//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Battle for the Crown 
// by Cloperella 
//------------------------------//


Battle for the Crown

        Miles below the grounds of the illustrious city of Canterlot, a lone cave mouse scurried through the corridors, scavenging for any trace of food left on the floor. Most ponies would have found themselves lost in such darkness, without any light to reflect off of the smooth surface of the gemstone walls. But hundreds of years of evolution had created rodents who could see their way around these halls as clear as day. Food was scarce in the abandoned caves, but the little rodent found a possible source of nourishment when it happened upon a group of cockroaches scurrying the grounds. The mouse had hunched down and was moments from pouncing on its prey, when a glimmer of light began to form from the corner of his eye. The rodent and roaches alike fled the vicinity in fear of this new source of light, composed of three different hues: one of purple, one of blue, and one of brilliant gold, each borne by a different alicorn princess.
        “This is uncanny, Tia.” The azure alicorn commented as she examined the gem walls reflecting their light. “I was not even aware such caves existed.”
        “Nor was I, Luna.” The largest of the three responded. She looked down at the small purple alicorn leading them from the front. “What did you say these caves were used for again, Twilight?”
        “Gem mining.” Twilight Sparkle responded with an eager smile. “When Chrysalis imprisoned me here, she boasted about how greedy unicorns used the caves to mine precious gems for their own gain long ago.”
        “I see; how strange that their discovery didn’t cause inflation in Equestrian currency.”
        Luna turned her gaze towards her sister. “Perhaps these ponies were smart, and took their treasure to a faraway nation to live out their days in luxury.”
        “Well, hopefully none of them were foalish to cross over the southeast ocean.” Celestia replied with a smirk. “Otherwise, they and their hoard might have ended up as lunch for a hungry dragon.” The two alicorn sisters chuckled amongst themselves as Twilight smiled sheepishly. 
        “Thank you for coming down with me. When Cadance and I were trapped here, all I wanted to do was escape and save my brother. But after he and Equestria were saved, I started to wonder more about it, enough so that I wanted to come back and do some investigating for myself.”
        “It’s no trouble at all.” Celestia replied. “As a new princess, it would do well for you to explore parts of Canterlot even Luna and I are unfamiliar with.”
        Luna flicked her star-filled mane back as she stepped forward. “Tis a shame that you could not have found a less musty place to explore, Twilight.”
        The trio reached the end of the corrider, and found themselves at the foot of an expansive opening that reached far upwards and outwards. Twilight’s eyes widened in excitement at the sight of the sparkling walls that seemed to stretch on forever. They could spend all day poking around this place, and still have so many secrets that would remain undiscovered. 
        When Twilight’s gaze descended, she noticed a small ledge on an elevated platform from where they stood with an odd pattern of gems that stuck out more roughly than the rest of the walls. Rearing her hindlegs back, Twilight flared her wings as she prepared to take flight. 
        “Careful Twilight.” Celestia advised her student.
        “Oh, don’t worry princess. I’ve gotten a lot better at flying lately.” Twilight jumped off of the ledge and flapped her wings once, twice, and then began to lose air as she descended back towards the floor with a proper face plant. “Ow!” Twilight rubbed her forehead embarrassedly, not even bothering to look at the princesses behind her who exchanged painful winces towards each other. “I’m okay…” Twilight resounded, picking herself up and flapping her wings with more concentration this time. She finally touched down on the elevated platform and pulled her wings back in above her flank. The two other alicorns promptly followed her and touched down immediately behind Twilight as she stepped forward and touched the crystals jutting out of the wall. 
        Tapping her hoof to the surface, the object gave out a dull thud. She continued to tap against the surface all the way down towards the smooth wall, where she heard a different sound, a thud even deeper than before. She compared the two taps, and deduced that the irregular crystals were hollow, and had possibly been crafted there by other ponies, or whatever creatures might have dwelled in these parts. 
        “Stand back, you two.” Twilight warned as she lifted her head and concentrated her magic into her horn. Celestia and Luna each raised a wing to shield themselves, while Twilight fired a blast of magical energy onto the jutting crystals, making them shatter and blow away to the lower level below them. The three princesses coughed as a mess of crystalized dust blew past their faces. Once the debris had cleared, Twilight looked at the wall and noticed a small hole near the floor of the platform they stood on. Crouching down, she noticed the hole would be just big enough for her to squeeze under. 
        “This is so exciting!” Twilight said with shimmering eyes as she looked at the tiny hole.  She looked back at Celestia and Luna behind her. “Who knows what we might find if we follow-! Oh…” Twilight took note of their size difference and clenched her teeth.
        “That seems a bit small for me and my sister.” Luna declared. “But that should not stop you from sating your desire for knowledge, should it?”
        “You be careful Twilight.” Celestia offered. “If you find yourself in trouble, you scream out immediately; we will find another way to reach you.”
        “Thank you princess. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Twilight turned her head back towards the small opening, and crawled forward carefully. She had to keep her head tucked into her shoulders and her hindlegs stretched out to slide on her belly, lest she risk getting stuck on her way. After crawling for several minutes, Twilight saw the edges of the crawlspace fan out, and she pulled herself through the other side and into a new room, with the same walls of gem, but with a smaller space than what she and her mentors had walked through. To the side of her peripheral vision, she saw something with a bright golden glimmer. Stepping towards the brightness, she saw that there was a crystal stand affixed to the wall, bearing an object that was the source of the shimmering she had noticed before. Twilight was awestruck at what she saw: there lay a large golden crown, resembling the appearance of her element of magic before it had transformed after obtaining her princess body. However it was larger, and lacked the twinkling star at the top that her own had, and had a ring of bright golden leaves affixed in a ring to sit atop the wearers head. 
        “What… is this…?” Twilight asked aloud as she marveled at the golden crown in front of her.
        “Twilight?” Celestia’s voice was barely audible through the hole she had crawled through. “Twilight, can you hear me?”
        Twilight pranced over to the crawlspace. “I’m alright!” She called loudly. “I’m coming back right now!” Illuminating her horn, Twilight hovered the crown off of its stand and levitated it behind her rump as she ducked down and inched forward back through the tight space. She would have levitated it in front, had it not obstructed her sight as she crawled forward; besides, she wanted to surprise the princesses on the other side with her new discovery. She eventually saw the two faces of Luna and Celestia at the end of the space as she pulled herself towards them. Once she was close enough, the two backed up and gave her enough room to stand. 
        “Phew, thank goodness you’re alright.” Celestia sighed.
        “I haven’t been gone that long, have I?” Twilight asked.
        “No, but I’m not comfortable with us being separated in an unfamiliar place. Just because the miners abandoned it doesn’t mean some undesirable creatures haven’t crawled in to take their place.”
        Luna trotted up to Twilight’s side. “Was whatever you found on the other side worth getting your coat all dirty?”
        Twilight looked down at her forelegs and down her barrel, and noticed that she was indeed covered with moisture and dirt from her crawling. She shook her body to rid herself of the filth that clung to her until she was mostly clean. “I’ll say it was!” she retorted, using her magic to lift up what she had left at the head of the crawl space. The beautiful golden crown levitated between the two sisters, and the two of them looked upon the headpiece with their jaws seemingly unhinged. “Ta-da!” Twilight exclaimed with triumph in her voice. All too soon, Luna’s gaze turned to one of an accusing frown, and Celestia averted her eyes, biting her lip in worry. Feeling dismayed, Twilight dropped the crown to the floor and nervously glanced between the two princesses in front of her. 
        “What an interesting find, Twilight.” Luna spoke in a bitter tone as she looked at the crown. She then turned her gaze towards her sister, who was still avoiding eye contact with the other two alicorns. “In fact, it looks familiar. Have you seen it before, Celestia?”
        Celestia turned her eyes towards her sister only a moment before she looked away. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Yes, Luna. I have seen it before. I know what it is.”
        “Oh, do go on sister! Tell us what you know about this beautiful little gem Twilight has found.”
        Celestia looked from her sister, still glaring fiercely at her, and to Twilight whose eyes nervously danced back and forth between the two sisters with her teeth clenched in worry.
        “Very well.” Celestia replied, steeling herself and walking towards them. “But not here. We will need to return to the castle before I explain anything.” Celestia lowered her head so that her horn was on Twilight’s level, and Luna begrudgingly did the same. Twilight held the crown in her teeth, and cautiously touched her horn against the other two, and Celestia generated her magic between the three of them. A white aura overcame the trio, and a bright flash resounded through the cave. The ponies that were once there had vanished, without a trace of their existence ever being there. 



        Another magical pop, and the three princesses found themselves on solid ground once again. When Celestia and Luna raised their heads, Twilight looked at her surroundings and realized they were not at the majestic gleaming castle that she had spent her time as a filly in under Celestia’s tutelage. This place was dark and musty, with only the light from the afternoon sun gleaming in through the shattered windows.
        “Princess, this isn’t the castle…” Twilight remarked, after placing the crown gently on the floor.
        “Yes it is, Twilight.” Celestia responded as she looked about the walls covered in cobwebs. “It is our castle… the first one we have ever known.” Hearing Celestia’s words, Twilight noticed a familiar stand at the end of the room they stood in, and it finally clicked that she knew this place as well. It was the same castle that Twilight had discovered the elements of harmony, and formed her bond with her five best friends in all of Equestria. “Luna and I called this place our home when we were children. We laughed, and played, and cried, and did so many things together in these walls, up until…” Celestia’s words trailed off as she looked towards the floor.
        “Up until my heart was overcome with jealousy.” Luna continued flatly, causing Celestia and Twilight to look towards her. “I was taken over by Nightmare Moon, and you were forced to take action.” There was no resentment in Luna’s explanation of past events; she stated them as if she were an instructor on Equestrian history.
        Celestia turned her head and walked towards the platform that Nightmare Moon had stood on when she had been overcome by the elements of harmony on that night. She looked up at the large window that had lost all of the glass that had filled it. Closing her eyes, a soft bright glow appeared over her horn, as tiny pieces began to hover off of the ground and reconstruct the mural that had once been there before. 
        “We did not live in this castle by ourselves though.” Celestia explained as she continued to repair the broken window.  “We did not create this world, nor were we placed here fully grown and ready to govern an entire nation. We were born as tiny helpless foals, I first, and then my sister some time later.” The bottom portion of the window mostly fixed, and a crudely drawn image of two small alicorns could be seen, one dark with a small cobalt mane that hung to her shoulders. Twilight recognized her hairstyle as the same Luna had when she had been purged of Nightmare Moon’s control. Parallel to her was a white alicorn of a similar size, and a mane of identical style and color. The two alicorns stood atop a hill, watching a large gathering of ponies playing beneath them.
        “There was another alicorn who lived with us.” She continued, a smile appearing on her face as she reminisced over warm memories of her past. “She was the one who bore us, sheltered us, and raised us to be the best princesses we could be. She never had a name, as far as we ever knew of her.” Celestia’s construction of the mural finally came to completion as she reached the top of the frame. The sun outside shined through the colored glass, illuminating the head of a white pony with a grayish tint and a brown mane, who towered over everything in the picture with a warm and loving smile on her face. “We simply knew her as ‘mom’.”
        Twilight stared in awe at the beauty of the face of this new alicorn she had just learned of. The knowledge that Celestia, the pony she had looked to as a source for infinite wisdom for most of her childhood and even her adult life had a mother shook her to her core. 
        “Our mother was a wonderful pony.” Luna explained, with a tender smile on her face. “She was kind and generous. She spoiled us on days we were good, with wondrous goodies and trips to far off lands and sights that filled us with wonder at their beauty. But she was also strong and valiant. She was ready to stand up for this nation at a moment’s notice, never once hesitant for her own safety. The security of Equestria and ourselves was her top priority. Equestria could not have asked for a better queen.”
        At hearing the word queen, Twilight noticed at the top of the brown haired alicorn’s head was a large golden crown. She gasped and looked back at the crown she had placed on the floor, and realized that they were identical. 
        “This is… your mother’s crown?” she asked in astonishment. The smile that the two sisters wore suddenly faded. After a long pause, the two alicorns of the day and night looked towards each other again intensely. 
        “Some time when we were still young, our mother was taken from us.” Luna continued, as Celestia turned about and began to walk towards them again. “Hardly transcripts of her rule are recorded in the Equestrian archives. I had believed that there was no trace of her to be found, and that her legacy would be lost forever.” Luna eyed the floor, and the golden crown that rested across from her. “But now I have seen for myself that I was mistaken. Is there anything you would care to explain, sister?”
        Wearing a face of determination, Celestia took a deep breath before she spoke. “I found the crown sometime after she was gone. I knew that I should have held onto it, that it needed a bearer to take the mantle once again. But… I panicked. I hailed one of my guards to take it, and arrange for it to be hidden so that I would never know where it resided.”
        Luna’s eyes widened in anger. “You told me that it was lost.” Despite the anger in her voice, Luna was able to keep her voice in check.
        “I said that it was lost to me, Luna. And that is the truth; I never knew of the gem mining caves below the city. I can only assume that my guard had known of the place before the greedy unicorns had discovered them.” 
        “And why exactly did you hide it, sister? Why did you keep this from me?”
        “I was afraid. You and I both admired our mother, and we often dreamed of becoming the queen of Equestria ourselves one day. But unlike being a princess, there can be only one queen to a nation…”
        “You thought the crown would cause a rift between us, because we would not be able to agree which of us was entitled to it, didn’t you?” Celestia remained silent at Luna’s inquiry. “That was selfish. You realize that, don’t you? How dare you make that decision all on your own. She was my mother too, Celestia, I am every bit as entitled to decide the fate of that crown as you are!” Luna was shouting at this point, keeping herself composed enough to keep from slipping into her royal Canterlot voice. “Equestria needs a queen, sister. The kingdom has been incomplete for far too long.”
        “Fine then.” Celestia replied curtly. She used her magic to envelop the crown and raise it off of the ground. “If it is so important to you, then I shall accept this crown, and inherit the legacy of-“ 
        “Excuse me?” Luna  interrupted, her own magical aura overtaking half of Celestia’s. “Did I not just say that the fate of this crown is not solely yours to decide?”
        “Are you suggesting that you should be the rightful heir, Luna?” Celestia argued, strengthening her magical hold.
        “I am saying that because we are both her daughters, it is at least up for debate.” Luna sustained, matching her sisters hold.
        “I am the eldest daughter. I have had more experience in this nation, therefore I am more qualified to be its proprietary ruler.”
        “Being older doesn’t make a world of difference, sister.”
        “Let go of the crown, Luna.”
        “You let go, Celestia!”
        “Both of you let go!” A smaller voice screamed out, as a purple orb surrounded the crown and broke the hold that the two squabbling princesses had on it. The crown began to hover away from them, and towards the youngest princess in the room, the purple alicorn who stood looking between them with gritted teeth and teary eyes. “I am not going to sit here and watch my two elders bicker over something I would have been better off not finding at all. A thousand years have split you two apart, but after you reunited, your bond has been stronger than ever, hasn’t it? You two are better than this!” Celestia and Luna looked away from Twilight and to each other again, both of them looking ashamed of themselves. “I am going to hold onto this crown until you two work something out. No more fighting.”
        An ominous silence hung at the room. None of the princesses uttered a word for several minutes. Luna was the first to break the stillness.
        “Do you remember what mother said…” Luna began, her voice just above a whisper. “When things began to get bad? The day before she was taken?”
        Celestia looked her sister in the eyes, and nodded. “I remember. She said that being a queen and being a mother is essentially the same thing. That any trial that is presented to you should be overcome with compassion, discussion, and agreement. But…”
        “But, if your opposition cannot come to an agreement…” Luna continued. “Then you must fight to protect what you love.” The two sisters locked eyes as Luna finished. “I believe I am capable of ruling this nation just as much as you are, sister. And I am prepared to fight for what I believe is right. Are you?”
        “I do not wish to fight you, little sister-“
        “Nor I you. But I will do what I believe is best for Equestria. If you cannot say the same, then I do not see how you can bear the responsibility of that crown.”
        “Your mind is made up then?” Celestia asked, walking closer to Luna, and towering over her. “I cannot persuade you otherwise?”
        “If you believe yourself more capable than me, then you will need to prove it for yourself. “
        “So be it. In three days’ time we shall duel each other for the crown of our mother, and the right to preside over Equestria as the queen it deserves.”
        “Agreed.” Luna and Celestia each lifted a foreleg and bumped it forcefully against the one across from them, drawing a gasp from Twilight as she watched them settle on the idea of combat. “We should return to Canterlot so that we can properly discuss the terms of our battle.”
        “Come on Twilight. It’s time to go.” Celestia bowed her head and touched her horn with Luna’s, and began to draw her magic as Twilight scampered towards them and connected just in time to teleport out of the ruins of the castle along with them.



         Just outside of Celestia’s throne room, Twilight Sparkle paced at the bottom of the stairs, two royal guards posted on each rail of the steps. Every few minutes, Twilight would stop pacing and nibble at the toe of her hoof, unable to hide the anxiety building within her. After several minutes of agonizing worry, the doors were finally opened, and the princesses of the sun and moon stepped through, both wearing faces of stone. Twilight hurriedly pranced towards them.
        “What did you two decide on?”
        Celestia levitated a parchment with golden lining between them, and held it in front of Luna’s face. Luna eyed her sister and swayed her hoof, urging her to read it. Celestia shrugged and took a breath before she read. 
        “In three days time, Her Majesty of Equestria Princess Celestia, and Her Majesty of Equestria Princess Luna, will engage in combat over the right to crown that once belonged to their mother, as well as the title of Royal Majesty Queen of Equestria.” She read, as if practicing reading for an audience. Twilight winced at the announcement, any remaining hope that the issue could be resolved peacefully crushed in an instant. “The battle shall take place in the center of the region known as the Foal Mountains. There will be a small gathering of witnesses to this event: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and her husband Captain Shining Armor. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic, as well as the other five Elements of Harmony, including and limited to Applejack of Honesty, Rainbow Dash of Loyalty, Rarity of Generosity, Fluttershy of Kindness, and Pinkie Pie of Laughter.”
        “And Spike.” Twilight interrupted Celestia, and the two princesses looked at her sternly, causing her to pull her head into her shoulders. Celestia looked down at Luna, and the darker alicorn nodded her head, lifting another quill and scribbling across the parchment. “As well as Princess Twilight Sparkle’s faithful assistant, Spike the dragon. The mare who yields, begs for mercy, or loses consciousness first will forfeit, and her opponent will be declared the winner of the competition. This document has been forged and signed by Princess Luna and myself, and requires witnesses- that would be you Twilight, as well as these guards- to sign their names as well.” The document turned itself towards Twilight, whose eyes quickly poured over the transcript and seeing that it matched what Celestia had said aloud verbatim. She used her own magic to sign the document, after which it was immediately passed to the guards on either side of the staircase who quickly signed it as well. 
        “With the presentation and signing of this document complete, the battle will take place in three days’ time.” Celestia presided, rolling the scroll up and tying a ribbon around the middle.  “Combatants may prepare in any way they see fit, excluding unnatural magical or supplemental aids. Twilight…” Celestia passed the scroll to the smaller alicorn who looked up to her with a worried expression. “We shall need you to look after this document for us. You are to be the sole proprietor  over this competition. Is that understood?” Twilight nodded her head grimly. “Very well.”
        “Celestia…” Luna began, her older sister turning her head to look back at her. “I think it may be in our best interests to avoid each other’s presence until the day of our battle.”
        “I think that would be wise, Luna.” Celestia replied with a stone expression.
        Luna tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “May the best mare win.” She said out loud, before turning away and leaving the other two alicorns in her wake. 
        With Luna gone, Celestia drew a deep breath and offered a reassuring smile towards her student. “My apologies dear; this day hasn’t turned out like you planned at all has it?” Twilight said nothing, and kept her eyes to the floor. “How would you like to spend some time in my bedchambers, and share a pot of tea with me, so we can let the stress of this whole thing blow over. Doesn’t that sound nice?” She asked, extending her large white wing and holding Twilight’s chin up.
        Twilight looked up at her mentor longingly. Her suggestion apparently did sound wonderful to her, but she closed her eyes and stepped away from her teacher’s embrace. “If you and Luna aren’t going to be seeing each other until… until the day that you fight,” Twilight said uneasily. “Then I think it would be best for me to do the same.”
        Celestia’s smile faltered at Twilight’s suggestion. “Why would you do that?”
        “Because you are both equally important to me, and I am equally against the both of you for coming to this decision. I am not going to show any favor to either side of this squabble.”
        “Twilight, please; you’re still most likely anxious about what has happened today. If you could take a moment to calm-!”
        “My mind is already made up.” Twilight interrupted, before turning away from her. “I am returning to the library in Ponyville. Please don’t try to contact me unless it’s dire.” Twilight began to draw energy into her purple horn as a magical wind overcame her. She turned her head just for a second, then steeled herself from taking one last look at her mentor. “Goodbye, Celestia.” She uttered before vanishing into thin air.
        Celestia looked at the point where Twilight had just vanished, her eyes glistening. Shutting her lids, she took in a breath with her voice raising a pitch as she inhaled. When she opened her eyes again, her face wore a look of cold determination. She turned about and stepped into her throne room, the large doors shutting behind her, and leaving the large hallway empty save for the two guards on either side of the entrance. 




        A beam of blue energy soared into the sky, passing right over Princess Celestia’s head. Another ray rushed towards her, which she avoided by jumping to the side, followed by another which she had to roll to avoid. Quickly climbing to her hooves, a rapid assault of energy began to fire at her, forcing her to sprint at a high speed away from. The assault moved in front of her, and Celestia skidded to a stop, before jumping into the air and taking flight. The rapid fire continued to trail her as she twirled through the sky to avoid being hit, zig-zagging to and fro in quick succession. Celestia looked down just in time to see a massive collection of scattered shots racing towards her, and she jerked her body in multiple directions to just barely avoid each one. Once the volley had passed, all was calm and no more beams of magic tore through the clouds at her. Celestia looked around the sky for anymore unseen bolts racing towards her before she concluded that the attack had truly ceased. 
        “Why did you stop?” Celestia called, looking down below her. 
A young alicorn with a violet and rose mane stepped forward and flicked her hair as she looked up at Celestia. “Because, you said I was to keep shooting until I hit you.”
“Cadance, I don’t have a scratch on me.”
“I’m pretty sure your hair was a little longer when we first started.” 
Celestia looked at her shimmering mane wafting from her head, and saw that at the very end of her shining hair there were in fact a few frayed and singed marks. Rolling her eyes, she conjured a bit of magic in her horn, and the burnt ends of her hair healed and resumed their previous majesty in her mane. “Fine then; good hit.”
“Are you alright, Celestia?”
“I’m fine.” Celestia replied hastily. Looking at her niece, Cadance wore a rather worried look as she stared at the older alicorn. “Well, maybe not so fine. I’m nervous. I feel like I’ve slowed down over my time ruling this nation. I’ve grown soft.”
“But you’ve been doing great so far.” Cadance encouraged.
“I need to be better. Luna’s most likely pushing herself even harder. Being her older sister, she sees me as a challenge she needs to overcome. She doesn’t know that ruling by myself for a thousand years has dulled my abilities from what they used to be.”
Cadance stepped towards her aunt and placed her neck underneath hers, drawing her head up above her shoulder in a hug. “You’re really determined to win this, aren’t you?”
“I have to Cadance. You know what’s at stake don’t you?” Cadance nodded her head. “Then you know why I have to win. It’s for her own good.”
“Do you really think that she wouldn’t make a good queen?” Cadance asked. 
“On the contrary; I think she would make a great queen. I’ve seen what Twilight has taught her, and how she has blossomed to be a firm yet kind ruler alongside me. She is every bit as capable of bearing the crown as I am.”
“Then… why are you so desperate to keep it from her? Cadance asked. 
Celestia sat back and looked up at the bright sky, and followed the sun which had only just begun its descent towards the horizon. “What happened when Chrysalis invaded Canterlot? Who was the first one that fell victim to her after she revealed herself? I did. I was overpowered and strung upside down in my own throne room, while Luna was off somewhere else. If she were to take a position higher than mine, that would shift the focus of a future attack on her. I couldn’t bare to have her face that kind of danger.”
“But it’s okay for you to be in peril yourself?” Cadance asked.
“I promised mother that I would look after her. She’s my responsibility, and I would rather myself be in that kind of danger over worrying about her.” Celestia rose to her hooves and tilted her head from side to side, stretching out her slender neck. “Let’s start again.” Cadance stepped away and retook her previous position as she began to conjure magic within her horn, and Celestia lowered her head, taking a ready stance as she stared her niece down. 


	
Beneath the black midnight sky, Princess Luna stood at the center of a deserted plain, with nopony else surrounding her. With her eyes closed, she channeled her blue magical aura to the tip of her horn. She grit her teeth together and her face twisted as if she were in pain. She opened her blue eyes for a moment as she cried out, a a shimmering replica of them appeared just to the side of her head. The new set of eyes began to poke out as an identical head to Luna’s jutted out of her neck. The new head pulled further and further away from her until a body matching its original took form, joined at the hip as it took on its form, until it pulled away and ripped from its joint, the physical tear healing between both bodies. Princess Luna looked to the side to gaze at what had just spawned from her with a stone-like grimace on her face, her new double returning the same expression. 
At once, the two princesses hunched down and sprung towards each other, Luna herself throwing a foreleg out to swipe at her opponent, while her double jumped to the side and spun herself around to counter with a spinning back kick. Luna had to sprawl all four of her legs out and hug the ground just in time to have the hindleg pass over her head. She used the time it took for her double to right herself to bounce off of the ground and ram her head into the chest of her attacker, sending her sprawling back. Bracing her hooves, the double grinned before diving back to her and tackling her to the ground. 
The two foes spun and rolled against the ground, thriving and swiping at each other as they tumbled so fast that it could no longer be certain which Luna was which. One took the offensive and kept her hindlegs sprawled on either side as she brought her forelegs down on her submitted opponent,  who put her own legs up in front of her face in defense. She quickly summoned a protective barrier and knocked her offender far away from herself. With a distance between them, both alicorns lowered their heads and began to build energy in their horns, ready to fire at once another at any moment.
Suddenly, one of the alicorns horns lost its magical flair, and found themselves propelled towards the other princess, struggling against their will as they flailed helplessly in the air. She found herself forced into the side of the other mare, and she began to lose form as she was painfully fused with her opponent, until there was only one singular Luna left standing, no trace of her sparring partner apparent whatsoever. Luna dropped to her knees and panted heavily, exhausted from the recent combat, as well as the energy her spell had taken from her. As she fought for breath, she began to hear a singular clapping noise from behind her.
“Well done, princess! Well done!” A jovial voice encouraged her. Luna turned to see who spoke to her, and saw a tall snakelike figure wrapping his eagle’s claw against his bear paw happily, leaning against a cactus that she didn’t recall being there in the first place.
“Begone dragonequus.” Luna commanded flatly. “We have not requested an audience.”
“Oh come now, I’m not hurting anypony. I’m just admiring the show you’re putting on. It’s a shame you stopped, right when it was getting good too!”
“The doppelganger spell is still not one that comes easily to me. It requires much energy, and that power is drained twice as fast if I’m fighting. Now please leave; I am in no mood to be bothered by your mischief.”
“Hrm, mischief.” Discord chuckled as he snapped his claw and a lounge chair appeared behind him as he lay back with a smoothie in his grasp. “You trust me even less than your sister does. I would hope you’re not as boring as she is.”
“Boring?” Luna scoffed. “Celestia is the one who says that I need to learn to have more fun.”
Discord wore a puzzled expression as he looked at her. “Which Celestia are you talking about?” 
“The same one who thinks that when we are ‘co-rulers’ of a nation, that it means she takes all of the responsibility, and lets me attend to all of the trivial matters of being a princess. The one who wouldn’t dream of letting me take even the smallest bit of real royal power for herself. The one who is so desperate to remain the one in charge that-!” Luna took note of Discord’s stunned expression as he stopped in mid-sip of his drink. Luna composed herself and cleared her throat before she resumed. “We apologize. The subject is still a bit sensitive for us.”
“I getcha. But, if it’s any consolation, I think you’re just as capable of ruling as she is.” Discord vanished along with his chair, and Luna turned her head to see where he had vanished to, before she noticed a looming shadow over her. “After all, it took the both of you to put me away the first time around, didn’t it?” Luna turned around and felt her jaw drop as she saw a giant stone sculpture of she and her older sister taking flight over a downed dragonequus, the two alicorns happily joining their horns together. The real Discord could be found on top of Luna’s horn sporting a beret with a hammer and chisel in his grip, chipping away at a few details to the tip of the shaft. 
Luna turned her eyes to the ground and allowed herself to smile. “This is true…” she mumbled to herself. “Dragonequus, we have decided that you shall stay, on one condition.”
“Oh?” Discord asked as he turned his head up from his work to look at her. “And what would that be?”
“We could use the aid of a most capable sparring partner.”
An ecstatic look came over Discords face as he smiled. “Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Lifting his hammer over his head, he struck the chisel rather forcefully, causing a splinter of a crack to spread throughout the giant statue and crumble in a rather large commotion of marble and dust. Luna shielded her eyes, and once the dust had cleared, looked ahead to see Discord balancing himself on a small tower of marble chunks on his goat’s leg, and adorned in a white martial arts outfit. “Come on then; show me what you have learned.” He uttered, extending his bear arm and beckoning her towards him. 
With an eager smirk, Luna jumped forward with the tip of her horn glowing. Discord leapt from his structure with a flying side kick. The force of his lizard leg clashing against Luna’s sapphire horn produced a burst of magical energy, one so powerful that it expanded and covered everything within the span of a mile in a dazzling and blinding flash.