//------------------------------// // Discord's birthday present pt 1 // Story: Discord's birthday present // by Penn Hooven //------------------------------// Moon Chaser stretched her wings, allowing her eyes to squeeze shut as she felt out all the stiff joints of her wing mussels. The Purple Pegasus was on Princess Luna detail that night, and she wanted to keep up with the beloved royalty on her nightly flight around Canterlot. “Now then, where did I put my helmet and breast plate?” She mused to herself as searched through her locker. “Chaser! Front and center!” The voice was gruff, as if everything in Equestria annoyed him, and the stallion behind the voice didn't look any kinder. “Yes, Commander Flick!” Moon Chaser trotted up the grizzled unicorn, his white face scared from countless battles that the public would never know about. Princess detail was never to be taken lightly, and Commander Whip Flick was a living reminder to all that there was no cost too high in protecting royalty. “Did I say canter? Gallop Filly! I don't have all night!” “Yes, Commander!” Moon Chaser snapped her wings to attention so hard that she almost winced from the slap against her flank. The Commander seemed pleased with that. “Good girl.” He nodded. “Now, tonight is a special night for our Princess. Tonight, the Princess has asked for a smaller than usual detail, as a birthday present!” The sound Flick made in the back of his throat assured the mare that this was certainly not his idea, and that he had protested all the last week about it. Moon Chaser knew better than to speak, so she stayed rigidly at attention. “Now, as you can imagine, I wanted all my best fliers out there protecting our Princess, but she has requested that you, and only you accompany her tonight.” That startled the Pegasus. True she was completely loyal to the dark purple Alicorn, but she kept her feeling to herself. As a guard, a pony must always be alert for danger, and so guards never talked much. Moon Chaser doubted that her Princess knew how much she loved the night and adored the Princess of it. “Her reasoning’s are her own,” The gruff voiced Flick continued. “She did drop a hint about you being in the Wounderbolts Reserve,” Oh, well that cleared up everything. The unicorn was suddenly face to face with the Pegasus, his breath hot on her snout. “But believe me when I say this, if anything funny happens, if she twitches wrong, or one freak rain cloud soaks her, you'll have wished you never learned how to fly when you were a drooling, toddler, do I make myself clear, little mare?” “Yes, Commander! No funny business, Commander!” Moon Chaser belted out. “Good! Dismissed!” And with that the veteran Commander Flick was out of her face and heading to the barracks door. “Whew,” Chaser whipped a hoof across her brow. “If that wasn't grilling, I don't know what is?” She turned back to her locker. “Now were did I put that helmet?” Once Moon Chaser found her helmet, which turned out to still be in her bag, she had taken it home to shine it last night, and fitted her breastplate on, she made her way to the throne room to relieve her fellow guards. “Glad you could make it.” Feather Stripe said as she took his place. “The Princesses could hear my stomach and had told me three times already that I could go get some food.” He rolled his eyes. “Do you know what Commander Flick would do to me if I did that?!?” “Probably pull out your feathers, one by one, with his teeth.” Moon Chaser grimaced. “I got grilled before even starting duty. Apparently I'm going to be the Princess's only guard tonight, and he made it clear that no matter what, my plot was on the line.” “Hmm, nice plot though.” Feather Joshed. His little joke earned him a wing to the face. “Oh, I'm sorry, weren't you going to get some food, or did you start eating the rug and drapes already?” Feather snorted. “I'm a goin', I'm a goin'.” And he bowed to the Princesses, who were in deep conversation, and paused only to nod back, dismissing him, before continuing whatever Princesses talk about as he left to the bunker and food. Moon Chaser took her spot, several paces before the raised dais where the royal thrones stood, and put on her best stern face as she began to watch everything in the room, while not moving. When Moon Chaser started Princess detail, she found she got board easily, which was not the best thing for a guard, and discovered that if she tried to watch everything, she could relieve that boredom, but only a little. It was times like this that the mare would try and guess who would come into the throne-room next. “And how are you, this afternoon, my guard?” Princess Luna asked, her tone a little less formal that times before. “I'm doing well, your Highness. Thank you for asking.” There was a snort from behind. “Moon Chaser, why don't we drop the stiff formalities. True, you are my guard, but I get enough 'your Highness's' to last me twelve life times. I do have a name, or have you forgotten it?” Moon Chaser resisted the urge to roll her eyes, trying not to think of the time she actually did as she was bidden and called the Princess by her name. Commander Flick had almost pulled out her tail, hair by hair, for it. She wasn't going to make that same mistake twice. “I have not forgotten your name, dear Princess. I just feel that—” “Mooney!” The Princess cut in, gasping, “You feel? That's new. A guard that feels!” Okay, something was up. Moon Chaser chanced a glance back at her Princess, to see she was looking rather un-regal at the moment. Princess Celestia was just watching, to see how Moon Chaser would handle this. The white Alicorn had a habit of letting things play out before she stepped in. “What's the matter, my Princess?” Moon Chaser asked keeping her voice as neutral as she could. The dark Alicorn gave her a look that could have froze a dragon in mid breath. “It's my birthday, and I asked for my only friend, who's not royalty to show up, but she's being unfriendly right now.” Moon Chaser blinked. “You did?” She looked around the throne-room. “Where is she?” For a reply, Moon Chaser caught a pillow in the back of the head. This was the side of Princesses that the public never saw. Princesses, when you take away all the royal duties and privileges, were just simple mares, with their own personalities and tempers. “Princess.” Moon Chaser protested. “Please, talk some sense into her, big sister.” Luna whined to Princess Celestia. “Oh no,” The Alicorn smiled. “Don't get me involved. She's probably just following the orders of Commander Flick. You know how he is.” Princess Luna shook her head, sending her flowing mane in flurry of dark sparkles. “Let me deal with the Commander. He might think other wise, but on my birthday, I'm going to get my way.” The purple Pegasus relented. “As you wish...Luna.” Luna's face brighten up immediately. “Now then, we will have ourselves a little party.” Somewhere, someone snapped. From the empty air came a chuckle, and from the corner of the room walked out the one that neither Princess nor guard wanted to see. Discord was decked out in a clown outfit, complete with squishy red nose and a party hat over his antler. “Did I hear some pony say party?” He laughed gaily, rubbing his mismatched paw and claw together. “Oh, I do love a good party. What shall we play? Spin the bottle, pin the tail on the pony? We can bob for apples. Oh I do love a good red delicious every once in a while, but first, we need the birthday pony dressed in her finest.” And with a snap of his eagle claw, Princess Luna, in a swirling whirl wind, transformed from the young princess to something awful. Moon Chaser felt her eyes widen in terror and her ears fold back as she stared at the looming figure of Nightmare Moon. “Oh, And consider this my birthday present.” Discord smiled, juggling popcorn as he chuckled. “You see, if Nightmare Moon can be conquered here and now, our dear Princess Luna can use her powers for her own, without fear of corruption. Now, there are a few rules here.” Another snap and Princess Celestia was trapped in a large pink bubble. An additional snap from the Lord of Chaos, both Princesses and lone guard were transported from the thrown room to a rocky alcove far away from Canterlot. “First, this is a fight to the death, figuratively speaking. That is Nightmare Moon will try and kill you, Moon Chaser, and you must stay alive and stab her with this.” Discord, literally, drew up a horn that looked like that of Luna's. “It must be in the heart, or it wont work. Also, you can't use magic...Oh, sorry, you can't use magic can you?” Discord gave a mock look of sympathy. “I guess that's all the rules then. Game one.” It was then that Discord noticed that the white Princess of the Sun was bucking at the walls of her pink bubble cage, trying to yell out something. With a wave of his lion paw, the weird creature let Celestia's voice drift thru. “Discord! You Fool! Nightmare Moon's going to Kill Moon Chaser with out my help! You Doomed her!” “Ah, it's just Nightmare Moon.” Discord smiled, his single fang making his smile look more demonic than innocent. “What's the worse that could happen?” Moon Chaser was hit by the Dark Mare of the Moon in the chest. If it wasn't for her breastplate, the Pegasus would have been dead. The blow launched her across the alcove, into a boulder, which crumbled at the force of the collision. In a daze, Moon Chaser lay where she dropped, trying to get her bearings and stop the ringing in her ears as Nightmare Moon stamped forward, triumphantly. “This is the best you can do?” She demanded. “With you're death, I will become whole again, and eternal night shall reign forever. With your death I will be free!” Discord put a paw to his chin. “Hmm, wasn't planning on that happening."