“Come on, as much as I want to keep the Princess from knowing this we have to tell her. Maybe there’s a chance we can still find him…” Twilight stated to her friends as she began leading them through the halls. Although she didn’t know for sure where her teacher currently was, she had a fairly good feeling about the dining hall. It was the usual time when the Princesses had their breakfast so it seemed as good as any place to start.
However as they approached the doors to the throne room, they heard a wicked voice echo from within.
“Starwind, go to the west barracks and hypnotize more of the guards, we’ll need them to take control of the rest of the castle.”
The six of them immediately halted, and merely stood still as statues as they listened to the mysterious stallion’s voice. Twilight however peaked through a rather large keyhole and suddenly gasped at the sight.
At the end of the room near the thrones stood five unicorns, each dressed in dark blue cloaks that Twilight immediately recognized. Embroiled in their robes was a golden seal, the seal of the Arcana Council. The stallion that had just spoken was in front of them, pacing back and forth with a depraved grin. Apart from the council nearly two dozen guards stood at attention, their eyes oddly glossy and vacant.
“Lord Magus,” A nearby female unicorn spoke next. “Are you su-”
“That’s Emperor Magus now, remember?” He quickly cut her off, a slight tone of annoyance audible in his voice.
“Emperor Magus… “She mumbled before continuing. “Are you sure the princesses don’t have any chance of getting away? You did only leave two guards with them...”
“Of course they don’t!”Magus snapped back as he twirled around to face her. “Why waste the stallions guarding them? Those cells are enchanted to stop any and all magic. There’s no possible way they’ll break free, even if they are alicorns…”
Twilight took her eye from the door and shot her friends a worried glance. “That’s the Arcana Council! And they’re talking about the Princesses being locked up!”
“Well what are we waiting for?! Let’s get in there and kick some flank!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she rushed for the door, but was suddenly immobilized by a purple aura.
“No!” Twilight replied as she held back the eager pegasus. “Those are some of the strongest unicorns in all of Equestria! Starswirl the Bearded created them and was their first leader nearly a thousand years ago, since then they’ve always advised the Princesses! I just don’t understand why they’d be doing this…”
“This is no time for a history lesson Twilight! And I don’t care how strong they are, I’m saving the Princesses!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she tried in vain to break her friend’s telekinetic grip.
“Rainbow, there’s at least twenty royal guards in there! We wouldn’t stand a chance!”
Though the cyan pegasus wanted nothing but to fight, she finally settled down and came to agreement. “Fine,” She mumbled with a heavy sigh, “but there must be something we can do.”
Twilight nodded with a smile, glad that her friend was now back on their side. While it was usually a blessing that Rainbow Dash was the Element of Loyalty, they were times when it was much more of a curse. She could be brash, arrogant and would often simply charge into a fight without thinking.
“There is! The Princesses are in the dungeons under light guard by the sounds of it. If we can get down there we should be able to free them!”
Her friends all nodded in response before the unicorn led them deeper into the bowels of the castle.
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“My my, this place certainly isn’t as clean as the rest of the castle…” Rarity commented as she cringed at the dirty, mossy walls of the dungeon. Every inch of the halls were covered in filth and grim, some sections of the ceiling had even collapsed leaving old bits of stone and debris to litter the floor.
“Well this place hasn’t been used in over three centuries, even I’ve never been down here.” Twilight replied as she led them through the maze like hallways, her horn serving as the only light in the otherwise consuming darkness.
“Well then how in Equestria are we supposed to find the Princesses? This place looks like it goes on for forever!” Applejack complained as she trailed at the back of the group, occasionally glancing at the darkness behind them with worry.
“The deepest levels collapsed a long time ago, the only accessible areas are this floor and the one below it.” Twilight stated to her friends, glad that she had read that book on the castles architecture. That’ll show Spike… She smirked silently to herself. “It shouldn’t take us too long to find them.”
Twilight’s words were true, as no later then twenty had passed before they caught sight of another light in the dark. They could see shadows flickering from behind a corner, and with a nod from the lead unicorn they silently crept forward.
Reaching the end of the decrepit hallway, Twilight quickly peaked around the corner to see two royal guards. Their brilliant golden amour practically sparkled in the dark, being illuminated by a nearby mounted torch. They stood in front of two separate cells, each of which contained a depressed looking alicorn.
Twilight turned to her other friends and with a smile. “Just like he said, only two guards! Now let’s get them, on the count of three… One, two… three!”
Just as she finished the countdown, the six of them jumped from behind the corner and charged the two guards. Rainbow quickly took out one of them, a tackle from the air sending him straight to the hard stone floor.
Before his companion could even think, Applejack bucked him fiercely in the side and Pinkie Pie pounced onto him while he struggled to recover. They six of them grinned as they watched the two merely lay on the ground and groan in pain.
“Wow, I didn’t think it would be that easy…” Twilight remarked, surprised that she hadn’t needed to cast even a single spell.
“Well that’s a good thing! I didn’t want to get my hooves dirty anyway…” Rarity stated as she slowly paced across the hallway, making sure to avoid any particularly filthy sections.
Twilight merely rolled her eyes as she hurried over to the cells, both of their inhabitants looking at the six mares with hope. “Princess!” She yelled as she rushed over to her teacher.
“Twilight! Oh thank goodness you’re here, the Arcana Council-”
“We know, now let’s get you out of there quick!” The lavender unicorn hastily cut her off as her eyes scanned across the strong iron bars. There was a door embedded in the bars, though a heavy looking lock kept it shut.
“There’s no use Twilight… Only one key can open these bars, and I’m sure Magus has it…” Celestia sighed as she stared at her worried looking student.
“What? No, there must be some way we can get you out!” Twilight exclaimed in panic as she continued to examine the cells.
“I’m afraid not… Extremely powerful enchantments were placed upon these cells centuries ago. Even Luna and I can’t cast magic in here…”
A frown crossed the unicorn’s face as she realized she was indeed right. There just wasn’t any way they could free them.
“Though there’s still hope. Discord’s left the castle, you need to find him and bring him back! He’s our only chance of stopping the council!”
The six of them all nodded with vigor. “Right! Don’t you worry Princess; we’ll have Discord back in no time!” Twilight declared as she and her teacher’s eyes met. As much as she didn’t want to leave the Princess in the dark, dirty cell, this was the only way.
The two stared at each other for some time, before Celestia finally nodded in response. “Now hurry up and leave, you can’t waste a single second. The longer the council’s in charge, the more damage we’ll have to fix when we’re finally free.”
“Yes please do hurry…” Luna growled in an inane tone, “I can’t wait teach that stupid council a lesson...”
Twilight shot her teacher a final smile, before she hurried out of the dungeon with her friends. Deep down she knew her teacher would be alright, even if she was leaving them with a group of power hungry unicorns. Before long they had found their way out of the dungeon, and Twilight turned to them as they entered a hallway.
“Alright, I’ll try and teleport us to another part of Canterlot. It’ll be the best I can do…” Quickly, as she was afraid of some guards stumbling onto them, Twilight began casting a teleportation spell. After a few moments an exceedingly bright light flashed, and the six of them were whisked out of the castle.
As they opened their eyes they found themselves in one of Canterlot’s many luxurious gardens, the castle they were in mere seconds ago now sitting in the distance. Twilight immediately fell to the ground, the immensely powerful spell having drained a good deal out of her.
“So what do we do first? Where in Equestria could Discord be?” Pinkie Pie was the first to speak as they adjusted to their new surroundings.
“Well, I say we split up.” Twilight suggested as she raised herself back to her hooves. “If we all check separate, plausible locations we’re bound to find him!”
“Great idea Twi! Now where should we start?” Applejack questioned as she turned towards the simply amazing view of the vast land below the city. Canterlot was on a mountain after all, so in certain locations one could see for miles. Just looking at it made their task seem more impossible, what chance did they have of finding one draconequus in the wide land of Equestria?
“Well, I was thinking…”
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“Let go of me you brutes! I am Princess Cadence, and my husband is your captain! You’d best let me go before he fires all of you!” The furious pink alicorn snapped at the six guards that were leading her down the hall. She had just been in her bedroom relaxing when they barged in, not saying a word as they forcefully grabbed hold of her and began this mysterious journey through the castle.
The guards merely ignored her cries and threats as they led her down the hallway. She was quite tough, and was certainly putting up a fight as they went. The six of them could hardly contain her, though for some reason she hadn’t used a single ounce of magic on them.
Finally reaching their destination, they led the still fighting alicorn into the royal throne room. She looked around in confusion as her struggles died down, her eyes finally coming to rest on six grinning unicorns.
“Ah Princess Mi Amore Cadenza… The last free alicorn in all of Equestria…” Magus hissed as he paced over to her, the guards still holding her back.
“Free? What are you talking about?! Who are you?! WILL SOMEPONY TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
“With pleasure my dear… You see, your aunts are well…” He let out chuckle as he continued to stare at her. “No longer in power, they’re in the dungeon in fact… The Arcana Council will soon be the new leaders of Equestria, and thus being the head of the council makes me Emperor… So you best address me as such…”
Princess Cadence’s jaw dropped as she heard this wicked stallion talk, his words were so unbelievable and ridiculous, but she couldn’t help but believe him. Her aunts were nowhere in sight, and these odd guards were storming all over the castle. They were very different than any guard she knew, these hadn’t said a word and they seemed almost… lifeless. “What about the guards? There’s something weird about them…”
“Ah, brilliant observation my dear! They are in fact under a few hypnotization spells, so they won’t be taking orders from your precious husband…”
Finally realizing that these guards weren’t in any sane mind, Cadence growled at the stallion. “I’m an alicorn, remember?! I’ll crush your little rebellion and save my aunts!” Her horn glowed a light blue, and suddenly the six guards at her side were thrown across the room. Before she could attack the council however, Magus’s horn lit up with an intense orange. An unknown spell shot out and hit her directly in the neck, the alicorn immediately collapsed to the floor as an extreme burning sensation was sent across her body.
“How does that feel Princess?” He questioned as he walked over and kneeled beside her. She twitched and convulsed as the tremendous pain in her neck continued to grow. She couldn’t even get up, let alone reply to the crazed unicorn. “It’s a favorite of mine, a scorching spell created by myself. It gets more painful over time…” He smiled as he looked into her eyes, enjoying the obvious pain she was experiencing. After a few moments he turned away and paced back to the throne. “Guards, throw her-”
The head of the Arcana Council was cut off however, as in an extreme act of will and exertion Cadence got to her hooves. She quickly cast a spell; it just whizzed past Magus and hit one of the other council members. The unicorn dropped to the ground, but his fellow members were quick to act.
Before she could even blink, the young alicorn was hit with five separate spells. She couldn’t even move a limb as she instantly fell to the stone floor. “I doubt you’ll be getting up from five stunning spells… I’d be surprised if you could even move by tomorrow!” The unicorn was indeed right, as the only movement she had was that of her eyes. All of her muscles were frozen in place, simply refusing to do what her mind told them.
After a rambunctious storm of laughter, Magus calmed down and turned to the guards. “Shinning Armor, would you mind taking your dear wife to the dungeon?”
If Cadence could gasp she would have, as out of the pile of guards stepped her husband. However he was just like his subordinates; his skin was pale, his eyes empty and his face was devoid of any emotion or personality. He simply walked over to her and heaved her body up, several other guards quickly coming to help him. Magus couldn’t help but laugh as they dragged her motionless body out of the throne room.
“Ha! I didn’t think it would be this easy, they might as well just hand the country over to me at this rate…”
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“Disssssccccoooord!” Pinkie Pie’s voice echoed through the vacant bakery as she looked around, slightly puzzled. “Hmm, of all the places Twilight suggested I was sure he would be here…” The pink mare poked her head into the kitchen, finding it just as empty as the rest of the store.
“Darn, he isn’t here!” She finally declared in annoyance as she sat in the middle of the bakery floor. “Well I hope the others are having better luck…”
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“Hey Discord! Come on out now, ya hear?! The Princess needs ya!” Applejack hollered as she searched through the dense forest of apple trees. The orchard stretched on for quite a ways, though as the orange pony hurried through the woods she seriously doubted that she would find the draconequus.
“Discord!” She called out once again before heaving a sigh. “Ah there’s no way he’s going to be here… Ah sure wish Twilight would have sent me somewhere more useful…”
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“DISCORD! DISCORD YOU IDIOT, WHERE ARE YOU?! YOUR WIFE NEEDS YOU!” Rainbow Dash roared at the top of her lungs as she cut gracefully cut through the air. Glancing down all she could see were the vast, empty plains that separated Canterlot from the distant Crystal Mountains.
There’s no way we’ll ever find Discord like this… I’ve been flying for over an hour now yelling like a complete idiot! Chances are I’ll lose my voice before we find him… The cyan pegasus sighed and kept pushing forward, knowing that this really was the only option they had.
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This place was our last chance, and there’s not one sign of him… Twilight Sparkle glanced around the ruined remains of Nightmare Moon’s castle. She had not been back since the night she meet her friends and defeated Luna’s alter personality, though the building had changed very little. It was still as decrepit and destroyed as the night they had first found it.
Her friend’s had found nothing, as when they met at the arranged meeting spot they informed each other of their failures. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity all had looked at places in and around Ponyville. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, being pegasi, had been assigned to the more remote locations of Equestria. Finally Twilight had used her magic to teleport to a wide variety of places, though all of their efforts proved to be fruitless.
The castle was the last place she had left to search, but with just a few looks around she knew Discord wasn’t there. Finally having enough she collapsed to the broken floor. “Darn it Twilight! You failed not only the princess, but all of Equestria! You’re such an idiot…” She mumbled as she bit down hard on her lip, hardly believing that she had failed at such an important task. She honestly had no idea where the draconequus could be, anywhere seemed just as likely as her current location. With a look of worry and sadness the lavender mare glanced down at the ground, finally giving into her obvious defeat.
All of Equestria’s doomed now, all because of me… Now that stupid Council is going to take power and who known’s what they’ll do… If only I were smarter, I maybe could have found out where Discord’s hiding…
Through her thoughts a final glimmer of hope ignited, it wasn’t too late just yet. “I can still find him, I just need to think!” Getting over her momentary depression, Twilight placed a hoof under her chin and did what she did best. Cities, towns and places all flew through her mind, but none of them seemed like a place the draconequus would hide. However after ten minutes of solid thinking she remembered something. Something that she had been told a very long time ago.
Wait… Princess Celestia said that Discord had his own castle! Yes, that must be it! The castle he ruled from a thousand years ago, he’s just got to be there!
The lavender mare shot up from her spot and frantically glanced around the room. She said it was in the Everfree Forest, but that isn’t really specific… I’ll have to teleport to different areas of the woods, it’s the only way I’ll ever have a chance of finding it.
“I’m coming princess, don’t you worry…” Twilight said aloud before disappearing from the destroyed castle.
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Celestia sighed as she stared at the flickering torch in front of her cell. She was spread out across the rather uncomfortable floor, and she couldn’t help but frown. The situation just seemed so hopeless, even if there was still a chance that her husband could save them.
“Discord…” She mumbled as she stared at their only piece of artificial light. “Come back, please… Equestria needs you...” While she stared memories of her husband came back to her, whether they were simple pranks he had pulled, or joyous, perfect moments such as their wedding day. She missed him so much, what she would give to just hear his deep, eccentric voice. Though he was an extremely big pain in the flank, she still loved him with all her heart. He was a very sweet, kind person behind his joking appearance and demeanour. It was what made her love him in the first place. “I need you…”