“Empress.”

“My Empress.”

“Has anypony been here lately?”

“No.”

“Not that I’ve seen.”

“Has he spoken to any of you?”

“Yes.”

“Uh, yeah, a f-few times. Mostly about weird stuff and, uh…”

“And?”

“Insults towards you.”

“Yeah, that kind of stuff.”

“Charming. Move aside – I wish to enter.”

“Yes, Empress.”

“Uh, yeah, just let me… find the… right key. Could have sworn that I had it on-”

“There you are.”

“-this keyri… Oh.”

“Lock the door behind me and do not open it until I give a certain knock.”

“Uh, what sort of knock are we talking about? If you… if you don’t mind me asking.”

“You’ll know it when you hear it. Lock the door.”

“… Okay then?”

“... So… I’ve been getting reports from the guards I station out there that you’ve been communicating with them.”

…

“Nothing to say? From my understanding, you have a lot to say at any given time.”

…

“… Would you like me to start? Very well. How about I start with something… personal? How about I start with saying… you fascinate me?”

…

“Your very nature, your existence, hinges entirely on chaos. The more disorder there is, the stronger you become, which is why when my guards began speaking of hearing you in their thoughts… I wasn’t entirely surprised. There’s been a lot of disorder lately and no doubt your petrification was caused with quite a great deal of reluctance on the parts of the Element bearers.

“You are the personification of the chaotic side of magic, the part that is uncontrollable and prone to the disruption of reality and its laws. In contrast, the Elements of Harmony are the personification of the… let’s say, the ‘lawful’ side of magic, the part that can be controlled and strives to ‘balance’ anything that would cause harm to the very fabric of our world. You are the antithesis to the Elements and vice versa.

“So what fascinates me about you is how despite your very nature… you choose to ally yourself with the Element bearers.”

“… What can I say, Blanky? Those colourful little equines can be very charismatic, especially Fluttershy.”

“So you can spe-”

“Oh, by the by – I never got the chance to give kudos to that little fake-out in the throne room. Arriving to deliver the message yourself in disguise? Quite devious. Consider me impressed. Ah, you probably can’t see, but I’m waving a little flag and clapping with seven pairs of hands. You got that in your head?”

“No.”

“Spoilsport. Anyhoo, what was that you were yapping on about? Chaotic magic striving to wreck stuff and ‘lawful’ magic going around fixing it? My, my – you make it sound like magic is alive.”

“You’re living proof of that.”

“As are you, Fangface. And by that logic, one could say that the Elements are alive, hm?”

“If they are, then it’s not to the same degree as you or I. They cannot act by themselves and have no further goals other than what they were made to do. It is only through outside influence can they be used for anything else.”

“Like that Resonator doohickey you preen about.”

“You’re well-informed. How-”

“Oh, enough about me – I want to talk about you. You said you found me fascinating? Well, to be honest… I feel the same about you. Oh, but not in that way, I hope you understand.”

“I did not come here to talk about-”

“We’re similar, aren’t we? Two drops in the same bucket. We’re both made from the chaos of magic, we both strived to rule Equestria… Oh, that’s it? That’s all the similarities? Huh, I think so. Although obviously, I’m much better-looking and nicer to converse with.”

“I don’t care. I came down here to see whether or not you were able to communicate even through your prison, so now that I know you can, I can devise a way to keep you quiet. The last thing I need is for some mish-mash clown to meddle with my affairs.”

“Ah, you’ve wounded me.”

“You deserve it. How sad that you fell to the saccharine methods of the Element bearers. All that power and to be brought down by such a concept as loneliness and desiring a friend. Pathetic.”

“Well, now that’s just rude. And I suppose you’ve never felt loneliness, hm? Even after all that time on the moon? Although you had Luna for company, so…”

“Luna was in slumber, so I really was alone. But never at any point during those thousand years did I feel the urge to speak with another being or feel any form of encroaching madness that many ponies say they would experience in such a span. My mind and my resolve are strong.”

“Hoo, hoo! You must be even crazier than me! Quite a feat. I mean, I’m stuck in stone, but at least Celestia put me outside in the garden so I could watch the world go by. Or maybe she just liked seeing birds poop on my face.”

“I am stronger than you. That’s what it is.”

“Oh yeah? 1v1 me, bro! I’ll 720 reality-bend all day.”

“Perhaps if you weren’t so immature, then you could have held onto your rule instead of being left to stew in isolation. Enjoy your stay, Discord.”

“Wait! I just thought of something else we’re different in!”

“The ability to read one somebody else doesn’t care?”

“Har har – my sides are splitting… but no. No, we’re different in that I’m actually strong.”

“What?”

“See, if I wanted to, I could crush somepony’s head with one squeeze. I mean, I don’t want to and I never did, but I could do it. Just saying.”

“As could I. What’s your p-”

“Could you do it without possessing a body?”

“…”

“Really, I want to know, so indulge this poor and weak prisoner for a moment, hm? Could you – in your true form – crush somepony’s head?”

“…”

“You know, that’s a little morbid, isn’t it? Let’s think up another scenario, all hypothetical of course. Okay, let’s say… let’s say you want to open a door. Of course, you can just phase through it or slip underneath the crack, but could you physically open a door? That’s easier than crushing somepony’s head, right? So could you do it? Could you open a door in your true form, without the help of a host?

“Could you, uh, make a joke without controlling a host so that you can talk through them? Hm… how about… defeating Celestia? Could you do it without that body you have right now? The one you created from Luna’s essence? Because let’s face it: it’s not you defending Canterlot, it’s not you talking and walking, it’s not you I’m seeing right now – it’s just some vessel you’re squatting in and telling what to do.”

“What do you know about me?”

“More than you think, Nightmare Moon. I’ve heard of some things in Zebrica… about spirits that take control of sapient creatures. They’re sort of like me in that they’re composed of chaos magic, but, ah… not quite as smart or developed. Certainly not as handsome either. You, though… you’re like them, but a bit smarter and bit more cohesive; you have goals besides… ‘rargh, murder and pillage and pee all over myself’. If I have to applaud you for anything, then it’s your drive, your ambition. By the way, I’m clapping with seven pairs of hands.”

“I have succeeded in wrestling Equestria’s rule from the sisters. Your words have no effect on me.”

“Hm, trying to deflect as if you aren’t getting upset? Boy, haven’t had anyone do that to me before. I’m rolling my eyes in case you can’t see it – all eight of them. I’m a spider now.”

“Would you be serious for once in your miserable existence?!”

“Hee hee! There we go! There’s the anger and wrath we all know and love!”

“You don’t even know what you’re saying half the time. Mindless drivel – whatever pops into your head, you just say it, even if it doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh, but it’s so amusing to see you get all flustered.”

“… No, this was my fault. I took your bait; that was an idiotic thing to do on my part.”

“Heh heh… I think I can understand where this anger comes from though.”

“I’m leaving now.”

“You want to make an imprint on history; a reasonable thing to want.”

“…”

“Everyone wants to make their mark on the world before they go. Some are more… desperate to do it than others. The reasons are far and many – the mind is a fickle thing to analyse and I’m more content to just control it than understand it – but I think I’ve got a pretty solid idea when it comes to you, Smoky Joe.

“See, I think – now just hear me out, don’t give me that face just yet… I think that you feel as if you’re inadequate. Because let’s face it: even those mindless spirits back in Zebrica can manipulate the physical world to some degree. A few can possess through force, right? They can possess through force and not cause the body to fall apart like a house made of candy corn. You can’t do that though, at least not with ponies and zebras, not unless they’re willing at first, hm? Smaller things maybe… like, say… mice?

“That must be so frustrating. All that intellect and that desire, but with nothing to back it up. My, my – when you got hit with that beam of sunlight and went into your true form, they could have taken you out without any sort of effort, hm? How frustrating to be so… vulnerable.”

“…”

“Maybe that’s why you want so much power, so much control. For protection, right? Because as strong as that vessel is, the one you’re filling up like it’s a balloon… it can still be destroyed. And then you’ll have nothing to protect you.”

“…”

“Oh gee whizz, I’m hitting all the marks today! Let’s see… and the reason you want to be remembered? Hm… Perhaps it’s because history will remember an all-powerful alicorn born from Luna’s ire that usurped the two sisters… but not the poor, little spirit that couldn’t even hurt a child if it wanted to?”

“… For someone in isolation… you know of a lot of things.”

“Well, when you’re stuck in rock, all you can do is listen. And believe me, Nightmare Moon… I can hear things beyond simple words. I can hear thoughts if I keep quiet. And if I really, really try? Ho-ho, boy… I can hear the echoes that resonate in this castle. The maid from 64 years ago that cut her hoof trying to mend a porcelain vase she accidentally broke. The saucy affair of a noble and a gardener from 231 years ago. The poor mouse that crept inside the walls, guided by your will, up until it finally died around a few months back.”

“…”

“I’m a wild card, Nighty, and you can’t really take anything I say at face value. But believe me when I say this… I don’t appreciate the way you treated my friends… and I’m going to enjoy watching you burn and waste away into anonymity.”

“… A few things wrong with your insightful ramblings, Discord. One – I’ve already made a place in history by creating the Resonator, the only device that can close the Entropic Fractures.

“Two – I’m also going to be remembered as the one that defeated the forces of another universe.

“And three – I accomplished more than you ever did, despite your misguided belief that I am weak and incapable of doing things on my own. But congratulations, Discord…

“You’ve succeeded in pissing me the fuck off.”

“…”

“I know that stone prison won’t hold you forever, but know that when it fails… I’ll be waiting.”

“… Before you go… one more thing? If you’ll indulge me?”

“… What?”

“You’re all nippy about friendship and all that goodness and stuff… so what’s the deal with Vinyl?”

“… She’s an associate.”

“… Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“Empress.”

“Jeez, you weren’t kidding about that knock. I feel like I’ve heard it before…”

“Let nopony else in there.”

“Yes, Empress.”

“Uh, y-yeah, sure.”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: Who can guess what the knock sounded like?