Inside the majestic halls of Canterlot Castle, the sinking sun cast its glow through the numerous stained glass windows that lined the chambers and foyers, making the castle shine with a brilliance befitting the royal princesses that inhabited it. Each window told of an ancient story, most of them celebrating the defeat of a long forgotten enemy or recounting a time of peace that, when it had occurred, had no equal in sight. More than a few were dedicated to the exploits of the princesses themselves, though not all portrayed a joyous occasion. As one would expect, the saga of Nightmare Moon was an important if regrettable excerpt from history, and it was not safe from having its tale told to those who viewed its glass pages.
Princess Luna hurried past these windows, doing her best to avoid glancing at the stainings that accused her of evil every time she walked by them. She passed the empty throne, its sovereign having vacated it to attend to the lowering of the sun, or so Celestia would like everyone to think. Luna quickened her pace, silently fuming to herself. How could Celestia take this risk? Did she not know or simply not care of the danger she was putting herself and all of her subjects in? She had taken gambles guided by nothing but pure instinct before, it was inevitable when governing an entire country, but this time it was not only an unnecessary risk, it was a downright foolish one.
Her steps echoed throughout the grand halls as she navigated towards the bed chambers, still turning these thoughts over in her mind and searching for a counterpoint – or however many she would need - that would convince Celestia to abandon her rash idea. She knocked lightly on her sister’s decorated chamber door when she came to it, listening for any sign that Celestia had heard. Seconds passed, continued to pass, a full minute with no answer. Luna knocked again. “Celestia? Are you in there? I want to talk with you.” Silence. She was alone, her only companion the echo that traveled through the castle’s halls. She sighed and carefully pushed on the door. Surprisingly, it gave way. She was expecting more resistance, but with this stroke of luck, her hopes rose a small bit.
She entered her sister's chambers to find Celestia in a meditative pose. She sat on her haunches in the middle of her royal room with several books scattered about her. Some were open to diagrams of anatomy, some with intricate illustrations of magic spells, still others were filled with nothing but long lines of text. Celestia’s eyes were closed in deep concentration and her horn emitted a faint golden glow.
“I was wondering when you would come,” Celestia said without opening her eyes. “Please excuse the mess, I’m going through a few last minute preparations and I haven’t had the opportunity to return these.”
“You know why I’m here, Celestia.” Luna said, ignoring Celestia’s excuses and wasting no time. If she were to stand up to her bigger sister, she would have to act fast and deliberate. “I do not believe this is a good idea.”
Celestia opened her eyes and smiled warmly at her sister. "I know you don’t, as you’ve made very clear.” With a wave of her head, the books on the floor closed and set themselves back on the various shelves that lined the room. “I appreciate your concerns Luna, but I am more than capable of making decisions for myself, and should something happen, I can defend myself just fine.”
“You do not know what he is capable of!" Luna cried out as she could feel the courage worked up inside her start to dwindle. Even after all this time, acclimating herself back into a world that had all but forgotten everything about her save her nightmarish persona, conversing with her bigger sister was the most troubling of all. "We do not know how strong he is in his own realm! Trapped he may be, but his recent escape should be more than enough to show he has at least some of his magic remaining. And there will likely be effects on yourself, intended to weaken you or disrupt your magic. I realize you have faced him before, but that was in Equestria, where we knew exactly what we were capable of. There is no telling what his realm will do to you." Luna gazed down grimly to the floor, strands of her hair hanging down on both sides of her head. "If you do manage to transport yourself there, there is no guarantee you will return..."
Celestia sighed wearily and regarded Luna with warm eyes. For all they had been through, Luna still acted like a frightened child whenever Celestia was about to do anything remotely dangerous. This exact scene had played out more times than Celestia cared to admit. She loved her sister, there was no denying that, but she wished Luna had more faith in her whenever Luna questioned her judgement.
She crossed the room and laid a gentle hoof on her sister’s tense shoulder. Luna gazed up glumly at her touch, her bright eyes hidden behind her dark mane. Now holding her sister’s attention, Celestia gently brushed the hair out of Luna’s face and kissed her forehead. “Do you remember when we were fillies and I was learning to fly? You were still very young, so you may not recall, but you would sit in the courtyard and watch me for hours as I practiced my loops and laps.”
Luna was silent for a few seconds as she took in Celestia’s words before a flicker of recognition passed through her eyes. The extremely faint beginnings of a smile tugged at the end of her lips as she spoke. “You practiced for hours because you wished to be the fastest flyer in the whole castle.” Celestia covered her mouth and chuckled as Luna’s smile slowly expanded. “After six months, you could even beat Fleetfoot in a race around the obstacle course.”
“You could never watch me fly in those races. You always warned me against going into corners with too much momentum or flying too low to the ground. ‘You’re going to crash one day’, you’d say, ‘and I’ll have to be the one to carry you to the infirmary!’”
“You did though!” Luna said, no longer bothering to hide her smile. “You crashed directly into the vegetable garden and we were in need of broccoli for weeks!”
Celestia smiled sheepishly. “I never did enjoy broccoli, and you knew how well I could fly at that time. Did it ever occur to you that I might have crashed on purpose and simply lied about it?”
Luna sat in stunned silence. The mere thought of Celestia doing anything so juvenile was completely foreign to her, even when they were at that age. She was a picture perfect princess, through and through. “I suppose it is possible, but I fail to see how the past relates to the issue at hand,” was all she could say to the patiently waiting Celestia.
“This has been a crude example, I admit, but I mean to say that every time you’ve worried for me, your fears have proven unfounded. I know what I am doing, Luna. I realize very clearly the dangers of submitting myself to Discord, but that does not mean I am going in blind. We have faced him before, we know his tricks and how he uses them, and most importantly, we know how to overcome them. Give me the chance to prove myself, dear sister, and I will return to you as soon as I have found what I seek.”
Luna opened her mouth to argue, but the last vestiges of her courage had fled her. She had to admit it, Celestia was right. Luna had always played the worried one while Celestia faced every challenge that came to her in stride, and every time she had come out stronger and wiser than before. Perhaps she was too fearful. She should have had all the confidence in the world that Discord would be nothing more than the latest in this series of obstacles set in Celestia’s path, one that she would hurdle without the slightest hint of trouble.
Yet, with all that had been said, she still felt a strange unease that she couldn’t explain…
“Luna? Are you okay?”
Luna realized with embarrassment that she had gone silent while Celestia had become the one burdened with concern. “Ah, yes! Yes, I’m fine. My apologies, I was merely deep in thought and lost myself for a moment.” The look on Celestia face made it obvious that her worry hadn’t been laid to rest. “I am fine Celestia. There is no need for either of us to worry more than is necessary.”
“If you say so,” she replied, though she still held a wary gaze on Luna. “In any case, I cannot delay any longer. I must establish contact with Discord soon, or I will lose this opportunity forever.”
“How do you know such a thing?”
“I… don’t, to tell the truth. It’s merely a feeling, or instinct, but I believe in it. Something is happening soon, Luna, and I fear Discord is the only one who can shed any light on it.”
Luna stared at her for a moment before trotting past her and climbing onto the bed, tucking her hooves into her body and watching over her sister as Celestia’s guards did on a daily basis. “I cannot stop you, I realize that, but allow me to stay by your side in case you require help. You must concede that much at the very least.”
Celestia chewed her bottom lip as she mentally wrestled with herself. Luna meant well, but this was too important for any mistakes or slipups, and the chances of that happening were dramatically increased with her in the room. But Luna didn’t appear to be going away any time soon, and if they wasted enough time here, it could have unfortunate consequences. With a sigh, Celestia knew her answer. “Very well. You may stay, but under no circumstances will you attempt to interrupt the spell. This is extremely volatile magic I must control, and the simplest disturbance will have dire effects. Do you understand?”
Luna nodded.
“Good.” Celestia smiled. “I love you, Luna.”
“I love you, Celestia.”
Celestia closed her eyes and focused her magic. She felt it flow through her as she called upon every magical reserve she possessed, calling it to life as she mouthed the spells that would sweep her away from her home and into the unknown. Unbeknownst to her, her body started to radiate with the same golden light that her horn produced, filling the room with a soft, brilliant radiance it had never known before. Sweat broke on her brow as she concentrated harder and harder as her body brightened even further from the immense magical energy coursing through her every vein. She could feel herself slipping away from the room, from Luna, and with a final burst of energy that magnified the brightness her body emitted into such a blinding flash it resembled the sun she controlled, her mind was whisked away to an uncertain future.
…
“…Celestia?” Luna uncovered her eyes to find her sister a dull, motionless figure sitting completely still in the center of the room. “Celestia!” Luna nearly flew off the bed to Celestia’s side, but her sister’s warning against such an action echoed in her mind, and she was forced to settle for pacing around her anxiously as she waited for Celestia to return. She tried to tell herself it would be no more than a few seconds, but the truth was she had no idea how fast or slow the passage of time was where Celestia had gone, and it could be days, weeks, or possibly even months before her return.
If she had even made it to her destination at all…
No, no, she couldn’t think that. She had to have complete faith, which she did. Of course she did, it was her big sister, the sister who had always excelled in everything. Of course she had made it to Discord’s realm.
Yet seeing her sister’s body as it was, completely devoid of any signs of life other than breaths far too short for her liking, made her worry…
A faint glow on the door caught her eye, causing her a bit of confusion. Celestia’s body no longer shone with that golden light. If anything, it was the opposite. It seemed grey, lifeless even, certainly not something that would shine. Luna did a quick survey of the room until she looked out onto the balcony and saw a hint of the moon hiding behind the distant horizon. In all the commotion, she had entirely forgotten her duties to raise the moon. Reluctantly leaving Celestia behind, Luna ventured onto the balcony and, without the slightest hint of effort, focused on the moon until it rose halfway above the landscape in the distance. Satisfied that it would now move on its own, Luna quietly studied it, her thoughts turning to, of all things, the window panes in the castle’s main hall. The pane that recounted the tale of Nightmare Moon stuck out at her, and she realized just how similar and, at the same time, different this situation was to then, all those years ago.
Though fear of what was to come, anger at her sister, and uncertainty of what her next actions should be all crossed her mind, it was the loneliness that struck her deeper than the rest. Both now and on the moon, she had been alone, but even on the moon, when she plotted against Celestia and planned to take her revenge on the country she now called home, she knew her sister was waiting for her. Now, with Celestia sitting vacantly on the floor like a puppet, Luna was the one awaiting a sister’s return, a return that might never come to fruition.
“Please come back to me, Celestia,” she whispered, wanting nothing more than to hug Celestia, to hear her say that everything would be okay, but she knew that would not happen. She could only climb onto the bed to watch, and wait.
And hope.
*********
Celestia awoke, though not easily. Her entire being was groggy from the strenuous effort of transporting her mind to Discord’s realm, and her head was fogged and disjointed, as if a lead weight had supplanted itself in her mind and brought her mental processes to a grinding halt. With dulled senses, she shakily picked herself up off the ground with all the grace and majesty of a pony who had celebrated with too much cider.
After a few moments, her vision cleared, allowing her to survey the realm of chaos she now found herself in. She felt a twinge of panic bolt through her body, for as she took in the lands before her, she was certain something had gone amiss with the spell. A muddled, cloudy dullness was the only landscape waiting to greet her, the land having only the vaguest of shape and certainly not appearing able to support life. The closest example she could think of was as if she had teleported inside one of the numerous puffy clouds that wafted lazily in the sky on a summer’s day. She inspected the uninviting sights more thoroughly, but try as she might, she couldn't find anything in the distance. A creeping feeling of unease slithered its way through her body, but she shrugged it off. The slightest lapse in concentration, and she may very well find herself bending to Discord’s every whim.
Recovered slightly from the exhaustion of the spell, she took a tentative step forward, and with a sigh of relief discovered that as strange as the landscape was, she wouldn’t be falling through it anytime soon. Her relief soon became unease, however, as she took another step, and another, until she found herself wandering through the strange land with no sense of where she was or where she was headed.
“Something’s gone wrong…” she thought aloud to herself. This was not the realm of madness, she thought with a burgeoning sense of unease. This was not where chaos or order, melancholy or contempt dwelt. Nothing resided here that could hold any virtue true, whether it be good or evil, and this was certainly not where a spirit such as Discord would content himself with an existence devoid of his most treasured inclinations. Had she made a mistake with the spell? No, she couldn't have, she had taken the utmost care in preparing her magic, spent hours and hours going over the incantations until she had them down to the exact syllable. This had to have been her destination. Where, then, was he?
The answer came from behind her, where nothing had stood only a few seconds before.
“Hello, Celestia. I’ve been waiting for you.” The voice was no stranger. She had heard it countless times before, and every time it filled her ears, a cold hardness came over her. She steeled herself for what would come. This would require her to be completely focused and utterly without fear or hesitation.
Slowly she turned around and met him. He stood at a small wooden table with a tea kettle and a cup set on it. A second cup was currently at his lips as he took a sip, looking over its edge at her. Discord set it back down on the tray he held in his other hand and eyed her mischievously, a large canine protruding from the smile that stretched across his face from ear to laid back ear. His gaze never left her, as if waiting for her to fall into some trap he had been planning ever since being encased in stone by the Elements of Harmony, and perhaps even when she herself had trapped him inside his prison.
For all she knew, that was exactly what he was planning, but if he was, he was doing his best to hide his intentions, as he greeted her with all the warmth of two old friends who had been separated for far too long. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to pay me a visit!” he said merrily, taking another sip from his cup and smacking his lips in contentment. She noticed it wasn’t the tea he was drinking, but the cup itself as the tea kept its shape unsupported in the air. “It’s bad manners to keep an old friend waiting for so long, Celestia. Honestly, a simple letter asking how I was doing would have been appreciated, but I assume you were too busy with all your royal duties to accommodate me. Though I can’t really blame you, I hear postage expenses all the way out here are absurd.” He shrugged and dismissed the motion with a wave of his paw. “Oh well, nothing to do about that, is there? Goodness knows I can be patient when I want to, as I’m sure you already know.” He ended with another devilish grin that came so easily to his twisted nature.
Celestia paid his ramblings no mind. "I've come for a reason, Discord. If you knew I was coming, then I assume you know what that reason is." She spoke clearly and deliberately. If he sensed any weakness in her, he would exploit it without a second thought.
"That I do, though why you think you can even hope to comprehend what I do is beyond me." He took another long sip of his cup, exposing even more of the tea. "Though I must say, however low my hopes are for you, it is a very interesting proposition you've brought me, and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to hear you explain it in greater detail."
"I offer only this. Teach me of the chaos you spread and why you feel the need to terrorize innocents with your cruel games."
Discord chuckled as he studied her with devious, red and yellow eyes. "Is it not obvious? I'm the Spirit of Chaos! It's right in the title of the job, my name, even, that I should be livening up everyone's dull existence whenever possible! Life is such a drag when you're always burdened by rules and regulations and, in my case, a snug stone coat. Is it so bad to want a little fun every now and again?"
"Your fun is nothing more than an excuse to subjugate the entire population of my kingdom." She stood across from him, commanding as much authority in her voice and posture as possible, though she was painfully aware of having to look up at him to meet his eyes. "Equestria was nothing more than your playground when you ruled, my subjects mere toys for you to play with and discard whenever you felt they had outlived their usefulness."
He frowned and his eyes misted. He reminded her of a hurt puppy, in a way, if it had horns and wings. "I'm hurt, my dear. I always made sure to pack my toys away in perfect condition." He put on a good show, Celestia had to admit, but he wouldn't find any pity from her. He returned to normality, the facade gone as quick as it had come. "This is a very intriguing and, if I may say, very dangerous proposition you’re asking of me. You couldn’t possibly want to do this out of sheer boredom, no, you’re too prim and proper for that. Why, then, have you come seeking out the inner workings behind my chaos?"
"I want to see the world through your eyes, to understand why and how you use your magic in the ways you do," she answered. He said nothing, and then she added, “I also wish to save you.”
He snorted through his nose. "You want to save me, you say? That is very courageous, I must say, though it’s a shame that courage is so misplaced.” He hooked his hands together and stretched them above his head, almost as invested in the conversation as he was in the patterning of the wooden table. “Wanting to see the world through my eyes, is that it? The why and how behind my magic? I can understand that much. It’s only natural for a leader to search for every weapon available to her, even if it comes from her enemies,” he said as he picked lazily at the wood with a long claw.
“I never said I wished to wield it as a weapon.”
“Nor did you say you didn’t. Semantics aside, the second part of your reasoning, now that is what interests me. From your viewpoint, saving me seems to be much more troublesome than it is worth. Certainly not worth the risks you seem willing to take. Wouldn’t it be more conducive for you and your kingdom if you simply left well enough alone and kept me locked up in that ghastly statue, forgetting I ever existed?”
"Quite, but I didn’t go through the effort of transporting myself here simply for you to send me away like a bothersome filly. If you help me, Discord, I will return the gesture and give you anything you desire so long as it falls within the bounds of rationality." He continued picking, flicking a splinter away as Celestia continued. “So I ask you, what is it you desire from me?”
"If you are so intent on going through with this plan of yours, then this is what I desire.” He spread his hands apart. “Nothing," he said, smiling. "The fun I'm going to have with you will be a far greater reward than any material possession you could possibly offer me." Celestia had to stifle the response she was about to give him. She was certain he would ask for his release and had been ready to reject him should he have said so, but this was something she hadn't been expecting. Did he truly want nothing, or was this just another plot of his? And what did he mean, when he said his fun would be a far greater reward than anything she could offer him? Celestia neither understood what he meant nor did she want to, but a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she would discover what it was all too soon.
"If that is what you wish, then you will not receive anything." She played along, if only to see whether or not he would break down and ask for something in return for his help.
"Oh, I do believe I'll receive something I've been wanting for a long time now. It just so happens that you can't simply hand it to me." Discord finished the cup and tossed the tea over his shoulder, his expression completely unlike those he had worn since starting his talk with Celestia. It was serious, grave, unflinching. This was not the playful Discord of just a few moments ago, who had spoken of toys and mail. Despite knowing each other for over a thousand years, she had never quite adjusted to how he could so calmly change his demeanor on the fly. A cold shiver went up her spine, much like the one that hit her when she first arrived in this desolate place. This was the monster that had broken free of his prison once before and threatened the very existence of her world, and the events before that...
"I wonder," he said, resting his elbows on the table and bringing the tips of his mismatched paw and claw together, "do you really know what awaits you if you agree to go down this little path of mine? Are you really prepared to deal with the consequences of your actions?" He stared her down, daring her to flinch. "There are things even a princess does not know, Celestia. Things that you might not want to see, things that would disturb and repulse you, perhaps even break you. Does that sound like something you're willing to go through in order to, in your own words, see the world through my eyes?'"
Celestia held steadfast. "Do not underestimate me, Discord. I am a Princess of Equestria, and it is not a position that was simply handed to me." Her voice rose ever so slightly, with a touch of pride hidden in it. "You know firsthand what I'm capable of. You thought of me as just another subject you could bend to your whims once, and we both know what came of it."
Silence. The princess and the monster glared at each other, unmoving. Not even a gust of wind dared to intrude upon their standoff. Out of the corner of her eyes, Celestia noticed a faint darkness behind Discord. It had come out of nowhere, and unless she was mistaken, it appeared to be closing in on them. She pushed it out of her mind and continued staring Discord down. Cold malice shone behind his eyes, unwavering determination behind hers. Neither would give the other the satisfaction of victory by shying away. The seconds seemed more like years as there seemed to be no end to their silent battle.
Then, the crack of a smile, a glint of excitement in his eyes. Celestia showed no emotion as his smile spread like wildfire, and a booming laugh escaped from the depths of the beast. It took more than a few seconds for him to regain his composure long enough to address his opponent. "Ho ho ho, oh my, you really are quite something amazing, my dear. Such tenacity, such ferociousness!" The admiration in his voice was easy to hear as he finally caught his breath and faced her. "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were fearless! I'd be in quite a pickle if that were the case." The darkness Celestia had noticed before was quickly converging on their table. A flood of counter-spells raced through her mind as the shadows and Discord both fought for her attention.
"I am more than capable of handling anything you could do to me," she said, now keeping an eye on the encroaching shadows. "I have made my decision clear, and I will not waiver now." She heard herself say this to Discord and honestly believed in her words. She would not allow him to lead her astray from her path, not when she had yet to start down it. She extended herself to her full stance, gathered herself for the final blow, and in a booming voice that echoed throughout the deserted plains, shouted, "I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, command you to reveal the workings of your magic and bring to light the order behind chaos!"
He merely stood, twice her height, and smiled at her. They were completely shrouded in the shade now, and she had to strain her eyes to make out his figure. "As you command it, Celestia, so it shall be,” he said, and snapped his fingers.
The shadows that enveloped them suddenly exploded to life. A crash of thunder, a flash of lightning from high above, and for the slightest of seconds, Discord was aflame in the chaos that Celestia had unleashed. For a brief moment, his eyes were crimson hell fire, his smile a knife that cut through the light, his entire being a manifestation of pure, malevolent evil. Discord had fled from her, and in his place a demon stood ready to rip her very soul apart, piece by bloody piece.
In that moment, all of the counter spells she had prepared were suddenly lost as the being of destruction bore down on her with no escape in sight, and for the first time in as long as she could remember, Celestia felt fear coil around her and begin to choke the will from her.
Then the demon disappeared and Discord stood before her again, nearly hopping from foot to foot in anticipation for what was to come. The shadows that had caused her grief were nowhere to be seen. "So," he said, rubbing his warped hands together and flashing her his awful smile, "shall we begin? There are so many games to be played, and precious little time to play them in."
"Now, there are a few things I need to explain to you before we really start off on our grand adventure." Discord strolled through his home at a leisurely pace as if he were walking through a castle's garden and not a barren wasteland. Celestia followed behind and to his side, wary of any traps he might have for her. Even though he had said he wanted nothing out of the agreement, she couldn't in good faith hold him to his word. Trickery came to him as easily and naturally as breathing, and she wouldn't let her guard down as long as he held her here. The image of the demon he had become flashed in her mind, and she cursed herself for being caught so unaware. "Firstly, everything will take place in this humble abode of mine. No matter where you think you may be, you're not in the real world, and you won't be leaving here until you've decided you've had enough for the day."
"You mean to say I can come and go as I please?" She asked in a suspicious tone.
"Of course. If I kept your mind here for as long as it took to make you understand me, your physical form would collapse well before we made any real progress, not to mention the effects of prolonged separation between mind and body, and I'm sure neither of us wants that." Celestia doubted her unrestricted freedom, and his supposed worry for her even more, but his reasoning did make sense. Even without knowing the slightest bit of what was to come, it couldn’t possibly be over in a day or two, and time would continue to march onwards, both in Discord’s world and hers. He continued with his explanation while idly picking at his protruding fang with a sharp claw. "Secondly, you'll be exploring your own mind as much as mine, perhaps even more so."
"I take it you have a reason for this." Perhaps he didn’t have a reason at all, she wondered as she spoke, it could all have been a ploy to toy with her, but she kept this to herself.
"I do, but I'd like to hear what you think the reason is first."
Celestia eyed him warily, taking a small step backwards. "Why?"
"Call it simple curiosity,” he replied, closing the gap between them with a single, long stride. “Humor me, if you would be so kind. Heavens know I've been in desperate need of it ever since you locked me away in here."
She let the jab go unnoticed and tuned him out. Why would he have her go through her own mind when he held the answers she sought? The possibility of this all being a game was obvious, but she reluctantly acknowledged that this could also be part of the larger picture and she was being overly cautious, though the idea of being overly cautious with Discord was hard to believe. But as to the matter at hand, a storm of reasons tumbled end over end as she searched until she found one that seemed to fit.
"You want me to reevaluate my actions from your point of view, is that it?"
Discord’s eyes lit up in glee and he clapped his hands in mock celebration. "Oh, I knew you were a bright one when I first laid eyes on you. Not literally bright, mind you, even if you do have a tendency to light up like a candle. I'm glad to see the years haven't dulled that sharp intellect of yours.” He suddenly reached out in an attempt to pat her head. Celestia quickly pulled back in revulsion and he continued on unabated. “Yes, that is exactly the reason. I could tell you all about chaos and the like, in fact I most likely will as we go along. However, unless you put it into practice you'll never fully comprehend what it means, and I can't think of a better backdrop to use than your own memories.” He stopped and turned on her, his smile containing a dangerous new gleam to it. “Well, that’s not exactly true. The real truth is that we could get far more reliable results if instead of relying on millennia old memories, we used real ponies as our test subjects.”
“You know I will not agree to that.”
He groaned in disappointment. “And we could’ve had so much fun, too. Well, it was worth a try.”
Something about what he said sat uneasy with her, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that upset her. The thinly veiled threat that suggested he planned to escape didn’t worry her, he was still trapped here and he wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon as long as she remained on guard and alert, but something in the manner he spoke still upset her. There was a disturbingly large amount of situations that had thrust her into this perturbed state, but the more she tried to discern the cause behind them, the less it made any sense to her. Her whole reason for being here had been based on nothing more than the unexplainable feeling of something terrible approaching, but for the first time it occurred to her that there was the chance of it being a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Thirdly, and most important of all, you cannot exit in the middle of a session.” Once again he demonstrated his ability to rapidly change moods, as he spoke in a gravely serious tone at odds with the cheerful way he suggested he be set free a few seconds earlier. “This is extremely delicate and advanced magic I'm handling to not only keep you in my realm, but to also unlock our minds so we may examine them in depth. You yourself know just how exhausting it was to simply transport your mind here, so I’m positive you can sympathize with just how much energy I'm exerting to keep everything in check. If you suddenly exited without my knowing, I shudder to think what kind of trauma the disconnection between our minds would cause."
She took everything in and nodded in solemn understanding. Discord may have been tricking her with the other rules, but she believed he wasn’t joking with this one. Even now, Celestia could feel the effects of her consciousness being separated from her body. There was a slight sluggishness to her movements, and she could feel the beginnings of a headache in the back of her head. She didn't relish thinking of what would happen if their minds were suddenly cut off from one another. The results would most likely be worse than fatigue or a migraine, to put it lightly.
"Well," he said, stopping in a location that might as well have been where they started from, "that should just about cover the major issues we'll have to concern ourselves with. There may be a few more hidden away but I'm sure they'll only be minor inconveniences, nothing to worry about. I suppose now would be a good a time as any to ask me any questions you may have."
"You still haven't told me what it is that you want from me in exchange."
"As I said before, the opportunity to spend time with my favorite princess is all I need from you."
The thought of being his favorite anything disgusted her and frankly she found it to be an insult, but she kept her head cool and let it slide as she had with so many of his previous comments. "You also mentioned gaining something you've wanted for a long time as well."
"Yes, it seems I did, but trust me when I say it's beyond your comprehension as of now. If I were you, I wouldn’t worry my pretty little head about it."
She had been analyzing everything he told her as he said it, and it all seemed to fit in place, save for one small fact. If what he had said about their minds disconnecting was true, and by the dull throbbing in her head she believed it was, then he had put himself at just as much risk, perhaps more considering that he had no physical body he could retreat to. If something were to happen to his consciousness in here, he might never recover from the shock. In the worst case scenario, if the blow were serious enough, it might even kill him.
Why then, if there was such a risk to his well-being, would he have accepted her offer? He had asked for nothing in return, simply stating that he only wanted to have fun with her, and a specific something that he had desired for some time, though what that was she had no idea. Not to mention if she so felt the desire, she could simply leave his realm and forget they had ever made an agreement in the first place and leave him to his stone prison for eternity. The mere thought of backing out on her word made her uncomfortable and it was certainly not something she would be doing, but Discord couldn’t have known that, so it must have remained a threat he had to worry about. The more she examined it, the more the deal seemed to be weighted to her side. It made Discord seem a bad negotiator at best and downright foolish at worst, two things she would never associate with him.
Unless, she knew, there were shadows at work behind the scenes, and she would expect nothing less from her old enemy. He must have ulterior motives, she thought to herself. The only question is what his goal is. She found herself thinking back to what he had said of the certain thing he had wanted so badly for so long. A hint of doubt mixed with regret reared its unwelcome head. What was this mysterious object, if it even was tangible in the first place? Should she have tried to discover more about it before making the deal?
"Princess! Are you still with me?" Discord waved a paw in front of her and snapped his fingers, urging on Celestia’s return to reality. “Don’t tell me you’ve given up already, we haven’t even begun!” The doubt that had slowly crept into her faded as she realized he was staring at her intently, waiting for a response.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said after clearing her throat. “Forgive me, I was merely lost in thought.”
“A trait that runs in the family it would seem.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well,” he said loudly, disregarding her completely and bringing his hands together in a booming clap that echoed across the empty plains, “shall we begin? I do believe the time has come to dive into that wondrous collection of happy, orderly memories and have some fun with them.”
She considered pressing him further on the issues that had raised a red flag, but it would do her no good. He was tight lipped enough as it was, and if she tried pressing him for more information, he might shut her out completely. Besides, there was no guarantee that even if he did tell her anything it would be the truth. More likely it would be a lie that only served his purposes while trapping Celestia in an even worse position. It was a treacherously thin sheet of ice she was balancing on, and the slightest misstep in any direction would send her plummeting into the freezing waters below. As much as it unsettled her to wait in this situation, she would have to bide her time in the hope that he would shed light on his motivations on his own terms.
“Yes,” she said, eager to begin if only so she could return home faster.
“Then the only matter remaining is to choose a memory, and I do believe I have the perfect one.”
Before Celestia could say anything, Discord vanished, and with him the table and its tea set. She stood alone, but the emptiness lasted only a few seconds, as all around her the landscape began to shift and change. A rumbling from beneath her caused the ground to shake, staggering her as she fought to stay upright. Grey stone walls rose up and surrounded her on three sides while a large window took up the fourth. Out of the cloudiness beneath her came polished wood paneling, clinking and clacking as they packed in together and laid the groundwork of the room that was slowly beginning to take shape.
Small desks started to appear in rows, all of them facing the wall opposite the large window. A large chalkboard hung on the wall with ‘Welcome Back!’ written on it in white chalk. On the other walls, various shelves appeared that held backpacks, lunch bags, and various other supplies intended for students. A larger one near the window held rows of books. Posters were plastered everywhere, reminding everyone to eat their vegetables, brush their teeth, and to practice their magic daily. Celestia looked up at the ceiling and found it rose into an upside down cone, paneled by more wood of a darker variety than the floor. A large arched door near the window marked the exit.
Celestia had an idea of where she was, and when she gazed out the window, it confirmed her suspicions. Below her lay Canterlot, alive and bustling with sophisticated ponies going about their business. The sun sat high in the sky, and from deducing its position, Celestia surmised it was somewhere around noon. Across from the tower she inhabited was the main Canterlot castle, the highest tower in the city, and if she was in the secondary tower, that meant she was in the school named in her honor.
“What could he possibly want from here?” Celestia spoke to herself openly, unconcerned about anyone catching her in the act. Memory as it was, she couldn’t have any effect in the events that occurred, and more likely than not the ponies here wouldn’t be aware of either her or Discord’s presence.
The door near the window opened, and Celestia stepped into the room, accompanied by a small, purple filly trailing behind her. The filly was nearly shaking in excitement, and Celestia smiled down at her new student. “Now Twilight, remember, school doesn’t start for another two weeks, so I don’t want to catch you in here before then. If you want to check a book out, I’ll be happy to accompany you to the library so you may read in your room in the castle.”
“Of course, Princess Celestia! Whatever you say!” Twilight stopped her bouncing just long enough to skim through a few of the books on the shelf before eagerly exploring the rest of the classroom. Celestia watched her and smiled while Celestia watched the both of them and wondered what Discord wanted her to do.
“Chaos, chaos…” Celestia needed to do something chaotic, something that Discord would do. She went through a number of possible spells, but for each one, when she went to cast it, a mental block prevented her from doing any harm to either herself or her student, despite neither of them being real. No matter how much she forced herself, she simply could not hurt the innocent memories.
The sound of a low groan came from behind her. She turned to find Discord covering his face with his hands that, combined with the groan, showed just how much faith he had in her. “Honestly, Celestia, how did you ever live for over a millennium like this?” He uncovered his face and continued pleading with her. “You have no sense of adventure or excitement! You must learn to let go of your inhibitions and bask in the mayhem you can create with a single conjuration.” He strode to a desk and opened it with a creak of its hinges. “Take this, for example. There’s so much you can do when you catch a pony unsuspected, it’s not even funny!”
He held his hand out and in a flash a wiggling snake appeared. He deposited it in the desk and shut it, and with a snap of his fingers, the young Twilight Celestia had been watching throughout her memory appeared in front of it. Urged on by Discord’s magic, Twilight opened the desk and screeched as the snake snapped at her. She fell backwards and ran out of the classroom as fast as her growing legs would allow, leaving in her wake a silent alicorn and a draconequus laughing so hard that if it kept up, he would break more than a few ribs. “When, when I said it wasn’t funny, I meant-” he managed to choke the words out between his raging laughs, “I meant it was hilarious!” His fit went on and on, and just when Celestia was about to kick him back to his sense, he stood on shaky legs and wiped tears from his eyes. “Oh my, I haven’t had fun like that in quite a while!” He chuckled a few more times and finally composed himself. “Well Celestia, I think we can return now. I’ve seen all I need to see, and you have an idea of how to go about the whole chaos business, though please, work on the actual practice of it.”
He snapped his fingers and the tower gradually faded away, the stone walls and wooden desks slowly ebbing out of existence, until it disappeared and they were left standing in the lifeless wasteland once more. The wooden table that was apparently the only piece of furniture Discord felt necessary for his home stood in-between them, the two tea cups still sitting exactly where they had been left. They stood opposite each other, and just as Celestia was about to speak, a blinding flash of pain struck her head like a blow from a hammer. She clutched her head in her hooves and had to manually control her breathing to stop herself from hyperventilating. Her vision started to blur when she saw what appeared to be Discord supporting himself on the table.
"Here, Celestia," he said, offering her a cup with his paw while clutching the other with his claw, "this will ease the pain and make your transition back to the physical world easier on the both of us." He wasted no time in drinking his, obviously seeking much needed relief from the same pain Celestia was in, though it seemed to her that his pain was much more severe. She hesitated for just a second, but a sudden jolt of pain through her head made her grasp the cup with her magic and take a tentative swallow. Almost immediately she felt the iron clamp around her temple loosen its grip, and with another drink, it was almost as if she had never been in any pain at all. With half of it gone, she set it down on the table and watched quietly as Discord gulped down his own tea.
It appeared he was having less luck than her. He rubbed the bridge of his nose while drinking from the cup, his eyes closed in a futile attempt to deflect the obvious pain that ravaged him. He wasn’t even bothering to use his magic as he did before when he drank the cup instead of the tea. He knelt on one knee in front of the table, and as a result he and Celestia were nearly on the same eye level, though he still had a few inches advantage over her. The seconds stretched out as she searched for something, anything to say to him, but her wits fled her and she could do nothing but wait for him to compose himself. She avoided looking directly at him as he struggled against the pain, and for a fleeting moment felt a twinge of pity for her old enemy, but it was gone as quick as it had come, leaving her to wonder if she had felt it at all.
"I apologize," he said when he had recovered enough strength to speak. He put the cup down and raised himself off the ground with as much dignity as he could muster, though by the way his eyes were narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed, the tea had been of little help. "The first time is always the hardest, as our minds must adjust to the other. In time, after we've gotten used to the process, it should become easier."
"Yes...” Celestia stared down into her cup, and the troubled face of a white pony broken apart by ripples gazed back at her. The mare in the cup had no crown, her horn was the length one would expect of an adolescent on the edge of adulthood, and her eyes lacked the wisdom only a thousand years of life could bestow. “It should become easier,” Celestia said gently, never taking her eyes away from the cup as its contents settled and became one solid reflection of the young mare, “but this isn't the first time, is it?"
He regarded her for a moment with curious eyes before answering. "No, I suppose it isn't, but there is little difference between the first time and the first time in a thousand years.” He took an audible drink and mimicked Celestia, looking down into his cup as if he were searching for something he dropped. “Funny, the way you've behaved towards me, I thought you had forgotten."
"A princess does not forget.”
"Of course, of course, that crown on your head doesn’t symbolize royalty, no, it actually means you can hold a grudge against poor old me. You may want to recall Equestria’s history textbooks in order to amend that little mistake.” He shrugged, putting the matter to bed. “So you had me explain the inner workings of everything simply because you can't resist listening to my voice?"
"I humored you."
His lips turned upwards in the first smile since they returned from her memory. It wasn't a maniacal one, but more subdued in nature. Honest was the word that came to her, but honesty wasn’t something she could credit him with. Celestia briefly tried to recall a time when he had ever smiled at her in that way, but all she could find were instances of the diabolical one he wore whenever he was lying or plotting. "And here I thought you had lost all emotions other than being woefully serious.” His smile grew ever so slightly. “Are you ready to go back now?"
"Yes." She wanted to leave immediately, to return to Luna, to review everything that had happened, but most of all to escape this new Discord she was talking to in an almost joking manner. It was almost as if he were trying to make friends with her. Never before had Discord acted like this, and if he were to somehow get on good terms with her, it would make it that much easier for him to deceive her.
"Then you may do so, after I have my final say.” In an instant, his smile and friendly manner vanished, replaced with a visage stonier than the one chiseled into his physical body. “This was a simple test to prepare the both of us for what’s to come. You saw how short our stay was, and how utterly exhausted the two of us were. I won’t insult your intelligence by insinuating you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, but it bears repeating in simple terms. If you cannot handle what I am going to put you through, your mind will be so crippled and broken it will never heal to a thousandth of a fraction of what it once was. If that happens, every breath you take, every second you continue to exist will be a hell the likes of which you never thought possible. You will beg for death to come, and if you are lucky, you will receive it before your agony overtakes you so completely death becomes nothing more than an unobtainable dream.”
Celestia lowered her head and thought in silence. No matter how badly she had wanted to tell herself it wasn’t the case, she had known it to be true all along. As Discord said, she wasn’t foolish when it came to her intelligence, only her actions. She couldn’t hope to deny the insanity it took to even consider continuing her meetings with Discord, much less the complete disregard of caution to seek him out in the first place. A more rational being would turn back now and count themselves lucky to have survived.
Right this instant, Celestia didn’t feel rational. She didn’t know what compelled her to betray her kingdom, her subjects, and most of all her sister, but a spark had been lit inside her that now roared and scorched her with an intensity that would make Discord’s warning seem like the obvious choice between the two. Perhaps she would never know what drove her to this madness, but if she worked with Discord, maybe, just maybe, she would discover the source of the overwhelming obsession she felt with the chaos he controlled.
“So I ask you Celestia, for the final time. Do you wish to continue this little fool’s errand to your doom, or would you rather forget all about our short time together and go back to your little castle on the mountain?”
Celestia knew her answer and as such didn’t pay heed to Discord’s words, but even so, she caught the slightest goading in his voice, the way he seemed to challenge her to take him on even though he had just laid out in detail what awaited her if she failed. It had been at the back of her thoughts ever since coming to this forsaken land, but with his final words, it struck her.
He wants me to fail.
He had lied when he said he wanted nothing in exchange. Everything he had said to this point had been said in jest, an effort to catch her when she wasn’t looking. This was the strange desire he had, the one thing he had longed for ever since his imprisonment and wouldn’t disclose. Of course this was it, she had been right when she figured he would bargain for his freedom. In perfect Discordian fashion, he was going behind her back and using the most devious methods available to gain what he wanted while simultaneously punishing her for what she had done to him all those years ago. Now, with his plot exposed, she replied in the only way she could.
“Yes.”
His lips curled into the smile he so hoped to sport when she answered. “That’s all I needed to hear. I'll be awaiting your next visit with bated breath."
"Until next time, Discord."
"Until then."
She closed her eyes and focused her magic in much the same way as when she arrived, however this time her bed chamber was her intended destination. Possibly because of the tea that had eased her pain, possibly because of the simple fact that she actually knew where she was going, it felt the slightest bit easier to concentrate on the endlessly complex spells that raced through her mind as she began her journey home.
“Oh Celestia, I almost forgot! One more thing before you go!” Discord’s voice was so sudden and unexpected her thoughts nearly tripped over themselves and stopped the process, but with a monumental force of sheer willpower, she remained on her target, feeling herself slipping away from Discord as he shouted back at her. “Think this over and tell me when you return! I must know, do you hate me?”
*********
With a small gasp and a quick coughing fit, Celestia gathered she had returned safely, but simultaneously the feeling that she would be unable to call anything else safe gnawed at her incessantly. She was back in her bedroom, Discord’s last words nothing more than a fading echo that were so faint, they could’ve easily been misheard, or perhaps nothing was heard at all. Yet she knew, as much as she wished she didn’t. He had spoken, and that singular question struck her with the weight of a runaway freight train.
Do you hate me?
What kind of a question was that? Of course she hated him! How could she not after everything that he had done to her, to the population of Equestria, the entire world even! The sheer gall he had to even ask the question, as if she would have any other answer for him was an insult that stung deeper than any physical wound. She hated him for what he had done to her friends, to her family, to...
“Luna…” Celestia whispered softly, immediately covering her mouth in an effort to hide the noise. Only a few feet away, Luna slumbered peacefully on Celestia’s bed, her chest rising and falling with a subtlety that made no indication Luna was aware of what had just transpired. Quietly realizing that her mental outburst might turn verbal and awaken her sister, Celestia uncovered her mouth and carefully snuck past Luna and out onto the balcony, noting with curiosity that the door had been left open. Had Luna had been out here for some reason?
She sighed and sat on the cold stone, gazing out across Equestria as she was fond of doing whenever the stress of her life as a princess started to weigh down on her. From here, the tallest point of the castle, she could gaze out at the scenery and easily lose herself as she observed the busywork of the ponies below her. At the moment, Canterlot was bathed in darkness, save for a few scant lights that highlighted the early risers and night lovers among the city’s high-class society. Further out, beyond Canterlot’s outskirts, a myriad of valleys, forests, and winding roads surrounded the mountain in all directions.
She must have rested there for ten minutes or more, doing nothing else besides taking in the serene sights and sounds of her kingdom as the fury inside her slowly but steadily faded away. Secretly she wished for nothing more than an empty bed and a few hours rest, but Discord’s words had inscribed themselves at the back of her mind, forcing her to go over them again and again.
Do you hate me?
Yes, she hated him. How could she forgive him for the crimes he had committed, the families and communities torn asunder by the war for their freedom? A monster like him could only ever harbor hatred, both in himself and those whose lives he destroyed.
Why would he ask her this? Surely he must’ve known her answer. He seemed to know her every thought and motivation, she realized with a shiver. If this disturbing trend was indeed continuing, why then would he bother with trivialities, and at such a dangerous time to ask her at that? If they were indeed linked in the way he described, the slightest mistake during her teleportation would obliterate both their minds. True, he would succeed in defeating her, but the Discord she knew and loathed wouldn’t sacrifice himself for anything, not even if it meant destroying his arch-nemesis in the process.
She closed her eyes and assumed the same meditative posture she was in when Luna interrupted her the night before. With her sight gone, her other senses came to life and provided her with all the information she needed. A slight draft cooled her, bringing with it the sounds of the city below and the faint noises of nature from the forests. Finally, with her mind relaxed and her body still and her anger gone, she could think clearly.
What did Discord know? What didn’t he know? The more she tried to make sense of it all, the more everything became hopelessly entangled as the knot Discord wrapped around her constricted tighter and tighter. With every theory came two rebuttals, with every rebuttal three explanations, each more preposterous and somehow probable than the last. With nothing more than words and a quick look into her past, he had trapped Celestia in a cycle of self-doubt and desperate searching for questions that had no answers and answers that had no questions.
“Or so he would want,” Celestia spoke softly to herself with a smile. “So this is the way you want to play your games, Discord? Have me question and doubt myself into submission?” Yes, that’s what he wanted, without a doubt. He was a force to be reckoned with, a master of chaos that could conjure horrific spells with a single swipe of his hand, but his preferred method of fighting was much more subtle and subdued. He would never lift a finger if that silver tongue of his could slither its way into his enemies’ ears, and in many cases it did a far more effective job than any spell. He had begun and ended their meeting with mind games aimed at throwing her off balance, if only for a second. It would be all he needed, and he would regain the freedom that he had lost for over a thousand years.
Do you hate me?
“I may hate you, but I will not allow it to consume me.” She gazed up at the stars, counting them one by one as she whispered to the night air. “Do you hear me Discord? I pray you do. I will tell you right now, I will not break. I am Princess Celestia, the defender of these lands and protector of its people, and you cannot defeat me. I will die before I let any harm come to them.” The sun broke the horizon, and its rays lit Equestria in the same golden light that Celestia commanded. In its radiant power, all of the fears and doubts surrounding her encounter with Discord vanished, leaving in its wake the most powerful entity that walked the face of the planet. As she looked down upon her kingdom, the light filled her with the strength and determination that had allowed her to create invincible armies, raise cities that lasted through ages, and most of all, defeat the enemies that threatened the peaceful existence she had fought and bled and cried to obtain. The force of the sun had imbued her with a power beyond words, and at that moment, she could and would defeat Discord in any twisted game he tried to play with her.
