Two Sides of Discord

by MLP Fangirl

Bonus Chapter

It was a normal day in the royal court of Princess Celestia. She had raised the sun a few hours ago, and the day had started out perfectly. The few petitioners that had come in early had made reasonable requests that were easily resolved. Not only that, Luna had decided to stay up and observe what her sister did on a routinely basis. The Princess of the Night was received warmly by the denizens of Canterlot. While she still had not completely adjusted to modern society, that did not make her any less enjoyable.

Luna, before she was Nightmare Moon, was not exactly old enough to fully rule a country. She was still the Princess of the Moon no doubt, but now that she was older, she'd be more mature to handle certain things. No longer a naïve, young filly, she was now a beautiful alicorn mare ready to defend against any and all crises. But, could she fend off the upcoming crisis that was shortly on its way?

Celestia and Luna had settled down for breakfast. As Princesses, their schedule did not allow them to have an early meal. Even so, the two sisters never complained. Through millennia of experience, the princesses had pretty much gotten used to it at this point.

"Sister, how are you enjoying the morning? A lot different then nighttime hours, I should think," Celestia asked her sister.

Luna took a sip of her tea before responding, "Pardon. But, to answer your question, yes, the day differs much from my night. However, I can see why ponies stay up for it. You've done a great job, Tia." She gave her sister a nuzzle which she gladly returned.

"Thank you. It has not been easy, let me tell you. Managing both the sun and moon for a thousand years was not simple in the slightest. I missed your companionship. Now, not only I get to enjoy your company, but the good citizens of Equestria do as well. You have a way with foals, Luna." Celestia said with a chuckle.

Luna chuckled as well, "Yes, well, when you can visit dreams, you tend to score some child points. I've visited several foals in their sleep. Some of which are siblings to the Bearers of Harmony. Being the Princess of the Night has its perks."

"Yes, I suppose it does." Just then, one of the servants came rushing into the dining hall. Out of breath, the mauve mare collapsed onto the floor. The Princesses immediately knelt by her side.

"Quill Pen, what has caused your panting? Are you troubled?" Celestia helped her stand upright.

Quill Pen got up shakily and took a deep breath. "Forgive me for the outburst, Your Majesties. But, there is some turmoil in the city. Things are getting out of control. We don't know what's causing it."

Princess Celestia and Luna instantly left the room. They looked out the nearest window and could see the disorder milling about. Ponies were floating in mid-air, and it wasn't by means of unicorn magic. Street signs had grown legs and were chasing foals. Not only that, but it was raining. Not water, but chocolate milk. Canterlot was a mess.

"I don't understand what's going on. What could be causing this? Everything's so disorderly, messed up, and...chaotic. Oh no," Celestia's face had turned grim.

"Sister, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Luna asked as she stared out the window.

"There's only one being who could have done this. But this doesn't add up. He's reformed."

"Was reformed, my dear." The echo reverberated around the room. Much similar to the first time he had escaped.

"Discord!" Luna and Celestia shouted together.

"About time you uttered my name. I was beginning to think you had forgotten." Discord's voice said. He was still nowhere to be seen.

"Show yourself now, Discord! We need to talk," Celestia said angrily.

"This is the first time you've ever wanted to talk with me. Must be a special occasion," He finally appeared in the throne room. Celestia and Luna were taken aback by his appearance. There was something...different about him. He looked normal, but something was off.

"Well, Discord. I think you know what we would like to discuss. Explain right now what in the world is going on out there. This is obviously your doing," Luna said, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What gave you the hint? The chocolate rain? The panic? The mayhem? Of course, it's my doing. There is no other being capable of pulling feats like this," He said proudly gesturing outside.

"Why are you doing this? Did Fluttershy's friendship mean nothing to you?" Celestia asked accusingly.

"Who cares about friendship? I don't, that's for sure. You should have known from the very beginning that taming me was a complete impossibility. I'm not called the Embodiment of Chaos and Disharmony for nothing you know." He caused it to start raining indoors to emphasize his point.

"What happened to you? You've been fine for the past few moons, and now you start causing trouble?" Luna asked bitterly.

"I came to my senses. Equestria is rightfully mine, but you two stole my kingdom away from me. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me thrice, and I get mad. I will not fail a third time," He said confidently.

Celestia whispered quietly in Luna's ear, "Sister, summon Twilight and her friends." Sadly, not quiet enough.

Discord appeared in between them. "Tia, Tia, Tia. Calling Twilight and her friends again? Frankly, I shouldn't expect any different," He walked in front of them, "I mean, that's what you've been doing all this time, right? Sending your precious, prized protégé and her friends into potential danger."

"That is not true, Discord--"

"Let's recap," He snapped his fingers, and an image of Twilight and her friends battling Nightmare Moon appeared. Luna quickly turned away. "Here we have Twilight and company fighting off the dark persona of Lulu. Where are you? Oh, that's right. Your beloved sister banished you to the sun."

Luna was about to attack when Celestia held out a wing to stop her.

"Now wait, I couldn't control--"

"Moving on," He snapped his fingers again, and another image appeared showing Discord's first breakout. "Now here's a personal favorite of mine. You send your student and her friends into my domain knowing full well what I'm capable of. Yet, you give them no help, NONE whatsoever. Wishing them luck is about all you did. Okay, I'll admit, you did send Sparkle that friendship trash which resulted in her returning to normal, but besides that, what? You did not confront me once. Left it all up to the Elements."

Celestia was beginning to feel a little guilty but wasn't showing it. "That may be true, but--"

"Next!" Another snap, and the wedding of Shining Armor and Cadence appeared. Celestia cringed at the scene being played. She had no idea how he knew all of this.

"Twilight is spouting out accusations at your niece, Princess Cadence. None of you gave her a chance to explain herself. As Twilight had said, you all were too caught up in your wedding plans to notice something was wrong. You harshly scold Twilight, and as a result, she gets placed in the Canterlot caverns. In the end, it turns out she was right. Oh, and you also get beaten up by an evil queen wannabe. That right there should put you to shame. I could have taken Chrissy with both hands tied behind my back." Discord let out a laugh causing Celestia to angrily flare her wings.

"Discord, I think you've made your--"

"Not done yet," An image of the Crystal Empire appeared. "Twilight is given a test. To protect the Crystal Empire all by herself. You didn't want her receiving help from anyone. Not even her friends. You didn't really give her any details, and you pressured her. You even taught her dark magic. If she wasn't drenched in harmony, she could have succumbed to the dark. In the end, she winds up getting trapped in crystals, and her little dragon winds up saving the day. Her dragon! He doesn't even have magic except for his fire. You did not offer any help. You literally sent her into the cold."

Luna was a little surprised as well. She glanced over to her sister and could sense she was faltering.

"Discord, please--"

"One more! A recent one," He snapped his fingers once more making an image of the Tree of Harmony appear. "Right, before the Summer Sun Celebration, the Everfree takes over thanks to my plunder seeds. Oh, don't look so shocked, it was clearly my doing. Anyway, you two are captured by the vines leaving Twilight once again to save the day. Did you guys even try to escape? The vines didn't suffocate you, and your magic should have still been intact. I'm sure you could have easily escaped. But, of course, who winds up saving you? Twilight and her friends."

Celestia was taking deep breaths trying to dismiss all the thoughts coming into her head. Luna could tell she was distraught.

"Okay, Discord. I get it. However, I am not doing this on purpose. Twilight is a powerful pony, but needs to learn how to properly utilize her magic. Being placed in situations like those will allow her to mature. She is growing up. She is a Princess of Equestria after all. I do not send her out completely unprepared though." Celestia defended herself.

"So you're method of gaining maturity is sending ponies into danger that might get them killed? I have to wonder what Twilight feels about this sometimes. She looks like she's fine with it, but looks can be deceiving. One of these days, you'll send her some place, and she might not return. Think about it. Twilight may be powerful, but she's not omnipotent. Her friends could fall the same way. They'll run into something they've never encountered before, and they may not be prepared." Discord could tell Celestia was falling.

Discord's words were beginning to get to her. She was sending her student into danger without warning her about what to expect. Granted, Twilight was successful, but there could come a day where she's not. Celestia couldn't even fathom how she would feel if Twilight was hurt or worse killed. Twilight was her prized student and now a powerful princess in Equestria. She was favored by ponies all over Equestria including the princesses themselves. She would never be able to forgive herself if Twilight was hurt. The emotional strain was tearing down Celestia's mental defenses.

Luna tried to calm down her sister, but Discord threw her against the wall.

"Twilight will--" Discord appeared in front of her eyes and hypnotic swirls filled both of their eyes. "Not doing anything worked before. You know Twilight can take care of it all by herself. That's why you've been sending her instead of doing it yourself. You know she doesn't need you. You don't need to do anything." Celestia's fur turned grey indicated Discord's influencing worked. No one was strong enough to overcome his manipulation. Not even the most powerful alicorn could withstand his influence.

Discord pumped a fist. Celestia was dealt with. Now, it was Luna's turn.

"One down, one to go," Discord turned around to see Luna getting up. She had witnessed Celestia's corruption and was not happy out it.

"Discord! You've crossed the line. I do not need Twilight's help in besting you. I was always the better fighter of the two of us." Luna shot four consecutive beams at Discord which he quickly dodged, but they came back around. He was surprised but quickly caught on. He snapped his fingers causing the beams to reverse direction towards Luna. She quickly surrounded herself in a blue bubble reflecting the rays and making them collide with the wall.

Discord scowled. If that didn't work, he produced eight or nine clones of himself trying to confuse Luna. Luna looked bewildered at first, but then figured out which was the real one. She shot a beam at him causing him to flinch and avoid it.

"How'd you know?"

"Believe me, I can tell. Bring on your next move!"

Discord realized this might go on for a little while. Celestia was feeling too down to do anything, yet she stayed the safe distance away. The corruption had not made her stupid. Discord snapped his fingers and froze both sisters.

"Discord! Let us go! We will not stand for thy insolence!" Luna tended to talk in Old Equus when she was mad or confused.

"You two will just get in my way. I have a country to take over. I don't anything or anypony interfering." He summoned a blank portrait and snapped his fingers. With that snap, the two princesses were placed in the picture not able to move as if they were the actual painting.

"With the Princesses out of the way, I am free to rule as I please. There are no Elements that will imprison me this time. Twilight may be a threat, but I'll deal with her when she comes around. I don't need to even worry about her friends. Without the Elements of Harmony, those mare pose as no major threat. They are now just poor, helpless beings. Equestria is mine!" He let out a mean-spirited laugh. Discord had succeeded, and absolutely nothing was going to stop him. At least, that's what he and everypony else thought.

Author's Note:

And here's how our beloved Princesses are defeated by Discord. I know it mentioned before that both princesses were corrupted. However, I could not think of a proper manipulation for Luna. The Nightmare Moon gig is getting old. So,I hope you enjoy it. The story will continue from where we left off next chapter. Till next time

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