Chapter 29
Ponystock was the talk of Equestria for some weeks, and the papers gushed over the fact that so many ponies could gather in one place and not have incidents of violence and chaos, though some speculated that the presence of the princesses had something to do with it. Almost every press outlet printed on both the concert and the participation of the princesses positively…
…all but one.
The Tripes propaganda rag printed the most uncomely photographs of the princesses they had gathered while spying on the even and printed them, along with negative articles stating the despicable state of Equestria and the true state of peace, order, and equality the territories that the Tripes essentially now controlled had achieved under Nero’s management. His hatred for the bards and the Bardies spewed from every pore, stating that Ponystock was a display of everything that was despicable about ponykind, and proved his theories of how the bards were warping the minds of the country, and thus secretly looking to conquer the land through the guise of the princesses. He thundered from his podium that something had to be done to either rescue the princesses from themselves, or, barring that, find a way to have them removed to prevent the takeover of the bards and their mindless Bardy drones that would spell the end of Equestria as they knew it. Yet, there was more to his horrible blathering than met the eye.
Nero, (Ponaeros,) had done well to conceal all that was going on, controlling all commerce in and out of the region that consisted of everything between Manehattan and Baltimare, and making it seem like the Tripes had freely and peaceably taken control of those cities and surrounding regions. The truth, however, was much more frightening.
Ponaeros was ruling with an iron fist, and using his now powerful magic to partly control the minds of all under his control. By doing so, they kept the reports of what was really going on from escaping out. Not even Luna could read the dreams of anypony there, and it angered her. Nonetheless, trouble had not emerged from there, and so there was nothing that could be done, lest action taken would make it look as if the royalty were paranoid about what was happening, and make matters worse if they invaded when there was not a complete picture of what was going on. The elite guard he had created had swelled and brainwashed many young ponies mixed in with his mind-controlling spells that had them do blindly anything what they were asked. This, of course, and tragically so, consisted of the extermination of everypony that was a bard, had bard or Bardy tendencies, any anypony that did not measure up to his pony ideals. It was a complete annihilation, because there could be none allowed to escape to spill the beans before he was ready to move. He had swelled his ranks to where the militias of that area were seven times what they should be, armed to the teeth and ready for conflict. All he was waiting for was the right context to strike. Well, it was that that kept him from invading, and one other thing.
The Bardic order had gotten large enough to where they might cause problems, but with the Bardies that associated with them and lent their musical talent to them to enhance what they could to, they would then become unstoppable. What made him more frustrated was the fact that all his efforts to paint the bards as evil had failed everywhere outside his sphere of control. If he acted now, they could be stopped before they could really get going. After chewing on it for some time, he finally came up with an idea. Sure, he wanted to kill all the bards, because, indeed, it was because of them the Starswirl had damned him the way he did. Yet, because of how things were going, why not use them to his advantage. If he could capture them and bend their minds with his magic to his will, he could either control the rest of the bards, but if not, use them as a mega weapon against the other bards who, more than likely, had not gotten to the level of skill that the twins would have, considering their genes. Thus, he would have to find a way to sneak spies into Ponyville, catch them, and then bring them back. He even planned a clever ruse to make it look like some other foe captured them and cover his tracks. All this indeed had to be done, or else everything he had been working for would come to naught. It was too bad, however, that all this time somepony had been watching, and it was not a pony!
Discord had been watching all this time, and in all that time finally popped in from time to time to get Celestia off his back after too many times where he had not been present and wanted to know just what he was doing. Yet, he never let on to what he had been doing all this time. He had been keeping a close eye on Ponaeros, using his chaos magic to keep things so random that Ponaeros’ own ability to sense magic that was not of his doing could not be picked up. Of course, it was not because he needed this one year plus to gather data on Ponaeros. His intentions were actually more far reaching than that, wanting to be sure that, when the time came to put Ponaeros down, it could be done in a way that there could be no chance of him ever emerging again. Now that Ponaeros was close to acting, it was time to fill Celestia in on what was happening.
Celestia had just finished raising the sun and bathing herself, preparing for her day, and was now standing before her mirror, her hair brush floating about her head, brushing her hair out as she liked it. She had been contentedly musing about the concert, her eyes closed, pondering the songs and the experience of getting barded when she opened her eyes and yelped as she did. Discord was on the other side of the mirror, primping himself and said, “Oh, but do I look so fantastic today!”
“Discord!” snapped Celestia, as the brush was set abruptly on the tabletop in front of her mirror, “I did not summon you, and even if I did, I would have expected a bit more courtesy…though I know that is a lot to be expected of you!”
“Oh, dear princess,” said Discord, with mock chagrin, “You hurt me deeply. And to think we were getting along so well.”
He came out of the mirror and stood before her, now done up in hippy garb and holding up the peace sign as he said, “Peace, princess baby! You looked smashing in that get-up from the show.”
A copy of the Tripe publication floated before her face, putting an angry frown on her face. She had seen this before and was not happy with it, but the fact that Discord had it meant there was more to it than his trolling her. She flung it into the fireplace and said, “Discord, I know it is not for tea and crumpets that you came here, so I assume it is actually something useful?”
“Ah yes,” he said, as if he had just remembered something important, “About the Tripes. I came to tell you that I have been keeping an eye on them for quite some time now, and I have come to warn you of what has really been going on.”
“Wait,” she said, now beginning to realize something was afoot with him, “Just how long have you been watching them?”
“It is not ‘them’ I’ve been watching as it has been me watching ‘him’, namely, Nero,” answered Discord, “In fact, I’ve been watching him in action ever since he broke that traitorous general out of prison to help him.”
She then remembered the report that Nero had given to her about the one in his ranks that had been a problem child for him, and she had thought he looked familiar, though Ponaeros had disguised him somewhat unbeknownst to anypony else. She then thundered in anger, “YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS FOR OVER A YEAR AND DID NOT TELL ME!”
“Temper, temper,” said Discord, loving how her veins were bulging and he was getting under her skin, “Trust me when I tell you that I had my reasons. I had to be a fly on the wall to make sure I gathered enough information for you to act in the best way possible.”
He turned into a fly and buzzed around her head, talking in a very high pitched voice, “Being in such a state allowed me to gather much without being seen.”
She blew hard at him, thrusting him back, and causing him to spin out of control. He returned to his abnormal self and said, “And the main reason why I did not say anything was that I wanted to be sure that the situation would be the best to stop this stallion once and for all. You’ll understand better when I tell you this: Nero is really Ponaeros.”
Now she was livid. Discord had been allowing this wicked being take control of an entire chunk of Equestria under the guise of the regions wanting his politics and cause all kinds of pain and misery while she was oblivious to all of it. She seethed through her teeth, “You had better start tap dancing some good excuses, Discord, or else I just might get Luna and my loyal element bearers to acquire the elements just one more time and let you know exactly how things went for Luna while she was on the moon!”
He contemplated popping on a tux complete with top hat and cane as he tap danced his answers, but seeing her like this, and remembering just how severe the elements had dealt with him, he thought better of it and became very plain in his speech. “There was a reason for my severe delay, and trust me, had things been done any other way, it might be far worse than it is. This is a situation of picking your poison, because, considering the players involved, this was going to be ugly no matter how you sliced it. It depends on the price tag you want attached to it in order to put it to an end. Before you ask ‘how so’, hear me out. Had I told you right away, and considering his magic is as powerful as all four of you princesses combine, and a bit to spare, he would have just went underground and moved without detection until he felt your guard would have dropped enough to reemerge. However, had it happened that way, his actions would have been far more careful and far more incognito to where his rising would have been all at once, worldwide, when you least expected it, and in an overwhelming way. You have to trust me when I say that, even with all he had learned in his battles up to the top of the Abyss, I don’t think he really understands all his potential. His arrogance is as great as the power he wields. Yet, had you acted right away, he might have had time to really find out just how much, and been nearly impossible to stop. Not even the elements might have helped you then. The twins have always been your ace in the hole, but had you tried to act before they were strong enough, again, the same result. Even if they had gained this skill, he, again, would have had the time to really know his power and act to where even the bards could not act. His arrogance has prevented him from really reaching his full potential, and so he will not be prepared to face you when you have together what you need to stop him. I waited until the bards were strong enough to stop him in this present state, and the phenomenon of the Bardies was an unexpected but helpful twist in this. With all that combined, he can be crushed. Yet, in order for that to happen, time had to pass, and things had to happen, and therefore, telling you too soon could have spoiled all that. Believe me: the way things are now, you have the best chance of stopping this before it really has a chance to get going. Yes, you are going to be angry that there have been those that have suffered, and even died, as a result of this. Yet, at the end of the day, things like this always play out to a numbers game, no matter how sad and awful that becomes; it was either that, or millions in a war you could not win. As I said, pick your poison, princess, because this was going to be ugly no matter how you sliced it. Be glad the twins came back to this world, because, had they not, it was going to be all four of you princess in the Abyss, good-bye world as you knew it, everypony his mindless slaves as he becomes a false god over them, over…and…out!”
At the start of his story, she wanted to be angry, and wanted to dismiss offhand what he had said as folly. She wanted to think the best way was to act before anypony got hurt, but as much as it pained her to admit it, he was right. He had acted wisely, with the same kind of subterfuge that Ponaeros would have used should she have botched trying to put him down and causing him to be able to act almost undetectably. She calmed and then said, “Could you not have stopped him with your magic as powerful as it is, considering the difficulty Luna and I had in stopping you?”
“Not really,” he said, “Part of the price of him fighting his way out of the Abyss and leaning what he now knows was his mind becoming twisted, and also learning how my chaos magic functions. I am powerful, but I am not a god. He is practically a demigod already, with no idea just how much power he could wield, so be happy he has not even fully tapped his potential. I could have troubled him at first, but once he figured out what was being wielded against him, he could have quickly countered it. Remember how easily Tirek stole my magic? If Tirek could do that, what chance did I have alone. Now me with you four, the twins, and the bards, now we have a chance. Believe me, I sooooo wanted to mess with him, but thought better of it. And, remember, you and Luna DID stop me, and that was just you two with the aid of the Elements of Harmony, and even then, it was not permanent, because I did break out, you know, so what makes you think I stood a chance, or all four of you princesses with me?”
She sighed, not liking how this was turning out, and she said, “You are right. It is sad ponies had to die in all this, but, as you said, the cost in lives would have made what has happened seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what would have been. What do you suggest we do?”
With all the seriousness he could muster, he said, “Get the twins by your side as fast as you can, as well as the six ponies that are the closest to you and the twins; namely, Twilight and her close friends. Tell her to send a message to Sunset and take the book out of the mirror for now to close the portal, and maybe even dismantle the portal for the time being. Tell Cadence she may have to smash her portal in case the worst happens and he takes the Crystal Empire. It is bad enough how things could happen here. Think about what could happen if he got into that other world?”
She nodded and said, “What else?”
“He seeks to kidnap the twins,” he answered, “Keep them in the castle at all costs, using them only to use their magic with the other bards en masse to stop any combat before it starts. You also need to put yourself on a war footing just in case. Finally, call out Ponaeros as publicly as you can. Because of what he has now built, what you think has been something that he should not have gotten this far in building will then become an albatross around his neck. He can’t go underground at this point; it’s too late for that. Yet, he can’t lay back on a threat, and his pride will cause him to act before he wants to and maybe make him do something rash.”
She nodded and started moving swiftly, fetching guards and getting messages sent. Discord said he would get the twins and the six himself, he wanting to start with Fluttershy most of all. The last thing he wanted was Ponaeros capturing her and trying to use her as a pawn in his schemes.
The twins were relaxing in their house, thinking about where to go from here, and feeling very peaceful. Downy went to brew some coffee when, out of the can came Discord, all hyper as if he himself had just consumed a pot, going on and on about pending war and that it was time to move and do something about it. Downy screamed and started throwing things at him. “Wait…ouch…stop it, I…oof! Will you…OW…I’m trying…” and all she could do was scream, “What are you! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!”
Quill was in there quickly, and Discord was now wearing an old school red shirt Star Trek uniform, a shield around him, as he was muttering, “I donna know how much more she can take, cap’in!”
“Who are you!” snapped Quill, and Discord said, “Oh, it has been awhile, hasn’t it. Well, in case we haven’t met, I am the spirit of chaos—Discord.”
“You can say that again!” said Quill, “What do you want?”
“To warn you of a pending danger, and to get you to Canterlot as fast as possible,” he answered, as he disappeared and then reappeared with all their clothes and instruments packed up, him in a topcoat and fedora, saying, “There is no time to negotiate this. This is Princess Celestia’s orders.”
“Oh sure!” said Downy in protest, “And if you think…”
But she could not finish the sentence as they vanished and showed up at Fluttershy’s cottage. She was finishing feeding her chickens when he showed up and suddenly had a bunch of animal carrying cases floating all around with all the animals she directly cared for stowed up and ready to go. “Goodness, Discord,” exclaimed Fluttershy, “What is going on?”
“No time to talk about it here,” said Discord, “The Princess has summoned you, and there is a clear and present danger to you and your friends. We must get you to Canterlot and safety.”
“But I don’t under…” was all Fluttershy could say before the whole lot of them disappeared and reappeared in the grand hall where Celestia was waiting. “I am sorry, my friends, but the situation could not admit delay. The guards will tend to your things and find you rooms while Princess Luna briefs you on what is happening. I have to get some messages out.”
Celestia swiftly moved from there to her drawing room to start the military general alert and to inform the rest of the six and Starlight Glimmer.
Rainbow Dash was in her house, reading the latest Daring Do book when a knock came at the door. She found that odd, considering she was not expecting anyone, and only Fluttershy, Starlight, and Twilight could get up there without help. She opened the door to see Muffins there in her message service uniform, handing her a wire. She paid her for the cable and Muffins went her way as Dash closed the door and opened it up. Her eyes went wide when she read the message, letting her know that the Wonderbolt reserves had gone on full alert, and this was to be no stunt show. She had 12 hours to report, and then be full battle rattle as soon as possible after that. She took a moment to let it sink in on what was happening, and her heart dropped into her shorts. For her, joining the Wonderbolts was always about the stunt show side of things, and she always had put the combat aspect to the back of her mind, knowing the odds of this was slim that she might actually see action. Well, she failed to beat the odds, and she was now getting the drastic reminder that she was a part of the military reserves, and now it was her time to kick in and ante up. She hoped a day like this would never come, but it had, and there was no backing out of it. She put down the wire, went to her closet and put on the combat version of her uniform and was out of the house like a bat out of Tartarus.
Twilight was in her own drawing room, reading the same book that Dash had just been reading while the others were active in a fun board game. Starlight was ruling the game, much to their chagrin, and Applejack loved it there was another pony that wanted to compete. Spike had just set down some snacks for them when he stepped away and got an odd look on his face. He let out one healthy belch and a letter appeared and dropped to the ground. Twilight found that odd, but she levitated it off the floor and opened it. After quickly looking over it, she dropped everything and rushed out of the room. Everypony looked at this oddly and Starlight levitated the letter up to herself and the others read it with her. Shocked, they were also out of the room quickly to find Twilight. They found her in the room where the portal was, as she was scribbling something in the book, and then dismantling the portal, putting the pieces carefully in a safe place. They knew what she was up to after having read the letter and said, “Can it be?”
“There is no question,” answered Twilight, “I am sure Rainbow Dash is reporting to the Wonderbolts right now. The military has gone on full alert. The twins should already be there, and hopefully the bards have gone to them to help with things, or if they cannot, are hiding themselves as far from this as possible. There is a shot to do this without actual conflict, but nothing can be assumed. We have to be ready.”
“But darling,” said Rarity, “Why are we just now learning about this?”
“I have no idea,” answered Twilight, “But I am sure Princess Celestia will fill us in when we get there. In the meantime, we’ll go to all your places and let you all get what you need, and what you can’t bring, I am sure Princess Celestia will take care of that.”
“Come on, y’all,” said Applejack, moving with some purpose, “Daylight’s a’wastin’! The fate of Equestria is hangin’ in the balance.”
“Not just Equestria,” said Twilight, “But the whole world!”