Andromalius and his group were spending another night in the Frozen North. This time, Lucifer was on guard, letting his son rest. While both of them needn’t rest, Lucifer insisted that it is still important to let the mind rest from time to time, especially for someone like him who endured much, maybe even too much for such a young age. Andromalius couldn’t disagree with that statement, and went off to sleep with everyone else. He snuggled close to Inanna and fell asleep shortly after doing that. Peacefully, they slept through the night while Lucifer admired the scenery. However, he had something else planned.

With caution, he ignited his horn. By his side, his exact copy appeared. They nodded to each-other, and the real Lucifer disappeared in the flash of his horn.

***

It was early morning in the castle of Hornguard. After spending the whole night arranging everything with her Shadow Guard, Luna was very tired. However, she woke up in the middle of her rather peaceful sleep. Not yet understanding what was going on, she groggily rolled on her another back.

“Hello, Luna.” a voice spoke in the darkness of the room. Luna found it very familiar. It reminded Andromalius’ in many ways, albeit was softer and not as tense. She stared into the dark, trying to figure out who was in her bedchambers. The feeling of familiarity didn’t leave her as she made out a shadowy figure in her dark room.

“Who are you?” she asked warily.

“I think you’ll recognize me.” the voice replied, and its owner stepped into the moonlight that shone through the windows. It was Lucifer in his human form. Unlike before, he appeared in more casual clothes: a black turtleneck, dark-blue jeans, and black sneakers. He looked at Luna with a large smile on his face. “We’ve not seen each-other for a long time, dear Luna.”

“Oh my!” she covered her mouth with her hoof, a glimpse of happiness appearing in her teal eyes. “Is it truly you? Lucy?”

“You know I don’t like being called like that.” he playfully retorted, following it with a soft laughter. “But yes, it’s me.”

“I’m so happy to see you!” Luna walked closer to the human and hugged him tightly. “First, Andromalius, and then you…” a tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m so happy to see the whole family again!”

“You don’t know how happy I am to see you, finally.” Lucifer replied, stroking her mane softly. “Even for someone like me, it seemed like eternity without you.”

“Shall you stay this time?” Luna asked with hope in her voice, looking into his dark-green eyes.

“I don’t know.” he sighed. “But I do hope so. My midnight flower… I want to stay with you forever.” he smiled at her with sincerity and love.
Luna smiled in return, and then yawned.

“It seems you’re still very tired.” Lucifer said, and then picked her up, eliciting a gasp from the alicorn. “You need rest, Luna.”

“Yes… I suppose I do.” she nodded weakly, letting his strong arms hold her close to his chest. “It’s been a tiring day and night.”

Lucifer smiled at her softly, walked to her bed and put her on top of it. He sat at the edge of the bed and watched her, and began to softly stroke her mane.

“You are beautiful as ever.” he said.

“You’re handsome yourself.” Luna chuckled. She lied on the bed, slowly drifting back into sleep. Through the veil of dreams that was soon to engulf her completely, she said: “I hope we will someday live a happy life, a life without a worry in the world... It is something we’ve always wanted, have we not?”

“We have.” Lucifer nodded, and then planted a kiss on the tip of Luna’s muzzle. “We’re struggling to achieve our happiness, both of us do. We will get through the hardships, and maybe someday we’ll just be together without anything able to separate us.” he cupped her cheek. “Per asperi ad astra, Luna. Do you remember that?”

“Through hardships to stars…” she nodded slowly, producing a wide smile. “As if I’ll ever forget that.”

For some time, they were silent, just looking into each-others’ eyes. Lucifer continued to softly stroke her mane while Luna drifted to sleep. Her chest lifted up and down with each her breath, and soon she closed her eyes to the silky touch of dreams, a small smile staying on her lips.
Lucifer stood up, and soon he disappeared into the shadows. A blue rose appeared on the table near Luna’s bed.

In the morning, everyone woke up, and Lucifer’s disappearance wasn’t noticed. He had returned before the sunrise and stayed until it came.

“Good morning, everyone.” he greeted the group. “Did you have a good sleep?”

Everyone replied positively, much to the good mood of the devil.

“Well, I can certainly help you all reach your destination quicker.” he said. “While my abilities aren’t in their peak, especially so far away from my world, I can certainly teleport you all almost anywhere within this one.”

“We must cross those mountains on the horizon.” Andromalius gestured in the direction where the mountains could be seen. Day by day, the group got closer to those snowy peaks, and yet they remained far away. “At least that is what I think must be done. The city we are looking for is said to be situated in the mountains. I doubt those are our destination.”

“Brace yourselves, then.” Lucifer nodded and his horn started to glow. “We go in three, two, one…”

A bright flash of red light engulfed the group, and they were gone. In the moment, they were already at the mountains’ base. Surprisingly for them, everyone was alright and didn’t experience the so-called ‘teleportation sickness’.

“This went surprisingly well.” Rarity commented. “Twilight, you should learn from dear Lucifer. When you teleport me, it’s a headache.”

Twilight blushed in embarrassment as other ponies shared a laugh.

“Unlike any of you, I had thousands of years to master it.” Lucifer said. “I wouldn’t expect anyone to be able to teleport as smoothly as me in the next few… hundred years, approximately. Be thankful that you are teleported whole and not partly.” he chuckled. “Besides, any teleportation is better than none, is it not?”

The group looked at the mountains. They were much taller than they seemed from the distance, towering above the group. They were completely dull and gray with snow at their peaks. However, there was something to see on the side of the mountain. Andromalius noticed it and looked at it. He saw ruins of what must’ve been a city a long time ago. The ruins were still and nothing indicated any sort of life.

“Everyone, look there.” he pointed at the ruins. “Does anyone know what that might be?”

For a few moments, everyone was silent. Surprisingly for all, Rainbow Dash spoke up.

“Yeah, I might know what that is.” she said. “It must be the ancient city of the pegasi. It’s said in the legends that a long time ago pegasi lived high up the mountains somewhere in the north, farther away from the other two tribes. Hey, it seems it’s not just a dusty old tale. I’m not blind to see that there’s something on the side of the mountain. Maybe we go check that out?”

“I don’t think it is the best idea.” Andromalius shook his head slightly. “How do we get up there anyway? Only some of us have wings, and…”

“I can still teleport, son.” Lucifer chimed in. “I’m not that old for one simple teleportation to be an issue, don’t you think?” he playfully hit his son’s shoulder.

“I think I forgot about that.” Andromalius chuckled sheepishly. “But… What will we do there? It’s nothing but a waste of time. Unless we find some kind of portal that’ll lead us to our destination, and I highly doubt that possibility.”

“We might retrieve some ancient pegasi books from there.” Twilight Sparkle commented. “There must be at least some of them left! I’ve read that pegasi are especially good in art, and I want to know if any ancient art can be retrieved from those ruins. Many wonders were lost through time, and there are less and less of them by each year!”

“Twilight does have a point.” Inanna spoke. “Y’know, I’m also interested in art. In a special kind of art, if you catch my meaning.” she winked at Andromalius. No one seemed to understand what she implied besides the hell stallion and his father.

“But what do others think of it?” Andromalius turned to the rest of the group. “Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity?”

“It might be fun!” the pink pony was the first to reply with an unfaltering grin on her face.

“Um… Ah’m gonna stay neutral here. Ah’m neither for nor against that.” Applejack shrugged.

“Abandoned cities have… something to them, I admit.” Rarity said. “I doubt there are rats of spiders there.” she shivered. “Ugh… It’s cold enough for them to be at least hiding. I might as well see ancient drawings of pegasi early fashion. That will be interesting, so count me in.”

“Um, I’ll just stay with you all.” Fluttershy spoke last. “I mean, it’ll be interesting to see an old city where my kind once lived.”

“It’s settled, then.” Andromalius nodded. “Father, we need your teleportation again, it seems.”

***

The group appeared on the small platform high up the mountains, and the freezing wind hit them hard, forcing them to quickly hide behind the ruined walls. As little protection as they provided, those walls were better than nothing.

Silently, the group looked around. The ruins of the ancient city were polished by the harsh winds, all decorations were erased, turned into flat bland stone surface. Most of the buildings were nothing but piles of rocks or were distorted by the weather, giving them a scary, unnatural look. Gaping holes instead of windows, empty doorways, collapsed ceilings and cracked walls, all of it showed one thing: the city was abandoned a very long time ago.

Andromalius noticed a rather large opening in the mountain side. It was an entrance that led into the mountain, and it was partly blocked by fallen columns and rocks. Using his magic, he levitated the rubble out of the way, then gestured for the group to follow him. Soon, they were inside a large cavern. Its ceiling was about ten meters about them, and the stone hall was wide enough for a large plane to land. Decorated columns supported the archway ceiling, albeit some of them have collapsed through time.

“I think I already regret this decision.” Rarity huffed, and then shook herself to get the snow off her clothes. “This place looks dull and uninviting. Where is that art you spoke of, Twilight?”

“It might be deeper.” the lavender unicorn replied with uncertainty. “I mean, there’s this.” she gestured at the wide space of the hall. “There’s certainly more inside this mountain.”

“As much as I’d love to see you exploring this ancient city, I dare interrupt you.” a voice spoke.

Suddenly, the group found themselves on a plain. It was checked with white and purple squares.

“Dear Celestia, what is this?!” Rarity yelled, looking at the ground in horror. “It looks awful!”

Andromalius, his father, and Inanna were standing in a battle stance, preparing themselves for yet unknown danger. They scanned the surroundings, trying to figure out who the bearer of the mysterious voice was.

“Beauty is subjective, did you know that?” the same voice replied. The group turned to its source and saw a grotesque, mismatched creature. “I find this field rather beautiful.”

“Discord?” Andromalius said, not believing his eyes. He had learned about the creature some time ago but didn’t really think it was real. From under his furrowed brows, the hell stallion stared at the creature who created the demon prophecy.

“Ah yes, that’s me.” Discord bowed mockingly. “Discord the Chaos Spirit!” fanfares sounded out of nowhere, only to be cut off immediately. “Nah, I don’t like these dramatic entrances.” he grinned at the group, pressing his palms to his sides. “And you, if I’m not mistaken—" he pointed at the hell stallion "—are Andromalius, the demon chosen one!” he rolled his eyes. “Huh, I didn’t think this prophecy would ever work… Well, I guess I was wrong.”

“What are you going to do?” Andromalius warily asked, pointing his horn at the chaos spirit.

“Let’s save that for later, shall we?” Discord smirked mischievously. “We should talk about you first, I suppose.”

Suddenly, Andromalius found himself on a throne, and felt his height being weighed down by something. It was an oversized golden crown, which he quickly took off, and huffed in annoyance.

“Yeah, not really your style.” Discord rubbed his chin. “Gold looks awful on you." he snapped his fingers, and the crown disappeared. "Alright, back to the talk at hand-claw-hoof-whatever.

“As you already know, I’ve created a prophecy a long time ago.” he cleared his throat, and then started speaking in a mock grand tone, his eyes looking in different directions: “Someday, a Chosen One will come to liberate the wronged!” he cringed. “Uh, so generic… You know, I like throwing around those ‘there’ll be someone who will save everyone else’ prophesies. It's fun to see someone actually believing them. But to see one of them work… Wow, that’s something even I didn’t expect. I mean, it’s all chaos. And chaos is unpredictable.” he giggled stupidly. “That’s something to live for. And, to be honest, you look like I would’ve actually chosen you as my champion. You have that something in you that I like.

“And here’s the time when I tell you my grand plan, you defeat me, and then defeat everyone else, yadda yadda yadda.” he waved his claw dismissively. “Nah, none of that, please! But I do have something planned for you… As my champion, you need to prove me just how strong and smart you are. Challenges will be thrown at you, and that’s life.” he shrugged. “And, well, I want everyone to be like ‘Oh my, Discord’s champion is really smart and strong and stuff! Discord knows his things, yeah, I want to worship him!”.” the chaos spirit laughed hysterically. “Oh my, that’ll be something to see!” he wiped the tears off his eyes. “So, in order to prove that you deserve to bear that great title, you need to beat me in a game!”

“What game?” Andromalius asked.

“Your favorite one.” Discord replied with a smirk. “The one you liked to play for hours upon hours. But!” he put his finger upwards. “There are some rules. First, no cheating.” Lucifer and the Elements of Harmony were enclosed in a pink bubble above the ground.

“Father!” the hell stallion yelled, his eyes filling with anger.

“You thought he’ll solve everything? Nah, I’m more powerful here!” Discord laughed triumphantly. “Don’t worry, he’ll be alright. If you win the game, of course.”

“I’m… listening.” Andromalius snorted, barely containing his anger. “Bring it on, Discord.”

“That’s the spirit!” the chaos god showed thumbs up. “So, the no-cheating rule applies to me, too. I’m almost omnipotent, I can just make you do whatever I want. But where’s interest in that?” he waved his hand. “Instead, we’re going to have a battle of... minds! We’ll see who’s tactically superior.”

A grid of twelve by ten squares formed on the field, Andromalius and Discord were placed on the opposite corners of the newly-created battlefield.

“Wait, how do you know so much about me?” the hell stallion asked.

“Well, I’m a spirit. I can travel anywhere.” Discord replied. “And learning about someone who became my champion is a very important thing!

“So, about the rules. You have them,” he gestured at Inanna and the ponies. “Those are the only units in your possession. They have their special skills, abilities, that sort of stuff. You will need to use them to defeat my army. It’s rather simple, isn’t it?

"Everything from your game applies to this battle. We take turns, and there's the Initiative bar." he snapped his fingers, and a bar with creatures appeared above the battlefield. Andromalius' friends' portraits were marked with red background, but there wasn't anything of Discord yet. "Whatever spells you know, you may use. And now, behold my army!"

Various bizarre creatures appeared on the battlefield: twenty minotaur ballerinas; fifty tall-legged, horned rabbits, three hundred parasprites, seven bug-bears, and one tatzul-wurm. Some oddly-shaped rocks and distorted trees appeared on the battlefield as well, blocking some tiles.

Immediately, Discord's creatures appeared on the Initiative bar, having an odd color-changing background that flowed in a strange way, uncomprehensible by normal minds.

"And here we begin!" Discord proclaimed, slapping his hands together, and a gong sounded, announcing the beginning of battle.

***

Andromalius' POV.

Here I am... Well, it is time for me to show him how much of a tactician I am. Fortunately, I am in a Tactics mode, meaning I can place my little army however I like before the game starts. Let's see their stats first... Somehow, I am able to do that. I must give credits to Discord for making this game accordingly and accurately to the original.

Parasprites are tier one creatures, and are able to multiply their count by three once in a battle. Their damage stat is very low, health is also low, but there's a lot of them. Their special ability must be noted. I don't want any surprises.

I looked at the weird long-legged rabbits. They are Chaos Rabbits and they are shooters, long-ranged units. If hit in melee, they will run away and shoot from there. Not unlike orcs' centaurs in the game, I suppose. They are... tier two. Moderate damage, but almost no defense whatsoever. The health is okay for their tier... Alright, note taken.

Minotaur Ballerinas. He has some imagination, doesn't he? Anyway, they have great speed, and can almost reach the other end of the field in one turn, and enemies don't retaliate to them. They are tier four creatures, and have a good attack stat, and yet the defense is pretty low. That's good for me. Also, they can once in a battle perform attack-and-return move, meaning that after the attack, they return to their place before it. Thankfully, that will happen only one time. These are pretty dangerous, I shouldn't let them come too close.

And what are those? Hm, bug bears? Yes, they're called Bug-Bears. They are tier six, their damage is high, they attack and return... They'll be a big problem. Gladly, there's only seven of them, and they're not casters. No magic will be involved which plays in my favor.

And the last, some kind of a big worm. Tatzul-wurm, whatever that means. High damage, high defense and attack. Huh, the speed is pretty low... And there's a special ability — it can go underground once, becoming invisible and almost invulnerable, and gains a lot of speed. I should lessen its health as quickly as possible. At least it's not immune to magic.

Let's look at my units now. I don't have many, actually. Maybe their quality will more than make up for the lack of quantity.

Twilight Sparkle is a caster, tier seven. Wow, that is good alright. It seems she's the most powerful unit in my "army". Her spells are focused more on defense and support, and her offensive spells are pretty weak. It's good I trained her some basic offensive spells, otherwise there'd be none at all. However, it will be better if I use her to boost others. She doesn't have a good offense stat, however her knowledge and spellpower are very high. Also, she has a lot of hit points — she won't go down easily. There are some negative sides to take note of: she's rather slow and doesn't have too high initiative. I will have to boost morale to be able to use her more frequently.

Rainbow Dash, a tier seven pegasus. Are all my units seven? It will be very beneficial for me if they are. Anyway, she has very good offense and defense statistics, her spellpower and knowledge are zero. Well, since she's not a unicorn, I'm not too surprised. Now, she has a... holy shit, that is some massive damage! She can do a Sonic Rainbomb that deals a heckton of damage to anyone standing within four on four square. And that attack is homing! I don't know if I've seen anything like that before anywhere in the Heroes series. There's also another special ability — pegasus dive. She will fly up, and then crash down on the enemy, stunning them. That ability can be used anytime. Her health is pretty high, I noticed, and... Well, that's it. In conclusion, she's an offense-focused unit.

Next comes Rarity. She's also tier seven, but... Well, stats-wise, she's weaker than a bone dragon, and that is the weakest tier seven unit in the game. She also takes one and a half damage from almost all spells. Ugh... But she has the ability to summon a big rock that will protect her from all projectiles. Not very useful in this situation, though.

Applejack. Tier seven, high offense and defense... She goes on par with Rainbow Dash, actually. However, she has a half more hit points and higher damage than the pegasus. She has a special ability — Buck. Deals a lot of damage to one enemy and stuns them, can be used indefinitely, can... knock down trees? I don't know how useful is the last one. Though, that buck will sure come in handy.

"Hey, I'm falling asleep here!" I heard Discord complaining.

Ignoring him, I inspected the rest of my group to see just how useful they are in battle.

Fluttershy... Oh fuck, she's even weaker than Rarity. Though, she has the aerial dive of Rainbow Dash which is nice to have. I hate to say that, but she's kinda useless in this situation. Her hit points are the lowest so far, and she can also lose morale quickly. In fact, her morale is already -1. Alright, she might still do something good in the future. Maybe there's something I'm missing...

Pinkie Pie. Tier... the fuck? Tier twelve? How is this possible? High offense, defense... spellpower and knowledge? Alright... She is on par with Twilight, and has a special ability 'Cloning' and 'Cannon'. First one creates harmless clones that can block the way or distract shooters from shooting, and the second one deals massive damage to anyone in close proximity of four tiles. She can also heal anyone on adjacent tiles. Honestly, I didn't expect that from her.

Finally, Inanna. She's pretty good overall, able to chain-shoot enemies, burning them for two turns. Her initiative is very high, and she can seduce males to fight for her. And... Oh, yes! 'Gating'! She's able to call for reinforcement that will arrive immediately. I will remember that.

But there is one important question I need to ask.

"Discord, what will happen to one whose health drops to zero?" I asked with worry.

"They'll be out of battle, but they will live." the chaos spirit replied. "Don't worry, I don't see fun in murdering someone. Ugh, no!"

"Alright, then." I said, preparing to make my first move.

I must not make haste. I must calculate my every move... and his as well. This battle will be very hard. I have yet to find out what Discord himself can do. But I have hope that I will succeed, and my determination will drive me forward to victory.

Author's Notes:

Oh my, Andromalius vs Discord! I'm sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger, but I don't want this chapter to become too big.

Also, I'm thinking about creating an animation of that battle. Very simple one at that, but an animation nevertheless. Do you want that? It will take some time, of course, but it will be worth it. I used to animating some stuff but haven't practiced in a year or two.

So, what do you think about that?