The rest of the evening was spent in silence between the three of us.  The moon had raised high in the sky before the two princesses decided to leave my presence and return to their own chambers.  I sat in my throne, very quickly growing tired of the strange perspective I was given from my perch on the ceiling.  I sighed, and the throne room was reverted to a semi-normal state.  I kept the windows as they had been, simply because I was proud of my handiwork in destroying the Elements.

And then a thought hit me:  The Elements of Harmony were destroyed, so why were those six ponies still the same?  The Elements had been created in a single instant by Luna on that day so long ago.  Could it be possible for those ponies to create another set using their own qualities?  I tried to cast those thoughts away, knowing they would bring nothing but more anger to me.  Just as I tried to cast them away, Armor burst into the throne room with a concerned look on his face.

He stomped up to the throne and said, “All transportation into and out of the city has been cancelled, thanks to your little stunt.”  He pointed hoof out of the window to the giant wall of dirt that surrounded the city.  “So those ponies you hate so much can’t leave.”

I looked at him for a second with an expression of disbelief.  This pony was addressing me with such disrespect.  I soon realized what he meant by what he said, and a nice little plan started forming in my head.

I laughed, “No matter, Armor!  In fact, let the ponies stay here, in the castle!  Give them room and board, for all I care!”  He looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes.  I continued, “Tell those little ponies that I would love nothing more than for them to stay here in the castle!  And tell them I would like to speak with them first thing in the morning!”  I waved my claw, a smile growing on my face.  I had just devised a cunning plan to rid myself of any threat the ponies could possess.

Armor stepped back a few feet.  He cocked his head to the side and asked, “Are you sure about this, Discord…  I mean, after that show earlier, do you actually think they’ll trust you?”

I warped from my seat to his side and chuckled, “My dear stallion I am a changed dragon-beast-creature-thing!  Events of the last few hours have altered my way of thinking!  There’s no sense in holding a grudge when the past can’t be changed, so why not make amends?”  I floated away lazily, laughing to myself.  Yes, I needed to make amends with the six little ponies that I had tried to kill earlier that day.  I mean, I’ll be completely honest here.  I hate the thought of being friends with them, but I need them to understand just what exactly I’m doing so they don’t get the wrong ideas.

Just like Luna did on that day so long ago.  Maybe if I had announced the treaty signing, everypony would have loved me more and those rebels wouldn’t have stepped out.  But that wasn’t important now.  The past is the past, and should stay there.  I needed the ponies on my side so that they wouldn’t turn against me and the Elements wouldn’t return to stop me once more.

Armor saluted me with a confused look in his eyes, but still trotted from the room as if he were going to follow my orders.  I sat on my now-upright throne and rested my head on my paw.  It seemed to me that I had some sort of apology to write to those pesky ponies in the hopes they would accept it.  I couldn’t believe I was going to go through with this, but sometimes sacrifices must be made!

At the same time, I would also need to fix relations with Celestia and Luna.  I needed to forgive them for what they had done, and find some way to get rid of the tension between the three of us.  They both had reasons to avoid—not only me, but—each other.  I laughed as I thought about all of the things I could do to easily sort everything out in the morning.  I conjured a piece of parchment and pen in my claw, and began busily scribbling down the words that came to my mind.  I thought ever so hard about this.

I’m not sure what it was, but something in me snapped the day I was betrayed.  I became a monster in my own respects.  I was obsessed with revenge and chaos and disharmony.  But having to relive that day in my memories made me realize what kind of creature I had been before that day.  The insanity would still be there, but I wanted to try and be like the king I had been.  I wanted to be able to stand up to my lost potential.  I sat in the throne room through the night, writing sentence after sentence, specially written for the two different parties I would need to speak with.

I would have to forgive Luna and Celestia, whereas I would need to apologize profusely to the other six ponies.  Tomorrow would be interesting for me, to say the least.

The following morning came sooner than I expected.  I was so busy thinking about what to say and writing it down that I didn’t even notice the sun rising in the sky as morning drew nearer.  Just as I had asked them to, the six ponies entered the throne room at the first sign of morning light.  Armor and his alicorn lover accompanied them, hoping to try and avoid any sort of violence.  I could tell that the ponies were worried, especially Twilight.

I greeted them with a large smile.  I said, “Let me start by saying I am deeply sorry for the events that transpired yesterday evening.  I hope you can find it in your precious hearts to forgive me for my rash behavior.”  I clasped my hands to my chest in a melodramatic manner.  I immediately realized that that was a mistake when Rainbow Dash snapped at me.

“What are you trying to pull, Discord?”  She had an angry tone in her voice, her eyes fixated on me.  I returned her angry stare with one of genuine innocence.

I shook my head, “I’m not trying to pull anything, dear pony.  I am sincerely sorry for what I did. I simply wanted to-…”  The ponies were glaring at me with the same angry expressions.  I looked down at my parchment, realizing that nothing I had written would prove my apology to be sincere.  

Armor turned to his sister and said, “I think you ought to hear him out, at least.  I mean maybe he really does want to apologize.”  He looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes.  In my head I thanked him.

Twilight scoffed, “You actually think this thing cares about us?  What’s gotten into you, Armor?”  She looked away from me briefly to address her brother before returning her angry glare to my direction.

I scratched my head, trying to think of something to say to calm the ponies.  Nothing came to mind.  I was just about to give up and dismiss them when Celestia and Luna entered the room.  Celestia’s voice sounded calm and regal as she said, “Twilight Sparkle, I am disappointed in you!  Haven’t you learned that everypony has a chance for redemption?”

I believe we were all caught off guard when Twilight snapped, “Maybe so, Princess, but this monster isn’t a pony!”  The spite in her voice as she said the word ‘Princess’ made my gut churn in unfamiliar disgust.  How could such a loyal subject address her princess with such disrespect?

Celestia’s jaw dropped as she was left speechless by the attitude.  Luna stepped up and said, “Everypony, pony or not, can redeem themselves, Twilight!  What somepony did in their past shouldn’t label them in their future!”  I chuckled as I realized why Luna was saying this.  She was subtly trying to repay me for what she had done.

Twilight turned away from the two approaching princesses and scoffed, “Maybe so, but the past doesn’t mean yesterday, Luna.  He tried to kill me not one full day ago!  How do you expect me to forgive him?”  Her friends looked at one another.  They nodded in agreement to Twilight’s comment.

The alicorn stepped forward and said, “He did try to kill you, that’s true.  But at the same time, people change.  Can’t it be possible that he had some sort of revelation that changed the way he thinks?”  She smiled sheepishly as she looked from me to Armor to Twilight.

I lifted myself from the throne and stepped toward the large group of ponies.  Twilight and her friends took steps back as I took steps forward.  I sighed, “You don’t have to accept my apology if you don’t want to.  I can understand not wanting to, after all.  Let’s face it; it’s hard to forgive a guy who tried to choke you to death.  Ain’t it, Luna?”  I looked at her and she turned her head away.  

Luna sighed, “Maybe it’s not the easiest thing in the world…  But you can’t let your past grudges get in the way of your future, Twilight.”  She looked at Twilight with a sympathetic frown.

Twilight scoffed, “Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you ponies, but I know you’re on his side!”  She shot angry glares at all four of the older ponies.  To my dismay, they all seemed a bit shaken by that glare.

I shrugged my shoulders and spoke softly, “If nothing I can say or do will change your mind, then that’s fine.  You have no reason to accept my apology.  At the same time, I would think you would enjoy making a new friend.”  I floated away gently.  The ponies cocked their heads in slight confusion.  Me, a friend to them?  That’s preposterous!

Celestia asked, “What do you mean by that, Discord?”  The ponies looked at her.

I shook my head and sighed, “Having to see that day over and over again in my mind has really taken its toll on me, Tia.  I remember how things used to be.  I remember the king I used to be.  I may be slightly more insane than I was back then, but I really want to go back to the way things were…”  Celestia and Luna shared sheepish smiles of confused happiness.

Luna stamped her hoof and said, “You aren’t lying, are you Discord?!”

I looked her right in the eyes.  I smiled, “Of course not!  I was a good king, after all!  The kingdom under me was peaceful…up until the time of the treaty signing.  If I can return the kingdom to that peaceful state, then I see no reason why I shouldn’t try!”  I plopped back on the throne.  The six ponies looked at the princesses with confused expressions.  Armor and the alicorn shared the sentiment.

Celestia cheered, “Y-you mean this, right?”

I lifted my hands in the air and chuckled, “Of course I do.  I heard about the Changeling invasion a few months back.  Just think:  If we made peace with them, such nonsense could be avoided in the future!”  I laughed.

Armor’s face twisted in what would be considered disgust at the mention of the Changelings.  The alicorn beside him did the same.  Celestia and Luna looked at each other with bright eyes.  Could it really be possible for me to be back to my normal self?

Twilight interrupted the mixed emotions with an annoyed comment, “What are you talking about?  Peace with the Changelings?  Peace treaties?  A good king?”  Her friends were just as uncertain.

Celestia took a deep breath and explained everything to the ponies.  She explained her old relationship with me, the kingdom as it was under my rule, the treaties that were supposed to be signed, the truth behind me being sealed away by the Elements, how the Elements came to be, and the leaders of the Everfree and Changeling nations.  She went into painful detail about the day I was sealed away, and how if I had lived only an hour longer, the peace treaty would have been signed.

Luna and Celestia sat on the floor and told tales of how castle life was back when I ruled.  Although she had despised me, Luna always liked the freedom she had in the castle.  Celestia enjoyed her time here as well.  While I ruled, there wasn’t much crime and hardly anypony went wanting.

The eight ponies that had never known me before looked at me with blank, disbelieving expressions as Celestia and Luna told them the tales of my regal and righteous rule.  I couldn’t help but blush as the duo hyped me up to be an amazing king.  The blush faded when the subject came up as to why Luna tried to betray me.  She hesitated as she told about how she thought the kingdom was going and how much she disliked me.  I could tell by the way she spoke that she hadn’t forgiven herself for her rash behavior.

Finally, the stories ended.  I felt a wave of relief wash over everpony as the hostilities evaporated into the words spoken by the princesses.  I was happy to see the smiles return to the ponies and hear the laughter erupt as funny tales of misadventures and mishaps were retold.  It felt nice to be in a room with happy ponies that were slowly starting to not dislike me.  For the first time in three-thousand years, I was happily enjoying conversation with all of these ponies.

Luna looked up at me and sighed, “Discord…I’m sorry for-…”  I knew what she was going to say.

I shushed her, waving my paw around.  I laughed, “The past is gone now, Luna!  There’s no sense in worrying about it.  We can always wonder how things would be if our actions had been different, but nothing will change the past.  Let’s let bygones be bygones and forget our petty squabbles.”  The ponies smiled at me, a sense of security and trust filling the room.

What was it about these ponies that made me feel this way?  The day I was betrayed, I never would have thought these feelings were possible to have.  But here I am, three-thousand years later, sitting on my throne, surrounded by what I would assume were semi-loyal ponies.  With their help, I would have a chance to create my perfect world.  I would simply have to work at it one piece at a time…