Chapter Ten: Into Darkness
Night court was always a pain. However much Luna liked the idea in theory, the practice itself left much to be desired.
Five nights a week, at a half hour after moonrise, Princess Luna was expected to entertain petitioners. It wasn't hard work per se; there are those who would call it intriguing. When Celestia first suggested the idea to Luna, she was ecstatic and immediately fell in love with the concept.
That initial excitement wore off in a few weeks.
Luna quickly discovered that most of her petitioners were just petty nobles who wanted either to confess their “undying” love, deliver to her endless praises, or to submit inane requests for their own personal gain. Celestia probably would have sat through their pointless addresses, smiling at them and nodding silently until they tired themselves out and left with their tails tucked neatly between their legs. Luna was sure that they expected the same thing from her.
Unfortunately for them, Luna was not Celestia.
After about a month, Luna decided that she was going to change that. So for the first time in centuries the formal court protocol was changed, or at least amended. Night Court was not to be held in a small, private, space where Luna and a single petitioner could discuss their issues and grievances. Not only that, but now a secretary was hired to serve as a buffer for all potential petitioners. If someone intended to come to Luna’s court with some inane or trivial request then they would be directed elsewhere or their grievance would be dealt with on the spot.
Needless to say, this drastically reduced the amount of petitioners she received.
She told herself didn’t mind, not really…
“Umm, Princess, is everything alright?”
Luna was yanked back to reality when Astral Gazer addressed her. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was. With a conscious effort she willed her expression to soften and immediately the Pony in front of her straightened up as he sighed with relief.
“I offer my sincerest apologies; it appears my mind my mind has drifted astray.” Luna silently thanked the high forces that she had been blessed with a coat dark enough to hide her blush. “It has been a long day, forgive me, time passes me by sometimes. Please continue with your tale, I implore thee.”
One benefit of holding a private court was that it allowed her discuss matters with Ponies less as a Princess and more as Luna. Astral Gazer quickly forgot about her faux pas as he continued.
“Yes… As I was saying before, we had followed up with the higher level mages in Canterlot and they told us that they were experiencing the same interference. The influx of wild magic from below Canterlot was beginning to interfere with their enchantments as well; there haven't been any serious incidents of course, but if this continues then it’s only a matter of time before somepony gets hurt… or worse.”
Luna allowed herself a private smile when he scuffed his hoof against the ground, obviously defeated and dejected. As much as she felt bad for him, this was nothing compared to when Discord was reigning over Equestria proper. Compared to the kind of interference mages had to deal with then, this “interference” was nothing more than background noise.
Still, it was a serious issue, and she had taken vows to support her subjects however she could.
“This is not the first complaint I have received about the effects of Discord’s errant power but it is by far the most concerning.” He looked at her with an almost childlike deference. She grinned at him, hoping her confidence would help ease his concern. “Worry not, I shall personally inform him of the havoc his power is affecting on your studies, I am sure he will do what he can to rectify the issue.”
Despite her best attempt to assure him it wasn’t an issue, Astral still seemed to be on edge. Even though she lacked her sister’s experience with court she still had enough tact to recognize when something needed a more concrete response.
“I realize that there is a somewhat distinct possibility what Discord won’t heed my request and that he may leave his influence unchecked,” in a moment of spontaneity she rose up from her diocese and quickly strode towards the stallion in front of her. “However, there are other ways to keep his abilities in check. So regardless of his consent in the matter the matter will be resolved by weeks end.” By now she was directly in front of him, starring down at him with a mask of stern confidence. “Have I made myself clear?”
The Astral was only able to maintain direct eye-contact for a second or so before he suddenly became very interested in the pattern worked into the floor. She smiled when she heard him sigh, releasing a breath that she knew he had held for far too long.
“Crystal clear, Princess.” He said, admirably trying to keep his tone even while still managing to fail spectacularly in the attempt.
“Verily, then I trust that you will inform your associates as such.” Luna turned her head to look out the window, admiring the burgeoning nightscape that had graced the royal gardens. “I, regretfully, have other duties I must attend to, so I must take my leave. Please be sure that you do spread the word that this issue will be resolved. The night calls to me,” she promptly turned and began to walk out of the room, nonchalantly calling back she added, “I trust that you can show yourself out; pleasant dreams, my little pony.”
By the time he looked up to respond The Princess of The Night was gone.
She was sure that Celestia would have chided her for being so dramatic, but Luna was pleased with her performance all the same. She knew that a bit of drama could get the job done quicker than a little tact, though she had to admit that it could cause problems down the line.
Still, those problems could prove entertaining in their own right, so the risk was worth the reward in her eyes. Luna was brash, secretive, and prone to emotional outbursts, but she knew these things. So instead of trying to “fix it” she made her “issues” work in her favor.
Though sometimes, when Luna would say something out of turn or act on impulse, her sister would give her a look that would frighten her. It was obvious that Celestia worried that Luna wasn’t satisfied, that she might relapse and allow Nightmare Moon to return. But, by the same token, Celestia trusted her; she let Luna make her own decisions because she had faith that Luna wouldn’t allow herself to fall a second time.
Luna, however, had no such faith. To her the days of the Nightmare Moon Rebellion always lingered a few steps behind her, threatening her will temptations of power and illusions of grandeur. She liked to think that she wasn’t interested in those things anymore, and she wasn’t, at least not consciously.
But she didn’t know if that’s what her heart truly wanted.
Because part of Luna’s ability to control the unconscious mind came from her own separation from it, and that’s what terrified her.
After Discord’s fall Luna filed away all of her anger, rage, and jealousy into the back of her mind, instead of confronting her issues she simply ignored them.
For a time, it worked.
Then they took over, and Nightmare Moon was born.
From time to time she caught that familiar distaste stagnating in the back of her mind, waiting.
It was Star Swirl who famously said that the only thing more terrifying than watching a pony descend into madness was feeling your own mind slip away from you.
“Things are different now.” She convinced herself as she walked through the comforting darkness of The Night Wing to her private chambers. After a moment of reflection, she laughed at her own, obvious, statement. “A thousand years goes by in my absence", she thought, "tis more surprising that anything is the same at all…”
When she returned she had expected some change, though nothing like what she saw. Her and her sister’s troubled diarchy had grown into a strong and prosperous empire, one to rival some of the most powerful nations on Equis. The Two Sisters Castle laid abandoned for centuries in the monstrous tangle of The Everfree Forest that had boiled out of control under Celestia’s careful watch.
Perhaps one of the most unnerving changes was how in a thousand years she her own name had been forgotten, meanwhile the name Nightmare Moon lived on through the eons because of Nightmare Night.
She tried not to let that tainted legacy bother her, but she feared the thought of repeating past mistakes.
“Still,” as she thought to herself her hooved clacked in discordance with the usual silence of the corridor, “at least I have Tia…”
“Even if she has become more reclusive of late…”
Luna reminded herself that she needed to ask her sister what was bothering her.
“Perhaps is has something to do with Discords own reclusion.”
The Draconequus was assumed to have shut himself up in his forest retreat, which in itself was completely unremarkable as he had always been somewhat reclusive; however, recently anyone who tried to approach his domain would end up appearing in some far flung locale whenever they got anywhere near it. One Pegasus mail carrier in particular was declared missing for eight days before news had come that she was at the Equestrian embassy in The Gryphon Kingdom, nursing a strained wing caused after she appeared on a mountain top.
At this point, Luna was seriously considering placing the forest itself under guard in order to prevent further accidents; thought that would be expensive and occupy a huge number of gaurdspoines. Luna sighed as she approached her chambers and opened the ornate doors, defeated by the knowledge of what she would have to do.
“It does indeed appear that I will have to do this the old fashioned way.”
She really didn’t want to do it, but there was nothing else she could do. It wasn't as if she could just sit around and do nothing, waiting for the problem to get better when all the signs pointed that it would only get worse. Contacting Discord in his dreams was not a daunting prospect, theoretically. Yes, she would have entered the realm of dream regardless of the meeting, and yes his domain was technically “on the way,” but that wasn't the part she was dreading.
The prospect of “waking a sleeping god” was not something she was looking forward to. That, and always found talking to him in his sleep rather…
Weird, for lack of a better word.
Then again, the last time she had talked to him like that he had astutely pointed out that he was indeed mad.
“Now, Luna,” He chided lazily, while tried to cast her out of his mind by obliterating her manifested form with meteors that burned with eldritch ice, “right now I have a half a mind to kill you, half a mind to ravage you and another half a mind that is wondering what I'm going to have for breakfast when I wake up. I think I’m in the mood for waffles!”
Luna groaned at the memory and idly wondered whether Discord made more sense when he was asleep or when he was awake.
After giving the question some serious thought, she decided that he was much easier to deal with when he was unconscious. At least then he was honest.
Regardless of all that, she eventually, although reluctantly, threw herself on top of her bed. After a few minutes of squirming around under her sating covers, she found the most comfortable spot atop her regal, cloud infused, mattress. She immediately slowed her breathing, and by association her heart rate, while she cast her mind’s eye to the stars.
Adrift among the endless ocean of twinkling lights she felt her body relax and, eventually, fall away entirely before she fell into the deep trance that made her waking dreams.
She decided that she would manifest herself in the old Two Sisters Castle. From her memories a vison of the place was constructed, brick by brick. In a few minutes a full scale replica of the palace had materialized around her and she silently touched down on the cold stone floor. She looked around and saw, to her annoyance, that several cracks had managed to superimpose themselves on the, otherwise perfect, walls.
With a thought she banished the errant cracks. It didn’t really matter where she materialized herself or what that place looked like, but she didn’t care. In the end those cracks were a silent reminder that this place didn’t exist anymore, not as she remembered it anyway.
It bothered her.
She let the moment pass. Luna was not about to let the night slip away from her while she wallowed in her frustration. Despite how tempting that thought might have been to her at the time, she knew she had work to do.
With a bit of effort she pushed at the edges of her consciousness and extended her perception outward in all directions, borrowing from the memories of her subjects in order to transcend her own, limited, memory. It was a slow tedious process, by her standards, but she soon had a nearly complete replica of Equestria that she could move through freely.
With a thought she took to the skies, high above the Everfree, and she watched as the world spread out in all directions. It was a bit warped and distorted even at the best of times and some places had no definition to them whatsoever, black voids that seemed to chew away at the sounding landscape. It concerned her only a little bit, as she earned the trust of more of her subjects her perception of the world around her grew in size and clarity.
Still, she suspected that there would be some places that she would never see in her waking dreams.
She knew some places would be lost, forgotten, or perhaps never even explored by her Ponies.
Perhaps someday she would seek them out, but not tonight. Luna had a schedule to keep tonight.
She decided to start in Ponyville on a whim. Opening her mind to pick out signs of discordance, a sign that someone might need her help. Then she would wait, and watch, for the right time to intervene.
She could be a lot of things to a lot of Ponies. To some, Luna was a glimmer of hope in a time of darkness; a silent guardian to stand by them in their time of need. To others, she was shoulder to cry on, or perhaps a body to lean on for those who had reached the end of their rope. Sometimes she reached deeper, mingling with the most intimate parts of the subconscious to find a solution to a hidden problem.
She did all this with no expectation of reciprocation, with no demands for love, or even praise. Many times she would even go so far to be anonymous; she could become the familiar face or the complete stranger that many of her Ponies needed to see. She did it only to help those in need, to help ease the burdens that her Ponies would be forced to carry through their lives.
She just wanted to know she was making a difference.
She hoped it was all she really needed.
Eventually, after she helped all those who were open to her, she changed gears and moved onto her next task. Returning to her own domain she mentally prepared herself for the upcoming meeting.
Yes, Discord’s temperament, and temper, had softened a lot since his release; at this point Luna would even go as far as to say that Discord was one of her closest friends.
However, one does not simply waltz into the mind of a mad god without taking the proper precautions. After she double checked, and triple checked, her wards, she extended her mind to meet that of another once again.
This time she did not ask for permission.
If Luna had been in her corporeal form she probably would have groaned, instead she silently dipped her head as she tried to find her resolve to push forward.
She had expected to find Discord as she usually did, with him locked in a dreamless sleep that could be described as a state of suspended animation. At that point all she would have to do was “wake him,” it would have been difficult to do so but Luna had accomplished the same feat a few times before. It wasn’t a task she particularly enjoyed, but it was something she could accomplish.
However, that wasn’t the case.
Luna manifested in the middle of a large room lined with scaffolding and dotted with roughly shod wooden support beams, the original stone columns having been long since removed. She looked around the hall contemptuously, balking at what had become of The Two Sister’s castle since its fall and subsequent renovation. She briefly returned to her corporeal form, just to prove to herself that she was still technically dreaming and that she hadn’t managed to transport herself to the castle while she was unconscious. Any feeling of hopelessness at the situation she found herself in was quickly overshadowed by frustration and aggravation.
“So, he dreams…”
Her mood only worsened as she considered her options. She could either give up or search for him and the former wasn’t really a viable option considering the circumstances that brought her here in the first place.
The latter option entailed her searching through his entire domain to find him. The main issue with that would be that Discord was an immortal; therefore he had lived for a veritable eternity which in turn meant that his domain was, theoretically, infinite.
After a few minutes of contemplating the viability of the first option again she ultimately decided that she couldn’t just leave without at least attempting to find him. She took some time to consider where he might have ended up and where she would actually follow him, remembering from experience that trying to speak with his subconscious while it was reliving certain moments was a very bad idea. Once she made her list she decided to just go through it chronologically.
“Might as well try his forest first...”
The room around her began to shift and move, seemingly of their own accord. The walls, and beams surrounding her wrapped around themselves and slowly turned into a thicket trees as the vaulted ceiling and glass resolved itself into a darkened forest canopy. Luna took a few steps forward and the sound of her hoof falls fell away as she stepped off the granite floor and onto solid dirt. She walked toward what would have been the throne room in the castle and entered into a forest clearing. The century’s old ruble melted away into flickering shadows that shifted and crawled around of their own volition. A cool wind blew across her neck and an all too familiar voice slipped into her ear.
“Hello, my little Nightshade,” Luna looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing. “It’s been far too long since we last met.”
“Discord, we need to talk, and I would prefer to do so face to face.” Luna held her ground as she searched for something, anything, to address.
“Now, Luna, why on earth would you say that? You know as well as I do that there isn't anyone who actually wants to talk to me.” As the disembodied voice chuckled in her ear any remaining hope Luna had that Discord would make this easy faded away, her patience quickly followed suit.
“Discord…”
“Alright, alright, no need to get testy.” Discord seemed to hesitate as Luna tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently. “Still, I’m not convinced that you, or anyone else, really need me.” His voice fell away again and just as Luna was about to protest he piped in once more. “I know! Perhaps another form would be more fitting,” the air around Luna seemed to shift away from her before it solidified into an old, yet eerily familiar, form. “How do I look?”
Discord took a moment to inspect his new body as Luna looked on with a mild revision. Discord stood before her as an Alicorn several shades lighter, and a bit shorter, than herself. Despite the differences she immediately recognized it as herself, or at least a younger version of herself; she reasoned that it must the way that he best remembered her.
The other her did a pirouette, admiring her own tail, before bouncing around with a perverse glee. The more Luna looked at "her" the more she noticed the little inconsistencies and flaws in the image, it looked like her but it didn't, it moved like her but it didn’t.
Then it looked at her, straight in the eyes. “Oh yes,” the doppelganger said in a voice that sounded far too much like her own, “this will do nicely...” It sent a shiver down Luna’s spine.
“I have important business to discuss with you, Discord, this isn't the time for games.” It took all of her willpower to stare down at the doppelganger and chastise it. “Whatever you’re trying to do I don’t have the time and I certainly don't have the patience to deal with it right now,” Discord rolled his eyes and turned his back to her, Luna sighed. “Discord, this is a matter that should demand our full and immediate attention.” The doppelganger whispered something unintelligible and turned around.
“Fine,” it said with obvious distain, “if it really is that important I suppose I can be serious.” He trotted up to her and Luna froze when the doppelganger locked eyes with her again. “Well then, spit it out,” it narrowed its eyes at her and for a moment she could swear that its pupil turned scarlet. “I don’t have all eternity to wait for you to say something.” Luna took a step back, away from herself.
“Discord...” She tried to say in a warning tone, but only a whisper came out. Something was wrong with her, the doppelganger, but Luna couldn’t figure out exactly what.
“Relax Luna.” Discord continued his approach as the thing maintained direct eye contact with Luna. “I have your attention,” he said with a sickening grin, “and you have mine.” He waited for a response but Luna couldn’t think of a retort; instead the doppelganger rolled its eyes at her. “Let’s just try to get this done and over with before one of us gets distracted, shall we?”
“Fine,” Luna thought as her double tapped her hoof on the ground impatiently. “It this is how he wants to play the game, I suppose I will just have to deal with it for now…”
“Discord, your influence is spreading and it’s starting to get out of control.” Luna opted for a blunt approach, appealing to Discord’s sensibilities. Of course that was operating under the assumption that he had any anymore, Luna was beginning to doubt that. “I’m receiving complaints every other day about it interfering with…”
Luna stopped when she noticed that Discord had manifested a pitch black aura around “his” horn. She looked around and noticed that he was moving something. Whatever it was whenever Luna tried to look at it, it would just move again or fall out of focus completely.
“Discord, are you even paying attention to a word I am saying?”
He blinked a few times, hesitating before he looked back at her with her own eyes. “Hmm? Yes, of course,” he hesitated for a bit, searching for the right words. “My magic is disrupting your precious status quo, right?” Luna nodded hesitantly and doppelganger cocked its head to the side, staring at her quizzically. “Would I be wrong to assume that the only reason here you came here was to ask me to stop being such a public nuisance then?”
“More or less,” Luna replied sheepishly, wincing at the callousness of her response. “Discord, all I ask is that you-”
“No.”
“Wha-what do you mean, NO?” Luna stammered out reflexively. The doppelganger just rolled its eyes at her and turned its back to her. Discord went back to doing whatever he was doing before.
“I mean “no,” did I stutter?” It floored Luna how nonchalant Discord was being about the whole situation. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down, despite not needing to breath in her current form, but instead it just made her response all the more frantic.
“Discord,” she cried out in abject aggravation, “what is the meaning of this?”
“Luna, if I may be so bold to ask you a question,” he replied rhetorically, “did you stop for even a moment to consider my intentions before you decided to come here?”
“Y-your “intentions,” Discord, are you saying that all of this is intentional? You’re doing this on purpose?” Without even turning around Luna’s doppelganger nodded an affirmative, Luna could hardly even comprehend the betrayal she felt. “Discord, stop this foolishness this instant!”
Without thinking Luna dropped down into a defensive stance as her muscle memory and instincts overrode her rational thoughts. The doppelganger’s ears perked up and swiveled back, now focused on Luna, there was a tense moment where neither of them moved an inch but then Discord threw back his head and laughed mechanically.
“It seems that you have forgotten your place here.” Discord’s voice slipped into a hollow monotone as he spoke, the doppelganger seemed to relax as Discord turned his attention back to his own machinations. There was a moment of relative silence as Discord ignored Luna and as she attempted to stare a hole through the back of the doppelganger’s head. Suddenly it took a half step to the side and turned its head, staring her straight in the eye.
“This is my realm, not yours.”
Luna could almost taste the venom as it dripped off those words; she felt it as they cut into her very soul. As the air began to shift and seethe around her she knew that Discord was fighting the urge to reject her manifestation entirely. She never remembered him being like this, even when they fought hoof and claw he was never like this. When she searched for an answer in her doppelganger’s eyes she saw a tinge pain and rejection before Discord averted his gaze.
“Discord,” she spoke softly as not to tempt him, “what’s this about? I me what is it really about?” The doppelganger huffed and started to walk away from her again, Discord pretended to go back to what he was doing but Luna saw that his ears were still swiveled back towards her. “I know this isn’t you, this isn’t like you.” If her words had any effect on him he concealed it perfectly. Luna wracked her brain, trying to think back and figure out what could have put him in such a state.
"The last time anyone had heard from him was over a month ago, about the same time that…"
“Is this about Celestia?” Luna asked Discord plaintively. Again there was no physical reaction from Discord, but her doppelganger’s magical aura suddenly darkened several shades as it became tinted by uncontrolled emotion. “Discord? I’m right, aren’t I? Please, Discord, just tell me wha-”
“It’s none of your concern, I’m fine.” There was an unchecked malice in his voice now, she had definitely struck a nerve. Luna took a tentative step as she started to approach him.
“Discord, please, I just want to know what happened between the two of you. It’s not just you, it’s Celestia too…” Luna’s conviction failed her, she looked away for a moment trying to think of how to handle the situation she found herself in. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her doppelganger look up at her, it was only for a moment but Luna took it as a sign that she should continue. Luna sighed and turned back to him.
“She won’t talk to me anymore, she does her duties and she acts the part just fine but when all is said and done she just shuts herself in her chambers and refuses to talk to anyone… Not even me…
“She is entitled to take as much time as she needs to herself, I out of all ponies can understand that, but I’m worried about her. I just want to be there to help her, but she keeps shutting me out. I want to be here to help you too, Discord, but I can’t do that if you won’t let me in…
“Please, just tell me what’s going on and I promise I’ll-”
“I’m sorry Luna, I am oh so sorry.” Discord cut her off and he let off a long sigh. He turned around and started to walk up to her, this time there was a purpose behind each step.
“Discord I-”
“I meant to apologize sooner mind you, but I’ve been so very busy.” The doppelganger smiled at her and shook its head. “I pushed you both of you too hard all those years ago.” Luna took a hesitant step backwards when the warm smile faded from the doppelgangers face, she watched as the life started to drain from its eyes; they became placid mirrors that stared into her very soul. The doppelganger fell silent as Discord shifted his perspective again; suddenly his voice seemed to come from everywhere. “I just wanted to be sure that you were ready to rule. I needed to know that you would be able to bring some stability to Equestria when you finally ousted me.”
A smile touched at the doppelganger’s lips but it seemed different that before. It seemed to be a little less like a smile and more like its muzzle was pushing its lips away from its teeth.
“When I heard about your fall after my imprisonment I couldn’t help but feel a little responsible. I was convinced that I must’ve pushed you too far…”
Luna stood there for a moment, just staring back at the doppelganger before she took a few steps back and looked around for any signs of Discord. The confession genuinely touched her but she wasn’t sure if Discord was being entirely honest with her, it wasn’t like him to regret his actions but Luna had to admit that she still didn’t understand him entirely. She took some time to re-evaluate the situation.
“Discord, it’s alright.” Luna confessed to the empty air around her. She still wasn’t convinced that Discord was being forthcoming, but she was willing to meet him halfway if it would help him resolve his own issues. “I will admit that I did blame you for what happened for a long time, but that wasn’t really me as much as it was Nightmare Moon. I spent so much time blaming everyone else for my problems that I didn’t even think about-”
“I couldn’t even begin to imagine terrifying that must have been for you,” Discord cut her off without fanfare, “to watch yourself fall deeper and deeper into an abyss of hatred and despair. I just didn’t understand the kind of pain you must have been in, it made me feel sick not knowing exactly what I did to you.
“But then, I had a realization. I realized that even if I was the one who broke you, all those years ago, that it didn’t really matter in the end.”
A flicker of shadow drew Luna’s attention back to her doppelganger. Before her eyes she watched as its blue coat was slowly consumed by an inky blackness, the smile she saw before seemed to extend outward as its muzzle became longer, sharper, more predatory. The thing that really unnerved Luna was how its pupils pulled inward as its eyes narrowed.
“Because even after all that, you’re still here; in fact you’re stronger than ever!” Luna took a half-step back from the doppelganger only for it to take a step towards her. “I realized how liberating it must have been to just let it all go, to give into the temptation. You were always so high strung, Luna. I’m sure it felt wonderful to just let yourself go like that!” By now the doppelganger’s transformation was complete. Nightmare Moon herself stood just a few feet away from Luna, staring down at her with dead eyes and grinning manically.
“So I thought to myself, “what if I just let myself go,” it never occurred to me before that I could just give up, that I didn't have to try to be the good guy anymore!” Some of the darkness that spilled out from Nightmare Moon shot up and leapt out in front of her, she stumbled backwards as Discord materialized in front of her.
“What do you think, Luna?” He exclaimed with open arms, baring his fangs in a macabre grin. “This is the new Discord!” Luna looked at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Gone was the haphazard amalgamation of parts she had grown accustomed to, he was sleeker, more powerful; he was the embodiment of a true predator. Luna attempted to scramble to her feat, she tried to get away, but she quickly realized she was being held down by something. She looked around frantically only to discover that sinister, black, creepers had worked their way around her legs.
It struck her that her wards should have stopped Discord well before he ensnared her. She quickly checked them only to find that they were completely oblivious to the threat before her.
Her wards failed because Discord had broken the rules.
“Discord, you can’t just break down the boundary between realms like this, do you even realize what kind of-”
“What kind of Havoc that causes?” Discord said, finishing her thought. “Of course I do, I might be mad but I'm not a fool Luna.” Suddenly the vines pulled her down completely and Discord crouched down next to her, grinning at her prone form. He shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like I haven't done it before, I've just never done it on this grand of a scale.” He chuckled darkly and stood up, moving over to the doppelganger in front of her. “Before now it was just things that needed to happen, floods, droughts, plagues, you know the rest I’m sure.” As he said this he ran his claws through the doppelgangers mane, it fell into his touch complacently. “Unfortunate accidents need to happen once in a while to keep everyone on their toes, to keep you from becoming too complacent.
“But this!” He threw his arms out in a grand gesture. “This is different. I must admit that I never expected the planes to clash so violently, but that’s all for the better I suppose. After all, we will all be stronger after the fall! Right Luna?”
“It doesn’t have to happen like this!” Luna shouted out as she struggled under the weight of the vines that slowly warped themselves around her prone from. “Discord, you don’t have to go down this road!” She pleaded with him as she desperately tried to pry herself from his grasp. “We can talk about this!” She managed to pry two creepers away from her only for three more to replace them, forcing her down with renewed vigor. She decided to devote her reaming energy to try to negotiate with him. “I-I know what it’s like. You might think you’re alone, but you’re not!” She made eye contact with him only for her face to get shoved into the ground by another vine. “For all the darkness in the night sky there are endless stars that paint it with light. I can help you!”
Discord laughed, long and hard. He saw him move in front of her. As he picked her head up from the ground the vines moved away from her face, apparently content to wrap themselves around her neck.
“Really, Luna, I appreciate what you're trying to do.” He took a moment to stare deep into her eyes as he traced a talon along her jawline. “But you and your sister have already shown me everything I ever needed. You, Luna, have shown me the light; you’ve shown me that even gods can fall into darkness.”
Luna felt his talon start to cut into her cheek as the creepers around her neck tightened, their spines digging into her fur. Instinctively she channeled her energy into one last, desperate, spell.
“Let me show you my appreciation, Luna, for Auld Lang Syne.” Luna’s world fell away into as the darkness collapsed on her, suddenly-
Luna quickly scrambled to her hooves only to fall face first into her sheets. After a bit of panic and disorientation she realized that she was awake and in her room again, that and she was almost completely drained of energy. Choosing to ignore that she leapt out of bed and began sprinting through the shadowy, moonlight, halls of the castle, like a specter through the night.
The familiar shadows that normally comforted her only served to spur her on faster. The cool night air cut into the still fresh wound on her cheek as she ran.
Luna dealt with nightmares every night; however, she had no idea how to deal with them when they came to life.
Not alone, anyway.
After a few minutes of running her pace and her heartbeat had slowed dramatically, both coming to a standstill before the very large, ornate, doors placed at the end of a very long, comparatively mundane, hallway. After a few moments of trepidation she pushed the doors open, just enough for her to slip through, and she called out with the most confident voice she could muster.
“S-sister?”
“Luna?” Celestia twisted herself and sat up on the mattress to address Luna. “What is it?” She faked a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. “It’s late.”
“Celestia, it’s Discord, he’s changed.”
“What are you talking about?” Celestia asked, her voice tinged with worry and concern.
“I went to go visit him in his dreams and… he scared me Celestia, he was awake.” Luna finally broke down. “Sister, he broke the boundary between dreams and reality. I-I think he might have tried to kill me, but I don’t know for sure. He-“
Luna stopped when her sister wrapped her in a warm and protective hug. For a moment she was stunned, and then she embraced her back. She tried to be strong but after a minute she broke down again and started to sob uncontrollably. It took a while of them just standing there for her to calm down again, with a bit of effort she managed to pull herself away from her sister and wipe the fresh tears from her eyes. Celestia hoped she didn’t notice her doing the same.
“Tia, so the longest time I was so afraid that I might lose myself again.” Luna looked down at the ground for a second before she made eye contact. “Lately it’s felt like I’ve been losing you, but now we are losing Discord. We’re losing him again, Celestia, I’m scared.”
Celestia shushed her sister and embraced her once more. “Everything is going to be alright.” She slowly traced circles through Luna’s mane with her hoof, attempting to calm her down. “We’ll get this all sorted out in the morning, together. Ok?” Luna nodded into Celestia’s chest weakly.
“Ok…”
Celestia loosened her grip on Luna and looked down to see Luna looking back up at her. It was obvious Luna felt better than before but she looked far worse for wear; her muzzle was streaked with tears, her mane was a tangled mess, her wings were ruffled, and her eyes were bloodshot. “You should try to get some sleep; we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow and you look like you need all the rest you can get.”
Despite herself, Celestia smiled when Luna blinked at her, oblivious to her current state. Luna quickly glanced at the mirror in front of Celestia’s desk and almost immediately took a step back, obviously surprised by her appearance. Celestia chuckled as Luna smiled back at her own reflection.
“I suppose that wouldn’t be the worst idea you’ve ever had.” Luna said as she brushed a few strands of loose hair away of her face.
“Goodnight, Luna.” Celestia shook her head as she turned and stated to walk back to her bed.
“Sister,” Celestia stopped in her tracks and looked back over to Luna, “would it be alright if I slept with you tonight.” Celestia hesitated briefly.
“O-of course, Luna.” She took another moment to appreciate Luna’s disheveled state. “But first, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Celestia went through all the motions. She washed Luna’s face, she made sure to scrub all the sweat and exertion out of her coat, and she took the time to preen Luna’s wings; every feather in its place. She even went the extra mile to tease all the knots out from Luna’s mane, despite Luna’s constant insistence that she could do it herself.
She did it because she knew that she needed to do it, Celestia needed the contact. She did it because, despite the fact that she had probably narrated and dictated enough to comprise a new volume of her biography, she had hardly spoken two words to anypony in the past month. She did it because, even though she had greeted, mingled, and danced with dozens, if not hundreds of Ponies in the past month, she hadn't taken the time to talk to, touch, or even really look at anyone in the same period of time.
Mostly she did it because she wanted to spend some time with her little sister before she left, she knew Luna wouldn't really mind.
Once they were both in bed it only took Luna a few minutes to fall asleep, or to be more specific, it only took her a few minutes to pass out. Still, Celestia took pains to stay by her side, gently stroking her mane, until she was positive she was actually asleep. She carefully extricated herself from her sister’s hooves and shuffled out of bed. Celestia felt a pang of guilt stab at her as she watched Luna grab at the empty air in front of her before she managed to find Celestia’s pillow, her unconscious form deciding it to be an adequate replacement.
“We'll get this all sorted out in the morning, together.” At least that is what she had told her.
Celestia sighed, exasperated, before she leaned over to gently kiss her sister’s forehead. “I’m sorry.” She said.
Celestia lied, but in her mind it was a necessary lie. Luna needed her sleep if she wanted to be able to deal with the inevitable fallout of what would happen tonight, Celestia didn’t have the luxury of waiting for a new dawn.
She had already spent so much of her life waiting for a new sunrise, a better tomorrow. She had to admit to herself that just waiting for a solution to present itself was not a real solution to her problems. For years she had done what she thought she was capable of doing herself, delegating everything else to more competent Ponies and praying that her subjects would prevail when she was too afraid to try. She was tired of just hoping that it would turn out "Ok" in the end.
Celestia decided that if she wanted to control her own destiny that she would have to act of her own accord.
Careful as not to flare her horn, she grabbed a quill and parchment with her magic as she crept over to her desk. Laying out two pieces of parchment she quickly scrawled out two letters before sending out both with a silent burst of magic. She glanced back at Luna, to make sure she was still asleep, before she walked out to the balcony. As she stepped out into the cold night air, she took a moment to appreciate the beautiful night she had walked into before she commenced her final preparations.
Slowly, her horn flared up with an amber glow as she summoned up reserves of magic from deep within her body. The glow steadily grew in intensify as she tried to focus that energy into one concrete act of will. Soon the aura started to spread, from her horn, as it engulfed her entire body. The aura grew brighter and brighter until she was physically lifted off the ground, lifted up by the raw magical energy she was channeling. Celestia’s aura grew brighter and brighter until it became impossible to distinguish her from the corona of light.
It was then, just as she felt her strength begin to wane, she gave that magic direction.
A bolt of ethereal light shot out of her horn as Celestia fell back onto the balcony with a clatter of hooves. She quickly crept back into her room to make sure she hadn't managed to wake her sister and was relieved to find that she was still sleeping soundly on the bed. She moved back out to the balcony and cast her gaze skyward; it only took her a moment to find the tail of the bolt of magic as it arced across the sky. To anyone else it would look like a shooting star, but to her it was an assurance. It drained her reserves considerably, but it was the only way she could assure the sun would rise and set in her absence.
“However long that may be.” She thought to herself
Celestia always believed that it was better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. As she propelled herself from the balcony and into the night sky with a strong flap of her wings she thought to herself.
“I only hope that I am not too late…”
And with that though in her mind she angled her wings downward and descended towards the, ever darkening, forest below…
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Chapter Ten Comment
Right so first off let me cover the obvious stuff.
Dark tag is added because of aggressive actions and mild violence, honestly I would have just put a disclaimer but the tone of the story was already somewhat Dark before so adding the tag is just a natural extension of that.
The Teen rating is due mostly to the reasons stated above as well as some of the implications in the subtext (yes this story has a lot of subtext, it's ok if you don't see it). Honestly I didn't do that before because this was all stuff I could have dealt with when I was a kid, but then I remembered that I was a really screwed up kid so Teen rating to cover my ass!
As for the whole Twilight Sparkle thing, if you haven't figured it out yet I only place characters on tag if they have a speaking role. So Twilight will be talking either in the next chapter or the one after that. I will try to warn you of new additions at least one chapter in advance.
Alright, now all of you who came here to get a feel for the "changes" go and enjoy the story and report back to this comment when you are done with the chapter. If you are reading the above and wondering what is going on and what am I talking about I plan on removing the authors note about two days after I post the chapter, I still think it breaks immersion for new readers.
Anyway first off, I would like to issue an apology for how long it has taken me to post this chapter. As much as I would like to say that I have an excuse for taking so long with it in all actuality I don't. Sure life and stuff but at the end of the day on average I only wrote like two hundred words per day whereas it takes me like an hour to write a thousand plus words. This being said, I plan to at minimum write two hundred words per day, hopefully more, as anything less than that would be simply lazy on my part.
Second off, I hope this chapter isn't too OOC for anyone involved or anything, I will admit this was one of the chapters that sounded better in my head (part of the reason it took so long) but I digress. I really appreciate any feedback you provide as it gives me a different perspective from which I can see myself and it really does improve the integrity of the story in the long run.
Finally as per usual I hope you enjoy this chapter and I appreciate your time and viewership immensely. If you spot any errors or inconsistencies please bring them to my attention and I will fix them as soon as possible. Well that is about it for this comment, anyway...
Cheers, Null
Well.... that was a development.
3889188
I only hope that it doesnt come of as me trying to hard to be edgy, so long as it feels natural I am content!
So you tell me, am I content?
3889450
It was fine, felt natural even.
So rape her wow thats new for Discord at least I think so. Ravage more often that not said to a female is sexual.
3890197
I wondered about that. "Ravage" means to savagely attack, and isn't really a contradiction to wanting to kill. "Ravish" is the word that means rape, though its connotations are more old school romance novel "your mouth says no but your heart says yes" bullshit. Because the words sound similar, I wondered if Null meant to use "ravish". If so, it strongly suggests that Discord's description of his interaction with the princesses before he was sealed is... leaving stuff out. This is the kind of banter you engage in with an enemy; Discord's said he wasn't enemies with the princesses till they showed up and stoned him for not solving all the ponies' problems for them. That... never sounded accurate, and it sounds a lot less so now.
I don't think the version of the character in this story would ever have actually done such a thing ( especially since he seems to think this is in fact his first fall to the dark side), but I could see him taunting someone who has elected to become his enemy that way.
If the word really is ravage, then the whole sentence is weird and doesn't even make Discord sense, because ravage doesn't actually have the sexual implications ravish does, and isn't different enough from kill to be used in the "half a mind" construction.
3891532 Well ravage definition is if you look it up is...
1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town.
2. To pillage; sack: Enemy soldiers ravaged the village.
v.intr.
To wreak destruction.
n.
1. The act or practice of pillaging, destroying, or devastating.
2. Grievous damage; havoc: the ravages of disease. The act of pillaging to someone who is female could be called rape. Rape doesn't have to be sexual really ether. Like to say They raped the land of it's gold and gems.
3891558
Eh, I won't say the term is never used that way, but generally speaking, rape, pillage and plunder describe separate behaviors; ravage, pillage, plunder, etc. don't tend to mean rape or have a sexual connotation unless there's context making it clear. And it's true that rape can also connote violent theft of any sort in archaic phraseology, as in the example you gave. But when the context is someone speaking in a modern vernacular (Discord talking about waffles is not exactly High Fantasy language), ravage as a synonym for rape without a sexual context is... distinctly odd, and not in the way that Discord's word choices are usually odd.
3891620 Speaking of waffles Discord tastes for food is pretty good. I love waffles. Infact waffles are better than pancakes! Yes I know thats an odd thing to say because pancakes and waffles are pretty much the same thing but waffles are made better!
3891651
Waffles are crunchy. Pancakes aren't, unless you burn them, in which case they're not tasty anyway. So if you're a fan of the crunchy, definitely waffles are the way to go.
Of course, Discord's gonna have to catch his waffles with a butterfly net after he put wings on them, but how could he not put wings on them if he was going to cover them with barbeque sauce?
So since I didn't want to simply leave a comment arguing about semantics, or waffles, I thought I'd share my opinions about the actual chapter.
I like this. I very much like this. I'm scared, because I don't want what was possibly Discord's most reasonable and "nice" incarnation that wasn't massively OOC ever to fall to the dark side, but his reactions are quite plausible, as is Luna's response. The rapid shifting between friendliness and menace is one of Discord's trademarks when he's either being a bad guy or threatening that he might go that way, but it still rather stunned me when he was apologizing to Luna, acting like he might be on the verge of calming down and behaving himself, and then he suddenly switches to this "but it must have felt real good to be able to let your morality go completely, didn't it?" and turns really, really threatening.
I like this because it has superficial resemblances to one of my least favorite tropes -- ie, "Discord turned evil because Celestia rejected him" -- but the differences are so vitally important. Discord isn't turning evil because Celestia rejected him, he's turning evil because he has a lifetime of being treated as either a menace or a tool and as soon as he thought that maybe he had established genuine friendships and a real place in the world, he feels like he's been betrayed. It's not this one instance of betrayal, it's all of them, when he thought things had finally gotten better.
But I am worried for how this turns out, because it feels like it may have gone too far for "Oh, sorry, is that what you thought? No, far from it, I released you because I wanted a friend and I lied about it because I was hiding it from Canterlot nobility, not you" to work. Is he even going to believe Celestia if she apologizes?
3891651
3891712
I must say, I cannot possibly express my delight at how much controversy my choice in phrasing has caused here.
I will offer a bit of insight into my word choice, though I doubt it will help that much. I effectively edit my stories at least three times, once when I am writing, once when I do a thorough examination and edit, and once more when I when I post the story to FiMFiction (I honestly would just do just the two if I didn't have to italicise everything again). So I assure you my word choices are very much intentional! Take that as you may.
Then to Alara (as much as I hate making assumptions I find I have a relatively good grasp of nomenclature so correct me if I have the wrong name), I'm glad that you are enjoying the story and I immensely appreciate your feedback (I say appreciate way to much), it does help keep me off of my wilder tangents. Also, I apologize for the emotional cliffhanger for Discord; however, my job is to see this story from its introduction to its conclusion in as concise a manner as possible while maintaining thematic integrity (as I'm sure you can appreciate having *checks* twenty one stories under your belt, in contrast to my measly one). So there is that.
Cheers, Null
P.S. I prefer usually Waffles to Pancakes as I find they taste better with smuggled Canadian Maple Syrup, though I am also quite partial to a well made crepe.
3891929 So you pretty much wanted someone to see that "word play" there. Ravage is just a intresting word to began with. It has so many ways it can be used and what it could mean. So yea it fits Discord very well for him to use a world like that in that way.
Come?
7937520
Fixed
God, I really need to finish rewriting this at some point...