Chapter 18

Magic Face Off

Celestia and Luna could see a clearing ahead of them and with one last burst of speed they made it. Behind them the hedge shifted to move the exit over to the far left. With adrenaline still running strong, Luna placed a hoof on the leafy wall.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“He probably got pushed to a different part of the maze by now,” said Celestia not wanting to think what might have happened if he didn’t. Seeing the concerned look her sister was giving her she added.

“Don’t worry Luna, it will take a lot more than that to finish him off.”

Before the two had a chance to take in their surroundings, a shaken Black Wood came out of the exit too and collapsed. On his face were several cuts, his greyed coat was dirtied and on his mane and tail, bits of leaves and twigs stuck out. When he saw the two Alicorns approaching him, he tried to stand but it was no use.

“No!” he groaned. “You can’t leave! I have to stop you!”

“Black Wood,” Celestia said softly as she approached the beaten Unicorn. “We’re not going anywhere. Don’t you see? We’re trying to get everyone back from Discord.”

Behind them Luna tried lifting her wings again and this time she succeeded. She then felt her head where her hoof touched the returned horn. Even though Celestia hadn’t noticed it yet, her wings had reappeared too.

“We will get everyone back Black Wood. You stay here and rest.”

She lowered her head and the tip of her horn touched his head. There was a flash of white light and Black Wood’s colors had returned and the the horn on his head had gone. Shaking his head he looked back up at Celestia.

“Wha- what happened? What are we doing outside of the castle?”

“You mean you don’t remember anything?” asked Luna just as confused as he felt.

“No, all I remember is that I saw that Earth Pony from the Everfree and I followed him down to the kitchens and…”

His eyes shrunk in shock and he looked back at the two in worry.

“Your highnesses, you can’t trust him! He’s after...”

“We know,” said Luna. “He took our parents, most of the guests and Royal Guard! That’s why we came out here in the first place! He, Discord I mean, thinks this is all a big game!”

“And he doesn’t seem to care who he uses to win either,” added Celestia bitterly “We have to find and stop him before her hurts anyone else!”

“Alright,” started Black Wood, attempting to rise again. “I’m in! Just give me a minute.”

“No Black Wood!” said Celestia seriously. “You have to stay here! If Discord sees that your back to normal, who knows what he’ll do to you!”

“What if I don’t care what he does to me?” said Black Wood. “It can’t be worse than what’s already been done!”

“We can’t take that risk!” Urged Celestia, trying to make the stubborn Earth Pony see reason. “Please, just stay here! We’ll be back and we can put this whole night behind us!”

“Don’t you mean day?” asked Black Wood as the overcast dispersed, allowing sun light to shine down on them.

“As I said, we can do this! Trust us!”

Black Wood opened his mouth as if to retort but closed it and nodded begrudgingly. With the two sisters satisfied with their friend agreeing to stay behind, Luna looked up at the sky and spoke.

“Discord! We have beaten your maze! Now where are our parents and those you have taken from us?”

Any verbal answer they were hoping for wasn’t given. Instead, clouds from above floated down till they were inches from the ground. They morphed into arrows, pointing them in the direction they needed to go. With one last look at Black Wood, they gave him what they hoped was a reassuring grin. The two galloped away, following the arrows that continued to form, leading them to what they could only hope to be the end game.

“I say we should go and help them!” said Tock to the others who had stayed behind in the castle.

“No Tock!” said Wind Chime. “Celestia and Luna wanted us to stay here!”

“Stay here and do nothing!” Repeated Tock sourly. “We gave them plenty of time haven’t we? They might need our help! Like it or not, even they can’t face that thing on their own!”

“I wonder why the Shapeshifter took everyone if his main targets were the Royal Family?” started Tick thoughtfully.

“He probably took them for bait,” suggested Tock.

“Hmmm. I don’t think so. The Royal Family was in clear sight the whole time while he was talking to the King. If he was able to snatch them all up in the blink of an eye, why didn’t he do it sooner?”

“And what about Scorpan?” asked Wind Chime.

“What about him?” said Tock, meeting her eyes.

“Didn’t any of you see him during all the commotion?”

“I was too busy trying not to get snatched to worry about anything else,” said Tock trying to think back. “Wait, are you saying that maybe Scorpan was involved somehow?”

“Maybe,” said Wind Chime darkly. “I know I didn’t see him and he’s not hard to miss.”

“No way,” said Tock humorously. “Scorpan? From the amount of time Tick and I spent with him, he likes our kind. I don’t think he could bring himself to do something like this.”

“Still, I would like to know where he was,” said Wind Chime. “I’m going to have a look around.”

“Brilliant,” said Tock, unable to help himself. “Go have a look around. I’m sure you’ll find what ever it is your looking for with no pony in sight.”

Wind Chime scowled.

“You’re the one who wanted us to do something! Now’s our chance! We can…”

But what they could do was never found out. Just when Tock was about to interrupt again, Tick had spotted something crawling on the ceiling above them. He let out a yell and made his horn glow bright red.

“Wait!” Cried the monkey bat creature as he held out his claws in surrender. “Don’t shoot! I was only coming to check on you!”

“Scorpan, you have five seconds to get down from there before I believe Wind Chime’s suspicions!” Said Tick warningly.

Even as Scorpan landed on the tile floor as gently as possible, it shook a little. He stared down at the three ponies that only reached near his knees.

“How long have you been up there?” asked Tick.

“Me and the rest could hear voices coming from outside the throne room and thought it was Discord. I volunteered to investigate and I found you three. What happened to the rest?”

“Ah, so that’s what his name is,” said Tick taking interest.

“Who cares what he calls himself?” said Tock. “More importantly, what do you mean by “the rest?”

“Me and the other party guests of course,” said Scorpan as if this was obvious. “Them, the staff, and the guards.”

“So it was you who started taking everyone when the orbs went out,” said Wind Chime, pointing her hoof at the towering creature in front of them.

“Yes, but I didn’t do it for Discord,” Scorpan admitted with a growl. “I thought I could keep his attention on me if I acted fast enough. But he saw what I was up to and took his majesty and the Queen before I could.”

“And everyone else is safe in the throne room?” asked Wind Chime

“Yes,” said Scorpan relieved to see that they could trust him and Tick’s horn had stopped glowing. “And now that I’ve found you three and the Princesses too… Where are they?”

“Princess Aurora and Noble Heart went after Discord first but they were beaten by him,” said Wind Chime, her ears lowering. “After that, Celestia and Luna went through that door on the left and… and… Oh, no.”

She met Tick’s eyes and the two understood that they had messed up. Tick smacked his head.

“We messed up badly this time!”

“Do you two mind filling me in?” Asked Tock clearly lost.

“Well, you were right in a way bro,” said Tick, “Discord is using those he took as bait to lure those remaining into his trap.”

“Yeah?” nodded Tock catching on. “And if all he had this whole time were the King and Queen then…”

His eyes widened and he too smacked himself hard.

“Oh for the love of Equestria! I knew we should have went after them! They’re walking right into his hooves and they don’t even realize it yet! Come on, let’s hurry before… What the hay?!”

The doors in front of them began to vanish. Tock ran at the barely visible door, but it remained transparent and he passed through it and it vanished.

“Game or no game, that’s just playing dirty!” he said angrily.

“We have no choice but to wait now,” said Tick, his ears lowering. “Hey, is it just me, or has the night changed to day and back again?”

The four looked at window where sure enough, the nigh switched back to day.

“How did we miss that?” Said Tock raising an eyebrow.

“Wait a minute!” Exclaimed Wind Chime in excitement. “I just realized something! Scorpan, you just came out of the throne room right?”

“Yes I did,” said Scorpan and he too saw what she was suspecting.

She grinned at the two puzzled Unicorns and said cheerfully. “Maybe we can still help out after all!”

Back outside, beyond the maze and at the mouth of the forest, the king and queen were dangling by vines that have broken through the ground. They had constricted around their bodies, wrapping them up in cocoons. Smaller roots had crept up the back of their necks and covered up their horns. Next to them Princess Aurora and Noble Heart had just awakened.

“W-where am I?” Aurora moaned.

“Nice of you to join us,” said Night Shade.

“Aurora?” Came Noble Heart’s voice.

He wiggled in his prison until it spun him around to face the other captives.

“What happened? Where are we? Ah, I see we found them. Good, now what? Can one of you get us loose?”

“An excellent idea Noble,” said Night Shade pleasantly. “But as you can see we’re a little “Tied up at the moment.”

“Dear, is this the time?” asked Star Bright embarrassed.

“Nothing wrong with finding humor in a tricky situation,” Night Shade said smiling to himself. “You could say we’re just “Hanging out” until somepony finds us.”

“Night Shade, this is serious!” Snapped Star Bright. “We need to free ourselves before he gets back!”

“Ok, ok. Let me see… Aurora, see if you can swing over to me.”

Rocking her imprisoned body, Aurora came closer to the King with each swing. Night Shade grabbed onto her with his mouth and tried to chew through the vines. Just when he thought he could feel the knots begin to loosen, a free vine slithered up to them and wrapped itself around his neck. Gagging, the King let Aurora go making her collide into Noble Heart. Star bright tried to move, but the vines trapping her tightened their grip.

“What’s this, what’s this we have here?” pouted a reappearing Discord. “I leave you alone for five minutes and this is what I return to? You Alicorns can be such a bore sometimes!”

He snapped his clawed hand and the vine chocking the King let go. Coughing, he tried to use his magic, but his covered up horn remained concealed. Discord leaned close and looked at his crown with interest.

“You know, I thought something was missing,” he said taking Night Shade’s crown and laid down on a weeded hammock he had just made with more appearing vines. “A king will be needing his crown after taking over.”

“And what makes you think the ponies of this kingdom will ever allow you to become king?” said Noble Heart, glaring at the Shapeshifter.

“Them?” Questioned Discord smiling wickedly. “Who ever said they would make the call?”

“What do you mean?” Noble Heart asked through gritted teeth.

“I said too much already,” Discord tutted. “Not that it will matter. The last pieces of the puzzle will be here any minute now and the collection will be complete. Yes, I know who you are, Princess Aurora. What a fascinating history you have. And to wind up with someone whose time will run out long before yours? That is quite the accomplishment.”

“Spare me your impassive opinion!” Aurora shouted, her anger coming out. “Now tell us, what do you want?”

“It’s not about what I want,” said Discord coolly. “It’s about what we want. Your kind along with others, have stumbled into territories that don’t belong to you.”

“Is that what this is all about?” Asked Night Shade frowning. “If you are upset about our carless actions, then I can reassure you that the matter has been dealt with.”

“No,” said Discord lazily as he put the crown through his antler. “I think not. You see, we have grown tired of lying in the shadows in hopes that you would leave us alone. So, a selected few have been chosen to even up the playing field.”

“Is this another one of your games?” said Noble Heart struggling to break free.

“Not this time,” said Discord, his smile disappearing for the first time and his tone switched to that of one who should be taken seriously. “A hive has found a place to grow in the west. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found a plentiful source of food by now. Another fellow creature I know of seems to have taken a liking to this place. Especially the forest.”

“And why are you here?” asked Night Shade casually, wanting to get as much information out of Discord as possible.

“I’m only holding down the fort until he gets back. I thought I might as well make myself at home in the meantime.”

“Discord, if you and the rest can wait a little longer, I promise we can settle an agreement. We know another of your kind as well and he can vouch for us.”

“Do you now?” said Discord, his sleek smile returning. “And who is this creature you speak off?”

Night Shade opened his mouth, but closed it again. Although Scorpan hadn’t said anything about it, he was sure that he was uncomfortable about arriving to the Celebration. Could he be just as scared of his fellow creatures like most of pony kind? Or maybe he was afraid of only one monster finding out. Star Bright thought she had just seen a shadow sweep past the ground. Discord was to busy focusing on her husband to care about anything else. Acting fast, she lifted her neck just enough to see a flash of something ruby and golden orange circle around them.

“We’re down here!” she said in hopes to the sky. “We are here! Please, help us!”

The thing circling them made one last lap before it took off back to castle. Hoping that her message had been received, she lowered her head back down to face the Shapeshifter. He was still waiting for the King to answer his last question. It was her turn to speak now. She coughed loudly making Discord turn to face her. She began to speak slowly and clearly.

“I think he is scared that others won’t like finding out that he has befriended us. But we give you our word that a wager has been set!”

“Ah, a wager you say?” said Discord interested. “Tell me, does this have a part where you and the rest leave our lands?”

“No, but we will be willing to split them with you! That way, no one will have to leave!”

“Wrong answer!” said Discord harshly. “I should have known you wouldn’t give up what doesn’t belong to you!”

“Discord, please hear us out! If you and the rest hear what we plan to do, I’m sure we can…”

“Enough!” Discord barked, his pupils shrinking to the size of seeds.

He looked madder than ever as he began to speak to himself in muffled whispers. All of his captives could feel his magic growing from within.

“Of course you wouldn’t give them up! He was right after all! The only way to insure we never get trampled on again is to take action! Scorpan, you are the one that’s wrong here! We are going to take back what’s ours by force if we have to! But why stop there? We could even take a little extra while we’re at it. To make an example… Yes, make it clear that we will not be pushed around ever again.”

All four prisoners sensed Discords power rising to alarming heights. What was more troubling is that he didn’t seem to care or notice the amount of power he had.

“Discord!” Night Shade called out in desperation. “You have to calm down! Your magic! Are you even aware of how much you have building up inside you?”

“Oh, I’m very much aware,” said Discord darkly. “And do you want to know he best part about it? I can make anything and everything bend to my will!”

“You’re insane!” cried Noble Heart. “Do you know how much damage you can cause? This isn’t just another game! This can turn out worse than you think if you can’t control it! The outcome could be chaotic!”

“Now, there’s something I like to hear,” said Discord, his eyes staring hungrily at his four prisoners. “Chaos, and nothing more!”

And he started toward Noble and Aurora.

“Don’t you touch her, you beast!” snarled Noble Heart as tried with all his might to free himself.

“A beast am I?” said Discord in a soft voice that sent a chill down his captives spines. “We’ll see who the beasts are once your true colors show.”

The deranged Shapeshifter made his clawed hand glow bright yellow and edged it close to Noble’s snout. Noble tried to back away, but the lit talon drew ever near. It was inches away from his cheek. He could feel something strange taking over him and…

“That’s enough!” Discord, leave them alone!”

It was Night Shade who had spoken. Discord lowered his hand and faced the daring King.

“If anyone deserves your wrath, it’s me! I was the one who ordered your lands to be taken in the first place! Please, they had nothing to do with it!”

“And he’s not the only one!” Star Bright spoke up. “I am also responsible for what has happened!”

“Star Bright, no!” Night Shade urged his wife.

“I am just as guilty as you are my love,” she said softly. “It was up to me to suggest an alternative if we came across a troubling situation like this. And I didn’t. We are the ones to blame.”

Discord started toward the two. Both his hands were glowing bright yellow.

“Star Bright, if I was able to, I would hug you right now,” said Night Shade smiling at his wife.

“I know you would. And I…”

But what she would have said was never found out. At that moment Discord clamped both hands onto their heads. Their bodies shun the same yellow color as the mad creature held them still.

“How sweet,” he said sardonically. “I might vomit!”

The King and Queens mouths were open wide as if they were in a soundless scream. Aurora and Noble Heart fought against their cocoon prisons but it was no use. Their restraints tightened and they were finding it hard to breath. Discord snapped his clawed fingers and the vines loosened up just enough to allow them to breath.

“Quit struggling!” He barked, starting to get annoyed. “How is the collection going to be complete when two have strangled themselves?”

The yellow light covering the King and Queen faded away. Whatever Discord had done to them was unclear. The two were still alive, but they had fainted. Their coats remained snowy and inky black.

“Out with it!” Noble Heart yelled. “What did you do to them?!”

“I had meant to turn their world upside down,” said Discord sounding a little troubled. “But apparently their magic is stronger than I thought.”

Above them, three shadows drew close. Discord had not seen it. He was stopped by a loud booming voice. “Stop right... there?”

It was Celestia. She along with Luna and the Phoenix were coming in at lightning speed. Before Celestia could finish her demand, Luna had flown passed her and sprung into action! With magic flowing up her horn, she cast a flash of silver light that hit the Shapeshifter, launching him into the forest! The two sisters landed close to the captives, the Phoenix landed on Celestia’s back. Her eyes were fixed on the spot where Discord had gone.

“That might have been a little much Luna.” Celestia said in disapproval.

“I don’t think it was enough,” objected Luna. “Did you not see what he was about to do?”

“I did, but now we lost sight of him.”

“Girls?” interjected Aurora, but none of them seemed to have heard her.

“Who knows what he’s turned into by now?” added Celestia.

“We’ll be able to deal with him if he shows his face again!” said Luna throwing her sister’s comment aside. “Besides, I thought you were all in for rash actions like that!”

“There is a time and place for that!” said Celestia, but her patients were now being test. “We need to be carful on how we deal with Discord!”

“Girls!” Aurora spoke up making the two regain focus on what they were supposed to be doing.

“Oh, right, sorry about that Aurora!” said Celestia hurrying over to the trapped hostages.

“No, not us!” said Aurora stopping them. “Get the King and Queen first!”

The Phoenix flew off Celestia’s back and landed on the King’s motionless form. She began to peck and bite at the vine holding him up. With a final tug and snap, Night Shade fell into Celestia’s hooves. The Phoenix moved to the Queen next and continued the same process. The vine holding Star Bright up broke and she too fell into Luna’s awaiting hooves. Celestia and Luna turned the cocoons around in expectation, but what they saw were two deer looking back at them in fear and gratitude.

“What is going on?” Luna said as the two freed the deer that scampered back into the woods. “I thought Aurora said mom and dad were in these!”

“They were,” said Aurora worriedly. “I guess Discord doesn’t want to let us go just yet. Hurry, free us before he does something else!”

But they never got the chance to. The roots below Aurora and Noble Heart broke out of the ground and started to walk away with them still dangling helplessly. Hovering above Celestia and Luna, the Phoenix glared as Discord reappeared with a loud crack next to them, a look of disappointment on his face.

“Dear me,” he said shaking his head at the two Princesses. “Attacking someone while their back is turned? And here I was thinking royals of your stature would be more noble.”

“Enough games Discord!” shouted Celestia. “We’ve beaten your maze, now return everyone you have taken!”

“Everyone?” Questioned Discord scratching his beard. “I have no idea what you mean. All I have are these four.”

He snapped his talons and the King and Queen reappeared next to him. They stood perfectly still. Their eyes closed.

“Release them!” Celestia Commanded.

“I told you that you would find what you are looking for at the end of the maze.” Began Discord, his grin returning. “I was surprised that you brought no one else with you. But I’m not complaining. I should thank you. It will make things easier on me. ”

Luna felt her stomach drop as the truth about the test sunk in. “You never took anyone else did you?”

“We have a winner!” proclaimed Discord thoroughly enjoying himself. “You fell for the bait and now the collection is complete! The whole royal family is trapped!

“Who ever said we would go down without a fight!” growled Luna.

“I never expected you to Princess,” said Discord even more pleased. “You want your family back? I think you know how that’s going to happen.”

“At last,” said Luna pounding her hooves together. “We’ll beat you! No Problem!”

She was ready to attack, but Celestia had held out a wing to stop her.

“Once again, you bore me Princess,” yawned Discord. “You two against me in a physical conflict? You wouldn’t last a single minute.”

Celestia lowered her wing. Luna smiled at her and the Phoenix sensing that something was about to happen flew away. The two sisters spread their wings and took flight, heading straight for Discord. He stood his ground and waited for the blow to come. With the force of two stampeding bulls, Celestia and Luna made their horns glow and took aim! Discord’s smile widened he raised his clawed hand and paw. Celestia and Luna felt themselves make contact with their target. They could sense Discord’s own magic fighting back. Then, Discord grabbed them by the horns and lifted them into the sky! The three soared up until the forest below became flat colors of dark green and brown. Celestia and Luna were thrown away where they spun out of control. Celestia was the first to recover and dove after Luna who was still falling. Discord hovering feet above them, watched in amusement as Celestia caught Luna and helped her regain control. With great speed, Celestia shot up to Discord who this time fought back. Like a speeding bullet, he dove at the white Alicorn. His clawed hand crackled with magic. Celestia shot her spell, but Discord morphed into a bird and avoided the attack. He shot passed the Sun Princess and headed straight for Luna. With her horn glowing, Luna waited for Discord, but instead of continuing the assault he stopped. Luna was thrown off so much by this, that she hadn’t seen her sister chasing after him. Discord disappeared with a loud crack and puff of pink smoke. Celestia shot right through the smoke slamming right into Luna, sending them both falling to earth. Laughing maniacally, Discord wasn’t done with them yet. He dove after them, making his hands glow purple and blue. When he caught up with them, he was holding two orbs that gave off small sparks

“I told you,” he said to Celestia. “In this fight, the winner will be me!”

Luna sprung into action! She caught herself and shot a beam of silver light at Discord who tossed his blue orb away. With a swipe of his free hand he blocked the attack leaving Celestia free to cast her own spell directly at his face. Discord let out a yell of pain as he flew away from the two. Luna wasted no time in pursuing him. Discord had managed to conjure up another blue orb and vanished only to reappear behind her. Luna felt a strong electrical shock as the orb made contact with her back.

“Enough rough housing!” Discord yelled as he dodged Celestia’s frontal assault. “You had your fun Princesses! And you put up a good fight. But now…”

He ceased Celestia by the horn again and looked into her eyes. “We’ll finish this my way.”

He hit Celestia in the chest with the remaining purple orb and let her fall to the ground below. Aurora and Noble Heart watched on as Celetia’s body slammed into the grassy ground where like her sister, she too had skidded to a violent stop. Leaving long drag marks behind. Discord lowered himself to the ground too landing without a care. Completely winded, the two sisters forced themselves to get back up. Discord waited as he picked his teeth looking bored.

“Are you two finished behaving like fillies?” he asked.

The two glared at him in response.

“Good because I think my way in settling this is much more dare I say it, simpler. It’s clear to me that you two know your magic. But let’s see if you’re willing to put it to the test.”

“What is it you want from us?” Celestia asked still glaring.

“It’s simple, we will settle this here and now with a Magic Face Off!”

“Fine!” said Luna, shaking her head as the ringing in her ears faded away. “We except!”

“Perfect!” Boomed Discored. “Let’s begin shall we?”

With his clawed hand glowing he raised it and made one of the newly built houses of Ponyville rise out of the ground with a patch of dirt still intact. It hovered there while another was rising behind it. Celestia and Luna were just thinking at least no one was inside it when they heard cries of fear coming from the window.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Luna groaned taking off. “Celestia get the house, I’ll take care of the ponies trapped inside!”

With a plan in motion the two sisters flew up to the houses only to be knocked off course by a powerful gust of wind seconds later.

“Weather can change at the most unlikely times!” shouted Discored enjoying the show. “And speaking of unexpected things…”

With a snap of his talons the sun lowered to be replaced by the night sky and moon. Luna swore as she flew up to the front door kicking it open. She went inside where she saw the most bizarre creatures she had ever encountered. Four rabbits with skunk tails were cowering at the corner of the room.

“Ok,” said Luna thinking fast. “Easy does it little ones! I’m here to help!”

Outside Celestia was investigating the dirt platform with her hoof. She made her horn glow and there was a flash of white light. Inside Luna had the feeling of her body being lifted to the ceiling and a second later she was pinned up with the rest of the rabbit skunks as the house continued to fall from the sky. Celestia dove after the falling house wanting to make up for her mistake She dove underneath it and begin to shoot magic at the patch of dirt. The house began to loose speed and Luna had managed to crawl over to the trapped bunnies and scoop them up in her wings right before she fell to the floor. Celestia focused all her magic on making sure the house landed back where it had come from. Once safely back to earth she began to lower the second house. The door to the first house swung back open where the rabbit skunks came scurrying out clearly terrified. Out next, shaking in her hooves and covered in a foul scent was Luna.

“Don’t even ask,” she said to Celestia as she helped her lower the remaining house.

With the second home safely brought back down. Luna was about to give Discord a piece of her mind when the ground at their hooves became covered in soap and water. They tried to walk in it but it was like trying to walk on ice. They struggled to keep their balance when Discord made a wall of crushed tomatoes appear out of thin air and sent it crashing into them. Celestia and Luna were knocked off their hooves and slid across the field. The smell may have left Luna but now she and Celestia were covered in red liquid. Shaking themselves clean, they only had seconds to recover before they spotted the next problem. Live weeds and thorns were rising from the ground, threatening to cover the homes of Ponyville. Kicking off the ground, the two made quick work of the green mess. Discord tapped his chin thoughtfully and made the sun rise yet again.

“Is that… all you… got?” asked Luna after another round of random levitating houses and fixing the soapy ground.

“Oh, no.” said Discord. “I have one last trick up my sleeve.”

Huffing, Celestia and Luna prepared themselves. This was it. If they stopped Discords next spell then they would put this whole thing to a close. With both his paw and clawed hand glowing he made both the sun and moon rise. On his left there was the night sky and on the right, the day.

“There you have it Princesses.” He said smiling nastily at them. “If you can fix this, you will have beaten me.”

Celestia and Luna’s mouths fell open. How on earth were they supposed to fix this? They hadn’t had the sun and moon obey them fully just yet. Even keeping them under their power for a second was just as hard.

“Well,” said Discord. “Can you do it? One wrong move…”

“We know!” said Luna frustrated. “We’ll lose!”

Celestia and Luna took their places and looked up at the sky. The giant orbs reflected in their eyes as they made their horns glow. Discord looked up at the sky and back at them. He smiled confidently as the two struggled to fix the sky.

“Come on!” moaned Celestia starting to sweat. “Come on! We have to do this! It has to work this time!”

The two closed their eyes blocking out the Master of Chaos. Their horns continued to glow, but the sky showed no signs of changing at any time soon. With their heads starting to hurt, Celestia and Luna’s horns stopped glowing and they opened their eyes dreading what they would see. Discord’s smile widened as he looked into the two helpless tired faces.

“Well, well,” he said with a fake frown. “It looks like I win.”

“Not quite!” came a voice from behind the princesses.

Turning around, Celestia and Luna saw the royal guard followed by their friends and the rest of Canterlot, Ponyville and Cloudsdail. Tock was supporting a beaten Black Wood as Wind Chime spoke.

“Are you two really going to let something like this stop you?” she said.

Discord saw Scorpan in the crowd of ponies and shook his head in sorrow.

“You know Scorpan? I would have thought your brothers quick chat with you would have been enough to prevent you from making the wrong choice!”

“The wrong choice?!” Scorpan roared. “I am doing what I think is right! It is you who is at fault Discord!”

“If these two can’t fix the sky,” began Discord pointing at Celestia and Luna. “Then who’s left to stop me? This kingdom’s last hope in protection will have failed to preform their duties!”

Discords words sunk into Celestia and Luna deeper than any sword ever could. As much as they hated to admit it, Discord was right. Their mother and father along with their older sister and brother-in-law were all beaten by him. If they failed to stop him too then what hope did the rest of Canterlot have? They felt their ears fall and eyes begin to water. Why couldn’t they do it? Why couldn’t they preform their duties? Were they not worthy of having such a huge responsibility after all?

“You’re wrong!” Snap Shot yelled back. “You don’t know her highnesses like I do! Just you wait!”

He met Celetia and Luna’s eyes.

“Even if you two fail, we will never give up on you! So, go on!” he said encouragingly. “Show him what you’re made of!”

His words were met by an uproar of cheers and agreement from the rest of the guard. Celestia smiled back at him.

“If that was your way of saying you believe in us, then what took you so long?”

“Just get to casting already!” Snap Shot said turning slightly red in the face.

With their friends and the whole kingdom behind them, Celestia and Luna turned to face Discord again who was pretending to barf into a barrel he had just conjured up.

“Are you quit finished?” he asked tossing the barrel aside.

“Yes,” said Celestia with a new wave of confidence flowing through her. “We are and we except your challenge!”

Celestia and Luna looked back up at the sky. Their horns glowed again as they lifted themselves off the ground. Not only did they feel that this time around controlling the sun and moon was easy, but it felt perfectly normal to do. As if they always had the ability to do it. They just hadn’t realized it until now. The only thing holding them back was their own fears of the future. But now they new that no matter what the future held, their friends and the kingdom would be by their side no matter what. They closed their eyes and concentrated. The magic that flowed through them was growing and soon it would be time to release it. Only this time, they knew it would work. They opened their eyes as they shun white and the sun and moon began to move. Discord watched in disbelief as his last trick was being stopped. He looked up at the two who had their hooves spread out and continued to control the large masses with ease. The sun went down first while the moon lowered just enough to be brought back up. It was night again and with one final flash of blinding white light, everything was back to normal! Discord spun around to see that his once perfect playground had been brought back to its normal state. The forest was still there but what he would find upon his return he had no idea. To his horror he saw that Princess Aurora and Noble Heart were free. His moment of worry was short lived when he saw the King and Queen. They may have awakened, but he could have sworn he saw their eyes flash grey. He looked back at Celestia and Luna who had landed back on the ground. They swayed a little before regaining their balance.

“There you have it Discord!” said Celestia in her old cocky tone. “We win!”

To theirs and the rests surprise, he began to clap.

“Bravo,” said with an unconvincing smile. “Yes, well done indeed! I can see what the captain means now. You do have strong magic in you after all!”

“Guards!” Snap Shot ordered. “Seize this vile creature at once!”

The royal guards swooped down and surrounded Discord, their spears raised.

“No!” shouted Celestia. “Snap Shot don’t arrest him!”

“Celestia,” began Snap Shot stopping by the two sisters. “Don’t tell me your letting this filth go? After everything he’s done? How can you let him walk free?!”

“Celei,” said Luna wanting to agree with the captain this time. “I really think we should let the guards…”

“I said no,” said Celestia patiently, but her voice was that of her mothers. “Discord will not be arrested!”

“I won’t?” said Discord sounding just as confused as Snap Shot felt.

“No, you won’t,” repeated Celestia patiently. “But you will forever be banished from this kingdom! If you dare to set one of your many forms inside this kingdom again then there will be nothing Luna or I can say or do to change the guard’s minds!”

Discord shot one last look at the King and Queen before looking back at the two Alicorns.

“Guards, let him go!” Celestia ordered.

The spears retracted and the royal guard moved aside for Discord to leave. Discord gave Celestia and Luna a deep bow.

“Her highnesses are too merciful,” he said. “I will leave this place and never return.”

“Really?” questioned Luna. “And what makes you think we trust you’ll stand by that?”

“It’s like Celestia said,” said Discord with a smirk. “There will be nothing you or her can say or do that will stop the captain and his knights in shining armor from taking me in.”

He gave Snap Shot one last challenging look before he vanished with another loud crack. Only this time, he did not reappear before them. Celestia and Luna met their families proud eyes. Some of the guards hurried over to help Noble Heart support the King and Queen. Aurora and Noble smiled at the two sisters. Celestia and Luna smiled back but they felt their eyes starting to close on them and their vision grew fuzzy. Luna was the first to collapse. Celestia tried to help her back up but she too fell and together they lay passed out, completely oblivious to the commotion starting to form around them.