//------------------------------// // At the Sun's Core // Story: No Elements, No Harmony // by Fret //------------------------------// Discord sat on the grass, not moving a muscle. He continued to stare at the fiery alicorn for a long while, paying no notice to the satisfied smirk spread across her face. He bit his lip, as if he were trying to bite back either a sob or a sentence. Celestia stayed completely silent, unsure how to react to the situation. Discord still kept his mouth shut, then looked at the floor, yet he still couldn’t find any words that he could say. When no one spoke, Twilight suddenly stepped in between the two of them. Solar Flare frowned at the sudden intrusion. “Celestia isn’t like that!” she growled at her. “She’s nothing like you. For all we know, you’re just jealous of the life she has!” The alicorn’s angered expression then turned into a more confused one. “Uhh… how do you even know about her past?” “They got us to speak eventually…” Luna muttered, now laying on crossed hooves. “My side still hurts from where they whipped us.” Twilight gasped. “They whipped you?” she echoed in shock. “Does that surprise you?” the navy alicorn replied flatly. Twilight paused, then shook her head. “From what I’ve seen? No.” She glanced over her shoulder towards Spike, who still lay on the ground. He seemed to have given up trying to break out of the chains, which were still wrapped around his limbs. Celestia followed her former student’s gaze back to Solar Flare. The young princess began to speak again. “Even if what you said was true, it wouldn’t matter. Our Celestia is twenty times better than you could ever be!” The queen scrunched up her muzzle, the flares in her eyes growing more violent in their movements as a low growl rose from her throat. Her horn began to glow, bringing the smaller mare to her level. “Foolish child. We are one and the same.” Celestia tensed at the sight of Twilight caught in her counterpart’s grip. She began to move forward, but the chain clamped around her neck yanked her back in place. “You’re still in your time out,” she heard a deep voice whisper in her ear. “Oh, shut up. You’re not threatening, if that’s what your aim is.” Luna rolled her eyes. Nightmare Moon gave a brief cackle. “Is poor wittle Woona trying to cover up her fear?” The Princess of the Night grit her teeth. “No comment?” “Be quiet…” the smaller alicorn hissed, clenching her teeth and her eyes turning to blue fiery pits. “Otherwise, you may just find yourself unable to take a single gasp of air.” The black alicorn gasped dramatically. “Oh my! I’m absolutely terrified, I really am! Because I have no idea how you’re going to get out of those chains.” She smirked. Celestia flicked her ear turning her attention back toward Solar Flare and Twilight. “A little princess like yourself to go up against me? I am a queen.” The younger alicorn snorted. “Oh dear, you have a higher title than me. I’ve already lost! Somepony find me a white flag, quick!” Almost straight after she finished speaking, Twilight let out a gasp as the magic tightened its grip around her. Twilight attempted to spark up her own horn in preparation to cast her own spell, but Solar Flare was already one step ahead. The golden aura thickened around Twilight’s, preventing the use of her magic. “Put me down!” she exclaimed, only to be ignored. Instead, the alicorn narrowed her eyes, glaring at the smaller alicorn. What was to come next, was beyond Celestia’s knowledge. Next to her, the two versions of her sister carried on with their bickering. “No use in thrashing about… you know very well my strength is greater than yours.” “Mentally? You’re weaker than a piece of straw.” “That doesn’t even make any sense.” “Yes it does.” “No it doesn’t.” The Sun Princess shut her eyes. I can’t take this anymore… Celestia lifted her hooves to her ears, hoping the muffle their bickering. She thought it might have worked, but she was wrong. Even covered, the voices still managed to find her ears. She groaned through clenched teeth. “Do tell me, my little pony! What is the difference between your Princess and myself?” She heard her own voice say with a menacing tone. “Well… aside from the fact that you look like you’ve caught on fire and she looks like a decent mare?” Rarity chimed in. “The first thing that comes to my mind is that she knows how to smile.” Pinkamena said flatly. “Or… y’know… the fact that one’s a queen and one’s a princess,” Rainbow suggested. “What’s the difference? They’re both rulers. Speaking of which - Celestia seems like somepony who actually treats her subjects with respect. I reckon that’s somethin’ you lack.” Applejack scoffed. “Well… um… you could also say that Queen Solar Flare speaks in a pretty mean way… Celestia has a nice, motherly voice. That’s just my opinion though…” Fluttershy whimpered. “...And most of all,” Twilight began, “Princess Celestia has a heart. You don’t, and anypony would be able to tell, even if they were deaf and blind!” Celestia heard Twilight let out a choke, along with, “I’m not a coward. You’re the coward!” “We were the same once, you know!” “Yes, but I’ve changed!” “Perhaps, but have you learned?” “That if I didn’t do what I did, my sister would become a monster?” The white alicorn finally opened her eyes. She saw that Twilight’s friends were trying to reach the lavender alicorn, only to be held back by Solar’s magic. Drops of sweat were visible on Twilight’s forehead, as she strained to get her horn working again, only to fail. Celestia’s magenta eyes widened. No… I won't let you! I won't let myself fail anyone else! She stood up on her hooves. Especially not by my own doing! The alicorn tugged on the chain that was locked around her neck, trying to pull it out of Nightmare Moon’s hold. At first, she failed, swiftly dragged back by Nightmare’s telekinesis. Celestia landed on the floor, only just saving herself from falling flat on her face with her hooves. She managed to stand up, and tapped the black horn with her hoof, causing Nightmare to yelp in surprise. The magic around her chain disappeared as Nightmare rubbed her head where Celestia had hit it, giving the princess a chance to gallop forward, granted, her footing was a little awkward, due to the cuffs that stole her ability to take long strides. Solar Flare, distracted by Twilight and her friends, was completely unaware of her counterpart slamming into her side. The shock made her lose focus on the younger princess, allowing her to break free at last. The fiery mare grunted as she hit the floor, then looked up at the pony who had knocked her to the ground. Celestia gave an aggressive snort, while Solar gave a scoff. “Now, now, Celestia. A regal pony such as yourself wouldn’t do anything violent now, would she?” She narrowed her eyes. “You’d be surprised.” With that, she raised a hoof in the air, just above the blazing alicorn, whose eyes had widened. Celestia was about to slam her hoof down on the mare, causing the queen to gasp, but before the princess could act, something took hold of her hoof, which was still in midair. She blinked, then glanced to see what was holding her limb back; a talon. She reluctantly turned her head, locking eyes with the draconequus. He narrowed his eyes at her. No words were spoken, but she understood the intention. Celestia lowered her hoof, then let out a breath, once she realized she’d been holding it ever since he had stopped her from harming her counterpart. A few moments of silence passed by, with the two immortals staring at each other. The alicorn bit her lip, trying to think of what to say. She didn’t have to though, for Discord spoke first. “Is she right?” Celestia’s ears flattened. “What?” “About you being like her. Is she telling the truth?” The draconequus raised a brow. “Of course she’s not right!” Twilight leaped forward in her mentor’s defense. “Would you like me to go through the list of reasons we mentioned before? Because there’s a lot of them!” Discord didn’t even look at her. “Indeed you did. But how many of them don’t match up with Celestia?” The smaller alicorn tilted her head. “From what I can count? All of them.” He squinted, then locked his fingers together. “What Solar Flare said is true, though. To me; she’s done nothing of use.” He then thrust his face towards Twilight. “You can see her as the most kindest pony in all of Equestria, because she can bear to be kind to you. That’s not true, in my case.” His hands then broke apart from each other, then were clenched into fists. Twilight gave him a pitying look. “That’s not true. Why would she free you if-” “Why do you think it wasn’t her who reformed me in your world?” He interrupted her, his tone becoming more enraged with each word. “It’s just like this world, isn’t it? She can’t possibly deal with me, so she justs throws me into somepony else’s hooves! It’ll all be fine!” He splayed out his limbs in front of him as his actions became more active. “Discord, calm down...” Twilight raised a hoof as a sign for him to settle, but he refused. “Perhaps if I just pretend nothing happened, it’ll be forgotten! Sure, just act like nothing that happened to me matters, because I’ll obviously believe it if she forces it down my throat.” “Discord, I’m finding it hard to follow-” “I’ll be able to live with everything that you ever did to me, because only one of us cares about it. And as long as you’re the one not caring, it’s fine! Because you’re the pony princess everyone loves, everyone looks up to-” “Shut up!” Finally, Celestia found her words. Both Discord and Twilight clamped their mouths shut at how loud she had yelled. The alicorn took a step towards the chaos embodiment, who was now fully facing her. “For once in your pitiful life, shut up!” she spat, her eyes replaced with piercing magenta slits. Twilight froze, shocked at her mentor’s outburst, Discord however remained unfazed. “You really think that’s all there is to me? That I just abandoned you and forgot that anything happened?” She gritted her teeth, doing her best to control her anger. “You really believe that I don’t regret imprisoning you? Leaving you to the wayside? That I don’t wish our roles had been different?” She flickered her ear as she heard her sister call out, “Celestia, that’s not true! You don’t have to be....” “Don’t Luna!” Celestia cut her off. “It doesn’t matter whether we had to become enemies or not. It happened, and I can’t change it!” Discord gave a snort. “And just whose fault was it that we became enemies in the first place?” Twilight’s ears were flat against her head as she stared at the two in shock. Never before had she seen Celestia in such a state. The closest she had ever seen her come to this was back when… Discord returned. Celestia blinked once. Twice. Three times. Only the fourth time did she figure out her vision was being blurred by tears. She felt a hoof touch her leg; she knew it was her student. “Please, Princess… don’t cry. It’s not your fault! It’s-” “Then whose fault is it?” she cried. “This isn’t even our universe-” “Everything happened the same!” the white mare retorted. “All of this would’ve happened if the Elements didn’t exist! Solar Flare’s right, Twilight. We’re one in the same.” She turned her back on all those around her, not wanting to face anyone. --- Quiet sobs were heard from the alicorn, to Twilight’s dismay. Seeing her former mentor like this saddened her to the brink of tearing up, she wasn’t really sure how she managed to keep herself from echoing Celestia’s sobs. “Twilight?” She heard Rainbow call. “What.... what exactly is going on?” “Yeah… I haven’t the slightest clue to what’s happenin’ right now,” Applejack echoed. She took a deep breath, then spun around to meet Solar Flare, who had stood back up on her hooves. “If I could request one thing from you, Queen,” Solar Flare’s interest perked as Twilight continued, “...it would be that you tell me your history with Discord.” I promise, Celestia. This will be the one and only time that I’ll ever want to prove you wrong. Solar Flare gave a look of disbelief. “And just why should I do that?” She glanced over to Discord, who still held his hateful glare. Before the young princess could reply, Nightmare Moon trotted up to them, dragging Luna along with her, whom possessed a rather infuriated expression. Solar Flare turned to her curiously. “I say that you do so, sister,” she simply said, to Solar’s surprise. “Why would that be?” “Oh… I’m just curious to what the outcome would be.” Her slitted pupils moved towards the direction of the Sun Princess, who still sat there, silently crying to herself. Luna then tugged away from the taller mare. “Let me go to her,” she commanded her. When Nightmare just raised a brow, the navy princess calmed herself. “Look, I won’t be running away. I’d find that rather difficult; all chained up like I am. I just want to-” “Fine,” Nightmare groaned, letting go of the alicorn. “Don’t try anything smart - or else I’ll release the dragon.” She tilted her head to the large purple reptile, who lay on the ground, his eyes lazily staring into the distance. Luna rolled her eyes, then fled towards her sister, sitting next to her and laying a wing over her back. Celestia, however, seemed to ignore the comforting gesture. Twilight then noticed a blue pegasus fly up to her, her voice ringing in her ear. “I say that this is the perfect chance to get the hay out of here!” she whispered, hoping no one but the two of them had heard the statement. Unfortunately, someone had indeed. “What did I just say about the dragon?” The dark queen narrowed her eyes. “And to be honest, I think I can deal with you myself.” Rainbow gave a frustrated snort, then went back to stand next to her friends. The lavender alicorn sighed, then turned to Solar Flare, who was waiting her cue. “So… what happened between you two?” Twilight prompted. The fiery mare breathed out. “Well… if you must know…” --- Celestia lay in her bed, staring out of her window. What was once a beautiful sight, with blue skies and peaceful nature, was now replaced with a nonsensical purple coloured sky, along with nothing but active chaos spreading all across Equestria. She sighed. There was nothing that Luna or herself could possibly do. They had tried everything. Negotiating, convincing, even fighting, but they just couldn’t win. This is all my fault… The sound of a creaking door made her flinch in her place. She lifted her head and turned towards the sound, only to see her sister, while battered and bruised, trotting over to her confidently. “Celly… I came in contact with Starswirl again.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “Oh, great. Was he here to tell me that I should’ve never met the stupid brat in the first place, and none of this would have happened?” “Well… no,” the younger sister replied, before letting her horn glow. The white mare raised a brow as she pulled something out from behind her. Luna held in front of her some metal chains, which confused Celestia. “He says that these will possibly work…” Despite being the one who had introduced them in the first place, Luna still gave a curious observation towards them. The Sun Princess gave a disbelieving scoff. “Cuffs? On Discord? Don’t be ridiculous.” She then turned her back on her sister, flopping back onto her mattress. “No, sister, apparently, these are… a special kind of chains. If we manage to lock them onto Discord’s limbs, he won’t be able to use his magic. That is, as long as we keep the spell cast.” Celestia raised a brow, but didn’t lift her head. “You’re saying that if we manage to somehow lock those chains onto Discord’s limbs… he can’t use magic anymore?” “Indeed, this is what Starswirl has told me.” “Hmm…” She lifted herself up again. “How do you suppose we do that, though?” “Well!” Luna then developed a smirk. “I was thinking that, while you hide somewhere, ready to cuff him, I knock him out so that it’ll make the task so much easier!” She clapped her hooves together in excitement. Celestia blinked. “...Easier said than done, Luna.” “It’s worth a try. I mean… we have the rest of our lives to do this. And our lives won’t end for a loooong time.” “You have a point, I suppose…” --- “Quickly, sister! Now!” Celestia obeyed her sibling, leaping out from behind a large mound she had been hiding behind. Discord’s arms were in full view, allowing her to easily clamp the chains around his wrists. She had to be quick, too; Discord had only been knocked to the ground for a mere ten seconds. He didn’t even seem to notice the metal locking around his hands, instead more focused on Luna. “Geez, Lulu, don’t you know violence is never the answer?” He gave a chuckle of amusement. However, Luna just grinned at him, to Discord’s surprise. “Why are you looking at me like that?” The dark blue alicorn tilted her head towards his limbs. The draconequus glanced at them, then looked quite surprised at the fact that there were suddenly chains clenched around his wrists. His gaze then moved up to Celestia, who he also hadn’t notice enter the scene. He let out a scoff. “Oh my, am I under arrest? Oh, woe is me!” He raised his eagle claw up to his forehead dramatically, then gripped his chest with his lion paw. His melodramatic action was followed by his mocking laughter. Celestia tried her best to show no emotion. “Really, Celestia. Did you actually expect a piece of metal to stop the Master of Chaos?” He smirked, before snapping his fingers so that he could conjure the cuffs away. Except, they didn’t go away. Discord raised a brow, before snapping his fingers again. Nothing happened. He tried snapping the tuff of his tail, but that didn’t seem to work either. “Impossible…” He muttered under his breath, continuously trying to order the chains to disappear from existence. But nothing was working, no matter how hard he tried. The white alicorn couldn’t help but let a smile appear on her face at his frustration. “It’s over, Discord,” she said firmly. “No!” Discord tried all he could to concentrate on the cuffs, but still, nothing worked. “What did you do?” “Sorry, Discord. But I’m afraid my sister and I have disabled your magic.” Luna trotted up next to her sister proudly. The chaos embodiment was not impressed, however. “That’s not possible! In no way could you have…” He clenched his hands into fists. “You can’t do this to me!” “We had no other choice.” Celestia narrowed her eyes. Then, Discord didn’t speak. At least, not for a while. “...What are you going to do to me?” he said in a quiet voice. “I say we throw him in the pits of Tartarus.” Luna snorted. Celestia sighed, then lay a hoof on her sibling’s shoulder. “No…” “What? Why? It’s the least he deserves!” “I can’t do that, Luna,” she mused. “I feel that him not having any magic is punishment enough… well, almost.” She then glanced around to the chaos surrounding her. “Perhaps cleaning it all up, however, would be.” “No!” Discord then bit the chain that bridged his two wrists together, and began to yank at it. “You can’t just take away my magic! It’s not fair!” “Yes it is! And I don’t think either of us need to explain why!” The younger mare stepped forward, her eyes narrowed into aqua slits. “And stop trying to pull them off. It’ll just make them feel tighter,” Celestia added. It took a while for the draconequus to actually take her advice into consideration, though. “So, that’s it?” Discord growled. “You’re just gonna chain me up and lock me in a dungeon?” “I haven’t decided yet,” Celestia confirmed, “but I think I’ll take the ‘clean up after yourself’ option into consideration.” --- The white mare tread down the corridor, her hoofsteps echoing louder than usual. It was probably because each time she took another step, she slammed her hoof harder onto the ground. Half of the castle had been destroyed. And it was her fault. She turned a corner, finding herself in the vast library, which didn’t seemed too wrecked, at least, compared to some other parts of the building. Strangely enough, though, none of that was her main concern. She let out a frustrated groan, then swung her body to face her reading room. Her hooves carried her over to the pile of pillows, before giving up and just letting her drop onto them. The mare thought that perhaps she could lay in silence, which she did manage. Though… only for about a minute. “Geez, Celestia, what’s gotten your mane in a twist?” There was a pause, then, “...Or caught it on fire.” The alicorn didn’t reply. “My gosh, Celestia, do speak up.” “...You shouldn’t call me that anymore,” she rasped. Another pause passed. The next time he spoke, the alicorn could tell he was closer. “Repeat that for me, dear?” She then lifted herself up from the bed. “Just… I’m not called that anymore.” A snicker escaped the draconequus. “Okay… could you just tell me what’s happened?” He tried to calm himself. “I wake up from an afternoon nap today, half past four, to be exact. But when I do, I see that it’s nighttime. I also hear some crashing; I can only assume that’s what awoke me. And now I find you, and you look like you’ve caught your mane on fire.” Discord gave a chuckle. “I must say though, good job on causing chaos.” She swung her head around to face him, and noticed him flinch as he first made eye contact with her. “Did your eyes catch fire too? Sounds painful.” A low growl escaped her throat. “Don’t think this is funny.” He gave a pout. “Aww… but it is!” He then gave a smirk. “Like I said, I appreciate some good chaos, even when it’s not from me.” Then she slapped her hoof down on his tail, causing him to yelp. “Ouch…?” “I said, don’t think this is funny.” “But Tia, you’re always telling me to be honest!” He gave a helpless expression, before bursting out with laughter. “But seriously, Celestia, I’m legitimately curious to what’s going on.” “I said to not call me that.” She leaned in closer, her tone becoming more threatening with each word. He remained unfazed, however. “Are you a no-name then? Should I just call you ‘it’ from now on?” She didn’t give a response. “Okay, ‘it’, now can you tell me what’s going on today?” He gave a grin, but then frowned. “Nah… can’t keep calling you that. Hmm…” He tapped his chin. “What about… Really-angry-and-won’t-tell-me-anything-tia?” She raised a brow. “Yeah, you’re right, too long. How about Copyrighted-sun-rip-off? Wait… no, you own the sun. But we’re getting there!” Discord playfully patted her on the head, only to get his paw slapped away by a hoof. “Hey, be patient now would you? Thinking of names takes time and effort, and you really have to look deeply into the thoughts of one’s mind, and think; what name describes my personality? What do you think - okay, forget this, can I just call you ‘Solar Flare’?” She tilted her head. “Solar Flare?” she repeated dryly. “Well, what else do you suggest?” ‘Solar Flare’ then gave a sigh, turning away from him and landing back onto the pillows beneath her. “I don’t care. If you want to call me that, then fine. Do it.” “Oh goodie. So, Solar Flare, can you tell me what’s going on now?” “...No.” “Rude.” She gave a snort. “Look, if you want to know, go and find my sister.” Discord shrugged. “Seems like a sensible option. Where is little Lulu anyway? I haven’t seen her.” “...She’s not called Luna anymore.” The draconequus gave a frustrated groan. “Well, if that’s the case, then I’m not thinking up a name for her! What’s with the name changes?” “She already has a name.” Solar Flare glanced at him. “Her name’s Nightmare Moon.” --- “Must I go on?” she muttered, her gaze drifting back to her sister, who was smirking. She didn’t answer the fiery mare, but instead turned to Discord. “Course, she didn’t mention the countless times she threw you out the castle, hit you in the face, or… other places…” Discord winced. “...Yeah, I’m glad I’m female...” Nightmare Moon bit her lip, as if she were thinking of herself in Discord’s place. “But either way, from what I can tell, there isn’t too much contrast between Solar and Celestia.” “I still find you both to be complete idiots,” Pinkamena muttered. Nightmare narrowed her eyes, then shoved her face close to hers, to the point where she had to lean back. “It’s called ‘personal space’?” “What? Do you lot think that just because you’ve teamed up with some good-four-hooves versions of ourselves, it gives you the privilege of speaking to your rulers as if we were a couple of commoners?” she snarled. “...Yup,” she replied, taking a step back from her. “I don’t do that…” Fluttershy whimpered from behind. “Yeah? Well, I don’t have a problem with it!” Rainbow Dash spat. “I don’t know if I can agree…” Rarity gave an uncertain look. “I surely can.” Applejack gave an aggressive snort. “You both are just a couple of egotistical rulers who rule over us just because ya can!” Rainbow and Pinkamena nodded in agreement. “Also, you’re an idiot,” Luna piped up. “How did you not expect the vegetation to die without the sun?” Nightmare Moon lifted a hoof and opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted. “Let me guess. The whole ‘sun hour’ thing was added last minute?” Luna raised a brow. “...Maybe.” She scrunched up her muzzle. “But-” “Stop.” The bickering between them paused, so they could all turn their heads to who had said that. Some looked at Solar Flare, who shook her head, while others glanced at Celestia. The mare was now standing on all four hooves, her magenta eyes glaring at her counterpart. “Just… stop.” She stalked over to Solar Flare, stopping with only a small gap between them both. Solar Flare scrunched up her muzzle at the new closeness. Then, Celestia opened her mouth, while attempting not to let her voice shake. “There’s no point in arguing about this, everypony,” she began, “Because Solar Flare is right.” A gasp arose from Twilight and Luna. “Don’t say that, Princess!” “I think she’s gone insane again.” “I can’t not say it.” She turned away from her counterpart. “From the outlook, our differences are obvious, but...” She shook her head, “I know myself better than anypony here. And I’m telling you now, there is no contrast between us.” Twilight widened her eyes, then cleared her throat. “Forgive me, Princess, for this is the only time I may ever say this to you, but… you are acting completely and utterly ridiculous.” “Uhuh.” Her friends nodded in agreement. “Sister, how can you possibly think that fiery-maned, abusive, tyrannical, big, freaking piece of-” Luna found her mouth full of lavender feathers before she could finish her sentence. “...I think you’ve made your point,” Twilight stated. Celestia’s expression was unreadable. She didn’t give a response. Instead, she silently stalked away from the group. “Celestia…?” Twilight rasped, raising a hoof to run after her, but not finding the strength to do so. “Just leave her. It serves her right.” She spun around to meet who had said that to her. Violet eyes met red and yellow. “How can you say that?” Twilight gasped, “Celestia doesn’t-” An eagle talon was slammed on her mouth before she could defend anyone. “Yeah, yeah, ‘she doesn’t deserve any of it, blah blah blah’, convince yourself all you want, Twilight.” Discord narrowed his eyes, as did herself. “You may have spent half your life with Celestia, but so have I. We’ve both seen the different sides of her.” She pulled away his talon from her mouth, then opened it to deny his statement. Yet… nothing was to be said. She had no idea how to start, what to say, or how to finish. Usually, Discord would be smirking at this point. But now… no. Like her, she could see tears begin to build up in his eyes. He didn’t sob, he just let the drop roll down his face. He also had one last thing to say. “I know. I didn’t want to believe it either.”