“Do you know why she isn’t here?” Silver asked after she walked into the room, causing Ahuizotl, the large blue spirit and guide to the Spirit World, to glance up from his resting spot.
“With all due respect, my lord,” Ahuizotl said. “It has been many, many of your pony lifetimes since I last served the embodiment of chaos. I will need a tiny bit more information.”
“Chrysalis,” Silver said before walking over and sitting down in front of him. “She’s out there, isn’t she? I can feel her every time I order the changelings.”
The spirit slowly sat up with a low, pained grunt. While she had managed to return him to his true form, it seemed he was still feeling the effects from his captivity. Not to mention accidentally being absorbed when she took Tirek’s essence. “I cannot say,” he said. “She has always been a conniving one in her own way. Never openly disobedient, but she’ll follow what she truly believes is her right.”
“Is she going to be another Tirek?” Silver asked.
“Doubtful,” Ahuizotl said. “If you did not exist she would be absolutely thrilled to take over and attempt to rule in his place, she knows better than to try and directly oppose you. She would be more likely to try and curry favor with you in an attempt to gain more power for herself.”
“Yet she hasn’t come yet,” Silver said.
“Her minions have come,” Ahuizotl said. “The changelings. If she herself has not, I am certain she believes whatever it is she is doing will give her more favor in your eyes.”
Silver sighed and reached up a hoof to rub her forehead. “What was it like, serving Discord?”
“Chaotic,” Ahuizotl said.
“That’s not very informative,” Silver said.
“He was the living embodiment of chaos itself,” Ahuizotl said. “How can I properly describe that? His desires could change on a whim, the way he interacted with the world could be shifted. At times he would change not just others, but himself. He was the kind of creature who would die for a week just to see how it feels, then return to life because he was bored. To be honest, I am not even certain he is not already doing that.”
Silver froze, her eyes going wide. “Wait, what? You think… he…?”
“Unlikely, though,” Ahuizotl said. “There was truly only one creature in all the worlds that could oppose him. Harmony. And if it was her magic that finally slew him, well…”
“But the elements were destroyed,” Silver said.
“So was Discord, yet you are here,” Ahuizotl said. “Perhaps this was a magic even he could not stop. Or perhaps he desired to see what would happen if he was gone. Perhaps, even now, he still yet lives in his own way. With a creature such as him I cannot say.”
“Are you feeling any better?” Silver asked.
“Yes,” Ahuizotl said. “Being bound to Tirek was… exhausting. Being… expunged from your being was…” The spirit gave a shudder.
“Sorry about that,” Silver said. “But it was that or just keep you trapped.”
“My lord,” Ahuizotl said softly. “You do bear Discord’s power, of that none can deny. But you’re not as he was.”
“Hm? What do you mean?” Silver asked.
“A thousand pardons,” Ahuizotl said before bowing his head. “But you are nowhere near as powerful as he. He could snap his fingers and rebuild entire nations. If you so much as said his name he would know where you were. He--”
“Yes, yes, I know,” Silver said with a roll of her eyes before turning away and walking towards the door. “It’s hardly my fault. I’m just his avatar.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Ahuizotl said quickly, making her pause. “I do not mean to say you are weak. I am warning you to be careful.”
Silver paused and glanced back. “Excuse me? Careful? I’ve already won.”
“For now,” Ahuizotl said. “But you allow the ponies too many chances. You should crush them while you can. The Avatar of theirs as well.”
“I’m a pony as well,” Silver said.
“So?” Ahuizotl asked. “They will turn on you and may even harm you one day, if you don’t ensure they cannot.”
“Discord didn’t,” Silver said.
“And he died,” Ahuizotl said. “He could also see so much more than you. Even now they are likely plotting against you. Searching for a way to stop you.”
“Probably,” Silver said with a shrug.
“Does it truly not concern you?” Ahuizotl asked.
“Should it?” Silver asked. “Maybe I’m bored.”
“Is that truly it?” Ahuizotl asked.
Silver gave a soft sigh before shaking her head. “What would you say if I asked you to take on your duties again?”
“My duties?” Ahuizotl asked.
“As guide,” Silver said.
“You’d wish for me to take ponies into the Spirit World… and protect them?” Ahuizotl asked.
“Perhaps,” Silver said.
“I’d say you were a foal,” Ahuizotl said before cringing when she glared at him. “With all do respect. Many spirits are still lost. There is…” He trailed off, the hand on his tail moving over his mouth.
Silver’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t speak past that. She just lightly tapped her hoof.
“I merely think that the ponies would do even more damage to it,” Ahuizotl said.
“You know, not everything wrong with this world is because of ponies,” Silver said. “And there is more than just ponies now. There’s buffalo, negasi, minotaurs, griffons, diamond dogs--”
“Yes, yes,” Ahuizotl said with a wave of his hands. “Many of those, at least, are more akin to spirits. They’re not ponies.”
“It’s good to know you’re recovering, Ahuizotl,” Silver said before resuming her trot towards the exit.
“My lord,” Ahuizotl said. “You are the embodiment of chaos. Discord’s legacy. But you are not him. For all good and bad that entails. Do not make the same mistakes he did, strike while you can.”
“The world is falling,” Silver said. “The holdouts won’t last much longer.”
“If you applied your own hoof, they would have already fallen,” Ahuizotl said. “There will be time to revel in the chaos after. But while you allow them to gather and unite, they may yet tap into some scraps of Harmony’s power.”
“Maybe,” Silver said before stepping out of the room, closing it behind herself. She cocked an eye when she saw Gracious waiting for her. At least the unicorn had the good judgment to wait outside for her. Showing Ahuizotl any pony would likely get him even more upset. “I take it that you’ve done as I said?”
“All three ponies are in the dungeons below, awaiting your judgment,” Gracious said.
“I guess I should go say hi, then,” Silver mumbled before lightly walking down the hall.
Silver wondered how Ahuizotl would react if he knew just how much she was hiding from him. The fact she still couldn’t see the ‘script’ as he called it. That as powerful as she was, there was still a lot she couldn’t do. She knew ponies were talking about her all over. She could feel it every time somepony said her name. If they said it in a fearful manner, an excited manner, an angry manner.
But she wasn’t Discord. She couldn’t just pop in and know what was going on when she did it. She couldn’t just know where it was. She knew they were talking about her, but she couldn’t see the context. Or rather, she didn’t want to and wasn’t willing to test if she could find out. She didn’t even want to know who they were. She wondered if the ponies in the dungeon were currently whispering about her. Fearful of what she’d do to them.
“You had their wounds tended to?” Silver asked.
“Err, yes,” Gracious said, nervously sliding a hoof on the ground in front of her. “I merely wanted to ensure they would be able to answer any questions you may have had for them. I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds.”
“Of course not,” Silver said. “After all, I knew you would.”
“Oh, of course,” Gracious said, bowing her head politely. “Nothing escapes your sight, your Highness.”
Silver nodded, though her heart wasn’t in it. Oh, how she wished that were true. If she truly was as omniscient as Discord was, she wondered if she’d be able to undo what she’d done. Buck. If she were more like him, would she even want to fix this or would she revel in the chaos she was already creating?
------
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Silver paused when she heard that. What in the world? Were they trying to break out?
However, it wasn’t long before she found out the cause. “Who gave her a bouncy ball?” Silver asked.
“I… don’t… know,” Gracious said. “She had it earlier. Would you like me to remove it?”
Silver paused outside the cell and then coughed.
Starlight glanced up and let out a shriek. The ball she’d thrown hit the wall and bounced back, hitting the frightened unicorn in the forehead. She barely seemed to notice, all the color drained from her face before she quickly closed her eyes and feigned sleep.
“You don’t really believe that’ll work, do you?” Silver asked before glancing down at the ball as it lightly rolled towards her. She picked it up once it rolled outside of the bars and had half a mind to destroy it.
Starlight gave a whimper and rolled off her cot and lowered herself behind it, a pathetic attempt to hide herself. “Please don’t break my mind again, Miss Discord sir.”
Silver sighed and then tossed the ball back towards her. She almost wished the mare would be as cocky and arrogant as ever. But apparently having your mind shattered by chaos magic tended to humble even the most arrogant of ponies. She then glanced towards the other creature in the cell with her. A small bunny. She glanced towards Gracious, who shrugged.
“Just keep playing with your ball and don’t cause me any more trouble, Starlight,” Silver said before lightly trotting away.
“O-of course, sir. Err, ma’am. Eh… heh heh… eh,” Starlight said before giving a soft, timid whimper.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Gracious asked. “Why not just execute her? Do you have some plan for her?”
“Plan?” Silver asked. “She’s helpless and can’t interfere with my work anymore. No point to it.”
“I’d imagine after all the pain and suffering she caused there would be plenty of reason to,” Gracious said, her tone just a hint bitter.
“Possibly,” Silver said with a shrug. “But it’s not like I have any room to judge. If you really want to, you can kill her.”
“Very well,” Gracious said before turning around and heading back towards the cell.
Silver watched her for a moment, her breath stopping. She wouldn’t, would she? Fire formed on the tip of the unicorn’s horn a moment before she was in front of the cell again. Silver lifted a hoof, gathering her magic. Buck. No, this wasn’t right. Even if Starlight was an enemy, that didn’t mean she could just be executed like that.
Wait, no, she was Discord. What did she care if it was right or not? Starlight had attacked her. Tried to take her cutie mark. If not for her, everything would be okay. Tirek wouldn’t have had his minion to--
NO! NO NO NO!
Silver tapped her hoof on the ground and sent a burst of magic towards Gracious, intending to turn the fire to cotton candy. However, before it could change the fire sputtered out and Gracious gave a sigh. “My apologies, your highness,” she said before turning to walk back towards her.
“Huh?” Silver asked.
“Despite everything she has done, it’s not as easy as I thought it would be to just… execute her,” Gracious said. “Perhaps in the future she can face a trial for her crimes.”
Silver gave a light snort and started walking again. If anypony was going to be put on trial it would likely be her. Could a being of chaos even HAVE a trial? Perhaps Starlight’s little bunny could stand as the judge. They could sell tickets. That thought made her roll her eyes.
“For buck’s sake,” Trixie said. “Can you stop this CEASELESS complaining.”
Silver yelped, jumping and looking around. “Your highness?” Gracious asked.
“What? Nothing, nothing,” Silver said, her cheeks burning red. Oh, great. She was back.
“You and I need to have a talk,” Trixie said before appearing in front of her, an annoyed look on her face.
“Do we have to?” Silver asked before giving a light groan. “There’s that headache again…”
“I’m sorry, what?” Gracious asked. “Do we have to what?”
“Apparently we do,” Trixie said.
“Ugh,” Silver said before shaking her head. “Blabbering air head. Fine. Gracious, deal with this.”
“This?” Gracious asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.
“Yes, this. The benders. Bender. Them. Just deal with them,” Silver said before turning and trotting away.
“Deal with them? Err, how, your highness?” Gracious asked.
“I don’t care,” Silver said. “Let them go, feed them soup, read them bedtime stories. Whatever you want.” She didn’t wait for her general to respond, storming her way back down the hall and only giving the hiding Starlight a single glance before leaving the dungeons. She didn’t have the patience for this.
------
Marble paced back and forth, occasionally looking at her friends. Babs and Limestone were resting on their cots, bandaged up.
This wasn’t fair. None of this should have happened. If only she’d been stronger and faster. If she hadn’t leaned on the others so much. Maybe if she--
Her thoughts were broken by the sound of hoofsteps. She braced herself, nervously chewing on her lower lip and watching for who would come across the corner.
She felt a small moment of relief when she saw it was only Gracious, the unicorn occasionally glancing back as if she expected somepony to be following her. She moved to stand in front of the cell.
Marble stopped pacing and stared at the other mare before glancing at her friends. Limestone and Babs were pointedly looking away.
“It seems today that the three of you are quite fortunate,” Gracious said. “The Avatar of Discord no longer wishes to deal with you lot and you are free to go once you answer a few simple questions.”
Marble stared, her mouth falling open.
“That’s it?” Babs asked before getting to her hooves and crawling out of the bed. She limped towards Gracious, her eyes narrowed. “She goes and takes over our city, steals our magic, throws us in this jail and then doesn’t even have the decency to see us face to face?”
“Babs,” Marble said, her voice just a little above a whisper. “Don’t…”
“No, I’ve had it up to here with that hoity toity filly,” Babs said, stomping her hoof down. “The only reason we were in that mess is because--” She was silenced when a bolt of electricity went past her head, singeing the wall behind her.
“Please, do not misunderstand,” Gracious said, her voice cold. “The only reason you are being allowed to leave is because her highness has more important things to do and, frankly, she finds it more amusing to watch you suffer from your new condition. The only pony who could even hope to stand up to her at this point is the Avatar and, until she makes an appearance, you are merely her toys to do with as she wishes.”
“I ain’t nopony’s toy,” Babs said, though her voice had gotten quite a bit softer now and she lifted a hoof to touch the singed tips of her mane.
“However, there is still the reason for that scuffle,” Gracious said. “Why were you fighting? Was it the rebellion?” Her eyes turned towards Marble and then her cutie mark.
Marble took a single small step back, but Babs quickly moved in front of her. “No, we ain’t. Those mooks just had a bit too much cider and were looking for somepony to take their grievances out on.”
“Then why did they choose you?” Gracious asked.
Babs just glared at her. Marble wanted to say something, anything, but the words stuck in her throat. It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t do anything. They’d learned their lesson.
Please give her friend’s their magic back. They didn’t deserve this.
But despite herself, she couldn’t say anything.
“I see,” Gracious said. “Very well. You two, unmarked, you--”
“We AIN’T unmarked!” Babs yelled, the anger in her voice. “That’s it, where is that--” She went silent when sparks formed on the tip of the fire bender’s horn.
“We aren’t the Avatar’s biggest fans,” Limestone said bitterly. “We had a tussle with her a while back, in the pro bending circle. Some ponies thought that was a good enough reason to attack us, said we were supporting all of… this.”
“Limestone—” Babs said, but was cut off.
“What?” Limestone asked. “You and I don’t have our bending and there’s bound to be more idiots like that. If we’re getting out of here without any more trouble, let’s not make it any worse than we have to.”
“Worse?” Babs asked. “If Silver was here then--”
“You wouldn’t be able to do anything,” Limestone said before getting to her hooves. “Just like we weren’t able to last time. So can we leave?”
“Thank you for answering my questions,” Gracious said before standing aside and opening the door to the cell. “Yes, you may. Do try to avoid drawing the gaze of Discord in the future. For now she doesn’t care about you, but there is no telling when and where her mood will settle next time.”
“I ain’t scared of her,” Babs said.
“Then you’re a fool,” Gracious said. “But maybe I should introduce you to somepony. To truly show you what she is capable of. Judging by your reaction to being called an unmarked I take it you are familiar with Meadowbrook?”
All three of the ponies cringed before slowly nodding.
“Then perhaps it is best you learn of her final fate, after what the Avatar of Discord did to her. Come along,” Gracious said before turning and trotting away.
The three shared a nervous look before beginning to follow after her, a sinking feeling welling up inside them.
------
Silver sighed and lightly swirled the tea leaves around in her mug before taking a slow, steady sip of it. Okay. She was calm. She was collected. She could do this. She could put up with Trixie of all ponies. At the very least she wasn’t Discord and that would have to be enough. If he started appearing then she was pretty sure she’d snap.
“So then,” Silver said slowly. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Oh, you know EXACTLY what the Great and Powerful Trixie desires to speak about,” Trixie said huffily before reaching out to smack the tea mug. Her hoof went right through it.
Silver rolled her eyes. “You’re not able to interact with the physical world. You know that.”
“Exactly,” Trixie said. “So I am trapped here, forced to watch… this.”
“And what, exactly, is ‘this’?” Silver asked.
“You wasting our time,” Trixie said.
“My time?”
“OUR time,” Trixie said. “The Avatar is still out there. Because YOU let her go. You released her. You--”
“I took her power, she’s harmless,” Silver said.
“You and I both know that’s not true,” Trixie said. “You can find her, you need to dest--”
“No,” Silver said.
“No?” Trixie asked. “Need I remind you what she is? What you are?”
“As if I could ever forget,” Silver said before taking another drink of her tea. It tasted oddly like cotton candy now.
“That’s the second thing,” Trixie said. “This mopey, pathetic, ‘oh woe is me, I won, wahhhhhh’ behavior is exhausting. We won. You should be out there and crushing the last of these pathetic resistances. Not leaving them to other ponies and cowering in your little castle.”
“I’m not cowering,” Silver said softly. “I just… I… I’m keeping busy. I--”
“You’re doing nothing,” Trixie said, standing up a little straighter and posing dramatically, her cloak billowing in the non-existent wind. “When I was in control, I had everypony cowering from me. All of the nations were crumbling beneath my hooves. Everypony in the world knew my name, even--”
“Yes, yes,” Silver said before rolling her eyes. “Your face was carved into the mountains, the only thing to match your ego. I’m not you.”
“No, you’re not,” Trixie said. “But you’re wasting this opportunity.” She then reached out, putting a hoof against the alicorn amulet. “Or is that what you’re hoping?”
Silver cringed. “I’m not--”
“Allow me to remind you,” Trixie said. “When push came to shove, when the Avatar had to choose between you or the world… she chose the world. Just like I said she would. Are you hoping that’ll change if you cower here? If you let her gather her strength? Do you honestly believe you’ll be spared?”
“I don’t--”
“Or is what you want even worse?” Trixie asked. “Are you hoping she’ll destroy you? That she’ll burst down the door, with some stupid new rainbow blasting power?”
Silver cringed and put her tea down. “I don’t want that. I just… I…”
“You want to go back to how things were?” Trixie asked. “But they never were that. From the very beginning you and the Avatar were enemies. Peace, friendship, none of that was ever an option. You hold a bit of Discord in you. She could never allow you to be her friend. Do you truly hope now that she knows, now that there is no denying what you are, that she’ll somehow change her mind and decide that, maybe, you can all be friends after all? That perhaps Discord wasn’t such a bad guy?”
“I just… I just want…” Silver said softly before finally just flipping the table, shattering her mug and spilling tea across the tile. “I don’t know what I want, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I don’t know! I don’t want this! I don’t want any of this! I was happy! Can you even begin to understand that, Trixie? Can you even begin to know what that was like? For the first time since I realized what I was, I was HAPPY and saw a FUTURE! I legitimately believed that everything could be okay! That Diamond and I could be friends! I thought… I thought she’d… I thought…” Silver couldn’t stop the tears going down her face, though she tried to calm her breathing and slowly sat down. “Why me? Why did I have to bear this? Why did I have to be a member of this stupid fight? Why couldn’t I just be her simple, mundane, normal friend?”
Trixie eyed her, cocking an eye. “Are you done?”
“No, I’m not done! I want to be done but I don’t really have a choice do I?” Silver asked. “It’s either destroy the world or lay down and die, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Trixie said before walking forward to look into her eyes. “You won. You defeated the Avatar. This is your victory. Try to enjoy it a little, okay? You’re making all of us look bad.”
Silver rolled her eyes. “Why do you even care?”
“I’m stuck watching this pathetic display,” Trixie said before turning around to trot away. “I’m tired of just seeing you waste all day moping and whining.”
“Ugh,” Silver said before glancing at the flipped table. She paused a moment before speaking up. “Trixie, what would you do if you were me?”
“Easy,” Trixie said with a light snort. “I’d crush the world beneath my hoof and make them all pay tribute to me. I would show them I was the most powerful ruler this world has ever seen and destroy those who dared to object. Is it not obvious?”
“Right,” Silver said before rolling her eyes. “And what would you do if you weren’t… you?”
“Who knows?” Trixie asked. “Why would I ever desire to be anypony but me?”
“The whole dying thing, for one,” Silver said.
“Ah, but I’m here now, aren’t I?” Trixie asked. “And, hmmm. No idea. What has happened has happened. It’s not like you can undo everything up to this point. How did you put it? ‘You’re the bad guy’, nice song by the way. Roll with it, enjoy it. Take your victory lap. Destroy the Avatar for good BEFORE she bucks everything up again.”
“Diamond isn’t a threat,” Silver said.
“The Avatar is ALWAYS a threat,” Trixie said. “Or need I remind you what happened to Discord? Destroyed, obliterated, turned to dust? Leaving me WITHOUT my wings or powers? Ringing any bells?”
“That was different,” Silver said.
Trixie sighed and walked towards her before reaching out and tapping the Alicorn Amulet again, even though her hoof just went through it. “She made her choice, Silver. You or the world. She chose the world. You chose to win. You need to finish this, stop lollygagging around and waiting for things to change. You should be leading this war, not hiding behind your little ‘Immortals’ and generals. You should be holding that power inside you, not dividing it amongst them. Not prolonging the inevitable. Because the longer you wait, the better the chance that things will go wrong. You need to strike. It is our destiny. How did Discord put it? The whole… seeing the future thing?”
Silver gave a soft sigh and looked away. “See the lines of the script,” she muttered bitterly. “I can’t even do that now, though. Ever since I… changed it. Since…”
“Another waste, that,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes. “Why not just let that pegasus die? You two weren’t even that close. Buck, he doesn’t even know you did it. Now? He’s just like everypony else. Trying to put an end to you.”
Silver sighed and turned away from her, walking towards the window to peer outside. Below she could see the former team of the Rock Bunnies walking away, their heads hanging low. “This really is my destiny, isn’t it? This ‘script’.” She reached up and put a hoof to her head. “Just a constant reminder that no matter what I do, I can’t change it. Discord rules.”
“Why would you want to change your success?” Trixie asked.
“I guess I’m just greedy,” Silver said before glancing out over the city. “I want everything. Victory. Friends. Family.”
“Then just take what you want, like a proper Chaotic and Victorious Protege,” Trixie said. “Stop being a pathetic sad sack and do something. Break somepony.”
“I don’t want to break anything. I think… I think I’m going to go make something,” Silver said. “I’m heading to the Tomorrow Industries labs.”
“That sounds boring,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes.
“Then I guess I’ll be the Boring and Not-Bothered-By-Her-Predecessor Silver Spoon,” Silver said with a roll of her eyes. However, when she stepped outside of the room she saw Gracious waiting nervously by the door. “Yes?”
“Err, are you… finished?” Gracious asked before glancing into the room. “With… uhhhh…”
“Yes,” Silver said. “You can use the room if you like. Though, errr, it’ll need some cleaning.”
“If, err, I may ask, your highness? What is that?” Gracious asked.
“Huh?” Silver asked before glancing back into the room. Her tea was now bright pink and the shards of the mug was white and red striped, like a candy cane. “Frustration. That is frustration,” she said before walking away.
She didn’t know what she’d make, but she’d make something. Hopefully working on something would give her some much needed perspective. She wished she could ask Diamond if talking to her past lives was this annoying. “I’m going to go work on some things for a little bit. Can you handle everything while I’m gone?”
“Of course,” Gracious said before bowing her head. “Though, there was a request sent by General Tittering?”
Silver internally groaned before looking back. “Yes?”
“The Water Immortal has recovered and she requested that it be sent back to aid her,” Gracious said.
“It has?” Silver asked. “Of course, then. Do whatever you feel is right with it.”
“As you wish,” Gracious said before pulling back from her and, slightly nervously, walking into the room. “I’ll get… this… sorted and then have it sent to her.”
Silver gave a shrug before lightly trotting off. If nothing else, at least there were ponies she could delegate tasks to. At least the Water Immortal would be able to keep things from getting too violent and causing needless pain. Better a pony lose their magic than their life.
At least, she hoped that was true.