//------------------------------// // Entry Forty-Eight // Story: Diary of an Aspiring Tyrant // by SugarPesticide //------------------------------// November 5, 1000 ANM How troubled I am, troubled above all ponies! Truly this has been a calamitous day, even if all has resolved itself by the darkest hour. Let me regale these events to my future readers, that they may share in my worry. I was strolling about the palace, still perturbed at Cheerilee’s permissiveness, when something squeaked underhoof. Upon looking to the source of the noise, I found a stray Rubbercute, which had apparently been left lying about. “Truly this is an unusual occurrence,” I said to myself. “What sort of pony could abandon one of these things? Nevertheless, it is not mine to reckon with, so I shall let it be.” Saying such, I continued on my way. As I walked on, an odd scent reached my nostrils. This puzzled me, for why would the chefs be making chocolate at that hour? Eventually I came upon Sister Dearest, who stared out a window at the hedge maze. I approached without hesitating, for who am I to fear love my sister? “Ah, the maze,” I said. “Truly an unruly thing, even when trimmed by our finest gardeners. I was within its confines the other day, when I came across—” “Luna.” Her voice was not loud, but it carried an edge like steel. “We have much to fear.” “And why is that, Celestia?” “He has returned.” “Alas! Such trials and tribulations befall us on this promising season! O the woes of our people the ponies, that they should suffer such terror!” I paused, considering this. “Though to be sure, your use of the pronoun is not illuminating. Which ‘he’ do you refer to? We have encountered many foes in the past. Or do you mean something that arose during Nightmare Moon’s banishment?” “No, he is from a far older time.” She looked to me, eyes alight with worry. “Discord is free.” “Discord?!” I looked upon the maze with new understanding. “We must act, sister. It is our duty to halt his machinations, regardless of previous events. Or do you not remember his reign of terror and chocolate?” “I remember all too well. But this is out of our hooves, because we can’t use the one weapon that’s effective against him. He has stolen them, however, so I’ve sent the Bearers to confront him.” I thought of Twilight. “He will not suffer them to oppose him long.” “It’s our only chance.” “We cannot simply stand here and watch!” “What would you have me do, Luna?” Her voice quivered. It was brief, nearly inaudible, but it was there. “What would you have me do against him?” And for once in my life, I had no answer. “Mom? Auntie Luna?” Mi Amore Cadenza peeked into the room. “Do you have any idea what’s doing all this? A palm tree just burst into my room … upside-down, from a cloud.” She joined us at the window. “This is all very random.” “The situation has become most dire, my niece. A fiend who ruled before your birth has disgraced us with his presence once again.” She looked between the two of us, back and forth. “Shouldn’t we do something about it? Whatever it is?” “We can’t hope to oppose him without the Elements.” Sister Dearest turned to her daughter. “Cadence, you must hide. He is a terrible being, to whom all creatures are puppets. And the strings are in his hands … He must not get to you.” “Why?” She frowned. “Can’t we at least delay him, and distract him from the Element Bearers while they do …” A glance out the window. “... whatever they’re doing?” “Clearly, you’ve never heard of being in two places at once.” “Your mother is right,” I agreed. “Mi Amore Cadenza, if you stay—” “Luna.” Sister Dearest’s tone held the urgency of forced calm. “I didn’t say those words.” I looked to her. She looked to me. With dawning realization, we looked up. “It’s about time you noticed, princesses. I was beginning to think you were having far too much fun trying to be subdued while you panic.” He peered down at us as he swung from the chandelier. With uncanny smoothness, he uncoiled himself and slithered down. “It’s almost like I don’t have to lift a finger to help.” “We have no need of your ‘help’,” I said, stepping before my family to face him with wings outspread. “What have you done with the Elements? Destroyed them in your infinite repulsiveness?” “Now, Luna, you know better than that. There’s balance to everything, even I’ll admit that. Destroying the Elements for the sake of chaos would be as ridiculous as destroying the sun for the sake of the moon … Oh, wait.” My teeth ground together. “They’ll find them, never fear. Whether they’ll be in a state to use them is another matter entirely.” His eyes slid over Sister Dearest and settled on my niece. “Oh, hello.” “You’re Discord.” She swallowed. “I’ve heard of you.” “You’ve heard of me?” He guffawed, twisting backwards and around in hilarity. My bolt of energy splashed harmlessly against him, dissolving into flecks of paint. “Only that? My, Celestia, I didn’t know you had such pettiness in you!” He was suddenly in Mi Amore Cadenza’s face, fang bared in a grin. “Aren’t you precious.” Mi Amore Cadenza practically skipped back. Sister Dearest’s voice could have cut diamond. “Don’t touch her.” “Don’t worry your little head, Celestia. I won’t hurt a hair on her head.” He cast her a sideways look. “And I won’t harm the rest of her, either. You really have no faith in me, do you? So untrusting for a pony.” “Cadence,” my sister said, not taking her eyes off the abomination. “Get out of here. Hide somewhere, anywhere, please—” “You named her Cadence?” He snickered. “Forget petty, Celestia. You’re nothing short of spiteful.” His grin widened. “I love it.” Mi Amore Cadenza glanced back and forth. “Mom? What’s he talking about?” “Ah, I’m glad you asked!” His fingers twisted, and suddenly they were clasping a bouquet of purple roses. “You see, thousands of years ago—” Whether I moved first, or whether it was Sister Dearest who surged forward before me, I cannot remember. What I do know is that our horns shone with intense light, enough to set my eyes watering, and the air around that creature flashed in vivid gold and blue … “So touchy.” His breath was warm against my ear. “What you need to do, Luna, is think a little, and remember what you fear.” The scene dissolved around me. A vast expanse of silver-white stretched all around, pocked with craters and shimmering with dust, reaching out into a circle of an impossibly lonely horizon. I stared into a sky full of stars, while the blue-green marble of the planet hung above me like a fruit just out of reach. I was running. My hooves — my armored hooves — clattered against the lifeless rock, where I lay also, motionless and miles deep. There was a great snarling, generated by something fueled by the utmost hatred, and only when I drew a deep breath did I realize that it was me. “Celestia!” I bellowed. I could feel her gaze upon me, even across the vast gulf of space. I knew, I knew, that she was basking in the glory that should rightfully be mine. “You will know sorrow, sister! You will know agony! You will know the unrelenting onslaught of fear!” The reader, I am sure, will understand if I refrain from going into further detail. Suffice it to say that I relived the darkest chapter of my life, flooded with rage and thirsty for revenge. I must admit that I could not remember my release, or any of the events since. It was as if such things had never happened, and I was trapped on my namesake for time and eternity, with no creature to keep me company save for the cold light of distant suns. I had just seen the corona of the sun, growing around the earth like a deathly halo as a mass of flames rushed toward the hapless planet, when it all faded away. My scream of dismay trailed off into an articulation of confusion, and I looked around the very ordinary hall of the palace, gaping as the memories of freedom rushed back to me. When I looked down, ice was spreading beneath my daintily shoed hooves, and I swept it away in a hurry, not daring to look closer and see if it was sullied with moondust. “Mother?” Blueblood was leaning in, prodding me. “Can you hear me?” I almost succeeded in keeping my voice steady. “But of course.” I shook myself free of the ghost of the cold. “Where is Discord? Have you seen him?” “He just left.” His eyes roamed about the hall, as if he expected that spirit to leap out again at any moment. “Celebrating his victory in Ponyville, apparently. Mother, what are we to do? Even with my darkest powers, I can’t so much as touch him.” I glanced at the curved tip of his horn. “You must calm yourself, my son.” “He said the Elements wouldn’t work for the Bearers anymore. Maybe you and Auntie Celestia can wield them again?” “I believe that to be unlikely. Nevertheless, it seems there is no other choice. Celestia must come with me, and we can …” I looked about the room. Besides a squirming mountain of chairs on the carpet, and my listless niece sprawled beneath the window, there was nothing out of the ordinary. “Where is she?” I approached the pretty pink princess, who did not respond as my shadow fell across her. “Has she left her daughter to bemoan life?” Blueblood stared at his cousin for the first time. “What … what’s wrong with her?” He lifted her hoof, but when he let it go it flopped uselessly to the floor again. “Did he do something to her?” “Physically, she appears ordinary. It seems more likely that Discord told her a terrible secret, one that Celestia could no longer keep.” “And what secret is that?” “It is not my place to say. It will suffice things to remark that he, in his sadistic glee, would have been quick to exploit it.” We stood there, as if guarding Mi Amore Cadenza from further harm. I looked out the window, feeling a faint suggestion of terror as a pair of pink fluffy bunnies stalked by on giraffe legs. Where could Sister Dearest have gone? It was at that moment when a great explosion rocked the land. To my wondering eyes appeared a wave of color from the south, which washed across the sky in a pulse of healing light. My heart leapt as Discord’s creations, one by one, reverted to their ordinary state as the power of harmony touched them, and the world itself was righted in the calming settlement of the natural order. “Did they do it?” Blueblood pressed his nose to the glass. “Yes, it’s fixed! The gardener isn’t a hedge anymore! The Bearers won after all!” A noise alerted me to the presence of others. The mountain of chairs, too, was restored to its original state as a squad of the Royal Guard. They blinked in confusion, and their leader rubbed his head as he looked to me. “Captain!” I exclaimed. “Send your ponies to make sure all is well. As for you, kindly linger here with Blueblood and keep watch over Mi Amore Cadenza.” He looked puzzled at this, but nevertheless approached to stand watch over my niece. Though her expression had not changed after the healing of the world, her eyes seemed a little brighter, as if Discord’s influence had touched deeper than her ears and was now wiped from existence. With my spirits lifting, I teleported to Sister Dearest’s chambers. Having not set hoof in that place before, I will admit to a little distraction at the new setting. The decor was of cooler colors than I would have expected, though a cushion bearing the shape of the sun was nestled before the empty fireplace. At the window she stood. I joined her, and we gazed down at Canterlot as the madness of chaos was replaced with the harmony of order. Common ponies peered from their homes, not quite daring to believe that even he messes had vanished. In the sky raced a pegasus, chasing after the distant progress of the magic of harmony. “I burned them.” Sister Dearest’s voice was low. “That seems unlikely. They are clearly alive and well.” “Not our ponies. Never our ponies.” I heard a hint of a smile in her voice as she fondly regarded them. “I’m talking about my weakness.” “What do you mean?” “You were taken by madness. Cadence was informed of what I’ve hidden from her for so long, and she broke under the strain. But me? He did nothing to me.” Her eyes tightened. “Well, I suppose that’s not entirely true. He made me watch as he tormented my family, knowing very well that I couldn’t stop him.” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t apologize. Only he is to blame. But in that moment, there was no light to be seen in the darkness. My student had failed, my sister and daughter had succumbed, and my powers were nothing to his. So I came here, hoping that one of Twilight’s letters on friendship would provide an answer. But the more I looked, the less I found, for what good would a lesson of honesty do against the Spirit of Chaos?” She sighed. “I grew angry. In my rage, I burned the letters, though now I realize they weren’t destroyed. Spike must have gotten them, and Twilight … well, reading is as good a passion as any.” “I do not see the reason for your concern. All was saved in the end.” “That is true.” She seemed distant, though I was close enough to feel her warmth. “That is true.” She must have considered the triumph of harmony then. As for me, I thought of the fury of the sun behind her gentle eyes, and pondered on the futility of my course.