The Tale of Two Sisters

by Underwood

Chapter 11: Ragnarök

Five days ago, Canterlot Palace

“Captain!” Flash Magnus shouted as he burst into the officer’s station, finding the ashen-blue pegasus already donning his armour.

“Magnus, what in blazes was that explosion? Are the King and the Princesses safe?” Commander Ironhead boomed back, hurriedly ramming his hooves into his uniform hooflets.

“That’s- I’ll debrief you later, sir. What’s important is that we are to fully evacuate the palace as per Court Wizard Starswirl’s order, effective immediately.”

“Starswirl?! There had better be a good reason for this, or there will be Tartarus to pay.” Slamming his iron helmet over his ears and grabbing the nearby spear, the commander of the Valkyries pushed past Flash and into the hallway, stretching out his wings to take off towards the throne room.

“Starswirl is taking care of the Princesses,” Flash Magnus continued, taking to flight after his superior. “We need to clear the palace of civilians within five minutes, at most.”

“Five- Are you mad? There are over two-hundred staff on premises!” he called back, taking a corner at break-neck speed.

“This is a black alert, sir. The throne room is a black zone, and I’ve already cleared those in the immediate area. Silver Aegis has taken the quarters with Lightning Feather, while Flitterwing has the kitchen and Shooting Star is clearing the exterior. The rest are ferrying civvies from the gates to Canterlot Town.”

“By the Six.” The pegasus commander came to a sharp halt in mid-air, forcing Flash to quickly do the same. “Then what are we still doing here?!”

“That’s up to you, sir. Lieutenant Shooting Star suggested we stage a rear guard, in case the enemy comes after the civs.”

“What enemy?! What aren’t you telling me, guardspony?”

“I don’t know, sir, I wish I knew. Only Starswirl had eyes on the invader.”

“Just one?! Are you pulling my feathers, Private?”

“No, sir. I’ve never seen Starswirl that worked up, sir. Whatever this is, it’s real. That explosion came from the throne room while I was guarding the door.”

“Horsefeathers.We’ll speak of that later, Private. For now, let’s assess the situation from outside.”

“Aye, sir. I’ll make one more sweep of the halls and meet you there.”

“See that you do.”

With a curt nod, the two shot off in separate directions. As the Commander flew towards the nearest exit, Discord’s corruption spread past him, patterning the walls like the inside of a haberdashery. A broom closet opened on its own, spilling out supplies that rapidly morphed into all manners of creatures and objects, scattering in their own panicked trajectories. Almost too bewildered to absorb what he was seeing, he nearly missed the door to the Eastern enclosed garden. Hovering in the air for a moment, he watched with horror as the wall-mounted candles in the direction of the throne room began to start spraying water like miniature fountains. He had seen all he needed to know that this was no joke. Throwing open the door, he flew out and high over Canterlot Palace as other pegasi of the Valkyries flew about at lightning speeds, searching for or delivering maids, servants, and other members of the court from danger. As he surveyed the scene, Flash Magnus flew up from dropping off a terrified-looking maid at the outer gate.

“Report, Private.”

“There’s- There’s too many of them, sir. The royal guard are carrying and herding as many as they can, but we can’t have evacuated more than a quarter so-”

The pale-orange pegasus was cut off by a deafening yawn, causing everypony in the area to clasp their hooves over their ears.

“I mean really,” the sourceless voice continued, “all you do is scurry about like drowning rats. I was hoping for somekind of resistance, or at least a few more like that big one with the wings and horn.”

There was a snapping noise and everypony in the palace grounds suddenly found themselves sitting in the throne room, all in neat rows, facing a large, high-backed throne where the King’s had once sat. If the large antlers protruding from the top weren't ominous enough, the bizarre patchwork creature that slouched smugly in the new chair emanated an aura of pure malice.

“Now, where was I…” The creature stroked its white plume of chain-hair with an avian claw. “Oh yes, I believe introductions are in order. I’m Discord, Lord of Chaos, Master of Dissonance, yadda-yadda.” He rolled his hand dismissively. “Now it's your turn, my dear, gracioushosts.”

The palace staff looked at one another and murmured with confusion as the guardsponies struggled to raise their hooves from the floor, bound by some invisible force. Discord raised a long, disappointed eyebrow at the lack of a response.

“Hm, strange, I thought I asked a question.” He snapped his fingers, causing the entire front row of ponies to petrify into statues. “I suggest you be more attentive to your guest’s needs,” he continued nonchalantly. “Wouldn't want me to leave a bad review, would you?”

The entire hall burst into pandemonium as ponies screamed and ran in every direction, their hooves suddenly released. A crooked grin crossed the usurper's face as the guardsponies rushed forward, while those with wings took to the air. The Valkyrie's advance was slowed while having to dodge the blindly panicking pegasi civilians, leaving the royal guard to reach the front line first. With a flick of his hand, Discord yanked a random unicorn maid from the melee and brought her up to his face, dwarfing her before his serpentine body.

“What. Are. You?” he growled.

The small, blue pony stammered incoherently, terrified beyond words. Annoyed, the draconequus spun her around so she now faced the crowd, clicking his fingers once more. Every one of the approaching hoofbound guardsponies froze in place, causing a number to tumble from unstable poses, their newly stone forms breaking on impact with the hard marble floor. The maid shrieked in horror before he turned her again, glaring at serf with an expectantly arched brow.

“P-P-P-P-Ponies! W-W-W-We’re p-p-p-ponies!” Her entire body shook with fear as she barely formed the words.

“‘Ponies’, hm? You know, I've been told I have a face like a horse, though frankly I don't see the resemblance. Why do some of you have wings or horns, and others not?”

“P-P-P-P-Ponies,” she stammered again.

“Yes, yes, we’re past that,” he sighed. “Come now, the sooner you answer my frankly astonishingly simple questions, the sooner this will be over.”

“Put her down, you monster!” Commander Ironhead shouted from above, as the Valkyries had now finally surrounded their foe, seeking retribution for their comrades' paralysation.

“Really, you 'ponies' are so rude.” Without giving them even a cursory glance, a wave of his hand sent all of the pegasi guard shooting backwards and straight through the warped ceiling, pockmarking it with holes. With the pests dealt with, he refocused his attention on the maid. “Now, my dear, do continue.”

“P-P-P-P-P-”

Discord sighed once more. “Must I do everything?” He wiped his arm over the mare, revealing a book where she had once been, its cover engraved with her terrified facsimile. A self-satisfied smirk on his face, he cracked open the tome and began reading its contents.

“What in Equestria was that?” Commander Ironhead screamed at his troops as they stabilised themselves in the sky above the throne room, shaking debris out of their manes. Luckily their armour had absorbed the brunt of the impact.

“Commander, there’s no way we can stand against a monster like that, we have to flee!” Private Flash Magnus called from his position some distance away.

“Flee?! There are still innocents down there! We can’t just leave them!” Lieutenant Shooting Star barked at her junior, irked at being one-upped by the other-wordly creature.

The remaining pegasus guards looked at one another, unsure of who to side with. While each of them were devoted to protecting the kingdom, this seemed like an impossible battle to win.

“It is our job as Valkyries to defend King and country!” she continued. “We take a stand and fight to the last feather!”

“The King is compromised,” Ironhead rebuked, the first time the others had heard this news. “He was the first to fall.”

“Then all is lost,” Private Silver Aegis mumbled, dead-eyed.

Shooting Star flew in place slack-jawed, taking a moment to process this information. “E-Even so, the palace staff-”

“What do you hope to do, Shooting Star?” the Commander snapped, also bitter at his own helplessness. “Carry them out one-by-one yourself?”

“Together we can save some; maybe not all but-”

“The moment we fly down there, we’re statues like the others. There’s no point throwing our lives away on a lost cause. They're probably already done for...”

Shooting Star grimaced, taking her helmet off and throwing it down in rage. “With respect, Sir, I disagree, and I intend to save as many as I can, with or without your help.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Lieutenant, you’re throwing your life away. We retreat for now, that’s an order!”

Following the lead of their superior officer, the majority of the pegasus guard flew to his side, including a guilt-ridden Flash Magnus.

“Sorry sir, I did not hear your order.” The rainbow-maned pegasus glared at her commanding officer, who returned the sentiment.

“So be it. I knew that hot-head attitude would get you killed one day.” He turned away, not wanting to show the sadness on his face. Despite the raised tensions, she was a loyal and dear member of the corps. These ponies were like his children, and he had already lost too many...

Below the flock of strategising pegasi, Shooting Star’s discarded helmet hit the roof of the throne room, clattering off it loudly. A crack formed between the two closest pegasus-sized holes and quickly began spreading around the halo of punctures. All of the guardsponies looked down, fearing the loss of their momentary cover. With a mighty boom, the roof crumbled—though to everypony's surprise the debris fell upwards, disobeying the laws of gravity—followed close behind by Discord, his arms spread wide.

“Full retreat!” the commander hollered, immediately fleeing the emerging draconequus.

Discord clucked his tongue, taunting the routed guards. “Leaving so soon?”

He began to wave his arms as though conducting an orchestra, and out of nowhere an accompanying ensemble swelled. With every flick of his hand to the rhythm of the beat, a pegasi dropped from the sky, turned into a random object or creature.

“Defend the commander!” Shooting Star yelled to the small squad of renegades that had remained on her side of the invisible divide.

With a roar of fury, the airborne equines shot towards the creature, swooping and soaring on attack runs; swinging at him with wings and armoured hooves as they passed. A little surprised at the retaliation—though entirely unphased—Discord avoided most, if not all of the attempts with serpentine sways of his long body. While the attacks may have been fruitless, the rear guard did succeed in distracting the monster from its grim cadenza against the fleeing squadron, though gaining his attention was not without its drawbacks. Private Gliding Light received a swift whip to the face by Discord’s tail, sending her spiralling towards the palace’s walled garden, while Private Yule Bells was blinked out of existence entirely. As Commander Ironhead disappeared into the distance towards Cloudsdale, Shooting Star knew that this was a last stand that none of them would survive unless something extraordinary happened. She would have to do something extreme, something… sacrificial. If she could be the only one to fall while taking him down, that would be a win in her eyes.

“Hold him off,” she called to her squadmates. “I have a plan!”

“Are you kidding?!” Lieutenant Zippy Zoom screamed back, barely dodging gunfire from a miniature red biplane that Discord had spawned.

“Trust me!” she smirked, before flying away from the battle at a steep incline.

“Where’s she going?!” Private Daisy Dale shrieked just as he was turned to stone, plummeting towards the basin of one of Mount Friendship’s waterfalls.

“We just-” Zippy started, having to suddenly drop vertically to narrowly avoid the biplane again. “We just have to hold out! She has a plan! That’s an order, ponies!”

Shooting Star soared towards the sky, slowly leaving Canterlot behind her. She was known as the fastest flyer around, earning her honorary wings by participating in the Great Griffon War, despite the corps initially rejecting her application due to her devil-may-care attitude. Well, it was that very attitude that was going to win the day today! She’d make history by flying faster than that monster could react with its magic—sure, it would be a fatal impact of both of them, but this was for Equestria. This was for all the bits. She flapped, gaining more and more altitude until it started becoming hard to breathe, all while her comrades engaged Discord and his tricks, slowly dropping one by one. Just as the thin air started to make her dizzy, she turned and nosedived, plummeting towards the ground at an incredible speed, gaining momentum with each second. This would be it; she'd go down in history as the fastest pegasus in Equestria!

The distant grasslands of Lower Canterlot and Ponydale rushed towards her at a heart-pounding rate as the air-resistance pulled her cheeks and eyelids back from her face, causing them to stream in pain. Now, pull up! She craned her head back, attempting to alter the trajectory of her blur-like speed, pushing her wing-muscles to their very limit. She could feel the tension of the air around her grow, as though she were pushing through some invisible veil. The g-force of the turn was almost enough for her to black out, but she forced herself to push through, she had to do this! For Equestria! For the world!

All at once her body became weightless, like she had burst through that veil and become faster than any worldly force, carving her own path through the sky. As she cut the air itself like a rainbow knife, a massive star-shaped shock wave burst from her body, tearing at the clouds above and the plants below as she rocketed towards Discord. Although almost blinded by her own speed, it felt like her target was moving in slow motion, barely having enough time to turn to her before she was an inch away; a look of genuine fear in his eyes. One—final—push—and—she was gone. Discord looked up from behind his arms, barely having enough time to flinch. His expression was as confused as the stunned pegasi around him, looking about for the suddenly absent Lieutenant.

“Well... That was something,” he mused, visibly shaken, yet still finding humour in the surprise ending.

“No... Shooting Star...,” Private Marshmallow breathed to himself in shock.

“No! What did you do with her, you monster?!” Zippy Zoom shrieked.

“Don't look at me,” Discord retorted defensively, turning to the red pegasus. “I had nothing to do with... whatever that was.”

An awkward moment of silence fell over the still enemies, all recognising who the clear winner of this skirmish was. The draconequus reclined in the sky and crossed all four limbs.

“You've earned my attention with that little display. Would anybody else care to impress me?”

He raised an eyebrow as the six remaining pegasi looked at each other hopelessly.

“Shame. I really was hoping for a better showing, yet the best your pathetic little species can muster are two surprising disappointments. I suppose I should be grateful you could even muster that.”

“What do you want?” Zippy asked, the last assertive member of their dwindling force.

“'What do I want?' Why, just to spread a little chaos, that's all.” A wicked grin crept across his face, sending a chill down the ponies' spines. “This little cat-and-mouse game is just the warm-up, my equine friend. Oh, the things I have planned for your so easily malleable world... And that simply wouldn't be fun without a captive audience.” Evil oozed from his final words like thick honey as he slowly directed the pegasi's attention towards the hole below them, framing the swathes of stone ponies lining the hall beneath.

“W-W-What are you going to do with us?” Private Trendsetter stammered, having unintentionally remained after being stuck on the wrong side of the debris when Discord arrived, largely lucking his way through the previous fight.

“'Do with you?' Well I commend you for lasting as long as you did, so I think I'll let you go. You deserve that much.”

“R-Really?” The pale-pink stallion's face bloomed with a mixture of confusion and joy, fading as Discord erupted into a raucous belly-laugh.

“Of course not.”

With a snap of his fingers all six ponies froze in place, stoned like the others though not succumbing to gravity. Still chuckling to himself as he wiped away a tear, Discord floated back down through the throne room's new skylight, statues in tow as he turned toward his throne.

“Now, let's see...”

He stroked his chin-hair as he pondered the best use for his new prizes, clicking his fingers as the idea came to him. In a flash, the pedestal below his throne transformed from the original—if distorted—solid block of marble to a disk being held up by the six posed pegasi. With a satisfied nod he lowered himself to the ground and walked forward, creating a staircase of hexagons beneath his feet as he went, leading up to the new plinth. With a leap and a snake-like twirl, he landed neatly on his throne, looking quite pleased with himself as he surveyed the sea of sculptures before him. Never before had such a wealth of material been available to him! True, his home dimension was an infinite void he could mould to his every whim, but even infinity has its limits. It's so much more fun to play with living things.

“Very impressive,” a gravelly voice echoed out from the rear of the room, pushing open the gigantic, Discord-shaped doors without any aid and veiled in darkness.

“Oh great, another one.” He rolled his eyes, raising his hand to action.

“Ah-ah-ah, do not liken me to these pathetic ponies. I come offering my services, as I have you to thank for my release, it seems.”

“And what could you possibly do that I have need for?” He relaxed his hand, impatiently resting his chin on it instead.

“A live example, if I may?” The creature gestured forward.

Discord blinked, causing one of the statues at the back of the room to regain its colour, leaving the pale-yellow terran somewhat disorientated, staggering on the spot. From the shadows the new arrival exposed itself, revealing its red body, horned head, and four long, black legs. It leaned forward and opened its mouth, appearing to suck the very essence from the unaware pony at a distance, causing it to lose its colour and drop to the floor, glassy-eyed. The draconequus perked up at this sight, sitting up on his throne.

“Well you certainly are more interesting than the others, at least. What are you?”

The creature licked its lips before smirking beneath its silver nose-ring. “I am Tirek, Prince of the Centaurs. I was sealed away by the leader of this land some time-”

“Alright, alright, I didn't ask for your life story. Now what makes you think I have any need of you, hm?”

“The same reason for any of this.” He swung his arms wide, gesturing to the stone jungle as he walked down the aisle. “To sow a little chaos.”

“I'm listening.”

“I seek power—revenge—and all I need to achieve that are magical creatures to drain, just like these ponies.” He spat the name, humiliated to have lost not once, but twice to this inferior race. “All I ask is that you leave enough of the creatures for me to have my fill, and together we can destroy this pathetic land of Equestria!”

“Hm, a tempting offer... I have no interest in your revenge, but if you're capable of working around my chaos magic without disrupting my fun, I'll let you do as you please.”

“A thousand thanks, My Lord.” He bowed down, a sinister smile crossing his face.

“Why don't you show me that little trick of yours again?” He snapped his fingers, releasing some twenty more ponies from their stone prisons.

“Gladly.”

With the accord settled and both villains sated, Tirek backed out of the throne room and bowed once again before closing the doors. Turning away, he smirked as he flexed his already bolstered muscles.

“The fool. I shall have my fill of pony magic while this land is on its knees, and once I've reached my full potential, I shall return for him too.”

He walked down the entrance hall's crooked staircase, cackling to himself as he left the building. His first stop? Canterlot Town.

Author's Note:

If you would like to see more of Shooting Star, you can continue her journey in Flight of the Valkyrie.

1st Edition (Release) - 29th January, 2020 (3,483 words)

Special thanks to ASorcerer for helping proofread my work and his invaluable support.