A Good Student Part 3- A Search For the Cure
"CELESTIA! I'll kill you this time! You're mine, you spineless, worthless hag! I'll kill you for locking me in this prison!" Midnight Flare lunged at Celestia, only to be drawn back into the book. She screamed with insurmountable ire, but there was nothing that could be done, unless someone released her, she could always be sealed in the pages of the reference guide.
Celestia sighed. Nothing she did worked. She had tried to reason with her, she had tried to fight her, she had tried to use the Elements of Harmony to destroy her dark power. Midnight was irrational. She was too strong to be defeated in ordinary combat. The Elements only sealed her away, just as they always had.
She kneeled in front of the open book, which she kept permanently in the very room where the Elements of Harmony were stored. Tears streamed down her face. Luna refused to visit her. Servants were terrified to approach her room. Anytime somepony did, she violently rebuked them for their foolishness.
Princess Celestia was to be left alone. She was having trouble. Something was wrong. The only one with enough power to help the Princess was the Princess herself. It was not the first time in Equestrian history that she had had problems. The immortals had dark pasts. That was all anypony knew.
"Twilight Sparkle… Why can't you just be the same student you were back then? You were so faithful, so loyal. You were the only pony in the world whose power was perhaps great enough for you to rule alongside my sister and me. How we need your help now! The law is barely upheld. Anarchy is starting to break out. We need somepony with confidence to bring them back to peace! I can't do it; I have lost the vitality that I once had. My speeches are dry."
"We need you back, Twilight. I need you back. For my sake… and the sake of Equestria!" Celestia knew what she had to do. She stood, drying her tears, and adopting a face of cold determination. "We need you not to be Midnight Flare. We need Twilight Sparkle." She turned the page softly. "We need youth."
She strode from the room, striding between the stained glass windows, now depicting her victories over the past sixty years. The Equestrian Empire had doubled in size during the fifty years that it took for Midnight Flare to recover. It had stopped growing when she had reappeared, forcing Celestia to lock her away. That was over twenty years ago.
The world was growing stagnant, and Princess Celestia of the Holy Equestrian Empire had some lands to conquer. "Servant!" She barked.
A timid Pegasus timidly entered the royal hallway. "Y-yes, Your Highness?" He did not want to upset the Princess, knowing that she had been growing more and more violent as she was shut away in the tower.
"Fetch Blueblood. Tell him that we have some policy reforms to discuss."
"A-at once, Your Highness." He flew away.
Celestia knew that she would never be able to operate as a monarch without first redeeming herself of the crimes she had committed against Twilight Sparkle. There was no known cure to this kind of overtaking of darkness in Equestria. Therefore…
"Yes, Your Highness!" Prince Blueblood had arrived. "Announcing Prince Blueblood, third heir to the throne of the Holy Equestrian Empire." In the time since he had found out that Rarity had died, his demeanor had grown less princely and much rougher. He never bothered to get a grooming, his fur had grown more of a gray color than white, and he spoke with a much less refined accent.
He had truly fallen for Rarity. He never knew any better than to act like a silly, conceited fool. He had been raised on servants. He deemed his actions at the Gala with Rarity to be completely normal. Nopony had ever taught him lessons in etiquette.
He was different now. "You wanted to see me?"
"Prince Blueblood. I thought to tell you first, since you are now the second heir to the throne."
He gasped. "But why, what has become of Luna…?"
"Nothing, yet. We are taking a new direction. Luna will be framed as an enemy to the Empire. We plan on conquering all of the known world!"
He sputtered in confusion. "But, Your Highness! We already own over a third of all the lands known to ponies! You even said so yourself, if we went out of the bounds of these lands, we would come across lands like the Everfree Forest… Lands infested by those… Humans! Only a few members of the royal family know about those things! We cannot venture too far outside of the known lands!"
"We will stop once we reach the edge."
"But suppose we do not know the edge…"
"Then we will invade their lands! If I have not discovered what I want to by then, then we will continue anyway! We must find the cure to Midnight Flare's illness!"
"Is that what you have been researching all of this time? If only you had said so… I would have assisted you! Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"This is my own venture. That means that you and I will be the only ones to know about this secret. To the rest of the world, we are expanding the Empire!"
Princess Celestia traveled through the land of Equestria, shouting in the Traditional Canterlot Speaking Voice one single message.
"Citizens of Equestria! The dreaded Nightmare Moon has once again threatened our safety!" The ponies of the Appaloosan territories were eager to take up arms against the Buffalo, who had constantly been pushing their borders.
"Nearly all other surrounding lands are eager to support her, and help her to take down our own beloved country! We must cause this insanity to end! Any who oppose us will be hewn down and razed to the ground. For the sake of our homes, which will be burned and pillaged. For the sake of our children." The ponies of the cities surrounding and including Manehattan gladly took up advanced weaponry, glad to have reason to use them on enemies.
"Our glorious Empire will conquer all! We shall take down the governments who dare to defy us by hiding Nightmare Moon!" The ponies of Ponyville were very frightened by the tales told to them by their parents about the dreaded Nightmare Moon. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, now extremely old, whispered to each other. "What do you think she's doing?"
"I don't know, but we don't seem to have a choice other than to go along with it."
Celestia's voice drowned out all other sounds, as she took an even more bold visage. The ground shook with her conviction. "All who are willing to guard this beautiful land and our future, join with me, and take down the adversaries! Join with me in this shout! All Hail Equestria!" I will save you, Twilight.
Equestria did indeed join with her. From the mouth of anypony old enough to talk came the cry.
"All Hail Equestria!"
"All Hail Equestria!"
"You know, you could have done a hell of a lot worse." Said Discord. There they were, sitting in a dark room with smoke for walls. "At least you get to see the real world for a few seconds each night. I only got to have a turn for day or so before you turned me back into stone."
Twilight grumbled. "It wasn't my decision. You were the one trying to take over Equestria and turn it into a land of endless chaos."
"Endless fun! I mean, what's the fun in everything staying the same all of the time? Come on! I gave you chocolate rain, for crap's sake! What more could you wish for?"
"I don't know. Just not being stuck in a room built to house the spirits of those who were imprisoned by the Elements of Harmony." That was where they were. A place of mild punishment. Mostly for keeping their spirits contained.
Discord stretched out on an invisible chair, while Twilight sat on the less than defined ground. "Oh well. At least you're much more interesting than that Luna who showed up. All she talked about was what she wanted to do when she got out." His voice went high and mocking. "I'm going to take away the sun forever! There will never be sunlight ever again!" He sighed. "Didn't she know that I don't care about taking away the sun? Talk about living in a bubble."
"Well, Discord, you know my story. Why don't you tell me yours?"
He shrugged. "Very well then. At least this should take some time." He switched to a more attentive sitting position. "I was the fair, kind, hardworking ruler of Equestria. My name, back then, was Accord. I loved having everything in balance. Equality was my favorite thing. Then this annoying little pony named Celestia comes by. She's always talking about how her parents wanted her to be important. I never thought anything of it. Then, one day, their family is dead. And they're both Alicorns." He paused. "I asked them about how they did it. They described to me in detail what they did. They told me that they would be taking Equestria when I died. I didn't like that. Not at all."
"I decided to give it a go. I quickly figured out what I loved most. Harmony. Did you know that I actually created the Elements of Harmony? Well, that's a different story. Anyhow, I did it. I cast spells on myself to make myself to things differently. But then it started to happen. My body started to transform. Yes, I was at one time a pony. I became larger. The world seemed to static through my eyes. I had to change things!"
He sat up, looking more eager, lost in memories. "I did it! I made things different! I even found out how to make things permanently different, and that's how we got that awesome Everfree Forest! But then, Celestia and Luna broke into my palace when I was out, stole my no longer important Elements, and used them to destroy me! And… you of all ponies should know the rest."
She nodded. "Yes, yes I do. And I wonder now if what I did was the right thing to do."
"What? You're just barely wondering if what you did to those ponies what morally justifiable?"
"Not that. Defeating you."
He gazed at her in wonder. "Oh."
"Queen Gilda! I have come to the heart of the Land of Griffins to accept your unconditional surrender!" Celestia approached the capitol city with her convoy. She was almost there. If only she could find the magic that they used…
"Over my dead body!" Gilda had become a wonderful queen. She was fair to all of her subjects, and never treated anyone with anything but the respect that they deserved. She was at the end of her days, but she still had more fight left in her than a hundred male griffins. "We aren't surrendering to you, you cowardly foal! The griffin armies will crush you and your petty little wings!"
Celestia spread her wings proudly. "Formation: Storm of a Thousand Claws. Ready!"
The army responded. "Ready!"
"All…"
"Hail…"
"EQUESTRIA!" The massive griffin army converged on them, only to be torn to bits by the spell cast by the unicorns. Blood fell like rain upon the city. Gilda stood proudly before Celestia.
"We fight to the last griffin!"
Celestia laughed condescendingly. "Well, how convenient, since you seem to be the only one left."
Gilda shook her head. "I will not allow what you did to Rainbow Dash to go unpunished!"
"That again? That was years ago! Anyway, the one who killed her was never found."
Gilda snarled. "Don't lie to me! It was Twilight Sparkle, your student who you drove to madness!" She darted toward Celestia; dodging past all of the cutting spells sent her way. She jumped for the last time. Just as her claws were grazing the face of the unflinching Celestia, she fell. She was instantly put down by a sleeping spell from Prince Blueblood.
"Thank you, Blueblood."
He bowed. "Anything for the leader of Equestria."
"Moving on."
Through the lands they traveled. Nation after nation surrendered, fell, or was completely destroyed. Years went by. Celestia was the bane of free nations. That is, the bane of only one more nation. The small land controlled now by Luna, who had swiftly escaped from her sister's grasp when the conquest began. It was a small tribe of peaceful humans who had escaped from the human world. They revered their royal protector.
They were soon to be lost.
Celestia came with every able-bodied creature who had the intelligence to follow an order. With ease and impunity, she took the land. There was only one city left in the known world that was not under the command of Celestia. The capitol city.
Celestia knew that everything she had been searching for had to be there. She had not found a way to extract the evil from Midnight. She was certain that she knew why. That city had been where she and Luna had found the spell. Locked away in the archives of the underground stronghold, guarded by ages of protectors who knew what would happen if the spell got out.
Celestia knew. The spell had cost her one of her most trusted acquaintances, and her most loyal student. She knew that there had to be another spell somewhere in there. She had saved this destination for last, knowing that the spell would most definitely have a cost equal to or greater than the last.
This she considered as she approached the stronghold. Outside stood Luna, along with the survivors who wished to fight. "Luna! Will you not let me into your stronghold, to learn the secrets of this tribe once more?"
Luna stood as a rallying point for the peaceful humans. "We will not allow you enter, sister! I cannot allow you to continue to study the magic. You know what happened last time."
"Tell me sister. Do you know the reason of my quest?"
She nodded. "To spill enough blood to wash away the blood spilt by any of your past acquaintances, and to find a spell to revive Twilight Sparkle. I know of the spell that you seek. I studied it without your knowledge. It is dangerous magic, and I will not allow you to use it anymore!"
"I see." She said, approaching Luna slowly. The humans cowered before her grim look of determination. "You are referring to the seventh spell of sacrifice."
Luna gasped. A look of shock stole her face. "How did you know?"
"I too studied it. I know how it works." She waved her armies away. "Stay here, Luna. These people don't seem to be able to get enough of you." She vanished, leaving her troops hastily retreating to the homeland.
"Celestia!"
Her words were futile.
Celestia knelt in front of the statue. The graves of all five of Twilight's friends were underneath. By her side was the reference guide, holding the soul of Twilight Sparkle. Behind the statue was the statue of Discord.
She began the spell. Above the statue appeared the ghostly figures of Discord and Midnight Flare. They both looked down at her, seeming irritated.
"Excuse me, Princess. Discord and I were just having a chat about what we wanted to do if we ever got to see the sun again."
Discord seemed slightly amused. "Why Celestia, it's odd that you would bring us here. What's the occasion?"
"I'm freeing you both. Twilight, I owe you enough that I don't think we need an explanation. Discord… This land needs a ruler."
He stared at her in shock. "Me? Where'd you get such a crazy idea?"
"You'll see." Her horn started to glow. "I hereby sacrifice myself for the sake of these ponies, whose souls have been stolen!" The wind picked up. The Statues and the reference guide started to glow.
Midnight looked frightened. "No, Celestia, you had better not be doing what I think you're doing!" She reached out to her.
Celestia was not fazed by the show of concern. She was encouraged. The spell was beginning to work. The previous Midnight would not have cared enough. Twilight Sparkle did.
Celestia's horn erupted in a flash of light that overtook the entire graveyard. The light was brighter than any day she had ever created. Nopony could see anything. Then the light faded.
"What in tarnation just happened?" Asked Applejack. She shook her head, as if trying to clear her ears.
"Applejack! You're okay!" Shouted Rainbow. She dashed forward and hugged her.
"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"You were killed!"
Twilight stood up. "We all were dead for a time."
Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were there. Behind them all was a tall, strong looking unicorn with a brown coat and a dirty blonde mane. His cutie mark was a scale.
"Discord?" They all asked. They stared in awe. No longer was his body made of a bricolage of body parts. He was now a whole pony.
"No, that's not my name. I am Accord. Spirit of harmony and equality!" He said with a hoof to his heart.
The pose was so strikingly un-Discord-ish that they all started to laugh. He gazed at them in confusion. "What is so funny? I say, stop this at once! This is most unseemly…"
Twilight turned to Celestia. She was flat on the ground, barely moving. Twilight galloped toward her. "Princess?"
Celestia coughed at the sound of her voice. "Twilight… My most faithful student… Welcome back."
"Princess! Why did you do this to yourself?" Accord and the others had seen what was going on, and had come over to look.
Accord knelt down beside her. "I am truly sorry, Your Highness. I never intended for the sacrificial spells to be used in the way that I used them."
She shook her head. "No. It is I who am sorry. I got Twilight to attempt the ritual… at your expense." She gasped for air. "I decided to use another ritual, one that sacrificed my life so that you and your friends could live on with normal lives. It will now take effect." She looked at Twilight, remorse unconcealed. "Twilight. You once said that you would rather die with your friends, than live forever with madness. I decided that I feel the same way." Her eyes glazed over. "I finally… get… to… see father and mother again." She smiled as life left her body.
They all turned away. There was a crowd gathering at the gate to the graveyard. At the front were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, still the most spry, athletic, and intelligent ponies in town, even though they were extremely old. Apple Bloom stood at the gate. Her eyes lit up when she saw her sister.
"Applejack!"