Like all good endings, it started from the beginning, gradually leading up to its eventual course in a full circle. Or, at least that’s how Celestia liked to think of it, right before her head was nearly taken off her shoulders.
She ducked down and rolled to the side, narrowly missing the strike from her opponent, who was quick to attack her once again. Discord grinned, collecting his chaotic energies in both hands before releasing them in a beam that scarcely grazed Celestia’s back. The dastardly draconequus growled, his terribly mismatched face peeling back into a snarl as he launched another attack at her with his gryphon talon.
“Luna, I am in need of some assistance here!” Celestia called out, backpedaling rapidly to avoid dismemberment from Discord’s lightning-fast lunges.
Luna needed no further prompting. Her horn flared, and she flickered away in a burst of light, only to reappear between Discord and Celestia, both of her forelegs grappling onto Discord’s paws. Luna let out a grunt as she used the draconequus as a support, and lifted her back legs off the ground. She kicked out with both hind legs, catching Discord square in the chest and pushing herself off of him.
As the draconequus went flying back several yards from the impact before falling to the ground, Luna landed beside her winded sister. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” Celestia drew in some quick breaths, shaking her head slightly. “But my magic has no effect on him. He completely decimated the guards protecting the castle, and even now, nothing I hit him with does anything that can put him down.” Celestia arched a brow at the fallen Discord, who was struggling to his feet. “Though your methods prove to be more effective.”
Luna stood a little taller, giving a ghost of a smile. “A pony’s most powerful weapon is her own body, Celestia. You’d do well to remember that.” She flexed her wings, and rolled her neck. “Though I am a bit surprised… I don’t remember him ever being this resistant to magic. Or that durable against physical attacks.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the recovering draconequus. “Something is different about him.”
“I cannot make heads or tails of it. He simply got stronger since we last encountered him. It’s as though he just suddenly became this strong. No magic. No spell. Just… simply being himself.” She looked to Celestia. “We need to use the Elements…”
“Luna, we don’t even know what they’d do to him.” Celestia closed her eyes. “You promised me we’d try to talk him out of it first. I know you’re probably right, dear sister, but please, he deserves a chance just like anyone else.”
“He lost that chance the moment he threatened to flood the land in cottage cheese, sister!” Luna snapped. “I…” She sighed. “Celestia, I know you… still care for him. But we must look at the larger picture. If we do not do something about this quickly, we will all pay for it.” She gestured to Discord with a hoof. “You’ve seen what good talking to him has done already.” She turned her attention fully to the draconequus and spoke. “Discord. We will give you one final warning. Cease with this madness at once, or we shall be forced to stop you by whatever means necessary, and I can assure that they will not be pleasant.” Her eyes narrowed. “Make your choice.”
Discord slowly tilted his head to the side, the smile on his lips growing into a leer as his head continued its course, twisting far more than any natural creature could. Soon his head was upside down entirely, and he laughed as it continued to move; there was no snap of bone, no rending of flesh as his head continued, finally bringing itself upright again, as if a clock had fully run the course of an hour. Again and again it turned, another circuit, the princesses grimacing at the grotesque sight of his neck bending in on itself like a helix of flesh and blood, every revolution pressing the curves of flesh tighter and tighter before, suddenly, some sort of limit was reached, his neck unwinding as his head turned to little more than a brown and gold blur, split in half by a Cheshire grin that spun like the hands of a clock gone mad. As his head popped back into place, he cackled madly.
“I choose… Option K!” he proclaimed. His arm stretched out, his lion’s paw gripping Luna’s neck in just a second’s time. “Can you guess what the K stands for? Let me give you a hint!” Discord’s arm snapped back, then forward, propelling Luna into the throne room's floor. Luna’s body cut marble chunks the size of watermelons as she tumbled across the floor, leaving a trail of shattered masonry in her wake until she finally slid to a halt, terribly still.
Celestia let out a feeble cry, all the breath gone from her lungs at the sight of her fallen sister. She instantly teleported to Luna’s side, holding her bruised and battered body gingerly in her hooves. Luna made no indication of noticing her presence, so cold and still Celestia couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.
“Luna! Luna! Please… dear sister, wake up.” A tear slid down Celestia’s cheek, falling silently on Luna’s forehead. No other sound could be heard in the throne room. Not Celestia’s quiet crying, nor the beat of Luna’s heart. However, the silence was finally broken when Discord started walking forward, the thump of his feet across the floor causing a spike of dread to pierce Celestia’s heart over and over again.
“Now for Option D! Oh boy, this is my most favorite one yet!” Discord cheered. He clapped his hands together, his face twisted into a malicious grin, like that of a child right before they set fire to a new toy just to see how amazing the flames are. Because, in the end, that’s all he was, and Celestia knew this. A child playing with his toys. A puppeteer pulling the strings. And once he was done with her and Luna, there’d be no stopping him from playing with everypony in Equestria.
It was in this moment of fear and helplessness though, that Celestia suddenly noticed things. Discord’s torso was open for a quick strike. Were he to counter, she could leap to his left or right and deliver a traumatic blow to the side of his head.
Without even knowing entirely what she was seeing, visions of various scenarios involving her engaging the draconequus flashed through her mind. She suddenly had a clear idea of what to do, but no idea of knowing how she knew. It was almost as if…
Celestia gazed at Luna.
“Luna…?”
Silence. Then…
“He’s open, Celestia. I… am not in a state to engage him directly. Let me guide you. This time, you shall be the sword. I will be your shield.”
A feeling washed over Celestia. She suddenly felt a presence dwelling within her. A familiar one. Her fear slowly faded, being replaced with steel determination. No longer was she by herself, for Luna’s battle-hardened soul was now one with her.
Celestia took a deep breath, and looked to Discord. “That was the last pony that you shall harm, Discord.”
Discord giggled. “Who? Discord? He’s left the building. It is I, Discord, who remains,” he said, pronouncing his name now with an embellished Trottingham accent.
“I’ve had enough of your games!” Celestia screamed, rising quickly to her hooves. She leapt through the air like quicksilver, diving directly at Discord’s chest with the speed and ferocity of a lightning strike. However, the minute she struck him, two inky black hands reached out and grabbed her neck.
The coldness struck Celestia so hard it felt like her soul was being turned into icicles. All she could do was remain there, stunned, her body turning into a frozen statue.
Discord put his hands behind his back and hummed under his breath, completely indifferent to the new appendages that had sprouted out from his chest. “Enough of the games? But my dear, we’re just getting started. That’s Option G, after all! We play, I win, you lose, and the entire game starts over again. Oh, it’ll be so much fun. We can keep on playing it forever and ever without end! Which is what Option F was going to be on the second revision, if you’re catching my drift.”
The hands dipped in darkness turned her around, forcing Celestia to gaze blankly at her sister’s battered body. “Now, here’s a fun beginner’s game,” Discord whispered into her ear, the same empty coldness from the hands gripping her traveling from Discord’s voice. “I’m going to kill your sister. You try and stop me. Simple enough, right? All you need to do is say ‘stop’ and you win.” Discord took a step forward. “Say it anytime you want, my dear.”
Celestia couldn’t even open her mouth. Her lips were glued together. Her lungs were empty of air. She didn’t even have the strength to utter a single letter, much less word. Even screaming was too far gone from all. All she could do was watch helplessly as Discord approached her defenseless baby sister, each painfully slow step bringing him closer and closer.
“Really now, Celestia, you can’t even say one word to save your own flesh and blood? Are you seriously just that selfish? Does Luna mean nothing to you?” Discord barked out a laugh, his voice but an echo of the original. “Well, pretty soon, she’s going to be nothing once I’m done with her, now won’t she?”
Celestia struggled. One word. One simple word.
“Sister… I’m here. Please, don’t give in! We can stop him, but you need to work with me!”
Celestia’s eyes struggled to stay open. She glanced at her baby sister. She looked down upon Luna’s face. One of Luna’s eyes opened, just barely. The two sisters looked to each other.
“I believe in you, Celestia… but you must believe in yourself as well! I know it’s within you. I’ve seen that fire burn within you hundreds of times!” A phantom warmth began to spread in Celestia’s chest. “Don’t let that flame die, sister! Fight! If not for me, then for yourself! For Equestria, and for the future generations that are depending on us!” The fire began to grow, the warmth slowly rising in temperature. “Fight, Celestia!”
Celestia’s mouth jaw slowly opened and closed. She kept her gaze on Luna, the warmth in her body continuing to drive away the coldness.
“St…”
The fire was beginning to surge into her limbs. She could feel her heartbeat begin to pick up. The chilling hand of death began to loosen its hold of her.
“St-stah…”
All at once, and without any warning, the flame within Celestia exploded.
“STOP!”
A surge of magic coursed through her body, releasing itself from her in a violent shockwave. The impact of the magical force caused Discord to let go of Celestia and slide back a few feet, but he was, somehow, unharmed.
“Oh no, you won the game,” Discord said, disappointment dripping from his words like a leaky kitchen sink. Tutting under his breath, he shrugged. “Oh well, time to start a new one, I suppose.” A black flame sprouted in his hand, expunging all the light out of the room until only Discord’s glowing red eyes remained the only light source. “This one is simple. Try to stay alive. You can already guess what happens if you lose!”
Discord prepared to throw the flame at Luna, Celestia too far away to stop it.
The darkness laughed.