33: Loopholes
Rising Star stared at the dark liquid in front of her. She tapped the side of the teacup with her hoof. The tea inside it sloshed around, leaving small stains on the inside of the cup. The orange unicorn bit her lip. Her magic swirled a small vial marked with a pony’s skull. The vial floated down near the teacup and then floated away. She leaned forward and the vial descended to the cup again. Once more she felt her heart cringe and the vial floated away. This cycle of events had been repeating for the past hour. Each time the vial would lower closer to the teacup. “It’s for the good of Equestria.” She whispered quietly. “For the good of all of Equestria.” The vial uncorked as the magic squeezed around it. The cork popped off lifelessly, no longer cradled by the unicorn’s magic, it bounced upon the tabled and rolled across its service. The small cork wobbled as it reached the table’s edge. It teetered for a moment then fell of the surface. As it fell through the air, so did drops of the liquid from the vial into the teacup.
The tea splashed lightly as the drops from the vial mixed with it. A single drop hopped out of the teacup and splattered on the table. The table hissed and steamed for a few seconds. The tea itself was bubbling loudly. After a few moments liquid settled down and soon Rising Star was staring at a placid cup of tea pondering things many should never ponder. Her hooves lightly gripped the sides of the tray holding the cup. She started to lift the tray up, ready to place it on a cart that she would then wheel to the Lady. The try seemed immensely heavy. She knew it was not the actual weight of the tray, but rather the weight of her actions. After a good long minute, she clenched her jaw and moved the tray to the cart. She braced her forehooves on the cart, ready to push it to its destination when she was suddenly started by a sultry male voice. “Oh little Rising Star… what have we here?” The unicorn glanced around looked desperately for the voice. Had somepony seen what she was doing? Could they possibly know what her intent was? “Tisk… tisk… tisk...” The voice clicked its tongue derisively.
“Who are you?” Rising Star asked quietly. She glanced around the darkness and shivered.
“Poison?” A devilish chuckled echoed throughout the room. “Really, Rising Star? Is that really the best solution?”
“Show yourself!” The unicorn was panting. Her teeth were chattering. She had never counted on getting caught. Now this disembodied voice was taunting her?
“Such a cowardly form of murder! Is that what you are? Are you a coward, Rising Star?” The voice seemed to spin around her head, panning from one ear to another.
“I’m… I’m not a coward!” Rising Start frantically looked in several directions. She felt the color drain slightly from her. Perhaps it was a lightheaded feeling, she was unsure. “Would a coward put her own morals aside to rescue a kingdom?”
“But poison? Really? Hiding away in another room while some mysterious liquid melts away your troubles? Coward!” A loud thud startled the unicorn. A large cooking knife had fallen from a high shelf and had imbedded itself in the cart. “Now a knife, that’s the murder weapon of choice when you want to be a real hero.” The unicorn approached the knife slowly. Her face was reflected in the polished blade. The voice chuckled. “Really if you’re going to take a life, at least have the guts to do it the proper way. Face to face. Personally.”
The unicorn felt her knees begin to give. “I don’t think I…”
“Exactly, you’re not thinking. None of you ponies ever stop and take the time to think. Honestly, you’re mindless little beasts. You think everything will magically work out if you murder Twilight Sparkle?” The voice sighed. “Oh, I’m surrounded by those with the intelligence of dirt.”
“But… the sun… the kingdom is dying!”
“Fine then… take that knife right there and drive it into the purple unicorn’s tiny little heart. Dig it in deep and give it a twist. Little Luna’s already done most of the work for you. All you have to do it make it tangible.” The voice chuckled. Rising Star lifted her hoof towards the dagger. “Come on, you’re not a coward are you? It’s just a knife.” She began to wrap her hoof around it when she again saw her own reflection in the blade.
“I…” Her eyes welled up with tears. “I… can’t…” The unicorn staring back at her in the reflection suddenly changed. It's bright orange coat turned a dull gray. Her determined expression became lethargic and a tad timid. She sighed and with her hoof, tipped the teacup over, spilling its contents out on the ground.
“There’s a good girl!” The voice chuckled. “Well then, we won’t need this anymore.” Clutching the handle of the knife, an eagle claw faded into view. Discord gave the now gray Rising Star a toothy smile as he tossed the knife out of view. “Ah, so nice to see a pony come to their senses.”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
“Sorry about brainwashing you. But I don’t know if you realize what you were about to do. Killing Twilight Sparkle would have caused such chaos!” Discord said, practically singing. Then his face fell flat. “Of course that’s not exactly the chaos I had in mind. Don’t go trying to show me up at my own game.”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
“Blahgh. Ew. Yuck.” Discord began pulling at his tongue. “I hate doing that. Not exploiting loopholes in deals. That I love. It’s the harmony, you know. Stopping you from causing chaos. It leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. And on my foot for that matter. But it was needed, I assure you. Such a much better bout of chaos is on its way. One seeped in revenge and avocados.”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
“Glad you agree!” Discord clapped his claws together. “Blragh. There must be something to wash the taste of harmony out of my mouth…. Hm…” He reached over and grabbed one of the jars of the shelves. He opened it and smiled. “Oh! Olives. They are my favorite. Or wretched things that I hate. It was one of the extremes, but I can’t quite remember which.” He shoved a handful into his mouth. “Oh. Delightfully terrible. Yet addicting. Like chaos!” He chuckled with a full mouth. “Gaze with me, Rising Star. Cast a look out the window. Oh, what fun we’re going to have. Just take a look at it out there. Do you see it, Rising Star? The sun on the edge of the horizon?” He pushed his tail against the wooden shutters of the windowpane. “Ah! Get a load of that crisp winter air! In the end of spring!”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
Discord reached down and scooped up a large chunk of snow. “A tad chilly some might say. I’d normally agree but take at look at this! Snow. Natural snow. That’s how cold it is out there right now. Frost is literally forming on the ground without the help of the ponies that have for so long changed the seasons. It’s that cold that even in a world where nature is dead… snow is forming.” He shoved the snow into his mouth and chased it with the rest of the jar of olives. He chewed loudly as he spoke. “It’s about time now. It’s been what? Four days? Four days since the sun has been in the sky. And the world is going to freeze over. I won’t let that happen of course. A frozen world is terribly boring. Twilight Sparkle won’t let that happen either. She’ll find a way to fix this. Well more accurately, she won’t. Then it will be time.”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
He picked another jar of the shelf and opened it; tomatoes, spoiled terribly by the cold. He began to guzzle down that jar’s contents as well. “Oh I’m almost aflutter with excitement. It’s almost time for my big moment.” He swallowed harshly. “Yuck… I can still taste the harmony on my lips. There must be something else to get this taste out of my mouth.” He rummaged through the shelves. “Never a better place for food than an Equestrian pantry. Even when the world is frozen over you ponies do love your sweets. Can’t blame you though, they are simply divine. Let’s see… daffodil extract… Vapor of Death…. Celery. Oh what’s this?” He rolled a vial over in his claw. “Potion of the Mangus Thief? My, my Celestia, you keep a fully stocked kitchen.” He snapped his fingers and the bottle of glowing liquid vanished. “I’ll just keep that for now. I know a little filly in Ponyville with a red bow that will find a nice use for that someday far in the future.” Discord snaked around Rising Star and pressed the side of his face up against hers. “See that’s what I do. I play the long game.”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
“Oh yes, quite. Even my little appearance a year ago was for the long haul. I had to instill fear, hatred, and worry. All those little ponies running around at the preview thinking the world was ending.” Discord bellowed a loud laugh. “How could they know that I had such a better fate in store for them?” He pulled the lid off another jar and began munching on its contents. “Only thing to do now is wait. I’ll admit I’m a bit anxious. I’m a pretty patient horse-dragon-griffin-bat-manticore-thing, I’ve waited for thousands of years for revenge and I’m going to get it. But even someone as magnificent as I is going to get a tad bored during this lull period while we wait for Twilight to get things rolling.” He licked the inside of the jar then tossed it aside. “I think that’s why I’m eating so much. I’m so bored. Ugh. I’m going to be so out of shape when it comes time to rule the world. Be honest, Rising Star, is all this eating making me fat?” He clutched at his stomach.
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
Discord’s face fell flat. “Listen you, just because you’re brainwashed doesn’t mean you have to be rude.”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
“Good. Glad to see we’re on the same page. Oh I can’t wait until little Celestia get’s her comeuppance. Everything is going to be just perfect.” He sighed dreamily. “You see my revenge is simple. I’m going to take everything she holds dear to her and slowly take it away from her.” He chuckled. “I’m so close already, my dear Rising Star. I’ve tricked her into turning against her kingdom. She’s burned her own city to the ground in a misguided attempt to save it. I’ve turned her sister against her. She thinks her own sister is stealing away her dear student, her surrogate daughter. But I haven’t taken everything from her yet. She still thinks Twilight is going to save her world. Oh, she’ll try. But she won’t. Once that hope dies, my revenge will be complete. Then she’ll be a broken mare with nowhere to turn to but my claws. And when everything is done, Celestia is just going to be tickled pink with fury. Well more likely tickled turquoise, but that’s a joke I haven’t told yet.” Discord rolled on his back and laughed. “Oh it’s great too. Little Luna and Twilight were so righteous about their protest of Celestia’s rules. All because they think they are in truw luv!” He made a kissing face. Once he was met with Rising Star’s blank stare he shook his head. “They only think they are in love because of all those sexy dreams I gave them. Oh, Luna! Oh, Twilight! Oh, Luna! Oh… for the love of hay!” Discord broke down laughing. “Ridiculous, right?”
“Yes….” Rising Star said in a zombie-like tone.
“Phfft. Not in the least. The heart is a powerful thing, Rising Star. I, not once, but twice underestimated the power of unity and togetherness. Now I’m using it against them. Oh yes, Twilight will rise to the top! She’s ruler of the country right now! She’ll plunge the world into chaos and then she’ll rise up. She’ll march her friends straight to the end of it. And then… oh that’s the best part. I want to tell you Rising Star, but I’m afraid it will spoil it.” He gave the unicorn a push. “Now, I think you have a tray of tea to deliver.”
Discord laughed. “Soon! So… soon….”
Down in the literary restoration room, Twilight Sparkle stood up slowly from her sitting position. She had not been sitting for the entire story, but her legs still felt stiff. The room was deathly quiet. In one way the silence was comforting, in others it was unsettling. Twilight for a moment said nothing. Her eyes traced one the bookshelves on the wall. It searched for familiar titles on scientific findings or magical theories. There were many titles she recognized and she tried hard to not focus on recalling their pages. A nagging voice in her head told her it was time to deal with the problem in front of her, but every ounce of her willpower was not enough to force a word out. Princess Luna was lightly tapping her hoof against the carpet. She meticulously rocked her hoof back and forth, trading pressure from the frog to the wall and back again. Applejack’s head snapped back and forth, glancing at each pony waiting for somepony to say something.
As it happened, Luna was the first to speak. “Do… do you have any…? Well… you must have several questions…” She said. Her voice was raspy; either from talking so much or from nervousness, she did not know.
“Actually just one….” Twilight Sparkle suddenly looked up and met eyes with Luna. “How many died because of you and Celestia?”
Luna’s eyes stared straight into Twilight’s pupils. She felt their black pits swallow her into nothingness. A heavy wave of dizziness overwhelmed her, but she did not break eye contact. “While it was undoubtedly Celestia… and I’s…. fault that Discord went mad, I do not think any pony died due to his direct actions.” Luna felt the urge to break eye contact and glance at the floor. Her will overcame the sensation and she continued to speak. “That said…. The era of chaos was a dangerous time and those who did not perish to the various extremes of the world certainly couldn’t lay claim to happiness.”
“What about when the sun was stuck in the sky?” Twilight said softly. Her tone was hard to read. Luna suspected a hit of anger, but it was also possible it was sorrow. “How many died then?”
Luna’s eyes twitched. Again she had the overwhelming urge to stare at the floor and hid beneath her own wings. “I promise you we didn’t know what the outcome of our actions would be. Discord was… he was terrible. You’ve only seen a taste of his power. You have no idea what he did to the world, how much suffering there was while he ruled. When his grip on the world fell, we had no way of knowing that Dagr and Nótt would shirk their duties. It was not an easy decision for us… to kill former friends. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
Twilight’s gaze did not falter. Her tone became slightly harsher. “How… many…?”
Luna’s lip trembled. She had faced judgment from many ponies before, but Twilight’s was by far the most hurtful. She wished the purple pony would utter one word to let her know that she was not hated by all. “The heat burned the world. It killed… many… an uncountable number.”
“What about Nightmare Night? When the sun did not raise…. How many died that night?”
Luna’s gaze dropped from Twilight’s for a brief moment. She quickly sought solace in the image of the carpet before bringing her gaze back to the unicorn’s pupils. “I don’t know…. The sun was not gone long… a few days… it was cold. Very cold. Much like it is outside right now. I was told…. not… all… made it through the night.”
Twilight’s left hoof curled inwards, gripping at the carpet. “How many do you think will die this time?” Luna could no longer keep eye contact. Her head dropped to the floor and she closed her eyes. Her ears fell flat and her hooves covered the top of her head as if she were awaiting physical punishment like a small filly. “Things so vital, such as the sun and the moon, should not be in the control of ponies.”
Luna whimpered slightly. “You… you must hate me….” She felt tears coming, but her face remained dry.
Twilight shook her head. “No.” Luna glanced up suddenly, the beginnings of a smile started to form on her lips. Twilight turned around and faced the door. “I wish I hated you. I wish I had room in my heart to hate you. But my heart is filled for hate for myself right now.” Twilight lowered her head as she approached the door. “The world is dying and it’s my fault.” She glanced back to Luna and scowled. “It’s your fault too!”
Princess Luna winced. A whole mess of emotions came swirling into her heart, none of which were pleasant. “Twilight I…”
“No. No words… I need to go fix this.” Twilight pushed the door open loudly and pointed her hoof at Applejack. “Applejack, come on.”
Discord sighed. He flopped himself down on the lavish bed at the top of one of the highest towers in the castle. The mattress released a satisfying poof sound as the air rushed out from under the covers. The draconequus flipped himself over on his back. He stared up at the ceiling, halfheartedly admiring the intricate paintings of the sunrise. Unlike most of the rooms in the castle, this one was largely intact. Discord could only ponder why. Perhaps Celestia had subconsciously steered the fighting away from her own room? Perhaps random chance had a place in it? Either way, it hardly mattered. He giggled to himself. “I always knew one day I’d end up in your bed, Celestia.” His giggling dissolved into a fit of roaring laughter. The booming laughter shook the room; particles of dust fell from the ceiling. After a few moments the momentum of the laughter began to wane. The uproarious guffaw faded into a hearty chuckle. The hearty chuckle trickled into a minor giggle. The minor giggle soon passed into a long, drawn-out sigh. “Bored now.” He said quietly. For a while he sat in silence. He watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. He listened to the faint sound of ponies trudging through snow outside the castle. After a few hours he bolted upright suddenly. “I bet the pink one is doing something funny!” He smiled and snapped his fingers. With a flash of white light he vanished from the room.
With a second flash of light he found himself perched atop some castle wall, looking downwards at the courtyard. The air was freezing and a few ponies were slowly moving, trying to clear the snow off the ground. In the middle of the courtyard sat Pinkie Pie, wrapped from head to hoof in a heavy bundle of warm clothes. The pink pony was sobbing heavily. Discord frowned; sobbing was not what he was hoping to see. Tears were dripping down from her face and seemingly freezing before hitting the ground. Another pony was approaching her; this one was also draped in heavy winter clothes. “Pinkie Pie, dear, you can’t be out here. It’s freezing out here, darling. All restoration work is stopping until the pegasus ponies can figure out how to get rid of all this snow.” The second pony said. The pink pony only responded with a large sob.
“Ra…Rarity…!” She said with a shiver. “Twilight hates me now!”
“Oh, Pinkie dear, Twilight doesn’t hate you. She’s just under a lot stress right now.”
“She does h-h-hate me!” Pinkie Pie inhaled deeply. “I didn’t tell her about the sun, even though you all told me not to tell her anything so she wouldn’t be sad but now she is sad because I didn’t tell her which is exactly what you said not to do so I didn’t do it but that’s not what Twilight wanted me to do because she said she needs to know stuff to rule the kingdom which I suppose makes sense but I was just trying to be a good friend and now I’m a terrible friend or maybe Twilight is a terrible friend and it’s my fault for making her mad and now…!”
“Pinkie! C-c-calm down!” Rarity adjusted the blanket she was struggling to hold through her shivering. “You have to understand every pony is a bit tense right now, Twilight probably the most of all.” She reached a hoof out from under her blanket and she could have sworn icicles were starting to form on it. She quickly wrapped her hoof around Pinkie Pie and pulled the pink pony into a hug. “Look at it from her perspective. She’s had to watch her hometown destroyed; her surrogate mother and her fillyfriend were the cause of it. Now she has a lot of responsibility suddenly thrust upon her shoulders while she’s feeling Celestia knows what relationship-wise. Not to mention that her brother and sister-in-law are still missing and her parents are injured and she doesn’t even have the time right now to go tend to them.”
“She still didn’t have to y-y-yell at me.”
“Come inside dear. Twilight wants us to pack. We’re going to head back to Ponyville tomorrow after we all get some much needed sleep. And as soon as this is all over, I promise I’ll get Twilight to apologize to you for yelling.”
Discord sighed. “This isn’t funny.” He shook his head. “This is kind of depressing, actually.” He glanced up at the sky. “I’d care if I wasn’t so… BORED!” He screamed upwards at the clouds and then flashed out of existence.
“Ponyville? Are you sure?” Applejack asked as she trotted along next to Twilight Sparkle. They were walking through what was left of Canterlot Castle’s once grand library. Applejack was pushing a heavy cart loaded with books Twilight had been pulling off the shelves. She adjusted a scarf she had recently put on to help with the increasingly sharp drop in temperature. The inner walls of the castle, those that did not have holes, still kept in a good deal of heat from the furnaces, but it was quickly becoming unlivable. Applejack sighed. No doubt her trees at home were lost causes. She was not sure if the farm had enough money to make it to next harvest, but that was a problem that paled in comparison to what was currently happening.
“Yes. The end of Luna’s story revealed a few false assumptions I had been operating under. The existence of Dagr and Nótt change many of my theories. I think I know of a way to take control of the sun and moon again.” Twilight flipped through a book and quickly tossed it aside. The tome landed on its spine and made a cracking sound. Applejack gave Twilight a worried look, she had never seen her so careless with books before. “That is, of course, if I can find the correct book I need. There’s something in this library about catalytic crystal infusion. I’ll need that if I want to make a vessel to hold all the magic I’ll need to pull this off.” Twilight shook her head as she tossed another book off to the side. “But the final tome I’ll need is in my library back home in Ponyville: Mastering the Effects of Magical Transfusion While Preserving the Alignment of the Source.”
“Okay… not for nothing, but um, maybe perhaps’n you could explain it again to me one more time? These books are going to help us how?” Applejack scratched her head.
Twilight sighed. “Luna said the original sun and moon were destroyed in the centaur’s war. Dagr and Nótt are the replacements that kept the world alive all these years. Celestia and Luna killed Dagr and Nótt; I don’t know how Celestia knew what would happen, but that action forced them to inherit those spirit’s powers… and duties. Nightmare Moon is what is left of Nótt’s essence. The rage that spirit must have felt after being killed by somepony he once called a friend. I can understand why Nightmare Moon is so dangerous. That must also mean that something similar lies within Celestia... or that Celestia herself is Dagr’s essence. For the love of hay, the Celestia I knew was probably never Celestia to begin with!” Twilight sighed once more. “But I digress. The bottom line is I finally understand why only Celestia and Luna can move the sun and moon.”
“Uh… good… That’s good.” Applejack said with a nod. “You might wanna tell me why?”
“The sun and the moon must be keyed to only respond to Dagr and Nótt’s essences. Perhaps it’s some sort of failsafe to prevent the planet from falling into eternal night… or twilight. If I can figure out a way to fake the magical signature of Dagr’s essence, I can move the sun. Provided I find a source of magic large enough.”
Applejack scrunched her face up tightly. Her puzzler was getting sore from all this puzzling. “And where are we going to find a source of magic large enough?” She asked.
“Anywhere. That’s why I need these books from the Canterlot library. These detail a way to combine magical energies and channel them into one source. I’m not sure how much magic it will take to move the sun, but I bet the six of us with the amplifying power of the Elements of Harmony might be enough. If that’s not, then we will just have to find every unicorn that lives in Equestria! Together, there should be nothing we can’t do.” Twilight gave Applejack a weak smile.
“Okay…” Applejack nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s the magic source… but how are you going to fake Dagr’s signature thingy?”
Twilight nodded a few times to herself. “It’s really simple if you think about it. What in the entire world is really good at mimicking things? Changelings, of course. If we can find a changeling skilled enough we can get it to mimic Dagr’s energy. That’s why we need to go back to Ponyville. There’s a book there that should teach me how to construct a crystal that will allow me to borrow the mimicked signature.”
“Is that how Celestia took control of the moon?”
“It had to be something like that. I wish I knew how she did that. She must have had some way to alter her magical signature to mimic Nótt's…”
“So… we need to go to Ponyville for this book.” Applejack said slowly. Something did not seem right to her.
“That’s correct.” Twilight said with a nod. She started to rummage through the cart of books they had collected.
“And then we need a changeling?”
“Uh… right….” Twilight said slowly. “Well… not just any changeling. It has to be one that can be as perfect of a mimic as possible.” Twilight paused for a moment. “It’s going to have to be a changeling queen. Like Chrysalis.”
Applejack winced. “Right… um… you do know that Queen Chrysalis has been missing from the dungeon since this whole thing started right?”
“I know…. I’ve got… Wind Strider doing stuff about… that…. He’s got a platoon or something already out there looking for where she could have run off to.” Twilight sighed. “They don’t have much time to find her.”
“Doesn’t that throw a whole wretch into your plan?”
Twilight turned around and slammed her hoof on the ground. Applejack jumped back in surprise. “One thing at a time!” She yelled. Applejack winced. Twilight shook her head. “Sorry. I just….” Her eyes began to tear up. “I just am trying to fix this.”
Applejack bit her lip. “The thing with the sun or your issue with Luna?”
Twilight’s eyes watered. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a call from across the room. “Lady Twilight! Lady Twilight!”
Twilight turned to see a pink pegasus approaching her at a gallop with a rolled up piece of parchment in his mouth. “Wind Strider! Did you find her? Did your ponies locate Chrysalis?” Twilight’s face lit up into a smile.
“Not yet, milady. We are still looking vigorously, despite the cold temperatures.” Wind Strider said with a slight bow of the head. Twilight’s smile vanished briefly.
“Then you found my brother and sister-in-law?” She asked excitedly.
“I’m afraid not, milady.” Again Twilight’s smile faded. “I’m afraid I don’t have much good news. I will say that we have a plan for the refugee camp that I would like your opinion on.” Twilight nodded. “As you know it’s getting rather cold out there, keeping ponies warm is quickly becoming our top priority. I noticed that the ground is still a tad warmer compared to the surface. One of the royal scholars thinks that geothermal heat might be why. So, pending your permission, I was thinking we should move all of the refugees into the old crystal mines underneath Canterlot. In those caves we might be able to keep all those ponies warm.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s a good idea. Get to work on moving the supplies. Anything else?” Twilight said as she pointed to the parchment rolled up in Wind Strider’s mouth.
“Oh! Right! This scroll is from Celestia.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “For pony’s sake, give me that!” Magic ripped the scroll out of Wind Strider’s mouth. The parchment unfolded and Twilight’s eyes quickly scanned across the document. “I… don’t understand. This is just scribbles. It looks like a foal just took the quill and scribbled all over the parchment. This is from Celestia?”
“I would not recommend going to the chamber where she’s locked up. The sight is... most disturbing.... She’s laying on the floor there surrounded by scrolls that look just like this. They are all incomprehensible scribbles. We keep trying to see if she’ll talk but the most we’ve gotten out of her is a moan. She’s almost catatonic, but she keeps scribbling these notes with her mouth.”
Twilight tossed the scroll on the ground and screamed in frustration. “I don’t have time for this. I’ll figure out why Celestia’s gone mad after I get the sun moving again.”
“I’m sorry to upset you, milady. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“It’s not your fault, Wind Strider. Just make sure your guards find Chrysalis, not only is she a danger but she may also be our only hope.” Twilight sighed. “Oh. Actually there’s one other thing. Applejack had some tea ordered for me quite a while ago and it seems to have gotten lost. Can you check on that for me?”
Wind Strider saluted. “Right away, milady!”
“At last. It all comes down to this. This is what separates the true masters of chaos from those who serve ice cream.” Discord rubbed his claws together. “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for! Long have we played this game of pawns and knights, and long have I waited for an opening in your defenses. Finally, my moment has come. This is the time where you shall witness the utter destruction of your peaceful kingdom!” The draconequus cackled as he lifted his claw upwards. “Now bow before the true might of the master of chaos! With this final act I shall send you spiraling downwards unto infinite despair!” Bland gasps of fear emanated from the other occupant of the room. Discord slammed his fist down on the table. His claw uncurled to reveal a small figurine. “Check… and I believe that’s mate.”
Shining Armor looked down at his hoof of cards. “Oh.” He said in a zombie-like tone. “I thought we were playing poker. I have a full house, aces over threes. Does that beat checkmate?”
Discord glanced over at the stuffed pony doll sitting on the other side of the table. “Smarty Pants, do you remember what game we were playing?” The lifeless doll’s button eyes stared off into space.
“What did she say?” Shining Armor asked, his monotone barely indicating a question at all.
Discord smiled devilishly. “She says I win.”
“Oh.” Shining Armor slowly raised his hooves in the air and wiggled them. “Yay…”
“Your enthusiasm is touching.” The chaotic sarcasm was easy to hear in his voice.
Shining Armor nodded. Sarcasm was beyond his level of comprehension. “Can I go see Cadence now?”
Discord slowly dragged his claw down the front of his face. “Sure…. Whatever. You’re as one-dimensional as the real Shining Armor.” He snapped his fingers and the unicorn dissolved into smoke with a wail. The draconequus sighed once more. He threw himself on the ground and rolled onto his back. “Oh… so bored!” He picked up the doll and held it above his head. “Say, Smarty Pants, did I ever tell you my latest evil plan yet?” He paused for a few seconds. “I did? Oh…. Well, would you like to hear it again?” He paused again and waited for the doll to finish talking. “Fine….”
He blew a long, drawn-out whistle that slowly dropped in pitch. “Look at me. I’m so bored I’m talking to a doll. Have I gone mad?” He bolted upright; still clutching the doll in is claw. “Oh no! I’ve noticed I’m mad! Does that mean I’m going sane? Has this lack of chaos dulled my mind to the infinite possibilities of entropy and randomness? Am I starting to see things by the limits of physics once more?” He nervously started chewing on his nails. “Is this how it ends? Is the mighty master of chaos brought down? Not in a glorious battle between order and entropy but in the quiet whimper of a full house, aces over threes? Granted that’s a good hoof… but still… to be reduced to sanity out of boredom?!” He stretched his arm out and gazed into the button eyes of the doll. “Alas, poor Smarty Pants, I had a good run!” He squeezed the doll tightly and one of the button eyes popped off.
“Oh!” He yelped as the button rolled around the floor of the dark room. “Twilight’s never going to let me hear the end of it if I lost her favorite toy’s eye!” He scrambled around the floor, swatting at the rolling button. Finally he managed to catch the elusive button. He picked it up and grasped it firmly between two digits. “Do not worry, my dear doll, I will find one with the appropriate sewing skills to give you your sight back. No! Don’t talk like that! You must press on!” He began to weep over the doll’s form. “No! Smarty Pants! We hardly knew you. And now, we never will.”
He gazed through the button’s holes at some random painting that adored the walls of that remote part of the castle. “Gaze into my soul, Smarty Pants. Witness these feelings that I have. Could it be that after all these years and atrocities my heart, harden by revenge is starting to soften? Has this time of boredom taught me that my ways of chaos and torment are not the answer? All these feelings that are welling up inside of me, are they trying to show me a new light? These butterflies in my stomach, I’m afraid that….” He belched loudly. “Oh! Nope. I guess that was just the olives. Trippy.”
Twilight Sparkle pulled tightly on the blanket that covered her body. She felt a shiver go down her spine as a faint wind bit at her fur. She gingerly pressed a hoof against the side of the large structure before her. The whale shaped airship groaned as its metal hull reacted to the cold. Applejack pressed herself up against the unicorn’s side. Twilight gave her friend a concerned look. Applejack chuckled. “Don’t worry sugarcube. I’m not getting any ideas. I’m just a mite cold.” Applejack sighed. “Is this thing going to fly in this weather? This thing is actually going to get us to Ponyville?”
Twilight smiled slightly. “This is airship is based upon the same principles as my balloon. It actually files better in the cold.” The unicorn chuckled. “Besides, the train tracks are frozen over right now. We don’t have much of a choice.” She leaned in to closely inspect the hull of the airship. “I just wanted to see that the thing wasn’t destroyed in the battle. First we get some rest. I think we all need it.” Twilight sighed. A tear fell down her cheek.
Applejack sighed. It hurt a lot to see her friend having such a hard time. The trouble, of course, was getting her to open up so she could get at the heart of the problem. “So….”
Twilight collapsed to her knees. “Applejack… I just don’t know what to do about Luna. What am I supposed to do? I don’t know what to do about Celestia either…. If we fix this thing with the sun, what happens then?” She began to sob. “I used to think Celestia and Luna were these god-like beings of perfection. They were these eternal beings of mysticism that burned in the center of the world like the dying embers of a bonfire. It was as though they were nature itself, primordial mysteries of the world. Now I see their just these lost little fillies... They don't know what they're doing... or who they're hurting....”
“Twi….”
“My life used to make sense, Applejack. I had the best friends any pony could ever ask for. How lucky I felt to be the student of the pony that raises the sun! How amazing is it that I’m dating the goddess of the moon?”
Applejack smiled. “You still have the best friends any pony could ask for, sugarcube.”
Twilight smiled. “That’s why I need you all to come to Ponyville with me. It’s not that I need help with the book… it’s just I’m afraid of what will happen if I’m left alone.”
Applejack looked shocked. “Twilight!”
Twilight shook her head. “No, no. Nothing like that. I’m afraid if I’m left alone I’ll just collapse in to a sobbing fit. And as much as I’d like to do that right now, Equestria needs me.”
“And you need us. Don’t worry, Twilight we’ll help in any way we can. Even with Luna.”
“I’ve been reading a lot of relationship books recently. Strangely none of these ever mentioned what to do when you've just found out that your fillyfriend is a… murderous thing… that walks around with the spirit of her dead friend prancing around in her mind to give her dark powers whenever she wants!” Twilight sobbed. “And then…” Applejack wiped the tears from Twilight’s face as the purple pony continued to speak. “There’s something else I don’t get. Why did she tell me her whole life’s story? Why not just tell me the part about Nótt and Discord?”
Applejack patted her back. “Don’t you think she wanted you to see her as a pony for once? You said yourself you saw her as this mystical higher being before all this mess. Don’t you think she’s worried that you hate her beyond all belief? That she wants you to see her as something other than the bringer of eternal night? For you to see her as just a normal pony. A pony that had a father and a mother and friends at one time? A pony whose only crime was loving her sister…” Applejack thought for a moment. “Well then… there’s murder and whatever the hay Nightmare Night was.” Applejack winced; sometimes being honest was a pain. “But… but… but don’t you mind that! The point is she’s desperate for your affection. She’s been alone for so long and Ah don’t think she wants to go back to that. She knows she messed up and also knows that she’s powerless to fix it at the moment.”
Twilight stamped her hoof. “Don’t you think I know that? I mean… I didn’t know that. Or I knew something like that. By Celestia, I don’t understand why I even should care anymore! I hate myself so much right now. I don’t understand how I could have any shred of…. She… destroyed the city I was born in… she… she… she… won’t get out of my mind….”
Applejack sighed. “Ah know it seems stupid, but Twilight, we don’t always get to pick who we fall in love with….”
“What am I supposed to do then?”
“Well, Ah can’t tell you that. Now I could stand here and tell you some story about apples and trees and seeds and stuff. But that’s not going to fix your problem. Only you can do that. And I think it comes down to, if’n you want to fix your problem or if’n you want to let things betwixt the two of you die.”
Twilight sniffled. “Well I can’t forgive her. Not yet. Not until this whole mess is gone.” Twilight shook her head. “I wish she hadn’t told me that story.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because now I know of one other way to make the sun and moon move. If we can’t find Chrysalis or figure out how Celestia mimicked Nótt’s essence to move the moon, there’s only one other thing I can think of that will get the sun to move and stop this world from freezing over.” Twilight sighed. “Dagr and Nótt’s powers were transferred once before, it could be done the same way.” Twilight Sparkle gulped loudly. “I hope it doesn’t come to that….”
Twilight Sparkle entered the literary restoration room quietly. Princess Luna glanced up from the spot she was sitting on the floor. Her lip quivered slightly, unsure how to take this surprise appearance of the pony she had hurt so badly. The blue alicorn opened her mouth apprehensively. She had spent the last few hours of solitude preparing a speech. It was some form of apology or perhaps even a plea of some kind. As she sat on the floor now, staring up at the unicorn at the far end of the room, the words floated away. She had always had a mind like a steel trap when it came to speeches, but this one simply dissolved into the mists of her mind upon seeing the unicorn. The last time they had talked was still only a few hours ago, yet it seemed like an eternity. Her role in the current situation of the kingdom was neither unknown, nor forgotten by the unicorn and Luna knew this. She had told her life’s story. Twilight did not wait for Luna to say anything. Silently she strode across the room. Celestia’s peytrel and crown bounced against the small unicorn’s body. Her head was bowed and angled at the ground. She made no eye contact with Luna as she walked up next to her. Without a word or a look, Twilight sat down next to the princess. She scooted herself next to the alicorn’s side and waited. Princess Luna was stunned. “Twilight….” She whispered.
“I’m not talking to you…” Twilight said almost inaudibly. “Crescent Flank….”
Luna opened her mouth to try again, but something in the air told her that now was not the time to speak. She quietly extended her wing over the unicorn’s withers and snuggled down next to the smaller pony. No words were said, but simply the unicorn’s presence put Luna’s mind at ease. Things may not have been completely fixed between the two, and great trials still existed on the horizon, but at least not all was lost. As silence descended upon the castle, a small chuckled echoed softly in the room.
“Asleep finally?” Discord said as he walked around the two ponies. He leaned over top of them and watched their chests heave with each breath. “Good, good. I’m glad to see the whole love-thingy is still working out for you two. I would say I’m surprised after everything, but I didn’t spend six months filling your brains with such thoughts to have it undone in a little spat between sisters.” He circled around the two ponies, rubbing his claws together excitedly. “Yes, yes. Get your sleep. For tomorrow, or whatever it’s called right now, is going to be… such… a great… day…!”
The draconequus bellowed a laugh only he could hear. As his laughing subsided, he wiped a tear from his eye. “Oh. I can’t tell you how excited I…. Hold on… what’s this?” His head yanked backwards as his eye caught sight of something. His eyes widen fearfully. “Is that Celestia’s peytrel? Oh my.” He glanced around frantically; thankfully no pony was around to notice his mistake. “That was almost terribly embarrassing. To think after years of scheming and all that effort, I almost let one little detail ruin everything. Celestia’s peytrel… how did I miss that? Certainly can’t have you figuring out what that thing is capable of, Twilight.” He scratched at his beard for a moment, trying his hardest to see how he could have overlooked something so obvious. “Oh well, can’t dwell in the past. I’ll just take care of that….” He reached outwards. As his claw approached the golden chest plate worn by the unicorn he heard a deafening sound.
Clink!
Discord flinched from the noise. It was not terribly loud, but the entire castle was deathly quiet at the moment and the sound traveled. He quickly inspected the sleeping couple to see if they reacted to the sound. After finding that they were not, he resumed his task of reaching for the peytrel. Clink! “What the?” A brief flash of ethereal chains wrapped themselves around his claw, stopping it inches from touching the peytrel. “Oh, you have got to be joking.” He reached out again. Clink! “Well. Yes, I suppose that would be chaotic, wouldn’t it?” He shook his head. “No matter, there’s more than one way to undress a horse.”
He cleared his throat and leaned in near Luna’s ear. His voice dropped to a low murmur. “Oh Luna dear, look at you all nice and snuggly with your little unicorn.” Luna sighed contently. “Isn’t she so soft and cute and huggable?” He stopped for a moment to look off to the side and gag. With another quick throat clearing he continued. “It’s such a shame that cold armor is stopping all that hugging and squeezing and cuddling. You should do something about that.” He curled his claw in front of his mouth and again cleared his throat. When he spoke again, his words were replaced with Twilight’s cheerful voice. “Oh Crescent Flank, can you help me with this clasp? It’s so hard to reach.”
Luna nodded softly and her hoof began to trail up Twilight’s back. Discord watched impatiently as Luna’s hoof neared the peytrel’s clasp. He spoke again with Twilight’s voice. “Warmer… warmer… warmer… colder… colder… cold!” He snarled, briefly dropping his impression of Twilight. “You’re in the Griffica mountains, you stupid pastel equine!” He inhaled deeply and swallowed his anger. His resumed his impression and continued. “I mean… Cold… no wait! Hot! Hot! Oh, Luna! You’re so hot! Yes! Yes! Right there…!” Luna’s hoof brushed against the clasp and the peytrel fell to the ground with a loud clang. The two ponies flinched slightly at the noise but after a bit of snoring seemed to fall back asleep. Discord chuckled. “Was it good for you too?” He bit down on his claw to keep from laughing. “Ahem!” He reached forward. “Now then, let’s get this thing out of the way so it doesn’t interfere with my….”
Clink!
“What?” He stared puzzled at the chest plate resting on the floor. He reached out once more and watched as ethereal chains appeared out of thin air to stop him from touching the peytrel. Clink! “Oh, surely you jest, Fates!” He strained his arm trying to grab the piece of armor. “It’s just an object now! She’s not even wearing it anymore!” He snapped his fingers but nothing happened. “Come on! I can understand why removing it would be chaotic but it’s just sitting there on the floor right now! You stupid Fates….” He stood up and pointed angrily at the ceiling. “I know what this is. Don’t think me stupid, Fates. I know what this is. This is payback, isn’t it? Oh yes… It’s payback for all those years I was in hiding. Well I’m the champion of chaos now. So let me do my job!” He reached forward and struggled against the chains. Click! “You know what this is teaching me right? This is just teaching me to never make a legitimate deal again, that’s what this is. That’s what this is right here, Fates.” He leaned back and folded his arms. “Oh laugh it up, Fates! Laugh it up. Enjoy your rare bit of power over me. Oh cheese and chaos, I hate this deal. I’m telling you removing the object from the room isn’t chaotic at all.” He pointed at Celestia’s peytrel. “In fact, that’s a dangerous artifact. It’s more chaotic to leave it there. Why I’m doing the world a service by removing it.” He waited for a moment as he pulled at his beard. “I’m telling you, Fates, it’s a crime to leave that cursed thing there. I mean, that’s a fragment of the stone that spawned the cursed changeling race! It would be… a harmonious act to make it disappear.” Clink!
He let out a long sigh. “Fine, whatever. I hope you’re happy. You’re not really even getting anything out of this. Stupid Fates…. I’ll just go and find one of the cleaning staff to come in here and pick it up for me. Five minutes. That’s how much time you’ve cost me. Five minutes, Fates.” He walked over to the edge of the room. He picked up a long wooden pole, one that had at one point been a part of the structure but was jostled loose during the attack on the city. “Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Nothing can get me down. Tomorrow is going to be a spectacular day. Just you wait. Tomorrow is going to be perfect. The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed of since I was encased in stone.” He twirled the pole and put a slight swing in his step. He began to hum. “Ba-da-da-dee-da-do-da-a flop? Ba-da-da-dee-da-do-da top. Ba-da-da-da-da it won’t get me to stop, causing chaos for you…!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
676 users online
940,602 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
And here I had said I wouldn't post a new chapter in November.
I lied.
I agree with Discord. Olives are terrible.
Damn......INTERESTING
Who could hate olives?!
It's so exciting to see Discord back in the thick of things again. But now I'm really curious, was the "I'm causing chaos for you" song he's singing here and in the last chapter based on any other tune? Or was that a complete original?
1602491 aaanything.net/wp-content/gallery/inspirational-true-meaning/fuck_you_and_your_lies_yeah_train_fuck_your_lies_you_bitch.jpg
1602657>>1602700
Olives are evil nasty things! They are the Testicles of Beiber! (Only five times the size though)
1602491
Loving the story so far, it really pulls my heartstrings at times, and
makes a wonderful running gag out of everything, whilst still keeping the
plot in check.
Keep up all your good work!
Also, Discord is best villein
Ed
1602697
I'm going to assume that large of a font is a good thing?
1602700
Chaos for You's lyrics are original. The refrain bits can be sung to the tune of "You're Only Second Rate" from Disney's Aladdin II. The verses... not so much.... They have an internally consistent syllable count, but not one that matches the verse of the Disney song.
1602923
I'll not have completely true sayings about Beiber here. Watch your mouth.
1604653
I've been told that the story has its funny moments, but it's a real treat to hear it's got someone's feels in a tizzy.
1604828
Well, your writing is just that good!
Also, it's nice that you replied, it makes my day more
worth while you know?
Ed
1604848
Imagine it from my perspective! I've got COMMENTS! It's glorious.
1604902
Yes, I too, love comments!
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/gVTJs.gif?1351799453
Although all mine are C.C, but I don't care, at least ponies care enough to
give me advice!
Ed
1604828 LMAO!!!
I can only imagine what Celestia is trying to write...actually was she forbidden from drawing a diagram for Twilight? I don't right remember...
Anywho, Twilight has the source of Changeling powah now and can work on the spell almost right away... until, like all adventures, fate throws a giant wrench into the plans and laughs as they run around like idiots trying to fix it
1605550
She was released from the chains around the time she was recounting her mother dying. IIRC
Though, to be fair, I think it's like:
STORY STORY (btw, let me remove those chains) STORY STORY
Discord, I love you so much!
Ha ha I knew Nott was Nightmare Moon.
Good chapter I must know what happens I MUST!
Discord is absolutely fabulous in this chapter. MOAR! (It that's OK with you)
ALL DEM REFERENCES. THROUGHOUT THE STORY. OMG. Legendary stuff.
I love this story so freaking much :D
Man, why can't Twilight understand that Celestia had to take control of the sun and the moon?
Oh well, it's her stress talking.