Charred grass crunched under Celestia’s hoof as she stepped outside, her ethereal mane untouched by the breeze which carried the ashes of the city to her.

“Quite the sight, isn’t it?”

“Hello, Discord,” Celestia said without turning.

“Now, now, is that any way to greet your brother?”

Celestia snorted.

“What? Luna and yourself call each other sister, despite your lack of relation; surely I deserve to be called brother just as much.”

“We have nothing in common, Discord.”

“Oh, really?” Discord smirked, floating over next to the alicorn and resting his chin on the back of his mismatched hands. “We aren’t so different, you and I. We’re both geniuses. We both have nearly unmatched power. We have nothing in common with those who came before us, or those who came after.”

“There will be more ponies,” Celestia said, straightening.

“Oh, of course there will be more ponies. But no more ponies like you.” Discord stroked his beard with his paw. “Of course, I have always thought of you as more of a horse anyway.”

“What do you want, Discord?”

“Who says I want anything?” Discord lilted, floating up higher into the sky as he looked down onto the ruins of the city below. “Well, other than to enjoy the view.”

Celestia scowled. “There is nothing here to enjoy.”

“Isn’t there?” Discord waved his claw at the city. “It is beautiful, in a horrible sort of way. The city has some real ruin value, don’t you think? Not unlike the Colosseum, or those ancient cities in the desert. Why, future generations will come to see the ancient cities and marvel over their architecture, never dreaming of what they looked like when they were still, you know, painted.” He leaned over to nudge Celestia with his elbow. “Burned concrete and melted steel will be all the rage in a few centuries.”

Celestia sighed as she turned her head to survey what remained of the once-great metropolis. Many of the larger buildings had collapsed, but a few still stood, steel frames and broken concrete jutting up into the hazy sky. The smaller buildings had been completely destroyed, their shattered remains strewn across the scorched streets, plastic signs with bold lettering jutting out of the rubble here and there, still advertising what wares lay buried beneath the broken stone. Torn bits of white foam and pink insulation danced in the wind, lending color to the the omnipresent haze of gray ash.

“It is beautiful, in a way,” Celestia admitted grudgingly, “But that does not justify what you did.”

“What I did?” Discord cast one misshapen hand over his heart. “Surely you don’t blame me for all this.”

“You put it all in motion. You told them how your power worked.”

“My power? Lest we forget, Celestia, your own power is not so different, miss ‘I can make the Sun rise in the morning and set at night.’”

Celestia stamped on the ground, sending up a small puff of ash as the burned grass disintegrated underhoof. “I did not teach them how!”

“But you were planning on it, weren’t you? I merely beat you to the punch.” He looked out at the blasted landscape, rubbing his chin with his talon. “Though I must admit, I did expect them to be a bit more creative.”

“What did you expect?” Celestia snarled, “Once one side went all in, everyone else had to follow or else be destroyed.”

“Did we ever find out who first discovered they could make it rain fire instead of chocolate milk?” Discord asked, tilting his head.

“No.” Celestia shook her head. “Does it really matter?”

“Well, I think it matters greatly. It is hardly my fault if someone else misused my power, after all. I didn’t teach them.”

Celestia’s head fell as she frowned down at her gray hooves. Her horn ignited for a moment, flowing of her coat, carrying away the motes of ash and scattering them into the air. “What do you think, grandfather?”

“Oh, sure, ask him what he thinks. He always sides with you, you know.” Discord stuck out his tongue.

“I made you to be better than us. My opinion doesn’t matter; with us dead, the world belongs to you.” The old man stepped forward on wobbling legs, his lined face wrinkling as he looked away from the colorful foals playing in the mouth of the cave to the smoldering remains of Seattle. “I may have created my successors, but they are your little ponies now.”