Discord could feel himself waking up. It was a sensation not unlike that of an arm falling asleep, but it was his entire body. He'd felt this before. When he was released from his stone prison. Discord cackled in delight. Finally, a chance to get back at those six goody four horseshoes.
He felt the prison crumble around him and collapse. He was blinded for a minute, but this didn't bother him, he had plenty of time. Discord fell to one scaled knee, and grunted. He sat there for a few seconds, getting his bearings, before he quickly opened his eyes.
“I'm back Equestr-” He stopped suddenly. Around him was not the beautiful garden (which he had planned to make into licorice) but instead a lifeless husk of it's former glory.
“I must have been in stone longer than I thought. No matter.” Discord said, shrugging. But there was something else wrong. He couldn't put his claw on it though. He finally looked beyond the garden. If you had asked him if he would've ever been afraid, he would have laughed in your face. He'd been shocked and angered sure, but never frightened. He was now.
Beyond the garden, Equstria was a burnt cinder. “Dear sweet Celestia.” Discord stammered seeing the country he loved (to make chaotic) burned to a crisp. “W-What happened? Where is Celestia? Where is Luna?” Discord almost screamed. He whipped his head around, trying to find any sort of life. He found none. The garden hadn't been touched in years. The tall bushes were burnt and scorched. The other statues that had kept Discord company in his sleep all lay crumbled and broken.
There was a deafening silence, allowing Discord to hear his thumping heart. The normally billowing flags hung limp at the top of their poles. The ones that weren't burned off that is.
Discord stumbled over thoughts in his head, before he cautiously called out, “C-Celesia? Where are you?” He cried out like a small colt looking for his mother. A small breeze drifted by and carried his cry into the burned distance. The maze that he'd tricked the element bearers in was black and covered in soot. It seemed like just yesterday.
Discord turned and saw the castle. It's once grand towers had snapped off like toothpicks as the wave of fire. It's ivory white marble was scorched and cracked. Discord, forgetting that he even had magic, stumbled and dashed towards the castle. “Please be there, please be there, please be there.” He stuttered as he dashed past burned trees and blackened gazebos, all of which hadn't been touched in hundreds of years. Discord ran through the grand doorway into the castle. The doors were blown off, and smoldered. Seeing the state of the castle did not raise Discord's hopes, as he dashed down the long hallways. The stained glass murals had all melted, and were now tiny colorful puddles on the blackened royal carpet. The doors leading to the throne room were still intact, but blackened and burned.
Discord slammed into the doors, causing them to crumble to the ground as oppose to opening. Inside the burned out remains of the throne room was Celestia's throne. The pews seemed to have been tossed about like a rambunctious filly had been playing with them. And there, sitting on her scorched throne, was Celestia. Her burned blackened corpse still had the golden tiara in it's head.
Discord mumbled incoherently to himself as he slowly stumbled his way to her throne. He tripped over his own tail, and collapsed in front of the ruined throne, silently sobbing. He tenderly reached out and attempted to stroke Celestia's torched bones. The crumbled into ash beneath his clawtips.
“No! No! No!” Discord screamed as he tried to catch her ashes from floating away. “Why?” He whispered as he looked at what was left of the regal alicorn princess in his claw. Then he asked a better question. “How... how?!” He asked first in a mournful voice, then that of pure rage. “WHO DID THIS?” He screamed, releasing Celestia's ashes to flutter and blow in the gentle breeze which seeped from the smelted windows. His deafening cry was met by an unbearable silence.
Discord jumped up and dashed, transitioning between all fours and two legs, out the castle. He was once again met with the torched landscape. Then, he saw Luna. She was standing alone in the garden. She hadn't been there before. Discord cautiously walked towards her, not believing she was even real.
“L-Luna?” He asked hesitantly. Princess Luna slowly turned around, revealing her blackened face. Her mane was burned off, and her crown was crooked. But that wasn't what made Discord hold back screams. It was that her eyes were gone. Burned right out of her skull.
“Who's there?” She asked frightfully. Her legs quivering, as she backed up.
It took a second for Discord to realize she had spoken. “Luna, i-it's me, Discord.” He said, happiness in his voice that he had found at least one princess alive.
“D-Discord?” She asked grievously. Discord nodded his head, then remembered that, that wouldn't matter.
“Y-Y-Yeah, it's me Lu-Lu.” He said, using her old nickname, tears coming to his eyes. She was in a horrible state.
Luna stood, not believing what was happening. Then, all at once, she screamed in sorrow, and ran towards him, tackling him to the ground and weeping tearless into his coat. She screamed and cried in mourning, as she finally let out all the emotion she had kept bottled for a thousand years.
Discord hugged her close and whispered softly in her ear, tears streaming down his face. Her sobs died as she grew hoarse. Discord gently used his magic to grow her mane and fur back. There was nothing he could do about the eyes. She didn't even notice that her mane was now blowing in the soot filled air.
“Luna, please tell me what happened.” Discord asked pleadingly.
Her cries changed to hiccups as she attempted to explain everything she remembered. “I-I-I d-don't know.” She said hoarsely. “I w-w-was with Celly.” She said, hiccuping more at the thought of her sister. “We were in t-t-the throne room, w-w-w-hen...” She trailed off.
Discord shook her gently. “When what? Please tell me Lu-Lu.” He asked softly.
Luna's voice cracked, “When there was a bright light. I... I cast a spell on myself. But Celly... It was too late. The light was so bright... so bright. Then, I-I couldn't see Dissy. I heard her scream. I've never heard her s-scream like t-that before. I-It wasn't p-pain. It was s-s-sorrow.” She stopped talking, and pushed the side of her head into his belly, “She's dead Dissy, she's dead!” She wailed. Discord stroked her head, and looked around. The sky was an angry orange and red mixture. The world was stuck forever at dawn.
“Shh, it's okay Lu-Lu, I'm here. It's okay.” He hugged her close, as he gazed around the new broken world. “It'll be okay.” He whispered, more for himself than her. “It'll be okay.” They sat there for hours, holding each other, and crying. “It'll be okay.”
----One month later----
“Are you sure ready?” Discord asked carefully.
Luna took a deep breath. “I...I think so.” She hesitantly replied. They pair stood on the balcony hanging from Celestia's room. Luna's horn glowed bright blue, as the sun slowly, ever so slowly, dipped down. Then, with a sudden burst of willpower, Luna's horn flared, and her moon, the one she hadn't seen in a thousand years, arched into the sky, bringing night for the first time in a thousand years. Discord smiled, and patted Luna on the back. “I-I did something special.” She said quietly.
Discord looked up, and saw the stars shining bright in the dark sky. He looked closer, and saw Celestia's smiling face, gazing down upon New Equestia. Luna couldn't see it, but she could feel it through her beloved stars. The stars she had missed so much. The stars she hadn't been able to raise in over a thousand years due to the grief, and reminders of what had happened.
Discord smiled lovingly at her. “It's beautiful Lu-Lu.” He said. His chaotic side was still there. But through extreme power of will, for the past month, he'd suppressed it and dominated it. He smiled again, “It'll be okay.” He said warmly, as he hugged her close, and gazed up at her stars. They sat there on that balcony for hours, stroking and caressing each other, as they overlooked New Equestria.
As long as he and her lived, there was hope.
Hope for a new unforgiving world.
Hope, for New Equestria.
