Chapter Text
Very well, she said to herself. Silently of course. It had, and has been, going very well. Her and her friends' regressed state of being was reversed; the elements of harmony were returned as well. So how could their enemy simply yawn and stretch on his own red and black throne?
Twilight commanded deep from her chest, so as to be heard by any who could hear. Her spell began to boot up, as it shot around their group, illuminating their figure. The light around them seemed to lift her up. It has been done now as it was then with Nightmare Moon. Light beamed from their necklaces, shielding her anxious face from their enemy. Discord, their foe, lifted his eyebrows in wonder, speaking simply "what's this?"
Fluttershy sworn to herself that she'd keep her eyes closed but they couldn't possibly remain that way. The moment she opened them just a peek, the light surrounding her gave way to reveal the draconequus' face, one she recognized as pure fear.
"No…!" Discord uttered
The pegasus couldn't stand it anymore, and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling from twilight as she opened her eyes, pure white. Rainbows beamed from their jewels, as light through a prism. The creatures horrifying screamed rocked through her ears. It was impossible to tune out, and would never leave Fluttershy's mind, instead haunting her for the rest of her moons.
As quickly as it began, it seemed to die down. Their homes in ponyville are back in order, only one thing was wrong. Pinkie pie noticed first, as she was exceptionally observant.
"where's discord?"
"where else? We sent him back to the garden as stone yo! With rainbows and stuff! Boom!" Rainbow Dash belted.
Apple Jack replied, "nah, he's supposed'ta be here! Where'd he go?"
The others swiveled their heads looking around
"Wha- I don't understand!" Twilight lamented, "had the spell worked, which I'm sure it DID, he should've turned into stone!"
Fluttershy furrowed her brows and widened her eyes gasping,, "we didn't… Kill him did we!?"
"no! I do not think so, otherwise He'd still be here!" Rarity spoke
Pinkie ducked to the ground and held her face. "WAIT, WHAT IF WE VAPORIZED HIM???"
She squinted all suspect like, her eyes darted to the ground. "Or turned him into grass…"
Rarity squeaked, "my god, we'd be walking on the remains of his being!" As she leaped to her hind hooves.
Fluttershy and rainbow yelped and squeezed each other, jumping on a yellow cloud.
"What?? No, we didn't kill him!" Applejack assured them. She lifted her single eyebrow and squinted as she turned to twilight. "We didn't do THAT, did we?"
Twilight looked exasperated, and wildly confused, shrugging and lifting her hooves. "No!?? Of course not! The elements of harmony CANNOT destroy! To… Hurt him in such a way wouldn't establish harmony! That's messed up!" The others lowered their bodies.
"in any case, ponyville is normal again."
Fluttershy broke the silence. "Do we tell princess Celestia?" The answer went unspoken, only communicated through nods.
Hours laters Canterlot surrounded them with it's glittering pearls decorating the houses, and ivory columns seemingly holding up the sky. Celestia spoke to twilight in private.
"we didn't… kill him, Of course not. Right?"
Celestia shook her head. Her rainbow mane, glittering with crushed gold, twirled around her shoulders, as if wind constantly swept if from her ethereal face.
"the elements of harmony could never do such a deed."
"Your Highness, what do they do exactly? I mean they banished Nightmare Moon to the moon, but then later brought back Princess Luna! Why did they turn Discord into stone?"
The princess spoke from her chest clearly, her chiseled, yet soft glowing face moved slowly and evenly distributed. She was parallel on each side of her face. Her stature was large, yet the shadow she cast was undercut by her glow.
"The Elements' job is to restore balance in the land. It is complicated, but in simple terms, what they do is turn one's physical form into what is reflected from their souls. The first time they were used on Luna, she had darkness in her heart and that is what banished her to the dark side of the moon. The second time, there was good inside her that wanted to be set free, and that is what returned her to us as my sister. Discord, however…" She trailed off and looked at said creature's picture in the stained glass. Her gradient eyes of royal purple was like glassy pearls. "His heart is as cold as stone."
Twilight continued. "He does have one. Surely."
"so what'd they do?"
The princess' voice was molasses and honey, luxardo cherries and havarti cheese. Sometimes when she spoke with her sister in whispers and giggles it sounded like Vegemite and butter. Besides this, she spoke.
"Nothing. Discord escaped before he was imprisoned."
Twilight felt her face droop and stiffen. She was astonished. "But we fixed ponyville! Everyone's memories were restored!
"That you did, and Discord witnessed that. He saw that he could not break apart your friendship with the others, and so he chose to cower and flee."
Twilight replied "how could you know!"
Celestia spoke "I know the inner working of discord. I know that is what he would do."
"we gotta find him! Equestria isn't safe with him free!"
"No, he knows not to make another attempt to takeover, not without time to contemplate his next move. When he does, that is when we take action."
"But what if…?"
"Twilight Sparkle, we do not know where Discord is. The only thing we can do for certain is to wait for him to come out of hiding. When he does, I want you and your friends to be ready. Do you understand?"
She opened her mouth to protest, but then sighed and nodded.
"Good. Now, I will leave the Elements with you, so you will be ready when the time comes. But first, I will cast a spell protecting them, so Discord cannot take them again."
Twilight nodded again. "I understand, Princess."
So the six ponies went back home and waited for Discord's return. They each wore their Elements at all times for precaution, save for bathing. For weeks, they waited in agitation for their enemy to make his attack. They told no pony else that the Spirit of Chaos had escaped, for Celestia did not want her subjects to panic. It was because of this that the friends went about their daily routines as if there was nothing to worry about, but they each slept with one eye open, all except Fluttershy, who slept with two.
days turned into weeks, then months, until after a year, the ponies assumed Discord had left Equestria for good. They began feeling more at ease, with a few exceptions. Twilight became anxious often and studied divination, in hopes of finding their enemy's location. She worked tirelessly, until her friends reminded her of her own needs.
Fluttershy spent nights waking up with a scream, after experiencing a nightmare where the monster had her in his clutches. Of all the frightening creatures she had encountered in her lifetime, she had never been as afraid as she was of Discord. Even though she had not seen him in a while, he still haunted her. Everywhere she turned his yellow and red eyes were there, staring into her soul. Sometimes he would appear as three butterflies, or as his stained glass image. Whatever form he took, it felt like he was always there, watching her.
Twilight's role was promoted to the duchess of equestria. This stopped nothing of her friends love, and their time spent together. While Twilight was still living in Ponyville, she spent most of her time in Canterlot or elsewhere performing royal duties. As for her other five friends, they had gained notoriety as saviors of equestria. They were celebrities, and Their love for each other and acts of platonic intimacy were envied.
Rarity's designs became more popular than ever. She had so many orders to keep up with, that she had to hire help. Her sister Sweetie Belle had little talent in sewing, but did what she could to organize everything. Her friend Apple Bloom proved to have a greater knowledge of interior design, as well as strong structure. Rarity was incredibly appreciative, hiring her as well. Scootaloo took deliveries and orders, and communicating with costumers as she rode town to town.
Rainbow Dash's talent landed her a job and privilege with the wonderbolts. With them, she traveled all over Equestria, performing her stunts and earning the praise she adored. She still made time for her friends and offered them tickets whenever they were in town. Pinkie Pie attended all the shows and derbies and was Rainbow's biggest fan. Of course, Fluttershy still cheered harder than any other when she could see rainbow, spending time away from her animal sanctuary. Rainbow enjoyed bragging and preaching her feats to others, teaching them what she learned around the world. Her fanclubs spread the word of her miracles.
While keeping her job at Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie kept a party planning service in Canterlot. Whenever there was a special event, the royals called her. Not only did she always throw the best of parties, but she did it free for her friends! Most other had to pay. Her attitude towards new situations, affinity for learning new ways of living, and comfort being around others made her a powerful and kind ambassador, as she traveled with scootaloo across the world for their duties.
When making visits to Twilight in Canterlot, Applejack would take the opportunity to sell her apples. They were much more appreciated once every pony heard they were grown in the princess's hometown. The fact that they were crisp and refreshing didn't hurt either. As a result, Applejack earned a lot of money and not only managed to buy a tractor for Big Macintosh and fix Granny Smith's aging body, but also gave much of what was left to the pies and hospitals. Her athleticism was much admired and cowboy attire was made fashionable, thanks to Rarity.
In their new glamorous and comfortable lifestyles, of good deed and grateful souls, they began to forget about discord. Unfortunately, one could not be entirely satisfied.
Once the six were known to the public, many ponies began taking interest in Fluttershy, who had her gentle features known to the public and endearing and beautiful. All of her suitors had been rejected. Such an intimate love was overwhelming. The consuming devotion was something she was certain no one could feel for her. Despite gaining confidence over the years, she knew it was too much love to depend on someone to have. Besides, the whole aspect of her partner taking care of her was strange to Fluttershy, she was a grown pony!
The nightmares hindered her in loneliness. With others, she could stand for herself. With a little help from her friends, she lifted herself up. The gang learnt from each other as they did their thing.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was studying and learning more about magic and being practically a princess each day. She took pleasure in it, but sometimes, she would look out the window and wonder about her enemy in hiding. It had been almost three years since he had vanished without a trace. Where was he? What had he been doing all this time? When was he going to strike?
Nopony knew.