Hell Breaking Loose
It didn’t take long for Starstep to finish a number of fun little stories for his princess. When he finished, he looked over to her. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be lightly snoozing. A stupid grin came across his face; even the royalty looked funny when they slept. Not wanting to wake her, Starstep got up and went to put the book back in its shelf. When he came back to leave, he tip-toed past his princess to avoid waking her. She was, however, awake. “Starstep?” she said lightly. He turned to her, thinking he had woken her.
“Sorry, your highness. I was just leaving.” He bowed low in apology.
“Actually,” she began. “would you please stay? I do not feel particularly up to going out right now, but I would rather have company.” Mild concern sprouted on Starstep’s face.
“Of course.” he said.
He walked over to her bed and sat beside it. Luna maneuvered herself, with absolutely no grace, to lay beside him. Her starry mane was all over her face, and she looked fairly sleepy, even if it was only five in the afternoon. She didn’t seem to care, though. Displaying his concern, which was now growing larger, Starstep brushed her mane off her face. “Is everything alright, your highness?” he asked. Luna sighed deeply.
She looked into Starstep’s eyes and asked, “Am I a good ruler?” Starstep was dumbfounded; where did this question come from?
“Of course, your highness. Your subjects love you, and you protect them from any harm that comes their way. You are a fine ruler.” he said. Luna rolled her jaw from side to side.
“But I cannot provide my subjects with all the help they need. Is that not what I am required to do?” she asked. Starstep went to move his hoof away, but Luna rested her head on it. He looked at her, an icicle through his heart at seeing his princess feeling so lost.
“That is not required of you.” he said. Luna looked at him, confusion drawn all over her face. “You are meant to help in what ways you can. You don’t have to help stop a fire; you don’t have to fight crime on the streets; you only have to do what you think is best. Be it rescuing your subjects from that fire, or simply talking to them.”
Starstep felt a wet spot begin to grow on his leg. “What if talking doesn’t work, but I can’t get directly involved? I can’t just abandon those who need me...” she said. The wet spot on Starstep’s leg grew larger. He moved his head by her ear.
“You can always be indirectly involved. Pull strings, you know?” Luna wiped her eyes with her hoof and looked up at her guard. “There are hundreds of ways you can help. Little or big. And they all have different meanings for everyone.” he said. She sniffed.
“I suppose.” Determined to get her smiling again, Starstep continued.
“We all have our limits.” he said. “Even you and your sister. I have limits. We can all only do what is within those limits, and we have to accept it.” Luna’s eyes dried a little.
“Yes... I suppose that we all have our limits.” she conceded.
She put her leg around him and pulled him into a tight hug. “You seem to know exactly how to make everything better.” she commented.
“Well, it isn’t my special talent, but it’s usually within my limits.” he said. Luna held him tightly. “Ummm, princess,” Starstep began to say. She didn’t look up, just kept her grip on him. “could we adjust? I don’t know how long I can stand.” He felt a strange aura around him, and was lifted up onto the bed. The sensation was one of zero gravity, like he could float away forever. When she dropped him, he landed on the fluffy bed with a big pomf. Luna got in close and laid her head under his.
And they sat like this until Luna slipped into sleep.
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Luna was awoken by a loud panic outside her door. As she got up, she, too, panicked; Starstep was no longer next to her. “Starstep!” she called out. There were sounds coming from her private library. They sounded like a scuffle. She ran over. “Starstep!?” she yelled.
“I’m- hng- over here!” he yelled out. Luna turned to face him and confounded by what she saw; most of her books had joined together to make an enormous horse. This horse was attacking her guard. Starstep was knocked away by the monster right toward Luna.
Taking the opportunity, she blasted the book monster with a spell of elucidation, reducing the monster to a pile of books. “Are you alright?!” Luna asked, scared that Starstep was hurt.
“I’m fine.” he replied. Luna got close to him.
“What in Equestria has happened?” she asked. Why would her books come together to make a monster that would attack her guard?
“I heard a noise,” Starstep said. “so I came to investigate. All the books were moving about. At first I thought it was a prank, but I figured out that it wasn’t when the books formed up like one of us and started towards me. I fought it briefly, and then you came in.” he finished. Luna was perplexed.
“What caused this?” she asked. Starstep shrugged.
“Your guess is as good as mine, Princess.”
Luna went to sift through the books for an explanation. None of them had any lingering magic on them. “There is no magic left. I can’t trace them to whoever is responsible.” she said. Starstep huffed. Shouts came in from the hall.
“We should probably go out there.” he said. Luna nodded in agreement, and they exited her chambers.
As they ran down the hall to Celestia’s throne room, they encountered numerous bizarre situations; several pegasus guards were trying to battle a rain-cloud monster that couldn’t hurt them. It could only spew water at them. Another group of guards were lying on the floor. When asked what was wrong, one responded, “Our armor is thirty times heavier than normal or something! And we can’t get it off!” The last group, just outside the throne room, that they saw was simply confused.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” Starstep asked. One looked at him frantically.
“He’s supposed to be the pegasus!” the pegasus yelled. “I’m not supposed to have a horn!” Luna looked about; there was no pegasus.
“Where is he?” she asked. The response to her question came in the form of the guard crashing into the door in front of her, flinging it open.
She and Starstep ran through the door. Celestia stood in the center of the room, surrounded by her guards. They were battling pitch black, seemingly 2D versions of the guards. Celestia noticed Luna’s entry. “Luna!” she shouted. She and Starstep rammed their way past two of the silhouettes, knocking them to the floor. They dissipated into black dust as they struck the floor. “Are you alright?” Celestia asked her.
“We are fine,” she replied. The guards around them charged the shadowy figures, realizing their weakness. “but we cannot help but ask what is going on! This is craziness!” The guards quickly dispatched the shadows.
“I have an idea of what is going on. Come with me to the garden.” her sister told her. Luna turned to Starstep.
“Go to my quarters. You will be safe there, and, suffice it to say, there are some sensitive ‘things’ that need guarding.” Starstep saluted and sprinted off to Lunas chambers.
Luna followed her elder sister to the garden. She was unsure of what to expect. After going through and seeing more bizarre situations, they reached the garden. Celestia walked to a specific spot. “What do you see here?” she asked. Luna looked closely at the spot; there was grass and some dirt.
“I see nothing.” she replied. Celestia grunted her confirmation.
“Exactly. You remember what was here?” she asked. Luna shook her head.
“It is slipping my mind.” she said. She was growing impatient. “What is supposed to be here, sister?” she asked. Celestia’s voice took on a foreboding tone.
“This was the statue that Discord was trapped in.” she said. Luna gasped, the gravity of the situation finally hitting her.
“Discord has escaped?!” she yelled. Celestia nodded.
“We need to find him and trap him so the elements can re-trap him.” she said. Luna nodded, scared of what insanity Discord could wes in the land. “We should split up.” Celestia said. “We will cover more ground. I shall take my chambers and the areas surrounding first.” she said. Luna was fairly certain already that Discord was not in her chambers.
“I shall search the servants and guards quarters.” With a mildly confused look, Celestia went off to her chambers.
Luna took off toward the kitchen first. It was the closest section of the castle to where she was.
She ran into the kitchen to find screaming chefs and more guards. Dough was piled up into a gloppy creature that was trying to eat the chefs. Discord’s voice rang out from its mouth. “Rawr, I will eat you now!” It was followed by bellowing laughter. The chefs and kitchen aids continued trying to escape. One was grabbed. As the pile of dough tried to consume the royal chef, una blasted it with her magic.
“Discord!” she yelled. The chefs, at hearing Luna yell out, cheered that their princess had come to save the day.
“Well, well. Lulu! What a surprise. I thought you would be as helpful now as you were last time I returned.” Luna flushed from anger at his comment.
“Come out!” she ordered. Discord laughed from an unknown location.
“How ‘bout no?” With that, the pile of dough fell to the floor and ceased trying to eat the kitchen staff. Everyone present, save for Luna, cheered.
After receiving many quick thank-you’s, she ran off. Using her magic, she contacted her sister through a mental link. “Sister, I have found him! He was harassing the kitchen staff, but ran off when I came in!” she thought to her sister.
“Good! Look for where there is the most chaos now. That is likely where he will be!” Luna agreed and went off to look for pure anarchy in the castle. Before the link to her sister was closed, however, Discord felt like jumping in.
“I love mental links!” he said. “I especially love how now I can easily guess your most embarrassing moments from what I catch drifting about the surface of your mind.” A chuckle came from Discord, prompting concern from both Luna and Celestia. “So, Luna, DID you give Starstep that ‘dance’?” Laughing rang out through the halls. Luna’s face flushed, this time from embarrassment.
“Luna," her sister began. “I didn’t think you were like that. We’ll talk about this another time.” Luna had no desire to have such a conversation with her older sister.
“No! I never offered, and never gave such a thing!” she corrected. Celestia quickly apologized for believing Discord, and they broke the contact.
Luna went to the guards quarters. There as an intense battle going on; The armor of the guards had gotten up and was fighting its own bearers. Most of the armor had already been dealt with, dents, dings, and even tears all over the metal. They were going to need new armor. “This armor is not inexpensive.” Luna thought, disappointed that this had happened. With a blast from her horn, she dispatched the rest of the armor without destroying it. The guards cheered, and those whose armor wasn’t destroyed donned it once again. “Guards!” Luna bellowed. They stood at the ready. “Go and assist in locating Discord! If you find him, come find my sister and I, and we shall take care of the rest!” Her guards shouted their understanding and went off in different directions.
Luna spent a few minutes trying to see if Discord was present. When nothing came up visually, she used her magic to find him. Nothing. “Where has he gone?” Luna asked herself, frustrated. Giving up soon after, she made her way to the throne room.
She encountered no particular problems on the way there. A few flying, shaped pieces of paper, but nothing severe. Once there, she looked around. No Discord, and her sister was still checking the other areas of the castle, it seemed. She waited.
About twelve minutes later, her sister came into the throne room, coated in some strange blue goo. “What..?” Luna started to ask. She was cut off by her sister.
“Don’t ask.” was her reply. The guards behind Celestia snickered. “Did you locate him? she asked. Luna shook her head.
“No, I lost him. I am sorry.” she said, hanging her head. Celestia went to her little sister.
“It is not your fault. No one could have expected this.” she said, providing some comfort to her little sister. Luna stood straight again.
“We must find him. Where have we not looked?” Luna asked.
“Did you check your quarters?” Celestia responded. Luna put her hoof on her face.
“No, I did not.” she replied.
Celestia reared up to run. “Let us not waste time!” she yelled. The two princesses and three guards ran off to Lunas chambers.
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Starstep couldn’t move an inch. The aura around his body wouldn’t allow it. He struggled to the best of his ability, but to no avail. Discord had him. “Now, now, don’t struggle! I’m just here to pry.” he said. Starstep shot him a cold look. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I promise,” Discord told him, putting his hand over his heart. “I won’t break anything.” Starstep spat at him. Discord looked down at it with a neutral expression. “Now, you’ve ruined the floor. Good job. I’m sure Luna loves having your saliva all over the place.” he said, twirling his fingers and spinning his arm, eyes pointed at the ceiling. Starstep blushed.
“Why do all these comments always get pointed at me?!” he thought. Discord looked back at his captive, noting the blush on his face.
“Oh! AHAHAHA! I get it! Double entendre!” He laughed hard, almost falling to the floor. Starstep was only more embarrassed.
“Ahh, anyhow, I don’t think you need to worry about me. I tried taking over the world before; we all know how that went.” Discord recounted. Starstep’s blush faded and he took on a quizzical look. “Now, I only aim to have fun.” Starstep growled.
“Your kind of fun pesters everyone and makes life difficult. Your ‘fun’ is harmful to others; we don’t want it.” Discord made an expression of mock hurt.
“Oh, well, if you don’t want my fun,” he said. “I’ll just have to find another world to bring it to.” He floated to where he was levitating Starstep. He put his hand under his chin, lifting up his face. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find one, would you?”
Starstep began to panic; Discord clearly knew, from his comment at that moment, about the pool. Starstep didn’t know any particular details, but he knew it viewed other worlds. Whether or not one could go into said worlds was unknown to him. “As a matter of fact, no.” he said defiantly. Discord chuckled.
“You should know that you can’t hide anything from me. There are only secrets; of the castle, of the country... of you. I know everything that I want to.” Starstep’s face was looking more and more scared as Discord went on. “I know where you eat. Where you work. Where you sleep... where you want to sleep.” Starstep felt helpless; Discord and full control over him now, knew everything there was to know. How do you fight an enemy like that?
Discord laughed loudly. Not wanting to think of his situation, he listened to his surroundings. He heard muffled voices from by the door. He felt a grin of relief splash onto his face. “You know one thing that I know that you don’t?” he asked Discord. Discord stifled his laugh with great effort.
“Okay, I’ll humor you. What?” The voices got a little louder.
“I know how long until you lose.” Discord looked at him quizzically.
“Oh? And how long would that be?”
“Right now.” Starstep replied. The doors burst open and in ran the princesses and three guards.
“Discord!” Celestia yelled. Taken by surprise, Discord dropped Starstep, who high-tailed it to Luna’s side. She looked concerned.
“Are you alright?” she asked. “Did he do anything to you?” Starstep shook his head.
“No, I’m fine.” he said. Celestia had taken up a position in front of everyone. Luna joined her.
“We won’t let you get away!” Luna yelled.
“Ha!” Discord shouted out. “I’ll see you try.” he said.
Celestia fired a bolt of magic at Discord. Not one to be defeated by basic spells, Discord side-stepped the blast. “Come one!” he said. “You don’t really think you can get me with such tiny effort, do you?” he asked. Celestia huffed. Luna moved to the side to flank Discord. Seeing this coming, he made a clone of himself. Luna was face to face with this clone now. “It’s just not that simple.” he said. Luna fired two bolts of magic at the clone, one immediately after the other. It was the kind of attack that the unicorn guards use when they have to breach a wall, but there are enemies on the other side. The first bolt puts a hole in the wall, the second goes in the subdue any hostiles in the room.
Discord’s clone was unaware of this. He knocked away the first bolt nonchalantly, but the second caught him in the chest. The blast was powerful; the clone fell down, clutching his chest. DIscord and Celestia looked over. “My, my.” Discord said. “You certainly are intent on getting me, aren’t you?” He turned tail and ran into Luna’s library, leaving his clone on the floor.
Celestia shot the clone with a magic bolt. He disappeared. “After him!” she yelled. Starstep and the three guards ran in first followed soon after by the princesses. It was just as well that the guards went in first, too, as they were being held down by some strange glue.
“What?” Luna asked. Starstep waved her off with his free hoof.
“He went over there!” he yelled, pointing to the next room. It was the one with the staircase. “We’ll be fine! Just go stop him!” he ordered. Luna and Celestia sprinted to the room, wary of any traps that may be awaiting them. There were none.
When they entered the room, the first thing they saw was Discord, reading a book. “Catching up?” Luna asked. Discord looked up, little care showing in his eyes.
“Indeed. I am. Say, did you know that royal guards, save for special ones, aren’t allowed to have relationships?” Luna stepped forward, and Celestia spoke.
“That rule is as outdated as you.” she said. She stepped up next to Luna.
“I’M outdated? I’m hurt!” Discord said sarcastically. “Maybe I should find somewhere new to spread my fun.” Luna panicked, realizing what he was referencing. She took up a stance to fight.
“You aren’t going anywhere, monster!”
Before she could cast any kind of restraint spell, she found herself in an onslaught of book. She ducked her head; some of the books were quite heavy. A shield suddenly appeared around her. “I won’t have you attacking my little sister!” Celestia bellowed. Discord stopped launching his attack. Celestia’s eyes were glowing green. Green clouds came from her body and horn.
“Uh oh.” Discord said. Celestia slowly stepped forward. Luna had never seen her so mad.
“Now I’m pissed.” she said. She really was angry; never before did she speak so. Genuine fear came alive in Discord’s eyes, as if he was being born again.
“I think I’ll leave now.” Before Celestia could attack, there was a flash of light, and Discord disappeared.
Seeing the threat as having gone, Celestia walked to her sister. “Are you alright?” she asked, the green shroud disappearing. Her voice took on a very motherly tone.
“Indeed.” Luna replied. “Though I must say, I have never seen you that angry.” Celestia seemed to beam at the comment.
“Well, I have become good at keeping my temper in check, what with having to deal with the ‘nobles’ of the court.” They both shared a short laugh at the comment. Luna looked to the previous room.
“We should probably see the guards.” she suggested. Celestia nodded her agreement.
When they entered the room, they saw the same sight as before. The guards were held down by some strange glue. Walking up to them, Luna used her magic to make the eglue disappear. It didn’t. “Ah! What is this?” she yelled. Starstep spoke up.
“I don’t think it will be able to go away until Discord is dealt with, your highness.” he said. Luna frowned; she never wanted to get him in such a situation.
“I’m sorry.” she said. One of the other guards spoke up.
“Don’t be.” he said. Lina looked at him. “It’s our job, ma’am.” Celestia walked over and prodded at the glue with her magic.
“Starstep seems to be correct.” she said. Starstep stood tall at the comment. The other guards simply nodded. “You will be stuck here until Discord’s magic can no longer hold you.”
Luna plled her sister aside. “What is it, little sister?” Celestia asked.
Luna looked up at her, saying, “I want to hear what they say now.” she said. Confused, Celestia humored her little sister and they listened. One of Celestia’s guards spoke first.
“Darn it all, why did he have to run away?” he asked. Another responded.
“Did you not here how freakin’ pissed Celestia was? Would you stick around for that?” The third of Celestia’s guards grunted his afirmation.
“You know what they say,” Starstep began. “‘Hell has no fury like a mare’s scorn’.” They all shared a short laugh, confirming the saying with various little anecdotes.
They had listened enough. Luna and Celestia walked back over to the guards. “Listen up, my royal protectors.” Celestia began. The guards all tried to salute, but couldn’t, since they were so stuck. “I think we need to-” she was cut off by the sudden disappearance of the glue. The guards all fell over. Except Starstep, who flew up immediately. He was a pegasus, after all. He landed by Luna’s side.
What?” Luna wondered. Starstep shrugged. He knew what had happened; he couldn’t say, though, unless he was alone with her.
“He must be gone.”
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With a snap of his fingers, Discord teleported himself away from the crazy ruler of the lands. He found himself in a basement, at the base of a spiral staircase. Looking up, he could see that it was quite deep. Realizing that his time may be limited, he explored the room.
The only thing of interest was a pool in the middle of the room. “Is this a private bath?” he asked himself. He walked over and looked in. A ridiculous smile plastered itself onto his face. “No!” he yelled. “It certainly isn’t.” he looked in closer. The image in the pool was of a strange creature, sitting in a dark room with another of its kind. They both seemed sad, or maybe hopeless. “I wonder what could be wrong with them?” . He searched the room for clues, but could find nothing. They were just sitting in a dark, dank room. “I suppose I would be sad, too, if I had to sit in a room like that.”
He walked around, not sure of how to proceed. He had found this portal to another dimension, but was it in fact a portal, or just a window? There was only one way to find out.
Curling up into a ball, Discord leapt into the air and plunged into the pool. As he escaped to this new world, he thought to himself, “This is gonna be interesting.”
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For ten minutes, everyone in the room was discussing what to do. They knew that Discord was free; his magic dissipated from the room, and no noise came from the rest of the castle that they could hear. All was peaceful. Still, they had to figure out where Discord went and if he posed a still threat. Celestia was ready to take on the responsability fully. “I will do research into where he went. Luna, I will leave it to you to keep up the appearance that all is well. The castle staff knows not to tell anyone about this right now, so you needn’t worry of them.” Without another word, Celestia and her three guards left to find Discord.
Luna sighed and fell into a sitting position. Starstep sat next to her, trembling from his experience with Discord. “Are you alright?” Luna asked him. He waved it off.
“He used some magic to make me cold. It’ll be fine soon.” He hated lying to her. Thankfully, she was too tired to notice his lie.
Luna’s eyes shot wide open and she sat stock still, straight up. Her breathing came in quick, short breaths. Starstep panicked. Was there some magic left unnoticed? “Princess?!” he yelled. She burst into the air and sprinted into her library. Starstep followed close behind. “Princess, what’s wrong?” he asked. She wasted no time, not even turning to look at her guard.
“I must see if Discord has used it to escape!”
Starstep knew about the pool, and his fear that it could be used to enter other worlds was confirmed. He started to panic a little himself. “We need to check!” Luna yelled. When she finished removing the bookcase, Starstep shot in front of her.
“I’ll take point. He may have left some magic down there.” Before Luna could argue, Starstep took wing and floated down the staircase. Luna followed suit.
They reached the bottom with no trouble. Still ever cautious, Starstep led the way to the pool. Once there, and it was clear that it was safe, he moved over so that Luna could look into the pool. She leaned over, searching frantically the room around Ryan for any signs of her foe. “I do not see him.” she said. Starstep gave a sigh of relief.
“Then I would guess that he’s not there. He must have done this to throw us off, make us think he’s not around.” Luna grunted. “Of course,” Starstep said. “that would mean that he’s still here in Equestria.” Luna’s blood went cold hearing this.
“Okay,” she began. Starstep stood still awaiting orders. “We have plenty of reason to believe that he is still with us. So, we can knock this off the list of places to search.” she said. Starstep still waited. Luna looked like she was contemplating something, and was growing frustrated with whatever conclusions she was reaching. She let loose an elongated sigh.
Starstep craned his neck, confused. “I suppose we just have to let Celestia take care of it.”
Starstep was slightly taken back by this. He had expected her to send him into the pool to find Discord. “Your highness,” he said, concerned. “shouldn’t I check inside the realm of the pool? See if he’s there?” Luna’s response was fast coming, loud, and terrified.
“No!” she yelled. Starstep moved back a step. “The world of the pool is far too dangerous for you. I’m not sure even Discord will ever come back if he went in there.” Hearing this, Starstep gulped. “No, I fear that you and I are stuck with no role in this matter any more.”
Starstep was disappointed, but refused to show it. He wanted to pursue Discord, try to get even for stealing his sense of security. He sighed. “Alright.” he said. “so what do we do right now?” he asked. Luna turned and began to walk at a brisk pace up the stairs. Starstep followed.
“Now, we try to calm everyone down. We can’t risk having any information regarding this get out. The citizens of Equestria will end up in a panic and we can’t have that. We must maintain order.” They exited the staircase and hid it once again, only them knowing of its existence.