Heavenly Turmoil

by TheManWithTwoNames

Chapter 2

Standard Legal Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters contained in the following work.  “My Little Pony” and all subsequent properties belong to Hasbro.

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty, it is time.”

Princess Celestia used a burst of magic to force the door off of its hinges and soared through the new opening. Bringing her hoof down, the alicorn glared at the captain of unicorn guards as he panicked beneath her.

“Learn your place! I am your ruler and I decide when the sun rises!”

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty, it is time.”        

“I’ll be there presently!” Celestia called, pulling herself to her hooves and shaking her head to clear her head. This was the second night in a row that she’d had a terrible night’s sleep. She didn’t know how she managed to fall asleep on the bare floor, but Celestia decided that if these troubles persisted she would have to talk to Luna. The night was her specialty, perhaps she’d be able to help.

The princess walked through the palace, smiling faintly at the happy ponies in the hall.

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” a maid bowed.

“Not quite yet,” Celestia replied. Her little joke. She’d been saying it for as long as she could remember, and it still hadn’t gotten old.

“Coming through!”

Celestia watched in amusement as Luna galloped out of a hallway, carrying a mop and a dust pan with a look of worry as she headed for the kitchen.

“Well, breakfast should be interesting, even if nothing else is.”

The sunrise was nothing out of the ordinary, and Celestia marched with her escorts toward the garden for her other morning ritual. More than once the princess had wondered why her guards were so adamant on being with her every step of the way. She was by far the most powerful pony in Equestria, there wasn’t anything lurking in the halls that the ruler of Equestria couldn’t handle on her own.

Celestia blinked a few times, recoiling from herself and looking around suspiciously. She needed to clear her head. It was a beautiful morning, perhaps she’d spend it out of the castle. Celestia sat at her place at the table and inhaled deeply. There was a great calm all across Equestria that Celestia could simply feel filling her, swelling up in her heart. She watched as the early rays of sun bathed the gardens with a soft light, and all of nature came to life. Birds sang their morning songs, and a few pastel butterflies rose out of the hedge maze. Some servants were cleaning the statues in the garden as well as nurturing the beautiful flowers that spread far and wide across the castle grounds. All her tranquility came flooding out with a labored exhale as a sharp pain split down her head. Celestia grimaced and shut her eyes tight, fighting the urge to scream as it felt like her horn had been turned inside-out and stabbed into her brain. So boring.

“Are you feeling well this morning, sister?” Luna’s soft voice chirped happily as she set down two plates.

“I’ve never felt better, Luna,” Celestia answered warmly. She had a clear head, and she was ready to seize the day. “I’ve actually been thinking about getting out of the castle today. Maybe explore Canterlot, just to mix things up a bit.”

“Could I come along as well?” Luna asked hopefully.

“Luna, I want you to be the only one that comes with me.”

“Really? No guards?”

“I don’t think we’ll need escorts for a trip to town. If there’s any trouble, I think the two ruling sisters of Equestria can handle it,” Celestia said playfully. “The guards have been extra protective since Discord returned, and I’m just starting to feel tied down.”

“Well, let’s eat and then we can start our day,” Luna said excitedly, lifting the tray covers to unveil her newest culinary achievement. “Flour was telling me that ‘the eyes eat first’, so food has to look even better than it tastes. So tell me, first reaction, what do you think?” Luna asked optimistically. Her grin faltered a bit as Celestia inspected the substance with more than some hesitance. Celestia cocked her head to the side, her ears perked in confusion, and the princess wasn’t daring enough to try to take sniff.

“Luna, these...”

“Pancakes.”

“-pancakes look delicious!” Celestia said, trying not to look her sister in the eye. “I like the little bits of grass you put on the top in the shape of a heart.”

“Those are chives.”

“Chives on the pancakes.”

“And it’s a flower.”

Celestia thanked her luck when two servants arrived with two fresh plates, exchanged the dishes, and then left without a word.

“I’m sure they would have tasted delicious.”

“Thanks for trying, Tia.”

“Stop it!” Luna laughed as the two sisters walked white bridge toward Canterlot, watching the city come to life

“I think it would be fun! Just think of it: it’s Nigh- Bad Dream Night, and all the ponies of Equestria are lined up at the haunted castle kitchen,” Celestia said, waving her hoof in front of her to add to the whimsy. “Flour leads them in, brings them over to the counter, and takes off the cover of the plate and there! ‘Who among you is brave enough to stomach the elephant scabs?!’”

“You’re so mean to me,” Luna chuckled, bumping her sister in the ribs with her head. “I worked hard on those! So, did you have anything planned to do today? Celestia?”

Princess Celestia stared in horror with her mouth agape, watching as the beautiful town of Canterlot burned. Fire roared beyond control and thick, dark smoke strangled the air. She heard every pony screaming for salvation, as pegasi frantically tried to escape the inferno, furiously beating their wings before their lungs filled with the poison and they dropped like insects. Celestia wanted to scream.

“I was thinking about seeing if there’s anything interesting in the stores. Do a little window shopping,” Celestia replied, staring at the peaceful town in a trance.

“That sounds fun. I heard that there’s a new toy store that opened up last week,” Luna said happily, not noticing her sister’s strange expression. Celestia blinked out of her daze and grinned mischievously at her sister.

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing with toys?”

“I’m just looking!” Luna pouted. “There’s nothing wrong with looking at toys.”

“Maybe we’ll see if there are any cookbooks for you.”

“Ow, too mean. Maybe I won’t let you try some of my cupcakes that I have baking in the oven,” Luna sniffed, holding her head up indignantly.

“You left them baking?” Celestia asked uncertainly, giving her sister a worried look.

“Yes. Why?”

“Flour is going to forbid you from going in the kitchen if you keep destroying it.”

Celestia and Luna nodded casually at the starstruck ponies in the streets of Canterlot, making idle conversation as they waited for their other sister to finish browsing the inside of a store. Celestia was happily watching the crowds look her way and bow as she waited for Luna to finish “researching” the new toy workshop, when a small filly slowly slid up beside the princess.

“So, Your Highness... what’s it like?” the young filly asked hesitantly, staring up at Celestia with enormous ice-blue eyes. The princess smiled down at the caramel earth pony, kneeling low so she could talk to her face-to-face.

“What do you mean, Cream?” Celestia asked. The princess wanted to laugh when she saw the look of pure exhilaration on her face when the princess said her name without introducing herself.

“Everything! Being a princess, having a horn and wings, living in the palace! It must be so much fun! I wish I could be just like you!” the filly chattered at a mile a minute, making Princess Celestia chuckle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small crowd of ponies gathering around. Even though the ponies of Canterlot lived so very close to their princess, it was still rare to see Celestia out of the castle and the sight of seeing the ruler of Equestria taking a personal interest in such a young pony was an endearing one.

“Well, being a princess is fine. But you shouldn’t set your sights so low,” Celestia said, making the girl tilt her head in confusion. “You’re still so young, the world is full of opportunities for you. Listen to your heart and follow it.” The crowd seemed to enjoy the response, nodding happily in approval, but Celestia wasn’t concerned about that. It warmed the princess’ heart to pass on wisdom to a younger generation. ‘And I seldom get to see Twilight lately,’ she thought.

“And don’t ever make the mistake that you can’t be special without a horn or wings. Earth ponies are some of the most intelligent, hard-working gifted ponies you’ll ever meet. The grass and ground beneath your hooves are your own special gift, just like a unicorn’s horn and a pegasus’ wings.”

Celestia smiled in satisfaction when she saw the young earth pony look at her hooves in newfound reverence, and silently noting that a few adult ponies in the crowd were looking at their hooves with some pride.

“And as for living in the palace, it can be very miserable at times.”

Luna happily trotted out of the workshop, with a small box partially hidden underneath one of her folded wings. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden crowd gathered around her sister.

“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, sis,” Luna said as Celestia rose to her hooves and the two sisters moved through the crowd as the ponies parted to let their princesses through. “You’re getting some looks from back there,” Luna observed as she checked over her shoulder to see the lingering crowd give some confused glances and whispering. “What did you say to them?”

“I just said that living in the palace was pleasant enough, but I always treasure the moments when I go out and see all my ponies.” Luna looked at her sister in intrigue and then back at the crowd of confused ponies.

“Hey, is it just me, or does it smell like the kitchen in here?” Luna said, sniffing the air suspiciously. Turning her head around, Luna gasped in terror as she saw a tower of flames twisting to the sky. The heat burned the young princess’ eyes, forcing her to turn away. Celestia stared at the inferno in a trance, feeling a warmth fading from her forehead. The sensation left, and the ruler of Equestria dashed toward the burning building with Luna right at her heels.

It was absolute panic, with screaming ponies stomping in place in indecision, but above all the chatter and screams a single cry echoed out: there was someone still trapped inside. A few bold colts tried to charge the door to rescue the trapped pony, but the overwhelming flames beat them back.

“What happened here?” Princess Celestia called authoritatively. Two frightened ponies that appeared to be a couple ran to the princess, the pressure of the situation having driven them to tears.

“My daughter! Princess, please help!” the purple pony begged, her enormous eyes welling up in tears. “Princess, please save my daughter!” The woman collapsed into grief as her husband tenderly wrapped his brown neck around her.

Not wasting an instant, Celestia charged through the flames, the blaze seeming to part to allow her entry before immediately reforming and stopping Luna from following after. Luna stumbled back, closing her eyes tight to shield them from the searing heat and galloped back to the crowd of ponies watching in alarm. Luna threw the small box she was carrying to the ground and called upon her magic and aimed her horn towards the palace. She sent out a flare of energy that exploded brilliantly in the air into an enormous red cross, the universal distress signal in Equestria, and the pegasus guards immediately took to the sky. In less than a minute, thirty guards were standing at attention before their princess.

“Your Highness!”

“Soldiers, we have an emergency!” Luna barked. The young princess’ posture became rigid, she puffed out her chest and locked her legs as her soft face morphed into a mask of pure focus. “Princess Celestia and a young filly are inside that fire and every second is precious! We can’t permit this fire to spread! Gather as many clouds as you can! I am calling for an emergency unscheduled rain storm for Canterlot! Now move!”

The pegasi snapped a smart salute and launched into the air with enough coordination and focus to shame the Wonderbolts. Not missing a beat, Luna turned to the crowd of trembling earth ponies and unicorns, her resolute expression not wavering for an instant.

“I want all of you to gather water! In buckets, cups, bowls! However you can! There’s a well not far from here! I want you to grab everypony you find and make a bucket brigade! I want all of Canterlot here! On the double!” The ponies scattered, with Luna running in the streets and shouting to the entire town.

Celestia clenched her teeth and held her wing out to shield her eyes from the searing heat. She tried to breathe into her feathery white wing to help filter the poisonous air, coughing violently as the smoke filled her lungs. She lowered her stance, calling out over the roaring fire to find if anypony was in there. The flames and the smoke clouded her vision, and all the while a soft voice called in the back of her head to flee.

“Hello! Is there anypony in here?”

A shrill scream cut through the air as a support beam burned away and snapped, the wooden block crashing to the floor in front of the princess and vanishing to the fire’s all-consuming power.

“I hear you! Where are you?” Princess Celestia shouted into the flame.

“Please, anypony! Help!”

“I want to help! Tell me where you are! Help me to find you!”

“Princess Celestia, you must escape.”

Celestia coughed violently as the smoke became thicker, clouding her vision. Her thoughts became hazy as her lungs were slowly strangled by the inky black grip of the poisonous cloud.

“Please... Please, I’m scared!” the young pony cried as the fire blazed even larger.

“Princess Celestia, please. You should escape. You must survive. Equestria needs its savior.”

“Hello? Are you there?” Celestia felt a pit in her stomach. She wasn’t a stranger to fear; she was as scared as anyone when Discord returned, and she worried for the fate of Fillydelphia when parasprites began to consume the city. But Celestia was terrified, and it was because for the first time, she was afraid for herself.

“Please! Somepony please!”

There was a loud groan from above as the ceiling began to buckle from the heat. And all at once, time came to a stop. Celestia saw the filly quivering, curled up in a dark corner of the room, her yellow coat tarnished with soot. If she acted fast, she could throw herself over the young pony. But behind her: daylight. Cutting through the darkness of the building and shining brighter than the hellish inferno that sought to engulf both of them. And from the flames, a hypnotic voice hissed.

“Survive.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Celestia exploded from the doorway, leaping over the flames and hitting the ground just as the house collapsed from the fire eating at it. Gasping for air, Celestia squinted her eyes to readjust to the light and saw a chain of ponies passing buckets back and forth and dumping the water onto the collapsed building. There was a rumble of thunder as the pegasus guards returned with enough clouds to cover all of Canterlot. With several mighty bucks, the storm broke and the rains began. Unicorns scrambled over to the drenched rubble, working together to lift the ruined building. Celestia’s mane matted down on her side, her beautiful flowing hair clinging idly to her neck.

“Sister! Sister, thank goodness you’re alright!” Luna ran to her sister and rubbed her head against her breast, her tears vanishing as the rain drenched the princess. If Celestia had noticed her sister, she didn’t react, staring straight ahead at the destroyed house, the soft patter of the rain belying the tragedy and chaos that had just struck Canterlot.

Watching as the destroyed building was slowly shifted, Celestia felt herself fall backward  and become wrapped in a thick cushion, like she was sinking into a cloud. Perhaps it was from breathing the smoke, but her thoughts were hazy and unfocused. She had seen the filly in the corner, that much she was certain of.

A muffled voice called out Princess Celestia’s name.

Had she seen the girl? Of course she would have helped if she did. She wouldn’t really leave one of her little ponies to die. One of her children. She wouldn’t have let Luna die. Or Twilight. Would she really sacrifice her own life to save these common ponies? Of course.

Wouldn’t she? She couldn’t have seen her. There was no way she could have. The heat was too great. The fire burned her eyes. The building collapsed. It was entirely possible that the filly escaped. She could have gotten out on her own. She could have died.

“Princess Celestia!” The voice was sharp and demanding, drawing Celestia back to herself. Celestia looked down, rain slipping off of her nose, staring into the terrified eyes of the father pony that begged her to help. “Please, Princess Celestia. Where is my daughter?”

Celestia’s mouth moved silently, trying without success to force herself to speak.

“Where is my daughter!”

There was a rumble of thunder, and the sound of a mother weeping. The crowd gathered around the anguished purple pony, leaving only the brown father to glare at the princess, eyes burning with malice.

“She’s dead. My daughter is dead.” His voice was hardly more than a hoarse whisper, growing into a growl. “You killed her. The only tragedy to ever strike Canterlot in years. You were here to see it. And you did nothing. My daughter.” Celestia was silent. She still could not make the words come, only continue to stare through the brown colt.

“Sister? Are you well?” Luna asked with great concern in her voice, bumping her older sibling in the ribs.

“She prayed to you. Every night. She praised your name in good times and bad, and worshipped you like a goddess. And when she finally needed you, you couldn’t help her! Tell me, Celestia, what use are you?” the colt exploded with enough fury to make Celestia tremble. “Where were you when your bitch sister came and tried to take over the world? You let her live in the palace to rule over us!”

“How dare you!” Celestia finally shouted, the attack on her kin pushing her too far. But the mourning father’s fury was too powerful to be extinguished.

“Sister?”

“Didn’t think to help us common ponies? Are we just not worth it to you, O Immortal One? What does it matter to you if we die now or later?”

“That’s not --” Celestia choked on her words, a blinding pain in her head silencing her.

“Sister!”

“Were you powerless against Discord when he came back to rip our world apart? Or did you just not care enough to try?”

Celestia clenched her eyes and turned her head away, her tears stinging her eyes and mixing with the rain.

“You can’t even save a little filly from a fire! My daughter! My beautiful, darling daughter is dead! And you didn’t even try to save her! Damn you, Celestia. Damn you!”

Celestia took a fearful step back, disturbing a puddle. She looked from the spiteful pony, to the ruined house, and to the sobbing mother. She felt a prodding at her ribs, and looked into the wide eyes of her sister. She backed away even further, her breathing growing faster and shallower, and broke into a run, escaping to the palace as fast as her hooves could carry her.

“Sister!” Celestia stopped her flight, and turned over her shoulder to see Luna galloping after her. Luna looked up at her sister in grave concern, the older alicorn’s legs were trembling and she looked as if she were on the verge of a total meltdown. “Celestia, what is wrong with you?”

That was all it took. Celestia fell to her knees, sobbing weakly. Luna was terrified. Celestia was always a pillar of strength for all of Equestria, full of pride and confidence. Luna had never seen her older sister look so vulnerable.

“Celestia, please talk to me!” Celestia wrapped her sister in her wings and wept.
 
“He’s right... Everything he said is true,” Celestia croaked between sobs. “Luna, what use am I?”

“He? Celestia, who’s he?”

“The father!” Celestia blurted. “The father of that filly that I let die in that fire!”

“Celestia, what father!?”

Celestia reeled her head back and stared into her sister’s eyes. The pegasus guards cleared the sky, and Celestia became calm.

“Look, Luna, the rain is finally clearing. I think I’ll take a walk in the garden, I haven’t done that in a while,” Celestia said happily, rising to her hooves and walking casually toward the castle. Luna followed at a distance, watching on in trepidation as her sister marveled at the pleasant weather. “I had so much fun with you today, Luna! I’m so glad we got to spend time together.”

Another turn, another turn, another turn in the maze. Celestia breathed the fresh air as she trekked through. The sun was already well on the second half of its voyage across the sky, peeking through the dissipating clouds. A few butterflies fluttered in front of her, and the sunny princess felt it would be fun to try to follow the creatures.

‘Why not?’ she thought as she kept pace behind the the butterflies floating idly through the air. ‘Today’s the day I throw caution to the wind and finally live a little!’ And it was a gorgeous day. It was a crisp mid-summer afternoon, and the birds were singing.

“Stack some tomatoes, add the cheese, a little bit of lettuce and you’re sure to please...”

Celestia stopped in her tracks and turned her ear to the sky. It sounded like there was someone else in the maze with her. And he was singing. Figuring walking the maze would be more fun with company, Celestia set off to find the other person.

“Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon... Bacon, bacon, bacon... bacon... hm... bacon... ah, my heart is going to explode if I don’t remember the rest of the song.”

Celestia rounded the corner and froze in shock. There, in the middle of the hedge maze not five hundred feet away from her palace, was the only draconequus the world has ever known. Happily floating in the air and preparing a sandwich.

“Discord!” Celestia shouted, stomping her foot and widening her stance. Discord calmly turned his head and his content grin instantly soured.

“Really? Now? I wait for you all day, I had this whole cavern of inner regret all ready to go, and now that I decide to take a break for lunch, you come trotting in like you own the place and ruin the whole thing!” Discord pouted, walking in the air over to Celestia and leaving his sandwich to drift along, the ingredients floating off on their own planes.

“This isn’t possible. The Elements of Harmony defeated you! How could you be free again?”  

“Ugh, Celestia you sound like a broken record,” Discord groaned, snapping up a slice of stray tomato in a single bite. “Don’t tell me that last night didn’t mean anything to you. I thought we really connected on an emotional level. Something really special,” the draconequus said as he floated upside-down, hovering just a few inches away from Celestia’s face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m warning you, Discord,” Celestia spat every syllable, drenching every word with as much hate as she could muster, “you won’t win! Harmony will always triumph over chaos -- ” Celestia stopped talking and glared at Discord as the spirit was mimicking her, flapping his eagle claw as he made a whining noise.

“Hermeny will eweys triemph ever cheos weh weh weh.” Discord frowned, opening his mouth wide enough to let a slice of salami slide down his throat.

“What do you want, Discord?” Celestia growled, the princess’ defensive facade beginning to slip and show signs of doubt.

“Well, let’s look over the notes from last night,” Discord said as he conjured up a notepad and reading glasses. “Revenge, revenge, revenge, blah blah blah, aaand I think your life is boring. That about sums it up. But you certainly showed me wrong today!” Before Celestia could react, Discord flicked the tip of her horn, triggering a surge of pain to coarse through her head. Flashes from the last two days bombarded the princess’ mind; drowning in Twilight’s letters, an explosion of sound throwing her from her bed, Discord toying with her in her room, stomping down on her captain’s neck, weeping in the rain, breakfast with Luna, the home in Canterlot catching fire before her very eyes, Twilight leaving her, that colt shouting at her, and strangely, after it all, it was the memory of her sitting on her throne, alone, just wishing for excitement, that lingered.

“This game is over, Discord,” Celestia threatened, trying to shake the haunting memories out of her head.

“Celestia, you let a filly die today,” Discord said with a grave look, sounding almost upset with the princess. “I mean, only one! Oh no, the game has just begun.”

Celestia pulsed a blast of magic through her horn, ignoring the unfamiliar pain that it brought, sending up a shimmering red cross. Near-instantly, several unicorn and pegasus guards had charged through or over the hedges in the maze and took defensive positions around their ruler, staring at the empty air with the same suspicion as any criminal.

“You called, Your Majesty?” the unicorn guard captain said respectfully, stating it as more of a fact than a question. Celestia looked at her captain perplexedly before turning back to face Discord, the draconequus giving the alicorn a friendly wave. At least three guards were staring directly at him; there was no way they would be just waiting for her to give the order to attack the greatest danger Equestria had ever known. So why were they?

“Your Majesty, how may we serve you?”

Celestia stared at Discord with her mouth hanging open, trying to make sense of what was happening.

“You... you can’t see him?” Celestia asked, fear clear in her voice.

“See who, Your Majesty?” the guard asked curtly. Celestia’s face finally reflected her worry, and the princess looked ready to break down.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Celestia whispered. Discord roared with cruel laughter before snapping his fingers and vanishing with in flash of light.
        
“Your Majesty, forgive me for asking, but are you feeling well?”

“I think that I need to rest,” Celestia conceded. She let her body go lax and allowed her guards to escort her back to her room. It was still mid-afternoon, but Celestia’s mind and body were aching. She needed rest. She needed sleep. She needed to think. She needed help. Calling her ink, quill, and a scroll from the mantle of her fireplace, Celestia took a letter. If anyone could help her against Discord, Twilight and her friends could. After tying the letter in a red ribbon, Celestia sent the scroll into her fireplace and closed her eyes, ignoring the burning vase of flowers as she fell into a deep sleep.