be safe.”

“Where’s safer than the palace?” Luna huffed. “Certainly not the forest! It’s full of…” 

“Unfortunately, it is the only way to reach our destination.” Philomena gave a wry smile as she placed a wing onto Luna’s back, trying to comfort her. “The Everfree is the only place that would keep you safe from that Lord of Chaos.”

“Then why don’t we just beat him up?” Luna demanded. “Father and Mother are both alicorns, surely they should be able to defeat him easily!”

“It’s not that easy,” Celestia coughed. “Master Starswirl said that Discord fed on chaos. And since the world is full of it…” 

“Exactly,” Philomena nodded solemnly. “Discord is much more powerful than any being right now…”

“Where is Master Starswirl, anyways?” Luna glanced at Philomena. “He should be with us.”

“I do not know.” Philomena frowned. “I have not seen him for a few weeks. Has he not been attending your magic lessons?”

“No,” Celestia answered. “He sent a note saying that he might be absent for a bit. We thought you might know, since you hear a lot of things.”

“Well, I don’t.” Philomena ruffled her feathers. “Even if your father knew about it, he didn’t tell me either. For now, we should just keep moving. I want to make as much ground as we can before nightfall.”

“Who died and made you the boss?” Luna grumped. 

“Nobody, and your father,” Philomena snarked. 

“Well, at least they sent you, Mena.” Celestia smiled. “If it had been those stuffy guards...it would have been so much worse. At least we know each other well, so it won’t be as bad.”

“Now, now,” Philomena gently chided. “You’re still fillies, and those ‘stuffy’ guards keep you safe. Celestia, You’re barely thirteen, and Luna twelve! I would feel much safer with even just the Captain, but your parents insisted on us traveling in a small group.”

“We can take care of ourselves.” Luna puffed out her chest proudly. “Master Starswirl taught us a lot of spells!”

Philomena rolled her eyes. “Right. It’s not like you weren’t fooling around half the time. Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t you still owe him homework?”

Luna turned beet red. “That didn’t happen. Don’t remind him, he already forgot about the essay. Anyways, why couldn’t Father and Mother just teleport us there?”

“Because—”

“Because,” Celestia interrupted Philomena with an apologetic smile. “Father and Mother probably wanted to conserve their mana to face Discord.”

“That and teleporting us halfway across the country is harder than you think,” Philomena muttered under her breath. 

“The Everfree Territories are that far?” Luna blanched. “Why didn’t we just take a carriage?”

“Your parents,” Philomena repressed a sigh. “Wanted us to be inconspicuous. Two alicorn fillies traveling in a carriage with a full regiment of guards would have been too obvious, no?”

“Whatever,” Luna shrugged as they entered the forest. “The journey can’t be that hard, right?”

“Luna!” Celestia scolded. “What did Master Starswirl say about jinxing it—”

There was a snap sound as a sharp spike flew past their heads and embedded itself into a tree.  “What in Mother’s Mane?!” Luna gasped. “Is that a manticore spike—”

“It is!” Philomena flapped her wings and ascended into the air. As she did so, she saw a manticore approaching. “It must be hungry! Keep going, I’ll drive it off!”

“And this is why you don’t jinx it!” Celestia yelped as she started galloping down the path with Luna hot on her hooves. 

Philomena dived down towards the manticore. “These fillies are under my protection!” she yelled at the manticore. “Do you want to be a burnt marshmallow?”

“Hungry,” the manticore rumbled. 

“Well then.” Philomena’s wings were suddenly ablaze with flames that caused the manticore to flinch due to the heat. “Let’s see if you’re still hungry after this.”

“You swear you didn’t kill the manticore?” Luna repeated. Diffused rays of golden light flickered through the canopy as the Celestia hovered a bunch of twigs from a nearby pile, before throwing them onto the blazing fire. 

“Yes.” Philomena nodded. “I just scared him off. He knows better than to try that again, especially after I set him on fire.”

Luna sighed. “Master Starswirl taught us that it’s not their fault. They’re predators, just looking for food. As long as we avoid them...there’s no point killing them. They still have feelings, just like us.”

“Even so,” Philomena huffed. “He wanted to eat you. Not letting that happen.”

Luna glanced at the fire. “Is that big enough for the night?”

“Should be,” Celestia answered, feeding more branches into the flames. “I ventured out and found some moss for bedding, I should have found enough.”

“I miss my bed,” Luna complained. “Celly, can I use you as a bed?”

“What do you mean?” Celestia tilted her head quizzically.

Luna smirked mischievously. “You eat so much, you’re as good as a bed-”

“No, I don’t!” Celestia lunged after her sister.

Luna stuck her tongue out at her as she dodged aside. “What about the strawberry cake that went missing from the kitchen? You definitely stole that!”

Philomena laughed inside while keeping a stoic face. It never gets old listening to them squabble…

“Did not!”

“Did too—” Luna’s eyes went wide as saucers. “Celestia.”

Philomena straightened up from the branch she had been perching on. I’ve never heard her refer to Celestia with anything other than Celly or Sister. What…?

Celestia noticed it too, her eyebrows raising. “What is it, Luna?”

“L-Look at the palace,” she stammered. 

Both Philomena and Celestia turned to look at the palace in the distance. 

If you could even call it a palace.

Oozing clouds covered the structure with an ominous shadow, pelting the fortifications with a brownish sludge. A moat of cotton candy surrounded the fortifications, obscuring the splendor of the polished golden walls.

“What in the world?” Philomena breathed. “What is happening-?”

The sun suddenly blazed intensely, and a beam of Solar Magic was fired from the sun and into the castle. “Father is calling upon his link to the Sun,” Celestia’s eyes were wide and awed. “Something big is happening.”

“Discord has answered their challenge,” Philomena whispered. “Please, Your Majesties. You must prevail.”

The palace was now ablaze, a golden lightshow going on at the palace. Large beams of magic blasted through the walls, showering rubble down into the cotton candy moat. The trio stared at the palace, all silently praying for the King and Queen to emerge victorious. 

A crack of magic, punching through the top of the palace, splintered pieces of planks and bricks through the sky, before it was quiet enough to hear even the crickets chirp. 

Luna broke the silence. “Do you think Father and Mother won…?”

Any answer was needless as the moon and sun wobbled into the sky side by side as chocolate milk flooded out from the windows of the castle.

“No...” 

“No!” she shouted. “Impossible! Father...he…!” She started forward towards the castle, about to break into a gallop, but tripped over a rock and fell snout first onto the ground. Tears fell from her eyes, grief clearly written across her expression. She made no effort to get up.

Philomena’s wings sagged as she hopped down onto the ground beside Celestia, before draping a wing over Celestia’s head. Luna lowered her head, a sorrowful look written over her face as she dropped to the ground beside them. 

“They…” Luna mumbled. “How…”

Celestia slammed a hoof into the ground, startling Luna and Philomena. “Why weren’t we there to help?! We could have done something!”

“Your parents—” Philomena started, but Celestia shook off her wing.

“I don’t care what they wanted!” Celestia yelled. “We’re their daughters, and we didn’t do anything to help!”

“We need to go back there, now.” Luna’s voice was unusually serious. “They could be still—” She didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t need to. 

“We’re not going back there,” Philomena stated, her face expressionless. “I swore to protect you, and I will do so.”

“What’s the point of us being safe if our parents are gone?!” Celestia demanded. “They’re the ones who raise the sun and moon! Without them… Equus will—”

“I know!” Philomena shouted exasperatedly. “But you two are the only alicorns left! Your parents told me to keep you safe, for you are the only two who can raise and lower the sun and moon once you grow up!”

“By the time we’re adults, it’ll be too late,” Luna whispered. 
“You can challenge him when you’re of age,” Philomena stated firmly. “If you charge now, your parents’ sacrifice will be for nothing. Do you want that?” They looked like they wanted to argue, but something about Philomena’s expression caused both Celestia and Luna to immediately look down in shame.

“No,” they mumbled. 

“For now,” Philomena stared at the rapidly unfolding chaos that used to be the palace.

“Why?” Celestia looked up, her eyes puffy. “Why will he not touch the Everfree Territories?”

“I don’t know,” Philomena admitted. “But there are rumors there’s something there that stops him, which is why we will travel there. Once you are old and powerful enough to raise and lower the sun and moon, then you will challenge Discord.” She glanced at their cutie marks, a brilliant sun displayed proudly on Celestia’s flank, and a crescent moon on Luna’s.

“Fine,” Celestia slumped down onto the ground. “We’ll rest here for the night,” she glanced up at the sky, where the sun and moon still hung side by side. “Or at least, what we think is the night, before we leave for the Everfree Territories, I guess.”

“I’ll keep watch,” Philomena said, relieved that the two sisters would listen to her. “You two get some rest. You’ll need it.”

“What about you, Mena?” Luna asked. “You need your rest too.”

“I don’t need much sleep,” Philomena assured her. “Don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so,” Luna looked at her dubiously, before curling up next to her sister on the moss. She closed her eyes, and within seconds she was asleep.

“Thank you, Mena,” Celestia suddenly spoke. “Thank you for being with us. I don’t know...I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t come along.”

“I did promise to keep you two safe.” Philomena smiled. “And I will do so.”

“No,” Celestia shook her head. “I don’t mean that. You’ve been a good friend, and you’re not like those guards who act all formal around us. You keep us safe, you reassure us, you sacrifice your own sleep like us...it’s almost as if you were…” she trailed off, leaving her sentence incomplete.

Philomena looked at Celestia in surprise, her beak dropping a little. I had no idea she thought of me like that… Philomena closed her beak, thinking. How do I reply to that…?

“I’m not a replacement for the queen.” Philomena paused. “And I never will be.”

“No, no,” Celestia hurriedly replied. “I didn’t mean that. I just meant what you’re doing for us is similar to what Mother would have done.”

Philomena shifted uncomfortably. “I see. Well, you should get some rest now.”

“I guess,” Celestia wrapped her wings around her younger sister. “That should help keep Luna warm.” After that, she closed her eyes. 

Philomena sighed. Discord...you certainly are a pain. Depriving these two fillies of their parents at such a young age...I cannot fight you, but I will make sure they will stay alive long enough to seek vengeance for their parents...

As the minutes passed, Celestia’s breathing gradually became steadier, signaling that she had entered the dream realm. That reminds me. Now that the queen is gone...who is taking care of the dream realm?

At least I know the queen has taught Luna… Philomena’s eyes flicked to the two sleeping alicorns. So when she’s grown up...she should be able to fulfill that role. For now...Equus will have to endure the nightmares.

Her eyes caught movement in the trees ahead of them, and she immediately looked at that area sharply. Is something there…?

A shadow flitted past the trees, heading for them. Yep, it’s coming for us. Whatever it is, it’s gonna wish it never tried anything…

The creature leapt into the sight, revealing a wolf. The wolf in question had drool dripping from its mouth at the sight of the two slumbering alicorns. Surprisingly, it had not noticed Philomena.

Now then. I can’t have you harming the princesses, can I?

“Come on, Luna.” Celestia tried in vain to pull her sister to her hooves using her magic. 

“Just...five more...minutes,” Luna mumbled, her eyes still firmly shut. 

“Let her have those five minutes,” Philomena advised. “We’ve been traveling for almost a week now, and the more rest we get the better.”

“What about you?” Celestia queried, looking up at where the phoenix was perched on the tree they had taken refuge under for the night. “I haven’t seen you get much sleep.”

“I’ll be fine,” Philomena shrugged it off with a flick of her wing. “I’m used to not sleeping. I once flew for a week straight, you know?”

“Even so,” Celestia’s eyes flicked to her sister then to Philomena. “Even you can’t last the entire journey with so little sleep. How about you take a nap on my back on the way to Whitetail Woods? It's a clear path ahead; surely nobody could ambush us there”

“No,” Philomena shook her head. “I have to keep watch from above. Remember what happened just three days ago? I took a nap, and a pack of wolves tried to attack you.”

“We handled it,” Celestia dismissed Philomena. 

“You handled it?” Philomena’s brows furrowed. "You two were very fortunate that I was able to drive them away before you got seriously hurt. Look at this..." She gestured at the numerous gashes that covered Celestia's and Luna's bodies. "This...this was a dereliction of duty on my part, and I cannot let this happen again. I promised..."She gestured at the partially healed scratches on both Celestia and Luna. “You’re not even fully healed from that. It was a dereliction of duty on my part, and I cannot allow that to happen again. I promised-”

“I know, I know,” Celestia interrupted. “You promised Fa—I mean—our parents that you’d keep us safe. But how will you do that if you’re tired?”

“I’m not tired.” Philomena spread her wings and glided down onto the ground. “Besides, we should get going. Luna, it’s been five minutes. Time to wake up.”

Luna grumbled as she shook her head. “Fineeeeeeee. Mom, you’re such a nag—” She opened her eyes and blinked at the sight of Philomena in front of her. “Oh.”

“Did you just call Mena Mom?” Celestia giggled. 

“Oh, come on,” Luna whined. “She sounds so much like her whenever she wakes me up. It was an honest mistake!”

Philomena tried to nudge Luna into an upright position with her beak, but failed. “We do have to get going, though.” 

“Fine,” Luna muttered as she got up from where she lay. “How much longer until we reach the Everfree Territories? I’m really tired of traveling.”

“If I remember correctly, two more days if we keep to our present pace,” Philomena answered.

“That’s good, then,” Celestia cheerfully said as she ruffled her wings and folded them in. “We can finally have a proper rest when we arrive.”

“There’s also a forest there,” Philomena added. “We can stay in the forest.”

“Now, now...” a voice interrupted before Luna could open her mouth to speak. “Why would you want to stay in a forest?”

“Who—” Philomena turned around and gasped. “No!”

“Oh, yes.” A serpent-like creature stood there. He had a paw of a lion and a claw of an eagle for his hands, a hoof, and a claw of dragon for his feet. And to top it off, he had a pony’s head with antlers. Discord rubbed his claws in glee. “I’ve been waiting to speak with you for a very long time.” 

“Back off!” Philomena shrilled. “You are not welcome here!”

“Welcome where?” Discord laughed. “You’re in the middle of nowhere! You can’t do that to me! All I want is a chat; you have nothing to fear from me.”

“Yeah, right,” Philomena glowered at him. “Says the being who defeated the King and Queen.”

“He’s the one who—” Luna trotted forward with slow, deliberate steps. “You!”

“Luna,” Celestia whispered as she dragged her sister back. “If you attack him now, he’ll just defeat you easily. You’ll have your chance. Just not now.”

“Listen to your sister,” Discord grinned and snapped his claws, and all of them were suddenly seated on beach chairs, except for Philomena who was in a birdcage. The phoenix blinked, before cawing in outrage.

“Let me out!” Philomena growled. “Or you’ll—” Discord made a shushing motion, putting his claw to his lips, and Philomena went silent, even though her beak was moving. Oh, you son of a—

“Let Mena out,” Celestia demanded as she stood up from the beach chair. “Now.”

“Now, now,” Discord snapped his claw, and a strong gust of wind pushed the sisters back into the chairs. “You’ll want to listen to my proposition.”

“What proposition?” Luna growled. “Out with it, before we send you to Tartarus.”

“Oh, please,” Discord laughed. “You couldn’t even if you tried. Anyhow, here is how it goes. Agree to serve me, and you’ll have everything you could ever want. Just sign the contract,” and at that, a piece of paper appeared in his right claw. “and you can have everything you want in this world.”

“Why would we serve the monster who wants to rule the land?” Celestia replied. “You can just buck off.”

“Languaage,” Discord sang. “Besides, what I’m doing isn’t that different from your parents.”

“You want to plunge the world into eternal chaos!” Luna shouted as she leaped out of her chair. “Our parents didn’t!”

“Psfft.” Discord waved her off. “Chaos and Order, they’re not too different. You’ll see. Besides, you’re different from your parents. You’re not as stuffy as them, and much more fun! If you want to discuss this with your pet, you can.” He snapped his claw.

“Don’t do it,” Philomena immediately said. “He killed your parents.”

“Killed?” Discord looked insulted. “Oh, no. I don’t kill, at least not directly. I simply drove them insane and they jumped off a cliff themselves.”

“You!” This time, Celestia was the one charging at Discord, and Luna didn’t hold her back. She lowered her head, impaling her horn through Discord’s midsection. The draconequus collapsed as a brown sludge of liquid burst out from where Celestia had impaled him.

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” Luna stared at the body.

“Chocolate...milk?” Celestia murmured as she looked at the brown liquid on her coat. The draconequus grinned as he pushed himself up, causing Celestia and Luna to spring back in surprise.

“Violence, eh?” Discord chuckled. “Your parents wouldn’t be proud of you.”

“You don’t know anything!” Celestia bellowed in grief. “You killed them!”

“You’re a monster,” Luna said in a low voice. “And we’re never going to accept any of your propositions.”

“I can see you’re not going to accept my deal.” A light glinted in his eyes. “So be it. It’s gonna be more fun this way, anyways. I hope you’re ready for what I send your way. I promise you, you’ll go insane before you reach the Everfree Territories.”

“We’ll beat all of your creations,” Philomena said defiantly, her head held high. “So it should be you who should get ready. Anyways, why do you care about the Everfree Territories? Is there something there you’re scared of?”

“Pft, nah,” Discord waved her off, but there was something off in his voice. Is that...fear? “I’m scared of nothing. I’ll be seeing you, then.” He laughed before snapping his claw, and he disappeared in a flash of light, and where he stood there were balloons floating up. The chairs were gone too, but a ghost of his laugh remained.

“He doesn’t understand,” Celestia growled. “We’ll beat him. And then,” tears dripped from her eyes. “We’ll mourn for Father and Mother.” Luna nodded as she leaned against her sisters, tears falling from her eyes too.

“They didn’t deserve to die that way…” Luna sobbed. “Why? What was the point of doing that to them?!”

“There wasn’t,” Philomena stared upwards at the balloons. “He’s just sick in the mind. I promise you, we’ll defeat him. Together.” Luna looked up, her tears still falling freely.

“Together,” Celestia agreed, using her hoof to help wipe Luna’s tears. Slowly, Luna’s chest stopped heaving as she reigned in her emotions.  Philomena settled onto Celestia’s shoulder, and the trio stared ahead at the road in front of them. 

“He said he was going to drive us insane,” Luna muttered. 

“We’re stronger than that, Sister,” Celestia nuzzled her sister. “As long as we’re together…”

“We can do anything,” Luna finished, smiling slightly. “Master Starswirl taught us that.”

“And we’ll save this world together,” Celestia nodded. “Mena, you too.”

“Of course!” Philomena chirped. “I’ll help! After all,”

“You promised our parents,” Luna and Celestia chorused at the same time. They blinked and looked at each other, before laughing.

Laughter is good. One final laugh... before we have to face what Discord sends our way. I swear by my life, I’ll help them through everything! We’ll beat you, Discord, or my name’s not Philomena!

The trio looked at the road ahead of them, before simultaneously starting forwards. They had a long road to travel. 

“Celly!” Luna shouted from the other side of the trees. “I found something!”

“What is it?” Celestia pushed through the branches in her way while Philomena sat on her shoulder comfortably. She emerged into an opening, with a pathway leading down into a large cavern. Luna stood at the opening of the cavern, her mouth agape.

“So this is what Discord was afraid of…” Luna breathed as the pair approached. 

Celestia and Philomena both looked into the cavern and simultaneously gasped. 

A crystalline tree stood there, a starburst shape in the middle of it. It glowed silently, beckoning the trio forwards, radiating warmth and power. Celestia and Luna looked at each other and nodded. They stepped forwards towards the tree, carefully measuring their steps.

Celestia slowly put a hoof onto the tree. 

The sun and moon rose once again,

The madness of the chaos lord averted,

By the two alicorn sisters then,

Order reasserted.