//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: Daughter of the Moon // by CartoonNerd12 //------------------------------// Luna stared at her sister while Celestia was looking in the mirror admiring the pink-red dress she was going to be wearing to the Gala that night. "You look beautiful, Sister." Celestia chuckled, "Thank you. I wish you could stay for the Gala." "Alas, I must attend to my duties." "Yes. I will tell you everything that happens with your daughter and Shining Armor." "Please do." There was a knock and Sombra came into the room, "I believe I must escort a lovely queen to the Gala?" He smiled at the sight before him. Celestia rolled her eyes and pecked her sister's cheek before taking her husband's arm. The husbands of the six princesses, plus Shining Armor, were waiting at the bottom of the stairway. All of them wore tuxes except Discord's was bright orange with a matching top hat and had a cane. Flash and Shining had formal uniforms on, with Shining's being red with a blue sash and Flash's was blue with a red sash. Shining was getting a bit antsy as to why the girls weren't here yet and asked, "Does it always take them this long?" The guys did random agreements. "Don't worry. They'll be here soon enough." said Spike. "Sooner than you think…" Cheese pointed up. They turned to see the princesses posing on top of the stairs and slowly, they each came down. Fluttershy was first with her green peacock design dress, then Rarity with her dark purple gown, Applejack in her light green garb, Rainbow in a purple-blue outfit, Pinkie in a yellow-purple dress, and Twilight in a light blue gown with daisies at the bottom and neckline. Their husbands ended up gawking and were speechless at how amazing their wives looked. Shining was impressed, too, but he wondered where Cadence was. Then he looked up and saw her on top of the stairs looking beautiful and regal in her light blue dress like Twilight's. When she reached him at the bottom, she slightly blushed and said, "You look handsome…" He took her chin and said, "And you look beautiful…" They smiled at each other. There was a clearing of the throat and they all turned to see the king and queen standing. He spoke, "Well, if we are all ready, then we best get in there." Everyone else nodded as they took positions. The herald blew his horn and declared to the ponies gathering for the Gala, "Announcing Their Royal Highnesses, King Sombra and Queen Celestia!" The doors went wide open and the parents stepped into the ballroom with ponies applauding. The herald then spoke out, "Princess Fluttershy and Prince Discord!" The couple made their entrance, though Discord hammed it up a bit. The herald kept on listing names of the royal family as they made their entrances, "Princess Rarity and Prince Fancy Pants! Princess Applejack and Prince Spike! Princess Rainbow Dash and Prince Soarin'! Princess Pinkie Pie and Prince Cheese Sandwich!" Shining Armor was looking nervous, but he felt a wing touch him and saw Cadence giving a reassuring smile. He gave a small one in return. "Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Flash Sentry!" The couple ahead of them went in. "We're next…" Cadence whispered. The herald proclaimed, "Princess Mi Amora Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor!" Applause and mutters went around the room, as guests were surprised to see the return of their long-lost princess, who was with the captain of the royal guard, no less. Three of the guests were in the middle of the crowd, as the leader gestured. "There. He's the one we have to bring to the boss." Suri said pointing to Discord. "Oh, I hope we don't get in trouble for having fake tickets…" Coco whimpered. "Not if you don't keep quiet… Now, you two go find the Star Swirl the Bearded wing while I keep a close eye on our target…" Silver Shill and Coco exchanged worried glances before going out. The band started playing, signaling for the dance to begin. The girls took to the dance floor with their guys and Cadence and Shining Armor ended up in the middle with Twilight and Flash. Then, there was a brief partner exchange. Twilight said to Shiny, "Before the night is up, I'll go up to the stage to announce you. From there, you can make your vow." "Thanks, Twilight…" "Are you prepared?" "Yes, I believe so…" He looked at Cadence and Flash dancing. Flash was telling Cadence, "It must be exciting to finally have your curse removed." "It is." she smiled and looked at Shining. Once they returned to their rightful partners, the couples were lost in each other's eyes. Coco and Silver nervously went about the empty hallways of the castle, and then Silver stopped and said, "It should be right about here…" Coco saw the gate next to them, "This must be it, but it's locked…" "Hmm…" Silver thought and took out a paperclip, straightening it and used it to pick the lock. Coco then heard hoofsteps and she whispered in panic, "Hurry! The guards are coming!" Sweat went down his brow and finally, the gate opened. They went in just as a guard went down the corridor. They were amazed by the many scrolls and books all stacked up and piled in the room. Silver pointed, "You go that way while I go this way." She nodded, "Right." They began their search. The Gala was still in full swing as guests and royalty mingled, laughed at a couple of jokes, and danced. Cadence and Shining took a break at a table, knowing it would be almost time for him to make a vow of everlasting love in front of a whole Gala. "I can do this… I can do this…" Shining kept telling himself. "Just remember what I told you: speak from the heart…" "I will, I promise." He made the Pinkie-Promise gesture. She giggled and suggested, "How about another dance?" He beamed and bowed, "Of course, milady." They headed to the middle of floor. Suri was thinking as she watched the doors, What's taking them so long?! They should have been able to find it by now! The boss is waiting! She soon got her wish when she saw her co-workers coming in with a bulky, square shape in Silver Shill's tux. She smirked and went to a punch bowl where Discord was with his wife and Pinkie and Cheese were laughing away. She made a hard bump on Discord's leg and quickly went to her associates. "Watch it!" Discord yelled and saw the pony who bumped him. He was intrigued at what the three were up to. He turned to his wife and said, "I'll be back, darling. Save a dance for me." he blew an actual kiss and it caused Fluttershy to giggle when it pecked her. He popped out of his Gala attire and found the three ponies outside. He saw them going towards the gardens and into the maze. To him, the maze was just a painful reminder of when he was stone, but considering there were three suspicious ponies that were up to something, he followed them. No sooner had he enter the labyrinth was the entrance shut off. "Hey! Only I can intimidate ponies!" he waved his fist in the air. "Now who did that?!" There was an evil chuckle and glowing eyes. "Wait a minute…those eyes…" Discord thought out loud. Then Tirek stepped out of the shadows, revealing his weak self and giving off a menacing smile. Discord gasped, "Tirek!" "Ah, Discord, look what a thousand years has done to us. You, a master of deception, and me… a feeble old centaur!" "Look, if you're still mad about me ditching you while the gargoyles came to arrest you, hey, I did try to warn you, after all!" Discord nervously chuckled. "I am not talking about that… In fact, I knew from the beginning you had a heart of stone. Your time in stone certainly proved that." Discord rubbed his neck, "No kidding…" "But since you are obviously free now and have made your way into the royal family, I commend you on such an elaborate plan… Pretending to be good just so you can marry a princess is sheer genius." "What? You actually think…" he started laughing uncontrollably and fell over. "Oh, that is a good one!" he kept on laughing and started to wheeze a little. Tirek had an expressionless face on and stated, "I fail to see the amusement in all this…" Discord wiped a tear away and got up, "The fact that you believe there's a plot behind my marriage to Fluttershy is hilarious!" "You mean to say… that you don't pretend…? You actually have feelings for this pony?" "You better believe it…" Discord smirked. Suddenly, he heard Tirek chuckling evilly. He furrowed his brow, "What is so funny?!" "You! That you are willing to give up everything you have just for this princess who imprisons you on daily basis!" "How dare you! I'll have you know that Fluttershy doesn't do that to me at all!" He conjured up a lightning storm as lightning was about to hit Tirek, only for him to rebound the bolt. It hit Discord instead, causing him to fall on his back. "Are you that blind? Clearly, this pony just cares about what she wants since you don't have all of Equestria obeying your every whim! Why follow the rules when you can make your own? You have the power! You can do that!" "You're wrong! If I had used my powers to make Equestria my own, then I never would have found the one thing I was missing!" "Oh, what would that be? Your restraint?!" With his teeth baring, Discord summoned a three-headed chimera to attack, "No, friendship!" But Tirek countered it by turning the chimera into a white fluffy cat with a blue bow. Tirek sighed in vexation, "I was so sure you would have joined me to take this world. It seemed so obvious that the master of chaos had a plan in that brilliant mind of his. Imagine my surprise to learn that the master's gone soft…" "Soft?!" Fire blazed in his eyes, "SOFT?! YOU DARE TO CALL THE LORD OF CHAOS SOFT?! I'LL SHOW YOU SOFT!" He pulled out all the stops of what his powers could do. Tirek, however, thwarted them all. Discord was on the ground panting and looked up to the centaur, who seemed to have gotten bigger, "How… How…?" "Isn't it quite clear, you fool? I've been draining your magic!" his voice sounded deeper than before, "Now that you had so foolishly given up on yourself, you are a threat to my cause!" "If you hurt my family… so help me… I will fight you to my last breath…" Tirek's eyes glowed again and he grabbed him by the neck, "That could easily be arranged…"