[The following chapter contains scenes of peril and death. Reader Discretion is advised.]
Twilight could only watch as the world around her broke into pieces; at first it started with protests, then soon Earth Ponies and Unicorns were cut off from Zephyr Heights as the Pegasi went into lockdown from the raids that broke out soon after, then came the war. Fueled by a Unicorn she appointed by her own hoof, his valiant speeches and ideologies seem to sway the masses to march upon Canterlot, determined to destroy Alicorn rule once and for all. The amount of disharmony across their hearts seemed to weaken her magic, as she watched death and carnage rain down from all around her, guards taken down one by one, tapestries and beautiful stained glass windows that once told the story of how harmony was won by her mentors and cherished friends of old, all destroyed in far less time than it took to erect them, watching as all three ponies tribes would come together one last time, just so they could be apart.
She could hear them coming closer, quickly securing the doors to the throne room as she turned to the only piece of her past she had left, standing beside the only piece of her legacy and hope for the world she would leave behind.
“Discord, you need to take Argyle and get out of Canterlot! Take these with you and don’t let anything happen to the crystals or my son!” Her horn glowed as she willed the three crystals into a satchel to which she slipped around Discord’s shoulders.
“There has to be another way, Twilight!” He protested, feeling the young Alicorn clinging to him as he flinched from the sounds coming from beyond the throne room doors.
She lowered her head, removing her crown and smashing it under her hoof.
“I don’t have time to argue with you about this right now, Discord, please-!” Her eyes were laced with tears as she looked at her old friend, the chaos behind her loud as they tried to barge through the throne room, the God of Chaos himself so ironically still and calm before her. “You need to get him to safety...”
“M-mom?” Argyle quickly bolted to her, clinging to her leg. “What’s happening?! Why are they destroying our home?!”
Twilight lowered her head, bringing her hoof around him and nuzzling his cheek with her muzzle.
“I failed, my son. I trusted the wrong pony and because of the darkness in his heart, he’s taking it out on our world. That’s why it’s vital that you go with Discord and get to safety...” She softly removed the small crown from his forelock, destroying it under her hoof much like her own. “No pony can know who or what you are, but as long as you live, harmony and magic will live on and there will be hope for brighter days once again in Equestria, but that can’t happen if you don’t go now!” She wrapped her wings around Argyle tightly, tears silently staining her cheeks before she coaxed him back to Discord. Stepping back, she folded her wings back in, two bright lights illuminated from her horn; one engulfing her as the other flowed into Argyle. Soon she stood before them as the very being she came into this world as: a Unicorn.
Discord’s eyes became pin points. “Twilight, if Azreal sees you like this--!” He pleaded.
“That’s the point. He doesn’t respect me as an Alicorn, but maybe as his equal I have one last chance at stopping this madness. B-besides, if I fail, he won't have magic to aide him.” She smiled weakly. “I gave Argyle the last of my Alicorn magic, and with it, my immortality. One day, when the time is right, Argyle will use this part of me to enchant the crystals, and, once united in a true act of harmony, will gift the world with magic once again.”
“This isn’t necessary!” Discord frowned. “Azreal has no respect left to give-!”
“I have to try.” She turned around to face the double doors, but felt a tight claw grip her back.
“You will die, Twilight, do you understand that?!”
The now unicorn lowered her head, looking up at her friend with pain in her eyes.
“If the ponies of Equestria no longer want me here, then I’ve already died in their hearts. This at least gives me a chance to try and find some common ground; and if I fail...well-” She smiled weakly up at him, placing a soft hoof on his cheek. “-then I know you will take good care of my little starshine for me; you will have a new immortal friend, hmm?” She felt his paw touch her hoof softly, before pulling it away, Discord looking down at her pathetically. “So let this be my last order as your Princess--and fulfill it to its fullest. Protect my son, okay?”
The young colt didn’t understand what was happening, as he watched Discord place a soft peck of endearment on his mother’s forehead. As he watched his mother turn to leave, Argyle charged forward, gripping onto her again, this time more desperately.
“Mom, please! Don’t go! You will get hurt!”
Twilight watched as the doors to the throne room couldn’t hold much longer, quickly turning around and nuzzling her foal one last time.
“Please be good for Discord, and learn as much as you can from him. Don’t let it end like this; you are the Prince of Harmony and as long as you live, as long as an alicorn is in this world, magic will live and thrive one day again!” She wrapped her front legs around him tightly, nuzzling his little nose. “I love you so much, my little starshine.” Twilight softly kissed his forehead before letting go, using what little powers she had left to force Argyle into Discord’s arms. “Now go! Run, and don’t look back! NOW!”
Argyle was pushed back into Discord, picking him up into his arms. He felt the large creature bow before his mother once more, the young colt watching as she turned and stood her ground, much smaller now that she was a unicorn, but still the graceful princess of the land in his eyes.
“Mom, wait--!” But before another moment could pass, he felt the change of the air from the doors of the throne room being opened, before a glow of purple wrapped around the wooden entrance-way. Argyle startled as the doors were slammed in his and Discord's faces. He trembled, clinging to his new guardian. “M-mom…”
“Forgive me, young prince-” Discord backed away slowly from the doors before turning around, hugging Argyle close to his chest. “-but we have to make haste and fast; brace yourself!” He commanded as he crashed through the stain window behind them, flying them as far away from the castle as he could. He couldn’t help but turn his head back, seeing the destruction in its wake, knowing Twilight was now directly in its path. Discord’s wing’s beated faster, turning back away as he allowed himself to grieve silently.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle stood firm, watching as the mob of ponies dispersed to allow their leader through. A cherry-wine unicorn by the name of Azreal emerged, his horn and the pendant he wore around his neck glowing a bright green as he smirked deliciously.
“My, I wasn’t expecting this; I would say it’s almost touching, my dear Princess.” Azreal chuckled amusingly as he strode towards her. “But if you think I would believe you to just abandon your post so easily, you’re mistaken.”
“I haven’t abandoned anything, Azreal.” She frowned. “I merely stepped down in rank, to try and prove to you -yet again- that I was never after power. It’s harmony I want to see and this-'' She gestured to the army of ponies around her, all different makes, shapes, and species, all there to see her demise. Her heart ached. “-t-this isn’t it! Uniting just to separate; can’t you see how wrong this all is?!” She took another step towards the male, stepping down from the higher ground where the throne sat, walking along the same stretch of tile as he was; same height, same prowess. “Please, Azreal. We can still fix this…” She extended her hoof to him. “Unicorn to unicorn.”
The stallion bared his teeth, his nostrils flaring, as his eyes lifted from her outreached hoof.
“You are no unicorn, Twilight Sparkle! You are but a shadow of one, transformed into a demon that seeks nothing but power and rule! How dare you even try to compare yourself to the likes of me! The time for negotiating has long since passed!” His horn sparked with rage as he drew closer still.
“You realize what will happen if you go through with this, don’t you?!” Twilight stood her guard, her own horn glowing, lowering her head, her ears pinned back. “Magic will cease to exist in this world! Much has changed since the time of Celestia and Luna; without harmony amongst all three pony kinds, it will falter and die with me!”
“A price I’ll gladly pay to see you alicorns go extinct once and for all!” With that, Azreal made the first move, charging at Twilight as their horns collided, sparks flying as they began their duel.
Twilight fell back some from the sudden charge, but soon managed to hold her ground, teeth gritted as she willed all the strength and magic she had to fight off the foe. She pressed on, digging her hooves as hard as she could into the ground below her.
Azreal retreated back some, giving himself the space to recover.
“Oh the irony of it all, eh Twilight?” He pushed forward again, managing to gain the upper hoof as he felt the purple unicorn’s legs give, slowly reverting backwards. “You came into this world a unicorn and now you’re going to die one as well! Oh how proud the once great Celestia must be of her most esteemed student?!”
“She would be saddened by what our land has become!” Twilight found her footing again, bringing her head back a bit, only to collide again with Azreal, but this time using her anger towards him to gather up more strength to regain the upper hoof. “It was never just about alicorns or earth ponies or pegasi or unicorns!” She pressed even harder now, feeling the male unicorn losing his own ground again. “It was about keeping the likes of you from hurting the loving views of fellow ponies!” With another swift swing of her horn, Twilight heard something break, looking up to see Azreal’s horn now cracked down the middle. There was a moment of relief, but it was short lived as she felt herself fall to the ground, Azreal taking advantage of the split second of weakness to trip her using his legs. Before she could realize what happened, she felt a heavy hoof pressed to her head and Azreal’s glowing green eyes sneering down into her own.
“Well, luckily that's a burden she no longer has to carry, and neither will you." Azreal panted, pressing his hoof firmly into Twilight’s skull before he managed to crack her own horn off her forehead, bathing himself in the joyous sounds from her cries of agony from his assault.
Twilight cried and grunted out in pain, the pressure on her head unlike anything she had ever felt before. She tried to focus all her strength to get up but it was no use. Her chest heaving, she laid on the cold floor beneath Azreal’s hoof, her eyes barely able to focus on her now decapitated horn that laid only inches away from her. All she could feel were his eyes cutting into her very soul. She weeped quietly, her eyes going into the back of her head as all the memories seemed to flash by; memories of her friends, her family, the good and the bad, but most importantly the ones she cherished the most with her son. She held onto those, struggling to hang on much longer as the world around her went suddenly silent.
Azreal lifted his hoof from her head, watching as the once great Princess of Magic laid before him, hardly able to breathe and writhing in misery. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the sight as he turned around and faced his army with pride.
“Kill her.”
For one last time, all three pony tribes came together, walking past their leader, to finally destroy the one pony that had forced them to mingle under one rule, truly convinced that once the world was rid of alicorns, they would truly be free to govern themselves. As Twilight left this world, a bright light shot from her body and into the sky above, bursting out and blanketing the land, devouring all magic in its wake, the only source of it left was in the body and soul of the young alicorn prince, now a few miles away, that laid huddled under his wings, on the back of his regent, startled by the sudden burst of light overhead, choking on his tears.
The Draconequus, who had turned himself into an Earth Pony just minutes before, felt himself become very weak, feeling the weight of Argyle on his back and each step he made against the ground under his hooves as all his magic was suddenly gone in a matter of seconds. Not even his prison of stone could compare to this. Losing another one of his dearest and life changing friends was punishment enough.
Sighing, he stopped a moment, looking down over the valley at the now darkened castle, only lit by the fires of hatred under Luna’s moon.
“Shhh…” He nuzzled the young prince, trying his best to console him. “-hush now, quiet now--” His voice cracked as he awkwardly tried to sing, feeling his face flush. He wasn’t good at this sort of thing; in times like this, he found himself wishing that Fluttershy was near. Nevertheless, he tried, looking over his shoulder at the place he had learned to love so dear and called home one last time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Discord carried on well into the middle of the night, getting them as far away from Canterlot as his now-pony legs could carry them until he was too tired to continue on. He walked them into a thicket nearby, gently setting Argyle down onto the thick grass, feeling his own legs give out under him as he went to lay down.
Argyle stirred awake, two very swollen and groggy eyes looking up at him.
“It’s okay." He tried to pet the colt’s mane, but found it much harder to do with hooves instead of claws. Discord cursed under his breath. How in Equestria do ponies use these things?!
The small Alicorn quickly nestled himself between Discord’s front legs, hugging his wings and body into a tight ball, shaking.
“W-whats going to happen to us?” Argyle looked up at him. “Why is magic gone? W-when is mom coming back? Why are you a pony now?” Argyle shivered. “I’m cold...and r-really scared.”
Admittedly, Discord had been far from comfortable yet, but the way Argyle had climbed so naturally into his hooves kept him from fussing, knowing it was how he always curled up with his mother. He sighed, resting his head lightly on a large rock beside them for support.
“We have no choice but to hide for now. As for your mother...she’s-” He bit his lip with his snaggletooth; how did you explain to somepony so young that their mother wasn’t returning? “-we can discuss that more tomorrow once we both get some rest; I’m a pony now because I need to be in disguise until magic returns, to protect you, like your mother asked of me. As for being cold-” He lifted his head, pulling the younger one closer to him before resting his head atop of him to keep in the warmth. “-this should help. Rest now, Little Prince. We have a long journey ahead of us.” Discord’s head lifted momentarily to the stars, noticing how brightly they were shining tonight. With a heavy sigh, he laid his head back down, closing his eyes as he and Argyle let their tired bodies fall asleep in the depths of the forest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The twosome would wander wayward the day after and so on, with no home behind them and their future uncertain ahead. Discord had to get used to his new body, all while trying to keep Argyle from showing his wings and horn, talking him through a spell that would help him hide them when needed.
For the first several days after the collapse of Twilight's reign, soldiers were heavily posted everywhere, forcing apart ponies into their respective groups; pegasi with pegasi, earth ponies with earth ponies, and unicorns with unicorns, while anypony else that resisted was arrested. The now powerless God of Chaos could only shield the young alicorn prince from the horrors as he sought to get them as far away from Canterlot as possible.
Their world had truly been turned upside down, far more than what Discord could ever take credit for in the past. It was a sight he wished he'd never been forced to see.