You are Discord
Well, of course you'd be Discord. Who doesn't want to be Discord? Everyone should try to strive to be Discord.
You were swimming through the air through Canterlot Castle, invisible, looking for Celestia while spooking the guards along the way by either emitting a booming voice right in their ear or tapping them right on their spines.
Even though you had something to do for Anon. You couldn't help messing with a few ponies along the way.
And the more time you had to search, the more guards you had to spook. It was mildly entertaining.
Then as you pass by another hall, you spot Luna talking to a little blue pony.
"Aha! That must be the illustrious Thorax. Ok Celestia, you can wait for a moment." You snicker as you rub your paw and talons together "It's time for an intermission."
You slither along the floor towards Luna and Thorax, ignoring whatever they were blathering on about. You didn't care. You were so paper thin, no one would notice you unless they looked straight down.
You took control of and possessed Thorax's shadow and waited for a moment when he looked down in worry. He seemed to do that a lot so it didn't take a long time. And the moment that he looked, he saw his shadow turn into a soul eating, red, and crazy eyed monster. It made him so frightened he transformed back into a changeling and jumped onto Luna's back.
"Thorax?! What is the meaning of this!" Luna demanded, finding Thorax's advance sudden and even a little frightening.
"I-I saw a monster! Right there on the ground!" He pointed to the ground. But nothing was there.
Luna was confused "I see no monster. Thorax, quickly! Change back. None of the guards can see!"
"None of the guards can see, hmm? Interesting, quite the double standard that's going on here in this castle. Let's see how little Luna reacts if somepony does see" You slither on behind them and turn into a royal guard right when Thorax was hopping off Luna's back.
"I-I'm sorry, really. I thought I saw some sort of monster. It scared me" Thorax said, still shaking as he came off from her back.
"It's alright, Thorax, perhaps you just need some sleep. You have been spending extra time studying the books we have given you. We aren't executing the plan until much later, you don't need to rush" Luna gives him a gentle smile as she gives him a pat, calming him down.
"P-Princess Luna!" You say in a shocked and deep voice, oh so good. "You have been colluding with the enemy?! This entire time?! Then it's true, you really are still Nightmare Moon!"
Luna and Thorax turned around in shock to see you, a frightened guardspony.
"W-what?! But.." Luna didn't previously notice any guards around her vicinity "Guard, this isn't what it seems!"
"I must alert Princess Celestia at once!" And so with a hidden evil smirk, you turned towards a hallway that had a dead end.
"W-wait!” Luna called to you before looking back at her changeling companion. “Thorax, stay here. I must make haste!" Luna rushed off after you, already knowing you would have nowhere to go.
Or, nowhere to go if you were any other pony.
When Luna turned the corner to stop you, you were gone. The hallway was short and ended with a large potted plant at the end with a large painting of the sisters hanging on the wall. There was a door on the side but it was just a closet. She knew she should have you cornered. She opened the closet and looked about, but there was just fancy looking janitor stuff. No guard was about. She looked back at the hallways to spot Thorax, disguised and looking over. "Tho-Crystal Hoof, did anypony run by?"
"U-ummm, no. I didn't see anypony" He seemed worried, but he told the truth.
".....Perhaps it is I who needs sleep. How shameful, the princess of the night being distracted by her own sleepless mind. Ahrm, Crystal Hoof, this ends today's lesson. I need to rest for tonight" Luna coughed and exited the hallway, looking back again, and shaking her head in shame of herself as Thorax follows.
You were hiding in the picture all along, of course. As a little figure inside Celestia's crown. "Well, that was fun. Now where are you Princess, you can't be too far"
You slithered out of the painting and resumed your search
But she was nowhere to be seen. At least not in any of the usual spots. So you just started to randomly search other areas of the castle.
Until you found her in the kitchen, sneaking a few snack cakes from a plate. They must have been extras for something else.
"Well, well, well" you grinned at her as you became visible behind her. "You may want to be careful there, princess, wouldn't want to turn into a red giant now, would we?"
Celestia carefully puts the half eaten snack cake onto the plate. But she didn't turn to face you. "Discord, how have you been?"
"Oh, you know. Having tea with my bestest friend while also having to deal with the wild emotions of a confused human gone colt. That's all"
Celestia sighed, but she didn't seem too surprised. "So Anon told you"
"Did you expect him not to tell me? Oh, for shame Celestia, you should know better to come up with a plot that directly interferes with my fun. Naughty naughty, very bad"
Celestia turned around to face you. She was very calm and serene, you didn't like it too much. "I had an inkling he may, just not so soon. So then, I expect that you have a few objections about what I plan to do"
"Oh ho ho" You laugh, half annoyed, half intrigued "Do I ever. Tell me, what gives you the right to mess with Chryssy? You should know that I already cornered the market on fresh and delicious pranks and pokes when it comes to toying with insects."
Celestia then looked into your eyes with a serious glare. Ohhh, you hated when she does that. Soooo boring. "I'm sorry, Discord. But if that's how you wish to be, then you should know that she owes many debts to ponykind for all the pain and suffering she has caused. So I'm afraid your market has gone bankrupt."
oh, she was being sharp on the wordplay today. Interesting.
You rest your arm on the table and place your head on your paw as you yawn and look at her bored. "Cute...But if you want me to be serious then fine,serious it is. You see Celestia, Anon told me a few things that I cannot let you do. Reforming is great and all. Oh I know I wouldn't have Fluttershy if she didn't put a little of her philosophy in my life. She's quite a lovely pony, you know. Definitively the best element next to laughter. But I digress, when it comes to reforming, I happen to think you're not only doing it the wrong way, but that Anon has already got it covered. So why don't you take your little pet changeling and get him potty trained or something. We can handle it"
Celestia shook her head and sighed "This isn't a game, Discord. I fear she can't even be reformed. Even Thorax doesn't believe she can. And , from what I understand, neither does Scrappy. And Anon has made no progress in reforming her whatsoever. It was something I could already feel would have happened anyway. Chrysalis has only ever displayed a desire for conquest and destruction"
You scoff and laugh at her, you actually laugh so hard you put your paw on your head to keep yourself still. "Ohhahaha! Celestia, you joker you. No progress? Have you seen how they interact with each other? It's smiles, laughter, fun, and everything in between. I'd say that's plenty of progress. Give Anon another day or two, perhaps a week and we'll have ole Chryssy smelling flowers and singing with the birds in no time"
Celestia wouldn't break that glare, it was really throwing you off. "You're wrong, Discord. I can tell this much, her friendship with Anon is true. But we both know it's because Anon has stopped caring about all the evil she has wrought and refuses to atone for and uses his human experience to relate to her. And it's easy for him to, isn't it? Considering humans also seem to be a destructive and cruel race. Or am I wrong?"
You were taken aback. Luna, she only knew that because Luna must have been poking around in his head and informing her of things she found. Well, Celestia was indeed prepared. Perhaps she was even correct. Bah, who cares about being correct? Without a twist, it's just dull.
"It depends, humans are indeed more diverse than ponies. and much more chaos leaning to boot. But that doesn't matter, now does it? What matters is the fact that you can't expect that wormy wuss of a bug to reform an entire hive. That's just as ridiculous as a human reforming their queen. Utter nonsense, and I do know a thing or two about utter nonsense.”
"Thorax seems to think it can be done. And his word is more valuable than your’s or Anon's in that regard. And given the change he's going through and his lessening appetite for love, then it's clear other changelings are capable of the same change, perhaps this change being part of an evolution within them."
"Oh? So blue wings mcgee, instead of being a mutation, is some sort of evolution? Ohh, very astute, very interesting" You say in a mocking tone "Tell me, Professor Suncheeks, doesn't an evolution occur after thousands of years of existing and adapting? How do you explain that? It's science! You can't explain away science."
"Mhmm, since when did the Spirit of Chaos care about the laws of biology? this change has occurred and keeps occurring as he learns more about friendship. It's more progress in a few days than Anon has made with the entire time he has been with Chrysalis. It's an evolution through the magic of friendship, and I feel that this can be done through Thorax. "
Now you were starting to lose your patience. There was no way that was possible. Not without some chaotic intervention. "Celestia, perhaps you had one too many sweets. They must be clouding your mind. How can friendship cause a PHYSICAL change like the one you're suggesting. I mean, chaos magic can. Living in a funky environment can. And then there's plain ole corruption. But friendship?" You scoff "Name one other example where the MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP caused such a change."
Celestia gives you a cheerful smile "I think you'll like the answer I have in mind…..Twilight ‘Alicorn’ Sparkle"
......
..........
You just stare into the abyss ".....hummmm, I hadn't considered that. Ugh, whatever. So you MAY have a chance. But I still believe in Anon and since It's MY house, then it's MY rules. And MY rules say no princesses allowed, so nyah!" You stick your tongue out at her. You had this. No matter how right she could or even may be, she wasn't stepping a single hoof into your home.
"Discord, please don't be unreasonable. This business is ours, and if we can at least save those who we thought unsavable then I want to try. I'm sorry about Anon, I am. But his way has made no progress with Chrysalis while others like Applebloom have made progress with Scrappy, or my sister and I with Thorax. It can be done, despite the cost being great. That is why my sister and I are also willing to take the burden that comes with our actions"
You snicker at her, you didn't quite care what she did. You didn't come here to lose. "Noble as ever. But you see, I don't care what you wish to do and how you plan to do it. I need things to be a certain way. And not only do I need Anon to remain happy and healthy to keep our family going, but I have more than enough power to keep Chryssy in her place whether she likes it or not. There's nothing you can do"
Celestia frowned, she looked hurt. Why? Oh well, of course. Because you just won.
"Discord, you haven't shown any ability to keep the situation truly contained. Chrysalis has already manipulated you enough to let herself roam Equestria at her leisure. So I'll ask again...Please let me do what I wish to do."
You bend down to Celestia and give her a gentle boop on the nose "Adorable, you think you can do something to me without your precious elements. Sorry Celestia, The ball is in my court and even if you wanted Twilight to do something, she couldn't. Even if you asked her and her friends to temporarily turn me to stone, they couldn't. Fluttershy wouldn't allow it. So, I win. You lose. Give me my trophy, because I'm number one!"
Then she really looked hurt. What a sore loser. How drool. Then again, you should have expected it to be this easy.
"Then you leave me no choice. I will have to tell Fluttershy everything"
.....what? "What? About Chryssy being Nymy? Fine, go ahead. Then I can explain to her how well me and Anon have been doing handling her compared to the four princesses put together."
You were rusing of course, But Celestia would believe it and back off.
"No Discord, I will tell Fluttershy who Anon really is, and that will be that"
....WHAT?! "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" The snackcakes, the ovens, the pans, they all started to release jets of flames upwards from your rage. "THAT WOULD RUIN EVERYTHING! SHE'D NEVER TRUST ME AGAIN! AND WHAT ABOUT ANON!? YOU WON'T DO IT!"
"Discord, you know for the ponies of Equestria, I'd do anything. That's why I'm sorry. This is the best I can do. So please...please...don't make me do that."
All the fires extinguish simultaneously. In an instant...you lost.
You were gripping your paw and talons. looking away from Celestia, ashamed of your failure. "I think the last time I've heard you make such a threat was when we first met. I lost in my own hubris back then. But this? Celestia, it hurts."
"This is why I didn't want Anon to say anything to you. Because if he did, I knew we'd have to come to this point. I knew I'd have to press my authority as a princess to get through to you."
"Yes, well..." You couldn't think of anything. So you just had to ask. "You'll really do it, won't you?"
"If I must"
Suddenly...everything fell apart. You had nothing more you could play. Why? why would she do this? Who cares about things becoming too dangerous? You can handle it. And even if you somehow couldn't. Twilight could...maybe. It's not like anything awful could happen. It’s not as if Chryssy is that conniving and cunning, right?
Right?....R-right?
...Right?
Celestia gently placed her hoof on your paw and looked up at you, she looked so sad. "Discord, you didn't fail, and this isn't your fault. We're just doing what we have to do. Please, Don't beat yourself up over it. Go home, be there for Anon. And do your best for him."
You had no more words however. You knew nothing else you said could change anything. And you didn't want Celestia's sympathy, so you just snapped your tail fur together and disappeared.