The Generation That Even Time Has Forgotten
Chapter 2
Twilight’s knees locked to keep her from falling over in shock. Cotton candy clouds. Such a simple thing had led to the near downfall of Celestia’s reign only a year earlier. If they were back, then only certain doom could follow. There were so many things that would have to be done to keep things in order, but her mind was racing so fast she could only think of one thing to do.
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said distinctly, but not in a yell, so as to get Rainbow’s attention but not frighten her. “Go get the others. Bring them back to the library. We have to stop this disaster before it starts.”
Rainbow collected herself, nodded, and sped off.
As soon as she was out of sight, Twilight ran as fast as she could back to the library. She shuddered as memories of Discord's previous attack on Ponyville flowed through her mind. Her friends were turned against her, and the magic of friendship was forgotten. Twilight looked up to try and force the thoughts away, but nothing seemed able to get her mind off of her recollections. The blue sky became as grey through her eyes as the Spirits of the Elements had been when all hope was lost. The hairs of her mane that whipped by her face even seemed plain. What if things were already out of their control? What if the princess had already lost? But there was no time to ponder any longer, as she had reached her doorstep.
“Spike!” she cried as she threw open the door. “Spike, where are you?” She paused for a response, and then remembered with regret that she had left a long list of errands for him to do in the middle of town. He wouldn’t be back for awhile, and she was already losing precious time. “I can’t go get him now,” she mumbled to herself. “I’ll just have to try and keep myself level-headed until the others come.”
After a minute or two, Twilight's worried pacing was interrupted by the other ponies rushing through her door and collecting in the middle of the room.
“Okay, everypony,” she began.
Fluttershy dragged herself through the door, gasping for breath. The others hardly even glanced at her; they were too focused on the task at hand. “A few minutes ago, Rainbow—”
“We know, sugarcube,” Applejack said sadly, “Rainbow told us th’ whole story.”
Twilight looked over at Rainbow in acknowledgement and continued.
“Well, it’s quite obvious that we need to do something to stop it,” Twilight stated in a businesslike way. “But I believe that since Discord has already tried to wreak havoc on Equestria on multiple occasions, we already know what measures have to be taken. So I vote we—”
“Wait a second!” Rainbow interjected.
The other ponies turned to her, rather surprised. “Sure we know everything that he does, but now he knows everything we do. And what if he’s gotten stronger?”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie added. “Like, what if instead of chocolate rain, he has dark chocolate rain?” Pinkie licked her lips at the thought.
Twilight rolled her eyes and continued the meeting.
“Rainbow Dash has a good point. I suppose all we can do is expect the unexpected, give it our all, and keep the magic of friendship fresh in our minds and hearts. Now let’s move out!”
The ponies smiled bravely and walked to the door. Twilight threw it open with her magic and gasped with surprise.
Spike was balled up on the doormat, wheezing and sweating, and was holding up a letter as if his life depended on it.
The other ponies gathered around.Twilight grabbed the letter and opened it, eying it quizzically. Then she began to read to the others.
“Dear Twilight Sparkle and all of her friends,
I need you all at Canterlot Castle immediately. Something urgent has come up and the Elements of Harmony are needed. Hurry before the matter worsens.
Your Faithful Teacher,
Princess Celestia"
The ponies all gasped. Of course they knew that they would be summoned to Canterlot, but the urgency of the letter seemed a bit unnerving. Without a word, the group ran to the train station.
After boarding, they solemnly sat down in seats opposite to each other, not in the mood to socialize. The ponies turned and stared out the windows as they thought about the possible challenges ahead of them.
Remembering the past difficulties of Discord’s chaos seemed to drain a lot of their energy. What horrible gimmick would he use this time? Would they be able to defeat him? Last time he seemed to make victory easy for the ponies, and he wouldn’t have returned if he knew that doing so would be in vain. Their minds raced as they tried to come up with an explanation. It didn’t seem long before the train came to a stop at their destination. They all slowly walked out onto the bustling street, doing their best not to knock into the cityfolk. A dark feeling hung over all of them as the task ahead weighed on their minds.
“Well,” Rarity said, speaking for the first time since the journey began, “I’m going to break the ice here and try to make the load a little lighter. At least Princess Celestia might know what Discord is up to this time. Maybe she’ll even be able to help us!” The other ponies lifted their heads and smiled at the glimmer of hope Rarity had given them, but they couldn’t think of anything cheerful to add, so they again fell silent until they were at the closed door leading to the throne room.
“Okay, everypony.” Twilight smiled as she turned to face the rest of the group. “If we're lucky, then maybe behind this door lies all of our answers. So let’s keep our heads high and our hopes up!” After a few cheers and salutes, she pushed the door open and they walked happily inside. But after getting halfway into the room, Twilight stopped, which made the others run into her.
“What is it?” Applejack asked as she picked her hat back up off of the floor.
“Something isn’t right,” Twilight whispered. “Even if Celestia is in another room...”
“But she sent us that letter, she’s expecting us!” Rainbow argued. Twilight was about to reason with her, but stopped dead in her tracks as a laugh echoed through the room.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, I always knew that you had a thick head,” the being behind the laughter cackled.
“Hey!” she yelled back, “Show yourself! I can take you!” The ponies turned their attention towards a stained glass window to the side, which depicted the ponies as they defeated Discord only a year earlier. They watched as the Discord in the stained glass begin to move and swim across the different windows.
“Discord!” Twilight shouted angrily. “Get out of that window and tell us what you did to the Princess!”
“Oh, fine,” Discord sighed. “I’ll skip the fancy introduction and get to the point.” Then he disappeared out of the stain glass, reappearing in his regular form before the ponies. “I suppose you think you already know why I’m here from the last time we’ve met, know why I’m here, but let me assure you that I’ve changed my approach since the last time we met.” Rainbow Dash snorted and flew up to him.
“Tell us what you've done to the Princess, you freak!” she cried. Discord frowned disapprovingly.
“My, you’re impatient. Fine, I’ll tell you. I’ve put her under an enchantment. She’s not hurt or anything, but she’s not going to come and help you like last time.” He grimaced as he remembered how Princess Celestia had ruined his whole plan by sending Twilight her friendship letters and all of that gunk.
“But, then how did she write that letter to me?” Twilight asked. Discord’s face lit up and he burst into laughter. It took him a few moments to recover before he was able to talk again.
“Y—you actually thought that was from Celestia?” he mused as he wiped away a tear. “You really are an egghead!” He rolled around in his fit of laughter, the ponies looking on and frowning.
“Look, it doesn’t matter how much you think Twilight is an egghead, even if it’s true,” Rainbow said angrily. Twilight shot her a look, but she continued nonetheless. “But why did you want us here so badly that you sent a fake letter?” Discord finally collected himself and was able to talk without noticeable giggling.
“Oh, right. I just wanted to let you all know that any efforts you may make to defeat me won’t work. Now, I’ll just be on my way—”
“Why? Did ya' hide the Elements again?” Applejack asked, her words like venom.
“Oh, no, they’re right here. And you can have them. It doesn’t matter,” Discord said indifferently. He threw them the intricately engraved box that Princess Celestia kept the Elements in. It opened upon impact with the ground and the jewelry clattered onto the floor. “But I do need one thing.” He smiled.
“Wh—what?” Twilight asked nervously. Suddenly she felt herself being lifted up off of the ground.
“You.” He grinned evilly. Twilight was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of dark blue smoke and disappeared, blacking out instantly.