CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
AND NOW WE PLAY…
1
He wanted to laugh. Already he knew he should have been doing so. The situation practically begged for such giddiness. So why would it not come?
During her decent down (or at least what Discord could say he saw before she fell out of view) Fluttershy had said not a word, nor a single sound in protest; only the faint intake of air by his unforeseen forceful touch. Compared to her timid whimper, the shattering of the glass behind her nearly shrieked into the night. It all should have caused him to roll on the floor in-between painful bouts of guffaws. Yet the only thing he felt like doing then was cleaning his up mess.
“But I almost forgot…” he said to the dark, empty room.
He brought up his fingers to snap before rethinking the idea. He still had time. At least another minute. “With all those stairs…”
Leisurely he paced around the circular room, completely enraptured all over again by each beautiful mural. It was one of his favorite stories: how good had overcome evil, all with the power of love. He thought it would go down in history. Rather, he would make it go down in history.
A moment later he reached the last window of his display, and the colorful story came to a close.
The draconequus stopped to view the final panel—him on a large throne, a number of smaller caricature ponies all exclaiming in his direction; an immense sun outlining the consolidated piece. Such hard work, he thought. Such very hard work.
And now disrespectful ponies were trying to pull it all down.
Throughout it all he had known there would be some resistance to his rule… but something like this? He had never thought it would come this far. He also didn’t like what it had been doing to himself.
“I think I must still be changing…” he told no one at all.
As much as he liked to shield himself from unwanted answers by blaming those closest to him instead, Discord couldn’t help but feel that some things were bizarrely beyond his choosing. He had started out as a being of chaos and fun—intriguing games and the subtle ability to play others off one another. Now what had he become? He had set fire to an old friend’s home, uncaring should someone be inside. He had just physically pushed the most gentle of creatures out of a window with no wings to her credit. Sure, he was nearly certain one of her friends waiting below would catch her before she found the pavement. But what if they didn’t? What if they moved and were too late? Even you didn’t watch to see what happened to her, he thought dismally. Even you couldn’t care what her fate may be.
More and more he was sounding like some King he had done away with a long time ago. More and more he was changing despite his best efforts. He could have kept this much quieter than it had been, but he hadn’t. He could have asked forgiveness and probably seen it granted, but he only scoffed at such a notion. He had played each piece on his board with swift accuracy, including himself. And now he was starting to break his own pieces. With his own hands…
In the dark he held both hands out to view—hands that had potentially just killed someone. Both he curled into fists.
“What’s really the difference between a ‘Lord’ and a ‘King’?” he asked. And although no one was around to give him such a thing, he knew the answer already.
I’ve become the villain, he thought casually, and we all know what happens to villains in the end. But maybe that would be all right this time. This final time.
Yet he knew he still had a role to play.
Pulling away some flexible fur he glimpsed his watch. She would just about be reaching the bottom now, given a few stumbles for good measure. He snapped his fingers.
The blue unicorn that had been hiding down the stairs flashed into the room. She was still in mid-sprint and nearly crashed into the wall just ahead. With panicked eyes she came to a halt. Since he’d last seen her she’d put on a costume and hat. “No, no, no, please no…” she mumbled incessantly. Quickly she eyed the stairs and made for them. One step before traveling down, Discord snapped his fingers, sending the pony back a good dozen paces. Each time he did, she only galloped for the stairs once more.
She’s energetic, he thought, before remembering just how effective fear could be on a pony.
Growing tired of her struggles, he snapped her into the crook of one arm, where she tried desperately to hide under her overlarge hat. “Hello there,” he said gently. “I recall you, but I can’t quite remember your name. Though I remember it was a long one. And I’m guessing by these little stars and such on your cape, it had something to do with magic. Am I getting warmer?”
The unicorn only dug deeper into her silky attire.
“I’m afraid that kind of attitude won’t let you leave here tonight. It’s just a question, my dear.”
From somewhere far in the bundle of her fabric, the pony whispered, “Trixie,” before hitching in a shaky breath.
Discord felt something pulsate on his temple. “Trixie what?”
“Trixie… Lulamoon.”
“No. Not that name, your other name. Tell me. Now.”
“The Great and… Powerful Trixie.” She barely got to the end before he heard some raspiness enter her voice.
“That’s better. Now with that out of the way, I can tell you my name. Discord. Although everyone seems to call me ‘Lord’ Discord nowadays. Either or, that doesn’t matter. You did something very silly today, Great and Powerful Trixie. You joined sides with an attempted murderer. And now you’re in the gentle grasp of another attempted murderer. Your life choices are not panning out, Trixie of the Great and Powerful variety.” He leaned in close to the small mound of purple and stars. He whispered, “You never should have helped Twilight Sparkle, my dear. Only bad things can come of it.”
The draconequus began to stroll again. “But let’s not have a little detail as that ruin such a wonderful night. Let’s go look at the stars! They must be your favorite.”
Without another word he carried her towards the newly created hole in the room.
2
“You were all fools to come here!”
That was the only thing Princess Luna had said before she darted away in the direction of the castle. By that sudden sound in the night, all heads had turned at once, only to watch that motionless yellow and pink shape fall alongside a river of glass. But none of those heads had reacted as fast as they should have. Only Luna. And if she hadn’t arrived at that last minute…
“You should have told me what you were planning on doing, Twilight,” Luna said, as she angrily circled one of the bedrooms in Twilight’s old castle. On the dusty bedspread perched the purple alicorn, head bowed, her eyes still shinning with tears. “It was reckless, it was naïve, and more than anything it was foolish. Do you not understand what kind of creature we are dealing with?”
Even through two sets of closed doors, Twilight could not help but hear Fluttershy crying a few rooms over. The shards of glass that had accompanied her fall had only scratched her back in a couple of spots, but it was everything else involved that made the tears keep on coming. Once a few miles away from Canterlot, her wings had been returned to her. Whether it was by Discord’s doing or because she was now out of his magical range, was anyone’s guess.
“I’m sorry, Luna. I know now how dumb it all was.” She was speaking more to the large pillow she kept clenched to her stomach than to the Princess. “But… I guess I—like Fluttershy—thought maybe there was still a part of him that was savable. I wanted to believe that. But now…”
Luna stopped her stride. “Now you see the error of your ways. And now your friends are being made the ones to suffer.” She approached her. “This is not the same fight from a decade ago, Twilight. Things are much worse than before. You and I? We are already too far in this to back away. But your friends? They stand to lose too much. It would be unkind to keep them here. This shouldn’t need to be their burden.”
Twilight nodded into her pillow; a mix of emotions coursing through the alicorn all at once. For such an academic, she had never felt as moronic as then. For such a fearless fighter, she had never wanted to run and hide as bad. But some things had to be pushed through, no matter the consequences.
She told her softly, “Okay. I’ll talk to them.”
3
Each pair of eyes that stared at her looked weary and strained. That smidgen of hopefulness she’d glimpsed earlier—perhaps when the liveliest thing of the day was that new piece of jewelry created by Rarity—had all but faded from their eyes. A terrible reality had seeped in. A terrible truth that she never should have let them see.
“I’m sorry, girls,” Twilight said weakly, “but it was a mistake in bringing you here. And only now do I realize just how selfish of me it was to get you involved.” She stared in the direction of the room’s closed doors. A few minutes prior Fluttershy had fallen asleep, and everyone had been more than happy by the news. Twilight would tell her later what she needed to hear. She had earned her rest. Even though she knew such nastiness as what had just happened to her could never fully be erased from her mind. “All of you will return to your homes in the morning, and Luna and I will deal with Discord. In whatever way that proves doing.”
Each of the four shuffled uncomfortably. Rarity was the first to speak. “We… I know things didn’t go exactly to plan tonight, but… but that doesn’t mean we need to give up on it. We’re still a team, Twilight. We’ve always stuck by one another, even under the worst of circumstances.”
Twilight shot back, “Can you name me a worse circumstance than this? When one of us almost died trying to stand up to evil?”
Rarity shied away. “Well… I mean…”
Twilight shook her head. “You all just don’t get it. Discord won’t just rain on your parade anymore; he’ll kill you this time. I have nothing left to lose. He’s already taken everything from me. And no matter what I say, Luna will be there to fight Discord with me. He took away her only family and that’s all she cares about. She and I are too involved in this, you all… you can still walk away from this. And that’s what’s going to happen.”
At the head of the table Rainbow Dash loudly pushed her chair out to stand. She huffed from her nose and glared at the alicorn. “You say that you have nothing left to lose, Twilight? You say that Discord only affected you?” Her eyes began to shimmer. “He took away the only thing I was good at, Twilight. Because he brought Sombra back—because of him—I’ll never be able to fly again. I’ll never be able to teach; I’ll never be able to touch a single cloud again; I’ll never even be able to fly with my own kids, ever! So don’t you dare tell me that you were the only one that’s lost something from all this! I… what’s left for me now? If I go down trying to defeat Discord, I have no problem with it. What else is there for me? Tell me, Twilight. Tell me.”
Twilight meet her eyes and didn’t look away. She owed her friend that much. Emotionlessly she said, “You still have your family, Rainbow. And they’ll always need you.” She regarded the rest. “I’m taking the decision away from you. Either you leave tomorrow by your own accord, or Luna and I will teleport you back ourselves. No one else is getting hurt by Discord. Not while I’m still alive.”
4
It had been raining for close to an hour now, soaking her cape and hat right through and turning the streets into muddy trenches, but neither of those things had she noticed. The cold wind against her damp fabric caused her teeth to chatter incessantly, but that was another thing she couldn’t be bothered with at the time. Since leaving Canterlot, only a few things remained fixed in her head. One of those was the small chat she had had with the draconequus outside. A chat she thought she would remember forever.
“You’re missing out, my dear. It’s such a breathtaking night out tonight!” He had spoken sweetly, pleasantly. But it was close to the same voice he held while he spoke with the yellow pegasus from before, before shoving her out a window. And considering she had been one of his favorites, she hadn’t held out much hope.
Deeply wrapped in her cloak, she had wanted to say, “That’s okay. I’m fine. Maybe inside would be nicer?” Instead she only whimpered and held onto his arm with all four legs as tightly as she could.
“Nonsense. I won’t allow it.”
With a single snap Trixie found herself standing on the tip of Discord’s tail, hovering several hundred feet in the air. She saw the window they must have exited from, each shard of jagged glass creating a type of jaw in the frame. It was too far to jump towards, she knew. Way too far.
When he had snapped his fingers he had also corrected her garments, allowing her to view the giant moon and the billions of twinkling white dots scattered in all directions.
He smiled. “Isn’t it lovely? I think so. So that makes it so.” He took notice of her hesitation. “Worried about the height? Don’t worry, your good pal Discord’s got you! For now…” His long face swam closer to hers. “You’re a magician, aren’t you? You do tricks for a living. Do you like your job of performing?”
Trixie nodded in silence.
“I’m glad. We should all pursue activities that interest us. But here’s the problem, my little unicorn. In about sixty seconds, I’m going to be letting go of you. And it’ll be up to you whether you want to keep your horn, or try on a new pair of wings. Aren’t unicorns supposed to be fast learners? I hope so, for your sake.” He curved his neck around her quivering body. “Or do you plan on trying that teleportation spell again? The one that worked so well from before? Although it might be a little trickier this time, trying to cast magic while falling to the ground.”
He returned his head to his body and crossed both arms. “You have forty seconds left. Think carefully.”
And she had. And still she wondered if it was the right decision after all, even if it saved her regardless. But could the other option have done the same? It was a question she would ponder for the rest of her days.
5
By their own accord her friends had left only a few hours prior. Both Luna and Twilight watched them leave, when not a word was said between them. Pinkie Pie and Applejack supported Fluttershy and said they would look after her until things settled down. From just her expression, Twilight thought Fluttershy was more than a little relieved to be walking away from it all. She couldn’t help but feel jealous.
Once it was just the two of them, Luna said to her, “I will meet you in Canterlot tonight. Whether you think of a new plan or not, you will not halt me further. Far too much time has passed already—and each hour that goes by becomes just another insult to my late sister. She deserves better… and she will get it. Tonight.”
Awkwardly she embraced the younger alicorn, unaccustomed to such affection. “Life has not been fair to you, Twilight Sparkle. And for that I am truly sorry. But this is too big to ignore any longer. Some things are simply bigger than ourselves. Goodbye for now.”
In a wash of light Luna vanished from the room, leaving Twilight close to alone for the first time in a while (Spike was still around, but that was something that never changed). She found it was an odd feeling to return to.
Knock. Knock.
A small knock on the door.
Twilight approached cautiously, mentally preparing herself to reprimand whichever of her friends had decided to return to try and join the fight once more. She almost wished it could have gone that way.
“Hello Twilight,” said the wet and doer magician at her door.
“Oh Trixie…” Twilight almost moaned.
Less than two minutes later Spike and Twilight had fixed Trixie with some soup and placed her in front of the fire in their meeting room. On a small hill of cushions she sat, absently eating what had been set on her hooves, all the while watching the roaring fire toasting her blank face.
Twilight approached. “Let us dry off those clothes for you. They’re practically soaked through.”
“Please don’t, Twilight. I like them just fine.”
“But, you might catch cold, and…”—had Trixie just said I instead of her name?—“…what’s happened to you? What happened in that tower?”
“A lot of things, Twilight,” Trixie answered numbly. “A lot of things I don’t want to talk about. He gave me a choice, and I made it. Was it the right one? I don’t really know.” Steadily she removed her hat and Twilight couldn’t help but take a step back. Trixie’s horn had been removed, and only now did she fully notice the two narrow lumps along her back, hiding under her soaked cape. “He gave me wings, Twilight. So I could fly away. I made it to the ground all right—it only hurt a bit. But now what do I have? A magician without a horn… I sound more like some bad comedian than anything.”
Twilight could only shake her head. “Trixie, I’m so sorry. I… can’t imagine. After Fluttershy was thrown from the building we were all just scrambling for answers. We all thought you had escaped or run off sometime before… since Fluttershy had been cast away like that.”
Trixie was still hypnotized by the dancing flames. “I tried, Twilight. I really did. But Discord’s too powerful to trick. Or even misdirect. We were stupid to go against him. I was stupid for coming along. And now I don’t even know what to do with myself anymore.” Finally she turned to her, eyes spilling out. “You can’t beat him, Twilight. He’s already taken so much from me… I don’t want him to take anymore. Please don’t try, Twilight. There’s no use.”
Twilight approached the crestfallen magician and wrapped her in both forelegs. Once there, Trixie wept into her neck. Twilight whispered, “When I defeat him, I will get your horn back. That I promise you. But defeating him is still something that needs to be done, no matter how hard it might be. I’m sorry, Trixie. I’m sorry for a lot of things.”
6
Once she entered her home it was only a matter of seconds before Soarin came to greet her. From the look on her face after he’d backed away from their abrupt kiss, he knew her latest adventure might not have worked quite the same as previous ones. While the kids were still tuckered out from that afternoon’s mini-flight lesson, they spoke softly in the bedroom.
“What happened, Rainbow?” he asked once they both were seated on the edge of the bed. “You don’t look like someone who’s just won some victory. Didn’t your other friends show up?”
Before Rainbow Dash bluntly departed from their home in light of some grievous news, she had filled Soarin in with the broadest of details. Evil had returned. It needed to be stopped. And only with her five other friends could it be done. With that much said she left, perhaps expecting something a lot more adventurous and a lot less grim. Things had changed, she thought. And now I don’t think things will ever be the same.
Rainbow huffed at the hair dangling over her eyes. “They did. Every one of them did. And in the end it didn’t matter anyways. There was nothing we could do this time to save anyone. The threats still out there and I don’t even know if it’ll be stopped this time. Twilight sent us away and now plans to fight it with just Luna by her side. She’s… trying to protect us—keep us out of harm’s way. But no matter what kind of spin she puts on it, it all adds up to the same thing.” She viewed the floor, somehow finding it more engaging than the invested eyes of her husband. “We were useless. I was useless. With or without wings I still couldn’t do anything. I wasn’t a help to anyone… just as I thought I might be. What happened to me? How did I turn into this?”
Soarin rose and with a hoof brought her head up. His expression wasn’t one of sympathy, as much as she had expected it. “I’m sick of this, Rainbow. This has been going on for too long. You can’t keep pitying yourself when you’re feeling down. That’s not the reason I married you, and it wasn’t the fact that you could fly, either. I married you for you and I love you for you. That’ll never change. But what is changing is the very nature of you, and I hate to see it happen. Don’t you understand, Rainbow? That even after all this time—in all your successes and failures—you’ll always have the ponies who care about you most. You’ll always have me, you’ll always have the kids, and considering each of your friends came to this doomsday event you barely touched on, I’m pretty sure you could count on them, too.”
Rainbow was about to speak when he planted a kiss on her lips. After a few seconds of gruff annoyance, she went with it and felt that tight ball around her heart loosen considerably.
Once apart, Soarin told her, “As long as you don’t let the good and the bad change who you are deep down inside, nothing can affect you, Rainbow. You do what you can, and you go on to better yourself. Everyday. In whatever way possible.”
He gave her a second to chew it over, and then left to check on the kids. Rainbow didn’t want him to leave, but couldn’t stop him if she wanted to. She felt too warm at that moment to possibly interject. So instead she just spread out on the bed, trying desperately to hold onto the beautiful fact that Soarin loved her more than she even used to love herself.
Only a few seconds later did a letter slide out from their fireplace.
7
Princess Luna took in as much of the day as she could. She felt tired and weary, angry and desperate, but if this was to be her last day in Equestria, she should at least give it one final glimpse before saying goodnight.
Along a deserted path she walked, between tall trees and under thin branches. Her territory had always been the night, with every one of its misgivings—rarely had she ever honestly stopped and contemplated just what went on during the day. All the things her sister had created. All the things that remained even after she had left.
I will do this for you, Celestia, she told herself. Your murderer will no longer go unpunished.
For the past few days she had traveled to all parts Equestria, all except for Canterlot. She had never announced herself, but rather strolled along as if in a dream. She had much experience in dreams, so she had traveled with grace. But once again in the public view of others, it was the oddest of things she had found. Unlike what the usurper Discord had led her to believe, most ponies did not hold harsh judgment against her. Quite a few even embraced her while she watched her sister’s gorgeous world continue to turn.
“We’re glad to have you back, Princess,” a young mare had told her just on the street, after beaming her bright smile at her. “You might have been gone but you were always in our hearts.”
Luna had never been one to surmise the emotions of others readily, so before going on she simply patted the mare on the head. Only a few streets over did she have close to the same encounter, this time with a whole herd that had been told of her return. Many kind words were shared; for the first time, many small fillies were introduced to the Princess of the Moon; and, as much as Luna tried to shy away from them, many hugs were received.
“We’re so sorry for your loss.”
“Celestia’s presence will always live on.”
“You were strong to come back. Welcome home, Princess!”
When she noticed the thick of ponies surrounding her had not been thinning but instead thickening, she shouted her exit and flew upwards, an entire sea of hooves waving her off. It had never been like that before, she noted. Never had she felt such warmth from her subjects. Before she had been nothing but a Princess in a family of monarchs, but now she was a part of their world—a part they seemed to want in that world. It had been enough to make her eyes water. Before, that was, she remembered exactly why they felt as they did.
Discord’s lie, she thought as she walked in her woods. The biggest lie—the gentlest of lies. Celestia might have liked this world he had made, but that didn’t make this right.
“Does it?” she asked the bright sun up above.
8
On the flight over, Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how Spike would exit that room should she perish in the night. When his protests had extended further and further in the deplorable search of some out of sight solution, Twilight had shamefully asked him into one of the downstairs rooms, where she then locked the door before teleporting out. Although he might not want to break the wooden door right away, she knew he would should the situation became desperate. There was also a window he could break, if that was to his liking. And with any more luck, she might be the one to let him out of there herself.
Yet she didn’t think that would be the case. Not this time.
In the pitch black of night she glided among the clouds, dipping a random hoof into their wispy bodies. She had never been the biggest fan of flight, but if this were to be the last time she would, then she’d better enjoy every last moment of everything.
“And before it even begins, it all ends…”
Already Canterlot was in sight. Already she felt like turning around and doing the route once more, stalling for one last break along this horrible quest. It wouldn’t do, though. She came here to finish it. And she would. She only hoped what she took from Fluttershy’s brief conversation with Discord actually held merit. It might be their only chance of categorically winning the day. If it was a straight on fight between the three of them, he could as easily just snap the pair into the middle of some volcano. But that was never the type of game he liked to play. Discord never liked the easy victory.
Or that was what she was counting on.
A dozen steps before the bridge she landed; the same spot on that miserable night some time ago where she first heard about the state of her poor brother. Already Luna was there, once more gazing at her city—her castle, her home, her very own Empire. She didn’t turn when she landed beside her.
“Good evening, Twilight,” she said absently. “I hope you have prepared yourself for this.”
Twilight nodded. “As much as I could, Luna. But Discord has a way of subjugating much preparation. The last plan I had almost got a friend killed.”
“Then you must be prepared for that as well. Death is waiting for someone tonight. Be it him or us or all three, I cannot say. But this is it. I will not be impeded any longer.”
Twilight looked away from her and to the sleepy city ahead. Now all that remained was for the monster to appear, as they knew he would.
“Show yourself, Discord!” Luna yelled. “Let us put an end to this!”
A quiet laugh filled the scene. From behind a thin pole did the draconequus slither from, draped in shadows and with the faintest of grins. Somehow, he looked far more tired than usual. “Hello, ladies,” he greeted. “Have you come to turn me into stone after all? Oh wait. You’d need the Elements of Harmony for that. Plus you’d need your other five friends, too.” He scratched his chin. “Or is that only four now? I kinda’ missed out on Fluttershy’s landing. Was it graceful? Naw. I guess that’s not really her style, is it?”
Twilight’s jaw tightened. “What’s happened to you?” She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to do a lot of things to him. And yet the stillness of the night made her keep the full extent of her voice at bay. “How could you do this? How can you keep on doing this? Fluttershy was your friend! When no one else wanted to be, she still was! And for her efforts you tried to kill her!” She took in a hurried breath. “You’ve turned into such a monster, Discord! The worst kind—the kind that doesn’t even realize what their doing to others. We never should have tried to reason with you—you’re beyond reasoning. You’re beyond saving. If you die tonight you should know you brought this on yourself. And if I die then I’ll be glad it was in the face of such evil. Because that’s what you’ve become, Discord: evil. And there’s not a single way to twist it anymore. No lies to cover what you’ve done. You’re evil… and your time has come.”
His original grin had faded since she began. Only with simple understanding did he view her, a creature seemingly out of wrath to give. Or was that only to keep their defenses down?
“When you’re right, you’re right, Twilight,” he said slowly. “We can’t keep going like this. I know we can’t. But what did you expect to happen here? That I would just give up and surrender? What can you actually do to me, Princesses? You are out of options!”
Luna turned to face Twilight. In just that short glimpse she knew it would be now or never. If Twilight had thought of some new plan, then she would need to unveil it now. Otherwise Luna would strike, and the end would come in haste.
Twilight took a step onto the bridge. “I want to play a game, Discord.”
The draconequus raised a single brow. “Sorry, pony, but it seems I left all my board-games in the castle.”
The alicorn shook her head. “No. A bigger game. Winner takes all.”
Now it was Discord’s turn to step forward, his thin neck lowering to be on the same level as her. “Go on.”
“You mentioned to Fluttershy about the first time we met, in the maze. She said you had fun; that you enjoyed it. Well… I want to play another one. But this time just the three of us. If Luna and I can make it out of your game, you’ll promise to go away forever. If we should lose, then you can banish us or kill us both. It doesn’t matter. The choice is yours.”
A grin found his lips again. “And why would I even bother, Twilight? I hold all the cards now. I have everything and you have nothing. I could kill you both tonight and Equestria would be better for it. Even you must see that.”
“It probably would,” Twilight admitted, “but for how long would it stay like that? Before you’d find some new way of ruining it all over again? Admit it, Discord. You like a challenge. You like games. That’s all this thing’s been up until now, hasn’t it? Just a game. So why don’t you keep playing? Why don’t you put us in your game?”
Discord looked virtually sour. “You think you know me so well…”
“I don’t. But I know what’s in your nature. And I don’t think you could say no to something like this.”
For a very long moment Discord’s mismatched eyes floated from one mare to the next. His breathing became labored and he appeared almost ready to pounce. When one eye started to twitch he spun around and Twilight readied herself as best she could. Still with his back to them he said angrily, “One hour. At the entrance to the maze. If I were you, I’d take that time to say goodbye to everything you hold dear, for when you both lose at my game, you will never glimpse Equestria again.”
With a quick snap he vanished from the bridge.
Luna turned to her. “Are you sure this is wise, Twilight? Discord will never play a straight game with us.”
Twilight lowered her head. “I know, Princess. But I think the only way of defeating him is by playing at his own game.”