Chapter 1

“They betrayed me…” Twilight whispered, a single tear falling from the cheek of the tiny pony who had, until yesterday, been a unicorn. The tear froze solid before it hit the ground, shattering when it did so. “…They betrayed all of us.”

Twilight could still hear the screams of her friends as the royal guards restrained her while Celestia, the kind and benevolent ruler who had been like a second mother to Twilight, ripped the wings off of Rainbow Dash. Stabbed her glimmering horn through Fluttershy’s heart. Kicked Pinkie Pie and Applejack hard enough to snap their necks with a sickening CRUNCH. And then, worst of all, she had sucked the magic, the very life-sustaining force of all unicorns, out through Rarity’s horn. Twilight could do nothing but scream and plead for her mentor to stop, the cold inhibitor ring a royal guard had roughly shoved onto her horn preventing Twilight from doing anything to intervene as her friends, one by one, were brutally murdered in front of her eyes.

Even without the ring, it had taken a squadron of the Royal Guard’s strongest soldiers to restrain Twilight, their teeth tugging and pulling to hold her back from the decoration of Ponyville Town Square with her friend’s internal organs as Celestia stamped on the bodies for good measure.

“Are you watching me Twilight?” Celestia had called out through it all. “This is what will happen to any of my subjects you try to rally to your cause. Without the other Elements of Harmony, you are weak, powerless to dethrone me.

“What are you talking about?!” Twilight had shrieked between racking sobs. “I don’t WANT to dethrone you! I didn’t ask for these! I never wanted WINGS!”

The guards had almost lost hold of Twilight then as she surged forward, empowered by the inner rage that had coursed through her on the enunciation of the word that had changed her life—and ended that of her friends—forever. But there were too many of the soldiers, and Twilight still had little if any cognitive control over the feathery wings that she had found sprouted from her back that morning. They hung limp and almost lame, twitching with the new alicorn’s fury, little more than deadweight to a pony who had lived her entire life until now without them.

Perhaps one day Twilight could have soared with her mentor and Luna over Equestria, the two royal sisters teaching the newest member of their race how to fly—but now Twilight knew that that would never happen, and even if it would have, for now the alicorn’s lavender wings were as useless as that of a newborn pegasus.

“You may not have wanted to, but you would have had little choice in the matter,” Celestia had spoken gravely, walking over to Twilight with the blood of the other Elements still dripping from her horn and coating her hooves. Twilight had raged and struggled all the more, finally throwing the guards off her with a tremendous strength that Twilight would never have had in her old life as a unicorn, no matter how magically gifted she may have been. The soldiers soared through the air, some smashing into the buildings surrounding Ponyville Town Square, some barreling into the terrified citizens who had curiously come out of their shops and homes at the arrival of the princess only to be caught up in the middle of a bloodbath. Others landed on the unforgiving pavement, snapping their bones and their necks, their blood adding to that which had already been shed.

But before Twilight could ram her own considerably longer and sharper horn into Celestia’s chest, the princess of the sun did what Twilight herself still could not with the inhibitor ring still firmly on her horn. Telekinetically lifting Twilight into the air and halting the new alicorn’s bloodthirsty advance towards her, Celestia raised the still shorter-by-comparison Twilight to her eye level. Celestia was protected from Twilight’s violent thrashings to get free by the grip of Celestia’s own golden magic, which she rarely had to use, but today was making an exception.

“The Elements have spoken, but that doesn’t mean their old bearers have to head them,” Celestia spat in Twilight’s face. “I can no longer kill you as I have the others and so prevented them from joining your ranks, but there are ways of putting even the immortal out of commission.”

“What can you possibly do to me that is worse than what you’ve already done?” Twilight whispered, tears streaming from her eyes even though she had given up trying to escape Celestia’s magical iron grip.

“Nothing,” Celestia smiled. “The Elements are no longer connected to Luna and myself, so we cannot banish you to the Moon or the Sun. We cannot petrify you as we had done to Discord. But I CAN lock you in the deepest dungeon of the Canterlot palace forever. I can tie you to down in the Everfree Forest to be attacked endlessly throughout your immortal life by monsters, always tortured but never able to die. Or I could chain you up for all to see right here in your beloved home.”

“But why?” Twilight was barely able to speak now, as everything she had ever known was crashing down around her. “Why are you doing this?”

“You mean you haven’t figured it out on your own?” Celestia laughed. A cold, cruel laugh that chilled Twilight’s heart. “I guess it doesn’t matter whether you know the truth or not, though. For that future will never happen. It died with your friends. And you know what?”

Celestia leaned in closer, her eyes centimeters away from Twilight’s. One pair full of gloating and dark mirth, the other full of sorrow and hate.

Then, the princess whispered “If you HAD figured it out, then you could have saved them. Despite all your learning, Twilight Sparkle, your friends are dead because you were too DUMB.”

“No,” Twilight whispered. “No. NO! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Twilight’s horn, with a willpower and magical force that Celestia hadn’t thought possible, sparked and obliterated the inhibitor ring into a thousand shards that flew out and dug themselves into the sun princess’ eyes. Celestia cried out in pain, her hooves flying to her eyes as, her concentration broken, Twilight was dropped to the ground.

Instantly, with a flash of light, Twilight was gone, and so too were the bodies of the young mares who had been, in life, the Elements of Harmony…

…and Twilight’s best and only friends.

A thousand miles away, on a forgotten mountain range on the edge of Equestria, the new alicorn wept for her friends, for the betrayal of her mentor, and for the unwanted transformation that had brought this upon all of them. Twilight’s tears shattered at her feet, adding to the snow and ice already suffocating these monstrous rocks jutting up to scrape the sky.

When Twilight could cry no more, she looked up at last, her bloodshot eyes turned towards Canterlot and the princesses who had turned against her and turned her world upside-down. No doubt, Celestia was now sitting on her throne alongside princess Luna, outraged that Twilight had escaped them, as teleportation, at least to Twilight’s knowledge, was untraceable. But it was a victory nevertheless for the two original alicorns, Twilight’s friends dead and gone, forever prevented from doing whatever it was the two princesses so feared they would attempt.

Twilight supposed that she should bury the bodies, which she had at least thought to bring with her to this frozen wasteland. It wasn’t where Twilight thought any of them would’ve wanted to be buried if they had had a choice in the matter, but it was better than anywhere Celestia might find them and burn them while Twilight was forced to watch.

The new alicorn turned to face the first of the bodies, Fluttershy’s, the one that had been nearest her when she teleported away from the town that had once been her home but that she would now remember only as the site where her friends—because of her—had been killed.

But much to the surprise of Twilight’s already overloaded brain, Fluttershy’s corpse was nowhere to be seen—and neither were any of the others. In their places, scattered in the positions the bodies had been when Celestia tossed their lifeless husks aside like discarded garbage, were the gem-studded necklaces of the Elements of Harmony. Although she hadn’t noticed it before, Twilight realized that she also felt the familiar weight of the Element of Magic resting on her head. A raised hoof confirmed that it was there.

But why? Why were the Elements of Harmony here in place of Twilight’s friends’ last remains? The switch—or had it been conversion?—must have happened during Twilight’s teleport, but there was also no spell that Twilight knew of that Celestia could’ve used to make such a change. And even if she could, why would she? Celestia had been out to get them, after all—not provide them with what made them powerful, even if the bearers themselves were no longer around to use them.

But Twilight WAS still around—even if the Element of Magic was useless without the others, which she of course couldn’t operate on her own. Had Celestia somehow sent them with Twilight in place of her friend’s bodies just to torment her further, giving her the now useless Elements as insult to injury? Were they simply yet another reminder that Twilight, even as an alicorn, could do nothing against the princesses?

That didn’t make any sense either—even though the princesses were also unable to make direct use of the Elements, being their former bearers, they still needed the precious magical gems to stop any potential threats to Equestria. Twilight now assumed that the princesses counted her as one such threat, even if the new alicorn didn’t understand why, so they would have surely wanted to keep the Elements close for some other ponies to use, wouldn’t they?

And what had happened to her friends bodies? Had they somehow BECOME the Elements?

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Twilight, finally unable to contain it any longer, screamed to the sky only to have her breath stolen by the raging winter winds roaring through the mountains.

“You mean you haven’t figured it out on your own?” chuckled the last voice that Twilight had ever expected to hear. Not even if Celestia had somehow figured out how to track Twilight’s teleportation and was standing right behind her would Twilight have been more surprised. After all, she had imprisoned the voice’s owner in stone herself.

“Discord?” Twilight quavered.

“The one and only!” the draconequus laughed, causing Twilight to spin around, only to see that the spirit of chaos and disharmony wasn’t there…or anywhere else she could see in the immediate vicinity of the mountain. “Oh, I’m quite far away, Ms. Sparkle, so no need to worry about that. In fact, no need to worry at all—I’m not out to hurt you, not this time. THIS time, I’m out to HELP you.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight sneered, her wings flaring in fury as she snorted with disgust.

“Oh really, Twilight?” Discord laughed again. “You’re still angry with ME, even after what CELESTIA did to you and your friends? After all, all I ever did was break your friendship, and even then only temporarily. Celestia, however, broke their faces.”

“How dare you talk about my friends like that!” Twilight roared, but then stopped. Though she hated to admit it, the draconequus had a point. Celestia had betrayed Twilight far more than Discord had ever hurt her, as well as turning everything Twilight knew about the world into disarrayed haywire to make even Discord’s chaotic Equestria seem orderly and understandable by comparison. No at all certain who her enemies even were anymore, Twilight asked “What do you want? And where are you, anyway?”

“Like I said,” Discord explained. “I want to help you. We share a common enemy, you and I—Celesta hates us both, and has done everything she can to put us out of her way. As for where I am, I am sadly still in my stony prison, being used as a public toilet for the pigeons at the Canterlot Royal Sculpture Gardens. You only hear me in your head, telepathically.”

“You never contacted anypony before,” Twilight pointed out, still slightly suspicious, though she had to admit she really didn’t know what to believe anymore.

“Doing so would never have benefitted me before,” Discord countered. “What pony can you think of that in all my years of imprisonment would’ve willfully worked with the spirit of disharmony and chaos?”

“Good point,” Twilight conceded. “But even if Celestia has turned against me…and…my friends… what makes you think I’ll trust you? Even if your crimes weren’t as great as Celestia’s, you still almost tore apart our friendship!”

“Because,” Discord went on. “Back when I did that, I thought you were a pawn of Celestia’s, something she was using to try and stop me—which, of course, you were. But that is no longer the case, and anyway, I never intended to hurt anypony. My nature is chaos, not murder. I merely sought to spread what I consider to be the natural order of the universe, which from my perspective, is performing a public good. Celestia seeks to serve only herself, as does Luna, and they just happen to be on the same team at the moment, though you and I both know this was not always the case.

“And I can also tell you WHY they did the things they did to your friends. But only if you agree to help me—and then I shall help you.”

Twilight hesitated, and then thought for a moment.

At last, she said “Tell me what’s going on and MAYBE I’ll help you.”

“Very well,” Discord sighed. “Though I must say, I really am surprised that you, with all your knowledge, haven’t figured out why you got your wings, or why Celestia and Luna are so afraid of that.”

“They’re afraid?” Twilight echoed. Twilight had surmised as much from how vehemently Celestia had sought to terminate the new bearers of the Elements, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. “Of me?”

“Terrified,” Discord agreed. “Because the Elements of Harmony have chosen you to replace them. You and all your friends were to become alicorns and rule Equestria as the new princesses. You transformed first because you were the leader, but the others would’ve followed shortly after. Every powerful magical being in Equestria felt your transformation, namely Celestia, Luna, and myself—and when Celestia realized what was happening and, more importantly, about to happen, she raced to Ponyville to kill your friends before they too could become alicorns and become an unstoppable force should you six contest the current princesses’ position for the throne.”

“But I don’t want the throne!” Twilight protested. “And I’m sure none of my friends would have wanted it either!”

“You don’t have much of a choice,” Discord said. “The Elements have spoken. They are woven into the very fabric of this reality, and they cannot be ignored. All of us, even I, as well you know, am powerless against them, whether you or I or Celestia and Luna like it or not. The Elements have decided that the time has come for Celestia and Luna’s rule to end, and for yours and what would have been the other five bearer’s to begin. That is why Celestia killed the others before they too became immortal—to try and stop this from happening and keep her and Luna’s position on the throne.”

“But I refuse it!” Twilight demanded. “I don’t want to be princess of Equestria, and even if I did, there’s nothing I could do against those tyrants now! Not without my friends…”

“That is true,” Discord agreed. “Without the others, you have nothing but your new abilities as an alicorn, which is nothing compared to the power Celestia and Luna wield together. But you aren’t without the others, now are you?”

“What?” Twilight gasped. “What are you talking about! I saw Celestia murder them with my own eyes! I saw her ENJOY it!”

“Think about it, Twilight,” Discord encouraged her. “If your friends are really gone, then why did their bodies become the Elements of Harmony during your teleport?”

Twilight did think about it, and came to the conclusion that, even though she still didn’t trust Discord fully, everything he said so far was making more sense than she would like it to.

“You mean…” Twilight ventured, hoping desperately. “Their spirits are still connected to the Elements, even in death?”

“Bingo!” Discord exclaimed happily. “The Elements aren’t done with your friends yet, Twilight Sparkle. Even death can’t stop that. And though only the bearer of each Element can use that Element, I have no doubt that the spirits of your friends still lingering within those Elements would be more than happy to lend you their power to take down Celestia and Luna.”

“My friends,” Twilight whispered to herself, telekinetically gathering up all the Elements from where they were scattered about in the snow. She touched each gem-studded necklace in turn. The minute her hoof touched the balloon-shaped jewel of Pinkie Pie’s collar, the taste of sugar pleasantly assaulted her tongue, bringing with it a wave of memories. Pinkie’s parties, her weird, funny ways, and how she was always there to brighten up the mood. Applejack’s gem had a similar effect—the sweet taste of crisp, fresh apples and the conviction that despite what anypony else told her, Twilight could always count on AJ for the truth. Rainbow Dash’s Element of Loyalty showed Twilight bright flashes of color and had the reassurance that no matter the situation, Twilight had somepony she knew who would never abandon her. Rarity’s jewel (she would’ve probably preferred to call it a diamond) gave Twilight strength, even though the new alicorn somehow knew that such a gift took away from the giver just as much as it gave to the receiver, though the giver couldn’t care less as long as her friend received that gift. And finally, Fluttershy’s Element filled Twilight’s nose with the fresh scents of the forest, teeming with life, beings who would always be cared for by the selfless kindness of one particular pony who would never see them again, though she would never be forgotten. None of them ever would. “They ARE here! I can feel them!”

“Told you so,” Discord said gently, as if even he was respecting the tenderness of the moment, of how even though Twilight had to say goodbye, she didn’t have to be alone. “They’re all there, all for you. And for all of Equestria.”

“For all of Equestria,” Twilight agreed, her brow furrowing as the temporarily lifted rage and sorrow filled her heart once more. This time, though, it was controlled, calculated, like a feral monster waiting for the one pony it would obey to give it the command to attack. And attack it would. Twilight had already decided that. One way or another, the monster of hate inside her would feast upon Celestia and Luna’s flesh. They would pay for what they did to Twilight’s friends.
Equestria would no longer be under the hoof of a ruler so bloodthirsty and heartless yet so good at concealing it from the general public that even Twilight’s quizzical, analytical, brilliant mind had looked it over.

“Discord,” Twilight called, softly but firmly.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“I see now your truthfulness,” Twilight spoke calmly. “Thank you. I shall heed your advice and complete my destiny.”

“Then let me offer you one final tip,” Discord cautioned. “It is true that you wield all the powers of an alicorn, especially those powers that are just as unique to you as moving the sun is for Celestia. But those powers have yet to be discovered, and you are inexperienced with alicorn abilities in general. Even with the power of the Elements, you will be powerless against Celestia and Luna simply due to your lack of experience being an alicorn and wielding those Elements that you have never before used, especially all at once.”

“What are you saying?” Twilight queried, a smirk coming to her lips. “I thought you just said that even Celestia and Luna can’t stand up to the Elements.”

“I did, and they can’t,” Discord answered. “And given a thousand years of practice, you could bring the sun and moon crashing down on their heads. But you don’t have a thousand years. Even now, I can sense that Celestia and Luna are searching for you both personally and with the entire Royal Guard. All of Equestria has been put on high alert, with you marked as Public Enemy #1. They will find you, Twilight, no matter where you run or where you hide, even if they have to tear Equestria apart to do so. And you and I both know that that is neither beneath them nor impossible for them.”

“Then I’ll do what I do best,” Twilight declared. “I’ll study. I’ll learn enough about the Elements to utilize them against those monstrous monarchs before they find me.”

“I’m afraid that even with all your none-too-inconsiderable talents, even before becoming an alicorn, you will not be able to learn enough to defeat Celestia and Luna before they find you, lock the Elements away, and torture you for the rest of your immortal life,” Discord said, sounding almost…sorry. “There isn’t enough time in all this universe to learn everything there is to know about the Elements of Harmony. But there is one thing you CAN do with them to stop Celestia and Luna.”

“And what’s that?” Twilight asked even though she already knew the answer, suspicion creeping back into her voice.

“First, you’ll have to get to the Canterlot Royal Sculpture Gardens, and you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Celestia and Luna have realized their mistake with your escape and set up a barrier around Equestria that prevents any long-distance teleportation. But if you do reach me and use the Elements to free me, then I will help you defeat those orderly wretches,” Discord told her. “They won’t have a chance against the Elements of Harmony AND the spirit of chaos and disharmony. You know personally that I’m stronger than both of the princesses combined.”

Twilight thought again. Surely Discord, even if he wasn’t a killer like Celestia, couldn’t be trusted by his own admitted chaotic nature. Then again, there was still truth to what the draconequus spoke—Twilight could never take on Celestia and Luna by herself, even with the Elements of Harmony, without having any experience as an alicorn or with the use of all of the Elements at once. The new alicorn didn’t trust Discord, but even a world of chaos wasn’t as bad as letting those two tyrants remain on the throne, killing innocent ponies just to keep themselves in power.

“What if I do release you and we defeat Celestia and Luna?” Twilight inquired. “What will you do then?”

“I won’t try to turn Equestria into my own personal madhouse again, if that’s what you’re asking,” Discord chuckled. “The only reason I did that in the first place was because, though you wouldn’t know this, Celestia and Luna destroyed my own kingdom long ago—as well as my entire race. They hated our disorderly ways, even though we did nothing against Equestria, and so they killed us all—all but me, that is, who, being the ruler, was just as immortal as they. I only ever tried to turn Equestria into a spitting image of my home kingdom as revenge against those tyrants, but once I help you dethrone them, I’ll have all the revenge I’ll need. I’ll leave Equestria and never return, leaving it in your capable hooves. Who knows? Maybe I’ll finally find some place in this world that actually appreciates the culture of the long-dead draconequus kingdom.”

Twilight was aghast. The new alicorn had indeed wondered why she’d never heard of another draconequus, and Twilight had even witnessed Celestia’s brutal heartlessness firsthoof. But to think that the princesses had destroyed an entire race simply because it suited them to do so? Twilight’s rage now burned all the more.

Making up her mind, Twilight spoke, again softly, but in that whisper Discord could feel even a thousand miles away all the power and rage the little alicorn contained. It made him mentally shudder in his stony prison.

“I’ll free you Discord,” Twilight said. “And together we’ll avenge both my friends and your people. But I’ve also decided another thing. The Elements may have chosen me to lead Equestria, and Celestia and Luna may have chosen to try and defy them. But in that I suppose there is a similarity between us after all—I too will defy the Elements. After all this is over, and Celestia and Luna are defeated, and you have gone your own way, I still will not lead Equestria. I’m not letting my destiny be decided for me, for look at all the pain and grief such a destiny has already caused my friends. I have already decided that I will not be the one to lead Equestria.

“But neither will they. ”

. . .