Prologue: Corruption or Liberation?
Princess Luna, being the princess of the night, was nonsurprisingly nocturnal. As Celestia managed the day's activities and royal duties, Luna slept in peace, in a majestic bedroom kept in perpetual darkness through magic. Her dark brand of magic had always made her sister wary, occasionally she might say frightened her, even before her original transformation. It was what made her guards so fearsome, and now was blocking any kind of light from her quarters. But it did not block out visitors, and Luna awoke to see a strange, bipedial figure in the shadows, leaning at the foot of her bed. He raised a griffon's claw and snapped once, loosing light all across the room.
"Nice perpetual-darkness spell, Luna. You've improved since last time."
"Discord! What are you doing here? Be gone, now!"
"Ah, I see you've dropped that archaic dialect as well. How pleasant. I don't mean to cause you any trouble, only to chat. I've been dying for some decent conversation. Why, just yesterday I was stone-dead for lack of it. And of course your sister wasn't any good for talking."
"What have you done to Celestia?"
"Nothing! Only sent her on a wild goose chase, perfectly harmless. Geez, when did you get so uptight?"
By now, Luna was out of bed, had her royal armor on, and was eyeing Discord as she paced across the room.
"I've had some, um, unpleasant experiences since last we met."
"So I've seen. There's actually a pretty good view of just about anything from the garden. You know, I remember that day pretty well. The day she banished you, I mean. And from all I've seen of her in the past millennium, she hasn't changed a bit. Still stiff, still single-minded, still a control-freak. But from the little I've seen you, dear Luna, you've changed quite a bit. You're still very withdrawn, I'll give you that, but you're changing. I think even becoming more like her."
At the idea, Luna was thrust into rage.
"How dare you! I am nothing like Celestia!"
Discord's voice was becoming less mocking and more down-to-earth. It almost sounded like he sympathized with her.
"I don't believe that, Luna, and I don't think you do either. At least, not entirely. You're becoming more like her every day; now that she doesn't consider you a threat, she's grooming you in her own image. But all you are to her is an example: when you became too powerful for her tastes, she essentially destroyed you, to show what happens to those who oppose her. Then, after a thousand years, she lets you come back and become the great threat she knew you would be. But after letting six ordinary mares take you down with elements they never deserved to wield, she showed mercy to the greatest enemy Equestria had seen in centuries. Just like the benevolent Celestia we all know and love, always kind and compassionate, infallible in every way. Nopony ever saw her ambition like you did. Every time you look at her, you try and see the perfect ruler everypony else sees, the perfect sister, but somehow you always find the ambition. You see the passion, the rage, the determination. You see every part of her that you saw the split-second before she banished you to the moon."
Luna began to drop her guard, slowly opening up to her old foe.
"It's true that the ability to wield the Elements of Harmony was intended as a royal birthright. How she decided to violate that and entrust them to six common ponies has eluded me since my return. But you are right: she used me as an example. It's no surprise that after I disappeared, Equestria remained in almost unbroken peace under her rule. And now that she's forgiven me in front of the whole country, her public image has been on the upturn. And you're right about looking at her: the picture from that fateful night haunts me. In my dreams, in the daylight, whenever I see her. It's been haunting me for so long..."
Luna almost broke down, sobbing.
"Sh, sh, I know. It's alright, Luna. You've been through so much, you feel betrayed, and for more than a thousand years you've been looking for a shoulder to cry on. You feel alone, isolated, like nopony that ever was could understand your situation. Well, I understand. If you remember, I too have been victimized by Celestia, and she even dragged you along to help."
"Yes, and come to think of it, she never told me exactly why you were such a threat."
"It's because I wasn't, Luna. Except to her control, of course. She couldn't control me, just like she couldn't control you, of course, and now look where we are. We've fallen through the cracks, beyond the facade of perfection Celestia created."
"You and I have more in common than I would have thought, Discord."
"Indeed. I'll need to leave soon, so listen carefully. Night and day were intended to be like yin and yang: opposite, but equal. Do you feel like Celestia's equal?"
"Not at all."
"Nor should you. For the past millennium, daylight has upset the balance, overshadowing the night. For equality to be restored, darkness must have its own time of superiority. You alone have the power to make that possible."
"You are right, Discord; I know what I must do. And I never thought I'd say this, but thank you. For listening, and for inspiring me."
"All in a day's work, my dear Luna. No thanks is necessary. I'm just doing my job. But before I leave, a word of advice: the day has the night. Light has darkness, the sun has the moon. Everything of importance has an equal opposite. Celestia has you, and her guards have yours. But she has Twilight Sparkle. Who do you have?"
With that, Discord dissolved into nothingness, vanishing from the foot of Luna's bed. A moment later, two of her draconic guards pushed open a door to see Luna alone.
"My lady, a thousand apologies. We thought we heard voices from inside, and wanted to be sure you were safe. Please, forgive us for the intrusion."
But behind the shadow guard's formality, he was shocked at what he saw: Luna was cloaked in blue energy, growing in every dimension. Her wings, horn, height, everything. Her skin was also changing to a darker shade, and her armor along with it. And in her reply, he could discern a great deepening in her voice.
"Do not apologize, Blackout. Your decision was a wise one, unintentional as it might have been, for I have need for you now. Gather all of my personal guards and send them to me. Take orders to our training camp in the Everfree Forest to accelerate the Shadowbolt Program as much as possible. We need to build an army. The time has come to restore balance to Equestria, and for night to come into the power it has been owed for the past millennium. Begin preparing for war."
"As you wish, my lady."
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Peeking inside from a window, Discord watched and listened as the conversation unfolded. Perfect, he thought. His backup plan had been set in motion.
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Exciting!
Next chapter pl0x.
Damn it dude. I thought no one had used this picture so far and then when I submit my story, you had it. I swear God works in funny ways
674773 I've had this story in the woodwork for some time now as an idea, and I just now decided to start on it. Wierd.
An excellent beginning, and I just love how Discord's silver tongue was showcased here.
More please!
I have decided that I shall start my critique of your story, and honestly??? It's actually pretty good! I liked how Discord was the reason Luna transformed, it all made a large amount of sense and I was quite pleased to read it. Unfortunately, I fear that critiquing this story will be a dull experience, as good stories do not leave room for entertaining critiques :P
oooo! Discord, my favorite villain in this story?....YES!!! I mean um *cough,cough* yay
lol great story so far you started off with an interesting prologue which I always skip because they usually boring and I'm already lazy but yours actually piqued my interest im impressed keep up the awesome work
We need to build an army. The time has come to restore balance to Equestria, and for night to come into the power it has been owed for the past millennium. Begin preparing for war." when Princess Luna said this I was reminded of this song:
Also, new headcanon accepted.
I love it, now to give this a chance. Certainly a interesting prologue, if I might add.
......well that escalated quickly
Wow, great chapter.
i agree with discord, do not trust the day
7883139
I agree too. I like the dark. Dark for dark business.
Bit rushed this first chapter, but I can see why you'd want to get to the meat of the story as quickly as possible
Luna knows Discord is a threat because she was there too.
"All in a day's work, my dear Luna. No thanks is necessary. I'm just doing my job. But before I leave, a word of advice: the day has the night. Light has darkness, the sun has the moon. Everything of importance has an equal opposite. Celestia has you, and her guards have yours. But she has Twilight Sparkle. Who do you have?"
Discord's deceived her and she was gullible enough to take it.
Peeking inside from a window, Discord watched and listened as the conversation unfolded. Perfect, he thought. His backup plan had been set in motion.
I wonder how.
7883139
Why?
10440733
One is never as perfect as people see them. Remember Palpatine?
Also, alot of bronies don't like Celestia for one thing or another. If they were to have a Equestrian war between these two, who would win?