To Love is Chaos

by Emperor

Rating: teen
Tags: Nightmare Moon, Romance, Discord, Sad, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 10726

After being banished, Nightmare Moon finds she is able to talk with Discord, also sealed away. The two despise one another, but talking with a hated foe is better than endless monotony. Over time, the two fall in love, up until tragedy strikes.

Upon being banished to the moon, Nightmare Moon found that she was able to communicate with Discord, also sealed away as a statue.

The two despise one another, but compared to an endless monotony, even two hated foes would rather talk with one another. Over time, Discord and Nightmare Moon begin to fall in love, right up until tragedy strikes.

Day 5 of my Self-Imposed 31 Fics in 31 Days Challenge. Also written for Monthly Shipfics.

Art by LunacordLover, used with permission.

Published 2016-08-06 17:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-08-06 17:50:02 UTC

The Only Chapter

Nightmare Moon scoffed as she saw her sister remove the six gems that composed the Elements of Harmony from the receptacle they had built years ago. Her sister thought the Elements would actually work?

Hah! Nightmare Moon had been the bearer of Laughter, Honesty, and Loyalty, all things Celestia was not. Celestia had not enjoyed a prank in years. Celestia certainly could not be called honest, not with the way she had wheedled and pushed others into treaties that worked to ponykind’s benefit. And Celestia most certainly was not loyal, given the way she had pushed her sister aside over the years. There was no way Nightmare Moon’s own Elements would work for the other alicorn.

Well, no more. Celestia was not going to last the night as ruler of the sun. Nightmare Moon allowed her elder sister to fly up, the six Elements swirling around her.

Nightmare Moon didn’t hesitate as she fired a beam at her sister. She had struck Celestia once before, knocking her to the castle ground below. This one would permanently remove her from the fight.

The Elements fired back.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened as her blow was stopped by the Elements. She grit her teeth and redoubled the force of her magic, attempting to overpower the divine magical artifacts.

The power of the Elements pushed back.

How can this be?! Celestia should not be able to use all six at once! That was the last thought Nightmare Moon had as the power of the Elements of Harmony overwhelmed her. She could feel her form and mind being transformed, changed on a ethereal level.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” She screamed. Within seconds, Nightmare Moon felt herself being carried away, banished not from the castle, not from Equestria, but from the very planet itself.

Comprehension was slow in coming. At first, she thought she was locked away in a void, where the very idea of the passage of time was meaningless.

It took time, but her vision soon cleared. It took seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries, but at last Nightmare Moon understood what she was looking at.

The planet itself.

She snarled as she realised what had happened. The Elements, in their so-called wisdom, had decided Nightmare Moon was not even fit to live on the planet anymore. Instead, she was to be locked away in the body she had been tasked with raising and lowering.

Nightmare Moon would have gnashed her teeth, had she a body to work with anymore. Instead, she was in an odd form of stasis, incorporeal and incapable of looking away from the world below. She could ‘close’ off her sight, but she was terrified that eons would pass before she reopened them.

It took several days, but Nightmare Moon could admit to the cruel irony the Elements of Harmony had inflicted on here. Up high here on the moon, she was forced to watch as both the sun and her own moon were raised and lowered every day, completing a full revolution around the planet each time. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, from this distance she could not see individual cities, let alone ponies: merely the planet’s geographical features. The only other proof that time was passing other than her revolution around the world was the drifting of clouds across the untamed parts of land and the ocean.

She groused. It would take time to find a way to defeat the Elements of Harmony. They were not all-powerful. Nightmare Moon knew that for a certainty. One way, she would defeat them, or the spell holding here would lose its power.

Fortunately, Nightmare Moon had nothing but time.

‘Well well well, how curious.’

Nightmare Moon woke up with a start. It wasn’t quite accurate to say she had ever been truly ‘asleep’, given her eyes were always open and faced at the planet below, but she had been able to learn how to quell her mind and give herself a mental rest. The rest of her ‘body’, as it were, operated on autopilot, always watching the planet, always watching the stars.

‘Who’s there?’ Nightmare Moon barked, aware that this was a mental communication. Only a few beings were capable of doing such a thing. Then again, it was also only those same beings who were like able to reach her on the moon here.

‘Oh Luna, I’m so disappointed you don’t remember me.’

‘I don’t go by that name anymore!’ She said back, snarling as much as was possible in a telepathic conversation. 'I am Nightmare Moon!’

‘Nightmare Moon, Schnightschmare Schmoon, I always did think Lulu fit you better.’

Nightmare Moon froze. There had only been a few ponies who had dared to use that nickname, and even fewer who were still alive. Celestia was one of them. The other...wasn’t even a...pony…

‘Discord?’ She thought-whispered, praying to the memory of her dead parents she wasn’t right.

‘Got it in one, my dear Lulu! Well, what do you win?! Let’s see, I’d give you a hand, but it’s a little bit hard right now. Get it, hard? Because I’m still locked away in stone, no thanks to you and your sister, so my hand is hard as well!’

Despite her fear of Discord, Nightmare Moon couldn’t help but let out a thought-snort of disgruntlement.

‘Oh, don’t think I didn’t hear that, young lady! Just be thankful, because you are so not grounded. Get it? Not grounded, because you’re not anywhere on the ground of the same planet as everyone else.’

That, however, Nightmare Moon couldn’t let pass. Despite the very real possibility Discord could do more than just talk to her, she growled at him. ‘Oh, and look who’s acting so high and mighty himself? Thought he was unstoppable, told us to give it our ‘best shot’, and then got turned to stone in one blast. The great Spirit of Chaos Discord, brought low by some shiny rocks!’

There was silence for a few seconds, but Nightmare Moon knew she had stunned Discord with her comment. Sure enough, after the few seconds passed, he began to sputter, before finally regaining coherence.

‘Oh, the audacity, the indignity you pour upon poor me! Why would you say such a mean thing to harmless little ol’ me, Lulu?’

‘I told you, my name is Nightmare Moon! And I certainly wouldn’t call you poor, but a boor, certainly.’

This time, there was raw anger, pure, unfiltered over the link Discord had somehow created between the two. ‘Fine! If that’s the way you’re going to be, then so be it, Luna! I tried being nice, but if that’s the way you’re going to be, I won’t bother. Have fun with your exile. I’m sure you’ll love it, being locked up in a statue has been so thrilling!’

A pressure suddenly disappeared from Nightmare Moon’s mind, so slight she had not even noticed it until it was gone. Unfortunately, Discord had left her mind so abruptly she was incapable of figuring out what he had done, in the hopes of blocking him from doing it again. Nightmare Moon attempted to frown. Though she had no lips with which to curl downwards and no snout to scrunch, she tried the motion nonetheless. No go.

Nightmare Moon settled for refocusing her gaze on the planet and the stars beyond. Here was to another day of planet-watching. Fun.

‘Well well well, I wonder if you’re up for talking this time around.’

Now that she knew it could be done, Nightmare Moon was not quite as surprised to hear Discord. Still, she was thankful she had no physical form, for she was certain she might have otherwise leaped right about now.

‘Somewhat,’ she thought back grudgingly. ‘How have things been going down there?’

‘Oh, splendidly! Your sister has decided to move court from the Everfree Castle to Canterlot!’

‘What!?’ Nightmare Moon growled out. ‘How dare she? That bitch and I agreed upon the Everfree centuries ago, and now she wants to move to that hornhead town? What madness has possessed her?’

There was a twisted amusement that Discord was not even bothering to hide. ‘Oh, I know, I know!’ He agreed. ‘The Everfree Forest was such a delightfully entertaining place of chaos. Imagine, plants actually growing on their own and animals able to take care of themselves! Oh, it was always so much fun to see you ponies freak out at something as simple as weather patterns acting independently of their influence.’ He sighed wistfully. ‘Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to see much, but you might be curious about what I have!’

Nightmare Moon attempted to act coy, but it was obvious to both that she was starved for news. ‘What have you seen?’

‘Oh, once your sister started to build her new castle in Canterlot, she had my statue loaded up in a carriage. I just happened to be loaded looking up, and what should I see but your beautiful moon!’

‘Beautiful?’

‘Why, of course! Nowadays, your very visage is in the moon. They call it the Mare in the Moon now, though most think it’s just deep craters that create a distinct image. I must say, the Elements of Harmony have a really delicious sense of humour. For most ponies, it means nothing. For your sister, however, it’s a nightly reminder of what she had to do.’

Nightmare Moon let out a giddy squeal at that last bit, before shutting herself off. Well, at least her sister would have to suffer every night when she looked at this so-called ‘Mare in the Moon’ Discord spoke of. Celestia always had been so soft. Doubtless that bitch cried herself to sleep every time she had to raise the moon and see her sister’s image once more.

‘Oh yes! Speaking of which, the common ponies have come up with a new word to mean madness. When a pony goes nuts, coocoo, loco in the roco, out there, not quite right, if you know what I mean-’

‘Get to the point, Discord,’ she said. She wasn’t in a mood for his games.

‘Oh poo, you’re no fun, Loony. In any case, a pony that snaps and falls apart, they start to say she has ‘lunacy’, or she’s gone lunatic.’

Nightmare Moon paused.

‘Your sister seems to have been doing a quite good job of wiping your entire memory from existence. You’ve gotten your wish, Princess. No longer are you known as ‘Luna’, that name doesn’t seem to be mentioned anymore. Now, it’s always ‘Nightmare Moon’ this, ‘Nightmare Moon’ that. Pretty soon I expect only immortals and historians to remember you existed as Luna, younger sister of Celestia, always overshadowed by her.’

Nightmare Moon mentally hissed. Don’t let him get to you, don’t let him get to you, don’t let him get to you, she chanted it to herself until it was near a mantra.

‘Of course, that wasn’t always correct, was it? Used to be that you two each wielded three out of six of those stones. But in the end, it seems Celestia didn’t ever need you, considering she was able to use all six of them at once to send you for a time-out to the moon.’

That’s it! She thought. ‘Well, at least everypony will look up at me every night and see me. They may not know who I was, but they’ll at least see a reminder of Nightmare Moon. You’ll be relegated to a garden as a statue, forever unable to escape. Years from now, you won’t be used as a history lesson, but as a mere curious ornamental piece for tourists to pose next to.’

Discord fired back, At least they’ll know I existed! The chaos I caused in my early years can’t ever be forgotten by any species! You’re a mere curious geographical feature in the moon. Within centuries, you’ll be forgotten completely, the Mare in the Moon nothing more than a shape in ponies’ eyes like the Gemini or Leo constellations!

Nightmare Moon sneered. At least it’s night time half the time in Equestria. When it comes to chaos, it seems things have been thoroughly unchaotic all the time.

She bit back a curse as she felt the pressure was gone from her mind. She hoped Discord had heard that last salvo, even though she knew the coward had fled before she let it loose on him.

‘I’m sorry.’

Nightmare Moon would have done a spittake if she had water in a physical throat right now. As it was, she was stunned long enough that Discord was able to continue speaking without interruption.

‘I don’t like you, you don’t like me, that’s obvious. I want a land of unlimited chaos, you want nighttime eternal. But that last time, I think it was uncalled for for me to say some of those things. I, I think we need to be better than that, because I believe we’re both stuck. Neither of us will ever be free.’

She shook off her speechlessness, and said, ‘What makes you think that?’

Discord sounded tired. ‘It’s been several hundred years since the two of you sealed me, and over a hundred years since you were banished to the moon.’ Nightmare Moon filed that last tidbit away. ‘Without you around, those Elements should no longer be as powerful. Yet I haven’t felt my stasis getting any weaker as time passes.’

That was bad. ‘Truly? But you’re Discord, Spirit of Chaos! You should be able to find a way out.'

There was a flitting sense of amusement, before it was gone. ‘Heh. I wish. Unfortunately, I’ve been searching, and still nothing. Instead, over time, I’ve worked on what little magic I could exert even while petrified. Being able to communicate with other creatures who are locked away in stasis by spells has been one of them.’ Nightmare Moon felt something that she could only interpret as a mental shrug. ‘Most other creatures are in too deep a sleep to chat with. The only other exception I’ve found is a pony to the north, but he’s stark-raving nuts and keeps talking about crystals.’

‘That would be King Sombra. That’s only what the fool deserves for his attempt to hide away from us,’ Nightmare Moon said. ‘And so I’m the only one you can talk to who isn’t a madpony. So what?’

Discord sighed. He couldn’t have made the actual motion, petrified as he was, but it was still audible through the telepathic link he had been able to establish with her. ‘You and I are able to talk with one another, alright? The only entertainment I get is the occasional pony walking around the garden here. Nopony specifically comes to visit. I’m guessing for you it’s even worse. So what I want, I guess, is to be able to talk to one another without getting hostile.’

‘So a truce, then?’ Nightmare Moon asked, immediately deducing what he was asking. ‘That we attempt to be, ‘cordial’ to one another, because otherwise we’ll both be bored?’

‘Something like that,’ Discord agreed. ‘Luna, talking to you beats trying to count the number of needles on the three in front of me. There’s a hundred and seventy three thousand, six hundred and fifty nine, for your information, unless some fell off while I was counting or more grew out,’ he added.

‘I didn’t need to know that, and my name is Nightmare Moon, not Luna,’ she said, disgruntled at Discord’s use of her old name. ‘But I can see how your idea has merits. I, too, have grown sluggish on the moon here. As my sister rotates the moon around the planet every day, I have been able to watch the planet.’

‘Ooooh, can you see close-up?’

‘No,’ Nightmare Moon admitted. ‘I cannot even see the cities. All I can see is the geography, writ large: the mountains, the plains, the desert, and the ocean. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I can see some changes. The clouds spontaneously generate by themselves over the oceans and other lands no species has tamed. There are occasional hurricanes large enough for me to spot. During the winter time, I can see much of the land being blanketed in snow, only for it to melt. Over many years, I have even been able to see the course of rivers being diverted, and lakes shrink and swell.’

‘Sad, just sad.’ If Discord could shake his head, Nightmare Moon was certain he would be doing it right about now. ‘You’ve gotten so used to your current status, Luna, that you’ll grasp at anything to entertain yourself.’

‘I’m not Luna,’ she said, half-heartedly. Discord, however, had struck true with the aim of his jibe. The view of the planet had been lovely for the first few times she had spun around it. Now, however, Nightmare Moon was sick of it, and was desperate to get off the moon again so she could take over Equestria.

‘I don’t care what you call yourself to me, you’re still Luna, or Lulu even,’ he teased. ‘But it sounds like you need something, anything.’

He sounded thoughtful. Nightmare Moon was about to respond, until she heard the sound of fingers snapping. She would have scowled if she could. Ponies had no fingers of their own, and minotaurs and other creatures with multiple fingers or talons were rare in Equestria, so she had grown to associate that sound with Discord, and his reign over Equestria.

‘I know! I’ll tell you a story.’

‘A story?’ She asked, amused.

Discord’s enthusiasm was unabated. ‘Of course. I’ll have you know, no matter what you think of me, I still learned and remembered a lot from the time before you ponies were able to keep written records again. This is an oral tale passed down from generation to generation by an Earth pony tribe, in the far north, before the Windigos appeared. This is the story of Beomaire, she who slew two trolls and a dragon to protect her people, becoming queen in the process…’

‘So, why did you decide to take over Equestria, anyways?’ Nightmare Moon asked one day. ‘There were all the other nations in this world, yet you focused on us, on ponies.’

She had been astounded at how quickly the two had fallen into a good relationship. Discord’s attempts to break the ice had gone off marvelously, as he told her the tale of Beomaire. Nightmare Moon found she could sympathise all too easily with the young Earth pony mare’s struggles, as she herself had fought tyrant after tyrant after tyrant when she was younger. That Beomaire had finally died after killing the dragon that threatened to destroy her homeland was an interesting parallel to Nightmare Moon. She had been relegated to the side by her sister, and even after a lifetime of protecting her ponies, she had been shunned and eventually ‘killed’ in a sense by her own tyrant.

Upon hearing the tale, Nightmare Moon insisted that Discord tell her more about the tribe that had spawned Beomaire, and he obliged. She found herself liking the Earth pony tribe he described. Nightmare Moon had been a warrior before she had ever been a ruler. As a young alicorn, she had gravitated towards the pegasi, even as her sister had joined the hornheads, learning under Star Swirl the Bearded.

It had given her cause for reflection in the off-periods when she and Discord weren’t conversing. Neither of the sisters had given the Earth ponies much of a fair shake, mostly ignoring their plight during the age of the Windigos. Guilt gnawed at her heart. Perhaps, had she done more to help the Earth ponies while a princess, she would have at least one third of the pony race loyal to her.

What was done was done now, but Nightmare Moon had decided she would make an effort to integrate the Earth ponies better when she returned. Part of that would be giving them their own stories to tell, and helping them to understand a richer, more glorious past than they otherwise knew of. The tales of Chancellor Puddinghead were hardly inspiring, given she had achieved little in life but to become the leader of the Earth ponies for a short period of time, and died from obesity, a rare thing among ponies. Beomaire would be the first story they would learn.

All Nightmare Moon had to do was cajole Discord into understanding that culture and history was an important thing for the ponies to have.

‘Well, I suppose if I were to condense it down to a single sentence, it was fun.’

‘Fun? Fun?!’ Nightmare Moon sputtered. ‘Our ponies suffered for many years because of you. We lost generations of development, and the three tribes nearly fell apart again. Star Swirl died trying to stop you!’

There was another mental shrug. ‘I suppose. If you want a more nuanced answer, I suppose it’s because you ponies were special. You have that group mentality that other races simply lack, which makes it so easy to incite chaos. I’ve dropped rattlesnakes among a cow kine and gotten hilarious reactions, but even that pales next to what a herd of ponies will do when there’s something even slightly out of place. And cows don’t attempt to control the land and the weather like ponies do, either. I detested the pegasi especially for that. Weather should be allowed to form on its own!’

Nightmare Moon paused, and thought. Perhaps she could do some good here.

‘If you were to ever break out again,’ Nightmare Moon, and she hoped that the ‘if’ was a superficial clause, ‘Perhaps we can come to an agreement there, too?’

‘An agreement? Pah! I love chaos! How could you ever expect me to stop?’

‘I’m not asking you to stop,’ Nightmare Moon said, carefully weighing her words, ‘But perhaps, to control it more? Make it less destructive, and go for merely disruptive?’

‘...What do you mean?’

‘Ah, instead of, I guess, destroying homes and buildings with lightning, perhaps change rainclouds so that they rain, say, orange juice, or even chocolate milk? And maybe make your clouds out of cotton candy? Turn the roads into soap that ponies will slip on, instead of swamps that will suck them in?’

Discord’s response was quick, ‘Oh-ho, Luna, you crafty mare! A few more years and I’ll get you thinking like me yet!’

Nightmare Moon held her tongue. She had attempted to get Discord to call her Nightmare Moon instead on many an occasion, but still he insisted on using her old name. She had decided to concede that battle, and focus on a different one.

The draconequus was silent for a few more minutes, but she could sense his thoughtfulness. At last, Discord said, ‘I suppose I can try. But! Even I can’t control my chaotic magic completely, or else it wouldn’t be chaotic. If I ever get free again, it will lash out on its own. Equestria must be prepared to deal with that. You managed to live in the Everfree Forest for many years, chaos elsewhere should be easy to handle.’

‘What about appearing in other countries, too? If you grow bored, there is more than just Equestria.’

‘I suppose I can do that as well,’ Discord grudgingly conceded. ‘Griffins, minotaurs, zebras, and other species have begun to organise more and more over the years, if the presence of diplomats from actual nations is anything to judge. They will be full of order that needs a little chaos.’

Nightmare Moon supposed that was the most she would get from him today.

‘Well well well, who’s a nice pretty little lunar mare today, yes you are, yes you are!’

‘Discord!’ Nightmare Moon barked. She accepted the compliment anyways, demeaning as it was. She had ceased to be ‘little’ quite some time ago, as she eclipsed other ponies and even most of her horse cousins.

‘Now, now, Loony, you know I love you,’ Discord thought, lazy amusement obvious through their link.

Nightmare Moon responded with a mental image of her stomping her hooves and huffing.

‘You’re so fun to tease, honestly,’ Discord said.

‘Perhaps I should tease you instead,’ Nightmare Moon said, and she purred.

‘Eep!’ Discord let out an audible squeak, unprepared for that.

She sent a hint of smugness down the line.

‘Ooooh, you listen here, missy, you’re in for a good spanking when I get ou-’ and then he stopped.

Right. It was always a downer to be reminded of that. Despite the amount of flirting the two traded on a daily basis, and the ways they had been able to stretch the power of their telepathic link to send mental nudges and cuddles, it was always frustrated by their inability to be physically intimate. The Elements of Harmony truly were cruel, locking each of them away for an eternity, forever unable to actually touch.

Nightmare Moon hated the Elements for that.

‘Now, now, Dissy,’ she said. ‘Perhaps it’s time I showed you who’s truly the top pony around here.’ She let out a growl, mustering as much sexiness as she could behind it.

Discord gulped, but she could feel his sudden depression fading away as he welcomed her aggression with a new enthusiasm.

'Show me what you've got, Loony-poo,' he teased.

Nightmare Moon fumed. Now that was just a step too far for a cutesy nickname.

‘You know, you were wrong.’

‘Hmm? About what?’ Discord asked, sending a warm nudge of affection along their link.

‘About us never being able to escape,’ she said.

‘What?! You found a way?’ Discord asked excitedly.

‘I think so. I’m not sure yet. I’ve been doing the calculations in my head. Without a physical quill and parchment to write it down on, I’ve been having to memorise the numbers, and it has been tedious.’

‘That’s not important. If you need to, ask me. I can help you with that, I think in different ways from you ponies and can do calculations near instantly,’ Discord said, almost tripping over his words with excitement. ‘Never mind that, how?’

‘The stars,’ said Nightmare Moon. ‘When the stars align just right, I will be able to use their power to break free of the moon and return to Equestria.’

‘That could work,’ Discord said. ‘Have you figured out in general when the stars should align?’

Nightmare Moon told him.

Discord laughed, mirth obvious through the telepathic link that bound the two.

‘What’s so funny?’ she asked.

‘Oh, just the odd ways that destiny works sometimes,’ Discord said. ‘You are less aware of the true passage of time as I am. If your numbers are correct, then you shall be returning to Equestria on about the thousandth year since you were first defeated by Celestia. Who knows? Perhaps you might even return to the very day of the anniversary, during Equestria’s Thousandth Summer Sun Celebration.’

‘The Summer Sun Celebration?’ She asked.

‘Yes. Essentially, the longest day of the year, when all the ponies stay up past their bedtime through the night to see their precious Princess raise the sun.’

Nightmare Moon growled. ‘Well, she won’t be raising the sun this time. I’ll make certain of that.’

‘You plan to subdue your sister when you’re free?’

‘Yes,’ Nightmare Moon confirmed. ‘Perhaps I’ll banish her into the sun. Won’t that be an ironic punishment? You’ve told me as much, there have been few wars since our battle. My sister will be sluggish, lazy, and out of shape from all the cake she eats. Our fight will be over in minutes, especially if she is as weak-hearted as she was then. The Elements won’t save her a second time.’

‘She might not even be able to see anything either, you know,’ Discord mused. ‘The sun shines brighter than the moon. Perhaps all that light will blind her completely from being able to see anything else. Celestia won’t be able to see the planet, or even the other stars like you did.’

Nightmare cackled at the thought of that. ‘What delicious irony. She won’t even be able to see when the stars align like I did. Truly splendid.’

‘But what will you do after you defeat Celestia?’

‘What else?’ Nightmare Moon asked rhetorically. ‘I’ll come find you, Discord. The Elements might be powerful, but once I exert my energies upon your statue, even their power won’t keep you locked away. You and I will need to talk about how to reconcile our approaches, but I would have you as my Prince of Chaos.’ She purred at that thought.

‘Woah, not so fast their, Luna,’ Discord said. ‘Break me out first, then we’ll talk about m-marriage.’

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. ‘Stallions.’

She could feel it. Her presence upon the planet loomed large. Senses she had forgotten existed long ago were returning to her. Her physical body was being reformed, no longer held in stasis by the Elements’ power. The blues, greens, browns and whites of her homeland gained clarity as she no longer saw it with her mind’s eye, but, for the first time in a thousand years, her true eyes.

Nightmare Moon could even taste again. She could taste her freedom. It was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted.

‘It’s really happening?’ Discord asked, surprise, but not shock radiating from his mental presence.

“Yes,” Nightmare Moon said, and then her eyes widened. She had said that word, not through telepathy, but with her own mouth, using tongue, teeth, and vocal cords to guide the sound, and lungs to supply the air. ‘Yes, it is,’ she thought at Discord. She didn’t bother to hide the excitement.

‘How long until it’s complete?’ Discord asked.

‘Within the hour, I’ll be free once more to bring about eternal night,’ said Nightmare Moon. ‘Once I’ve subdued my sister and Equestria, I’ll come to free you. Together, you and I will rule Equestria and bring about a new silver age.’

“I promise,” she said aloud.

‘I promise.’

Nightmare Moon cursed. How could this have happened?! When six mares had gone into the Everfree Forest, she had written them off as a mere spectacle, ponies to toy around with and toss aside once she was tired of them. It was to her fatal miscalculation, as they had gotten all the way into her castle and found the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon had thought them inert, dead from the magical spells they had been holding active for a thousand years, and had shattered them.

The light from the accursed Element of Magic, that which had banished her so long ago, was blinding. Nightmare Moon recoiled from the light. The purple mare was saying something, but Nightmare Moon barely paid attention, rapidly trying to think of a way to escape this situation.

Then the Elements reformed.

She froze as the power of the Elements combined together, forming a rainbow. There was no escape, she realised.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad this time. After all, the Elements were split between six mares, each of whom had truly earned their Element. Instead of being banished to the moon, maybe Nightmare Moon would finally be at peace with herself. She relaxed, and decided to accept the spell.

Then she felt the Elements pulling away at her memories of her time on the moon.

All her memories of endless monotony, watching the planet as the moon rotated around it.

All her memories of her raging at her sister, Celestia, at the foolish ponies who had shunned her beautiful night, all her plans for revenge.

All her memories...of Discord.

Nightmare Moon tried. She tried so hard, but the Elements were relentless. They were going to wipe the slate completely.

“NOOOOOOOO!!!” She screamed as the rainbow beam surrounded her, pulling out all of her memories and then purging them completely.

Unconsciousness was a blissful salvation.

Luna woke up.

“Now if only another will, as well. Princess Luna…”

She looked up.

Celestia was walking towards her. Luna let out a gasp and cowered against the floor.

Her elder sister bent over, and said, “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.”

Behind Celestia, all of the ponies gasped in surprise, and several of them said, “Sister?!”

Luna looked up at her sister, and saw warm, inviting eyes. “Will you accept my friendship?” Princess Celestia asked.

Luna blinked away tearful eyes. She looked at the floor as she stood up, and shuffled her hooves a bit.

It was no decision to make. “I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!” Luna said as she rushed up to her sister. The loss of her own magic had shrunk Luna down to a size she had not been since she was a filly, and it was a struggle to nuzzle her sister’s neck. Celestia bent over slightly to make the motion easier for her.

Luna felt happy. She was at last at home where she belonged, returned home from the soon. What was more, whatever divisions there had been between her and Celestia seemed to have healed with time. Celestia was making the effort to share her rule once more.

So why did Luna feel as if something was missing?

Something was wrong. The moon had gone down, and the sun had risen.

What’s going on, Luna? Discord thought to himself. Had she been defeated? He didn’t think there was any possible way she would voluntarily lower the moon on her own. Luna had never been one to listen to the words of others when she had her mind set on something, even before she had turned into Nightmare Moon and subsequently exiled to the moon.

It didn’t take long for him to get verification, however.

NO! He hollered. This time, however, there was nopony to share it with. Only Discord could hear his own scream, as he witnessed the royal carriage crossing the sky.

Princess Celestia was obvious, with her white coat and her flowing of mane colours. Standing by her on the carriage, however, was another mare.

Another alicorn mare.

It had been over a thousand years since Discord had seen it, but the Cutie Mark of the crescent moon against a patch of mottled black fur was unmistakable.

The possibility that Luna had betrayed him was immediately discarded with a vengeance. He had very briefly seen Nightmare Moon’s form, and he knew how large Luna was before she had turned. In both cases, the Princess of the Night was far larger than she was now, coming up to her sister’s height. That she was so tiny now meant she had likely been stripped of much of her magic.

No, this isn’t that bad, Discord thought to himself. Luna had been stripped of her power, sure, but Discord had been a statue for over a thousand years already, longer than Luna had been sealed away in the moon. He could wait a little bit longer for her to recover her power. Perhaps she would have to avoid visiting his statue for some time, so as not to draw Celestia’s suspicion. He would wait. Even if Lulu had been legitimately ‘reformed’ to her sister’s side, she would remember all the talks they had while she was on the moon. Once Luna had freed him from his prison, he would do his utmost to convince her to usurp Celestia again.

Then they would rule over Equestria once more, and this time together, as they had decided so long ago.

Time passed, and the seasons changed. The deep summer turned into an autumn of rich, brilliant colours, which in turn gave way to a short white winter.

Every so often, Discord would catch little peeks of Luna as she flew through the Canterlot airspace. With every passing week, the mare seemed to gain back just a little bit more of her magic, and with it, another centimetre to her withers. Slowly, Luna began to fill out, as she once again came to possess the natural beauty that had driven many a stallion and even a few mares to despair.

Soon, he thought. Soon was the day that Luna would come to free him, and together, they would dominate Equestria. There had been some light discussion about the rest of the planet, but they had decided to pass on it. For Luna, she had already been bogged down running Equestria, and it would take some work to reconcile her and Discord’s different visions for Equestria. There was no need to add the messy burden of the rest of the planet to the picture.

Yet, even as he thought these thoughts, he could feel the seal holding him weaken. Discord wasn’t entirely sure why it had decided to weaken of all times, but he had a theory: Luna breaking out of her own seal had weakened the other stasis created by the Elements, the constant petrifaction spell he was underneath. No matter that the very Elements themselves had been reactivated since: they relied on bearers to wield them and supply them with Harmony, which they had already used up in defeating Nightmare Moon.

It was all conjecture, of course, based on what little bits of information he had overheard from ponies talking around his statue. It was truly frustrating: Discord had grown so used to being able to communicate with Luna that a mere few months of relative silence was already beginning to gnaw away at him.

Fortunately, it also gave Discord time to think. If Nightmare Moon had been defeated by the Elements of Harmony, then perhaps Luna’s desire to take over Equestria had gone with it. If that was the case, once he was free, it might be even more difficult to reconcile her desires for ruling Equestria ‘side-by-side’ (yuck!) with her sister with his ambitions for an unfettered land of chaos. But they had been able to muddle through while locked away in their respective prisons. Discord was certain they would be able to come to a compromise again, even if Celestia decided to be a no-fun party-pooper.

Oh, what was this? A new class of foals was coming along, guided by a teacher mare with a coat resembling purple grapes. Discord added grapes to the list of things he’d be eating once he got out, and cheered. Maybe this would be the group of chaotic fillies and colts that would finally see him free.

Discord sighed as he took his first step in over twelve hundred years.

“Oh, yes, that feels good!” He said as he put his arms behind his back, then looped them around his front side and then to his back aside, cracking every tendon and joint in a single sound that would have been disturbing to others, but was music to his ears.

“And my voice! Oh, all those poor ponies, going so long without hearing my amazing, sexy voice. Well, have no fear, because Discord is back, and so is disco, baby!” Immediately, he put on purple-tinted sunglasses and an all-white suit of pants, coat and tuxedo.

“No, enough of that,” Discord said, and his disco clothing disappeared. “Luna first, then everyone else second.”

It didn’t take long for him to hone in on where the Princess of the Night was. She was in the castle, where she appeared to have hidden away most of the time, only going out briefly for flights, usually at night. Popping into the room she was located in, Discord hid himself away from her senses, staking out the room first.

It appeared to be Luna’s bedroom, if the night motif was anything to go by: a crescent-moon shaped bed, a blanket with stars in it, a door with moon-shaped handles and a full moon painted between the two doors, and a rich mix of medium to dark shades of blues and some white mixed in for good measure. Discord rolled his eyes. Talented Luna was, but she lacked fashion sense. She need a dose of chaos in here!

The mare in question was at a desk, unsurprisingly crescent-shaped, furiously reading away at a book. Discord took a quick look, and saw it was a text about some obscure war that had happened five hundred years ago.

He let out an exaggerated yawn, and Luna froze up at the sound of somebody other than her in the room. “Really, Luna, reading about some boring old conflict? That’s no fun at all.”

“Who’s there?!” Luna hissed, immediately turning around, only for her eyes to bulge as far as equinely possible when she saw him. “Discord? What are you doing out of your statue?!”

“Oh, you know, just brewing up a big ol’ storm of chaos,” he said, smirking. “Wouldn’t some cotton candy stormclouds and chocolate rain be just what you ordered?”

“No, it’s not what I ordered,” Luna said, backing away, only to stumble into her table. She immediately teleported two feet back behind the table, giving her more room to continue treading back. “How did you escape?!”

Discord frowned. “Well, somepony was supposed to help me, but as it turns out, whatever you did when you escaped from the moon was enough to weaken the effect of the Elements. All I needed was a little more time after, and one schoolfilly fight later here I am, in all my glory!” Quickly, he did a twirl around. As he did, his body suddenly flashed a bright light, with a short skirt and tight dress that exposed his midriff forming around his legs and torso, along with a choker on his neck and white gloves on his hands. “So, how do I look?” He asked, hefting the wand that had also appeared over his neck.

“Are you making a mockery of me?” Luna asked, eyes still wide.

Discord frowned. Something wasn’t right here. What was it?

“No, wait, you said somepony was supposed to help you escape? Oh mother and father, it was me, wasn’t it?” Luna asked, edging further away from Discord. “Nightmare Moon was supposed to help you escape your statue after she finished taking over Equestria.”

The pieces clicked. “You lost your memories?!” Discord asked, astonished.

“I did,” Luna admitted. “Everything from when I first turned into Nightmare Moon, I don’t remember a single thing. I don’t know what deal you made with her, but consider it forfeit!” Her horn glowed.

Discord immediately reached out, stretching his arm over a dozen feet to squeeze Luna’s horn. The alicorn mare let out an indignified squawk as her magic was shorted out. “Wh-what are you doing?” Luna asked, looking even more fearful than before.

Discord didn’t know. Of all the things he had thought about since the time Nightmare Moon had been defeated close to a year ago, it had never occurred to him that Luna had lost her memories of her time on the moon.

He panicked as the look of fear on Luna’s face grew even wilder. He, he hated that face. It hurt him deep, to see her scared of him. “I can’t have you interfering,” Discord decided out loud. With a snap of his finger, he warded off Luna’s room, and with another snap of his finger he blocked her magic. “You won’t be able to leave this room, not until I come back,” he told her as he removed his hand from her horn.

“Wh-what?” Luna asked, and attempted to channel magic again, only for it to fizzle out. While she still was afraid, she also looked confused.

“I’m going to take over Equestria again,” Discord told her.

“N-no, you can’t! Stop, Discord!” Luna demanded.

Discord didn’t listen to her as he teleported away.

As he landed back outside in the garden, he fell down to his arms and knees. “She doesn’t remember? She doesn’t remember? She, she doesn’t remember?!” Discord repeated, unable to comprehend what he had learned.

He felt his heart tear in two. Literally, as he looked down, and opened his chest up, removing his heart to find it in two pieces. Discord trembled as he repeated the words in his head.

“I did. Everything from when I first turned into Nightmare Moon, I don’t remember a single thing. I don’t know what deal you made with her, but consider it forfeit!”

Discord grit his teeth. It had started small. The two enemies had decided to chat with one another, hoping that it would be better than for each of them to exist in a dreadful state of boring monotony. Slowly, over time, Discord fell in love with the Princess of the Night, flirting with her, mentally cuddling her, and getting to know and understand her past, her personality, her quirks, all that was Luna.

He supposed that in the unbounded potential of chaos, it was possible even for him to know love.

And now it was gone. Luna didn’t remember all the years, centuries they had spent talking.

Discord made his mind up. “If you don’t remember me, Luna, then it doesn’t matter. I’m still going to take over Equestria, for you. And once I have, I’ll smash those Elements and make you remember me.”

If only he could convince himself that that was what Luna would have wanted as well.

Hours later, Discord was pleased with the chaos he had already sowed. With Luna already disabled, that only left Celestia and whatever other possible strong ponies there might be in this day and age.

Peeking in on Celestia, he saw her with a group of six mares walking towards a room. Oh, that can’t be any good, he thought, and he popped in ahead of her.

Briefly, he took a look around, and raised an eyebrow. To the one side, there were multiple stained windows. “Oh Celestia, you shouldn’t have!” He said in a lackadaiscal giggle as he saw the window with him in it, but there was little heart behind it. Not after the way Luna had rejected him.

Discord shifted his attention over to the next window, and raised his eyebrows. Six mares each sent up a beam of light in the artist’s depiction, with the six beams combining to attack Nightmare Moon. “No, this couldn’t be…” Discord immediately thought of the six mares standing outside the door, and he put the pieces together quickly.

He spun around, and saw the vault at the end of the room. Celestia had done an impressive amount of spellwork, but nothing could stand up against Discord, Spirit of Chaos, once Prince-to-be of Equestria. It was foal’s play to steal the six Elements he found inside.

At last, the other door opened, and Discord hid away in the stained glass window depicting his own noble image. He waited until Celestia gave him an opening, and then let out a deep, booming laugh that practically echoed throughout the room.

“Make sense? What fun is there in making sense?”

“Ahahahaha!” Discord laughed uproariously as he saw pies falling from the sky. He was always good for a witty visual rhyme, even if all the ponies around here were so close-minded that they would never get it.

A cloud floated next to him. Holding out a glass, he let the container fill up from the top down to the bottom. “Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing!” He said as he held up the glass to his lips to take a sip.

His attempts to drink a sip were interrupted, however. “Not as wonderful as friendship.”

Discord looked over to see the cast of six ponies who wielded the Elements of Harmony. To his surprise, they had all regained their colour, and no longer appeared discorded.

“Oh, this again?” He asked. Quickly, he gulped down the glass, and threw the solidified chocolate milk behind him, causing an explosion as it landed.

He listened as the ponies went on their sappy tirade about friendship, ignoring most of what they said. At last, he stood up, and said, ‘Just make it quick. I'm missing some excellent chaos here.’

Discord could have easily stopped them if he so desired. There was no way they could handle every member being teleported to separate ends of the globe. If he had truly wanted to win, he could even have dropped the Elements at the bottom of the ocean as soon as he stole them.

But he simply didn’t have the will to take over and rule. Causing chaos wasn’t fun anymore without Luna by his side.

At the last moment, Discord figured he should probably add some theatrics as the friendship laser honed in on him. He changed his pose ever so slightly so at least he could see better if they put him in the same place in the garden anymore.

“What's this? No! NOOOOOO!”

“I liked it better my way, but I guess when you're friends, you can't always have things exactly your way all the time, eh?” Discord surveyed the landscape of Sweet Apple Acres. Discord had had fun with burying the orchard under ice, but it had soon faded away. His heart simply wasn’t into random chaos anymore.

The six ponies in front of him smiled as they looked at one another, and nodded as a single entity.

It wasn’t long until Princess Celestia came, too.

“Yes, Princess, I'm ready to use my magic for good instead of evil,” Discord assured her, before muttering in a low whisper, “Most of the time.”

Princess Celestia merely gave an exasperated sigh at that last bit, but he could tell she was otherwise happy as she turned to the other ponies, and said, “Congratulations on your success, ponies. I definitely sense a big change in Discord.”

Of course there is, you nitwit, Discord thought. I didn’t change for you. The young pegasus mare, Fluttershy, had made an effort to get to know him. It was something that would have never happened in the time before he was originally sealed away as a statue. That most ponies alive didn’t remember him helped, but Fluttershy was different. She had been directly, forcibly discorded by him, and still she attempted to get to know him and become his friend.

Even then, Discord might have spurned her friendship, but then he remembered Luna. Sweet, sweet, Luna, the mare he had talked with for nearly a thousand years, she who had given him hope again even as he despaired at the thought of being trapped for eternity.

Luna might not have memories of him anymore. Discord, however, still had his memories of her. He would treasure them forever, and he would honour them by making friends with other ponies.

This is part of your legacy, Luna, whether you know it or not.

“I am surprised that someone with your intellect does not see this 'friendship' is but a new form of imprisonment. Clearly you've had to abandon your true nature to stay in their good graces.”

Discord played the harp, his angelic image complete with a halo floating over his head. Inside, he seethed. How dare Tirek even attempt to manipulate him?! The centaur’s mere voice oozed slime. It was all Discord could do not to smite Tirek right here. “I have done nothing of the sort!” He said as he threw his harp away. Awkwardly, he cajoled the halo into flying away as he realised it was still above his head.

Lord Tirek took his chances. “Oh, please, I've seen this before. But he was always weak minded.” Immediately, he walked up to Discord, pointing at him, and said, “You are Discord, you are legend, you cannot fall into the same trap that claimed my brother! Help me to grow strong, and be rewarded with something far greater than friendship….Freedom.”

Discord’s eyes widened at the way Tirek pronounced the last word. The centaur had been putting what he had for charisma to good work, motioning his hands every which way, and occasionally even pressing up against Discord to make his point.

But Tirek wasn’t finished yet. “Once I've stripped these ponies of their magic, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see their world turned upside down. Who better to do so than the master of chaos himself? Join me, Discord, and reclaim your greatness. Unless, of course, 'pony errand boy' is the role you've always wanted to play in this world.”

Discord swallowed. Tirek had struck deep at his ego, the one thing that for Discord was inviolate. He looked at the desk he held behind him, where there was a picture of himself and Fluttershy posing together.

Fluttershy had always been a weak link. She was a nice pony to be around with, always calm and gentle, and she had defended him against the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Yet it wasn’t enough. He had attempted to make friends with others, but everypony else scorned him. Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle merely tolerated his presence. Princess Cadance was a little more free-spirited, but she had made it clear to Discord not to bother her when she was busy, which was most of the time in her duties bringing the Crystal Empire up to speed. The other Elements had run away the one time he tried to cajole them into social activities, even if he had been somewhat heavy-handed. Even the few historians he had visited, certain they would enjoy hearing about his own perspectives of the past, had trembled in his presence.

It was for Luna that he had always held himself back from causing true chaos. It was for Luna that he followed the silly creed of harmony.

But then, what had harmony done for him, but to steal away from Discord the only other creature he had truly loved?

He sneered. Harmony, your days are numbered. This was the price harmony would pay for wounding him far deeper than any amount of time as a statue would.

“Tirek, you have a deal.”

Discord sighed as he waltzed into his house, walking along the ceiling. Turning the light off, he did something he didn’t even know was possible for him: he wept.

Twilight Sparkle had forgiven him. Fluttershy had forgiven him. Princess Celestia had forgiven him, and Discord had given her flowers in turn.

But every time he looked at them again, Discord could see it in their eyes.

Forgive, but don’t forget.

It would take him a long time to work back into their good graces, even Fluttershy. After the incident with the plundervines and then this, Discord was treading on thin ice, and if he fell in, he couldn’t just make it better with his magic. He would have to put in the effort to make up with them. And...and…

Perhaps...perhaps he should forget about Luna.

He pulled his curtain, installed at the bottom of his window, down, to take a glance outside. Suddenly, the chaos of his surroundings, allowed to run unconstrained, didn’t seem appealing anymore.

Discord paused, as he felt a tug on his senses. One of the Princesses was attempting to summon him. Most likely it was Princess Twilight, wanting to know something or another about chaos magic or what he knew about the Tree of Harmony. Perhaps it would be Princess Celestia, curious about the bouquet, or wanting to scold him some more fur his escapades with Tirek.

Well, there was no time like now to make amends. Offering little resistance to the tug, he followed the summon back to its origin point in a brief flash of teleportation. He reappeared in a large room with furniture that had silver and gold varnish. Definitely the castle in Canterlot, then: the new castle in Ponyville had been sparse on furniture when it appeared earlier in the day.

“Discord.”

Discord froze at the voice, full of ice even as the speaker had only said one word. Slowly, he turned around to face her.

“Princess Luna,” Discord greeted her, fighting hard to keep his voice straight. Please, not here, not now, he begged. Unfortunately, he was Discord. There simply was no maker god who could grant him salvation now.

“It occurs to me that we have not chatted once since your reformation,” Princess Luna said, as she began to pace around the room in a light trot. “While it is true that we have not sought you out, you seem to take delight in tormenting our sister. Yet you have avoided us. Why is that?”

She even was using the Royal We. Discord held his emotions away from his face. He even repressed the parts of his magic that he usually left to drift on its own, but would also consequently reveal his general mood and emotions. It wouldn’t do to show Princess Luna that he was scared of facing her.

Instead, he lied. “I have my reasons. Needless to say, your sister is so much more amusing to get riled up as opposed to you. So is lil Twily, now that she’s all grown up and an alicorn Princess,” he said, donning the same fancy wings and crown he had used earlier during his gag on Twilight Sparkle.

Luna cocked her head. “You do not believe we are a fun target? We would have thought you would have pursued the opportunity to bully us, for what we did twelve hundred years ago in sealing you away.”

“Perhaps,” Discord conceded. “But you would be a, er, a low-hanging fruit, as the modern ponies put it. It would simply be too easy to make fun of you, play pranks on you, and for the things I could do to you, most of it would derive from you adjusting to modern customs and feeling like a social misfit. It would be mean-spirited of me.” He sighed, and added, “And of late, I’ve begun to realise being mean-spirited isn’t always fun.”

“Is that not what you do to Twilight Sparkle at times?” Luna asked. “I have heard about her attempted day off with Cadance.”

Discord scoffed. “That’s different. Twilight Sparkle is so wound-up. She can’t handle even a slight change to her schedule and her precious plans. She needs to learn to lighten up. You and your sister, you have your days planned out for you, but you can tolerate changes. You especially. After all, you were the Element of Laughter once, Lulu.”

“What did you call me?!” Luna suddenly asked.

Discord froze up. He hadn’t meant to, he really hadn’t! But the nickname he had grown into calling Luna when she was Nightmare Moon had slipped out so easily.

Luna continued pacing and talking as Discord stood, a spectral cat suddenly appearing and tearing his tongue out. “Lulu? It has been some time since I have heard that name be used my anypony but for my sister. Of course, most of them have been dead, since I was gone for a thousand years on the moon. I suppose I have not let anypony else in enough to call me with such a familiar nickname.” Suddenly, Luna stopped walking, as she turned her head around to face Discord. “It occurs to me that you have called me that before as well, back when we fought twelve hundred years ago.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. Even though he was in a situation he didn’t like to be, he felt he had to point it out. “Oh my, losing the Royal We so quickly, Luna? All I did was call you by a nickname.”

“D-Discord!” Luna squawked, cheeks reddening slightly.

He smirked. How it hurt to see Luna flustered so easily, yet she didn’t remember a thing about him. “Something like that, I suppose.”

“Yes, something like that. I suppose I can tolerate that,” Luna conceded. “That’s what I called you here for today, in any case. Oh, but one other thing.”

“What?” Discord asked, crossing his arms. Even if it was Luna, he still didn’t like his time to be wasted over such a frivolous thing.

Luna suddenly hopped up, and kissed him.

It was a quick, sloppy kiss, and Luna was obviously out of practice, if she had ever been skilled at it. But what blew Discord away, sending him down onto a knee, was the sheer passion behind it.

“Wh-wha?” He managed to muster. He looked up at Luna’s eyes, only to be almost floored by what he saw there.

Familiarity.

Luna remembered.

“When?” Discord croaked.

“I suppose a few good things came out of Tirek’s rampage,” Luna said. “Twilight Sparkle finally had the opportunity to come into her own, even if it was a very dangerous gamble on my sister’s part which I still do not agree with. But also, down in Tartarus, the magic of the Elements becomes weak where the influence of the Tree of Harmony cannot reach, and I was astounded to see memories of my time on the moon return.” She sidled up to Discord, and nuzzled his neck. “You don’t know how many hours I’ve waited to be able to do that.”

“Just your memories?” Discord asked, wanting clarification.

Luna frowned. “Yes, just my memories. Believe me, I have no intention of going back to being Nightmare Moon again, or of usurping my sister.” She nuzzled his neck again. “I certainly wouldn’t mind having you at my side, though, but in my capacity as Princess of the Moon, not as Nightmare Moon.”

Discord responded by grabbing Luna and hugging her close. “You had me at ‘at my side’,” he admitted.

Luna blushed, and Discord was thrilled to see it this time. “Oh, stop!”

“You’re OK with me calling you Lulu, but not a little bit of touching and a few familiar words?” Discord teased.

“Uwaaa,” Luna said, as her cheeks heated up. Discord supposed if she was like he, her ears would have literally been venting steam by now.

At last, Luna regained her composure. “Perhaps I should call you a silly billy instead.”

“A what?”

“You know, a silly billy. Because a billy is a male goat, and you have a goat’s horn, and a goat’s leg.”

“Stop, stop,” Discord pleaded. “Explaining the joke ruins it.”

“Oh,” Luna said, shifting in her stance.

Discord waved it off, and said, “That’s alright. I have a goat’s beard too. But, on a more important topic, does Celestia know?”

Luna shook her head. “Neigh, I did not inform my sister. I believe she might suspect something happened down there in Tartarus, but I cannot be certain. After all, we were in Tartarus. We, that is, you and I, will have to tell her soon about what transpired between us while we were locked away. Speaking of Tartarus,” she regarded Discord with a cool stare again, “You and I will have words about that later.”

Discord sighed, and he shuffled his feet, looking at the floor. “Yes, dear.”

“Hey,” Luna said, her voice softening. “I missed you, you big lug. Give me another kiss.”

Discord bent his head down slightly even as he raised Luna up in his arms, cuddling her in closely. He leaned forward, and pressed his lips against two.

It wasn’t much. For both of them, it was as if it was their first kiss, given how quick and abrupt the earlier one had been. But, for Discord, it was something. It was full of love, and the love he felt in that moment was better than anything harmony had ever had to offer.

There would be challenging days ahead for him, but with Luna by his side, Discord knew he could continue to move forward.

Author's Note

If you enjoyed this story, please consider giving me a follow!

Blame Majora for giving me this idea in the FIMFiction IRC Chat (well, she gave me the idea to do LunaCord, I just kind of ran with it to come up with the most sad-depressing thing I could).

I like to think my abrupt shift of character perspective was particularly genius. Discord thinks of Nightmare Moon as Luna basically just about all the time, only referring to her as Nightmare Moon in a few specific cases such as 'Nightmare Moon was defeated'.

This was written pretty quick, so feedback on scenes that you think should be expanded would also be helpful.