When facing Twilight Sparkle, Nightmare Moon was given a choice: redemption or revenge. What if she had chosen the latter? A grim fate awaits Equestria, but in a time of greater strife and conflict, Discord's return is accelerated. While he expected to bring chaos, he did not anticipate that he would end the Longest Night and bring hope and joy back to the land.
Discord struggles to reconcile his nature with his desire for admiration. While Twilight's friends strive to carve a new life in the ever-shifting Equestria, she searches for Celestia, the only one who can bring harmony back to her lands. But Nightmare Moon also seeks her sister in a desperate attempt to find her place in the world. New dangers lurk in the wild and more threaten to fall over Equestria. Nightmare Moon's decision broke the balance of the world. Will Equestria ever turn to peace, or will the spiral of chaos and destruction be the end of everything?
(An alternate history, this story takes the universe established by the canon and explores one possible outcome if Princess Luna had not been redeemed.)
Comments contain huge spoilers. Walk softly.
Special thanks to my pre-readers, MmmandarinOrange and DarkmatterButterflies for keeping my head on, taking the journey of the story, and making it so much better than it would have been if I wrote it alone.
This is quite an interesting take on the whole 'NMM wins!' idea. I wonder if Equestria's better off with Discord though.
Huh. Novel concept on this one. Novel to me, anyway.
I really love this idea. Discord being an unintentional savior is such a rare plot, and from what I've seen of your writing so far, you definitely have the skills to pull off something truly impressive. I'll be looking forward to more!
Lol. And you're right! If NMM wins and everywhere is despair and unhappiness, Discord will bring harmony and peace, because NOW it'll be chaotic! He likes to mess with rulers, and Nightmare is ruler now, so... it's not the best time to be Princess of Equestria
Interesting idea Discord as a hero. Will he and Twilight become close?
Love the way the Mane Six have each been making subtle resistances, and Discord's entrance at the end was nicely done.
Loving Discord in this. Can't wait to see what happens next.
This really should get more attention, I'm loving the story so far. Favorited and liked!
This Fic is exceptional.
You have successfully made Discord into the wonderful trickster, but not neccessarally evil, being that he truly is.
You have also managed one of the hardest things to write, and write very well - the emotional journey. This puts you on the same level as some of the great authors of our time.
TL;DR I love your Fic.
For Great Justice!
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We'll find out, I'm sure!
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Thanks! I'm glad everypony finds it interesting, and hope if anything comes off as boring or trying, they'll call me on it.
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They will definitely grow to understand each other. As for their relationship, well... I can't really say.
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though I'm reluctant to accept any compliments until this fic is stamped complete. (But by all means, bask me in your glorious praise 
Make sure proper props are passed along for the prereaders too, because without them, this fic would be degrees less awesome. 
) Discord's passages are the most challenging and I'm always second-guessing myself... they also see the most revision.
Loving the feedback, soaking up the attention...
I read ALL of your comments! Though I may be slow to respond due to things like my being out of town right now. I'll take everything into consideration when I'm working my way through... and yeah I still plan on updating MWF, so stick around.
I wonder if Discord just doesn't want to bother with the already chaotic and free forest, or if there's another mystery about... Oh who am I kidding?
"It looks like we got another mystery on our hands, gang!"
Applejack promptly clomped a hand over her mouth and looked up at the moon, full and bright and taking up half the sky.
img.ponibooru.org/_images/80208b3dd4272a21c9cfdda74b0ac5cc/96398%20-%20hand%20heartstrings%20human_behavior%20Incidental_Unicorn_#2%20Lyra%20meme.jpg
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Just let me.. uhm...
Hands...
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Always with the hands...
Nice to see what Dash and Fluttershy are up to. But has Fluttershy lost her mind? She's going to try to take on Nightmare Moon by herself! I wonder what Rarity, Pinkie, and of course Twilight think of Equestria's current ruler. Will Shining Armor and Cadance be in this story? Same question goes for the Changelings.
969679 Ha ha ha ha ohhhhhh I'm sorry.
obviously we should do a ctrl+f for very quite ❧certain☙ words from now on, as a part of the process. I'm going to go back to the Stomping Ground.
Damn it. I want to see this featured, but what can I do that I'm not already doing?
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We've all seen what Fluttershy can do when she's mad! And, I can't give away too much, but I think the recent update might at least answer...some possibilities.
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It doesn't help that Lyra is awesome and hands are apparently like catnip to her. Man do we take our idioms/colloquialisms for granted sometimes.... Anyway I figure if the feature box happens it happens. I'm not gonna try to game it. The story has a solid set of readers as it is and I'm sure it'll pick up more. Just gonna write as I write.
A fantastic, original concept, and some good writing. I'm definitely keeping track of this one.
YESSSSSSS, A BETTER DISCORD.... ONE MORE LIKE Q, BUT WITHOUT RULES.
IDo rather like your Discord. The showaccuratest one I've read yet. Yes, that could've been Bett,er gramatically, but Bah,I've not slept properl in weeks. I think I can be forgiiiiven
Sounds interesting, I will have to give this a look at some point.
I was wondering about this pic when I saw on another site...
Oh - this is a lovely gem of a story.
A Discord that isn't outright evil, characters being themselves, and a plot I honestly hav en't seen before.
Fav'd and thumbed. Keep up the good work!
I love this story for so many reasons... You are seriously showing some depth of character for all involved to a degree that I rarely see.
Your Pinkie is actually a bit scary in how smart and inspiring she is. Not that I doubt her intelligence, I do really think she is a smart mare in canon, just the mad scientist type of genius. Her eidetic memory is quite frankly amazing, but the way you are using it is both humorous and awe-inspiring.
Also, is Flutters going feral on us?
That would be adorable! 
I can see it now, a druid like Fluttershy or a crazy Hermit forest goddess bound by vengance... And THEN she conquers the dragon race as their queen! 
This looks spectacular. Reading now.
Wait. She broke Harmony?
Blueblood's arrogance will be his downfall. Let's just hope that no innocent's get caught in the crossfire. Where and what is Shining Armor hiding, and what does he think of the fact that his sister freed Discord?
The night had brought chill and despair to Equestira, but it had also brought silence and shadows.
Typo for ya.
This fic have been Fantastic so far. I'm going to eagerly follow it! I'm not looking forward to seeing Shining Armor and, undoubtedly, Cadence getting involved, but that's because I hate them xD. Ah well, can't be avoided.
Now, if I do have one complaint, it would be the portrayal of Pinkie Pie. I know, I know. It's not fair to single her out since she's without a doubt the hardest character to portray. Still, out of everyone, this girl needs a lot more work to really feel like Pinkie, she's not quite the random and crazy filly we all love :).
Just finished reading through this and I've got to say, I've loved it!
I'm VERY picky when it comes to Discord, but I think you've got him down pretty well. From what I've seen, he's got a good balance of goofiness and threatening that many others just can't seem to get right. I also like how he's been put into a position of (semi)respect from the ponies but even their gratitude of getting rid of Nightmare Moon is starting to wear off. I'm looking forward to how he handles the growing uprising that's gathering. I have a feeling that he won't find it boring!
Also, I like the way you've highlighted all the different characters and how they've managed to deal with all the stress they've been through. You've got to wonder what they think of having one dictator fall into their lives, only to have another one pop right from under them. Given the choice, which would they prefer?
Also, one commenter stated that Pinkie wasn't being Pinkie enough. I disagree. She's not pulling 4th wall breaking shenanigans (mostly fandom) or pulling random acts, but she's still doing what Pinkie Pie does best: making other ponies happy any way she can. She's not even being overly annoying about it, either!
So, loving the story so far! I look forward to seeing where it leads!
Jurassic Park-esque writing set-up?
SUHWEET.
Nice. A long time back there was someone on Reddit who was planning to run an MLP roleplaying campaign set in an alternate universe where Nightmare Moon had won, Celestia and the Elements of Harmony were dead, and the world was slowly dying in the darkness. He was asking "how do I give the characters something to hope for in such a hopeless world?" And I suggested "have them quest for the means to release Discord." Nice to see that the idea would have turned out reasonably well after all. :)
and then she would discover what exactly Twilight's brother was hiding. He is hiding Princess Cadence! and probably getting help from the Changelings!
Better late than never, I guess. Flying back, there was a lot more waiting for me to do than I expected. . . more regular updates after this week.
Oooooooo, I like this story. Discord as King. Very enjoyable.
I love this so far!
This looks interesting. I'll be keeping an eye on you.
And my read later list has gotten longer.
Seriously just the description has my ready.
aww, poor misunderstood god of Choas.
Positively delightful! It truly is good to be King...
I will be watching this tale with great anticipation.
Pinkie Pie shuffled after Mrs. and Ms. Cake
I really do like this story. Though there has been a lot of stories about the god level characters fighting over Equestria recently. Still a more unique flavor of Discord. It will be interesting to see how he evolves having to deal with being accepted as ruler versus forcing chaos on the unwilling.
I don't think I have seen Chaotic Good Discord before.
Great chapter i wonder who the otther ponies are that Rarity wants.
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Congrats on hitting EqD. It just earned you another reader. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Rainbow_dealwithit.png
Wow... The idea for this story is really interesting. That concept alone seems ingenious.
Shall have it in my "read later" for now while I am busy with schoolwork.
Oh, I really like this so far.
OH SNAP, it's going to be ON!!!
The Rainbow of Light just got pimp slapped. OUCH! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Spitfire_dayum.png
Nightmare Moon wins and Discord is getting himself discorded, not many fanfic can pull this off as well as yours did.
Looks like Rarity's little trap isn't going to be of much use right now...
...ah, who am I kidding! It's Nightmare Moon Vs. Discord! This is a Monster Mash the likes of which one rarely sees outside of Tokyo! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Rainbow_dealwithit.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_dealwithit.png dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Cloudchaser_dealwithit.png
Loving this fic, can't wait to read more!