She couldn't help it. Like a mouse willingly throwing herself at a cobra, she approached Discord's statue. A quiet laugh seemed to shake the very stone he was trapped in. The alicorn took a step back, hesitating. 'Oh dearest Luna, you've come to visit. I'm charmed. So, has 'Tia finally kicked you out of Canterlot and taken your night from you? Or are you waiting for her to turn you to stone so that we can finally be together forever?'
"Neither, Discord. I came to make sure that you were still imprisoned. Now that I have made sure you are, I can take my- Why are you laughing?" The spirit seemed to hum with amusement.
'While I will admit that your lying has improved since last we met, I must assure you that I am disappointed and truly offended that you think I would fall for that. It has only been five hundred years, my dearest princess. If the Elements of Harmony could only hold me for that long, would it have really been worth the effort? Oh, don't get me wrong, of course I'm trying to carve my way out of here! But enough about that. Tell me what's really wrong. We're pals, aren't we?'
She could almost see his face curling into one of his stupid smiles, one tooth sticking out comically. She shook her head. "We were never friends, Discord. And we never will be. Ever."
'Oh, don't say that. You're desperate for someone to pay attention to you, to love you as much as everyone loves your sister. Does dear 'Tia even love you? She seems to only be, well, using you. She wants your power, Luna.'
"You're a filthy liar, Discord! She would never want my power!" Still, doubt nagged in her heart. Celestia didn't seem to want to help her. When she had complained that the ponies were afraid of her, the white alicorn had only laughed and told her it was her imagination. But that didn't mean anything! It definitely didn't hurt her feelings that many had shown up to Celestia's sunrise ceremony while few had shown up to watch the moon rise.
She wondered if the trapped spirit could tell that she was in distress. Probably. But she was beyond the point of caring. Discord was horrible company, but at least he was something intelligent. Maybe he was right, all those years ago. Maybe they were more alike than she gave credit for. 'Do you even have any friends, anyone that adores you, my dear princess? I doubt it.'
"The zebras adore me, Discord! Why, they hold their own moon festivals in my honor, and speak to me as an authority, unlike you."
'They're not ponies, Luna.'
"So?"
'They're not your kind.'
"Neither are you, yet you're still willing to befriend me."
Again she could almost see the creature grinning down at her. 'You make a good point, princess. Your tongue is as sharp as your wit.'
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Discord. Certainly not any closer to freedom."
'Who says it was a compliment?' She turned away, trying to hide the welling tears from him. It was a stupid thing to cry about, she had been through so much worse. But he was the only being other than Celestia that was willing to talk to her, even if it was in order to manipulate her.
Dearest Moon, that was pathetic.
"Discord, if I was to come back and speak to you again - on purely official matters, mind - would you care?"
Inside the stone he was probably grinning. Finally, a victory! 'It would be an honor for you to join my company, my dearest Luna.'
M Y L I T T L E P O N Y
"I heard you went out to see Discord today." The white alicorn looked offended, rainbow mane whipping about despite the lack of wind. Luna scowled, keeping her head down and eyes on the chart she was making. Discord had given her an idea; make the Moon have phases. It would be far more interesting than the Sun, and so perhaps more ponies would be tempted to pay more attention!
"Luna, while I cannot control your actions, might I remind you that he's a dangerous chaos spirit? Whatever you're doing with him surely cannot be good for the spell we cast-"
"I have not sabotaged the spell, sister! How dare you even accuse me of such a thing! Letting loose Discord again... How insulting that you would think I'd stoop so low!" She dropped the charcoal she had been drawing with and cursed. One of her phases was completely smeared in black! With a frustrated howl she booted the small piece across the room, shattering it. "Look what you've done, sister! You've ruined my plans!"
Celestia's mane whipped up, changing from an elegant rainbow to a flaming vortex of color. "Your plans? What plans? Plans you made with Discord?" Her voice was calm and monotone, scarier than even her usual yelling. Luna cringed, shifting back against the wall. "You know that your connection to the Elements might just break his prison. You want him to be free!"
The words only ended up enraging the blue alicorn, and she hurled herself forward, star-filled mane flaring out. "It is nothing like that, Celestia! Nothing like that at ALL!" Her eyes began to blaze with white heat, her horn beginning to spark with uncast magic. "He is the ONLY one who EVER talks to me, Celestia! No one else does, and you're ALWAYS so busy that we never do get the chance to talk!"
The Sun princess finally backed down, mane calming as she took a step back. "That's absurd, Luna! You're one of the princesses of Equestria, they adore you!"
"Adore me? They fear me! They adore you, oh 'beautiful princess of the Sun, whose very eyes cause the stars to rush away in shame'! See, Celestia? They despise me!"
"It is not true, Luna! You are their princess! They must respect-"
"Yes, yes! Respect. Oh, I get plenty of that, Celestia. But actual love? Adoration? It doesn't exist for the night, not in my world!" Her eyes continued to blaze, though they slowly began to fade. Her eyes were a brighter blue than before, her irises not round but catlike. Celestia shivered at the gaze, and finally looked away.
"Go and raise your Sun, Celestia. I have no more patience to deal with you right now."
M Y L I T T L E P O N Y
"It must be nice to have wings, Luna."
The alicorn shrugged, merely glancing down at the unicorn as she struggled to make her way up the cliff side. "Perhaps if you were not born with wings. To those of us that are, they are nothing special. Just weight on our backs."
Twilight laughed. "Well, I'd certainly be grateful for some wings right now. Where are we going again?"
Luna's mouth twitched. "It is a surprise, Twilight Sparkle. I thought I told you this already."
"It's not a very fun surprise if it involves scrambling up mountains for half the night." Magic tingled around the unicorn, and she felt herself be lifted into the air. She tried to jump, but found herself held by Luna's magic. "W-what are you-?"
"You said that you did not like going up mountains. I am helping you by taking you up the mountain myself. I promise, it is not a bad surprise like Pinkie Pie's party." If Twilight didn't know any better, she would have thought that she heard a bit of humor in the princess' voice.
"Would be nice if you had asked before assaulting me with magic, though." This time Luna fully laughed, a beautiful sound that Twilight didn't hear enough of. With a private smile, she allowed the princess to fly her to the top of the mountain.
After a few minutes she dropped Twilight onto the ground without warning, nodding happily. "We are here."
"What is-? Oh. Oh my."
The unicorn had seen the cave before and had thought nothing of it. But seeing it again at night under the full Moon...
It was simply breathtaking. The walls were coated shining white stones that played off of the light of the Moon, illuminating a small undisturbed pool. At day even Rarity had found nothing special about the cave, muttering about how her horn had tricked her and how she would never listen to it again. Now Twilight knew she would regret those words.
"This place is more ancient than both you and I, Twilight Sparkle." The unicorn jumped at the princess' voice; calm, steady, and more than a little bit in awe. "Long before I made the Moon have phases, it was always full, always bright. This land, Equestria, once was part of the zebra's territory. The ponies had still lived far away, for this was before the bickering between the three kinds happened."
The alicorn stepped forward, allowing the light of the pool to reflect off of her body, giving her an eerie, otherworldly glow. "An ancient zebra shaman named Imamu found this place while searching for herbs. He called the stones 'Moonstones' after the brilliant light my Moon gave them. He thought that if he meditated at the pool, he would meet the spirit that controlled it."
"I humored him. I appeared before him one night, which startled him. The zebras had never seen a pony before, let alone an ethereal one. So we would talk, and he would return every night. He became my best friend quickly, despite Celestia's misgivings. His tribe had even settled nearby, where the Everfree Forest is today. Every night for many years he would come up here and talk to me. Then one day, he did not return."
Twilight's heart sank. "Oh, Luna, I'm so..."
The princess seemed lost in memories, not even sparing a glance at the unicorn. "I traveled down the mountain for the first time, and found him in his camp. He was so very frail, but his eyes were full of fire. He told me, 'I cannot come up to the Moonstone Pool anymore, sacred Moon Queen, but if you may come and visit me my heart would feel glad.'"
"So I did, nearly every night for too few years. One day when I came down the mountain, the other zebras looked at me so sadly. They muttered apologies and took me to his tent. I thought he was sleeping at first, until I realized that he was not breathing. I began to panic, to ask what was wrong. I had never seen nor heard of death until then, Twilight Sparkle. My heart broke when they told me, but you know what else they told me?"
The princess turned and smiled at Twilight, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "They told me that even though his body had passed on, his spirit still walks the world and protects us all."
She laughed suddenly, turning completely away from the pool. "It was long ago, Twilight Sparkle, and nothing to feel sorry about. He lived to an old age and had many foals. Life and death create balance, and we all must experience both one day. Even Celestia and I."
Luna glanced out of the cave, frowning. "Ah, it appears that I have taken the night away from you. My apologies, Twilight Sparkle."
"It's... it's fine. That was a fascinating story. Really, Luna, thank you."
The princess tittered. "Oh, Twilight Sparkle, do not be afraid of passing on. You and I both have many happy days in front of us, I am sure."
A/N: _
That chapter basically jumped from flashback to another (sort of) flashback. I apologize profoundly. Anyway, I think that the nightmares/dreams/flashbacks are going to occur every other chapter or so - hey, I said this was slow-paced, I meant it =P
Anyway, reviews are loved 3