Luna angrily brushed away the pie off her face and stared at the laughing draconequus.
“That annoying little...” she thought as she casted a spell that caused a lightning came down on him.
“Oh, please.” Discord replied, whipping out of nowhere an umbrella, from which the lightning bounced off. “Is this the best the ‘Oh So Powerful Princess’ can do?”
Growling, this time Luna fired a concentrated beam of magic at him, which left a whole in his stomach. The Princess of the Night was about to proclaim her victory, but she noticed the smirk on Discord face as he lifted his paw up to his face, stick a thumb in his mouth then blew, which caused the whole in his stomach to be filled with flesh again.
“How did he... what!?!” was all that she could think off at this bizarre sight.
Discord, for his part, laughed.
“If this is all there is to the power of alicorns, it’s no small wonder they disappeared.” he said between the burst of laughter. “They were all probably ashamed that...”
Whatever else the draconequus was going to say was cut off as from the ground ropes made out of pure diamond burst through and tied him up. Luna glanced where she knew her sister was hiding. Celestia, knowing from their father tales that most of Discord’s more potent magic worked by him first snapping his fingers, had devised this plan, that while Luna had him distracted, she would cast a spell that would gather minerals from the ground and form chains that would bound him and unable him to move..
“We did it!” Celestia said excited as she joined Luna near the laying form of bounded Discord.
Luna was about to say the same when she noticed that Discord was rolling his eyes. At the same moment he simply got up, his flesh going through his bounds as if they were air.
“Honestly, that was your plan?” the Spirit of Chaos said, addressing Celestia. “I thought that since you were hiding yourself while your sister fought me - or rather, tried to fight me - you had some real trick prepared. But I guess such uselessness should be expected from Equestria’s royal family. Considering that your mother never bothered to defend her kingdom and such.”
Luna thought that she was angry. But as she glanced at Celestia she realized what the word ‘angry’ meant. Her horn shone brighter than Luna ever recalled seeing, and her four-colored mane flowed more fiercely.
“Don’t you dare insult our mother!” she screamed as she fired a whole wave of magic at him, burning everything around Discord.
“Okay, I admit, that might have been a little too low.” he replied in a bored tone as he snapped his fingers and caused everything to bloom around him. “On a side note, this grim look doesn’t suit you, Celestia.”
“This is hopeless.” Luna has realized as the draconequus sit down on a throne made out of vines and flowers. “Why?!? Why can’t we beat him?!?”
“Now then...” Discord said, holding his paws together and looking at them with a sadistic grin. “What should we do next? Oh, I know! How do you feel about dancing in pink skirts, Princesses?”
“How about no?” asked the new voice, interrupting Discord as he was about to snap his fingers again.
Luna and Celestia looked behind them and saw a pony, whose appearance made both of them wish that they had to dance instead.
“Oh, Yellow!” Discord exclaimed as the two alicorns’ father approached them. “How are you, haven’t seen you in a while! Is age catching up with you already? I mean, it must be, since it took you so long to notice your daughters left that peaceful castle of yours to have some fun.”
“We are so screwed.” Luna thought, not bothering to find more princess-like description of their situation.
Despite being almost of age now, and knowing how much Yellow Flash loved both of them, she was still scared of her father at times like this. The Princess of the Night remembered very clearly the scolding she received that day all those years ago when, after returning to the castle with Doctor Horn he learned that Luna had gone to the forest not once, but twice; and everything else that happened that night.
And while Yellow Flash was now glaring at Discord, Luna knew that the moment of reckoning would soon come for her and Celestia.
“I don’t have time for your over-the-top antics and bad jokes, Discord.” the unicorn told the draconequus, in a tone that neither of his daughters heard him use before: it was a calm, quiet tone, that spoke of as much danger as only the most fiercest of animals could possess.
“Oh, you...” Discord replied, sniggering. “Now that you are here, the fun might finally begin.” he added, and was about to snap his fingers.
He didn’t get the chance. The moment he finished talking, Yellow Flash appeared next to his paw and slapped it with his hoof, preventing him from using his magic. In the next split second, the father of the two alicorns was right next to the draconequus’ head, and bucked Discord with all his strength, causing him to... fall on the ground.
“Auu!” Discord’s head yowled, but sounded more offended than to be actually in pain. His body crossed his paws on his chest. “You almost broke my nose, you nasty sneaky little...”
“We’re going home, now.” Yellow Flash told Luna and Celestia as he teleported right between the two of them, completely ignoring Discord. The next thing Luna knew, they were not within the castle’s gardens as she expected, but in the forest’s clearing nearby the castle.
“So,” Luna heard her father say as she and Celestia turned around to look at him. His face still bore the serious expression. “…will one of you explain to me what in the name of Equestria were you doing?”
Luna briefly wondered if it was better or worse that he never screamed at them.
“We were trying to defeat Discord, Father.” Celestia replied, although she looked reluctant to do so.
“I could see that.” Yellow Flash said. “But what I want to know is what made you think you could actually beat him. Whose idea was it?”
“Fine, it was me!” Luna exclaimed before her sister could try to take the blame for her. “Father, I can now see the dreams of ponies from all around Equestria, not just the castle. Discord’s rule is driving them all insane! If somepony doesn’t do something, they will be beyond any help!”
The Princess of the Night has realized that she was screaming and quickly presses her hoof to her mouth to silence herself. Luna has never raised her voice on neither on her parents. She expected Yellow Flash to grow even angrier that he was already, or to simply punish them in some fashion, but to her surprise, he simply sighed, and dropped the serious expression.
“He looks so... old.” Luna thought with a jolt.
She knew, of course, that their father was in his fifties, but he always seemed so full of energy. He even managed to cause Discord more damage in one second than both she and Celestia within ten minutes, and they were alicorns, with powers to move celestial bodies!
“Maybe everything that has happened is finally taking its toll on him.”
“I know.” Yellow Flash murmured. “I have seen many times the chaos and unhappiness that has spread over Equestria during those... how long has it been, forty-something years ago? When I was younger - long before Celestia was born, of even I began to court your mother - I tried several times to fight Discord, to stop this misery he was causing. I came up with many different plans, strategies, scenarios... No matter what I did, the final result stayed the same. I couldn’t beat him. I might be a powerful unicorn, strong magically, physically and mentally; and possibly the fastest pony there ever was, but Discord is an incarnation of chaos. He cannot be hurt physically, none of the spells I know about - and I know of more than the two of you - works on him, and his power reserves are without limit. I suppose we should be thankful that he prefers to spend all of that power on making lame jokes instead on actually hurting others.”
“But ponies still suffer, Father.” Celestia interjected. “We cannot forsake them, just because we are safe.”
“Spoken like a true princess.” Yellow Flash said, smiling weakly. “Your grandfather would have been proud of both of you, if he had lived longer. Although, one might have called him fortunate, to die before all of this mess happened. When King Brom died, your mother was six years old.” he reminded them, his voice regaining strength. “Before she had time to finish mourning over him, she was about to be crowned Queen with her mother acting as Regent, but then Discord came and started spreading his chaos. Your mother lost her father, her foalhood, and her kingdom, all within the matter of days. While I’m sure she will tell you how proud she is of your actions, she is actually terrified of losing you as well. Think about your sick mother before you try to challenge Discord again.” Having said that, Yellow Flash had turn around and begin to trot back to the castle. “Now, let’s go home. I could use a walk.”
Celestia started following immediately, but Luna hesitated for few seconds, thinking over everything her father said.
“Father?” Luna asked as she flew over to them. “When did you stop fighting with Discord?”
Before replying, Yellow Flash glanced at her and smiled.
“The same day I learned that I was going to be a father.” he said, nodding at Celestia.
“Sister, may I speak with you?” Luna asked as she knocked at Celestia’s door few hours later.
“Of course, come in.” a voice replied, and so she entered.
Luna glanced around her sister bedchamber. They used to sleep in the same room once, but as she grew up, she started to be more self-depended - and learned to better deal with the dreams of other ponies she entered from time to time - and both of them agreed that they could use some more privacy. Celestia new bedchamber had, aside from bed, few bookshelves and one desk near window, by which she was now seating with a book.
“I was curious about the Crystal Empire.” she told Luna, no doubt noticing that her gaze lay on the book. “Its magic is said to be very powerful, and seeing as it protects crystal ponies from Discord’s magic... although, he might be simply lazy and doesn’t want to bother with another kingdom, but still, it’s a possibility.”
“Have you found anything?” Luna asked, immediately taking interested in the subject, and momentary forgetting why she came here.
“No.” Celestia replied, regret in her voice. “The books we have are mostly about the interactions between the Crystal Empire and Equestria; nothing about its history or its power. Anyway, what did you wanted to talk about, little sister?”
Brushing off the matter of the Empire’s magic, Luna gazed at Celestia.
“Why did you react so violently, when Discord mentioned our mother?”
For a brief moment the older alicorn’s eyes widen, but she quickly calmed herself. If it wasn’t for the fact that Luna grew up with a father who could be on the other side of the hallway within less than a split second, she would have missed that.
“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, pretending to be confused. “Isn’t it normal for a foal to get angry when its mother is badmouthed in front of it?”
“It would be, if that foal was me.” Luna replied. “I am the one who gets angry easily, sister. You stay calm in most dire situations. Discord comments shouldn’t have affected you so... unless there was some reason. Don’t think I didn’t notice that everypony speaks of Mother in hushed voice whenever I’m around.” more quietly, she added: “What’s wrong with her? This sickness she has... where did it come from?”
Celestia sighed, and put her book away.
“I would have preferred if you didn’t know this, but... I guess you’re not a little filly anymore, huh?” she smile weakly, but grew more sober as she carried on. “Mother has been sick as long as you can remember, correct?”
Luna nodded, recalling how always she was tired and stayed in her bed for most of the time. She has almost never left the castle, except in really sunny days (but not hot days), when she would go for small walk around the castle’s gardens.
“Well, she wasn’t always like that.” Celestia’s voice pulled her from memories. “Although, most of mine early memories of her are same as yours, she had gotten better within few years. It wasn’t until... you were born, that Mother once again grew sick.”
Luna tilted her head in confusion as her sister continued.
“I kept pestering Father, Aunt Twinklestar, Grandmother Sundancer, Dr. Horn, and anypony who could shed some light on this. So, eventually, I learned the reason for her sickness.” the white alicorn paused here, and whispered: “It’s us.”
Luna jaw slightly dropped as her eyes widen in horror.
“W-What?!” she asked, her mind blank.
“Luna, you and I are alicorns. You think that an average pony could carry not one, but two alicorns in her belly for twelve months each and give birth to them without it having an effect on her body?”
“Mother is not an average pony!” Luna screamed, feeling tears start forming in her eyes.
“I know, Little Sister.” Celestia replied sadly, forcibly pulling her into a hug.
Being pressed into her body, Luna started to sob.
“Why isn’t she getting better yet?” she asked in between sobs. “You said that she recovered after few years of your birth.”
“Doctor Horn said that giving birth to another alicorn have... depleted her strength.”
“So... this is my fault.” Luna whispered as the realization came upon her. She felt the same feeling she felt when Bolt was dying; the feeling of guilt. “If I haven’t been born...”
“Now listen!” Celestia interrupted her sharply, pulling them slightly apart. “Don’t ever try thinking that again. It’s not your fault, nor is it anypony’s else.”
“But...” Luna tried to protest, but her sister’s hoof stopped her.
“Luna,” the older princess said more gently, smiling. “...our mother was always sad, unless she was with me or with our father. She still is, and since Grandmother died, she has become even sadder when alone. But since you were born, she had gotten a new pony to make her happy. Trust me when I say that even when she was full of energy and could trot everywhere within the castle, I haven’t seen her anywhere near as happy when she hold the little you in her hooves.”
Hearing her sister words, words that she knew in her heart to be true, caused Luna to smile. But still, she promised herself to find some cure for Mother, just like she did for Shadow Bolt, and a way to defeat Discord and return her mother to the her throne.
Luna trotted over the castle’s wall, her mind still locked on the conversation she had with Celestia an hour ago. She wanted to go to her mother, to hug her, talk with her, beg her forgiveness for being born, or something, but she knew that whenever Father wasn’t out of the castle on some business, he was with Mother. While taking Princess Platina condition into account Luna doubted she would see something that would scar her mentally if she went there, she decided it would be best to leave them some privacy.
“Hi Luna.” a familiar and uncharacteristically sad voice sounded right next her.
Princess almost jumped into the air, so surprised she was by that.
“Is scaring me your hobby or something?” she scowled at the one of a kind pony.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Shadow Bolt murmured, flexing his featherless wings. “But it’s not exactly my fault this time; you were simply lost in thoughts.”
Ever since his appearance was changed due to the potion Luna made to save his life, most of the ponies living in the castle tried to distance themselves from him. Luna was one of the few who treated him the same as she did before the incident. In fact, she was much friendlier to him, taking into account that he saved her life almost at cost of his own. Thankfully, overtime Bolt dropped his annoying tries to win Celestia affection, which made being friends with him much easier, although he still harbored a crush for her.
They soon discovered that the potion caused more that change of Bolt’s appearance. He could fly without making sound, see in the darkest night, and was stronger that most colts his age were. All of that made ponies to be more unease around him, but Shadow Bolt on the other hoof, found his new body to be - as he phrased it - awesome. Luna was thankful for that as well - she was afraid that he would hate her. But she soon began to curse his contentment, as Bolt few times sneaked up on her and scaring her. He even got his cutie mark for this. The most disturbing cutie mark anypony ever saw, but a cutie mark nonetheless.
“Maybe,” Luna replied, “but I still think that you should wear a bell. I will mention that to the Captain once you become officially a royal guard.”
For some reason, her joke made Bolt cringe.
“Yeah, you do that. Not that I’m going to become one, anyway...”
“What?” Luna said, gazing at him in confusion. “What do you mean? Last time I heard, you were doing great with your training.”
“Well...” he replied uncomfortably. “You know how the armor the royal guards wear makes them all look the same, right?”
The dark blue alicorn nodded. She knows that from her history lessons. When the royal guards were first formed, some more shady ponies tried to get to them through their relatives, so that they could get away with various things. To prevent that from happening, the armors of royal guards were enchanted so that ponies wearing them looked the same, with the exception of coat being either white or gray, depending on the natural shade of pony.
“Well, it would appear that this body of mine is resistant to it.” Bolt finished.
“Wait, seriously?” Luna asked.
“So, that would mean he has some level of natural magical resistance...” she pondered as the other pony nodded.
“But why would that prevent you from becoming a royal guard?” Princess asked aloud. “It was more of a traditional thing by the time of my grandfather reign, anyway.”
“The Captain said they could try to think of something, but assuming Discord would be beaten one day, ponies would find a guard like me to be more scary than trustworthy.” Shadow replied sounding, for the first time, saddened by his appearance. “Becoming royal guard was my dream, ever since I was brought here as a foal, but now...”
It was hard for Luna to listen to this and not burst into tears. It was, after all, her fault. She never shaken off the feeling of guilt for what Shadow Bolt had to go through because of her, but she didn’t expect that his new body would have made it impossible for him to achieve his dream.
“There must be something I could do!” Luna thought. “If I want to find solutions to beating Discord and curing Mother, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to help my friend...“
Suddenly, the Princess of the Night had a brilliant idea.
“Shadow Bolt.” she said straightening up. “Dost thou promise to serve and protect thy Princess and the Kingdom of Equestria?”
The colt stared at her in confusion for few heartbeats, before he pulled himself together, straightened up and replied:
“I do.”
Luna smiled before she continued:
“Then by our right as the Princess of the Night, We welcome thou to our... Night Guard.”
Luna sighed few days later as she trotted through the forest.
“You know, had I know you would follow me almost all the time...”
“But it is my duty as thou night guard, Princess, to protect thee from all danger.” Shadow Bolt replied grinning as he followed her in his new shining purple armor.
“Pity you use this duty most of the time as an excuse to get closer to my sister.” Luna bit back. “And don't talk like that, this way of speaking is reserved for royalty... Plus, you’re doing it wrong.”
Her idea for making him her part of her night guard, as well as the idea of forming it in the first place, was met by everypony with approval; maybe aside from the Captain of The Royal Guards, who had some reservation due to fact that night guards would be beyond his command. They would report directly to Luna as their job that’s unlike the royal guards, would not be standing all day and guarding peace (although they would be expected to do so if need arises), would be seeking out those that would bring danger to Equestria. They would act as spies, infiltrators, and detectives; looking for ponies and other creatures who would try to wrong others. Yellow Flash has mentioned few times that crime has increased steadily during Discord’s rule. If Luna and Celestia were ever going to beat him, they would still need to bring peace back to Equestria.
“It’s a pity that there’s only one so far.” she commented in her thoughts, recalling that the armorer said he would need to work some more on changing the enchantment on the armors, so ponies wearing them would look like Shadow Bolt. “But at least he managed to make an armor that was lighter than the regular one and made no sound.”
“Anyway, why did you leave the castle, Princess?” her guard asked her as he flew next to her.
“I needed to take a break from all that researching about spell to defeat Discord.”
“So your idea of a break is going on a walk through a dangerous forest? Because I’m pretty sure both of us almost died here few years ago.”
“Very funny.” Luna replied, rolling her eyes at his dark sense of humor. “If any dragon would try to jump on us now, I would send it packing, so there is no reason for you to be afraid, my brave night guard.”
Now it was Shadow Bolt’s turn to roll his eyes. Luna chuckled as she brushed her ethereal starry mane. Her and Celestia manes changed as they grew in power... but her sister’s changed when she was three years older than Luna was when her mane changed, meaning that she could have higher magical potential than Celestia..
“Thank you, Your Highness, it’s really comforting.” he murmured. “How’s that search of spells going, by the way?”
“Not good.” Princess admitted bitterly. “There is no way that conventional spells could work on Discord, and my sister objects on using any unconventional ones.”
“‘Unconventional’?”
“The kind of spells that could rip a soul into pieces; not that there are much of those in the books we have here, mind you...”
“Rip a soul into pieces?” Bolt asked with a shrug. “Isn’t that a bit... harsh? I mean, I know Discord is evil, but he hasn’t caused a direct harm to anypony, hasn’t he?”
“Just like my sister...” Luna thought bitterly as she turned around to regard him.
“You’re not the one who goes into dreams of other ponies and sees what affect his chaos has on them. You don’t spend every moment when you are asleep trying to help them deal with the insanity of their nightmares, nor does my sister.” she added angrily as she turned back and resumed trotting. “By what right she can decide, the way which we will take to save the ponies of Equestria, when all she does for them is merely read books!?!”
She didn’t expect to say that out loud, but this was what she was thinking over for some time. If there was a way to save their subject from insanity that was approaching them, surely soul shattering of the individual that was causing this was worth it. But Luna’s oh-so-perfect sister refused to do that, on grounds that such an act is unforgivable.
Her dark thoughts were interrupted by a sudden feeling of something brushing her wing gently. She looked surprised and saw Bolt looking at her concerned.
“Are you okay?”
Luna sighed, calming herself down.
“Sorry, I did not intend to take out my anger at you like that. I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. I just wish there was a way to defeat that freak of nature once and for all.” she paused to look around their surroundings. “Wow, we walked a bit longer that I intended.”
Indeed, they were in the part of the forest neither of them was ever before. They were near that weird mountain that could be seen from the castle’s walls, which meant that they must have been at least an hour away. Granted, they flew some of the distance, but still...
“We will better go back, Princess.” the night guard said, looking at the mountain suspiciously. “This mountain... I don’t know why, but there is something I don’t like about it.”
Luna had to admit, there was something... unsettling in the air around them, although she couldn’t put her hoof on what that something was. Curious, she casted a quick-scanning spell and gasped. There was some magical residue somewhere on the mountain, but there was a much stronger source of magic nearby.
“What is this?” she wondered as she began to trot in its direction. “It seems... dormant, but so powerful, and... pure?”
“Luna?” Bolt called after her, noticing she was going somewhere. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for something.” Princess replied, feeling that she was getting closer to the source.
“For what?”
Instead of answering right away, Luna pushed away some bushes and stood in awe.
“For these.” she finally said few heartbeats later.
“You again, Princesses?” Discord said as he appeared in front of them as they stood near the ruins of Eastin. He sounded bored. “While I appreciate your efforts to amuse me, you should have realized that you don’t stand a chance against me. Still,” he added, stretching. “I am sort of curious of what you came up this time, so go ahead and start.”
Luna smiled to Celestia. His arrogance made this soo much easier.
“Why, thank you, Discord.” Celestia told him with a smirk, and glanced at the younger princess. “Little sister, shall we?”
Princess of the Night nodded, and both of them charged their magic.
“Wait... what are those?” Discord asked, as confusion in his voice and a slight hint of fear as five stones started to flow around him.
Luna smirked and replied:
“The Elements of Harmony.”
It took them weeks to figure out what they were, exactly, and how to use them. Each of the stones, or The Elements as they called them, was tied to a different aspect of friendship: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. Through channeling their magic, and mixing it with their feelings and bond their shared, they caused another Element to appear. One that acted as controller, letting the gathered magic to be used in desired fashion, so long as it served to preserve Harmony.
“But it couldn’t cure Mother...” Luna thought bitterly for a moment, before she grabbed a hold of herself; regretting that Celestia’s and her birth were natural things, and there for the Elements couldn’t cure the affects they had on their mother would not help them now.
She watched as Discord snapped his fingers... and nothing happened.
“Your magic has no affect on them, Discord.” Celestia said, this time not smirking and being serious. “It is over.”
Discord continued to look around confused, as lines of rainbows started to connect each Element, and... burst into laughter.
“Well, this is something new.” he said after a while as both Princesses stared at him, wondering if he had a slight hint of a sane mind within his skull. “Oh, don’t look so surprised. I love chaos and despise order. Sure, I am pissed that you prissy little Princesses managed to beat me, but if I stayed unbeaten for an eternity it would go against my belief, see? Now then,” Discord added, looking slightly more serious, “what are going to do with me? Since you beat me and all?”
Sisters shared a confused look. They expected him to be infuriated or something, not... something like this. Discord behaviour put them slightly off-track. Celestia cleared her throat as she regained her composure.
“Discord, for your crimes against Equestria and all the ponies who life here, we, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, daughters of Princess Platina, the rightful ruler of Equestria, sentence you to be imprisoned in stone.”
“And here I hoped it would be something original. Oh well.” Discord sighed, as if he didn’t cared. “You do know I will eventually break free, right?”
“You’re about to be surprised, then.” Luna said, as both sisters prepared to cast the final spell. “You will never bring unhappiness to anypony again. We will see to that.”
“Oh, Luna, so full of yourself...” Discord chuckled. “Pity I won’t be around to see that confidence of yours to be turned against you.”
Luna eyes widen slightly, now even more confused.
“What was that supposed to mean?”
“That you are stupid.” he replied, sticking out his tongue.
“Let’s turn him to stone, little sister.” Celestia told her, not amused by this.
“Agreed.” Luna replied, brushing off the thought and concentrating.
“Wait wait wait! Let me pick some pose!” Discord shouted as he flexed his muscles. “How about this or maybe thinker?” he asked as he took a pose that made him look like he was deep in thoughts. “Joker?” he sticks out his tongue while making a silly face. “Cheerful?”
A beam of rainbow hit him before he could propose something else, and as the light dimmed, Luna and Celestia saw the Spirit of Chaos that ruled and terrorized Equestria for almost half century, turned into stone.
“We…” Luna said, glancing at her big sister. “...we did it!”