Although he would never say it, this was undoubtedly going to be one of the most difficult things he would ever have to do. Shining Armour, one-time Captain of the Royal Guard of Canterlot, now a Prince of the Crystal Empire. He and his wife, Princess Cadence, had been sent word of a very special arrival to their Empire today, and both were waiting in anticipation of it. The crystal guards had been placed on either side of the great entrance to the palace, and they were now awaiting word.
Cadence, always attuned to her husband's feelings, took just one glance at him and gained a look of concern. His expression was hard, almost cold. She knew what was going through his mind, but she did not blame him for it. This was a very personal matter after all, and given the choice she would not have wanted him to go through this. Still, she did what she could, placing a hoof on that of her husband, gaining his attention. One look towards her, one look at the warm smile she gave him, and he was able to calm himself down, at least for now.
This quiet and tender moment was sadly interrupted by the bellowing of trumpets, leading to both royals now composing themselves as the grand doors creaked open. The guards on either side saluted in anticipation and Shining Armour looked on at the one who now entered the palace. Her multi-coloured mane flowing despite the absence of wind, she was the very picture of elegance and nobility. Princess Celestia, the one to whom Shining had sworn fealty to when he first entered the guard all those years ago.
The co-ruler of Equestria walked towards her adopted niece and her husband, smiling at both of them as she approached, to which the latter two both responded by bowing deeply towards her. Once the elder Princess was only a few feet away, she raised a hoof, giving them permission to stand tall again, which they did, and it was here that the silence was broken by Cadence.
"Auntie! It's so good to see you again!"
Celestia chuckled a little before replying.
"Indeed. I would have visited sooner, but circumstances required me to be elsewhere."
Cadence nodded at that and Shining would, under normal circumstances, have made his own little greeting towards Celestia. However, his eyes darted to one who now came into view from behind the white alicorn. When Shining's eyes locked on the creature that now approached, his blood boiled. It was, perhaps, the strangest-looking creature that anypony would ever see. A strange combination of snake, pony, goat, and all manner of other beasts. But upon it's face was a look of utter contempt for everything around it. Shining knew this creature well, though he'd never seen him before, and all knew his name.
Discord. The Lord of chaos.
When Shining had received word a few days ago regarding this person's apparent reformation by his sister, Twilight, and her closest friends, he'd scarcely believed it. After all, this was the very being who, barely a year ago, had almost brought Equestria to the brink of utter ruin. Twilight had sent him a letter shortly after she and her friends had first defeated him, to tell Shining about what he'd done. This creature had torn that group of friends apart, and his sister had been brought to tears over it. And though he'd since been defeated, his sister's letters made it clear that this pain had continued to linger within her.
What was worse was how Shining had felt about the whole thing. Twilight was one of the most important people in his life, and yet he had not been there to help her in what was undoubtedly her darkest moment. Nevertheless, though Celestia had said he was now "on their side", Shining still bore that intense dislike for him. But he had to hide it, at least for now. Celestia was right here, as was his wife, and he would never think of doing anything rash in front of them. So, he kept his composure, bowing for a second time towards Celestia in greeting. The Princess of the Sun nodded back at him before turning her attention towards the chaotic spirit.
"As you are both aware, Discord has pledged himself to the service of ponykind. And we will make good use of his abilities".
During all this, Discord had been preoccupied with amusing himself in what small way he could, such as juggling with his now-removed eyeballs. Needless to say, this was a disturbing sight for the other ponies, and one which earned him a scornful look by Celestia. Still, the elder Princess turned her attention once more to Cadence and Shining.
"We know that Sombra left a number of dormant traps and curses upon this place many centuries ago, and though many have vanished after his defeat, there are still those that even my magic cannot undo. So I have brought Discord here to use his power to do what we cannot".
Shining focused his attention on the spirit, who was at this point just twiddling his thumbs and waiting for something to do. The Prince looked over to Celestia and gave a small bow before speaking.
"Then I will bring him to the places that need attention, your majesty".
Celestia nodded at that.
"Very good. I will remain here and discuss matters with Princess Cadence. Make haste, Prince Armour."
Shining nodded in agreement with her before gesturing to Discord, who was now looking at the stallion with a look of utter boredom on his face. The stallion began walking towards the areas of the castle he knew were still cursed, and Discord hovered above the ground as he followed. If this request had been made by any other pony, Shining would have turned them down outright. But this was Celestia, and he knew better that to refuse an order from her. So he walked in silence down the hallways on the eastern section of the palace, which had been left abandoned until they were made safe again. Discord though was no fan of silence, and it wasn't long before the spirit began to try striking up a conversation.
"So...I hear you're Twilight's brother."
And there it was, the one conversation Shining did not want to have with this creature. He'd heard everything about how Discord operated with others, how he'd try and get under their skin. But Shining had prepared himself for this ever since he first heard of Discord's arrival in the Empire, and he was simply trying his best to ignore him. Discord thought was adamant, and clearly did not appreciate not having his words responded to.
"Silent type, eh? Not like your sister at all then. She would go on and on, quite annoying actually. I may be reformed but that doesn't mean I won't be up to my old way of life from time to time. Who knows? Maybe I’ll pay Twilight and her little friends a visit one day."
Despite Shining's best efforts, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Without warning, Shining spun around to face the spirit and, in a move even Discord felt was bold for a pony, used his magic to grab onto the creature's neck and slam him into a nearby wall. Discord, clearly taken aback by this unusually aggressive behaviour, looked on as Shining took a step forward. If looks could kill, Shining's eyes would have already burned a hole through Discord's head right now. The reformed spirit looked on in silence, but only for a few moments before a wicked grim broke out onto his face. To Shining's irritation, he began to chuckle.
"Oh dear. Touched a nerve, have I? Big brother here to leap to the defence of the fair damsel?"
Shining's eyes narrowed before finally speaking.
"Let me make one thing perfectly clear, spirit. I don't like you. You did things to my sister and her friends that will forever make you my enemy. Celestia, Luna, and maybe even Twilight might have accepted you as reformed, but that changes nothing".
Discord scoffed at that.
"Oh please. Given time, you ponies forgive every slight that's ever been made against you. I turned your precious Twilight and her friends against each other, and just a year later, here I am. Free and forgiven".
Shining looked at him with sheer hate in his eyes. Discord had, over the centuries, grown used to others looking at him in such a way, so Shining's anger was little bother to him, as evidenced by the faux yawn he then gave. This act just got Shining enraged further, and he tightened his magical grip on the creature's neck.
"Twilight may be willing to accept you, but I know her far better than you ever will. At best she's willing to tolerate you because one of her best friends believes in you."
At the mention of Fluttershy, arguably the only friend Discord would ever have, his expression became more serious for the first time in this entire conversation. The two stared at each other, Shining's eyes still ablaze with the anger he bore for the spirit, and Discord looking down at him with the same look one might give to a person who slapped them in the face. This intense silence carried on for a full minute before Shining broke it.
"Know this, monster. Forgetting what you did to Ponyville when you broke free, even putting aside what horrors you unleashed a thousand years ago, when all is said and done..."
Shining stepped closer, bringing his still-angered face within an inch of Discord's.
"...you made my sister cry. I will never forgive you for that".
The uncharacteristic seriousness in Discord's expression remained as he looked on at Shining. This was, perhaps, the only time anypony outside of the two Princesses had ever spoken to him like this. If it pleased him, Discord could have just waved a hand and crushed this defiant stallion then and there, or maybe turned him into a statue himself. Instead, he simply resorted to doing what he always did when such righteous people came his way. He laughed. Though it angered Shining no end to see his words brushed aside so casually by the spirit, he simply stood there and allowed him to carry on.
Once Discord was finished though, he raised his fingers and, after a snap, used his power to teleport by way of a near-blinding flash of light. Shining spun around to see the mischievous spirit reappear a few feet away, further down the hallway, with a look of bemusement on his face, causing a great deal of annoyance in Shining. Looking at the stallion, Discord spoke.
"Well then, now that you've got that off your chest, shall we get back to the matter at hand? No doubt Celestia wants this place in tip-top condition as soon as possible".
Although his dislike for the creature had not waned, Shining silently, and reluctantly, agreed with that statement. They had a job to do. And on top of that, it was quite clear that no amount of threats on his part was going to do anything to dissuade Discord from being anything other than he always was, a flippant, devil-may-care trouble-maker. Maybe Twilight and her friends could keep him on a short leash, and maybe Celestia truly believed he could do some good, but to Shining, he would forever be the one who brought his beloved sister to her lowest moment. That anger would last, and Shining knew it.
But for now, he just looked on as Discord, now bored with his escort, started floating down the hallway to their destination.
"Fear not, Prince Armour. Give it time, and I'll bet you'll just love having me around".
Shining's piercing gaze stayed locked onto Discord as he began to follow, and he responded in a voice so hushed that the latter could not hear.
"No, Discord...I don't think I ever will."