If Chaos prevails...

by The Marshmallow

20 - Celebrations- Just a few seconds

Faster than unicorn teleportation would ever allow, outpacing light itself, Discord was back in Canterlot. And he was serious. No more playing around, no more messing with his enemies: only making sure everypony was safe and swiftly stopping any conspirator. Given his resolve and his powers, he guessed it was going to take just a few seconds. What he could not guess was how in that short timeframe the choices of three ponies were going to change the fate of Equestria.

Fittingly for the lord of Chaos, a pony who abhorred the concept of fate itself, the first choice was his. He trusted Cadence completely, if not to win the battle at least to get through it unharmed. And therefore, tricked into believing there was a plot against the nobles, he chose to teleport in the backstage. His beautifully dressed bride and her friend were right there, perfectly safe, but he could not see Pinkie Pie.

"D-Discord?" Fluttershy found herself startled as he appeared, and blushed slightly. He was early. Wasn't the groom supposed not to look at the bride until the last moment, in the ceremony? That wasn't what really bothered her, though. She was still thinking about the words the Fashionista left her weeks but moments prior. She might still have had a say in this. She might still... "Oh" Her eyes met his, suddenly, and she immediately noticed that behind his seemingly neutral expression there wasn't the usual fun, the usual mischievousness. There was a principle of fury, burning like a slow flame, which reminded her of the tapestries she was shown just days priors. She was afraid, and worried, and sympathetic. And many other emotions were flowing within her. All of them, though, wanted to ask the same question: "What's happening?"

For a moment, the Draconeequs was silent. His mind wasn't exactly there, but was magically spreading in all the surrounding area like a drop of water on a piece of paper, trying to make a contact with all the familiar sources of magic around him. The two pegasuses were the first he reached, soon followed by a bunch of unknown ponies that like them were in the backstage. The following really familiar one was Trixie, and then he felt above the crowd the flying tribune he himself had created. On it, the few nobles he cared about (and whose magical pattern remembered) seemed to be safe. Just to be sure he counted the actual number, and it seemed nopony among them was missing. Among them: that was the keyword. "Where's Pinkie?" He was laconic, his tone flat, akin to a low growl.

Fluttershy was, for a moment, frozen. His gaze on her felt like that of a predator looking at a prey, despite that not being his intention. Simply, when all the jokes and the weirdness were put aside, what was left was a creature occupying a much higher position in the food chain; an extremely dangerous being. And Discord, focused as he was, didn't even notice her discomfort. Rainbow Dash did, and rapidly came to her help, answering the king's question: "Isn't she on stage?" Without changing his expression, the Draconeequs simply shook his head. Both mares were shocked at this revelation. Ok, Pinkie Pie had a knack for disappearing and especially reappearing at the weirdest times and in the weirdest ways. But now? That was too much even for her. It was only natural for the blue pegasus to ask: "Then where is she?"

Fluttershy was silent, although there was so much she could have said. She had realized what had happened. Or at the very least she had a strong hunch. Rarity and the earth pony (Applejack if she remembered correctly), they knew. They had managed to infiltrate the backstage, to be so close to the show, to be able to act without anypony suspecting anything. Probably Applejack knew the precise details of Pinkie schedule down to the positioning during the show, then a unicorn could maybe teleport her somewhere else... For example in one of Rarity's wardrobes! The lavender unicorn that was helping Rarity... Didn't she have a star-shaped cutie mark, usually associated with magic? Fluttershy didn't know exactly how magic worked, but she guessed that she might be the kind of pony who could pull such a plan off. She was now long gone, but both Rarity and Applejeck had left but seconds prior. It would have been so easy for Discord to reach and capture them. Everything it would have taken was just one word from her.

Yet that word never came. That was her choice.

"I'll find her." Soon, Discord spoke again, and there was a level of resolution in his word that really surprised Fluttershy. It felt a bit scary, maybe, but it also made him look so dependable. He could be serious, too, with the things (or in this case the ponies) he really cared about. "Be safe." That was the last the two heard from him, at that moment, as he vanished immediately afterwards. Or better, they did, as the entire scenery changed completely from one moment to the next around them, deeply surprising Fluttershy and making her a little nauseous. But Rainbow dash, who was more comfortable with quick motions, could immediately look around and notice that they ended up in the large dining room of the palace, dimly lit by the sunset's light filtering through the window, and that a sort of magical veil (A barrier maybe?) was starting to form on the walls and on the floor. She got closer to Fluttershy, trying to comfort her a bit. At this point, whatever was happening, she was certain at least the two of them would have been fine, and it was the time to try to convey it to her friend.

"Two..." in the meantime the show was still going on, as Trixie was not going to let it end but on her own terms. The cheering of the crowd and their echo of the magician's count were even managing to muffle the sound of the not so distant battle. The eyes of most were still focusing on the magician, on ever every gesture, even after her previous attempt to bring Pinkie Pie back had failed. She was still perfectly confident the trick would work, and her confidence was enough to convince many. So, once more, she stood on her hindlegs, pointing her forelegs towards the box. And finally, it was time "Three!"

The crowd was speechless. Just in front of the box, standing in all its height, was now Discord, who appeared there without a sound. For a moment Trixie looked at him stunned, and so did the nobles from their higher position, and so did everypony else. Nopony did understand what was happening, but Trixie simply didn't care. Still on her hindlegs, she started bowing profusely, and then waving at her crowd "That's all!" That was an ending she found agreeable: "The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks all of you for coming!" And as the crowd roared and cheered, Discord looked at her almost in disbelief. That was a level of improvisation that he could not but admire. But then, given the little time he felt having, he snapped his talons and the magician found herself in the castle's dining room, together with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. And she didn't even look especially surprised, and maybe a bit more proud of herself than she should have been. But the show was a success, so much that she almost forgot about Pinkie never coming back on stage.

"Dear subjects, thank you for coming." His voice overwhelmed even the cheering, but his tone was much more serious, sombre even, than anypony expected. This caught many off guards, and made the nobles especially worried "The show is over." They expected a longer speech, and certainly expected to see the marriage. that was not to be, though. "Go to the exits. Now." with a snap of his talon, all the lights on the stage faded. The flying tribune had vanished, those previously sitting on it teleported in the safety of the castle, and Discord, too, was not on the stage anymore.

His last words, though, were a clear command, to which nopony dared to disobey. The guards standing in the plaza started to coordinate the egress so that it could be quick and orderly, but they had no way to dissipate the many doubts the ponies legitimately had. Luckily, a plot against their millenary ruler was so inconceivable that nopony got even closer to figuring it out. The main rumour that would spread from it was that Discord bride had refused him at the last moment, or had even run away. Embarrassing? Maybe. But there would overall be no harm, as long as the marriage would have happened soon enough.

---

Cadence had heard legends of warrior princesses, who allegedly lived Discord knows how many centuries prior. Gliding swiftly on the battlefield, using their divine magic to banish the enemies of Equestria. Those were beautiful stories, but Cadence had long realized she wasn't one them. Fighting was hard, and strenuous, and painful. She was kind of good at it (at defending herself at least), but that was only due to his uncle insistence and the huge amount of magic that came from being an Alicorn. Sleeping the best part of the day, hanging out with royalty, having fun with Discord, once in a while smiling and waving at some crowd, and obviously sharing love as the princess of love should... That was the life she enjoyed! And once he dealt with her enemy, she could easily go back to that life.

But then there was that white stallion. There was his muscular body, so perfect and so rare for a unicorn. He looked like he could be a match for even his fittest earth pony guards. There was his voice, deep, masculine and confident, even when facing royalty. She couldn't help but respect, and being enticed even, by the courage he was showing. Finally, there was his face. It matched so perfectly her taste that she almost had to wonder if some changeling had been reading her mind; the smile that he did show to her little sister moments earlier was to die for.

So what she never thought possible happened: she was enjoying their battle. 'Battle' was, by that point, a pretty generous word. After the first few blows, both had seemingly relented, as if they both had agreed to an unwritten, unspoken truce, making it little more than a game. They didn't even need to talk, their intermingling gazes were more than enough to reach an understanding. It was nothing less than a dream; the kind of cheesy, longing dream she would have if for too many days in a row she had found no one to share her love with. Still, a dream that she would have wanted to last forever.

A dream that was going to become a nightmare.

Cadence started to sweat, suddenly, and her eyes went wide, catching even Shining Armor off guard. "Run!" In the tone of her voice, there was legitimate fear. "He is coming!" He had just teleported to the stage, and she was extremely glad he didn't reach her directly. She didn't fear her uncle. She knew very well that he loved her very much, and that he would never want to harm or hurt her. And yet she looked absolutely terrified.

Shining Armor shook his head swiftly, giving her a confident look as a new bunch of magical bolts were starting to move towards his supposed enemy. "Sorry, princess." There was a pinch of irony in the intonation of the word princess herself. A subtle mockery that from anyone else she would have found disrespectful. From him, enticing. "But I can't let my little sister down!" Neither she nor the whole resistance. In the end, they had never been so close to such a tangible result in his lifetime. No, in the whole history of the organization.

The princesses barriers easily stopped his offence, but this time she didn't respond with one of her own. In other circumstances, Cadence would have loved that kind of loyalty. But then, it only seemed suicidal. Her uncle was going to be there soon, and he was going to be angry. Really angry. She had seen him really angry just once in her lifetime, and it was enough to never want to see him like that. "No..." She gritted her teeth, the flashback was coming back. She thought she had managed to forget what happened in Saddle Arabia, but there it was. And this time, she certainly didn't want for it to end in the same way. So she made her choice. "She wanted you to be safe!" She blurted, as an even larger amount of magic started flowing through her horn.

Shining Armor was startled. Was the battle going to become serious again, maybe even more than before? Maybe she was just trying to scare him, to have him run away? Either way, he wasn't going to flee. He started preparing a defensive spell of its own, the most solid barrier he could cast, all around himself, so that any attack could be properly nullified. But a proper attack didn't come; her magic did simply float all around him, all around the barrier itself, just lingering for a moment. "What...?"

"I hope I'll see you again!" With a small smile, the princess finally ignited her own spell, and the magic surrounding Shining Armor started to light up, becoming almost blinding. It was with a small giggle and one last enticing look that she decided for the best words to say goodbye: "We could have had fun, together..." And then, in a blink, it happened.

The white unicorn found himself, barrier and all, teleported in some other backstreet near the centre, still within the anti-teleportation barrier Discord had set up. Quickly, he dispelled his own magic and went back on his hooves. Looking around himself, he did see the crowd moving towards the exit just outside that backstreet, meaning the show was over. Mixing with them would have been easy, and the chance of being captured seemed extremely lower. saving him, that was Cadence choice. But as he started to feel a pinch of gratitude, he cursed his weakness. His teleportation skill wasn't enough to get him back quickly enough to her, and he could imagine no benefit in trying to reach and face Discord. So, as he started to blend in the crowd, he could do nothing but hope that his sister would be fine.

Cadence had barely any time to relax. Despite not perceiving any teleport, she felt the huge magical power of his uncle suddenly appearing just beside her. She managed to turn towards him, and he immediately started to speak "Oh, you dealt with it already?" He sounded a little bit surprised, which cadence would have in other circumstances found offensive, but also kind of proud.

The fact that the fury she thought he would have was quenched a bit by seeing her, and his pride in her, made her choice -her betrayal- even more painful. But the die was cast, and she did not want to feel bad about helping such a pretty stallion. She could still save Pinkie and forget about the rest. "He wasn't alone. A purple mare with a wardrobe teleported that way!" With her hoof she pointed straight at the place she was before teleporting. It was slowly fading, and it had mixed with the battle that had occurred, but both of them were attuned with magic enough to still be easily able to follow the traces of teleportation left, and therefore follow. "I think she might have kidnapped Fluttershy!" That was her hypothesis. Taking the bride right before the marriage! Such a deranged plan!

Discord shook his head, before saying just one word "Pinkie." And while Cadence's eyes became wider, as her face started to show signs of worry and anger in equal parts, Discord was simply observing that magic. it felt colder compared to that of Sunset, calmer, and seemed to be overall more energy-efficient than hers. Sure, it lacked that sense of threat and power, but he would have guessed the user had to be at about Sunset's level. If that was the case, he was glad she ran and someone else held back Cadence. otherwise, the latter would most certainly not have been unharmed "Let's go."

A moment later, he was about one hundred meters away, with Cadence following him a moment later. They said nothing, just exchanging a glance, and both started to try and perceive the traces that the unicorn could have left with her teleportation. discord considered making a group of mutts appearing, and having them sniff around. It would have been a fun scene, a nice practical gag, but he pushed away the idea soon, opting for rapidity and efficiency. What they realized almost immediately was that the unicorn was smart, and expected to be followed. Cadence did almost fall for some fake teleportation traces that Twilight had left to confuse them, while Discord, although realizing that she must have moved by hooves at least for a while from there, could hardly pick the traces she would leave by levitating the wardrobe behind her. It seemed that she had levitated many small objects in different directions. Not that he could not see through the trick, but that would require time.

Time he had not, as it was night already.

The sun was just gone, now hidden below the horizon, and the moon had quickly taken its place in the sky. All the roads and the streets were now enveloped in deep darkness, and the air was already getting colder. "Uncle, why did you do that'?" Cadence was quite perplexed. It seemed to her quite a strange thing to do. useless in the least, harmful at the worst "Some light might be helpful, searching for her!" Not immediately, while searching for her magic, but certainly later while being closer to her.

But as Cadence turned towards Discord, she had a hard time reading the expression on his face. Many emotions seemed to flow behind the neutral mask that he was still trying to keep. But only one fact the King wanted to be immediately clear. "It wasn't me." He had put the sun in place hours before, and never he gave it any further direction. And it was unheard for it to get out of his control.

Somepony must had done it, then, but she could imagine nopony performing such a difficult feat. She could have done it, maybe, but then she would have been probably incapable to use any magic at all for a few days. Maybe half a dozen powerful unicorns could have done the trick, but that would have cost them much, much more. She couldn't find a logical answer, or any answer at all, so all she could do was to ask: "Then who-"

She stopped, as an unnaturally amplified sound of hooves started to echo in the street. then they stopped, and the two could clearly hear a voice "I thought such purposeless, vain celebrations were my sister's obsession" The voice sounded calm, cold even, and was filled with an arrogance and a sense of superiority that cadence found chilling "I am quite displeased to see you would adopt her style" identifying the position of the mare, cadence finally turned to see her on the roof of a nearby building. What she saw left her stunned, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

A black mare, taller than any she had previously met and characterized by slender and elegant proportions was standing there, proudly. her wide stance suggested confidence, but Cadence soon realized that it was the stance of royalty. What else could she be, with her wide black wings on her back and her long black horn on her forehead? And as she started to envelop her horn of black coloured magic, cadence started to feel terrified. Looking at her pool of magic was quite like looking at Discord, there was no bottom in sight. And it was, certainly, much more magic than she thought she could ever hope to have. Not only that, but just judging by the stability and efficiency of it, she seemed to be impossibly skilled with it. Was that what a real alicorn was supposed to be? She turned to her uncle, a bit ashamed, hoping to find reassurance.

Discord looked quite unimpressed, just a bit annoyed at the sudden appearance of the alicorn. There was on his part little more than a brief sigh before he spoke. His tone was blunt, and once more he proved himself to be laconic. "Not now." every word was strongly marked, to make his intentions perfectly clear. he did not want to fight, at least not then and there. His advisor had been caught, and he had to save her before it was too late.

For just a moment, she was taken aback. That was not at all the Discord she remembered. Did he get softer, weaker maybe? good for her. "Refusing to fight? That also was my sister style" She showed now her pointy, sharp teeth in a wide smile. there was pleasure in knowing her defeated, although it was not by her own hands. "I hoped to dethrone her, today, but it seems it will be close enough." The magic was still running around her horn, menacingly, and she was pointing it straight at Discord, ready to fire at any time.

In other circumstances, he would have found his remarks funny and that could have been the most interesting battle he had in centuries. She was strong, he could feel it, and he could only imagine the many uses of her nightmare magic. But he knew very well his priorities, so he gave her another chance of falling back. He articulated every syllable as clearly as possible, now pointing his eyes straight at hers, to show her the rage within him: "It is not a good time."

She laughed, and her laughter lasted many moments more then it should have. "You don't get to decide that, Discord" With the power she felt within herself, with the euphoria of being free after one thousand years, she felt the choice was only hers. That everypony, the draconeequs included, were supposed to bow to her. And he would have made him do so quite soon. "I'll let you know it is a wonderful time" She could already feel the adrenaline, she could already feel the excitement, and it came forth quite clear for her voice, now the exact opposite of the previous coldness: "Rejoice, Discord, for our battle shall be remembered for centuries to come!" And as new, evil laughter spread around them, so did her black-coloured magic, finally released from her horn.

That was the signal the fight had started, and there was no coming back.

Author's Note:

I had this Chekov gun hanging on the wall since chapter 2, and it finally fired! I hope you didn't see it coming!

Also, I have recently edited the first chapter of the fiction, and I am going to do the same with other early chapters soon. It was quite a mess, writing-wise, and I can see that (despite having many twists of the fiction planned since the beginning) I still had only vague ideas of where I was going with it. I was pleasantly surprised that some of the themes of the fiction (even some that will be fully relevant in the third part) were there already, though!

With love,
The Marshmallow

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Lose track of the years did we, eh Celestia?

[duckmagee]

i feel for nightmare moon she might have had a chance against a normal discord but a serious one no not a chance, kidnapping pinkie really backfire on celestia, since it lead to this battle

[The Marshmallow]

9761225
9761332

I think there is some irony in the fact that Nightmare Moon appeared at the worst possible time for basically all the parties involved.
Celestia... She will not like the news, but probably kind of expected something like this was going to happen.