//------------------------------// // Bonus Chapter // Story: Discord Comics // by Silent Strider //------------------------------// Luna glided down towards Discord’s house as the eastern sky reddened. How in the heavens did Celestia even convince her to talk to Discord? Sure, that little filly deserved help with her nightmares, but Luna was certain she could just speak to her in dreams and… With a start Luna noticed something, or the lack of something. There was light in the windows, but there was no chaos. No trees singing, no flowers dancing, no toy cavalry charge against the mailbox. The garden was more normal than she had ever seen it. Something was very amiss. Discord didn’t need much concentration to keep his garden chaotic; he could literally do it in his sleep, as Luna had presenced before. Silently, she looked through a front window. Even the interior of Discord’s house was less chaotic than usual. The oddly calming stream going through the side windows was there, but nothing else was moving, and few things were out of place. Something colorful caught Luna’s eye; two identical comic books on top of a worktable. They were also the same as the one in the filly’s dream. Why does Discord even… A flash of light behind her caught Luna by surprise. “Ahem. So our little despotic all-powerful ruler now resorts to creeping around to win our little duel?” “Nothing like that. I need to talk with you a bit.” Discord raised an eyebrow. “To gloat, pechance.” Irritation was creeping on Luna’s voice. “We do not gloat!” With a flash of light, a small note appeared, and Luna found herself staring at a rendition of herself blowing a raspberry. “Fine, we do gloat on occasion, but not this time. I came to talk about a filly’s nightmare -” “So you now accuse me of giving nightmare to fillies. At this rate you will be blaming me for every little thing that goes wrong -” Luna’s eyebrows furrowed in anger, her glare intense. “CEASE THY PRATTLING AT ONCE!” Discord gave a mock bow, his voice dripping sarcasm. “As you wish, your highness.” Celestia’s Sun, give us patience. “A little filly is having nightmares about you every night.” “And?” With a scowl, Luna ignored the interruption. “She dreams that she gives you a comic book; it makes you angry, and you go away leaving her behind. It drives her to tears every time. For a whole week she has woken crying.” “And that filly would be?” There was no more sarcasm on his voice. Caught by surprise by Discord’s non confrontational tone, Luna looked down. “I don’t know her name. She is a blue pegasus, green mane, without a cutie mark.” “Misty Blossom.” There was something unexpected on Discord’s voice. Kindness? It was over too fast for Luna to be certain. She looked back at his eyes. “If you want to help her, better get inside. I propose a truce.” “Agreed,” said Luna as she followed Discord towards the house. She stopped at the open door. “Discord…” “What? ...Oh, of course.” He snapped his fingers, making about a dozen pies floating behind the doorway disappear. “I’m awfully distracted right now.” he snapped his fingers a couple more times, flashes of light coming from random places in the house. “Every trick and trap is gone for the time being. And don’t you dare cast that nasty anti-chaos spell inside my own house!” Luna eyed the comics on the table with curiosity. “Did she really give…” “Yes. This one …“ Discord pointed to the left one, worn but still in good condition “… she gave to me. It’s what gave me the idea of making enchanted comics in the first place. That one …“ he pointed to the right one, identical but in mint condition “... I want to give her as a reward. I only got both authors to autograph it today - “ Discord glanced at the increasingly brighter window “ - I mean, yesterday.” “So, why didn’t you deliver it yet?” “It’s that spell I copied from you.” Luna lifted an eyebrow. Discord continued talking, pacing around. “You know what I’m talking about. The dream spell in the enchanted comics. Every time somepony leaves the story, the spell destroy the comic. I can’t give that filly a reward that will be destroyed the first time she uses it.” “It’s the failsafe.” Said Luna in a deadpan voice. “What?” “Out of control dream magic is too dangerous, both for the caster and for the target. Before you even came to Equestria I revised every dream spell to contain a failsafe, to destroy itself instead of just failing. It’s what happens with the comics when the pony leaves the story.” Discord lifted his front paws in frustration. “Great, just great. Now I find about it, after wasting a whole night while … the filly I want to reward has a nightmare!” Luna looked from Discord to the new comic. She wasn’t sure if Discord liked the filly or not, but if he did it was clear that he had trouble demonstrating it. When she finally spoke, she didn’t bother to hide the kindness in her voice. “If you want, I will deliver your gift to her. I can also throw a little spell that will give her good dreams for many years whenever the comic guards her sleep.” She shot a sheepish glance at Discord. “And no, it won’t destroy the comic in the end.” “Would you do that for… her?” There, the same unexpected emotion on Discord’s voice, again only for a split second. “Of course you would; she is one of your precious little ponies. Here,” a greeting card with Discord on the front appeared in a flash, “take this with the comic.” Luna finished lowering the moon and went to her workshop. She wanted the spell on the comic to be perfect. She thought about Discord, and on a whim tweaked the spell so the dreams would include him as a hero besides Mistress Mare-velous. A kind and warm smile spread through Luna’s face; dreaming of Discord would make the filly happy, and if what Luna had perceived was really kindness then Discord also deserved this chance. Luna took the finished comic and Discord’s card, going to her balcony; she knew the filly would already be awake. The Discord that Luna saw today was one that, going against her expectations, seemed capable of caring, perhaps even of loving; he deserved this little favor, and Luna would have done it for the little filly anyway. Spreading her wings, Luna’s smile turned mischievous; regardless of that, she would still make Discord regret the day he entered a prank war against her!