"Discord! Thou hast laid thy terror and chaos upon thine fair Equestria for far too long," a warning voice shot through the dimness of the throne room like a dagger, coming from the dark end of the room.
"Thy tyranny shall end!" a second voice, seething with great hatred and disgust, was thrown out from the darkness, as if the mere brutality of the words could take a physical blow to the opposed creature in question.
Out from the shadows, two alicorn mares stepped in slowly, guards up, and ready for a moments retaliation.
One mare, the older of the two, stood tall and strong. Her white coat and pink mane made her stand out in the dark lighted room, making her easy to see. Her magenta eyes seemed to hold a certain air of sadness, yet her posture was defiant to the creature before her.
The other mare, the younger, seemed to have an aura of hate and anger about her. Her form was in a position that was ready to pounce at a moment's notice, clearly wanting to get rid of the one they had spoken to. Her dark blue coat and violet-blue mane helped her meld with the darkness, increasing her dangerous appearance.
Light and dark.
Two sisters, ready to take the throne back from the embodiment of disharmony and chaos- Discord.
"Oh, ahahahahaha! You've come to remove me from the throne, have you? Well, maybe 'Thou hast better-eth make-eth a better plan'," he cooed, mocking their speech. His every word brought a stab to his heart, yet he also enjoyed it at the same time. It was exhilarating to poke fun at ponies, even when he didn't really want to.
A smile of confidence crept onto the younger sister's face. "Ah, but we DO have a plan- We shall smite thee with the Elements of Harmony!"
"Thou shall be turned to stone," the older sister put in, her words not as harsh as the younger's, while stile holding firmness.
Discord's heart turned cold and heavy. It seemed to skip a beat as he heard the words from the two alicorns. They were finally doing it. No more fun and games. This was the end. He couldn't stop them now.
But that didn't mean that he couldn't have a bit of fun before he had to go.
He stood up on the throne, looking down on the sisters.
"And why should I, the King of Chaos, be afraid of a little Harmony?" he was chuckling, as if a little filly had claimed that they were going to defeat him with a wooden sword.
"Thou shall just wait and see," responded the younger sister before charging forward. The elder followed suite.
They ran and ran, yet they appeared to get no closer. It was as if they were on a treadmill, running hard but going no where.
The draconequus laughed heartily, amused at their predicament.
The younger let out an angry growl, "DISCORD! THOU SHOULD STOP PLAYING THY CHILDISH GAMES!" she leaped into the air, only to find that her sister had already done so. The gave each other a sideways nod before zooming forward.
"Of all the times I've tried to please you~" he had started to sing. Why not make your exit dramatic? He disappeared just as they were about to reach him, reappearing behind them.
"I'd have to say that this time was the worst~" as they turned around, he flew away, his small unmatched wings some how carrying him across the room.
"Yet I suppose I haven't tried hard this time~" he sang as he flew, the alicorns quickly catching up.
"Now it is time for me to go~" He landed in the center of the throne room, standing on the floor.
The sisters landed before him, preparing their final attack.
"Just always remember my NAMMEEEEE~!" He drew out the last word as long as he could. The room echoed with his voice as he was turned to stone by the two alicorns.
Luna drew back and snorted. The pompous draconequus had stricken a pose for his grand finally.
Celestia stepped forward to take the crown from his head.
"Good bye, Discord..." she whispered, leaning to speak in his ear for just a second. The crown was taken from his head with her magic, and tossed onto the ground.
This was the end of the rein of Chaos.
The temporary end of Discord.
The end of something special.
Every morning was exactly the same.
Wake up. Get ready. Raise the Sun.
Celestia yawned, tired as always. She had seen a magazine article the other day that had said something about alicorns not needing any sleep.
Oh how she wished by the mighty stars of Equestria that was true!
She had to wake up SUPER early to raise the Sun, which was tiring in itself, every morning, leaving no days for her to sleep in. Ever.
She rolled out of bed slowly. Luna would probably be waiting already. She stood up, slipped on her various garments, and checked her appearance in the mirror.
One good thing about her flowy mane was that she never had to worry about bedmane. She cringed when she thought about her old, pink mane.
That thing had been very thick, long, and prone to large tangles. And TERRIBLE bedmane.
That was one thing she didn't have to worry about in the morning anymore.
She walked into her bath room, and brushed her teeth. A princess's teeth had to be nice and shiny, right? Plus, she didn't think she could live with dirty teeth. The very idea repulsed her.
Yellow teeth
Yuck.
She had once seen an old mare with a jaw filled with such a haphazard arrangement of teeth, that she had wondered how the old crone was speaking.
Don't think like that! she thought, scolding herself. It wasn't right to judge somepony for their looks, or to call elder mares crones! Luna must be getting to me.
After the Nightmare Night disaster, Luna had adapted much faster to the modern language and social ways.
Maybe a little too much.
All nice and ready, the white mare walked out onto her balcony, and jumped up into the air. She took flight easily, and flew up to a large platform, up at the highest point of the castle.
Uh oh, she thought, spotting her sister, looks like I've kept Luna waiting.
The princess of the night had spotted her sister, and was scowling at her.
"What took you so long?" she asked, tone impatient, as Celestia landed on the platform.
"I suppose I was just thinking a bit, little sister," she replied, smiling warmly.
"Well, let's get the morning going!" her tone had changed to a more playful one as she shot into the air laughing.
That's my Luna The elder alicorn sped after her, high into the air. "Ready?" she asked.
"Of course!"
They hovered side by side, concentrating. Both horns began to glow, and as Celestia rose upwards, Luna went downwards. The two great celestial bodies followed their masters obediently, like two great dogs listening to a call. The stars simply followed the moon, as a sheep do the head ram.
And then it was morning.
"-and THAT concludes our monthly report!"
Celestia had just finished listening to a three hour presentation by the cities's committee, or what ever they called themselves. Just things like 'this memorial should go here' or 'the crime rate has gotten to a record low, even for Equestria!'
And even though she had to admit it was quite boring, she wouldn't miss this report for almost anything. It let her know how her little ponies were faring, and what they had accomplished. She liked hearing what they'd done for Equestria, and themselves.
The group of mares and stallions shuffled out of the throne room, murmuring and debating on whether or not some town should be considered a city now or something.
The princess of the Sun sighed contently. Her little ponies were doing well.
Knock Knock Knock
Mmhh, who could that be? "Permission to enter!" she called out, curious to see who it was.
The door was pushed open, and a single dark blue stallion walked in. He wore the armor of the Equestrian military, which sparked interest in the Princess.
He trotted towards the princess, and bowed. "I am Captain Coded Message," he began, introducing himself. "The High Chairman Dusty Scroll sent me to give you an important message."
"He is still in the Hospital I presume?"
"Yes, your highness," he replied.
"What did he want you to tell me?"
"He said that the group watching Discord hasn't seen him since the last time you, Princess, saw him. And to give you this," he handed her an envelope bearing Dusty Scroll's signature.
Celestia grasped the letter in her magic, and her eyes narrowed.
"Thank you, Coded Message. You may go now," she murmured, opening the letter.
He gave her a respectful nod, bowed once more, and left the room.
When the door closed, she began to read the letter.
"Dear Princess Celestia,
I write to you in what may be urgent, or what may be a simple blunder by on of my subordinates.
As the Captain probably told you, the team I had deployed to keep an eye on the mischievousness Discord has reported to have seen no sign of him anywhere. When this happened, they told me immediately, and I sent them to ask around the major areas of Equestria.
They reported back with the same results.
So, either our mismatched friend really has disappeared, or my team has made a mistake.
Either way, I thought I'd let you know.
Sincerely,
High Chairman Dusty Scroll"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE'S MISSING?!?" ah, the Royal Canterlot voice. Celestia had thought that Luna had finally stopped using it. Oh well.
"It may have been a simple mistake by Dusty Scroll's team," she replied, reminding her sister of the High Chairman's words.
"A simple mistake? That is not a simple mistake, sister. How can you misplace a large draconequus?"
"Even if he is missing, he hasn't caused any harm,"
"That we know of,"
"Didn't Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, bring him to our side? I was there when he told me himself-"
"Celestia!" Luna interrupted her sister, mild anger in her eyes. "Stop defending him! Do you not remember what he did?"
The elder alicorn's eyes took on an air of offense. "Luna. I have never defended him. I am pointing out simple truths and facts. Why treat Discord as a prisoner when he is willingly on our side now? If we search for him now, it will look to him as if we are trying to take him by force,"
"But we should! He is not to be trusted!"
"Let me repeat myself. He is willingly on our side. Any ill-will towards him may entice him to attack Equestria in an act of self defense, or in a belief that it was a challenge or provocation,"
The younger sister snorted. "Sister, are you afraid?"
"For the safety of my little ponies? For my sister's safety? For the safety of all those I love? Yes, Luna. I am afraid,"
"Equestria is peaceful, yet strong. Or do you forget? The Elements are more powerful than ever since they made their way to their embodiments, and Twilight is a new alicorn! It may not seem like it at times, but we have a lot of fire power on our side"
"Discord is not a being to challenge with shear force, and you know that. He is more cunning than a fox, and craftier than any thing we know of. His imagination is unmatched, and can make it come to life at will! He is chaos, and Equestria is a country of harmony,"
"All the more reason he shouldn't be welcome here,"
Silence. She may as well have just lost the argument. She'd contradicted herself some how, and Luna was quick to point it out.
"Three months," the younger sister suddenly said.
"...what?"
"Three months for him to show up. If he doesn't by then, I'm taking the military and the Night Guard with me on a hunt. We will find him, and give him two choices; to live in the palace so we can keep a watchful eye on him, or to be banished from Equestria forever,"
Celestia remained silent. Technically, Luna was allowed to do this. They were equal in political power, or at least they were supposed to be. She would have to agree to the terms, as she couldn't command her sister like this.
She nodded to her sister, "He will turn up," she told the younger alicorn, more of a hopeful sentiment than a statement.
"I hope he does, for your sake," she replied, coldness dripping from her words. She stalked away, probably off to bed.
Celestia sighed. She doesn't understand...
She trotted to her chambers to think. Was Luna right? Or was it really better to leave Discord be?
Discord...
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
She would see what would happen at the end of three months.