//------------------------------// // 37: Discord’s Perfect Plan B! // Story: Static World // by Kendandra //------------------------------// Princess Luna struggled against the pull of the collar. She had been quite surprised when the iron collar had simply appeared with a pop around her neck a few moments earlier. A heavy metal chain was tugging at the collar, pulling her down the hallway in Canterlot Castle. Luna dug her hooves into the ground at first, attempting to root herself, but the pull proved too strong. Eventually the alicorn simply gave up and allowed the collar to drag her without dignity through the castle. She grabbed onto the collar with her hooves to remove the strain on her neck as she slid down the hallway. Her eyes darted around trying to figure out where the chain was pulling her. Despite her living in Canterlot Castle for almost two years, she still was much more familiar with the old capital. It seemed that Celestia had deliberately designed the castle so that it was completely backwards from the old one. Everything that was in the west wing of Canterlot had been in the east wing before, as if just to make things harder for Luna. However, as Luna neared the central part of the castle, she had no doubt about her destination. The throne room had been located in the center of both castles, up the stairs from the atrium and through the grand ballroom. She gulped as she neared a set of stairs. Her wings flapped rather uselessly as she tried to make it up the stairs without hurting herself. Unfortunately the pull of the chain sped up as she pass the first step, causing her head to bounce on the stairs as she was dragged up them. Her vision blurred as her head bobbled up and down against the stairs. Had she been a normal pony, she might have passed out from the trauma, but alicorns were made from stronger stuff than most ponies. She bit her tongue a few times as her jaw was slammed shut on each step. After a rough beating, she finally made it to the top of the staircase. The pull of the chain let up for a brief moment, as if to let the pony catch her breath. She had only a few quick seconds to rest before the chain started pulling again. She attempted to not let the piece of iron get the best of her this time as she galloped along in the same direction. Though the faster she ran the faster the chain pulled, as if it was determined to cause her pain as she made her way to the throne room. She raced by countless paintings of prominent pony politicians. Each painting she passed seemed to change. Into what, she never got a chance to see, but she could guess the mug replacing it belonged to a certain draconequus. After a good gallop, she found herself entering the throne room. To her surprise she was not alone. Sitting next to the throne, which had been replaced with a sinister looking wooden chair, was her sister, adorned with a metal collar similar to her own. The chain pulled up her to the left side of the throne and stopped. The throne room, save for the throne itself, was largely unchanged. It was also entirely empty save for herself and her sister. She felt the chain tug sharply at her neck one last time. She looked over at her sister. The elder alicorn was sitting with her head down. She was breathing softly, her chest heaving slowly, but otherwise she looked lifeless. Luna sighed. “Sister, you look terrible.” The elder alicorn did not move, nor did she seem to even acknowledge Luna’s presence. Luna gave her sister a skeptical look. Surely her sister at least had something vile to say if not even a simple greeting. Luna tried once more. “Aren’t you going to…?” Her eyes went wide as she noticed the amulet hanging from her sister’s neck. “Ah. The amulet of silence. I would guess Discord has placed that on you, correct?” Again, Celestia did not seem to react. Luna’s lip pursed as she tried to think. She reached out with a hoof to remove the amulet from her sister’s neck, but the chain prevented her from getting closer. “Sister, move this way so I can reach. I’ll get that off of you. Come here.” Luna strained her reach again. Celestia seemed to react to her sister’s groans with a simple blink. Luna reached out with both her front hooves. “Good, there’s still something left in that head of yours. Now come here, sister.” Celestia slowly turned her head to face her sister. She eyed the blue pony suspiciously. “Come here, come on.” Luna started to coax her sister with a gentle voice “That’s it… here little pony… come here….” Luna chuckled softly. “Do you remember when we found that horrid little thing? How we had to remove it from that zebra in the desert? Poor thing had gone mad from its effects.” Celestia took a small step forward then stared blankly at her sister. “That’s it, just a bit further. Things seemed so simple back then, you know? The two of us roaming the world looking for ways to defeat Discord.” Celestia winced slightly. “Ah, so you can understand me. If only barely. Dangerous thing, that little necklace. It deafens your mind to the senses. Silences your thoughts. Makes communication impossible. Such a terrible thing, in such a small package.” Celestia’s head drooped and she seemed to lose interest in Luna’s gesturing. Luna’s tone grew impatient. “Come on. Just a bit further. Come here… you fat-flanked self-absorbed numskull!” “Now is that anyway to talk to your elder sister, little Woona?” The hairs of Luna’s coat stood on end. She felt a sharp shiver run up her spin and she found herself paralyzed. The sultry voice had come from behind her but she could not bring herself to turn around to face its owner. Seemingly irritated with her lack of response, the voice spoke again. “I am appalled. The one who raised you never taught you much in the ways of manners did, he?” Luna took a deep breath and turned around. She gave the draconequus a sly smile. “Considering the amount of time we spent at your castle… you practically raised us, Discord.” Discord chuckled as he floated around the two alicorns. “Well, I suppose this is the result me spoiling you.” His face curled up into mock sternness. “You two turned out to be quite the pair of bad eggs.” “I blame my foster father.” Luna said, turning her nose up at the draconequus. Discord laughed. “And what say you, Celestia?” Discord reached down and pulled the amulet from the elder alicorn’s neck. Celestia’s eyes dilated and she reared back on her hind legs. She let out a gasp that could rival Pinkie Pie before she turned her attention to the floating draconequus before her. “Discord! You will never get away with…” She slowly lowered herself back down to four legs as her voice trailed off. “Oh, sorry, my dear Celestia. But it appears you are a tad late to the party. Perhaps you would like to see what you’ve missed? Observe.” Discord snapped his fingers. The throne room rumbled as the walls of the castle began to fracture. The cracks in the walls gave way to a multicolored mess of psychedelic splotches. The room lurched as if it were floating up into the sky. The stain glass windows that adorned the sides of the room shattered and the shards of glass floated into the air. One by one, the multicolored glass shards formed the surface of a large mirror. Discord snapped his fingers again and the mirror’s reflection was replaced with the image of Cloudsdale, crashed to the ground. “I’ve been a bit busy since we last spoke.” He snapped his fingers again. The image in the mirror changed to show a chaotic Manehatten. “There isn’t a single place in the kingdom, except for your student’s dear Ponyville, that hasn’t been improved by my brilliance.” “How?!” Celestia shouted. Her speech was almost completely garbled from the anger that was welling inside her. “Equestria is mine, Celestia. Your student traded it to me as payment for doing the job of a rather lazy solar pony.” He snapped his fingers again to change the image to the next city. “Lies!” Celestia growled. “Twilight Sparkle would never do such a thing!” “Oh, but she and her friends, specifically Applejack, did. The bearers of your precious Elements of Harmony have failed you.” Discord smiled. “You see, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t handle the pressures of power and she gave up. She gave up on you, Celestia.” “Twilight would never....” “She gave up on you, Celestia. And I don’t think it long before she betrays you completely. Just as your sister betrayed you for your student. Just as she broke that code you foolishly hold so dear.” Luna shouted. “Leave Twilight out of this, Discord!” “Oh, enough is enough, Luna. You do realize that the only reason that little purple pony is even interested in you is because I tampered with her mind, don’t you?” “You…! That’s a lie!” “I never lie. It’s true. I influenced her dreams to brew the infatuation.” Discord pulled out a bubble wand and began blowing a flurry of cubed bubbles. “No… that’s…” Luna’s eyes began to water. “Come now, Lulu. You were not the least suspicious that you couldn’t see into her dreams with your powers? That you couldn’t quell her nightmares?” Discord sharpened his claws on his horns until there was an audible ping. “She was an element bearer… I though the rules were….” “What? Different? That she’d be immune to magic?” Discord extended his sharpened claw to pop one of the cubed bubbles. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s not how it works. Honestly I don’t know what she sees in you, you’re dumb as a boulder. Then again if Tom can land a lovely lady like Rarity, who knows how love works?” “Enough, Discord.” Celestia said through clenched teeth. “Now you come to your sister’s defense? I seem to remember not but a week ago you threw her through the wall of a building and then set fire to that building.” Discord chuckled as he pulled a necktie around his neck. “I would say your relationship with your sister has made significant strides this week. I must be the universe’s greatest therapist. I charge by the hour, by the way. Five bits. If you’re strapped for cash, since you are recently unemployed after all, I’ve got a few lovely payment plans that I think you qualify….” “Shut up!” Celestia yelled. The room was silent for a few moments before Celestia continued in a calm, even tone. “I am giving you one last chance, Discord. Put the world back to normal. Leave my kingdom and never return. There is more in this world than just the Elements of Harmony. Count yourself lucky that they only sealed you in stone… for my next solution to this problem will be significantly….” “Well that’s enough of that.” Discord said as he replaced the necklace on Celestia’s neck. The elder alicorn immediately fell to the ground in a stupor. “Take note, Lulu. This is the proper way to settle an argument with a stubborn pony.” Discord clapped his claws together. “You’re in my world now! If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got chaos to cause.” Discord placed his claw over his mouth and yelled. “Oh servants! Come hither!” “Yes, your chaotic-ness?” A dark pink pegasus said with a salute. His eyes were filled with green swirls. “Ah yes, Wind Strider. Go find me a duck and a hammer. Oh! And some orange paint! I’ve got the most delectably amazing idea for dinner tonight.” “Would you like some tea, sir?” An orange unicorn held up a tea cup to the draconequus. “Certainly. But not from you, Rising Star…. Why don’t you go play down in the garden? Go give me an opinion on the fire ants, make sure they are properly igniting. Oh perfect! Listen, Chef Secret Sauce, I’m going to need a duck shaped frying pan. Non-stick. No, you’ll probably get it wrong. I better come with you….” Luna stared down at the collars that chained her and her sister to the sides of the throne. She let out soft sob. “I’ve got to come up with something…. And soon….” Air was tugging at Twilight Sparkle’s mane as she plummeted to the ground. She closed eyes in an attempt to protect them from the rushing wind. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, desperately trying to alert anypony’s attention. She summersaulted in the air, despite her attempts to keep herself upright. If she was being honest with herself, she was panicking. Her mind was racing from her conversation with Discord and the events she had witnessed during her brief tour of the chaos spirit’s new world. She tried to think of a spell that would help her, but her mind would not focus. Perhaps a flying spell or some sort of gravity altering spell would surely do the trick. She was certain she knew a few, but she could not focus enough to cast such a complex enchantment with the ground approaching so quickly. When she finally realized that her screaming could not possibly be heard over the sound of the rushing air, she decided on a simpler spell. She focused magic in her horn and let out a spurt of fireworks. In reality though, such an action was a mere reflex. A fireworks spell was almost second nature to a pony with such a gift for magic, and casting it was as much a compulsorily action as her screaming. She had often wondered what would be the last thought she would be thinking before her death and as the ground raced towards her, she found her mind surprisingly blank. The only thought that was coherent was something along the lines of, Oh, buck, that’s the ground. Thankfully, it was not the ground that came up to meet her, but a cyan pony flying as fast as possible. Rainbow Dash swooped upwards and caught Twilight by the leg. The pegasus slowed to a cruising speed and leveled herself. “Hi, Twilight. Mind if I… you know… save your life and stuff?” “Not at all.” Twilight said, breathless. She glanced upwards at her friend’s determined look. “Thanks for the help.” “No problem, Twilight.” Rainbow said as she lowered the unicorn to the ground in front of the Ponyville Library. “Just glad to see you’re alright.” “Twilight!” Fluttershy said, leaping forward. “I’m so glad you’re safe!” Fluttershy threw her hooves around both Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Rarity joined in the hug. “Darling we didn’t know if Discord was going to bring you back to us! We were so worried!” “Are you injured?” Pinkie Pie asked as she wedged her way into the hug as well. Twilight popped her head up above the crowd so she could breathe. “No, I’m fine. Well. I’m a little bruised from where Dash caught me. But, I’m okay.” “Now I’m just as happy ta see our friend as the next pony, but don’t go making it so she can’t breathe, Turquoise Pie!” The hug fell apart as a perturbed Pinkie Pie leered at Applejack. “What did you call me?” Applejack shook her head for a moment. “Sorry. I meant to say Turquoise Pie. I mean… I was trying to say…” Twilight looked off into the direction of Canterlot. “Really, Discord?” She sighed. “Discord replaced all the words related to color with turquoise. I guess that means you too, Turquoise. I mean… uh… Diane.” Pinkie looked down at her hooves. Her eyes watering. “I’m not Turquoise Pie anymore? I mean… I am Turquoise Pie now? I…” Her mane fell flat against her neck. “I don’t know who I am anymore!” “Oh for pony’s sake please tell me my name is still Turquoise Dash. OH BUCK!” “Alright. It’s just a bit of a tongue twist.” Applejack said. “Calm down Turquoise and Turquoise. I mean… This is going to get confusing, real quick…” “But I don’t want to be Turquoise Pie! I want to be P… Turquoise Pie! NO! BAD TONGUE! That’s not what I was trying to say!” “Turquoise Dash doesn’t even make sense! Why would I have a turquoise turquoised mane if I was…? ARGH!” “EVERYPONY QUIET!” Twilight shouted. The sobbing and bitter barking of the two ponies cleared up immediately. “Listen! To keep things from getting confusing…” Twilight pointed a hoof at Rainbow Dash. “You’ll be called Dash…” Twilight jutted another hoof at Pinkie Pie. “And you’ll be called Pie! Are we clear?” “Can I be The Dash?” Rainbow said with pleading eyes. “No.” “Can I be a frog?” Pinkie Pie said as her hair burst back into a curly mess. “No!” Twilight sat down and rubbed her temples. After a few moments, she let out a long sigh. “But what do names matter when the world no longer makes sense?” Twilight glanced up at the library’s door. “Alright. Everypony into the library, we need to comb through every book and try to find something to stop Discord.” “Actually, Twilight,” Applejack began, “Princess Celestia sent something. We think it’s a message of some kind, but we can’t read it.” “Show me.” Twilight demanded. “It’s this book.” Rarity said as she slid a large tome in front of Twilight Sparkle. “This is…. I know what this is….” Twilight said as she stared at the large tome. She gently ran her hoof against the edges of the book. “It’s been burned at one time. Then restored.” She used her magic to open the book’s cover. “This writing is so ancient. This book has been enchanted, there’s no way these pages could exist after all these years without some sort of magical preservation.” In some ways it was almost magical that she was touching something so old. “These drawings, I’ve never seen anything like this before!” Twilight glanced up to face her friends. “Applejack, do you know what this is?” “It’s the book from Princess Luna’s story. The one Princess Celestia owned when she was just a little filly, right?” “Tirek’s Catalog of Ancient Items….” Twilight said. “This is the book that contained the original location of the Elements of Harmony.” Applejack leaned in. “Are you sure though? That means this book is over four-thousand years old.” “Look here, you can see where Princess Celestia burned the cover in anger after her father died. And here along the margins this is the princess’s penmanship. It certainly fits the description of…” Twilight was flipping through the pages when something caught her eye. “Look! The Elements of Harmony, there’s no mistaking it.” Twilight tapped her hoof gingerly against the drawing on the page. “We’ve seen this symbol all over the castle in the stained glass. This is the tome is the one from Luna’s story, the one that contains the list and descriptions of all the centaurian artifacts in the world!” “Alright, so say it is. How does that help us?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I’m not sure…. This book is written in an ancient language. I can’t make heads to tails of it.” Twilight tapped her hoof against her chin as she flipped another page. “I might be able to translate it, but it will take a while. It would help if….” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Look this page has been marked. The corner is folded down.” Twilight flipped back and forth around the marked spot in the book. “None of the other pages have been folded like this. You were right, Applejack. It’s a message from Princess Celestia.” “But what does it mean?” Pinkie Pie asked. “I don’t know… something about this page. I wish I could read the script. It’s written in some language I don’t even know. Probably ancient Centaur.” Twilight was practically pressing her face against the pages. “It looks like each page details exactly one artifact of power. This one must be about this item here.” Twilight tapped her hoof against page. The page was adorned in strange text and a large diagram of some vaguely ring shaped object. “This ring thing. It looks familiar….” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s obviously an object of great power. And it’s obviously what Princess Celestia wants us to find.” Twilight said. Rarity shuddered. “What good is a ring going to do? Is somepony going to marry Discord?” Twilight sighed. “I don’t know what it does. I can’t read the text on the page. And just because it’s ring-shaped doesn’t mean it it’s the size of a wedding ring. It could be as big as a house for all we know. But apparently this is the key to stopping Discord.” “Wait a moment!” Rainbow Dash said with glee. “I know where I’ve seen this before!” Rainbow Dash raced over to the bookshelves of the library and started ripping books out of them. Twilight watched in horror as Rainbow tossed books nonchalantly in every direction. “What? How could you have possibly seen this before?” Twilight said. “This book is over four-thousand years old!” “In here!” Rainbow said as she dropped a thin book on top of the thousand year old tome. “Daring Do and the Kingdom of Tartarus!” The pegasus said. She pointed to the cover of the book. “See right there… in the corner here.” “Dashie… you’re absolutely right! That’s the same picture.” Rarity said. Twilight stared for a moment at the picture. “I… is this the same book that you gave to me when I was stuck on that cloud?” “Sure is. I read it on the train ride to Canterlot. Why, is something wrong?” Twilight squinted at the cover of the book. “I just remember it having a different….” “When were you stuck on a cloud?” Pinkie Pie asked. Rainbow began to laugh. “Oh man! You guys should have seen it! Luna fell asleep on their date; it was priceless!” “Turquoise Dash! I mean… never mind just stop it. If this is indeed the same object depicted here, then that means that… “Daring Do is the best book series ever?” Rainbow Dash interrupted. Twilight glared at her cyan friend. “Then that means that this ring shaped object has passed into legends.” “You mean the Icosaflux?” “The what, now?” Applejack said with a raise of an eyebrow. Rainbow Dash smiled. “That’s what it’s called in the book. It’s a mystical and mysterious artifact that is buried deep in the heart of Tartarus, protected by a Ursa Major that only lets the pure of heart pass.” “Like the Arbiter from Princess Luna’s story?” Applejack asked. “It sounds like it.” Twilight nodded. “But what does the Icosaflux actually do? “I don’t know, it wasn’t in the book. “Then how did the book end?” “She never got past the door, the Ursa Major stopped her for too long and then the demons that lived inside Tartarus nearly crushed her into spicing for their soup. But they didn’t count on how awesome Daring was with…” “Okay! We get it.” Twilight looked down at both the ancient tome and the work of fiction. “If this story is true… then this… Icosaflux, whatever it is, may be our key to defeating Discord. We need to find it.” “Um… hold on a moment,” Fluttershy squeaked. “Dashie said this thing is inside Tartarus? There’s monsters in there that use ponies as toothpicks.” Fluttershy was shaking. “How are we supposed to get the ring thing without getting eaten?” “I know this! It was in the book.” Rainbow Dash said, looking smug. “Okay, first we need to find a zebra shaman on the edge of the sword coast. Then we trade him thirty seven and a half beans. He’ll then direct us to a cave that contains a large stone tower. Once we disarm the traps protecting the back door, we swoop in and locate a talking crow named Rutabaga. He’ll ask us a riddle about the darkness of a pony’s heart and then we’ll need to respond with the pass code, obtained from an ancient tablet in the Quaggan desert. Now once we answer the riddle the crow will give us an egg which we’ll need to care for until it hatches into a blue chicken at the stroke of dawn. Then we can give the blue chicken to an old stallion in the Everfree Forest. He’ll give us an odd mushroom that we take back to the zebra shaman. Now the zebra will take this unique mushroom and cook it into a potion that serves as the world’s finest eye drops. Now once we have that we can make a trade with a giant…” Twilight raised a hoof. “Or, just a thought. Since Discord let all the demons out of Tartarus so he could terrorize the country side, I think we should seriously consider just walking inside.” Fluttershy clenched her jaw and shook her head. “But Tartarus is so far away. I don’t think we’ll make it there.” Rarity pointed a hoof out the window as the large airship landed in the street. “Ahem. It is my opinion that every quest to save the world should be done so in style. Perhaps we simply need a stylish ride?” “Thank you.” Celestia said quietly as she rubbed her neck. Luna placed the Amulet of Silence on the ground and smashed it with her hoof. “That trinket shouldn’t bother us again.” Luna said quietly. “Luna, do you think Twilight Sparkle will be able to defeat Discord?” Celestia’s tone was dreary. Luna nodded to herself. “Of course she will. Twilight is one of the most amazing ponies I have ever met.” “I’m… not so sure anymore. Discord plans to make her betray me. That is when his victory will be complete. There was a time when I thought she was incapable of failing her duty of being an element bearer. I used to think she was the one pony I could still trust, but now….” Luna winced. Her sister’s words cut through her heart like a knife. “The only pony you could trust?” She whispered. Celestia sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean….” Luna bowed her head to hide her tears. “So it is true. You can’t stand me anymore. Not since Nightmare Night…. The day I let you down.” “Luna, you will always be my sister. I love you dearly and I always will.” Celestia said as she lifted a hoof to comfort Luna. “Sentiments born out of blood, but not out of want. Since that day I was no longer your friend, was I?” Luna closed her eyes tightly shut. “No wonder the Elements of Harmony abandoned us. Between my jealousy and your feelings of betrayal….” “Luna… I….” “It’s not important now.” Luna said with a stifled sob and a wave of a hoof. “But, what happens after this? Twilight won’t let you down. She won’t. She’s… Twilight. There’s no way the pony I have come to love could side with Discord. But when she does win, what happens then? We fought in front of the whole city. How will they accept our rule now? How can things go back to normal?” Celestia inhaled deeply. “Luna… sometimes…” “Don’t treat me like a child, Tia. I am over four thousand years old; I understand politics.” “Option one: One of us takes the blame for the incident and then is banished for a very long time. Option two: One of us takes the blame for the incident and goes into hiding for a very long time, but doesn’t get banished.” “Is there an option that doesn’t involve one of us taking the all blame?” “Somepony must take the fall, Luna.” The two ponies stared at each other for a moment. Luna sighed. “I broke the Code of the Alicorns, it is my responsibility to fix this, isn’t it?” Celestia nodded. “I believe I wrote that part as well. Caught by my own rules.” Celestia lowered herself to the floor. “It’s a moot point anyway if Twilight cannot defeat Discord. I fear that the stress will get to her.” “She will. You must have faith, sister.” Discord called out from the other side of the room. “Will you two keep it down over there? I’m trying to watch chaos! Honestly, Celestia can you control little Woona’s volume? She’s far too loud.” Luna snarled. “I will talk if I wish. Unless you wish to make me stop with your pathetic excuse of magic!” Discord spun around. “Excuse me?” The draconequus placed his face against Luna’s muzzle. “I’m sorry, but who exactly do you think you are, giving me orders? Insulting my powers? Need I remind you that your abilities pale in comparison to my magnificence?” Discord scratched his chin. “You’re getting a bit too willful for my liking. Perhaps it’s finally time I broke you, little one.” “What?” He snaked around her. “Every pony has a pressure point. Or, as I prefer to call it, a string.” He jerked his tail upwards. Luna’s legs were pulled out from under her. “You see you little ponies are just puppets. Now that leaves us with a very important question. What string do I need to pull to send you into despair? To control Shining Armor, threaten his wife. To get Cadence to bend over backwards, a few well-placed words about her family. Rainbow Dash is very unstable, just give a small blow to her ego and she’s putty. Applejack cares a good deal about her family, threaten to freeze her grandmother and she’ll sell out the world. Twilight is simple to manipulate, just place a bit of doubt in her mind and her whole world crumbles. Now Celestia…. Oh such indomitable will but if you take away her sense of order in her kingdom… if you show that her that she’s powerless. If you show her that her pupil will fail…. But you, little Woona… what is your weakness?” Luna laughed. “Ha! You don’t know me well enough. Even way back when this world was a different place. Back when we were different beings. You always put Helia first. It was Helia this and Helia that. Helia’s sister was of little importance.” Discord chuckled. “Jealousy. Oh the emotion that has controlled your life for so long, little Woona. But that’s not it. Is it? It’s your little crush that’s the string. The string that tugs on your heart.” “Leave Twilight alone, Discord. Hasn’t she suffered enough for your world? I know you are mad, but I never though you sadistic.” Discord jumped backwards and raised his arms. A set of puppets fell down on strings suspended from his claws. “I don’t think you understand, Woona. I am the puppeteer. I control everything. Your little Twilight? I pull the strings on practically every move she makes.” “I mean it. Leave her alone!” “Why should you care anyways? We both know that the only reason you want her is because your sister had her. And you want everything your sister has.” Luna covered her ears with her hooves. “You’re lying.” “I’m not lying.” He bounced the puppet up and down. “If I want her to dance. She dances.” “I mean it. Leave her alone!” The puppet stuck a pose. “If I want her to sing. She sings.” “Stop!” The puppet’s strings broke and the puppet burst into flames. “If I want her to die….” Discord broke out laughing. “You’re out of your league, little Woona.” “I said stop it!” “You’re giving me orders now?” Discord laughed. “Who exactly do you think you are?” “I... I...” Luna stuttered. “Well spit it out, I haven't got all day!" “I am Luna.” The blue alicorn closed her eyes and smirked. “Oh good. I was afraid you might have forgotten your own name. I'm glad to see that you still...” “I AM LUNA!” She proclaimed with enough force to shake the room. “Yes, yes, we all know that....” Luna pressed the top of her head into the spirit’s own face, pushing him back slightly. She began to speak with bravado and a volume that shook the castle once more. “I AM LUNA! I am the princess of the night! I have the gift of the alicorns and I bear the curse of the alicorns. I have magical might beyond mortal comprehension! I impose, nay, command the moon! If I wish it, eternal night is mine to cast. I am host of the spirit of the heavens. I am an ever-living, immortal goddess. I am FOUR THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN YEARS OLD and I've seen the rise and fall of civilizations. I've seen the griffin kings rise to power and I saw the zebras claim Quaaga under their hooves. I've seen the dragons' first migration. I've tussled with Windegos and I've wielded the Elements of Harmony. I possess the wrath and wisdom of the Ancients! And it's about time I used it!” “What!?” Discord recoiled. “I think you'd like to forget that I'm not stupid. I'm quite smart. You know that. My sister knows that. I've been alive such a long time and in nearly all that time I’ve sat patiently in my sister’s shadow. But I am also a master of the magical arts.” Discord pouted. “Bah. Your magic won’t help you here. Not only does the negative magic that was granted to you by your alicorn form not have any effect on me, but the Elements of Harmony has neutralized all that magic anyway.” “Perhaps you forget that there are other forms of magic besides the one you gifted us with? For example, I used to be a pegasus and all pegasi have a natural form of magic. Positive magic, the kind needed to override your spells.” Luna’s horn began to glow a faint blue. “Huh?” Discord looked surprised. “But that’s…” “And, I just happen to have a horn that can direct it to a more useful application, rather than flight.” The metal collar around Luna’s neck was engulfed in the blue light briefly before shattering. Discord reared back. “That’s not…!” “Luna!” Celestia gasped. Luna took a determined step forward. “And you should know there’s an even more powerful source of magic. Stronger than an earth pony’s strength. Stronger than a pegasus’s flight. Stronger than a unicorn’s spells.” “Stop it!” Discord shouted. “Stronger than the magic of friendship.” Luna said as she marched forward. She was practically breathing down Discord’s neck. Discord lifted his claw to snap his fingers. “I’m warning you! Stop this right now!” Luna glanced back to Celestia and gave a wink. “Strong enough to repel a whole army of Changelings and throw them halfway across the world. A kind of magic that is as old as the universe itself. Even older than you, Gratis.” Discord’s tail twitched. “You get back in your collar, right now little Woona!” Luna turned her attention to back to Discord. “Little Woona’s all grown up now, Discord, and she’s mad that you’re messing with her fillyfriend.” Discord growled. “That’s it! ENOUGH! I’m going to…!” Luna smirked evilly. “Going to what? Snap your fingers at me? You said it yourself. Your powers are magic. And all magic requires concentration. Mental and emotional concentration.” “Enough!” Discord snarled. “Face it, you’re scared. Surprised. And because of that, your magic won’t work on me.” Luna’s wings spread wide. “And now, I’ll take my leave of this place.” With a mighty force of wind, the alicorn lifted upwards and flew out of the room. Celetsia began to laugh, quietly at first and then after a few moments an uproarious guffaw. Rainbow Dash sat down next to Twilight Sparkle. The ever-present rumble of the airship filled the air with something other than silence. A fact Rainbow Dash was glad for; she had no idea what kind of mood she would find her friend in when she went to check on her. Once the airship had taken off, Twilight Sparkle had retreated back down to the storage hold of the ship, carrying several books with her magic. “Hey.” It was all Rainbow Dash could manage to say. Twilight looked back at her friend and replied with the same monosyllabic utterance. “Hey.” “You doing alright? You sort of ran off down here all alone again. Discord didn’t do anything to you did he?” “No… well he offered…. It’s not important. I’m fine, Dash. Thanks for checking on me.” Twilight smiled. “Hey, a smile. Now there’s the old Twilight I know and love. So, you’re really okay?” “Yes, Dashie. I’m okay.” “I mean with Luna and….” “I’m okay. Relationships may be hard, but saving the world? I seem to do that every month.” “Yeah, complex relationships. Who needs ‘em? Am I right?” “Perhaps.” Twilight smiled. “What about you?” “Me? “Are you okay? Discord taking over the world. Applejack still brushing you off….” “I couldn’t be better. I mean. Uh. Not that I want the world to be doomed to eternal chaos, but you know…. I’m embarking on a quest to save the world and collect dangerous artifacts in the most dangerous place known to pony kind. That’s a special kind of awesome, you know? I’m like a real life Daring Do!” Twilight lightly punched Rainbow in the leg. “Pfht. I prefer Captain Adventure. He’s already a real life Daring Do.” “Yeah, but has he ever jumped the Bottomless Gorge with nothing more than a whip and a spiffy hat while fighting off his archenemy?” “Well, no. Because he’s real.” Twilight laughed. “Ponies don’t normally have archenemies.” “And Discord is?” Rainbow said, nudging her friend. Rainbow stared into Twilight’s eyes. “I said ‘normally.’” Twilight laughed. Her laugh slowly faded into a yawn. “Tired a bit?” Rainbow asked. “It’s been a long day.” Twilight responded as she leaned up against the wall and looked out the porthole. Rainbow Dash snuggled up against the purple mare and joined her in staring out the window. “Look at that sunset. Does it always look this beautiful above the clouds?” “Yeah. The sky is best seen close up. I’m surprised the sun is setting normally.” “It has to. If Discord doesn’t maintain the sun and moon properly he reneges on the deal. Still though. He makes a sunset just as beautiful as Princess Celestia’s.” “More beautiful…” Rainbow said quietly as she turned to her friend. Her laughter died down when she noticed Rainbow’s gaze. “Something on my snout?” Rainbow Dash placed a hoof behind her head and chuckled uneasily. “Uh, no. Just… nothing. Just thinking….” “About Applejack?” Rainbow Dash jumped into the air and turned away from Twilight. “Yes! Applejack! Of course! I was thinking of Applejack….” Rainbow Dash kicked her hoof against the wall. “You know, darn that mare. Why won’t she pay attention to me? Right? Applejack…. You know, speaking of Applejack, I going to go check on her in the engine room. Applejack…” Twilight yawned. “I think I’m going to get some sleep then. Good night, Dash.” The airship rumbled. Twilight glanced upwards at the celling. “Hey! Careful up there, Fluttershy!” Canterlot Castle had left Canterlot behind. The enormous structure was floating high above the mountain that to which the rest of the city was attached. Deep inside it’s chambers, past the grand entryway and up through the ballroom, sat the throne room. Princess Celestia sat with a smirk on her face. Discord was lounging on his throne, reading book backwards. He adjusted his half-moon glasses before clearing his throat. “What has you so in such high spirits? Have you finally had some sense and decided that the world really is more fun this way?” “Don’t you see, Discord?” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Luna freed herself from your enchantments. She has gone to join Twilight Sparkle and she will bring your downfall.” Discord laughed. “Join? Is that what you kids are calling it now? Celestia, please.” He lowered his claws down in front of her face. Strings dangled from the tips of his claws. “I’m still pulling the all the strings here. Twilight and Luna can try as hard as possible to counter my spells, but they will never succeed. I am unstoppable.” “Luna freed herself. I wouldn’t call that unstoppable.” “No, I wouldn’t either. I might call it expert acting on my part. I might call it gullibility on Luna’s part. Or… I might just call it, if it’s not too premature, Plan B.”