It was a sunny day. The temperature however wasn't warm. Fall was coming into Ponyville. I was walking toward the farmers' market. The first of the fall gourds would be available.

As I neared the first cart I noticed that the front shelf was balancing on two legs. I don't know why I kept staring at them. I approached the cart and began looking over the vegetables. "Good crop this week." The farmer smiled. "It certainly is. Better than this time last year anyway." I barely registered that for some reason my hooves were busy sliding the shelf legs inward. Not all the way, but just enough. I bought a squash and went on my way.

I looked over several more stands before approaching the Apple's cart. "Morning Applejack!" She smiled at me. "Mornin' Speedy! And a chilly one too." I chuckled. "It is isn't it?" We chatted for a few minutes. I could sense my hooves moving for the cart, but I forced them to stay put. They weren't about to fool around with my friend.

The sound of falling squash hit our ears. I turned around to see the squash cart's shelf had collapsed and dumped every last squash onto the street. As if by design, another cart dumped its produce too. And another, and another, and another. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. Applejack shook her head. "That's just a might strange. I feel sorry for those ponyfolk. They work hard to harvest for the market. And then what happens? Their food gets scattered." I nodded in agreement, choking back a chuckle.

All of a sudden every fruit and vegetable glowed with magic. The market was set back in order within seconds. Twilight stepped out onto the street. "I hope that's a little better for everypony. It seemed a bit messy." There were shouts of gratitude from all over the street as the farmers gave Twilight their thanks. She walked over to Applejack and me. "A little weird isn't it? Several carts collapsing like that?" She began walking towards the library. I said goodbye to Applejack and raced after her.

The second I caught up with Twilight I stopped in front of her. "Why'd you do that? Things were going just fine before you cleaned up! Everything was so chaotic!" Twilight stared wide-eyed at me. "Did you have something to do with what happened back there?" I groaned. "Of course. I was having some fun." She looked disgusted. "Speedy, sabotaging food carts isn't considered fun. It's just...wrong!" I sat down. She was right. "You're...you're right. I don't know why I did it." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Sure you don't." She walked around me.

I got up and raced after her. "Honest Twilight! I don't know what came over me. I was looking at food and my hooves decided to mess with the stand legs. I didn't stop myself until I got to Applejack's cart!" Twilight stopped. "Well at least you had the decency to not destroy your friend's weekly harvest." I shook my head to clear it. "I really don't know why I did it! I saw the legs and something in my mind thought it would be fun to see a bunch of food in the streets. And it was! It was funny. It was beautiful. It was chaotic. Hard to believe so many can't see how beautiful chaos can be." Twilight backed away form me. "Speedy...you're sounding like...like..." She didn't have to finish. My eyes narrowed and I grit my teeth. "Come on. We need to get to the library. There's something you need to know."

"WHAT?!" Spike ran into the room. "What's wrong Twi?" I shook my head. "Now's not good Spike. Please." He looked between Twilight and me and then nodded. He went back into the kitchen and I turned to Twilight. "There was no need to yell." She began pacing. "Of course there was need! After what you just told me, there was more than a need! How could you not say anything about this?" I shrugged. "I didn't know about it a week ago. And it hasn't been a problem until now." Twilight stopped pacing and sat down. Her horn glowed, pulling a quill and some parchment to her. "We need to tell the princess." She began scribbling away at the parchment.

I sat in silence until she had finished the letter. She turned to the kitchen. "Spike?" Spike entered the room. He was sticking a red jewel into his mouth. Twilight put the letter in front of him. "Would you send this to the princess?" Spike swallowed the gem and took the letter. He took a deep breath and let loose his fire. The letter disappeared into the wind, leaving us nothing to do but wait.

Something wasn't right. The sun was going down. No letter. Nothing. Was Celestia going to respond? Or maybe she was going to come here herself. Either way, I was getting nervous. The sun dipped below the horizon. I turned to Twilight. "It's been too long. She should have responded by now." Twilight looked just as bad for worry. She had been pacing around the library all day. She had even resorted the books. Twice. She paused her pacing to look at me. "It's not like the princess to not write back. And with something as big as this, she would have written back immediately." As if we had said the magic words, a belch came from upstairs.

Spike ran down the stairs holding a letter. Before he was halfway, Twilight grabbed the letter with her magic. I watched as her eyes darted back and forth over the scroll. She set the parchment down and looked up at me. "It...it says that you should go to your house." I straightened up. "She must be waiting for me." I walked to the door. Twilight began to follow me. I turned to her. "I need to do this alone Twilight." She stopped, her eyes reflecting concern. I opened the door and left.

I was just outside of town when I something in the bushes. I didn't bother to check. It was most likely just some animals. I was just past the bushes when I heard a voice. "So you're Speedy Quill." I froze, not wanting to turn around. Who would be looking for me? "There's no need to fear me. I'm not the one with the draconequus in my head." I slowly turned to see a midnight blue pony. My eyes locked on the crown she wore. I bowed my head. "Princess Luna. It is an honor to meet you." She nodded her head and walked up to me. "Let us walk."

We remained in silence for a few minutes. I kept glancing at the Princess of the Night, remembering the stories of Nightmare Moon I had heard as a colt. And yet Luna seemed to be the opposite of those legends. She looked at me. "I am surprised you did not cower in fear. Most ponies do when they first see me." I shrugged. "You're obviously not here to harm me. What surprised me more is that you are here and not your sister." She smiled. "Celestia thought it would be better for me to help you with your...situation." She trotted off the road towards a small group of trees. Not knowing what else to do, I followed her.

I found Luna sitting in the small grove, the moonlight shining down on her. She was as radiant with the moon as Celestia was with the sun. She nodded to the area in front of her and I sat down. "So how does Celestia think you can help?" Luna looked up at the sky. "Because my sister knows that we share smililar problems. Me with the Nightmare and you with Discord." She looked back to me. "You are fortunate that you will not have to live as long as I. When you are gone, I will still be living with the haunting memories of a thousand years as a monster." I shuddered. Having to live with what little of Discord I had for a thousand years? I couldn't do it. How could Luna sit before me and seem perfectly fine?

Luna stared at me for a long while. I stared back. What was she thinking about? I felt as if she was looking right through me. I finally broke eye contact. "So you know that some part of Discord is still in me?" Luna nodded. "We've known since you helped lock him back in his prison." My eyes snapped back to her. "What?!" Luna sighed. "Celestia helped with your recovery in the hospital. She could sense Discord, but only just. It seems that sharing a body caused your two minds to start becoming one. That was stopped however once Discord was no longer with you." I...I couldn't believe this! Celestia knew? And she didn't tell me?

I stood up and looked down on Luna. "Why wasn't I told?" I barely recognized my own voice. It had grown cold. It even had a certain familiar tone to it. Discord. I blinked as a shiver ran down my spine. A moment later, I collapsed to the ground. "Why?" Luna put a hoof on my shoulder. "Speedy, you need to understand that my sister has spent countless nights pouring over every spell she knows trying to find a way to help you. To get rid of this last piece of Discord. She did not want to alarm you. She would have told you if she had found a way to help." I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "But?" Luna lowered her gaze. "But she didn't. Even with our powers combined we could not destroy that fragment without destroying your mind as well." I nodded. I guess it made sense.

I felt a few more tears on my face as we sat in silence once again. When I had stopped, I turned my head to the moon above. "What happens now?" Luna stood up. "You will have to do as I do. You must learn to live with it. And you must learn to control it. Do not let yourself be taken by the darkness within you. It will be hard at first, but it will become easier in time." She spread her wings and took off, floating just over the trees. "I must attend to my duties. I hope I have been of some help to you." I nodded. "You have Luna. Thank you for coming." She smiled and flew off into the starry sky. I watched her disappear into the night before leaving the grove.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I could feel a slight tug in the back of my mind, giving me ideas for chaos. I shook my head and began the journey home. Luna was right. This was my burden to live with. And I could, no, I would control it. I would make sure that whatever part of Discord I had, it would stay buried in my mind, never to see the light of day again. That brought a smile to my face. Next Chapter: Best Friends Estimated time remaining: 46 Minutes