The title was a play on "the spark of the century". This event is essentially what causes the Centaurs and Equestria (and their allies) to declare war. There will be mention of this war in other stories so I thought I'd post this for some context. Hope y'all enjoy! Feel free to leave any suggestions below on what characters you'd like me to cover next!
Princess Twilight was reviewing her list of royal duties for the week in the throne room when Discord teleported in, almost frantic. He spotted Twilight and teleported right next to her. "I hope you're not busy," he started before she could say anything. "We have a problem." Twilight took a deep breath. She'd learned over the years that most of the time when Discord was worried about something, it was something related to Fluttershy or something he was simply overreacting about.
"What is it, Discord?" She asked patiently. "Did another dragon call you "weird-looking" or did a changeling do an impression of you that was too accurate?" She continued scanning her documents.
"I haven't heard from Tirek since he returned to his homeland." He blurted out. "He said he would write about his progress and the last letter I got was from right before he entered the Centaur Kingdom." He held out the letter for Twilight to read. She rolled her eyes and read the letter. Tirek had written about how he was nervous to enter the kingdom, to see his father again after he'd been exiled, and how he had heard rumors of his brother being locked away for being "a threat to the throne." But, he was determined to show his father that friendship had proven a valuable resource in Equestria and the surrounding kingdoms and all he wanted was for his kingdom to prosper.
"I... don't see the problem." Twilight said, handing back the letter with her magic. "Perhaps he's just busy talking to his father or the other centaurs, there's probably a lot of them he hasn't seen in decades since he was locked away in Tartarus." Discord floated in front of her and shoved her papers down.
"That doesn't make sense! He sent that letter three weeks ago!" Discord exasperated. "Something must've happened!"
"Well then why don't you go see for yourself?" Twilight asked, giving up on trying to read the documents. "Can't you just poof over there and make sure everything's okay?"
"I already tried that!" Discord spat, insulted. "I could only teleport as close as the outer wall! It's just like the old Changeling Kingdom. There's something blocking my magic. And I can't just waltz in there without my magic!"
Twilight thought for a minute before calling out to the guards at the door. "Spearhead. Could you retrieve Ichor and Domino?"
He bowed and gave a quick, "Yes, your highness," before leaving the room. He returned not long after with two creatures. One was a strange creature, about as strange as Discord himself. His head looked like that of a wolf, with horns curving around his ears, two paws as his front legs, two talons as his back legs, a large pair of black-spotted, white wings resting on his back, a short tail like a deer, was covered in leopard-like spots, and had a mohawk of black-and-white striped hair. Domino bowed respectfully.
The other was a hybrid of a dragon and a pony. He had claws for hooves, a long tail lined with sharp spines, two canines protruding from his top jaw, dragon-like wings, and thick golden hair that complimented his black scales. Ichor bowed in turn.
"Thank you, Spearhead. You may return to your station." The princess dismissed the guard and he returned to his post at the doors with a nod. "Domino. Ichor. You will be accompanying Discord and I to the Centaur Kingdom." The two guards stiffened and saluted. Twilight looked down at her papers and sighed before teleporting them to her office.
She walked down to the guards with Discord in tow. "Be ready for anything," she told them ominously. "Stay sharp." They both nodded and Twilight looked at Discord. With a snap of his claws, the four of them disappeared from the throne room.
In an instant, Twilight's stomach sank as they appeared in front of the black looming gates of the Centaur kingdom. As least six centaurs stood guard on top of the wall in full armor carrying an array of long-range weapons.
With a deep breath, she walked toward the gates. It didn't take long for a guard to notice them approaching.
"Halt!" He called out. "Who goes there?" Now the other guards were watching them, weapons at the ready.
"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle from the land of Equestria." Twilight called up to the guards. "This is Discord and these are two of my guards." She held up a hoof to each in turn.
"What business do you have here, Princess?" Another guard called down.
"We're looking for a centaur that came through a few weeks ago. A friend of our's. Tirek." Twilight explained.
At the mention of Tirek, a few of the guards began talking amongst themselves. They were out of earshot and Twilight was unable to hear what was said. She looked over to Discord, who looked like he was about ready to body slam the gates and rescue Tirek himself.
One of the guards galloped into a nearby tower. "We will allow you an audience with King Vorak. You are to leave immediately once your audience has ended." The gates began to rise slowly, the chains clanked sinisterly as they walked under the wall.
The scene before her was unlike anything she'd seen before. There were several groups of centaur soldiers trotting around the courtyard. In one corner was a blacksmith making weapons next to a smoldering furnace. Archers were conducting target practice on the far side of the courtyard. To their left was a group of soldiers surrounding two sparring centaurs as they engaged in hand-to-hand combat. They were escorted by four guards across the courtyard, past two large wooden doors, down several corridors and winding hallways and finally to a pair of double doors with gold spiraling across the wood in a beautiful design. The silver frames complimenting the dark wood.
The doors opened to a large throne room, nearly the same size as the Canterlot throne room. The room was lit by two hanging chandeliers and torches hung around the walls. Two sturdy guards stood at either side of the throne while a smaller and thinner centaur stood at the foot of the throne. Sitting upon the black and red throne was a centaur that looked nearly twice the size of Tirek. He sat comfortably in his throne, his posture straightening upon their entrance. His eyes intensely focused on Twilight. His glowing red eyes sent a shiver along her back. They were unsettlingly similar to those of Tirek.
"Princess," His voice filled the room effortlessly. "Discord." He said with disdain, as if his name left a bad taste in his mouth. "Why have you come here?"
Twilight had to snap herself out of her trance and cleared her throat. She bowed respectfully before responding. "King Vorak, we have come seeking your son, Tirek." The large king's eyes narrowed at the mention of Tirek. "We haven't heard from him in a while and were getting worried."
"That traitor is no son of mine." King Vorak spat leaning forward. "You should be lucky that he disappeared." He said, leaning back into his throne.
Twilight's ear twitched. "Do you know where he is, King Vorak?" She asked him, growing suspicious.
"If I did know where he was," the King began, his eyes narrowing at the Princess. "Why would I ever tell you? It is my responsibility to oversee the prisoners of my kingdom and to bring them to justice. I take care of my kind." He folded his hands in his lap as he looked down at her with disdain. "It would do you good to do the same."
He looked to his guards and shooed the visitors away, scoffing and muttering under his breath as they walked out. "Making allies with other creatures to hide your own weaknesses. Pathetic." She heard him spit out the last word as the large doors slammed behind them.
They were escorted back through the courtyard and outside the castle walls in silence. When the guards had finally left earshot, Twilight looked over to Discord, determination shining in her eyes. "He's in there. I don't care what it takes, we will free him." He smiled mischievously as they disappeared in the blink of an eye.
