"Wahahaha!" Discord laughed as the screen of the magical mirror went black. "That was wonderful! I haven't seen anything that exciting since before Luna first became Nightmare Moon! Good on you, Luna!"
Beside him, Twilight released a sigh of relief. She had been really nervous when that creature had shown up, but it looked like everything had turned out okay in the end. She gave Discord a sidelong glance, noting that the draconequus looked even happier than she was. "I don't get it," she told him. "You put so much work into making sure that the Princesses couldn't interfere, but now you look like you're happy that they're free again. What are you really planning?"
Discord's laughter petered off, though the odd chuckle continued to escape him. "Oh, Twilight Sparkle. You're making a big mistake. You think I'm responsible for everything? You think it's that simple?" He snapped his eagle claw and the mirror vanished, replaced instead by a large empty chessboard. "I'm afraid that you are sadly mistaken."
"Then what are you planning?" she demanded, pressing for answers. "You've done so much, caused so much pain for me and my friends. Heck, you've caused so much pain for the entire world! You wouldn't have done this without a reason!"
"Sure I would have," Discord said simply. He looked down and smirked at her. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. I just wanted to see your face." She sputtered at him and he snapped his fingers again. "And like I said, I've done very little. If you want to know who to blame, why don't I show you?"
Twilight looked to the side to see that the magic mirror had appeared again. She watched it, waiting for the image to shift once more and show her another scene. When the mirror failed to react, she shot him an unamused glare. "I only see myself."
"And there you go," Discord said brightly, clapping his hands together. "You are the one most responsible for this current state of affairs, Twilight Sparkle! An honor you share with Celestia. Like teacher, like pupil." He grinned at the look he gave her. "I see I need to explain. This will take a while, so let's get comfortable."
"Have you never thought it strange, Twilight?" Discord said, sitting down on a large fluffy chair that had appeared behind him. He pulled a pipe out from between the cushions before sticking it in his mouth. Inhaling deeply, he blew out a thick stream of bubbles. "Tell me, what was the last important event before your birth? Something that could have shifted the flow of history itself?"
Twilight hesitated. She couldn't think of anything that really stood out. All the books she had ever read had told her how life under Princess Celestia had always been peaceful; almost idyllic, really.
Discord waited for a few seconds before answering the question he posed. "It was when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, almost a thousand years ago. Quite a while back, wouldn't you agree?"
"Well, that just means Princess Celestia's been a wonderful ruler to us," Twilight defended. "We've had a thousand years of peace and prosperity under her."
"Really?" Discord raised an amused eyebrow at her. "Peace and prosperity, is it? Then what about these past few years? Nightmare Moon returns from the moon and nearly plunges the world into eternal darkness. My magnificent self breaks free of my prison and throws the world into chaos and confusion. The changelings, who not even I was sure existed, suddenly appear and try to overthrow Celestia. The Crystal Empire returns after being sealed away, bringing along its self-proclaimed ruler, King Sombra. Any one of these events would have been remarkable after so many years of peace, but all four of them together? Care to make any guesses?"
"I... um..." Twilight had to stop to swallow a lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. "It's just... bad luck?" she said, sounding a lot less confident than she hoped.
Discord chuckled, taking another deep inhalation on his pipe. "Really? I suppose bad luck is the same reason for everything that's happening right now?"
Twilight angrily stomped a hoof at him. "No, that's because of you! You're responsible for everything!"
Taking a thoughtful puff on his pipe, Discord blew the resultant bubbles directly into her face. "Well, I can't deny that," he admitted. "But that's not important. It would have happened anyways. I merely... sped up the process a little bit. You can't begrudge me that much, can you?" He shrugged. "But we're getting off topic. First, why don't we go over exactly what the situation is outside?" He snapped his fingers again, and the chessboard off to the side disappeared in a flash of white. When Twilight could see again, she saw that the scenery around it had changed greatly.
Larger-than-life stylized figures of very familiar faces sat around the board. Celestia and Luna sat side-by-side on one side of the board, staring down at the board with matching expressions of sorrow and grief. The Queen of the Changelings sat opposite them, her expression unreadable beneath her limp mane. On the side farthest from Twilight sat an image of Discord himself, amusement on his face as he scratched at his beard. The fourth and final seat, the one closest to Twilight, was empty.
"Go on," Discord gestured with his bubble pipe, waving for her to sit in the empty seat. "No one's using that seat right now."
Giving him an untrusting glare, Twilight hesitantly slid onto the empty chair. Once she was comfortably seated, pieces slowly appeared on the board in front of her. Like the figures sitting around the board, the pieces themselves were stylized images of ponies. So many pieces. So many she recognized.
The piece that stood out the most to her was herself, standing directly in the center of the board. Her friends were standing in a circle around her: Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all standing side-by-side. Zecora stood by herself slightly off to the side. Another noticeable group stood together a little ways away from Twilight and her friends. Spike, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and a pinto colt Twilight didn't know all stood in a circle together, standing with their backs pressed together and looking outwards as if they were watching for some sort of danger.
A trio of changelings stood by themselves, their eyes like the Queen's instead of the blank blue slate Twilight was familiar with. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance stood on the board beside them, gazing sidelong at the changelings. Even Nightmare Moon stood on the board, her wings outstretched as she looked down on all the other, much smaller pieces. The only piece bigger than her was a giant timberwolf, which looked down on her with anger in his eyes.
There were other pieces as well, but Twilight could only make out their outlines. It was like the pieces weren't actually on the board yet, and the spots she saw were mere holes waiting to be filled.
A unicorn wearing a cape and pointed hat.
A gryphon.
A pair of tall, lanky unicorns standing together.
An earth pony with a straight mane and tail.
A unicorn with a curved horn.
A pegasus with a missing wing.
There were other gaping holes, but the edges of their outlines were in constant motion and prevented Twilight from making out any clear details about them.
At last, Twilight looked at the final two pieces. Unconsciously, she had been avoiding looking at them, distracting herself with the sights of the many other pieces. Two bipeds; one she recognized from the Everfree and one she didn't know.
Twilight groaned in frustration, slamming her head against the board. "Them again. It always keeps coming back to them. What are these?" she asked, her voice muffled by the board. "I've never even heard of creatures like this before."
"Hmm?" Discord placed his hand on her shoulder and peered down at the board, ignoring the way she jumped at his unexpected proximity. His expression brightened as he saw what she was looking at. "Oh, you mean the humans?" He smirked down at her, flashing his one long fang.
"Humans?" Twilight repeated, uncovering one eye and looking up at him. "Is that your name for these things?"
"Well, to tell you that story, we're going to have to go back a little ways-" Discord stopped abruptly. An expression of abject horror spread across his face and he leapt to his feet, carelessly throwing his pipe away. "NO!" he screamed, his voice filled with undisguised panic as he stared at a point just past Twilight.
Where there had been five figures sitting around the board only moments ago, now there were only four.
Luna cantered to a halt, bleeding off her remaining momentum until she finally came to a complete stop. The weight on her back shifted as her passenger swiftly disembarked, the sword falling out of his hands and landing in the mud with a wet splash. He stumbled when his feet hit the ground and she quickly held out a wing to steady him. He gave her a grateful look before wandering away, making it only a few steps before his legs gave out on him and he sat down on the ground.
She looked at him to make sure he wasn't going to run away or attack her again before turning to look at the sight behind her. Her ancient home, the castle in which she had so many memories, lay in ruins before her. The once-spectacular parapets, which had once guarded the castle and the surrounding lands, were little more than a pile of rubble. The great walls, which had held the castle in a protecting embrace, was only crumbled masonry. Of the castle which Luna had lived in for so many years of her life, there was now naught but memories.
Luna didn't even spare her former home a glance.
Instead, her attention was drawn to the figure lying on the ground. Celestia lay where she had fallen, the black horn that had adorned her head resting in the grass not far away. Luna quickly walked over to the horn - as quickly as she could with an injured leg, anyway - and with a firm stomp of her hoof, crushed the black horn into powder.
Dark laughter blossomed behind her, ending with a hacking cough. Nightmare's body shook with pained amusement. Dark smoke poured from Celestia, and the Princess of the Sun's body began to lighten as the smog left her. "Do you think this is over?" Nightmare rasped out. Her cyan eyes flickered and dimmed, but their piercing gaze remained locked on Luna. "You can never be rid of me, Luna. As long as you live, I will be there. I will be in the darkness, always watching you."
Luna stood over Nightmare's prone form, frowning down at the defeated alicorn. "No," she declared firmly. "You will not. The darkness is my domain, and you are not welcome. Now..." Luna's hoof pressed against Nightmare's skull, pushing the possessed alicorn's face into the mud. "Leave my sister at once!"
The spark in Nightmare's eyes wavered and died, the cyan blue transforming back into Celestia's natural magenta hue before they rolled back and Celestia's face went slack. Luna stepped back as the dark smog pouring out of Celestia began to coalesce and two cat-slit eyes peered out of the cloud. A shape began to form from the mist, and within moments, an image of Nightmare Moon stood before Luna once again. "You merely claimed the darkness," Nightmare's voice echoed hollowly. "But I... I am the darkness."
A beam of light from Luna's horn passed harmlessly through her incorporeal form, and Nightmare scoffed before turning away. Luna turned and bucked at Nightmare Moon, but the attack was as ineffective as the last. "So reclaim your precious little throne. Try as hard as you like to make Celestia's ponies love you. You are all just puppets dancing on strings. This is far from over," Nightmare threatened. The smoke began to float away and both she and Luna knew Luna could do nothing to stop it, not as injured as she was.
Which was why both were surprised when something grabbed Nightmare Moon's flowing tail and pulled her up short. Nightmare turned to look at whatever had halted her escape and was met with a heavy fist to the face. Instead of passing through her body like both of Luna's attacks, the fist landed home with a meaty thud, knocking Nightmare back down to the ground.
John cracked his knuckles. That felt good. At long last, he had managed to find the one that had been controlling him. There was no way she was going to escape so easily. He wasn't sure why he could hurt her, and he didn't really care. She groaned slightly as he straddled her neck, pinning her to the ground with his knees. He held his fist high above his head, and Nightmare looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"W-wait!" she begged. "Sto-"
thud
thud
thud
thud
thud
A little ways away, Luna flinched at each heavy blow. She held conflicting feelings about watching her alter ego getting pummelled. Deep inside, she felt like Nightmare Moon was still a part of her. In a way, it felt like that was her there, getting beaten by those heavy fists.
To be fair, Nightmare Moon probably deserved it.
Turning her attention away from the ongoing vengeance being wrought upon Nightmare Moon, Luna crouched down next to her sister's unmoving form. Celestia was completely still; even her normally flowing mane and tail sat limply in the mud. "It's over, sister. You can wake up now." Luna said haughtily, almost commandingly. She was too tired for anything else, and just wanted to put this whole situation behind them.
Celestia remained unresponsive, lying still in the mud as the rain continued to fall.
"Sister?" Luna asked, a hint of worry entering her voice before she banished it as quickly as it came. A small awkward laugh escaped her. "Enough of your pranks, sister. You're free of Nightmare's hold. Everything is going to be fine now."
Still, Celestia didn't move.
Leaning her head down, Luna nuzzled the side of Celestia's neck. "This isn't funny anymore," she said more quietly than before. She started to stroke her sister's head, and Celestia swayed with the movement before falling limply back in the mud with a wet squelch. Luna held her ear against Celestia's mouth, desperately listening for the sound of breathing.
She couldn't hear anything.
Starting to worry, Luna lay against Celestia's chest. Focusing both her senses and her magic, she searched for some sort of noise or signal. The sound of breathing, a faint heartbeat, brain activity, a magical signature, anything!
Nothing.
"No," Luna whispered out. She fell back on her haunches, heedless of the cold mud she was sitting in. "What are you doing?" she asked harshly, staring at her sister's unmoving body. "You're my sister! You're the strongest mare I've ever known! You've always been there for me, even when I didn't want you there, you were always there for me." She tilted her head back and stared up at the sky, gazing up at the clouds high above her.
"...You said you'd always be there for me," Luna whispered quietly, heedless of the rain pooling in her eyes before breaking free of their dam and pouring down her cheeks in silent rivulets.
Leaning down, Luna brought her rain-streaked face next to Celestia's own. "Come on. Please say something. Didn't you always used to tell me that our ponies would need us one day? That we would have to be ready to defend them, no matter what the cost? That day has come, sister. Our ponies need us now. Please don't leave me to protect them on my own."
She swallowed. Her wing stretched out, covering Celestia's side as Luna slipped herself in between her sister's unresponsive hooves.
"Please don't leave me on my own," Luna begged, burying her nose in Celestia's unmoving mane.
Twilight only had time to see that the image of Celestia had disappeared before a hand grabbed her shoulder, throwing her aside with enough force to smash into the board. Pieces went flying everywhere, spinning end over end before disappearing into the neverending void. Brushing her mane out of her eyes, she saw what had sent her flying.
Discord stood in front of the spot the image of Celestia had sat, his arms outstretched and his hands clenched hard around something that Twilight couldn't see. He appeared to be struggling greatly, his entire body quivering as he fought to hold on to whatever he was wrestling with.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked. Or would have asked, if Discord hadn't cut her off as soon as she got to "Wha-"
"DON'T TALK TO ME!" Discord screamed. All the arrogance and self-assuredness he had shown before was gone, leaving only a flustered and alarmed draconequus behind. She recoiled from the sheer force of his voice, and her ears flattened against her skull with a whimper. Discord paid her no more attention after that, and Twilight got the distinct feeling that he had completely forgotten about her existence.
Sweat started to roll down Discord's sides as he continued to struggle. Twilight slowly became aware of a strange noise in the air, and it took her a few seconds to realize that Discord was muttering something under his breath. It took a few more seconds for her to realize what he was saying.
"-on't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me, don't you die on me..."
Over and over again, like some sort of mantra, he continued to repeat it without any sign of stopping. After minutes that felt like hours, Discord's hands suddenly seized up. The sound of something breaking filled the air and Twilight was blinded by a pure white light.
Her vision come back slowly. The first thing she saw was Discord sitting in a chair in front of her, limply slouched out across the chair's back. His breaths were short and shallow, his sides heaving with every inhalation, sweat soaked his entire body, and he looked tired enough to collapse where he was. Despite that, he wore a broad, self-satisfied grin splayed across his face.
"Wha...what was that?" Twilight asked hesitantly. After he had just yelled at her, she didn't want to provoke him if she could avoid it, but she still wanted to know.
Discord's grin only widened, but he waved her question off as if it was of no concern. "Absolutely nothing," he blatantly lied, his smile never changing. “Just making sure a toy didn’t break.” Steepling his fingers together, he rested his chin on them and gazed at her. "Now then, I believe you had some questions about the humans..."
Celestia coughed.
Luna froze, not even daring to hope. Celestia's body convulsed as she took a deep, rattling breath, her lungs filling with life-giving oxygen. Her mane and tail started to weakly flow, like there was a gently breeze passing through them. "Lu... na...?" she asked hoarsely, looking down at the younger alicorn holding her.
"Sister!" Luna cried happily, hugging her sister as tightly as she could. "I thought... I thought..."
"Can't... breathe..." Celestia gasped out, squirming weakly in Luna's hold.
Luna leapt up, blushing fiercely. "Sorry, sister," she apologized, scraping at the mud coating her. "I was just-"
"Luna." Celestia said firmly. Luna glanced at her nervously, peering out from beneath lowered lashes. A kind, gentle smile was spread across the older diarch's face. "It's okay," the solar princess said. "I'm sorry I scared you."
"Wasn't scared," Luna mumbled inaudibly, rubbing at the streaks the rain had left on her face.
"Of course not," Celestia said with a serene smile. Her horn, still embedded deep within her, lit up with a golden light and smoothly slid out of her chest. It fell into the mud with a splash, not a drop of blood on it as the wound it left behind closed up without leaving a mark. "I'll need to do something about that later," Celestia muttered, scratching at the unmarked spot in her coat. "Speaking about doing something, Luna, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?"
"Please don't tease me, sister," Luna said, looking over at the other two present. John still straddled Nightmare Moon, though his punches had slowed. His own blood dripped from his knuckles every time he pulled his fists back, but the blows continued to fall with brutal regularity. Nightmare Moon had given up begging for mercy, holding her hooves about her head in a futile attempt to protect herself. Luna was quite content to watch for just a little longer...
"Luna," Celestia said with a hint of steel hiding behind the silk of her voice. "Don't you think you should do something?"
"Not really, no." Luna gave a petulant groan at the look Celestia shot her. "Fine," she said. Said, not whined. She didn't whine. Princesses don't whine.
Slowly walking forward - slow enough that John was able to get several more punches in in the meantime - Luna reached out and grabbed his fist when he raised it back for another blow. "That's enough," she told him, not unkindly.
He looked at her in surprise before shifting his gaze down to the dark form beneath him. He blinked once, staring at Nightmare as if he had never seen her before. Shaking off Luna's hoof, he brought his fist down as hard as he could for one final blow before standing up and staggering away, panting for breath all the while. He made it as far as the base of a nearby tree before he could go no further and collapsed against it.
Luna gave him a grateful look when he cleared the area, her gaze hardening as it shifted to the figure on the ground. "Do you have any words to say for yourself?" she asked, her voice as hard and cold as steel. "Could you possibly have any words to say in your defense?"
Nightmare laughed, a low hacking laugh that sounded like she was squeezing it through walls of pain. "Does it matter?" she asked sardonically. "You've already made up your mind."
"Very well. If you have nothing to say, then I shall pass your sentence. You are clearly far too dangerous to allow free, as you have already proven on multiple occasions."
"You certainly love to hear yourself talk," Nightmare mocked. "Let's cut to the chase. So what're you going to do? Kill me?"
Luna shook her head. "I would if I could. Regretfully, that pleasure is beyond me, since I lack the power needed to kill an immortal like yourself right now. No, I am going to do something far simpler. Until we can figure out a more permanent solution, I am going to seal you deep within my own soul."
Nightmare visibly flinched, but tried to cover it up with a sneer. "Seal me within yourself? You made me. Gave me power. Gave me life. You think you can contain me?"
"Yes."
The edges of Nightmare Moon's smoky form started to waver and tremble. Thick dark tendrils poured into Luna's body, and the indistinct figure of Nightmare Moon shrunk, becoming smaller and smaller as more and more of her slid into her new prison. "This isn't over, Luna!" Nightmare Moon cried. "I'm not done with you! I'll get out of this, and when I do..." Whatever else Nightmare Moon intended to say became lost as the last of the darkness was drawn inside the Lunar Princess, disappearing without a trace.
Luna stumbled as Nightmare Moon vanished inside of her. She would have fallen, but Celestia was suddenly at her side and caught the collapsing dark alicorn. "It's alright," she said soothingly, holding her younger sister against her chest. "I'm here for you."
"I'm fine," Luna complained, but let herself lean into her sister's embrace anyway. Pressing her hoof against her chest, she consider it for a moment. "I can feel her struggling against her bonds," she admitted quietly. "She's fighting to escape."
"She won't escape," Celestia assured her, stretching out her wings to give her sister a comforting hug. "Not so long as I'm here for you."
Luna looked up at Celestia uncertainly. "...You promise?" she asked tentatively, remembering what had happened not long ago, when she thought her sister had performed her last sunset. "You'll stay here with me?"
"I promise," Celestia said sincerely, unwrapping her wings from around Luna. Still holding on to her sister, she turned her head to look at the third figure in front of what remained of the Castle of the Pony Sisters. "What are we going to do with him?"
Luna followed her gaze to see John staring at the both of them. He hadn't moved from the spot he had collapsed earlier, and watched them with an unblinking gaze. The sight of him staring at them like that reminded Luna of something she had forgotten. "Celestia," she said seriously. "He's a human."
Celestia's entire body stiffened at Luna's proclamation. Her tongue flicked out, wetting suddenly-dry lips. "A... human..." she repeated, staring at John in disbelief. "You... you're sure." It wasn't a question.
Luna inclined her head. "Yes. Nightmare Moon said it herself. I believe she was telling the truth."
"A human..." Celestia muttered. "Discord... Is this your plan?" Releasing Luna, Celestia slowly staggered towards John. He watched her approach with caution, not making any moves of his own but preparing to either flee or lash out if she made any sort of threatening actions. He needn't have worried.
When Celestia had gotten close to him, she abruptly fell to her knees. Luna dashed forward, fearing she had suddenly succumbed to her many wounds. When she got closer, she realized just how mistaken she had been.
She recognized the position Celestia was in. How could she not? It was the exact same one her own subjects gave her and her sister every day.
Celestia hadn't collapsed.
Celestia was bowing.
"~I thought,~" Celestia said in a language that had died out many years before she had been born. She licked her lips and started again. "~I had heard that all the humans had died out years ago.~"
John stared at her, his mouth hanging open. A final few raindrops fell and the clouds finally started to clear from the skies above, allowing the reaching sunbeams to reach the forest floor. Long seconds passed soundlessly before John finally moved.
"~You... you can talk?~" he said.