Three different groups with one goal in mind. The vast hall of Canterlot castle was now well surrounded by royal guards that had been put under oath that they would say not a word of what they saw or heard in the area of the hall. For now, Celestia sat in her throne, waiting for her company to arrive. Outstretched before her with a golden hue of sparkling magic was a list she drew up and Philomeena perched on the head of the chair. This day had been a long time coming, and it served now as the time to lay out the plans. As Celestia reviewed her list with a scanning eye, she heard the entry hall door open with a loud groan. Out from the entry hall came her trusted adviser, Star Swirl, and her loyal sister, Luna; who she noticed was furling up an umbrella as the doors closed behind the pair. "Timely as ever I see," Celestia called across the room while her two companions halted themselves halfway through the room.
"When such a time our sister calls upon us, we shall act with haste on that call," Luna took to both her front knees and bowed before her sister with grace.
Star Swirl on the other-hand tipped his head in a subtle bow before speaking in response to Celestia. "The matter came to me as pressing. I would bow, but my knees are not as they were some long years ago..." both he and Celestia chuckled at the after thought.
The list moved out to the side of Celestia so as to clear the path before she moved down the walkway leading to her guests. Not for a moment did Luna break her kowtow to her sister until she could see that her sister was standing just before her. Luna adjusted herself and met the other two with a board expression. "We would not have anything rushed, nay. Though we would hath been sure that the rest of our lot would be as timely as we..."
"Worry not, younger sister of mine," Celestia's hoof pressed down on Luna's star-sprinkled mane and stroked it a bit, "You are aware that our mutual allies tend to value a more... dramatic entry."
At that comment, Philomeena flapped off into the air as Celestia's throne began to shudder. The three looked over to the throne while Philomeena descended and watched from above on the safe hold of a pillar's top. From side to side, the throne continued to only become more and more erratic. At first, the three looked mildly surprised, but those looks quickly drew to looks of dull interest until Celestia voiced their collective thought. "Discord. Stop playing with my chair..." right when the name was uttered, the throne concluded its movement and fell silent.
The group watched as a snaking body began to coil around the back of the throne, followed by mixes of four different kinds of limbs clutching against it. Over the head of the throne, Discord's mixed-up face rolled up with a cheesy grin. "Awww, you knew?" he disappeared suddenly, only for him to appear next to Celestia on all four of his limbs.
"We will not expect thee when thy choice in 'surprises' alter greatly..." Luna stated, drawing a raspberry from Discord's long tongue, "This leaves but one of our cavalcade amiss."
"I'm sure she's on her way..." Celestia assured her displeased sister.
Once she said that, the door leading to the hall opened and the group all looked; aside from Discord who disappeared just as suddenly as before to take shelter behind one of the pillars within the hall. They all sighed a bit as they saw a guard walk in and had the door close behind him. He moved between Star Swirl and Luna to meet with Celestia, offering her a quick salute. "Your majesty. I come baring horrible news..."
Celestia's brows dropped a bit as she looked at the guard. "I'm listening..."
"We have been given word that a pony carrying a mark of your excellency's was found maimed as well as robbed on the road leading up from the outer lands of the kingdom..." Celestia's heart dropped finally and her breath caught. "The body was found beyond any sort of recognition... I am very sorry, your highness."
Celestia breathed deeply, her face twisting with distraught over this idea, ever fiber of her wanting to scream. But before she could say anything, Star Swirl spoke up. "Excuse me, sir?"
The guard turned to look at the old pony with the same respect he offered Celestia. "Yes, Adviser Star Swirl?"
"Your story is tragic... But it is a lie," both Luna and Celestia looked at Star Swirl shocked while the guard remained the same.
"A lie, Adviser Star Swirl?" the guard repeated flatly.
Star Swirl nodded with a little huff. He looked between the two princesses, asking them in silence to let him go on. Reluctance stung through both of their eyes, but once Celestia nodded, Luna followed close behind. "Yes... You see, for one matter, no living creature could have hoped to lay waste to our comrade... Much less on a simple road with no tactical vantage points."
"Is that so?" the guard's tone remained low and calm as he replied, "Please, is there anything more wrong with what I said?"
"Yes... Our friend isn't a pony..."
The guard began to look around the room, his eyes growing sharp along with a wicked smirk. When he spoke, his voice was crackling to the sound of a female tune. "Observant as always, Star Swirl..." the guard was engulfed in a flowering green flame, which made the two princesses have a mixed reaction of relief and disdain.
As the fire cleared, what stood in the guard's place was now a slender black mare with a flowing green mare that had an ending hue of blue. The mare's green eyes looked between the three, seeing that all three were less than happy with her. "I only jest you three!" she cackled, her voice a bit smoother than that of her mid-transformation. "The four of us are here... No sign of amalgamation abomination though." In answer to her words, Discord flashed out behind her, towering over her with the length of his own body.
"Cute, Chrysalis... But only I get to play the harsh jokes around here. Find your own shtick..." Discord mumbled while folding his paw over his talon.
"Regardless..." Celestia called for their attention after settling her own mind and still racing heart.
The four formed into an orderly line before Celestia, offering her nothing but their undivided attention. Within that castle hall stood perhaps the five strongest beings in all the world of that date. A master of all magical arts; a shapeshifter; a lord of chaos; and two sisters that could bend nature to their will. Rare were they all called together at once, and even more rare did they act on their call at once. A secret pact among them; a pact not between allies, but between friends.
"On this day, I have asked you all to come before me for a grave matter that Chrysalis has brought to me... I won't go into the details of why I know, or the relations it has to me; but these gems she has found are very important... An importance that can only be shared between the most trusted of beings. A stallion once told me about these, and showed me what they can do... And I know that between the five of us, we can do wonderful things. We can bring Harmony."