*Disclaimer* My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust.
This story will be constantly updated and revised to improve quality and overall enjoyment for the reader.
Point of Views will be generally centered on and shift between Twilight Sparkle, Discord, Princess Celestia, and 3rd Person perspectives. Please read on and I hope you enjoy.
"In all things, there is balance, and when that balance shifts in favor of one, the universe itself seeks to restore it by any means."
Chapter 1: Prelude to War (Discord's Ultimatum)
Twilight Sparkle, along with her five friends, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, all stood at the doors to the Grand Hall of Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Normally, it was not unusual for Twilight and her friends to be in Canterlot, or at the Royal Palace for that matter, seeing as she and her friends were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the six pieces that made up all things good in the universe, but today was something that was anything except normal. Not for the first time, Twilight's thoughts drifted to the letter she had received yesterday afternoon, still as perplexed as she was when she first read it:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I know we have had our differences in the past, but a matter of the utmost importance has come to my attention and I am in need of your assistance. Please gather Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, the other Elements of Harmony, the actual Elements of Harmony, and meet me in the Grand Hall tomorrow morning at noon. I will be waiting.
Your Friend,
Discord
Needless to say, the letter had taken Twilight by surprise; after all, she and Discord had never been close, nor would she have ever expected the God of Chaos and Disorder to ask for anyone's help, let alone hers.
Not long ago, Discord had been sealing with in the confines of a stone statue, placed in the center of the Royal Gardens of Canterlot. For reasons still unknown, the seal on the statue was broken, and Discord was once more released onto the unsuspecting ponies of Equestria. He went around spreading wanton chaos and disorder, and even went as far as to corrupt Twilight and her friends, inverting every aspect of their personalities and nearly destroying their friendship. Luckily, the six were able to regain control of themselves and defeat Discord, resealing him in the statue for what they'd hoped would be eternity.
However, Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and goddess of the sun, saw just how useful Discord's chaotic magic could be if used properly. Seeking the aid of Fluttershy, the most sensitive and caring of the six, Celestia set out to reform Discord, so that his abilities could be put to more constructive use. Though it was an arduous and time-consuming task, Fluttershy was finally able to rehabilitate Discord, turning him to the side of good. Since then he'd been wandering around Equestria, doing good deeds and righting whatever wrongs he happened to find along the way.
Although he was now technically on her side, Twilight had always assumed that, reformed though he may be, Discord had always harbored a silent grudge against the Elements of Harmony; after all, they were the once to defeat Discord in the first place. Because of this, Twilight had never been able to fully trust in Discord or his "reformation", but seeing as her mentor was able to trust in the dracoequis, she'd given him the benefit of the doubt.
At first, Twilght had assumed that the letter was little more than one of Discord's occasional pranks, but as she reread the parchment, the gravity Discord's words seemed to set in. Though Discord's personality was for the most part unknown to Twilight, she knew Discord well enough to know one thing about him for certain. The wily, care-free deity was rarely ever serious, and when he was, it meant the situation was dire indeed; the fact that he'd ever bothered to ask her to bring the Elements was a definite indicator of that.
Wasting no time, Twilight rushed about Ponyville, finding each of her friends and showing them the letter, only to find out that the had each gotten one of their own. Making sure to get their affairs in order, the six ponies made their way to Canterlot and stood before the entrance to the Grand Hall, ready to meet with Discord and determine just what he had found that was so important. However, when they'd arrived, they discovered that the door was sealed, melded into the wall by what could only be identified as Discord's specific brand of magic. So there they waited, and had been waiting ever since.
"Come on guys, let's get outta here." grumbled Rainbow Dash. After hours of flying in circles around the foyer the rainbow-maned pegasus seemed to finally be getting tired of waiting.
"Rainbow Dash, darling, you must show some restrain," said Rarity, how had situated herself on a nearby couch, sketching out designs for her new dresses. "A lady must be patient, and we did arrive five hours before the time Discord asked us to meet him."
"Yeah, but if something's happening that has HIM asking for our help, don't you think it would better to talk to us ASAP, rather that have us sit around doing nothing?"
Wasting no time she proceeded to bang loudly on the wall-door with her hooves, yelling "HEY DISCORD, LET US IN!"
Twilight couldn't help but agree with the cyan-colored Pegasus; surely if this was so important Discord would have met them as soon as they'd arrived.
"Now, now, I'm sure that Discord has his reasons for making us wait." said Fluttershy, timidly glancing at Rainbow Dash from behind her flowing pink mane. Rainbow Dash simply huffed and dropped to the ground, sitting on her haunches and glaring at the floor.
"Now what's this I hear about you six meeting Discord?"
Twilight turned around to see her life-long friend and mentor, Princess Celestia, striding gracefully down the corridor, her younger sister, Princess Luna, beside her as usual.
"Hello, Princess, what brings you here?" asked Twilight.
"Same reason as you, I believe." said Celestia, producing a letter addressed to her and Luna, also bearing Discord's seal.
This certainly caught Twilight's attention. "Wow, then this must be serious."
"Well ah sure hope so, cus' all this waitin's got me wound up tighter n' a coiled spring under a 50 lb barrel a cider." said since the group had arrived, Applejack had been doing just about everything to keep moving; right now she was in the middle of her 50th lap around the room, and had even begun to wear a trench into the white marble floor.
No sooner had she said that, had the clock struck twelve, and the doors to the Grand Hall swung open. As the group entered, the doors closed behind them and Discord came into view. Staring thoughtfully out the window overlooking Canterlot, the dracoequis was uncharacteristically silent, and even seemed to give off an air of profound authority. His hands were folded behind his back, and rather than float around playfully as he often did, his feet were planted firmly on the ground. As he turned, his eyes skimmed the group, and with a slight nod, eight armchairs appeared behind each of them.
"I'm glad you are here. Please, have a seat." The eight ponies sat down in their respective chairs, unnerved by Discord unprecedented level of seriousness. "Now I'm sure you all have many questions, but before I answer them, I would like you to listen to me for a moment."
"Now wait just an apple buckin' minute there Discord," interrupted Applejack, "You called us here ta tell us about some big, important ta-do that you need our help takin' care of."
"Yeah, just cut to the chase will…" shouted Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow Dash, Applejack, calm down," interrupted Celestia. "I'm sure Discord has a reason for having us wait a moment longer. Besides, you've all waited quite a while to find out what's going on; what could a minute or two more cost you?"
"Thank you Celestia, Now, ass I was saying, I was out in Ponyville the other day, just looking around, enjoying the peace and quiet, when I notices this nagging feeling in the back of my mind; something felt amiss, out of place. At first I'd ignored it, but after a while, I decided to have a look around. So I went to Phillydephia, and, to my surprise, found nothing wrong; just your everyday ponies going about their normal, happy lives. But still, the feeling continued, so I went to Manehattan, only to find that, there was nothing wrong there either. Canterlot, Hoofington, Braysville, Haytee; I went to each of these places and each time I found nothing wrong. So I asked myself 'What is it? What's so wrong? Everything is fine; the ponies are happy, the cities are wonderful, there is no war, no chaos, no evil; everything is as it should be. So what; what is wrong here?' I'd racked my brain over the matter for quite some time, until one day; yesterday in fact, it dawned on me. There is no chaos, there is no evil; everything is good and kind and sweet and nice. That is the problem; that is what's wrong."
Luna leapt to her feet in outrage, "What do you mean 'that's what's wrong'? There is nothing wrong with peace, there is nothing wrong with harmony; that is what harmony is."
Discord looked at Luna, simply tsking at her lack of understanding. "But that, my dear Princess, is just it; what you have just described is not harmony; it is good. Harmony isn't just sunshine and rainbows, it isn't just happiness and smiles; it is balance. It is yin and yang, good and bad, good and evil. Both must exist together, or individually they are both empty and meaningless; that is harmony."
As the Discord continued to speak, twilight and her friends began to fidget in there seats nervously. They had expected something serious and profound, but this conversation was starting to take an eerie turn, and no one seemed to like where it was headed.
"The reason I have called you hear is because the scales of harmony have been tipped, and I will restore the balance. I've called you all hear to see my resolve, to hear my ultimatum. I've called you all here…" Discord turns around, eyes blazing with sinister resolve. "TO HEAR MY DECLARATION OF WAR!"
Before anyone can react, Discord snaps his fingers, and the armchairs burst open, and golden chains flew forth from tufts of cotton and wool, ensnaring everypony in a flurry of movement, leaving them bound and at Discord's utter mercy. Struggle though they did, neither the Elements of Harmony nor the goddesses of sun and moon were able to break free from the bonds that held them; even magic seemed to be ineffective.
"Urgh, what's up with these chains? I can't move my wings." grumbled Rainbow Dash, thrashing about in a barely controlled frenzy.
"That, my dear, is because these are medusa chains." Discord said with a sneer. "They're an anti-magic, anti-flight spell I've been working on since you'd released me from my prison of stone, though I hadn't quite figured out how to create and stabilize them until a little while ago. It's to keep you right here so that I may work."
The dark edge in his voice made the eight captives shudder, and the all knew that whatever Discord had in store, in wouldn't be pleasant. As the words hung in the air, Twilight found the courage to ask what was on everyone's mind.
"Work on what?" she asked, her voice hushed and filled with fear.
Discord grinned, "Restoring the balance. You see, you six represent the rather large asset that gives Celestia and, by definition, good a rather substantial advantage..."
"The Elements of Harmony." continued Celestia, whose fear was starting to seep into her voice.
"Correct. But as I said earlier, I Seek to balance the scales of Harmony."
"So what, are you going to kill us then?" snapped Rainbow Dash, glaring up defiantly at the embodiment of chaos.
"I'll be honest, I was considering that at first, but then i realized that doing so would put Celestia and Luna at a disadvantage. You see, they're only a threat if they work together, and seeing as Luna had most of her magical energy stripped away when you defeated Nightmare Moon, neither her nor Celestia have the power to stand against me. However, I Did come up with a solution."
With that, Discord walked over and placed his open claw on Twilight's cutie mark, and then his paw on her crown, the element of magic. For a few minutes, nothing seemed to happen, and then a pulse of gold and black energy rippled through Discord's body and into both Twilight and the crown. The pain struck with the suddenness and violence of a hurricane, causing Twilight to convulse violently as Discord's chaotic energies flooded her very being, causing her to slowly rise off the floor. As her eyes rolled into the back of her head and Twilight began foaming at the mouth, appearing on the precipice of death, Discord withdraw from her, and the purple unicorn fell to the floor once more, largely unresponsive except for the occasional twitch and groan. Celestia, Luna, and all the other ponies who witnessed what seemed like senseless torture resumed there struggling with renewed vigor, shouting and spitting and cursing Discord with every fiber of their being.
For what felt like hours, Discord stood there and listened to them spew treats and obscenities so foul it would have given the most hardy of sailors a heart attack. By the time the curses died down and the ponies lie on the floor, gasping for air, the only pony that had yet to say a single word was Fluttershy, who's face was hidden behind her mass of flowing pink hair. Everybody, even Discord, looked at the yellow Pegasus, concerned that the sight of her dear friend bring so brutalized may have been to much for her to bear. Discord knelt down, and hesitantly reached for the pony who had been his first and, as he saw it, only friend, but no sooner had his paw brushed a strand of her hair had Fluttershy's head snapped to, causing Discord to fall back in complete and utter terror. Fluttershy's expression was so twisted and consumed by rage, hatred, and blood-lust that ever her friends shrunk away from her, as she bore little resemblance to the shy, sweet-hearted pony they'd known for so long.
"YOU MONSTER!" she roared, her voice louder and more venomous than any of her friend's had been, "HOW COULD YOU! SHE WAS YOUR FRIEND, OUR FRIEND! HOW COULD YOU DO SUCH A THING!? WITH CELESTIA, LUNA, AND EVERY OTHER GOD OR GODDESS WHO'S NAME I DON'T KNOW AS MY WITNESS, I WILL SEE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU JUST DID! I WILL BURN YOU, SKIN YOU, FLAY THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES, RIP YOUR HEART OUT, SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT, AND WATCH YOU CHOKE ON IT, YOU, MISERABLE, DISGUSTING, LOATHSOME EXCUSE FOR A LIVING BEING!"
The room fell silent as Fluttershy's words hung in the air. Celestia was the first to recover.
"What have you done to my student?" she growled, eyes seething with barely contained rage.
"Oh nothing, much, I just corrupted the smallest bit of the harmonious energy within her and the element of magic." Discord stated very matter-of-factly. "You see, this is my alternate solution. As opposed to killing you and removing the Elements of Harmony from play, I will create new, darker versions of each element by corrupting and harvesting energy from each element and its corresponding bearer.
Rather meticulously, Discord strode down the line of captives, stopping to stare down apathetically at Fluttershy, who now shrunk away from him, her earlier bravado had left her.
"Now" said Discord, popping his knuckles, his hands already pulsing with dark, chaotic energy. "Where was I?"
With that, Discord continued with his plans, filling each of the elements and there bearers wiht chaotic energy. By the time he was through, each pony lay on the floor, twitching, spasming, and in unimaginable the princesses went without; as Discord had said earlier, he'd only really needed the Elements of Harmony for his plans. Taking five steps back, Discord took a moment to admire his handiwork and methodically held out his hands.
"Now, Celestia, witness to the birth of the Elements of Chaos; Cruelty, the anti-kindness, Avarice, the anti-generosity, Deceit, the anti-honesty, Treachery, the anti-loyalty, Misery, the anti-laughter, and Entropy, the anti-magic."
With each name called, a fragment of each element of harmony fell out of away, each pulsing with a dark sinister aura. As the floated towards Discords open palms, the six fragments grew, forming six new gems, each a warped, twisted replica of the original. In turn, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy collapsed, sweating and gasping for air, the pain they'd felt only moments ago returning with renewed vigor.
"Go, my Elements, and seek out your new bearers."
In a flash of blackish-green light, the six Elements of Chaos soared through the sky, destroying a large portion of the room. Discord stepped closer to the two princesses, still struggling to free themselves from their bonds. Kneeling down, Discord took Celestia's snout in his claw and turned her head so that there gazes met, each staring directly into the others eyes.
"The reason I'd asked you two to be here was so that you could see this for yourselves and know that I mean every word that I have said today." Releasing his grip on Celestia, Discord walked over to the now gapping hole in the wall, watching as several squardons of pegasi flew towards the tower. "Ready your armies, dear goddesses, because when I return, it will be with one of my own."
In a flash, Discord disappeared, and the chains dissipated, leaving the group disoriented, in pain, and afraid of what was to come.
The War Has Begun
Well that's the end of Chapter 1. Please leave comments on my story and any suggestions you may have; this is after all, my first fan-fic and I want to improve as much as possible. I will post the second chapter as quickly as I can. In the meantime, Chow. ;)