Rarity and co. walk towards the castle "Why do ya think Celestia wants to see us?"

Rainbow shrugs "I dunno, maybe she wants us to go on an adventure or something."

Rarity groans "I hope that isn't what this is about" I'm still on vacation from... 'Training'...

Luna stands at the gate, eyes shut and as still as a statue.

One guard, Silver Bolt, leans to his partner, Iron Forge "Why is the princess just... standing there... menacingly?"

Iron shrugs "She's been rooted in that spot since the shift change. Maybe she's reading the winds of fate or something."

Everyone stares as well, except the usual suspects.

Pinkie plonks up to Luna and stares up in silence, her usual smile not faltering.

Luna breathes lightly, and Rarity sighs "Luna, you've fallen asleep standing up again."

Luna snorts and opens her eyes slowly "Whuzzah? Oh, good, you're here... the sooner we get whatever Tia's got planned, the sooner I can sleep."

Rarity rolls her eyes and leads her friends after Luna

Everyone stares up at the odd statue, Luna yawning into her sister's wing "Why are we looking at Discord?"

Celestia gives Luna a weak smile "I know he was your friend, and now I'm going to do one of the hardest things I've ever done." her horn glows and the elements of harmony, held in Spike's bag, start to glow intensely, the lights washing over the statue's mismatched features.

Luna gasps and turns to her sister, tears in her eyes "Celestia... you're... freeing him?"

She nods and the light from the elements fade.

Discord moves slowly, as if moving through syrup "I have... awoken."

Luna smiles wide and rushes to give him a hug "Oh Discord! I've missed you so!"

Discord smiles weakly "And I you, my dear."

Luna shivers "You... you've lost your power?"

Discord frowns "Yes... it was sealed somewhere else... I don't know where."

Luna ponders this and Celestia walks towards the pedestal and smashes the name plate, pulling out a prismatic ball of energy "I... believe this is yours."

Discord winces and takes it, the ball exploding in a flurry of colors as his body regains definition and vibrant coloration.

He drops from the now ruined pedestal and stretches, easily dwarfing the ponies around him "I'm alive once more! Now... to give you my... gratitude"

Her pulls everyone, save Celestia, into a crushing hug of his own "Thank you thank you thank you..."

Luna smiles "It's good to see you alive old friend. I'm sorry I couldn't stop your... imprisonment."

Discord tuts "I know, and I don't blame you..." he sets them all down and approaches Celestia "Why did you free me?"

Celestia, her face impassive, looks up at him "I did it because it is right. I... I was an arrogant foal when I wronged you. I wish that whatever punishment you wreak upon me... is fair."

Discord snarls in disgust "Fair? FAIR?! You imprisoned me in stone for a thousand years! A millennium of isolation, petrified! The only thing keeping me half-way lucid being my own imagination! I spent most of that time devising ways to violate, humiliate, and expose you."

He cups her chin in his eagle talon "I should break your physical, mental and spiritual bodies, have you screaming, pleading for me to give you mercy and end your life. But I won't. I'll have your flayed skin nailed between two posts, stretched like rubber on top of your castle, immobile and exposed to the elements." he grins wickedly "Like a statue. The rain will wash away your tears of regret and anguish, your cries for death and mercy will be swallowed by the wind, your blood vessels cauterized but still dripping blood, staining the pristine façade of your home, where everyone will see you for the monster you truly are. Birds will peck at and eat out your lying, malicious eyes, maggots will worm into your exposed organs and buzz around you endlessly."

He lowers her chin "That should work for the first century."

Celestia shivers, fear choking her heart "That... sounds fair..." she lays on her chest, shaking like a leaf "Do as you want..."

Discord stares down at her, and sighs "I said should. I won't. You've punished yourself worse than the most horrendous punishments I could come up with. I still don't trust you, and I may never, but I wouldn't dare hurt the sister of my best and only friend. Now get up. I have to get something eat, I haven't eaten in forever!"

Celestia looks up in confusion "You... aren't going to... enact your revenge?"

Discord shakes his head "No, like I said, you've done that for me, and far better than I could ever manage. Lulu! Which way is the mutton hall?!"

Luna, who had dozed off after Discord started his rant, snaps awake "Wha- Discord, you're vegetarian!"

Discord smiles "I know, but seriously, the last thing I ate was a few handfuls of seeds."

Rarity watches her friends over her tea cup.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were obviously curious about the now free spirit of chaos and nature.

Applejack and Rainbow were having an eating contest, more food ending up on their chests than their mouths.

Twilight was still missing though. I wish I could talk to her about what happened... and with Spike too... we did act rather aggressively.

"Psst! Huntress! Boss wants you." Midnight Rose says from under the table.

Rarity nearly spits out her tea but recognizes the voice instantly "Midnight?!" she whispers "What are you doing under the table?!"

"Eating table scraps your friends dropped. And like I just said, Boss Mare wants you. There's a secret tunnel under the table that'll take you to her."

Rarity slides off the chair and ducks under the tablecloth. As advertised, Midnight was munching on half of a mango, something from Rainbow's plate "C'mon, the door's there."

A square of the carpeting was off to the side, the several layers of mortar and cobbles removed "How did you lift that?!"

Midnight points to a dimly lit symbol on the carpet "Gravity null charm, lowers the weight of the block. Trust me, it's something that only Luna's been able to figure out."

Rarity marvels at how talented Luna is before dropping down and onto a slide that twists past several others before depositing her on a cushion several feet from Luna herself, her eyes shut in sleep "Luna?"

Luna snorts awake and smiles "Ah, I see Midnight fulfilled her job. Good. I suppose you want me to..." she sighs, sorrow in her eyes "Tell you why Discord was petrified."

Rarity shakes her head "If he wants to tell me, he'll tell me himself. But I do have a question... he called you his oldest and only friend. How did you two meet?"

Luna sighs in relief "That's why I like you Rarity, straight to the point and gentle with your forwardness.

"We met one day when Tia and I had a fight and I was never so scared and lonely in my life. I was lost in what you know as the Everfree forest, and when I had almost given up hope... a bit of cotton candy fell from the sky."

"We had talked... well he did most of it, and I listened to him and I found that we were both outsiders... he had no idea what he was, or why he had the powers he did. I trusted him and when it was night, he helped me find my way home and..." she smiles, reminiscing "And from then on we met nearly every day. But one day, Tia had followed me, and admonished Discord for being a monster.

"Discord ignored her, as he had heard it before, but I... I was enraged by what she was saying. I knew she was wrong and when she had finished, I told her to leave. She didn't and kept her eye on me, making sure I never saw him again... but to no avail, Discord was too clever and created a pocket world that let us hang out for hours, and time passed slowly outside of it. He was and still is my best friend."

Rarity blinks "That... sounds like Spike, Twilight and I... almost."

Luna nods "I know, I believe that you are in the right to give him a chance, like I did with Discord; but admonished by our sisters. Spike and Twilight are siblings... I think."

Rarity nods "Yes... but I haven't seen her, where is she?"

"She is in my sister's room, reading. Reading about such similar situations to try to make sense of where she..." Luna bites her lip slightly, searching for the right phrase "Where she lost her way."

Rarity cocks her head and Luna smiles "She has... an interesting mind. Powerful, but as fragile as ancient spider silk."

Rarity couldn't stifle her chuckle and Luna laughed as well "We are not too different, you and I." Luna remarks, a glimmer of mirth in her eyes.

Rarity nods "Yes... but tell me... why did you imprison him if you were friends?"

Luna sighs "I did it so that Tia would respect me... it was Discord's idea, actually. I thought that I'd free him when she forgot about him but... our plan went awry. She didn't respect me any more than she did before."

Rarity walks over and pats Luna's back "But she does now, doesn't she?"

Luna nods "Yes... but at what cost? Most ponies are afraid of me, Discord and I both had to be imprisoned for a millennia... and while I forgave my sister, I don't think Discord ever will. He made attempts to befriend her, but she refused him each time. I know my sister is trying to reform... but how long will that take? Another millennia?"

Rarity shakes her head "She has you, and now possibly Discord. And don't forget about my friends and I. And maybe Twilight... if Spike and I can learn to forgive her that is."

Luna smiles "If I can forgive my sister for being impetuous and hard-headed, then you can forgive your friend for being stupid and blind. It's up to you how you lead her back onto the path."

"You're very wise Luna. You should be a therapist." Rarity says jokingly.

Luna rolls her eyes "Why do you think they call them 'Luna-tics'?"

Rarity looks up in shock "You're serious?"

Luna nods, smirking "Yes, and then some, but they are silly things, and I shall avoid talking about them."

Twilight closes her last book, dark bags under her eyes "I... I am a fool. How could I have been so foolish?!"

"You wouldn't be the first researcher blinded by their studies, Sparkles."

Twilight jerks her head up "Nopony calls me that except... Moondancer?"

The palomino-coated mare walks out from the shadows, her mane and tail long and dragging on the ground "Yup. Hey, hold still for a second."

Twilight cocks her head and Moondancer slaps her across the face "That's for not coming to my party."

"Part- ow!" another slap on the other side of her face "That's for not giving me the key to the library on the hill."

Twilight whimpers, clutching her face "What? What party?"

Moondancer looks down at her, her mane dulled from poor care "And this..."

She leans down and kisses Twilight on the mouth, stunning the violet unicorn "Is for leaving without taking me with you and ignoring the letters I sent you."

Twilight shakes her head a blush blooming across her face "Wh-what? I never received any..."

"Twilight! You've got mail!"

"Is it from the princess or my family?" Twilight shouts from the piles of books she was looking through.

Spike looks at the address "'Moondancer'? I can't believe we forgot about the party today..."

"WELL?!"

"No, not from them, but-"

"Then throw it away, I need to find that book on the elements of harmony!"

Spike shrugged and set the letter in the drawer he put things that Twilight didn't want but would need at some point and walks towards Twilight frantically searching the piles of books.

"Twilight! Mail!!"

Twilight looked up from her book "Is it from the princess or my family?"

Spike reads the sender's name "Uh... no, not somepony who falls into those categories. But I think-"

"Then throw it away. Come on, we need to get ready to deal with that dragon on the mountain."

Spike sighs and puts the letter in the new DHPTTDWPNASP (Drawer he put things that Twilight didn't want but would need at some point) and walks towards Twilight's frantic book skimming and packing.

"Mail!"

"Is it-"

"No! Just read it! It's perfumed!" Spike says, barely holding back the urge to name the exact fragrance (Trot Lauren No. 3, "longing lust")

"... Who would send me a perfumed letter? Probably Pinkie or Rainbow trying to trick me, toss it."

Spike sighs and sets it in the drawer, brushing snow from his claws "How much longer until you fix winter wrap-up?"

Spike sighs and pulls out the pile of letters, including the ones that arrived during Twilight's hospital stay during the "Pinkie sense" fiasco and Pinkie's birthday "Princess Celestia? Could you give these letters to Moondancer? I think she's interested in Twilight, and... you've seen how... she's changed, and not for the better. And you should've used No. 13: 'Sunrise', rather than No. 10: 'Fresh'."

Princess Celestia sniffs her dress and nods "Luna was right, I should've chosen that scent instead. And Spike would make somepony... or whatever it is he's into, a happy husband if he wasn't so obviously gay."

Twilight blushes brighter "Eheheheh... oops?"

Moondancer moves her bangs out of her face, her eyes glittering "No hard feelings on that front. I'm still cross that I never got word back until a few days ago, but then the Princess asked me to tutor you in the abstract science of love..." she lifts Twilight's head up with ease.

"Intimacy~" she huskily blows into Twilight's ear, making the latter's hair stand on end.

"And... acceptance..." She telekinetically slaps Twilight's cutie mark, eliciting a squeal.

Moondancer watches Twilight's flesh disperse the force of the slap "And get those extra 5.83 pounds off your barrel. I like plushness in the rear rather than the middle, personally..."

Twilight whips around "I am not fat!"

Moondancer smiles "I know, you're just a little pudgy. Don't worry, a few laps around the castle or some base jumping should knock them right off."

Twilight shivers "But I don't wanna~"

Moondancer puts a hoof around Twilight's neck "I never said you had a choice." her horn glows and in a burst of gold light, a violet saddle and harness are on Twilight's body, Moondancer already mounted with a riding crop in one hoof and reigns held in her magic "Well? Go!"

The crop slaps Twilight's rear and she shoots out of the room, her baser instincts overriding her higher thinking.

Moondancer's mane flies up, pushed back by the air, her tail streaming like a red and violet contrail "Best! Reunion! Ever!!"

Rarity stares at the mirror in front of her "So... this is a mirror to a different world?"

Luna nods "Yes. I wanted to tell you about this much later, but I think it best if you know of its existence. This is something that appeared shortly after I was banished. It is capable of being a door to different worlds, one of which is a reverse world where our 'evil doers' are heroes and vice-versa. Unfortunately, whilst I was banished, the Luna of the other world was a defected princess opposing her tyrannical sister whom... is actually too similar to my own sister for my... sanity." Luna shivers "But after I returned, it would stand to reason that 'Luna' would go to her sister's side, and wreak terror and destruction. In opposition is the benevolent King Sombra, and his kingdom. But even now, our Sombra, a scholar twisted by the very thing that changed me, slumbers in a hole in space-time, a tyrant of a kingdom of crystal and hatred. I wish to see him cleansed by the elements as well... but I'm afraid that he was consumed by the Nightmare, and is gaining strength from the part that once terrorized me. I can feel him stirring, the empire is coming back... and soon. Discord is immune to the Nightmare..." Luna sighs "I... haven't told you about that, have I?"

Rarity shakes her head "No, but you spoke of it a few times."

Luna nods and takes the mirror and several scrolls with her "I will explain in the Hunter's Brig... it's actually a Brig Sloop, but the former sounds better."

".. Oh my..." Rarity looks down from under the base of mount Canterlot.

Luna grins "Yes, I thought it the perfect place from which to launch a ship."

The large ship, hidden by a glamour, watches the land below, wood shining with strength and enchantment.

Three large sails on two masts are held far above the heads of the two current occupants. The figurehead is an imposing eight winged alicorn with three horns, one in the center and one on each side, giving it the look of a trident.

The interior is vast and Luna explains that it's alien in construction and Equestrian in the majority of its parts. Rarity held her tongue at the "Alien" bit and followed.

In the captain's quarters, Luna set the mirror on a hook and a number of clamps designed to hold it "Here the power of the moon's abilities are at your control, even if I'm not here to adjust it. A number of mirror portals are reactive to time and celestial alignments. Here in the ship, you can alter them within the space it occupies. Are you with me?"

Rarity nods, understanding "So it's akin to... a closed space?"

Luna beam "Exactly. The ship itself has a multitude of conditional engines, not just air and sea faring. The manual is in the desk and it explains what you need to know... when you need to know it, otherwise it's blank. As for weapons, it has twenty air cannons capable of blasting apart a cubic mile of thick storm cloud at maximum... or more. Four plasma cannons that can knock out most conventional vessel's machinery and also act as a tractor beam among other things when the frequency is altered. There are enough accoutrements for about twelve ponies or what have you. The navigation is currently on the default automatic piloting with voice commands and other means of navigational input."

Rarity holds up a hoof "When was this made? And how does all of this technology exist?"

Luna smiles "To answer your questions in order: Several hundred years from now, and alien plus future technology."

"Y-you mean time travel is possible?!"

Luna nods "Yes, but the means are too high above your current clearance. As is piloting the ship. I brought you here to give you an incentive. To strive to complete the tasks I give you or that you take upon yourself to do of your own volition."

Rarity pouts "Fine... 'Carrot and stick' me..."

Luna laughs and ushers Rarity out of the ship and back into the castle "Worry not, you will get the chance some time very soon. Now, I think it's time you made up with your friend."

Rarity swallows and follows, giving the ship a wistful glance "What's her name?"

"Trishula Blazing Heart. The first and last seraphim alicorn and the adopted name of the Mother Mare, the first pony who created our world. Come, I shall tell you the story when... well, hopefully not too soon."

Rarity and Luna walk towards the clustering of friends looking out of a window and into the statue garden, Discord included "What's going on?"

"The most surreal thing I've ever seen, and I look in a mirror from time to time." Discord says, chuckling at his joke.

Rarity and Luna look over the lip of the window and their mental functions cease due to the sight before them.

Twilight pants, sweat streaking her coat and mane, her tongue hanging out from under a bit. The bridle on her head limiting her neck movement and the saddle matching her colour palette, Rarity remarks to herself.

On her back, reigns held in her hooves and leaning forward with a grin on her face is Moondancer, giving instructions to Twilight while the latter grunts in affirmation.

Applejack breaks the stunned silence "Ah... ah want ta look away... but ah can't..."

"Y-yeah... hey, how many calories do you think she's burning? Looks like pretty good cardio and leg training..." Rainbow says, blushing "N-not that I think it's hot! It's just I don't burn a lot of energy bucking! CLOUDS! I meant bucking clouds."

Nobody listened and Pinkie, a look of confusion on her face, cocks her head "Well, when you've seen one pony riding another with a saddle and bridle in broad daylight, there isn't much else to see in the world."

Fluttershy, stunned silent, turns to Pinkie "Coming from you... that says something..."

Rarity nods "I had no idea that Twilight was so..."

"Athletic?" Spike supplies, the shock having worn off.

"Yes, thanks dear..."

Luna shakes her head "I was told that having personal transportation ponies was outlawed after the great warming. Ah well, times change. I'm going back to bed."

Slowly, the others depart.

Celestia walks through the hall and the sound of collapse grabs her attention "Hm? What's going- oh, I rember Luna doing that to help me prep for battle..." she looks at herself "... Never hurts to be prepared."

Author's Note

Well... another completed,

As you might be able to tell, this story is also about a deeper reformation of villains and forgiveness for past mistakes, but also accountability.

And the Good King Sombra was something I've wanted to use too and I think this is a good Segway towards a different ending.

Thank you for reading and please offer any criticism or comments. Good ones are welcome and helpful.