Luna marched with the bulk of her army down the well-trod countryside road to Ponyville, on their way to invest and fortify the lands of her new in-law, Blueblood the Elder, and hopefully in the process strengthen Equestria’s position with the griffons. She held her neck straight and upright, but her eyes were downcast. A deep, malignant emptiness had taken root in the core of her body, and it made her every step feel sluggish. Yet it was all she could do. She vaguely knew that the moon was out in its full glory, her ears half-heard that the air was filled with the sound of crickets and other insects, and she numbly felt the earth shake under her hooves as the soldiers’ boots pounded into the dirt in perfect rhythm. She even mumbled acknowledgment at the reports of her servants’ failures to find Celestia, but they were all automatic responses at this point.

Luna had hoped that her new marriage would lighten her spirits a little, but the loveless arrangement only magnified her detachment. Blueblood made a fine husband, perhaps a great one. He always put forth the effort to make himself look presentable when with her; he brought her wild flowers to snack on several nights along the march; and he tried to distract her from her dark moods with whatever inane comments sprang to mind. She appreciated him and his efforts, but only in an abstract way. Every time she started to truly enjoy his company, the fact that she had coerced him into it was there in the shadows, lying in wait like a predator about to pounce. The pleasant feelings quickly fled.

Despite her distracted state, Luna was able to feel something distant but powerful suddenly try to yank the moon out of her soul’s grasp. She gasped and came to a stop as her spirit clung desperately to it. Her widened eyes searched the sky for any sign of what could be doing this, and she noticed that a gigantic, dark thunderhead cloud was gathering in the east, filling up the sky like spilled ink on the canvas of stars.

The entire army stopped its march as Luna did, and Captain Lyra came trotting up briskly.

“Ma’am, is this a planned storm?” she asked, her eyes flicking quickly from Luna to the cloud.

“‘Tis assuredly not,” Luna replied. Sweat was beginning to form on her brow as she struggled to keep the celestial bodies on their paths. “Captain, signal a halt and form ranks. We are unable to perform the Royal Voice at this time.”

“But what—”

“Now!” Luna yelled. Lyra’s head jerked back, but she quickly recovered, saluted, and began ordering the army to assume a loose battle formation. The earth pony infantry assembled into arcing squares, which protected massed batteries of unicorns whose horns began creating a riotous display of spell colors. Meanwhile, the pegasi formed long columns which hovered in the sky, ready to beat back the storm clouds if necessary.

Near Luna was the baggage train, where Prince-Consort Blueblood, Willowleaf, Platina, and Nickel Waltz stayed in several of the enclosed wagons, as a point of prestige, and also so Luna could keep some of them out of sight of most of the army. The door to one of them began to open.

“Back inside!” Luna commanded. She heard a posh yelp as the door slammed back closed.

Meanwhile, the enormous cloud was advancing closer and closer, and Luna finally saw what was so unnatural about it--it looked full to bursting with rain, but not a single drop fell, nor was there a single flash of lightning. It simply got bigger, taking up more of the sky and blocking out the stars.

Then suddenly, the clouds parted and rays of light as bright as the sun shot out, illuminating the entire area with the brilliance of dawn. Luna squinted and tried to adjust to the sudden brightness. As she blinked, she could barely make out distant voices singing. It sounded like an angelic choir performing a deep and ominous chant. Trumpets and organs accompanied them as they grew louder and louder.

“Hold steady!” Luna said, but the chorus had soon gotten so loud that only the closest troops could hear her, and she was too busy fighting off the attack on the celestial bodies to communicate her will through telepathic bond. It was unnecessary though, as their discipline still held.

As the music reached its climax, a huge figure who looked to be as tall as a dozen ponies, wearing a voluminous white robe, began descending from the heavens. One eagle claw and one lion paw were held high as Discord floated down to the earth, his robe flapping in an increasingly fierce gale. The columns of aerial cavalry circled at a safe distance from Discord, but they did not move to attack yet. The singing quieted down to a low, fast-paced chant as he finally stood before Luna.

“Your Majesty,” he said, rolling his r’s as he bowed deeply to her. “What an honor to finally meet you. And what an honor for you as well, that I have finally arrived.”

“This is impossible,” Luna breathed, eyes narrowed up at the giant figure before her. “There hath been much chaos, aye, but no amount should be enough to break the spell of the Elements of Harmony at their full power.”

Discord gave a full-throated laugh. “Is that what you think happened? Oh, my dear Luna, no. Come, let us parley, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“We have no reason to treat with thee.” Luna growled. “Thou art foolish indeed to come before us now, at the height of our power.”

“Me, a fool?” Discord said as his white robe transformed into a colorful jester’s outfit. The unseen choir continued its epic song. “I suppose that’s fair. But really, there’s no need for such hostility. I’m not here to hurt you, just to bring you back to your beloved sister unharmed.”

“Forgive us if we find that difficult to believe,” said Luna.

The doors to several of the other covered wagons opened, and her three students stepped out to join her. Like the rest of the soldiers, though, they stood a good distance away, waiting to see what Luna would do.

“It’s true! Cross my heart and hope to die.” Discord crossed an X over his chest, then fell over, with giant X’s appearing where his eyes were. His mouth, however, continued to move. “Honestly, she couldn’t handle another second of this mess, so she came to me. She practically begged me to help! You should have seen it. She got Twilight Sparkle and her friends to release me, all so I could stop you.”

Luna’s brow furrowed even further. “C-Cease this prattling, or face our wrath.”

“Yikes!” Discord vanished, then a second later he reappeared in his white robe, this time with majestic white-feathered wings spreading out from his back. “I couldn’t believe it either, really. Celestia, whose first response to every crisis is to talk, and talk, and talk, and on and on and on!” He rolled his eyes and lolled out his tongue. “Yes, that Celestia! She didn’t even try to come speak to you, like she did with Tirek. With me. With practically everything in Tartarus. She unleashed me, one of her oldest and greatest rivals, and told me to ‘deal with’ you. And then if that weren’t enough, Twilight went along with it! It was quite the scene, let me tell you. Imagine that. It just--it breaks my heart how thoroughly they’ve given up on you...”

Luna felt the empty pit inside her grow. She swallowed hard. “They—they would not give up on me. They believe in me…”

“Belief only goes so far, Luna,” Discord replied, shrinking down to a more modest half-dozen ponies of size, but maintaining his angelic form. “Lyra believes in you too, but, well, why don’t you ask her how Celestia escaped from your prison?”

He smirked and pointed at the captain, just as she came running back to Luna’s location for further orders. Lyra stopped in her tracks and stammered, while Luna stared at her, expression empty.

“I can explain!” Lyra said. “I was trying to help you, I swear!”

“‘I swear’, eh?” Luna’s voice was deep and sharp. “‘Twould be wise to avoid such oaths in my presence. How was this to help me, Captain?”

“For one thing,” Lyra replied after a gulp, “I thought she would get the Elements and maybe use them to help you, or something. I didn’t think she’d release Discord!”

Luna said nothing, and Lyra could do little but smile in the silence, equal parts embarrassed, awkward, and hopeful.

“Don’t be so hard on her, Luna.” Discord teleported right next to Lyra, where he gently patted her back. Lyra responded by yelping and flipping away, her horn instantly blazing with golden light. “She is a bit player, at best. Much more central to this piece is the fact that they instructed me to stop you without killing you. And, alas, I must do as they say, for they have temporarily bound me with a Reform spell. Not that I want to kill you, of course. I actually quite like you. You’re all dangerous and broody, it’s very exciting. No, it’s the forcing me to stop you part I don’t like. I think you’re doing a wonderful job ruling! I’m not sure I could have done better myself.”

Discord gave her a slow clap.

“Honestly, I don’t want to kill anypony. I never have, so that part is no big deal. You know first-hoof that I tried to keep ponies alive as long as possible back when I ruled Equestria. Why can’t you all be immortal? Death is the ultimate buzzkill, the ultimate end to the party. It’s far more amusing to keep you all around and see how much I can make you dance.”

“I did not expect them to have such little regard for the self-determination of another being,” Luna said, as her emotions finally recovered enough to speak again.

“It’s quite simple, really.” Discord took a few steps closer to her, ignoring the bristling of weapons all around him in response. “They’re afraid of you. I mean, look at you. Black coat, snake eyes, all armored up, and scowling constantly. Is it any wonder? I’m practically quivering with fear myself.”

“Thou ought be,” said Luna as she stepped closer herself. “I would relish the chance to be rid of thee for good.”

“But why? We’re practically in the same boat. You’re bound by outside forces just as much as I am. Why don’t we help each other out? If you come along quietly, I can release you from these silly oaths of yours. It’s just unicorn magic. It wouldn’t be the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but I definitely could.”

Luna looked back at Willowleaf, Nickel Waltz, and Platina, who were visibly tensed, but otherwise unmoving. “That simply? I doubt it.”

“Doubt all you want, the offer is on the table regardless.” Discord made a wooden table appear in the space between them. On it, a single scroll appeared, with the words she had vowed to her former students so long ago written on it.

“What wouldst thou even gain from such a deal?” Luna peered down at the scroll, feeling a massive jumble of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her as all the memories surrounding those words resurfaced.

I swear, upon pain of death, that I shall remove Celestia from the crown and throne of Equestria.

“It would be easy.” Discord waved his paw casually. “I mean, you’ve basically already fulfilled the oath. It’s just a matter of unraveling all those nasty lingering death curses involved.”

“I…” Luna’s eyes read the words, over and over. She heard many voices speaking to her at once, so many that it was hard to tell that someone was actually speaking in the present.

Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Zecora, and thousands of other voices all spoke at once, sometimes speaking words another had spoken according to her memory.

"So you want to be the hero again."

“I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon.”

“You are Princess Luna, and Nightmare Moon is nothing more than a callous nickname given by those who do not understand you.”

“I’ll always be Zecora to thee.”

“Did they hurt you?”

“They might fear, revere, or respect you... but they will never be your friends.”

“I trust you, Princess.”

Luna clenched her belly to keep from crying out. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from coming.

Discord chuckled. “They didn’t remind you that was a possibility, did they?”

“Because it isn’t,” Willowleaf said as she came to stand at Luna’s side. “As long as Celestia is free, she could come back and take over. I am not going to live in hiding again, not ever. My child will not grow up under that tyrant’s reign.”

“Oh, hello.” Discord smiled, one eyebrow quirked up even more than normal. “I don’t believe we’ve met. And your past is an interesting blind spot in my sight. How very curious.”

“Luna, I know things have been difficult lately.” Willowleaf gingerly touched one of Luna’s hooves with hers, ignoring Discord completely. “But we are here for you. We always have been.”

Luna stayed quiet.

“Excuse me, what?” Discord craned his head in between Luna and Willowleaf. “Aren’t you one of the ponies who cast this curse in the first place? That’s a rich statement, coming from you.”

“We learned what Luna taught us,” Platina responded, raising her head so she could look down her nose at Discord. “As she showed us countless times, a pony must be fierce to get what she desires. So we had to be sure Luna would follow through. It’s only fair, considering Luna invented the curse and used it on a good friend of ours.”

“A very good friend,” Nickel Waltz cut in quietly. He blushed as his eyes darted at anything but the ones involved in the conversation.

“Ah, friendship,” Discord said venomously, arms crossed. “The source of all our woes. Luckily, we won’t have to worry about that for a good long while. Twilight betrayed the trust of one of her precious friends to do this, so the Elements will be useless.”

“That is good news, at least,” Platina said.

“Which one was it?” Luna’s soft voice finally asked.

“Eh?” Discord raised one of his long eyebrows.

“Which friend did Twilight betray?”

“Who cares?” he said. “Their names are all stupid anyway. The important thing is that this represents a magnificent opportunity for all of us. With you free of this curse nonsense, you’d be free to exploit that opportunity to the fullest.”

“I care,” Luna lifted her eyes up to glare defiantly at Discord. “And no matter how much they hurt me, nor how much I hurt them, I realize now that I always shall care. Since the Elements will not be able to conquer thee, then it falls to me. Argent Army, attack!”

The Royal Canterlot Voice boomed for miles as Luna reared back and shattered the table into splinters with her forelegs. Shortly after, the sky filled with arcs of attack spells and spear-armed pegasi diving. There was a finger snap that also seemed to boom for miles, and the entire battlefield was instantly replaced with a gigantic, vibrantly colored mass of foam and cotton candy. The spells blasted and burned the purple, pink, and red fluff in their way, but the matter grew back so quickly that little headway could be gained. The charging earth and pegasus ponies, meanwhile, were caught. Though they struggled with all their might and tried to cut each other out with their weapons, most of the soldiers were being slowed, then engulfed. Shadows could be seen struggling inside the foam.

The only area that was not full of the attacking candy was a small dome immediately around Discord, Luna, and Willowleaf. Everyone else was caught in the gigantic mass of expanding sweetness. It was quiet in the dome, the shouts and screams of the warriors being muffled and appearing to come from a great distant. Luna, however, was not idle. Pure white energy spiraled up the grooves in her mostly regrown horn, and hovering above the tip appeared the ghostly image of a crescent moon. With the spell, Luna created a bubble around herself, which she was focusing on gradually expanding. Any conjured cotton candy that the gleaming white bubble came in contact with was instantly vaporized.

Discord winced for an instant, but otherwise simply gave her a bored stare.

“Really, Luna?” he said. “After all we’ve been through together? You know, you were always my favorite. You’re far less boring than Celestia. Easier to get a rise out of too.”

“Willowleaf, aid me!” Luna’s body shook as she focused even more power through her horn, making the force field push out far enough to start to free the first few ranks of soldiers.

At the same time, Discord scowled and fought back with an unseen effort of his will, causing the bubble to shrink once again.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Willowleaf said. She put a hoof underneath her robe and patted her swollen belly. “It’s too dangerous for me to fight. Besides, everything he said makes sense. Without the Elements of Harmony, this land is ours. I think you should stop struggling and accept the deal. Please, if not for us, then for yourself.”

“This creature wants only to rule the land himself!” Luna shouted as she forced her quivering limbs to slowly move closer to Discord. “How blind must thou be?!”

“If a simple Reform spell can leash him,” Willowleaf said, “I doubt he’s much to fear.”

“Hey,” Discord protested. “I heard that.”

“So be it,” Luna said. “I shall reap the glory alone.”

She snarled as she swung her body around and hurled her hind legs directly at Discord’s face. He was so surprised by the attack being non-magical that he did not have time to teleport away, so her hooves slammed right into his jaw, sending spit and purple-colored blood flying everywhere.

“I’m sorry, Luna,” Willowleaf said, backing away from Discord’s hateful glare. “I have to think of my child. I’ll do what I can for you without fighting though.”

Pure darkness spilled forth from her horn and engulfed her body. Once it completely covered her, it dripped away, seeped into the ground, and Willowleaf was gone.

“Just as well,” Discord said as he wiped the blood from his mouth. “It would make the poor dear very sick to see what I do to ponies who mar my beautiful visage.”

With another hard, surprisingly loud snap of his fingers, Discord made the entire environment that was not contained within Luna’s magic completely disappear, replacing it with a black field full of nothing but distant stars. The ground around Luna’s bubble hung there in the void like a stray island. Discord too was gone. All Luna could detect of him was his voice, which pounded at the edge of the force field like the fist of a deity.

“That was a lucky cheap shot, nothing more. You and your little army are mine now, Princess.”

Author's Notes:

Gonna have to do another split with this part of the story, since it was getting really long, and the other parts could use a little touch-up too. Good news is, that means quicker updates for a few weeks!

Once again, massive thanks to Stryke and RockstarRaccoon for their help pre-reading.