It was over. The dreaded Queen of Equestria had been bested. When the unnecessarily colorful magic summoned by the Elements ceased, all was quiet. I admit I was at a loss for words. The power these six magical gems possessed was unimaginable. A lesser pony might be consumed with such force, corrupted by such desires. I was no such pony.
No sooner had my hooves touched the ground than the others regaining their senses after such a moment, they began to celebrate. That is to say. Bright Pitch had flown into the rafters with an unintelligible cheer. The others had much more restrained reactions. For all his noble bluster, Blueblood grinned with such smugness that I might have believed he forfeited his Element right then and there. Light Sabre had fallen to his haunches staring at nothing at all.
The remaining pair seemed content that it was over. I had little doubt Captain Thorax would be having words with his Queen at some point soon. That left only what was before us. In the smoke of the Elements blast lie none other than Princess Luna. She was smaller than I recalled, and her mane was also different. It was no longer the gentle flowing constellations of her night sky but a delicate blue, solid and painfully average.
The second thing of note was Stargazer. He lay face-up, eyes closed, and limp to all the world. I took a step forward and cleared my throat.
"Stargazer."
There was no reply. I would not be surprised if he were caught in the aftermath of The Elements. However, the wound that had marked his chest. The injury left by Nightmare Moon moments before her defeat was gone. He'd been healed, not unexpected though being rendered unconscious seemed at odds with the spell we'd used.
I took another step forward.
"Stargazer."
Still no reply. By this point, the others had taken note of my reactions. I could feel my fangs grinding as I glared down at Stargazer. Only he could be injured by a corrective spell. I heard the clops behind me but didn't bother looking back.
"Sombra?" Light Sabre asked.
I shook my head and crossed the few meters between Stargazer and myself.
I stood over him, my horn ignited, and I made to rouse him. There was no response. I tried twice more before letting the spell disperse. I took a sharp breath. I could feel the familiar crawl under my skin. I stomped, splitting the stone beneath my hoof.
"Sombra, what's wrong? What happened to Star?" Thorax asked.
The others were beginning to encircle Stargazer. Each looked over his motionless form and reacted in their own way. They were predictable and utterly irrelevant. I paid them no mind. Instead, marching past the others. The Princess of the Night was rousing. That struck one theory from my mind. The Elements were an enhancing set of artifacts based on a particular set of paradigms. They required such a precise relay of magic that they were useless to all but the few chosen by their power. One such user was the Princess sitting before me.
"Princess Luna."
The pale reflection of the Princess I knew some centuries ago was but a ghost. She was alive. The power emanating off her was potent if far and away from the likes of Nightmare Moon's own magical might. Yet, she reacted to her name all the same.
"Sombra?"
The Princess eyed me even as she made it to her hooves. I nodded. I wasn't surprised. Time and experience mark us all. I did not need her trust, only her cooperation. I stepped to the side and pointed to the group gathered around Stargazer. The others had no more luck than I in rousing him from his 'slumber.' If one could call it that. The body was very much alive. If not unresponsive to the world around it. However, everything else was void, null, and empty.
Luna only puzzled the scene for a moment before slowly joining the others. I followed suit. I needed answers. If anyone might know the more profound applications of the Elements and the power they wielded, it was she who'd used them long before I or the others.
Luna came to a stop before Stargazer. The others had finally noticed. The reactions were interesting. Sabre seemed caught between glowering and bowing to the rightful Mistress of the Night. Bright Pitch seemed in awe. Sturdy Spade gave the Princess a shrug and returned to staring at Stargazer's body. Thorax gave a slight bow, almost reflexively. It was Blueblood. However, that reacted the most.
He stood, strode past the others, and gently pulled the surprised mare into a hug. It lasted only a few seconds. But the smile it brought Luna was worthy enough of a reaction.
"It is nice to meet you, Aunt Luna. I'm glad to see you finally free of that monster," Blueblood said softly.
"As am I. I am glad to know each of you was a part of my return. We have much to do. So many lives have been ruined by my jealousy. I have much to account for. However."
Luna looked back down at Stargazer. "This is most troubling."
"He's alive," I said.
Luna shook her head. "If by only the simplest definitions. It is as if his very magic was ripped from his body. The husk behind is all but dead. Though to the why and how I am afraid I am at a loss."
It was as I thought. My probe gave a similar response.
"Did the Elements do this?" Light Sabre asked.
"If they did, it would be beyond anything I've seen them do. They are not a weapon of death. To think they would rip the soul from a pony is beyond their power or purpose."
"So, what do we do?" Bright asked. The rambunctious author had finally rejoined us on Equis. The Thestral was twitching and fidgeting in place. He dared not look at what became of Stargazer. I did not blame him.
"I know not," Luna said.
Bright Pitch turned to me, and the others joined him in leering at me. I tsked. "I have no answers. If Luna does not know what has happened to our friend, then how would I?" I paused in that thought. The word I'd used to describe Stargazer. It tickled the tongue. 'Friend' was not a word I'd often used. It was heavier than I remember. It also brought the faintest amount of joy and sorrow in equal measure.
"Then you little ponies are all too lucky, I do."
The Voice. It echoes from every wall. It was followed by a laugh and pink mist. The others looked about as the pink fog rolled in from all directions. All was well and good. I was hardly surprised The Voice, or the one who wielded it, would only join us in such a flamboyant manner. Their riddles were a forerunner to their most authentic self.
Luna, unlike the others, had not been taken by surprise. Not the same kind of surprise, at the very least. The mare was shaking in place. Her eyes pinprick as she mumbled something under her breath. I rested a hoof on the Princess' shoulder.
"You know, the owner of that respiteful voice, yes?" I asked.
Luna managed only one word, two syllables, the word was commonplace as any linguistic tool, yet it sent a shiver down my spine. A name I'd heard of long ago. A tale of Two alicorns and a beast that ruled absolutely. A monster that was far more significant than any Nightmare.
"Discord."
"And we have a WINNER!"
In a poof of unnaturally white smoke, it was none other than the Lord of Chaos floating above us. A smile tucked behind his curved snaggletooth. A collage of many beasts Discord looked down at us. Sabre was the first to react.
"You know what happened to Stargazer?" he asked.
"I do. After all, I was the one who dropped him into the Everfree all those long, long weeks ago. The first of many dominoes lined up just right. Do you know how hard it is to find a worthwhile soul in the infinite aether between dimensions?" Discord had teleported to Sabre's left and jabbed him in the shoulder from the right.
Luna had backpedaled away, only for Discord to wink at Sabre before appearing behind Luna and wrapping her in a hug. "Oh, little Lulu, how I've missed your not-so-starry-but-will-be-starry butt."
"Release me, monster," Luna yelled, struggling vainly in Discord's grip. When she settled down, Discord plopped her back to the floor and was suddenly all too close for my liking.
"My my, Mr. Kingly Grump. No need to be so tense. Relax." Discord melted before my eyes only to reconstitute just as quickly. "You wanted answers, right?"
I offered a curt nod.
"Right, so where was I? Oh, right, the fruit metaphor." Discord produced a bunch of carrots with a sign above them saying, 'Try my fruits.' "So it was a massive pain, I'll tell you. It's like picking fruit. Some are good, some are bad, and some are rotten. But Starry here, he was the PERFECT candidate to SPARK a fire. A kindling, if you will, a force to awaken change. To provoke chaos at its basest level. A perfect sponge to collect all that chaos just for me."
"What did you do to Star?" Blueblood said, taking a step toward the master of causality. That was not an intelligent decision, but a brave one nonetheless.
"Didn't I just get done with the metaphors? Should I run through them again?" Discord asked. A massive coned cap appeared on Blueblood's head that read 'Dummy.'
"You know well that is not what he means, Discord."
Luna had found her spine, it seemed. That was a nice change of pace.
"Fine, spoilsports. You can see little Stargazer if that is his real name." Discord sidled beside Thorax and whispered loud and proud behind one taloned army. "Makes you wonder."
"Discord!" Luna growled.
Discord quaked in mock terror. "No need to get violent, Moon butt. I'm getting there." Discord stood straight and coughed into his paw. "Right, so I summoned Stargazer for two reasons. One to help kick Black Snooty in her rotund black booty. As you can see, that worked out just as most of Equis and I wanted. Lulu lives, and big bad Night-night is no more."
"And the other?" Thorax asked.
"As an urn for all his chaos. Isn't that right? A vessel, a sacrifice."
Sturdy Spade did not look happy. In fact, he seemed very unhappy. The glint in his eye was not that of a pony. It was the sharpest, most easily read he'd been since I'd met the pegasus. It was the eye of a predator, a hunter who had found his prey. It caught even Discord off guard. The chimera stumbles back and hides his face behind his mismatched arms.
"So scary."
"Is he correct?" I asked.
"Almost. If Stargazer was nothing but a chug jug, just a cool refreshing cup of chaos on an entropy-filled day. Then he'd be gone. Completely wiped away by the magic of Harmony. Chaos and Harmony are opposites, you see, like oil and milk. They don't mix." Discord raised a picket sign with Harmony crossed out in a big red x.
"You call this any better?" Sabre asked, pointing to Stargazer's unresponsive form.
"I mean, clearly. The poor tyke is just all tired out. He had a long night, you see."
Discord cackled as the whole of the group glared at him. I might have caught the faintest glimpse of a lifted lip for our local mortician.
"So, you can fix him?" Bright asked. The Thestral was eye to eye and face to face with Discord, who did not so much as flinch. He instead plucked Bright Pitch up by the nape of his neck and plopped him beside Spade. Then arms stretching to wrap around us at once pulled us into a semi-circle to one side of Stargazer.
"Why, of course, I can. I'm not the Lord of Chaos for nothing. Stargazer is just a battery in need of good old fashion charging. You see if the Elements of Harmony." Discord gagged. "Hasn't pulled the chaos from little Star tush, here. He'd have gone mad and lost his already fragile little mind forever."
"You played this game well. Discord. Far more planning than one would predict of a Lord of Chaos," I said.
"Oh, no, no, no, you have it all wrong. I don't plan anything. This was all natural."
"If that were true, why did you repeatedly intervene on Star's behalf? The Hive mind, the dreams, the times when Star acted under no machinations of his own. You were there, always right when he needed you most."
Blueblood pointed at Discord. His smug smile had returned.
Discord refused to meet Blueblood's eye. He instead tried to whistle it all away. "It isn't like I did that much. Before now, I was nothing but a statue. Feel free to ask Lulu about that later. All I could do was store what little chaos Nightmare Moon's reign allowed. Fear breeds stagnation, and stagnation breeds order, you see. So I was working with pretty much nothing but duct tape and rubber bands here."
"That doesn't disprove our nephew's claims. "Luna looked to Blueblood and smiled as she declared him hers for all to hear.
"Well, I mean…."
There was a chuckle, then a giggle, and finally a laugh. Thorax was clutching his sides as he laughed at Discord. To which the spirit wrapped his arms and huffed.
"You like Stargazer, don't you? You wanted to help him. Maybe he was a pawn at one point but by the end. You liked him."
Discord gasped. "Such slander."
"It is not slander if true," Spade said.
"Admit it, Dizzy. You made a friend," Bright Pitch cooed.
"I did n—"
"Discord."
Luna pointed to Stargazer. "You altered your spell, didn't you? You altered it so young Stargazer may yet return to us. The plan was not for a battery, but a sacrifice as the Laughing Spade has accused."
Discord stomped the ground warping it in vectors. "Fine, Maybe, just Maybe. I started liking Stargazer a little."
The ground returned to normal. Spade stood proud, joining Blueblood in the smug guild. Those two would cause a war if left unchecked.
"It is okay to want friends, Discord. Believe it or not, you helped more than yourself, more than just Stargazer. You helped teach us all something about friendship. It's been a long road, but even if only in spirit, you walked it with us."
Discord clawed at his eyes. "Too much sap. Make it stop."
"So, you said you can revive Stargazer. Please do," I said.
Discord released his eyelids that pulled back into place with such force his eyes spun in rapid rotations. "Fine." Discord snapped his fingers.
"Well?" Bright asked.
"Give it a second, geez. Some ponies," Discord scoffed.
Then Star's eyes opened. He blearily looked at all those standing around him.
"What did I miss?" he asked.
"Weeeell," Bright Pitch inhaled.
Sabre shoved a hoof in Bright's mouth. "That can wait. I believe we have a dawn to see."
"Glad to see you're back, Luna." Star blinked and then snorted. He'd finally noticed Luna, who'd taken to counting the cracks in the stonework.
"It is good to see you as well. Though I am sad to say, I can not rouse the day. It will be some time before I return to my full strength."
"Bummer," Star said.
I turned and coughed at Discord. Who blinked before my intent crossed his addled mind.
"Perhaps I can be of service?"
Star bolted upright. He trailed the group to the one he'd not met. Discord waved.
"You're the voice."
"Discord, actually."
"Wow, glad I finally get to meet you, you know, in the flesh," Star offered Discord a hoof. Discord hesitated for a second before wrapping his pawed hand around Star's hoof and giving it several heavy shakes. Shakes that lifted Discord up and about as he shook.
"It's my pleasure."
"So, I heard an offer at dawn from our friendly neighborhood, Chaos Master?" Spade said with a wink at Discord."
"I suppose I can help out, just until Luna is back up and running again. I do have a reputation, you know. I can't do schedules forever. Think of what the other me's would say." Discord thumbed over his shoulder to a bunch of other Discords in various hats whispering amongst themselves.
Star took a deep breath and started toward the throneroom doors. "Well, what are we waiting for? It's a brand new day, and I will not miss it."
One by one, the others filed out. I waited till last. I gave the night sky from the shattered windows of the throneroom a long look. I am still determining when or why. But I couldn't help but smile. I'd expected things to play out differently than they did. But for what it's worth. I would not change a single thing. It was like Stargazer had said.
"A brand new day."