By the Will of the Council

by Captain Neckbeard

Chapter IX: The Last Councilor

The Sun's first rays have already draped over the horizon when the sisters gazed upon Canterlot for the first time. Seeing a city literally jutting out from the side of a mountain was a sight to behold, even for the less impressionable Luna. It would be a feat even for their tribe, but for mere mortals, such an architectural marvel seemed outright impossible. Yet, there it was, providing a majestic sight even in its obviously half-finished state.

But what was also noteworthy on that early morning was pointed out by Celestia:

"The Sun is keeping its intended course and schedule. See, Sister? Our efforts were worthwhile. Countering the celestial magic of all four of us must be a bother, even for someone like Discord. It's a sign that we will prevail!"

Luna floated next to her sister, and smiled at the orb of fire, creeping up the sky bit by bit, seemingly undisturbed. Although its beauty couldn't be compared to that of the Moon, she appreciated it nonetheless, especially regarding that the natural order of things were being held up, even if only temporarily.

"It's good finally being a part of this." Luna said "Unleashing what was stirring inside. It's truly liberating!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure that will make you go a long way." came the answer, but not from Celestia.

The sisters snapped their attention behind them. It was Discord. He continued, sneering at them.

"Oh, look at you! Your manes are all wavy-sparkly, just like your elders'! And you have your butt marks, too! My, my, things are definitely changing around here."

"Laugh while you can, Discord." Celestia responded "Your reign is coming to an end soon. These ponies won't need to suffer you for much longer."

"BWA-HA-HA-HA!" Discord hollered "Things are changing! Where is the demure and reserved Celestia from earlier? I liked her..."

"You're forcing us to act like this. So don't be surprised when you'll meet your bitter end. By us." came from Luna.

Discord stopped in his tracks for a moment. The gaze from both alicorns almost cut him up. In turn, he put on his more serious face as well. His voice turned sinister.

"I still don't think you two quite know what you're dealing with. I'm an elder god. I can do anything with a snap of my fingers. I could send a hundred monsters from Tartarus after you. I could just destroy ponykind right here, right now. I could make the Sun and Moon dance in the sky with each other. Actually, that one isn't a bad idea..."

At that last sentence, Discord's more usual, silly tone came back, and he raised his clawed hand to make the magical gesture. But before he went through with it, his talons froze. Literally.

"But thinking about it... I shouldn't ruin your fun so soon. I wanna see how far you're willing to go in this senseless struggle. After all, it will be much more fun for me as well, seeing you two trying and failing, than just cutting this short."

"Our codexes have it right. All gods, besides La'uriel, are wretched. We never heard about you before, but you're not improving the picture." said Celestia, scrunching up her nose in disgust.

"I think you will find that you are mistaken about a great many things. But I don't want to spoil the fun. Everything will be revealed in due time. Now if you excuse me, some chaos is scheduled in northeastern Equestria, and I'm already late. So, see you later, ladies!"

Discord disappeared in a flash of light, leaving an angry and a little confused alicorn behind. Luna turned to her sibling.

"Now, what did he mean by that? Considering he wasn't bluffing the last time, maybe he's for real this time too. What are we mistaken about?"

"I don't know, Luna. But we should be careful about whatever he says. Just because he said the truth once or twice, doesn't mean he will go on a streak of honesty. Remember who he is."

Luna sighed, and nodded slightly. She knew her sister was right, but at the same time, he had a bad feeling about things upcoming.

☼☽

Approaching the city proper made the sisters realize Canterlot only seemed relatively uncorrupted from the outside. Flying above the streets made it apparent Discord's handiwork was present everywhere, especially regarding the ponies. And that was bad news for them. That made it dubious they could find anypony who could help them in any manner. It seemed the overwhelmingly unicorn populace made no difference concerning the effectiveness of Discord's chaos magic.

Still, they wanted to land to take a closer look at things. They wouldn't give up so easily.

"So, where do you think we will find the answers we seek?" asked Luna, her voice carrying a tinge of doubt.

"A library would be a good place to start. As I don't think anypony here would be cooperative."

"Right. A library. Which is...?"

Celestia stopped in mid-air, and looked around. It seemed the northern part of Canterlot was more of a legislative or noble district, while the southern part was more dense, with dwellings for the city folk. So, she pointed north.

"There. That domed building over there with the columns. Not sure if that's a library, but it seems important enough."

"Your guess is as good as any. Let's go." Luna answered, and began flying towards the indicated location.

Drawing closer, they noticed several dozen armored unicorns, standing in formation in front of the big domed building. As soon as they noticed the alicorns, they opened fire from their horns.

"WHOA!"

Both of them evaded, and brought up a magical shield around themselves. Magic bolts of multiple colors whizzed past them, but none of them struck. Not wanting to fight the ponies for obvious reasons, the sisters fell back towards the south, and landed among the houses on a street.

"That was quite the welcome party. They must have been the battlemages Guardian Chronos warned us about." Luna said once she was on the ground.

"Yes. And it's sad Discord makes them fight us." answered Celestia, furrowing her brows.

"To me it seemed like they're guarding the place. So that building you pointed out might be indeed important."

"We should definitely make it back there. On the ground, to draw less attention."

Luna nodded, and they began walking the streets. Of course, this journey would also have its own challenges...

☼☽

Seeing all the craziness the city had to offer was almost expected by the duo. Ponies sliding on soapy streets, ponies being chess pieces on checkerboard roads, or ponies acting like various animals seemed to be the new norm.

Celestia and Luna were walking down the street when they noticed something approaching them at significant speeds. When it got closer, they could make out it was actually a group of ponies, about half a dozen of them. And they weren't galloping, or even flying, just simply skidding along the pavement really fast. Celestia was wondering how their hooves didn't catch fire from all of that, but of course, Discord's magic...

The ponies stopped in front of the sisters. Now they could see they all wore a full jester's outfit, but also had spears and halberds in hoof. The one in the forefront, a stallion, stepped a little closer, and began in a very official-sounding voice:

"Halt! You ponies have committed crimes against our lord, and his order of chaos! What can you say in your defense?"

Celestia and Luna at first only managed to take a sideways glance at each other. This was new. So far, ponies simply got caught up in Discord's corruption. But in Canterlot, it seemed it was enforced, by other ponies. A few seconds later, Celestia spoke up:

"Greetings! I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. We didn't commit any crimes. Surely, you're looking for somepony else."

A few tense moments followed. Now only Luna took a glance at Celestia, as if asking how would they get out of this predicament. Until now, Luna was used to the simple method of blasting things enough times to solve a problem. Of course, this time that wasn't an option.

The stallion squinted his eyes. He answered.

"You surely did. Your crime is that you aren't chaotic enough. We have to drag you away for education and reorientation."

"Um, we-we--" Luna stammered "We surely are chaotic! I mean, uh..."

She looked around as if looking for something as an excuse. Luckily, Celestia took over, and pointed at Luna.

"We ARE chaotic. Just look at her! She has both wings AND a horn. And to say nothing about her mane. It's all sparkly-wavy, seriously, where else did you see something like that? Very chaotic, indeed!"

The "chaos guard" stallion rubbed his chin a few times.

"Kinda chaotic..."

He didn't seem convinced yet, but visibly got pushed in the right direction. Now Luna continued, seeing her sister's tactic seemingly worked.

"Yeah. And can you see how tall we are? Especially her! Really, as if she was half giraffe, or something!"

They both grinned at the stallion.

"Hmm, chaotic enough." he furrowed his brows "For now. I'll let you pass this time, but in a few days we'll come back for a check up."

"We'll make sure to become more chaotic." Celestia said.

"Very well then, we're done here. Have a chaotic day!"

The captain gestured to his fellow guards, and they all sped away, in the same manner they arrived. Celestia and Luna stared after them for a moment, then continued on.

"So, half-giraffe huh?" Celestia said after a while, along with a smirk "Shortie!"

Luna's eyes went wide, then snapped:

"Why you...! I merely said that in jest! And I'll let you know, I'm not short! According to mother, I'm simply not fully grown yet."

"It's okay, Luna!" Celestia chuckled "I was joking myself. Don't take everything so dead serious."

Luna snorted a "Hmph!", and walked along without further reaction. But when Celestia couldn't see it, she smiled a bit herself.

☼☽

The sisters reached the domed building they couldn't approach previously. Its courtyard was walled up, but the gate was open. They didn't yet enter, but rather, peeked over the courtyard wall. Sized for mortal ponies, it didn't require much effort from them (especially not from Celestia). The battlemages were still present, spread over the area.

"Getting inside isn't going to be easy. But perhaps, you could sneak in." Celestia said quietly.

"How so? I can't possibly sneak past all of these ponies. One of them will be tipped off, and we can begin from square one."

"Well, just use your cloaking spell, assassin!" Celestia said, with an eyebrow raised in a flamboyant manner.

"You're really in a funny mood today, aren't you?" Luna answered, slightly frustrated, but she was aware her sister made some sense. "That spell wouldn't last long enough."

"Then what?"

"Weeeell," Luna smirked "maybe if there was a distraction..."

Celestia rolled her eyes.

"I get it. I should be that distraction."

Luna couldn't help it, and just smiled with half-lidded eyes.

"What? You aren't afraid of a few dozen mortals with spells, are you?"

Celestia sighed, and lowered herself to the ground.

"No. I'll do it. Just be ready to storm the building once these guards are outta here."

☼☽

Celestia waltzed through the courtyard gate, so casually as if she just went for a little stroll. Of course, she had her personal magical shield already cast. She approached the nearest guard, and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, but I am lost. Could you please show me some directions? I'd really need to get to a library right now."

The guard, seemingly a battlemage, judging from the presence of both robes and armor, stared at Celestia blankly for a few moments. Her pupils were mere pinpricks. It really didn't seem like she was herself.

In the next moment though, she shouted, rage filling her voice.

"There she is! One of the outlaws! Let's get her!"

All attention got diverted to Celestia, who didn't hesitate, and bolted. Some combat spells already struck her, and as she rushed through the gate, she quipped to an already cloaked Luna:

"All yours, sis."

The battlemages galloped after the alicorn, but of course, didn't notice the invisible Luna. She looked after them, as both pursued and pursuers disappeared behind a corner in one of the streets.

"I have to admit, she is really good bait!" she said under her breath, then entered the now empty courtyard.

☼☽

With a long creak, Luna opened the gilded double doors to the huge building that, hopefully, was a library.

That didn't seem to be the case, but Luna couldn't not notice how elaborate the architecture was inside, to say nothing of the furnishings. She stepped inside, and was faced with a wall, with the Equestrian flag hung from it. Corridors to two directions started from there. Luna took the left.

The clip-clops of her hooves were muffled by the silky red carpet underneath her. The corridors on both sides were held up by columns, which were richly decorated by pony figures. That was a pegasus design influence, as far as Luna could tell.

Looking up, she could see frescoes lining the ceiling. It seemingly depicted the great feats of each of the tribes, from pegasi fighting dragons, to earth ponies stopping natural disasters. The building was probably a museum, but at any rate, it was dedicated to all three races in equal amounts.

Luna finally reached a great door on her right. She perked her ears against it, but not hearing anything, she swung it open. It revealed some sort of council chamber, with twelve dedicated seats in the middle, and many more around, in a circle. It reminded her of their own council chamber, back at home.

"This must be the pony council building, then." Luna thought "But do they have a library as well?"

Being completely empty, Luna didn't even bother entering, and walked on.

☼☽

After a while, the corridor curved right, and she was now in a hall, with many doors teasing the prospect of finding what she was searching for.

She opened one of them, and was presented with some sort of art gallery. Snorting with frustration, she slammed it shut, and tried the next one.

Now Luna could finally smile. The place was stacked rows upon rows with bookshelves. Getting inside, she looked around, but suddenly, she heard movement.

She looked back. No one was there.

"Celestia, is that you?"

Her voice echoed somewhat in the library. But no answer came.

"Come on, stop fooling around, we have a job to do!"

It would have made sense for Celestia getting back to her at that point. After all, she's been roaming this building for at least half an hour. But Luna also knew it wasn't Celestia. Her sister had funny streaks, but she would have seeked Luna out herself if she was present, given the gravity of the events unfolding.

Luna's next thought was one or more of the battlemages pulling guard duty in the building. No matter how mere of a challenge they would prove to be, she didn't want to get surprised, and cast a detect life spell. Considering the magical presence a powerful unicorn would emit, Luna could easily see where they would be.

The blue wave of detection magic left Luna's horn, but in her mind's eye, she could see nothing. No one alive was present in the building. And yet...

She could hear movement again. The sharp sound of hoofsteps, to be exact. She followed the sound, navigating between the bookshelves. Too bad they were set so close to each other, she couldn't even extend her wings. Otherwise, she would have opted for a bird's eye view.

She cleared the shelves, finding herself in the other end of the library. Looking at the exit, she could see the silhouette of a four-legged creature passing by. It could be a pony, but even if not, it was confirmed the hoofsteps belonged to it.

"Stop! Wait!" Luna shouted after it, although she wasn't sure she really wanted that. It was weird to her she couldn't detect its presence.

Nevertheless, she swung out of the library, and went the direction the creature did, but she couldn't see it. It was fast enough to take the next corner, but Luna could follow the sound of the galloping now. She phased forward, instead of running, and for a split-second, she could see the fugitive creature taking another corner.

Luna could also confirm now the thing was roughly pony shaped and sized. Even if it turned out to be dangerous, she didn't think she couldn't take it. But it didn't seem to want a fight. Just to flee.

The alicorn now took on galloping, assisted by her wings, building up speed quickly. She skidded around the corner, and the fleeing creature was in her sights. It wore simple brown hooded robes, and she could even see a tail peeking out from underneath it. Maybe it was a pony, after all?

"Please, don't run! I don't want to hurt you!" Luna yelled, but it didn't sound too convincing, considering the volume.

Another corner, another chance for the maybe-pony to get away. But Luna was already closing the distance between them, and after taking the corner, she could see Celestia. Excellent timing, she thought.

"Sister, stop it!!!"

Celestia's eyes went wide, and stepped in front of the creature, trying to just run past her. Celestia raised her wings, in a shield-like manner in front of herself.

A muffled thud, and a few flying feathers ended the chase.

The being looked up at the white alicorn. By then, Luna closed in on them.

"Please, don't be afraid, little pony. We're here to help."

Celestia gave a warm smile. But Luna was still confused a bit.

"So a pony? That's strange."

She walked over, and pulled off the hood of the robes. It revealed an off-white unicorn mare, sporting a leaf-green mane. She looked scared, rapidly looking back-and-forth between the sisters.

She was breathing heavily. Her gaze stopped on Celestia.

"We're sorry if we scared you. Calm down now." Celestia said, her voice gentle, "There is really no need to be afraid of us."

The mare, finally, seemed to relax a little. But her fear seemed to be replaced by confusion. She stared at Celestia, then at Luna.

"Y-y-you are...you are...that can't be..." she stammered "You are... alicorns?!"

"That's right." Celestia answered "We are Luna and Celestia, and we've come to Equestria to help you."

"Wait just a moment!" Luna said, and stepped next to Celestia "Before any helping happens, I want to know something: How can it be I couldn't detect your magic? You're a unicorn to boot, so your magic should be even more prevalent. And yet..."

Luna stared right between the pony's eyes. She stepped back and her expression became panicked again. But Celestia intervened:

"Sister, I'm sure you are mistaken. Every living creature...

...has magic?" Luna interrupted "Well, she hasn't any! I don't know how is that possible, but if you don't believe me, check it yourself."

Celestia's horn lit up, and cast a detect life spell. Which would only yield a response if it detected magic, that every living being emanated to an extent. But the response was blank.

"You're right. But how?!" Celestia asked, in disbelief.

"That's something I'd like to know as well." Luna said, and stepped towards the pony.

The poor thing was afraid, but stood her ground. Finally, she just hung her head, and mumbled.

"I got rid of it."

"What?! No, that can't be."

"I used an ancient unicorn curse to get rid of my magic permanently." the mare elaborated, now looking up "So Discord couldn't corrupt it."

"That's impossible. There is no method to do that." Luna doubled down "Even if you did that, magic would just flow back to you from Caelum eventually."

Now Celestia also had an eyebrow raised, and Luna made another step toward the mare. She said, stammering again:

"W-well, it's more like I put a cork on my magic pool, so I couldn't regain it once expended. It was a wild take, but Discord's chaotic powers still work through magic, like any spell. So if you don't have any inside you, his powers won't work on you. I made this sacrifice, so I could be free of his influence, and find a solution to turn things back to normal. Or find a way to defeat him. Sadly, I didn't succeed so far."

Their mouths were left open somewhat, and the sisters looked at each other.

"Not having magic must be horrible. I can't even imagine how that could feel." Celestia responded. Luna simply nodded, backing up her sister's words.

"That's just it. It doesn't feel like anything. It's just this... emptiness inside, that permeates everything. Where there was once instinct, now there are only blank memories. My soul feels like a pegasus would feel with her wings torn out."

"I wish I could help you, but I don't know how to reverse such a curse." Celestia said, her voice kept low and dignified. "But maybe Luna..."

But Luna just shook her head once, cutting Celestia's response short.

"I don't need help. My current state is the only thing that keeps me from Discord's corruption. And the hope that I may find a method to fight him one day keeps me going."

Celestia and Luna looked at each other. In the alicorn codexes, they read about the tenacity and bravery of ponykind. But this was something else. This wasn't something they expected from any mortal.

Seeing the downcast expressions, the mare continued:

"But enough of my wailing. I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Clover. Many attach the moniker "the Clever" after my name, but after recent events, I don't think I quite deserve that. So, to cut this short: Do you know how to defeat Discord?"

Luna shifted her eyes. Celestia bit her lower lips, and as if both their manes flowed somewhat slower momentarily. Eventually, Luna spoke up.

"That's actually something we wanted to ask ourselves."

Clover's ears drooped. After a quick grimace that indicated a desire to cry, she said:

"B-but you're gods! Surely, you could just vanquish him! Like gods do. Or is there something that stops you from doing that?"

"Yes. that we aren't gods." Celestia said sternly.

"And our, well, my attempts to take him out with the conventional method proved fruitless." added Luna.

"They aren't gods..." Clover murmured to herself, hanging her head, then straightened back up. "So does that mean there's nothing you can do against him? That Discord's reign will be eternal?"

Celestia stepped closer to the panicked mare, then lowered herself, so she was at eye level.

"Look Clover," she began in a soothing tone "I know things are rather bleak right now, but I'm sure together, we can figure something out. Let's not lose hope. Wasn't hope for a better future one of the principles Equestria was founded upon?"

"Yes, but even if you, alicorns, can't do anything..."

"We can still help you, and you can help us helping you." Luna took over, her snappy tone and fast talking indicating she had enough of the melodramatic conversation "There is a library here, surely it holds something that can give us an edge."

"Luna is right." Celestia nodded, but it was clear she wasn't finished with the melodramatic conversation "Information is indeed key in a situation like this."

Clover cleared her throat, and her tone shifted to be more casual, almost peppy.

"Well, I was doing just that when um..." she searched her memory for a moment "Luna interrupted me, and I fled. Now I see that wouldn't have been necessary, but still, we don't exactly have a general guidebook about defeating gods."

The tiny bit sarcastic response (at least to Luna's ears) made her raise an eyebrow, but it was Celestia who answered.

"Maybe we should go back there, and let me look around. I'm really quick to skim books, maybe I could find something."

Luna could only roll her eyes in the company of a subtle smile at that. If there was one alicorn who read all the tribe's codexes, it was her sister.

"Books can wait for now." said Clover "I should present you to my master, Starswirl the Bearded. Maybe seeing you would clear her mind of Discord's chaos. He lasted for months, but our hideout's protective ward is weakening by the day. He is slipping rapidly. But if he could return to his former self, I bet he could offer some wisdom."

"Oh, if that's all it takes." scoffed Luna "We have low-yield anti-chaos spells that should work on him. Maybe it wouldn't even tip off Discord if we used it only on a single pony."

Celestia nodded with approval, but Clover's eyes went wide, and her ears perked up.

"Y-you could do that? That sounds great! Starswirl being on our side would surely be a great boon."

She looked around, then continued.

"Then let's not waste anymore time. Our hideout is in the basement of a small house here in Canterlot. And I know a route that Discord's chaos guard only scarcely patrols."

With that, Clover turned around, and began towards the exit. And with no better idea, the sisters followed her.

☼☽

The trio walked the same route Luna took to get to the library. On their way, Celestia couldn't stand not to ask.

"This building is where the Equestrian Council convenes, isn't it?"

"Oh yes!" Clover answered, audibly getting excited from the question "That door to the left leads to the great council chamber. Actually, I sat on the Council until he came, and rused everypony."

"Rused?" Luna asked "Do you intend to mean there was actually some kind of debate between Discord and the Council?"

"No, there was no debate." Clover shook her head "One day Discord was presented to the council by a stallion. Saying he found the right ruler for Equestria, since he was all kinds of creatures at once. And therefore, he would be able to represent everyone equally."

Clover slowed down a bit. She let out a long sigh, and after the momentary pause, she continued:

"Strangely enough, everypony seemed to be content with him, despite his weirdness, and despite no one knowing him from before. The council dissolved itself right there and then, and Equestria was made into a kingdom. Then Discord crowned himself as the "Eternal Chaos King" of Equestria. Of course, now it's clear Discord used his powers from the very beginning on everypony. Although, all this wasn't without a prelude."

Clover's downcast expression and droopy ears told the sisters she reached the sad part of the story, probably. And wanting to know more, Celestia insisted:

"What sort of prelude? What happened?"

"Ever since Equestria existed, it relied on the council deciding on all sorts of matters, representing all three pony races equally. And although representation was fine, interests always clashed. We sometimes debated even the most trivial matters for weeks, maybe even months, without reaching a conclusion. It was almost like before unification. That's why over the years, more and more voices could be heard, proposing a strong leader would be needed. One who could end debates, and make final decisions when needed. But of course, the three tribes could never decide which one of them should provide the pony to bestow such power upon. No one believed a single pony could represent all three races."

Celestia and Luna locked gazes for a moment. Luna raised an eyebrow slightly, and Celestia opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the younger sister broke eye contact. Instead, she said:

"So chaos reigned to an extent even before Discord took over? Might explain why he has chosen Equestria as his realm."

"You could say that. I guess." Clover responded, ever so slightly offended at Luna's words. "Although I hope by "realm" you merely mean "temporary fiefdom"."

"Oh, don't you worry. His reign won't last much longer now.We'll scatter his sorry soul in Caelum, and beyond."

"B-but didn't you say you have no idea how to defeat him?!"

"This is the promise we give to you." Celestia answered. "The details, we can always work out later."

Clover just walked on, although she wasn't reassured, to say the least.

☼☽

Shortly, Clover and the sisters reached the front door. Ready to leave, the former opened it, but she barely stepped outside when pulled herself back in, and shut the door with an "Eeep!".

"What is it?"

"It's battlemages. Multiple platoons of them."

"Oh, so they're back?" Luna answered, then shot an accusatory look at Celestia "Didn't you lure them away, Sister?"

"Wait. Sister?" Clover said with surprise, but she was ignored for the time being.

"I did. But it seems they have returned."

"Great... Say, Clover, how did you get past the guards when you got inside? Is there a back entrance, or something?" Luna said, then casually added:

"Oh, and yes, we're sisters."

Celestia nodded with a smile, confirming her sister's words.

"That's so... Wow, like, you two couldn't be more different. But, um, to answer your question, there weren't any battlemages around when I entered the building. Discord must have felt you're here, and sent these battlemages to stop you."

"That's most likely the case." said Celestia "They welcomed us with a stream of magic bolts when we approached the building the first time."

"Ah, dangit. Well, we could just wait for them to leave. Which could take a while. But I really don't want to consider the alternative."

"None of that would be necessary. We will erect a barrier around you, and simply walk past them. It's not like they could get past our magic." Celestia said.

"No way! We would just lure them to Starswirl's hideout. We have to deal with this issue here."

"Of course, we CAN deal with them, if there is no other option." Celestia answered, casually.

At that, Clover got startled. Her voice took on a terrified tone:

"N-no! Please, you cannot do that! They are being controlled, you cannot kill innocents!"

"I meant we could deal with them in a non-lethal manner." Celestia said, slightly offended at the accusation "Isn't that right, Luna?"

Luna bit her lower lip. She wasn't proud of her repertoire of non-lethal spells, but regardless, she answered.

"Of course. They would be just temporarily incapacitated."

"Could you really do that? Please, do not hurt them, whatever you do!"

"They would only be hurt a little bit." said Luna.

"Don't worry, we can fight without killing. They'll live to see a normal Equestria."

"Alright then. I believe you."

Without further ado, Luna opened the door, and they went outside to face the battlemages.

☼☽

The sisters stood in front of what looked like about thirty robed-and-armored ponies. They were all unicorns, yet some of them wielded magical staves to boot. A burly stallion, standing roughly in the middle of the group, stepped forward, and shouted.

"You two! Submit to our Lord of Chaos! Or we'll have no choice, but to execute you!"

As those words were spoken, the staff-wielding unicorns readied them in the back, pointing them at the alicorns. The battlemage leader continued:

"These destruction staves can put a hole right through a dragon. Now matter how powerful you are, you have no chance of fighting us, and surviving. Just surrender. This is your only warning!"

Luna threw a sideways glance at her sister, raising an eyebrow. Celestia reacted only with a confused frown.

"We'd rather not!" Luna shouted back, and cast a magical shield around herself. Celestia did the same.

"Then you leave us no choice." the officer said, and stepped back into the formation. "Heavy staves, fire!"

Four staves, each larger than the pony who wielded them, were fired in unison at the sisters. They didn't wait for the orbs of magic to hit their marks, as Luna phased away in a wake of magic, while Celestia teleported.

A moment later, they were up in the face of the battlemage formation. Seeing the intention, they skillfully dispersed, and opened concentrated fire from their horns and the staves.

The unicorn spells were barely felt by their shields, but the powerful bolts sent by the staves left huge ripples upon them with each strike. They had to realize the battlemage officer wasn't exaggerating much, and this sort of hardware could actually hurt them, if their shields popped.

So they prioritized the staff wielders. Celestia went for the closest one, but the mare backed off, while her comrades covered her. Closing the distance regardless, Celestia managed to tear the staff out of the mare's magical grip, and snapped it in half with telekinesis. The mare gasped in surprise, but she couldn't do much else, as Celestia went for the next staff wielder.

This one was a stallion, and Celestia opted for a similar tactic, but he was on the nose, and unto the same telekinetic motion she tried to take the staff away, the stallion applied her own magic, and Celestia got whacked in the face. Momentarily dazed, the stallion punched Celestia again, now with the crystal tip of the weapon. That shorted out her magical shield, but she didn't let the finishing strike happen. With a powerful bolt of magic, she struck the crystal itself, shattering it, rendering the weapon useless. The stallion didn't let go of it though, and tried to go for melee, but Celestia stopped it mid strike, and whacked the stallion with it. He was knocked out for good.

Meanwhile, with her shield gone, the battlemages tried to do a number on her, with little effect. They never faced an alicorn before, and watched on with growing wariness as their magic left only slight scorch marks upon Celestia's coat instead of the deadly burns they were expecting. Celestia sent out a telekinetic repulse around herself, knocking every combatant over.

Giving herself a second of breather this way, she recast her shield, and looked over at Luna. She also seemed to handle the situation well enough. She took out the rest of the heavy staves herself, as they couldn't be seen around. But she just lost her shield as well, but that didn't concern Celestia.

But a moment later, one of the mages conjured up a huge icicle, and launched it straight at Luna.

"Luna, watch out!!!"

Luna caught the lethal projectile just before it could hit her, then shattered it within her magical grip.

"Thanks!" Luna yelled back, and gently bucked a battlemage over who just got too close.

Meanwhile, the mages Celestia knocked over got up, and resumed their attack. Celestia let go of a few stun spells, but she wasn't an expert of these, and they consumed her magicka quickly. Although those who got struck by them have fallen over like they were frozen, the spells were easy to stop with magical barriers, and many of the mages used this tactic to great effect.

Getting up close again, Celestia opted for close quarter takedowns, but she was uncertain how much power she could apply. She faceplanted many warriors, by simply grabbing them, then introducing them to the marble pavement, but she feared striking them afterwards. She knew her own strength, and a stomp from her could break bones and liquify organs. She couldn't apply her own physical force as precisely as Luna, who even now, fought with the grace of a pegasus, kicking and stomping, but with just enough force to make the pony warriors dizzy.

But Luna's tactic didn't work very well either. The ponies she beat up eventually got up, and resumed the fight, although making an effort to stay far away from the blue alicorn. Luna looked left and right, and felt running out of options. Her sister didn't seem to do better either, being very passively on the defense right then. How much easier this would be if she could kill! But of course, she didn't even consider that. Instead, she cursed Discord a hundred times in her head.

By a sudden idea (but inspired by Celestia), Luna shot out an arc of lightning from her horn, hoping to use it as an impromptu stun spell. The first such spell hit a stallion, and the jolt he suffered sent him to the ground, where the rhythmic shocks kept him in place. Luna felt satisfied, but was afraid to apply more magic to the spell, as there was a fine line between stunning and causing a heart attack when it came to electricity. Regardless, she cast the spell with the same power multiple times, but soon enough, the first stallion came to, and although he couldn't stand up yet, he fired weak bolts at Luna from the ground.

Luna formed up with Celestia, and seeing she had to say something, the latter brought up a powerful barrier around themselves.

"This is useless!" Luna said, stomping a hoof "We can't keep them out of the fight to get away, but at the same time, I don't dare to use my more powerful spells either."

"I know, right? I tried to use stun spells, but they don't come to me very easily. They are also low yield. They only last for a few minutes."

"If only we could cast a stun spell at the same time at everypony, it would be just enough to slip away with Clover, and we wouldn't be followed."

Celestia, facing away from Luna, stared at the battlemages through the golden haze of her barrier, awestruck at the vigor they were fighting with. If this was Equestria's best, it stood to reason why it was the unicorn kingdom which needed alicorn help the least times during history. It made Celestia sad that right now, they were technically deadly adversaries. But then, it suddenly came to her:

"Of course! A stun spell! That's it!"

Luna looked at Celestia bedazzled somewhat.

"Didn't you just say yours were low yield?"

"Yes, but if we cast it together..."

Luna pondered that answer for a moment, then beamed up.

"You're right! Just like we did at the village with that anti-dark magic spell! Well, what are we waiting for?"

Celestia nodded, and lit up her horn. Luna channeled the same spell through her own, and when the arcane intensity reached its peak, they touched the tips of their horns together, shooting out the effects of the spell in a radius around them.

All the battlemages stopped casting immediately, and became living statues from the spell's effects. Many have fallen over, only able to move their eyeballs, but some remained upright, with their frenzied expressions stuck to them.

Celestia dispelled the barrier, and looked around. Luna did the same, and seemed satisfied with the results. Celestia, just in case, walked over to one of the battlemages.

She booped the mare's snout, gently. Her eyes were throwing sparks, but Celestia only smiled.

☼☽

"CLOVER!!!" Luna boomed, in a magically amplified voice.

Said pony peeked her nose through the ajar doors of the council building. Seeing the coast was clear, she trotted up to the sisters.

"A mass stun spell, eh? You two are really resourceful. Also, thank you for being considerate. I heard the battle and... Well, it must have been hard keeping them alive, and not getting harmed at the same time."

"We tried to not hurt them. We mostly succeeded." said Celestia, with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"But that stun spell won't last forever, so please, lead the way." Luna said, gesturing with a foreleg.

"Yes, of course. Follow me."

Clover began trotting towards the south, but she didn't even leave the building's courtyard when she was stopped in her tracks by a sudden flash of light.

In a lurched-over stance, Discord appeared in front of them.

"Making progress, sisters?" he asked, then straightened up to his full height. He glanced over to the group of battlemages, still stunned, motionless. "Are you ready for round two?"

He lifted his clawed hand for his signature snap, but the motion didn't happen. She noticed Clover, and floated over.

"And lookie who have you found! The magicless one! Or was it the other way around?"

The alicorns gave the god of chaos a nasty look. Clover likewise. Discord just smirked, then flicked Clover's green mane a few times.

"I was wondering when would you come into the picture. But whatever you're up to with your newfound allies, I can already tell: It will fail. There is nothing that could stop me. NOTHING!"

"Sure, just think that, you overconfident sack of manure!" Clover said, scrunching up her muzzle in disgust "You're walking straight to your grave. You'll see."

"Oh really? So, you do have a plan? Or just talking smack by the side of your alicorn buddies?" came the reaction from Discord, then he shrugged "But it doesn't even matter. Although, I also hate unnecessary risks, so..."

He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He facepalmed, hard.

"Of course. I almost forgot. Well, I guess I have to use a less funny method, then."

Discord reached for Clover's throat with his claws. The mare backed up, and at the same time, Celestia stepped in front of her, with her wings open.

"Don't. You. Dare."

Discord's eyes met Celestia's gaze. A gaze that was pure anger. Will. Hatred. He recoiled a bit, then looked over at Luna. Her scowl was only slightly less intimidating. He looked back and forth between them for a few moments, then grinned.

"Ah, yes. That look. I bet you gave that look to many a creature before you brought about their last moments. And through your anger, I can feel your spark of godhood flaring. It gives you focus. Power. That's what separates you from mere mortals, and that's the extra layer between your souls and your magic. So embrace it. Use your full godhood against me, so I can let loose as well, and we can end this tiresome struggle."

Discord's tone grew sinister by the last sentence. Luna responded, and unlike other times, now she was the calm one.

"Are we supposed to get scared?"

"Oh no. On the contrary, I'd want you to chill. Just relax. Let's just continue having fun together! I never wanted to fight alicorns, especially considering I'm best buds with some of them."

"Don't humor us." Celestia said, only sounding slightly less tense than previously.

But Discord quickly returned to his usual silly tone. He answered, pointing a finger at each of the sisters.

"Of course I didn't mean you two. But more like... your Magikhan Arcana."

The sisters' anger and hate turned into anger and suspicion. And surprise. And doubt, all at the same time. They looked at each other, then back at Discord.

"Y-you're bluffing. You can't possibly know her." Luna stammered.

"But I do! Really now, do you ALWAYS need to be a contrarian?"

"How?" came from a very strict Celestia.

"How?" Discord repeated in mockery "Well, how I couldn't? When it was she who came to me in Tartarus, and set me free!"

Horror spread upon the sisters' faces. A chill went down their spines, that quickly spread throughout their bodies. They wanted to move, their wings, or hooves, or anything, to see they were still steeped in reality, and Discord's powers didn't finally get to them. They couldn't move anything, and seeing the jester god's face, wanted to believe it was an elaborate lie, a ruse to undermine their resolve. But something, deep down, told them Arcana might just go this far to achieve...what exactly?

And poor Clover was just confused, not understanding what the conversation was about, just that something big was going on.

"You're lying..." Celestia finally muttered.

"Am I? You look like you just find it believable enough. But whatever, ponder upon this new development, do double takes, the usual stuff. The seeds of doubt have been sown, chaos has been spread! My work here is done, for the moment."

With that, Discord clapped his hands twice, and disappeared in a flash of light. The sisters stared at each other. Their faces showed a multitude of expressions still, but mostly shock.

About a minute later, it was Clover who broke the eerie silence.

"We should go. We have to reach Starswirl's."

Comments

[Pluie]

Oh, Clover and Starswirl, this should be interesting.

"How?" Discord repeated in mockery "Well, how I couldn't? When it was she who came to me in Tartarus, and set me free!"

Feels like Discord is lying since Arcana only cares about the Teardrops, and having a chaos god running around just makes it harder for the sisters to retrieve them.

And, from Chapter I, it seems like Arcana considers him an obstacle, and is only confident because she think Celestia and Luna can overcome him:

"He won't take them seriously enough to put up any fight. The Sisters will just snatch the artifact from under his nose, and bring it to us."

Though maybe it actually all ties into some master plan?

[Captain Neckbeard]

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Though maybe it actually all ties into some master plan?

Oh, you might never know with these alicorns. Or with a chaos god...
All I'll say is that everything will clear up in the end.