So this is one of the shortest chapters… sorry about that… :}
I do not own MLP:FiM
I pace the stone floor, unable to do anything else. Celestia and Luna have been unconscious for almost two days, now, and I have been speeding up the time in which the memories are playing. After what is probably 23 hours—though it seems like it has been an eternity—, Celestia stirs, her eyes fluttering before she jolts up, gasping for air. She peers around, trying to observe her surroundings, but she does not have much luck. The room is drab, to say the least. Barren, grey, a single, small window in a high corner of the room. Not to mention the giant, steel bars that criss-cross over the open wall. It is a cell, a dungeon, and Celestia and her sister are its captives.
She rises to her hooves slowly, shaking Luna awake gently without looking down at her sister. The blue pony shudders as her eyes flicker open, and she takes a much longer time to rise, her fatigue and fear evident. Celestia, her face lighting up with a combination of excitement and worry, whips her head around, breathing out with a sigh of relief as she notices her saddlebags are still on her, a comforting weight pressing on her left side from inside of one. The Elements of Harmony are still there. There is still hope.
"Sis? Wha-where are we? What happened?" Luna questions, her eyes wide and wet. She obviously knows the answer, but it is as if she wishes her sister to deny it. Celestia merely closes her eyes, bowing her head and confirming Luna's fears. She stifles a sob, hiccuping in the process, and Celetia, after patting her back with a single wing, moves to the gate, resting her head on two of the bars so her horn stuck out. She sighs, defeated.
"Discord," she grumbles, closing her eyes. "Discord. Why? You used to be my best friend, but, now, you're a monster. A cold-blooded, heartless, mon-" She is cut off when a gruff voice interrupts her, a hoof stroking her hair.
"Now, now," Discord chides, clucking motherly. "Don't be like that. I'm as warm-blooded as you or Luna, I assure you. I apologized for what I did, didn't I?" Celestia opens her eyes, tears pouring down her cheeks. The grey alicorn displays shock and guilt for a moment before disguising it behind a stoic mask.
"You... apologized?" Celestia whispers harshly, narrowing her gaze. "You think a simple apology will make things better? That it would, oh, I don't know, make me forget that you killed my parents?" The unyielding tone in her voice catches Discord by surprise, and he does not bother to try to hide it. "How dare you?" He strokes her cheek with a hoof, catching her in a yellow aura when she tries to pull away.
"Come on, Celly, don't be so dramatic," he sighs, shaking his head and removing his hoof, dropping his spell. "I know you're upset now, but you'll see eventually that what I did is for the better." Celestia glares at him at first, but, suddenly, a deadly calm covers her, and her face relaxes. She stares evenly at Discord.
"You're right," she replies softly, and one of his eyebrows raises in confusion. I suppose he did not expect her to agree, and neither had I. "I know I'm upset, but... it's like you did it for me, in a way." She takes a deep breath, tossing a quick glance over her shoulder to Luna, a glance that seems to say "Just go along with it." She faces Discord once more. "I'm sorry for... ah... saying I would kill you. I was just overwhelmed with emotion. I see why you did it now; it was so we could be together, if I am not mistaken. And... I want to be with you, Cordy. I really do. I—I can let it go. I can let them go. It's alright. Life will go on. I just want to spend the rest of mine with you." She swallows hard, meeting his skeptical eyes with sincere ones of her own. I am appalled, and I wish I could do something—anything—to knock some sense into her. But I cannot. I am useless here, much to my despair.
"I'm glad you see things the way I do," Discord replies, smiling grimly. "You're telling the truth, and I can tell. That spell I put on you? It was a truth spell. You passed my test. I'll let you and Luna out if you promise to keep an eye on her. She's capable of great and terrible things. Do you promise?" Celestia nods, mouthing the words "I promise" instead of trusting her voice. "Alright, good. Stand back." She wisely backs away, her eyes only slightly misty. He grits his teeth and bows his head, his horn glowing a brilliant yellow that surrounds the metal barrier. Within moments, the bars disappear in a puff of smoke, and Discord offers a hoof out to his childhood friend, and she accepts it automatically, Luna following behind. The scowl on her face proves that Celestia's actions are not just surprising to me, but it is not really of any condolence.
She has made her choice, and I can only hope she knows what she is doing.