All That Once Was

by CaptainRainbowDash

Vestiges

Celestia awoke with a start.

It was just before dawn. Which was how she always woke up. Same routine, every day, always at four thirty.

Celestia winced as she struggled out of Luna’s grasp. She hadn’t slept on hard ground in... ever. It hurt.

She walked outside of their makeshift hut, making tracks in the thick ash, and performed her normal after-sleep stretch, having to repeatedly shake her wings in order to get the blood flowing again. She hated when she slept on her wings funny. Or when other ponies slept on them. Although last night... was an exception. Celestia felt a primal urge to be near her sister at all times, it seemed. Made sense, seeing as how Luna was the only other living pony around.

She took hold of the sun and aided it in its path through the sky once again. Celestia then stepped inside of the hut once more. Luna was curled up peacefully on the floor, her mane flowing in a wind that didn’t exist. Celestia took the liberty of making Luna her seat.

“Oof!” Luna squeaked as she suddenly found a large weight pressing down on her side. “W-...what art thou doing, Tia!? Get off of Us!” Luna tossed a giggling Celestia across the room and sat up, stretching her wings and the rest of her body in general, several joints popping in the process.

Luna stared at Celestia, and Celestia stared right back, barely suppressing snickers. “...You know I hate it when you do that to me,” Luna deadpanned.

“Oh, but it’s so much fun to aggravate you, sister!” Celestia replied cheerfully.

“Why? I don’t understand. You never do any of this to anypony else. I’m the only one.”

“Because you give the desired reaction, silly! If you just tossed me off without saying anything, maybe I’d stop. But nope! You yell at me! You’re so cute when you’re angry.You always use words like we did in ancient times! It’s quite adorable.” Celestia punctuated her last sentence by poking her tongue out at Luna.

“Well, injuries or not, the moon will not set itself. I hope my legs still function after such a gargantuan weight crushed me...” Luna waited for Celestia’s reply.

“Hey! I’m not gargantuan! I might be tall, but that’s it! Spoiled brat.”

Luna giggled as she stepped out of the hut. Well, at least she’s doing better than she was last night.

Luna considered that for a moment. Actually, at least we’re both doing better than yesterday. It’ll take a while, but... things might get better. Luna stared out at the miles of wasteland before her. Okay, not likely. Maybe we’ll start to feel better.

After setting the moon, she peered inside of the hut. Celestia had been quiet since Luna had stepped outside. She found her sitting curled up on the floor. “Are you alright, Tia?”

Celestia looked to Luna. “No, Luna, I am not alright. Our kingdom is gone. Our subjects are deceased.” Celestia slowed and swallowed for a second, but continued. “And worse, the gate to Tartarus could still possibly be open.”

Luna flinched at Celestia’s sudden hostility. Then again, it was to be expected. Luna was genuinely surprised that her sister had forgiven her so quickly the day before. “I- I’m sorry, Tia. I was just asking. Shall we go?”

Celestia stared at Luna exasperatedly. “Go? Go where? Where would we go? There is nowhere to go. Nothing is left, Luna.”

“I know, sister! But what else are gonna do? Shall we just sit in here and mope all day? Is that it? That benefits neither of us. Besides, maybe there is something left. It’s not like my magic was that powerful...”

Celestia’s jaw dropped. “Let’s just go. Lead the way, miss pioneer.”

They both stepped out into the open. The ash had piled about two hooves high. This was to the knees for most ponies, but it was slightly past Celestia’s ankles and halfway up Luna’s shins.

“What happened to you, anyways? One moment you’re bubbly enough, content with sitting on your dear sister as she attempts to gain some beauty sleep. The next, you bite my head off for asking a question,” Luna asked.

“Something to the effect of remembering that our entire kingdom is gone,” Celestia answered mutely.

“You realize what we’re walking in, right? This is...” Luna changed the subject, but Celestia cut her off.

“Don’t say it, Luna. Just lead on. Where are going to go, anyways?”

“How about the entrance to Tartarus? We need to ensure nothing else is gonna crawl out of there anyways. Even if there is no Equestria to be in peril, other countries may still face the wrath of whichever creatures claw their way out of there. We should ensure that doesn’t happen.”

Celestia moaned. “It’ll take days to get there on hoof!”

Luna looked at her sister skeptically. “Well we can’t fly. This ash makes sure of that. Standing around complaining won’t get us there any faster, so let’s just go.”

They both turned toward the crater, now dark without any sunlight to illuminate it, and began their journey. They walked in silence at first, each deep in their own thoughts, until Luna decided to break that silence.

“...How about we play a game?”

Celestia glanced over at Luna. “Like what?”

“The residents of Ponyville showed me lots of games when I was there last Nightmare Night! Let’s play I Spy. Let’s see... I spy... something grey!”

“Ash.”

“Wow, you’re good! Your turn, Tia!”

“Um... I spy... something light grey.”

“That’s the clouds, obviously! My turn again! I spy-”

“Luna, there’s really nothing else to spy out here. Let’s play something else.”

“No really, I’ve got something this time! I spy something white!”

Celestia was confused. What was there that was white out here? She scanned the horizon. “Where?”

“That’s why it’s called ‘I Spy’, Tia! I spy it, and you have to find it. It’ll ruin the fun if I tell you!”

Celestia sighed. “Fine. Um...” She focused harder, narrowing her eyes in concentration and to make her vision slightly better.

The realization hit Celestia like a frying pan in the head. “Me. It’s me, isn’t it? Goddess, I’m slow sometimes...”

Luna giggled. “Nope! Good guess, though! But I’m looking at something else.”

Celestia was exasperated. What was Luna talking about? There was nothing out there- oh.

She spotted a small white blot in the distance. “How the hay did you see that, Luna?”

“Magic.”

“...Shut up.”

“Hey, you were mean to me earlier this morning! It’s only fair I get to mess with you in return. You always put yourself in a bad mood when you think too hard, so I want to make things easier.”

“Point taken. Aside from the fact that this game is exclusively about looking around and concentrating. Anyways, let’s go see what it is.”

It took several minutes, but Celestia was able to finally distinguish what it was. And she was uncertain if it was a good discovery, or a bad one.

They both stood over the white object, speechless.

“...It’s Discord.” Celestia stated plainly.

“How... did... he...?”

“He’s immortal, like us. I guess that also applies to his statue.”

“...Huh. Do you think he’s...?”

“I have no doubt. Since the Elements of Harmony are... no longer synchronized with anypony, he could wake up any moment now. It took about a day last time, I believe.”

“And it’s been about a day.”

Silence reigned between the two alicorns.

“... I wish he’d wake up.”

“Celestia! I thought you hated Discord!”

“I do! But only because he terrified everypony so. Now there aren't exactly... many ponies around for him to terrify. He’d make for some nice company when there isn’t anything to make chaos out of.”

“...True.”

Several moments passed by as they stood there, staring at the statue, Discord’s expression permanently frozen in a shriek of horror.

Luna kicked it.

“Luna! Stop that at once!”

“What? I thought you wanted him to wake u-”

Luna was cut off by a loud cracking sound. She and Celestia both glanced down at the statue. A large crack had formed directly between his eyes.

“Oh goodness. We’re in for it now. Get ready, Luna!”

“Get ready for what? It’s not like he can kill us.”

“I’m trying to be dramatic, would you play along? And he technically can, being another immortal," Celestia added.

“Well, he can have fun trying, we have him outnumbered. Besides, I think he liked me when he was around. I certainly appreciated him, albeit not his chaos.”

"For goodness’s sake, it’s a millennia-old god of chaos we have on our hooves here. You could at least act intimidated.”

“But we outnumber him!”

“Come on, Luna!”

“Fine. Ooooh, ahhhh, watch out, here comes Discooord, are we your prey alone? Or are we the stepping stone for taking back the throne? Discooooord, we won’t take it anymo-”

“Oh shut up! You’re no fun.”

“You told me I was lots of fun this morning.”

“Only when I’m in a good mood, not you.”

“I can’t believe a monarch would act this way.”

“I can’t believe a monarch’s little sister, who also happens to be a monarch, would speak this way to her elder sister.”

“I’m gonna kick it again.”

“No! Don’t!”

Luna ignored her sister’s pleas and kicked Discord’s statue again. Several more cracks formed on the anterior.

“What if he’s mad at us? What if-”

“Be quiet, Tia! I’m trying to concentrate.”

The statue was enveloped in the blue glow of Luna’s magic, floated into the air, and then repeatedly began slamming against the ground.

“LUNA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“TRYING TO SAVE US FROM BOREDOM, THAT’S WHAT!”

The statue suddenly emitted a white light from all of its cracks. Celestia and Luna fell to their rears. They both stared at the statue for several seconds until all of the white stone fell away from it, leaving a surprised draconequus in its place.

“...What the hell happened here?” Discord looked around himself, pausing for a moment on the crater. “Or should I be more specific... what happened there?” He had somehow conjured sunglasses with which he could dramatically lower at the spectacle.

Luna sighed. “That... was me.”

Discord’s eyes widened. “What? But how? You aren’t that tough. I mean, I’m that tough, but you? No.”

Luna scowled at him. “Okay, mister know-it-all. Tell Tia and me how it got there then.”

This got Discord’s attention. “Oh, Celestia! I haven’t seen you in... a year or two now! Luna, on the other hand, I haven’t seen you since you both sealed me away originally. Where were you last time, anyways?”

“Sleeping. I am the Princess of the Night after all.”

“Right. And my shoes are made of gold.”

Luna stared at Discord for several seconds.

“...What? You don’t believe me? Look!” He gestured at his pony leg. It had a golden shoe on the bottom of it.

“I... don’t even know what to say about that. But yes, I was asleep during your last visit. Celestia was confident in the abilities of the current Elements to defeat you,” Luna said.

“Anyways, as I was saying, what happened here? There doesn’t seem to... be anything.”

“As I was saying, I accidentally... it was an accident, okay?”

Discord’s jaw hit the ground. “You really weren’t kidding. My goodness, this is impressive for someone that doesn’t even practice stirring up chaos on her downtime. But let me ask you this: What is there left for me to ruin if you’ve already ruined everything!? You really weren’t thinking about me on this one, were you? Selfish jerk.”

Luna bristled. “No, Discord, you were about the LAST thing on my mind! I was more focused on destroying the titan that threatened our homes and livelihood!”

“A titan, you say? What are these... titans? Are they titanic?”

“Yes, Discord, I’m going to ignore your sarcasm and tell you that they are quite large. We’re uncertain of where they originated or why they decided to attack us, but we went to war with them and their armies of monsters before you came around.”

“Then what were they doing here? Didn’t you kill them or something?” Discord was clearly perplexed.

“They can’t be killed. Well, by conventional means, anyways,” Celestia answered, speaking up for the first time in Discord’s presence. “Luna used a method we haven’t used since we saw the first one. I wish we hadn’t even discovered it in the first place. The titans are, essentially, immortal, just like you, Luna, or myself. They can be injured, but they always bounce right back, and they can take many, many injuries before it begins to make a difference. And even then, the injuries heal far more quickly than is natural.

“But when they first emerged from the ground, in a time of desperation, I accidentally... discharged too much energy in an attack against one of them. A large portion of our country would have perished had I not done something right then. As sad as it is, that portion still perished because of what I did. We discovered they can be killed... but only if you coalesce massive amounts of energy and release it all at once. The ensuing blast disintegrates miles upon miles of terrain, and knocks down structures miles beyond that, not to mention severely burning anypony directly exposed to the blast, and that’s only provided the heat doesn’t instantly kill them.

“Starswirl the Bearded did experiments of such a nature using Luna and I as his ‘test subjects’, if you will. He, essentially, discovered that unicorns could blow things up at will if one collected enough energy and released it upon one point. Unicorns had accidentally killed other ponies before when they got angry enough, and Starswirl set out to find out why. Well, there’s the answer. I remembered this ability all those years later when those monsters made themselves known, and... I abused its power, to the expense of my enemies and my own ponies. It was a terrible, awful price, but I don’t honestly know what may have happened had I not done otherwise. That, Discord, is what happened here, albeit just yesterday.” Celestia looked in the direction of the crater, not making an effort to hide the tears that slid down her face.

Discord floated in place, taking it all in. “...Wow. Just wow. You guys are even better than I am at this stuff.” He swallowed his words when Celestia and Luna both glared daggers at him. “I didn’t mean it like that! I... aw heck. There’s no way to cover that one up. Sorry.

“Anyways, how did the titans come back? Didn’t you say that you defeated them?” Discord inquired further.

Celestia took a moment to formulate an answer. “No. We could never have defeated them. I mean, we could have, but not before all of our people lay dead at our hooves. So we made a seal. An underground prison, named Tartarus. We sealed the titans in there using ancient, dark magic. They had remained under such and lock and key ever since then, until just yesterday. We don’t know how or why the seal failed, but we intend to find out.

“Which brings us back to our original point of why we’re here. Discord, I understand that we haven’t... seen eye-to-eye in the past, but we have nothing left. Literally. The country is gone, our people are gone. The only thing Luna and I have left is each other. Would you please consider being our companion, Discord? I know this is sudden and completely random, but I don’t see an alternative unless you’re content wandering this wasteland on your own. Where’s the point in inflicting chaos unless somepony is around to enjoy it?” Celestia put on her best smile.

Discord was silent for a few moments, deep in thought. “Hm. You present a damning point. And it’s not like I have much to work with here anyways. I can always conjure things, but that’s very tiring. It’s one thing to alter a state of matter, it’s another entirely to make matter out of nothing. There are a few laws of physics dead-set against that, if I do recall. In any case, there’s really nothing else for me to do here. Why not? Show me this Tartarus place, I want to see these titans you speak of.”

Celestia stood up and began to walk towards the crater. “Trust me, no you don’t... actually, you of all beings might. But most ponies wouldn’t.”

Luna stood up as well and followed her sister. “How long do you think it will take to get there?”

Discord gazed out at the crater. “Hell if I know. I usually just fly everywhere. Or teleport. Why don’t you two do that?”

Celestia stopped abruptly and planted her hoof on her face. “Oh my goodness... how did I forget that? Luna, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I don’t like to teleport! We have wings for a reason,” Luna retorted.

“Whatever. Let’s teleport to the edge of the crater.” Celestia’s horn took on the yellow glow of her magic and she disappeared with a pop and a flash of light. Luna sighed and did the same, while Discord smugly snapped a finger and vanished.

All three appeared directly next to the crater’s edge. Celestia took several steps forward, peering into the dark hole. “Gah. Why is it so dark? Why won’t these clouds go away?”

“Probably because Luna nuked the place, that’s why.”

“Be quiet,” Celestia hissed. “How are we getting down there?”

“Like this!” Celestia’s eyes dilated to pinpoints and a fierce blush developed on her face as she felt two hands firmly grasping her flanks before she was roughly shoved off the edge.

Luna turned on Discord. “What the hay is wrong with you!?”

Discord shrugged. “What? I’m a god of chaos. Don’t expect me to be predictable. Besides, didn’t you two invite me along in the first place?”

“So we could have somepony else to talk to! It’s quite lonely out here, actually. But not so you can bully Tia!” Luna stomped on the ground to emphasize her point.

“I’m not bullying her. It’s difficult to be bullied when you’re immortal, I’ve found, and I’m betting that Celestia is no exception.” Discord looked over the edge. “YOU ALRIGHT, CELESTIA?”

“ASSHOLE!” Celestia swore back. Discord gestured in the general direction of Celestia smugly. “See? She’s fine.”

Luna sighed. “Whatever. Let’s just get down there with her.” Luna tentatively place her hoof on the edge of the crater and felt downward to get an idea of what to expect. Discord had other ideas, however, and scooped Luna up in his hands before diving off the edge.

“What the hay are you doing!?” Luna screeched as they both skidded down the edge.

“Making our trip about a half hour shorter! You’d have taken forever!” Discord replied.

“Because I’m careful, dumbass! What happens if we- oof!” Luna flew out of Discord’s arms as he collided with a particularly large boulder, throwing both of them off-kilter.

They both arrived at the floor of the crater covered in dirt. Luna shakily stood up and gazed down at her right foreleg, noting a trail of a golden liquid flowing from a... cut in the side?

She looked up to Celestia. “T- Tia? What the hay is going on? Look at this!” She rushed over and pushed her hoof in her sister’s face.

Celestia stared at it for only a moment before flashing a similar injury on her cutie mark. “I-... I don’t know. I think it has something to do with the Elements. Now that they’re gone, maybe we’re...”

Luna slapped her sister with her hoof. Celestia winced before turning on Luna. “What the hay!? I present a theory and that’s how you respond!?”

Luna shooshed Celestia with her hoof before turning her cheek to examine it. There was a pink outline of Luna’s hoof that was quickly turning purple. “You may be right, sister. Things like that have never happened before. Before, I could slap you and get away with it!” Celestia glared at her. “...Well, not get away with it, but nothing would physically happen to you. Now, this... What the hay is happening, sister?”

Celestia cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I believe it has to do with the Elements. We’ve always been able to feel them in our hearts. I could still even feel them during your absence, when I was separated from the Elements for a millennium. But now... I can’t feel them at all. I had always taken it for granted that they would be there, but it seems the Elements were destroyed...”

Luna gasped. “But what about after you banished Nightmare Moon? I remember bits and pieces of being her, and I remember the stone Elements lying on the floor of our old castle! Even after they separated themselves from you, they were still there!”

Celestia shook her head. “No. That was different. There, they separated themselves from me of their own volition. I could still feel them, it’s just that they were no longer a part of me. I’ve never fully understood them; we call them ‘the strongest magicks known to pony’ for a reason, you know. It seems that now that Equestria and her people are gone, so too are the Elements. There is no longer any harmony to maintain, seeing as Equestria is gone and Discord is here.”

“But what does that have to do with us suddenly being able to sustain injuries? This has never happened before, even before we knew where the Elements were!” Luna was frantic, scrabbling for answers. “And if the Elements did sustain our immortality, how come the blast didn’t kill us outright?”

“I’m guessing that was because it happened so suddenly. One second the Elements were there, and the next, completely destroyed. It may have taken some time for their effects to wear off,” Celestia concluded.

“That still doesn’t answer my first point, though. We’ve never been able to sustain injuries, ever! That includes the time before we knew where the Elements were!” Luna reiterated her point with a stamp on the ground.

“We didn’t know where they were, that didn’t necessarily mean they didn’t exist,” Celestia answered.

Luna looked exasperated. “What!? Then what made the Elements? Who made them!? Why do they exist!?”

Celestia tutted. “And that’s where religion comes in, my little pony. A lot of ponies insist that you and I made everything, and refuse to listen when we tell them that we didn’t.”

Luna groaned. “Don’t remind me of the Lunatoligists. Idiots, they. One group that I’ll never miss...”

Celestia resumed her speech. “The point is, we don’t know too much about how or why the Elements worked the way they did, but one thing is for certain: everything has been destroyed, and now we can suddenly be hurt. The most important thing to be destroyed was the Elements, so they are to blame, I suspect,” Celestia finished.

Luna stared for a moment at her sister. “... Very well. We have nothing else to go on, so I’ll just stick with your argument for now. It makes sense anyways... sort of.”

“So, is it ‘let’s ignore Discord time’ or what? I’m beginning to feel underappreciated.” The draconequus flew several loops through the air, nearly tying himself in a knot.

“No, we’re discussing a worrying discovery. Nothing serious, like your level of appreciation. We’ll resume bowing at your hoo- feet shortly,” Celestia stated dryly.

Discord feigned a wound, floating slowly to the ground as a crippled cloud would. “Ouch, Celestia, that burns. I guess I’ll-”

The ground started shaking violently. Luna and Celestia looked at each other. Celestia spoke first. “You don’t think...?”

A few miles away from them, a giant hand, similar to the one from before, wrenched itself from the earth’s grasp.

“Yeah, I think so. AND it looks like I was right the first time, just a bit late!” Luna replied evenly as Hyperion pulled himself from the earth.

Comments

[CaptainRainbowDash]

Fuck. I don't know. Tell me if I'm doing things wrong, please. It feels like I threw this together, yet I know it's better than some fanfics I've read. The uncertainty is great with this one.

[shoelovesyou]

I think Discord was a little too serious when he came back to life, I would expect him to crack a joke or something of that sort. Maybe you could read over that part again and brighten him up?

[CaptainRainbowDash]

1054613

Hm. I don't think so. He did make fun of them several times and tried to make the situation all about himself, which is how he would normally act, I imagine. My only issue with him is how quickly I had him convert to the princesses' side. Not sure if I handled that correctly or not.

[shutaro]

I don't see him converted? I see him sticking along for the ride. He is still the spirit of chaos so that works out ok.