A long, long time ago in a land far, far, away...

It is a period of coming chaos. Discord, after his revival by the sinister Darth Renatus, has begun plotting for the take-over of Equestria. He has recruited many a creature to his forces, known as the ‘Chaos Alliance’, which have begun to initiate small strikes of disharmony throughout the land.

Foreseeing their movements, Princess Celestia managed to acquire plans to the Chaos Alliance’s ultimate weapon, the Chaos Sphere, an armored battle station with enough power to cause permanent disharmony and chaos wherever it is used.

Pursued by Discord’s sinister agents, Princess Celestia races towards Ponyville carrying the stolen plans. She hoped to reach Twilight and her friends before the weapon became fully operational, saving Equestria from certain doom...

Chapter 1: The Hunt

To be hunted is to be alive. The heart throbs, a steady drum beat, pumping revitalizing fear through the bloodstream. The body moves in a dance that it can not do at any other time, its new-born speed and strength a sight to behold. Only when the end's snarling teeth, or in this case the end's mighty force, is near does the value of life become clear. The life force fights desperately, giving all the power it has, to preserve itself. Thus, ponies only truly live when their life is to be put to an end.

The night sky was as beautiful as it always was in Equestria, an infinite number of stars and a shining moon beaming down on the land. The sky was on this night was also filled with large creatures and magic that few ponies would ever comprehend. Wings flapped, spells flashed, and screamed and shouts filled the cold air. The bizarre scene was unseen by any pony on the ground even though the fate of Equestria lay in its final outcome.

Princess Celestia had no time to contemplate any of these things as she desperately fired spell after spell at her pursuers, the life of her and her comrades depending on her success. Life-threatening combat leaves no chance for any thought that is not your next move to survive. Celestia's mind was focused on tearing through the pages of her memories on spells, or else thinking of a route they could pursue to lose the monsters that were after them. Survival overrode everything.

“This is bad princess! They're catching up!” the blunt voice of her faithful General penetrated Celestia's thoughts like a battleaxe, further adding to the stress of the pursuit.

“I can see that General!” Celestia replied sharply. After blocking yet another onslaught of dark magic from her pursuers, her churning gut flew to a snap decision. There was no time for more thought on the matter; her mind was too preoccupied with magic, and thus only instinct could dictate a change in course. “I want you to make a landing down at the Everfree Forest,” Celestia shouted to her General.

“The Everfree Forest?! But Princess, the creatures in there-” the General began to say, his different fears at war with one another.

“It's our only hope of losing them at this point, General,” Princess Celestia interrupted. “We will not be able to lose them like this.” Celestia was being pulled by two of her guardian pegasi, one of them her general, in her golden chariot; Her focus had to stay on spell work, and thus she could not fly on her own. The chariot was surrounded by eight other pegasi, all with uniform golden armor, white coats, and short, blue manes. Celestia wore two saddlebags on her sides, carrying objects of infinite value; objects that would save Equestria if brought to the right hooves. It was for these objects that the hunt was waged, the hunters reflecting their evaluation of the items in their sheer ferocity.

Celestia was concentrating all of her energy trying to blast away the forces pursuing them with magic, to little avail. Her intricate spells were being blocked out by another force, and as night had fallen and the moon had risen, her powers were weakened, having set with the shining sun.

“You heard the Princess; DIVE!” exclaimed the General, order and confidence stiffening the spines of his troops at his commanding tone, developed over years of training. Immediately, all of Celestia's guardian pegasi curved downwards at high speeds, dashing like bullets to try and reach the surface, their trajectory heading straight for the edge of the Everfree Forest. The winds tried to restrict them, the air slicing like knives across their bodies, but the pegasi kept their speed steady. Celestia hung on with a sticking spell on her hooves, still firing magic at her pursuers despite how the roller-coaster of her chariot shaked and twisted.

The pegasi made a rough landing into the hard earth outside the forest, having to dig in their hooves and use heating friction to stop themselves. The chariot slammed down to the ground with a crash, pieces of it exploding outwards, Celestia leaping from the chariot before she sustained injury.

Celestia wasted no time; they were still the hunted despite a successful landing. She summoned up all the magic she could spare and unleashed a blast into the sky towards their pursuers. They immediately slowed down, time itself was working against them. The Princess wobbled, the powerful spell draining much of her remaining energy. She managed to keep her hooves, standing strong as she had to.

“That spell won't hold them for long,” Celestia spoke clearly, facing her guardians. “We need to run through the Everfree forest to Ponyville and lose them that way. Quickly!” Celestia kept her composure, but urgency turned her usually warm orders into stone.

Celestia began to trot into the forest, but slowed when her hooves sang alone; none of her guardians were following her into the forest, opposing her direct order.

“What are you all waiting for?!” Celestia asked with anger. The clock was ticking, and the hunter was merely sleeping. It would soon make a leaping pounce to catch its prey. They had to keep moving to survive.

“Princess..we will hold them off for you,” the General spoke softly. “You take the extra time and get to safety,” the rest of the guardians nodded, huddling close together and smiling at the Princess. The sacrifice silenced the world, and stopped Celestia's heart.

“What? I can't let you do that. You will follow me. That is an order,” Celestia exclaimed, desperately trying to keep her calm and save her guardians.

“We all swore an oath to protect you, Princess Celestia. This is the best way to do it; we are not going anywhere” the General said, standing proud and firm. The rest of the guards huffed their approval, comrades till the end. The knights and guardians of Equestria, ready to fight to protect what they loved no matter what the odds or the cost. They were the roaring flame of bravery, ponified.

Celestia's armor finally broke at the mighty blade of her guardians, and water leaked from the cracks. She shook her head in despair, and tried to catch the breath running away from her. Celestia opened her mouth and let cool air flow over her inner pains. The breath numbed her, allowing her to carry on. Once again wearing her royal armor, she dictated as she had to.

“Do not get yourself killed, or captured. Do not be arrogant. Run away if you have to,” Celestia ordered, before dashing off as fast as she could into the forest, not wanting to waste a second more of the precious time her followers were giving her.

“Yes Ma'am,” the General answered her, for what would be the last time.

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The group of golden armored guardians turned their attention to the now rapidly advancing hunters. It was Discord himself who led the pack. His appearance was far darker than it was before; his array of colors had all been washed out, only black and gray now dominating his body. The only remote color came from his blood red eyes. Behind him, forty pegasi followed in an orderly formation. The pegasi were a dark reflection of Celestia's guardians; coats painted with midnight, bloody eyes and manes, dark draconian armor, and shadowy auras that constantly twisted around them. They were pure nightmare.

“Hold the line men! Let none of them pass!” the General neighed a rallying cry, his voice again instilling confidence into his subordinates. The guards dug their hoofs in and prepared for an onslaught. They were the doomed; the sacrificial lambs, given to a pack of hungry wolves to save their lord and master. Despite this, they would fight on proudly. As warriors, they would face their nightmares and their fears, all for the glory of their nation, and all so others could live and carry on the war.

Suddenly, the earth beneath them shifted, and their hooves began to sink. It felt like the ground was trying to swallow them, as it lost all firmness and destroyed their foundations. The guards looked down in shock to see that they were now standing in a big pool of quicksand. They desperately tried to fly out of the sand, their minds now thoroughly preoccupied with the sudden threat of sinking to their death, the warriors unable to handle the sneak attack from below. This gave their nightmares the perfect opportunity to strike.

The pegasi of Discord crashed into the guards. They rammed them with all the force they could muster, smashing those that had begun to fly out of the sand back into the ground, or else crashing into those guards still stuck in the quicksand and throwing them like rag-dolls. The guardians of Equestria stood up, determined, and tried a counter-assault, their wills unbroken, however bruised their bodies were. Those that could charged the nightmares, butting heads or ramming into them with their own force. The hunted slashing out a desperate claw against the bigger and more powerful predator.

Though a couple of the nightmares would fall to the strength of the guardians, their greater numbers proved to be overwhelming for the sun's protectors. Soon, each guardian was swarmed, and one by one the brave soldiers of Celestia fell to the power of the darkness. A number of the guards knew there was no more hope, and flew off into the sky, hoping to escape and fight on another day. The nightmares prepared to pursue, but Discord, who had been watching with glee, stopped them, having an alternative solution.

“I can take care of those that got away,” Discord bragged, thoroughly pleased by the carnage of Celestia's precious guardians, as he snapped his fingers to unleash obstacles that were unknown to even him upon those that had escaped. Chaos would see to it the stragglers did not escape easily.

At the end of the battle, the numbers were counted; as always in war, individual beings becoming mere tallies on a piece of paper. Discord was left with thirty able-bodied horses; ten of his nightmares were on the ground injured, but they would live to fight another day. Five of the guardians that had not escaped were on the ground, thoroughly broken and beaten, their courageous flames extinguished.

“No sign of Celestia then?” the dark figure of Discord spoke as he paced slowly around what had been the battlefield. Discord walked at ease; his mood was light as he tried to relish in the joys of the hunt, and how wonderful it was to hold such an advantage over his old rival.

“No, my lord,” replied a nightmare pegasi walking next to Discord. The nightmare spoke with reverence, as all of them did to their leader.

Discord lashed out and grabbed the neck of one of the Equestrian guardians with his claw, hoisting the pegasi up with ease. Discord started to squeeze the life out of him, blocking out any oxygen from entering his airways.

“Where is Celestia?” Discord demanded angrily, his mood turned on its head. Discord had turned rage into a weapon to get what he wanted; and more than anything, he wanted to find and exact his revenge on Celestia, the one who had imprisoned him.

“I'll never tell you, you scum,” the General replied, his flame still managing to burn brightly. He launched a wad of saliva towards the eye of Discord, an arrow of defiance.

Discord blinked his eyes, and the spit wad stopped in mid-air, floating and revolving like a planet, shining under the light of the moon. Discord smiled, and the spit-wad transformed into chocolate milk, darker and muddier than the clear wad of spit. He then blew the milk straight into the face of the guard, where it exploded in a flash of heat and light on contact, the explosion curving so that it only hit the captive guard. Discord let the empty husk fall back to the ground. The guard's mane and face were burned completely black, the ghost of his last gasp still etched upon his face.

“You should be more careful when handling your explosives,” Discord gloated gleefully, enjoying being able to display his power in such a fashion. He had learned now that true cruelty and chaos were partners; to use only one was to make himself weak and to let his enemies be victorious. He now held the two together, the combination echoing the power of the reaper.

Discord prepared to interrogate the next guard, but was interrupted by one of his nightmares.

“Lord Discord, we found some tracks leading into the Everfree Forest. Do you want us to pursue?”

“Hmm..the Everfree Forest. Overgrown, filled with assorted monsters, amusing plants..my kind of place,” Discord mused aloud to his ponies. Discord snapped his fingers, again utilizing his technique of acting indirectly to devastate his opponents. Why not let the forces of nature do the hard work for him, and then sweep in and delight in finishing off his foes? “That will make the forest even better. Now, get in there and find her; she'll be weakened and no match for us,” Discord instructed.

“Yes sir! You heard him, let's go!” Twenty of the nightmares went running into the forest to find the greatest threat to their conquest, the rest staying to protect their lord.

“Now...” Discord began, bending over one of the four remaining prone forms that had tried to fight them off. His voice mimicked the chilling evil of his new teacher. “It's time you be introduced to the school of Discord...”

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Celestia panted desperately under the cover of a large pine tree, doing her utmost to find her breath and keep moving. Again, the instincts of the hunted had overcome her, and now survival was the only thing inside her mind. The only comfort she had was the thumping of her own heart, still beating despite the onslaught of pressure. As long as she had that, she could make it.

The Princess had ran for an hour into the massive forest, but had been impeded heavily by the unfriendly and chaotic landscape, and was now thoroughly exhausted both from the trek and her heavy use of magic. Celestia had been forced to undo many of the spells that had sprung up into the forest, reverting it to normal where Discord had left traps or more chaos.

“Do a loop around this area; I smell something, maybe we can find her tracks here,” shouted a sinister voice.

Celestia's eyes widened, and her ears ringed with the voice of the hunters. They had already come. Somehow, they had gotten through her guardians and closed the gap between them. Celestia could not comprehend how this was possible, but she could not afford to focus on that. Nor could she even spare a thought to the guardians she so loved who had laid down their lives for her. Even survival was impossible now; she was too drained for any spell strong enough to fight her pursuers off, and there was no way she could move or run without being heard or spotted. The hunt was over, and all that was left for the hunted to do was hide and wait for death to arrive.

The Princess, however, was always prepared with a backup plan; something she felt a royal should always have. Celestia thus levitated a blank piece of parchment, an ink bottle, a quill, and a heavy scroll out of her bag. She desperately scrawled a message onto the parchment. Then, with her last ounce of magic, Celestia sent the message to Ponyville in a burst of light. She had lost the battle, but with her last action, Equestria could still win the war.

Celestia collapsed, and allowed herself to be ripped apart by the tremors of emotion. A quake of sadness for her failure. A quake for her guardians. A quake for her sister. A quake for her subjects. A quake for the war. A quake for what was to come. Finally, a quake for what she was about to put the six heroes of harmony through.

“What was that?” one of the nightmares spoke, hearing the sobs. The single nightmare ran towards it, and discovered the prey, weak and helpless.

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“Well, well, well, look what my loyal subjects brought in,” Discord said as his nightmares escorted Celestia right to him. Celestia was walking weakly, but she held her head up high in defiance, her strength having somewhat returned to her. Beside the new lord of darkness there were fourteen other nightmares, standing as tall and proud as Celestia was. “Did you get the plans?” Discord asked the nightmares bringing her in.

“No, sir. She didn’t have them when we caught her, and we couldn’t find them anywhere in the forest.”

“Discord..what have you done to my guardians?” Celestia spoke with restrained rage, unable to see any of them, and noticing Discord’s ranks had swelled slightly. Celestia scanned around once more in an effort to find them, and to her horror, she saw her General on the ground at Discord's feet, head burnt horribly. The General was dead.

“Well, some have finally seen the light, so to speak. This one,” Discord gave the broken Pegasus at his feet a good kick, a cat playing with its fallen prey. “Couldn't handle his chocolate milk,” Discord laughed, joined in by all of his troops.

“You..you won't get away with this, Discord,” Celestia hissed, at a loss for stronger words. She could not believe the changes Discord had undergone. No longer was chaos enough for him, and Celestia knew just how bad that was for Equestria. Discord teleported directly in front of her, and gazed deep into Celestia's eyes.

“But I already have, my dear Celestia, I already have. Now tell me...” Discord stuck his hand out and Celestia was suddenly lifted up into the air by an invisible force. Celestia gasped, the force pushing on her neck and stopping any life from throwing through it; truly a death grip. “Where have you put the plans?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Celestia gasped out as best she could.

“Well, perhaps if you get a little..stoned, you'll loosen your tongue,” Discord laughed, and then snapped his fingers. The back right leg of Celestia turned into solid rock, and the spell began to spread to the rest of her body, journeying over the plains of her coat and heading for her head. “Now tell me!” Discord demanded.

“I still don't understand-” Celestia coughed, trying to breathe in what little air she could under Discord's invisible hold. “-What you're talking about.” Celestia refused to do anything except play dumb; she had failed the people of Equestria enough in being unable to escape. She would not fail them further by giving up the location of the key to their survival.

“That's too bad,” Discord sighed, releasing Celestia and reversing the petrification process. He acted thoroughly beaten and downcast, his previous anger now leaving him. His emotions had again flip-flopped. “Well, you're of no use to me in that case.”

“What?” Celestia panted, thoroughly confused.

“See, my dear Celestia, your magic is all used up trying to defend your precious guardians instead of flying away and escaping as you could have. Quite the poor strategy as they lost to us anyway, but I digress. Even the great solar princess of Equestria can only do so much. But, what fun would it be beating you like this? I daresay a good villain should beat the hero when at his, or her, strongest, don't you agree? It is much more fun to tear someone down when they are strong,” Discord ranted in a long monologue, deliberately playing the fool and enjoying every second of it. He had waited a millennium to get satisfying revenge on Celestia, and he was going to take his time and enjoy it.

“What on Equestria does that mean?” Celestia responded indignantly. She had always loathed Discord's mind games, and her opinion of them had not changed in the slightest.

“Well, since I can't fight you, we're going to play a little game. I'm going to give you about thirty seconds to fly away and try your best to escape, during which me and my nightmares will do nothing. Then, we'll proceed to chase you, and we'll see if you can get away or not. So, break a leg! Thirty seconds starting..now,” Discord exclaimed, before curling up into a ball and closing his eyes, the sandman seeming to have already knocked his lights out. All of the red and black pegasi did likewise, following the will of their lord and master.

“You must be joking,” Celestia said, looking down at the suddenly inattentive creatures of chaos around her. She could not process the sheer idiocy of such an eccentric action.

“Twenty-five seconds,” Discord snored, reminding her, smiling in his sleep.

Celestia, deciding that she could not waste the opportunity however unlikely that it was honest, rose up into the air and flew as fast as she could towards Ponyville. The easy trek back to Discord had restored some of her physical energy, but she still could not fly very fast. The pursuit had begun anew, a phoenix rising from the ashes. She was again the hunted instead of the caught, and there was a slim chance she could this time elude her hunters.

Within ten seconds of Celestia starting her flight, she turned into stone and crashed down into the Everfree forest. The hunt had ended as quickly as it had began. The Phoenix died, and did not rise again.

Discord stretched up and yawned. “I've learned a thing or two about how to play games, Princess Celestia. Now then, let's go see if her leg broke off, shall we?” Discord gloated sarcastically, to the roaring laughter of the nightmares

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