On a hill lay an alicorn. Her white coan was dirty and unkempt, and her multicolored mane flapped strongly to the harsh wind.

An inexplicable fear consumed her; she didn’t want to open her eyes. She didn't want to see what was in front of her.

But why? She was brave. She wasn’t a frightened filly who feared the monsters hiding under the bed, lacking the courage to look and face them. Those days were over.

But now, it was like she was once again small, insignificant, fearful.

Why couldn’t she…?

A gentle push on her cheek brought her out of her ruminating.

Celestia opened her eyes to see Philomena standing on her bed. The phoenix kept gently pecking her cheek; she wanted her to get up so they could play. She gets bored easily, after all.

Stretching, Celestia smiled to her pet as she stood up, letting the strange dream fall into the depths of her mind. Although it was unusual, it was not the strangest thing she had dreamed, after all. For now, she had a friend to play with. She owed her that, with how busy she usually was...

After spending a fun time with Philomena and going through her morning duties, Celestia decided to go out for some fresh air. After donning a long and colorful scarf, she went to the gardens.

The Canterlot gardens were beautiful: full of wonderful and well maintained plants and flowers; full of animal life (which, unfortunately, were not very sociable when it came to ponies); magnifically carved statues ...

Him.

Princess Celestia walked through the beautiful garden ... that was completely covered by snow. One problem with the weather factory of Cloudsdale had caused a sudden and rapid snow in the area. Several feet of snow falling all at once, to be exact...

Several ponies were working to clear the grounds of the excessive amount of winter’s beautiful white powder. Celestia helped a little, but it wasn’t necessary; they could handle it.

Seeing that she wasn't needed, the princess went to a secluded part of the gardens, where access was not allowed. Apart from some bushes, there was only a statue placed in the middle. A prisoner.

Since he'd been caught again, Celestia had increased all the security measures around him; to rely solely on the Elements’ seal was not a good idea, however powerful it was.

Guards watched the only access, and several spells permeated the area. He was as contained as he could possibly be out here.

At least once a week, the Princess visited the statue to think, and make sure everything was in order. She'd been doing this for several months, and there hadn't been a change in his prison. This time, however, there was something that was obviously different.

Discord was almost buried in snow.

Celestia watched the terrified face of the Spirit of Chaos, now more white than gray. Despite the insistence of his sister to put him in a dungeon, that didn’t seem right to alicorn. She imagined that being a statue was enough for the draconequus; leaving him outside seemed more appropriate.

Celestia turned and walked forward her castle; her free time was running out.

By the way, if you're going to force me to be a permanent guest, at least you could be good hosts and clean my statue in winter. Do you have any idea the cold that I must endure?

The words jumped suddenly to her mind, stopping the white hooves on the soft snow.

With Discord, it was difficult to know when he was being honest and when he was lying. But what harm could come from doing that? Celestia was a kindhearted alicorn and although she was fair, she was not unnecessarily cruel.

She had thought that the elements had done the same as a basilisk do: turn a being to stone, and kept them unconscious for as long as they remained like that. Ignorant of the world around them. But if it wasn’t like that ...

When Celestia left the grounds, her compassion and reason had begun to form a plan in her head. It was definitely something wild and dangerous; but if it worked, it would greatly benefit Equestria. After all, it would help her with that other issue she's been trying to solve for the past months.

The statue of Discord was free of snow...

The sudden absence of cold surprised the bored draconequus. What? Is winter over already?

"Maybe the princesses took pity and cleaned your statue, dear." suggested Eris.

Discord snorted. Oh, please; that didn’t bother them for who knows how many winters; why would it now? Besides, why would they care about me...?

"Sister, no offense but ... Have you gone CRAZY?!"

It was night; the moon and the stars bathed the night sky with their beautiful light, giving a sight worth to be seen.

The person responsible for that, however, was arguing with her sister about a matter of great importance.

The two princesses were in a small room, reclining on cushions. A table located between them had a couple of teacups, a teapot and a plate of cookies.

Although the alicorns were too busy talking to eat.

"I'm not, Luna! I’ve been thinking this over for several hours, and I believe it’s a good plan!" Celestia replied, as she pressed a hoof to her ear; as usual, Luna forgot to use a volume of voice that didn’t shook whatever room she was in. Luckily her eardrums were resistant, or she'd been driven deaf centuries ago.

"What you propose is absurd sister; he is evil. He’s a lost cause," argued the princess of the night.

"Is he? The magic of friendship is powerful, Luna. I think that's what Discord needs to stop being a threat."

"Do you really think he will accept it?" The blue-coated alicorn asked skeptically. She saw no way for Discord to make friends. A being so selfish and inconsiderate? I don’t think it’s possible.

"I hope so."

A soft silence fell over them. Luna took a few sips of her tea before voicing her doubts.

"I don’t know, sister; I believe in you, but ... The Spirit of Chaos? I think you wouldd have better luck reforming a changeling. Also, think about the dangers..."

"I know the risks, and have taken them into account. I will not release him now, without measures to contain him if necessary." Celestia said, trying to soothe her sister’s doubts. She had thought long and hard about this, and had already launched a number of security measures. Althought the protection spells for the Elements were going to take a few more days...

"I suppose I cannot convince you to do otherwise, right?"

"I think it's worth trying. Discord could be a valuable ally for Equestria. Moreover, if indeed he is conscious despite being a statue, he must be suffering greatly." At her sister’s response Luna sighed resignedly. She still had qualms about this plan.

"That is the punishment the Elements gave him for his crimes. But I accept; if this is what you believe is right, I will support you. And if things get out of control, I'll be there to help."

Celestia approached her sister and hugged her, stroking Luna’s mane. One advantage of being taller.

"Thank you, Luna."

"... You know he won’t be happy to see us. When we saw him in the throne room, he was so angry ... I'm surprised he didn’t do more than mock us," Luna said after finishing the embrace.

"That's why we won’t be the ones who will teach him the magic of friendship."

Author's Note

So, a few months have passed in the story's time, and we see Celestia coming up with a plan that will eventually change Equestria in ways no one could predict. I feel like Luna should argue more with her about it, but I honestly can't come up with more dialogue that doesn't feel redundant.

By the way, in this fanfic's timeline, Tanks for the Memories happened in the first winter that Rainbow passed with Tank, instead of the third or fourth like in the show (seemed more reasonable to me, don't you think?; so Discord had a more unpleasant winter than usual, for a while.

Oh, if he ever finds out, he will make Rainbow rue the dark and selfish path her bond with Tank made her take *insert evil laugh here*