It was a beautiful day. The weather pegasi in Canterlot had once again painted the sky in beautiful robin's egg blue, dotted only by a few wisps of cloud from here to there. After raising the sun in the morning, Celestia had taken a deep breath of the air of late Summer and made a decision: to take the day to herself. It wouldn't doom the entire land of Equestria if their leader took one day off, would it? Besides, Luna really needs more experience with her royal duties. I'm sure taking one or two of mine wouldn't hurt her at all. She'll thank me in the long run. With a smile and a curt nod to herself, the princess made her decision. Walking back inside from the balcony, she announced that she was taking the day off to her servants. As was to be expected, his resulted in more than a few gasps of shock and even a few spit takes, but nopony questioned her. As Celestia walked out of the front door of the castle and into the rays of the sun, she pondered what to do with her now-copious spare time.
"Well, I really would like to avoid attention..." She muttered, recalling her tense reception in Ponyville. "and I could really appreciate some peace and quiet. The castle is always noisy." On a whim, her eyes moved to the Royal Labyrinth. "Well, nopony would be able to find me in there, and it's remained quite empty after we put Discord's statue back. Harmless, of course, but apparently frightening." She turned and walked to the front entry to the maze, standing in front of the rim of hedges. "I don't see anything wrong about this place. It seems like the perfect place to relax." She stepped forward and entered the maze, and the hedge slammed shut behind her, sealing her in.
Normally, with its ever-changing walls, the labyrinth was a place to keep one's wits sharp, but Celestia chose not to. She could always fly out again, but she wanted to enjoy the thrill of being totally lost, a feeling that could cripple her if it came at any unwanted moment, like while working in court or writing and repealing laws. The experience became very novel to her as she continuously wandered. The world became a sea of dark green walls, and things like time and distance began to blur. She would, indeed, be lost beyond all help if she had been without her horn or wings. She entertained herself by trying to determine where different sounds were coming from, or recalling old legends of a monster within the maze, just waiting to gobble up little fillies who wandered away from home at night.
Of course, those are just old mare's tales. Leave it to an old mare to remember them, I suppose. Celestia chuckled at her own joke. It was true that she didn't look a day above her prime, but time haunted her mind instead of her body, making her sometimes feel like an old lady in a young filly's body. The only beings older than she and her sister were Discord and perhaps a few dragons. Everything else passes by in the blink of an eye. Every pony grows old but me... She shook away the thoughts with ease, erasing the train of thought like a drawing on a chalkboard. "I'm here to enjoy myself, so that's what I'm going to do!" With all of the childish glee she could muster, Celestia flung herself down the corridor, making turns without thinking, giggling madly, and engrossing herself even more in the seemingly never-ending maze.
Discord! I'm howling at the moon,
and sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon.
Discord, whatever did we do,
to make you take our world away?
At the sound of another voice in the maze, Celestia froze in her tracks. She had assumed that she was alone, and had thus acted as such. Now, a light tenor floated on the breeze, wafting through the maze like the scent of Derpy's muffins in the morning slipped out of the kitchen. Some stallion is singing about Discord? I thought everypony hated him so much, they refused to write songs about him. Celestia unfolded her wings from her sides and gently glided into the air, trying to spot the source of the music. From her elevated view, she could see that she had wandered at least a couple miles from the castle, close to the heart of the maze. At the rate I've been walking, that should have taken hours... It surely hasn't been more than an hour and a half! Unless I was somehow walking in a straight line...
I am fine with changing status quo,
but not in letting go.
Now the world is being torn apart...
The mysterious stallion continued his song. IT was at this moment that it struck the alicorn what it was that had been disturbing her about this song: the tone. Rather than despair for what had been lost to Discord's rule, this was a song of mourning! She could hear more clearly where the noise was coming from, and as she turned to face it, she didn't like what she saw. It was coming from the one fixed point in the entire maze. The resting place of Discord's stoned body.
A terrible catastrophe
played by your symphony,
what a terrifying work of art!
Celestia hardly moved her wings, gliding on the small breeze to her destination. The voice was wavering, becoming choked up with emotion. Though the difference was only slight, Celestia could hear it easily. Silently, she settled on top of the topiary wall lining her archenemy's prison, but she couldn't see the singer...
I can't sit idly...
no I can't move at all...
There were unnatural gaps between the lines at this point, and the song had dropped to a low whisper, but it didn't take a listening spell for Celestia to tell where it was coming from: directly beneath her. Making sure not to create even the smallest of noises, she leaned over to look down at who was sitting beneath her feet.
I curse the name...
The one behind it all...
The draconequus below her placed his head in his claws and let out a choking sob.
"Discord!" The cry was one of longing, pain, and regret. Celestia knew the emotions well, but still could not hold her peace enough to stop herself from gasping in shock. Another daconequus? Another Discord?
At the sound of her shock, the mourning creature's eyes shot upwards. For only the briefest of moments, Celestia could see them clearly: bloodshot and wet from crying, with uneven irises and... sapphire blue pupils.
And then he was gone, vanished in a wisp of smoke.
((Credit for Eclipse's song goes to OdysseyEurobeat's song "Discord", on youtube. Please support the original artist! -Pennington))