Luna kept her eyes shut tight and her limbs drawn in close to her body as she slowly spun, feeling like she was floating. She didn't dare breathe or move, knowing that wherever she was, she was in a dangerous place, and that Discord was there with her. A sense of tremendous pressure on all sides squeezed her body, and she felt as though her skin was about to cave in upon itself. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and a stinging sensation caused her to blink rapidly. She saw nothing but darkness, and as she tried to breathe in, salty water flooded her mouth, causing her to sputter as she realized where she was.
Thinking quickly, she cast a water-breathing spell, and her lungs and trachea were instantly sheathed in a magical, filtering shield. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes again before casting a similar protective membrane in front of them as well, allowing her to see through the blackened water without feeling the sting of the salty liquid. The Moon Princess was swirling, cold and alone, far beneath the surface of the ocean, beyond all hope for assistance.
Luna threw her hooves out to the sides, twisting and spinning in the abyss, trying to find which way was up. She squinted through the bubbles coming from her nose and mouth, but could still see nothing but total blackness. Her mane wrapped around her body in creeping strands, and the sensation unnerved her greatly. Suddenly, a melodious sound broke through the complete and total silence, freeing her from her disturbing sensory deprivation. Celestia's voice called mentally to her through the water, and she turned toward the source, eager to find her sister and make sure she was alright.
Lulu… help me…
Luna's eye widened as she saw a white form floating in the blackness, and she quickly began to swim toward it. She moved her legs in powerful strokes, thinking back to her sister and receiving no response. As she neared Celestia's body, she saw that her sister was unconscious, her form being dragged from side to side as the abyssal waters tossed her about with their strong currents. Luna stopped and hesitated several meters away, watching with a look of horror upon her face as her sister floated freely, her body like that of a rag doll as it was pushed and pulled about.
Celestia's body convulsed, and her tricolor mane whipped around her, wrapping her form in multicolor strands of hair as she spoke to Luna once again.
You wouldn't leave me here all alone, would you? Don't you love me? Why won't you come closer…
Luna swam to the side, trying to get a better view of Celestia's face. Something wasn't right, but she knew that it couldn't be a dream. The crushing pressure of the deep water was very real, and she began to have trouble breathing within it. Her movements became heavy, and she found herself wanting to close her eyes and attempt sleep. She shook her head, sending another trail of bubbles up in the direction of the surface. She knew that to give in to her urges was to die in this place, and she made a mental note of the direction that her respiration had traveled in case she needed to quickly flee.
Oh, well. I suppose you aren't interested in rescuing your only sister.
Celestia's body moved to the side again, her neck hanging at an odd angle. Luna's body went numb at the sight, and she immediately began to question whether her sister was alive at all.
I suppose I can just stay here with Discord. He isn't so bad, you know. I've already given myself to him, he and I no longer need you. I can be happy here. Happier than ever before. Happy like back when you were still on the moon, and I had no interruptions in my life.
Luna's heart began to beat faster, and she knew immediately that Discord was close, speaking through the lifeless form of Celestia. Luna knew that her sister would never say such things, and the tone of her voice was all wrong. The Moon Princess swam up close to Celestia's face and brushed the pony's mane out of the way with a careful gesture. She raised a hoof to her mouth in shock at what she found.
Where her eyes should have been, Celestia's face had only smooth continuations of her white flesh and fur. An eerie smile was permanently etched into her features, and her neck had no bones with which to hold itself up. It flopped limply in front of Luna, who swam backward, terrified by the sight of the smiling, featureless face before her. Anger quickly won out over fear, and Luna found herself thinking at Discord, trying to lure him out from wherever he was hiding.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! WHERE'S THE REAL CELESTIA! WHERE ARE YOU? ANSWER ME!
Complete, deafening quiet was the reward earned for her questioning, and Luna breathed out purposely to watch her bubble trail again float in the direction that was upward. She watched carefully and reoriented herself to be able to swim in that direction, as she knew that trouble was soon to come. A deep voice, much louder than any Discord had ever used before, echoed inside of her skull, and the sensation was strong enough to make Luna grasp the sides of her head in pain.
Clever girl. I knew that my little fake Tia wouldn't fool you for long. However, she served her purpose, to draw you closer to me. There is no escaping me this time, Luna. Chaos has come to swallow you whole.
The poor imitation of Celestia suddenly froze, holding its position in the chilling water. Two gigantic, pupil-less, lamplike eyes of brightest yellow slowly opened behind her form, and Luna quickly began to swim backward away from them. Celestia's body began to pulse with light, each bright effusion becoming more intense than the last. The light began to flood outward, slowly revealing what was hiding in the darkness. Luna could do nothing but stare, her mouth hanging open, and her body frozen in shock as the fake Celestia's form glowed a final time before exploding in a shower of light, rendering the ocean water completely clear.
Before Luna floated a massive, pure black version of Discord's head, his eyes replaced with the penetrating yellow glow that had slowly revealed itself. His mismatched, angular horns curved backward over the top of his skull, giving him the appearance of a true demon. The titanic head rested atop a scaled, sheer black sea serpent's body as thick as a castle tower, complete with a ridge of spiked green fins running along his spine. Luna stopped moving, taking in the horrific sight before her with wide eyes. Discord's leathery lips pulled back, revealing two rows of needle-like teeth at least three times the size of Luna lining the inside of his jaw.
Boo.
Luna took off swimming as quickly as she could, desperately pawing her way through the water and toward the surface as the powerful movements of Discord's body caused an overpowering sound and wave of pressure to flow through the moving water. She spun in shock to see him rising beneath her, his mouth open and his eyes betraying his amusement. Luna managed to push herself to the side at the last second as Discord's jaws closed where she had previously been floating, and the severity of the situation occurred to her as she began to panic.
Oh, don't bother moving, you'll only die tired. What hope could a pony have so far under the sea, compared to this perfect form? I can see wherever you swim to, and I am faster than you could ever hope to be. Give in now, and perhaps I will offer you a position at my side instead of in my jaws.
Luna turned and swam sideways, trying her best to put distance between herself and her attacker as she watched him coil around himself, laughing in amusement at her efforts.
I can't die down here! Sister needs me! C'mon, Luna, think!
The unnatural clarity of the water after the imitation of Celestia burst afforded her a view all the way to the small pinprick of lighter water that must have been the surface, and Luna soon saw her only chance. A massive, black cliff coated in seaweed and algae stood from the ocean floor somewhere far below, and Luna began to swim directly for it while pumping her wings as hard as she could. Discord coiled himself around and shot forward after her, planning to pin her up against the rocks.
Oh, yes, please do corner yourself. I'd hate to have to put effort into disposing of you.
Luna breathed harder as her limbs and wings burned with effort, allowing her to barely reach the cliff and begin swimming upward before Discord looped around his own body against the rock and began to follow her once again. She prayed that she could find something, anything to help her, and she ran her hooves over the mossy rock as she swam, desperately searching for a crevasse or hole. Just as all hope appeared to have been snuffed out, her foreleg thrust into a large cave in the rock, and she hurriedly swam into it, watching in shock as Discord's fangs grazed her tail, managing to slice off a part of it as he rose behind her.
The alicorn scrambled backward while panting, sending trails of bubbles into the ceiling of the tight cave as she moved farther and farther into the hole. Sheer dread began to take hold of her as Discord's inverted face moved to block off the hole from which she entered, a single gleaming eye watching her every move.
There you are, Dear. I know this network of caves like the back of my… well, I don't have hands at the moment, do I? Shame. Well, the point is that I know it, and you do not. Every exit you could possibly find I can reach before you, and I am content to wait you out. Time means nothing to me, and eventually, keeping up your little filtering magic will exhaust you. Take your pick: drown, be ripped apart, or join me against Celestia. The choice is yours. It's not like you haven't fought her before.
Luna closed her eyes, trying to hide herself from the prying slit of glowing yellow before her. She placed a hoof against a jagged rock protruding from the floor of the cave and grounded herself as she began to think at him. She needed to stall for time, to come up with a plan, or surely, she would be killed.
As if that entire situation wasn't entirely your fault! I refuse to stand against my sister, so it looks like I'm either about to outsmart you or die. How are you even free? Twilight Sparkle and her friends sealed you in stone! It took you over a millennium and a half to escape last time! How can you have broken out so soon?
Another booming laugh echoed in her head, and Luna opened her eyes to find him removing himself from the cave entrance. He swam backward a fair distance, before turning himself and coiling into a tight spiral, his face and leering fangs lined up directly with the opening to the outside waters.
Care to try your luck in swimming past?
No.
Fine, fine. You're about to be removed from the game anyway, I suppose I can indulge your curiosity, for a time.
Luna straightened and leaned into her supportive rock, listening intently. Any knowledge I can glean from him, I can give to Tia later. I'll play his arrogance against him, and worry about getting out of here once I've got info. He's underestimating my ability to survive down here, I can last, I just need a plan…
Discord ran a long, black tongue over his fangs, before allowing it to hang useless out to the side between two of them. He laughed yet again, and began to speak.
It's quite simple, really. Who's to say I was trapped at all? Do you really think I wouldn't have taken precautions to protect myself from my own creations after what happened last time?
Luna momentarily stopped her breathing as her mind went blank. Your… creations… what are you implying, Discord?
Discord's smile widened, and his fangs almost seemed to glow in the shifting water. Implying? I'm not implying anything. I'm stating fact. The Elements of Harmony are of my own design, even if I cannot control them. They were made specifically to be agents of chaos, and drain the aspects they represent from those who would seek to bear them.
WHAT? Wh-what do you mean? The Elements are pure and good! I've read the histories, Discord!
And who wrote those histories, you foolish girl? Did it never strike you as odd that all of the tomes regarding the Elements had no author? I was your father's adviser and archivist, after all. Much of the things you think you know are likely from tomes that I personally penned. I have been around much, much longer than you know, Little Lulu. No matter how much you try to deny it, I have been manipulating your entire family for centuries on end.
Luna's nostrils flared in anger as she released another torrent of bubbles from her mouth. Though she hated to even consider his words, she couldn't deny that thus far, he was making sense. Luna had always assumed that her parents or further ancestors had written the histories of Equestria with which she was so familiar, and the notion that Discord's influence was so deeply rooted within the Royals made her feel sick.
Those six ignorant foals have held on to the Elements for so long that it was quite easy to completely corrupt them, at least before Tia managed to ruin my fun. They should have killed you instead of freeing you from Nightmare Moon's influence, but they had not been able to drain power from a host in so long that they became largely ineffectual. As for trapping me in stone… I counter-enchanted myself against such a possibility ahead of time. The statue form was but a ruse, one that I maintained for an entire week to allow you all to think you had won while I bided my time. Needless to say, it worked quite well.
Luna closed her eyes and shook her head. Should have known. What Celestia described was all too easy, there was no way her student could have won when it took me, her, the Elements, and countless lives to seal him originally.
The sudden inconsistency in her thoughts sprang into her mind immediately, and she projected her question to the sneering serpent before her.
Wait. If the Elements… if they're truly yours, how did they work against you the first time? Shouldn't they have been too weak to seal you initially?
Discord laughed yet again, and swam closer to the cave's entrance.
Oh, no. You two caught me by surprise, and the Elements were at full power. I placed each one in separate monuments scattered across Equestria during my period of rule, and they leeched their respective attributes from the citizens at large. You and Little Tia managed to collect them without my knowledge and use them against me in quite an impressive display, and there was simply nothing I could do to counter you on such short notice. Quite unexpected, really. Perhaps the only time you two have relied upon chaos to trump more chaos, whether you understood what you were doing at the time or not.
Luna shook her head again as the pressure of the water began to cause her skull to ache. She had more than enough useful information, and began to speak only to buy herself time as she mentally finalized her plan for a desperate escape.
... I'll ask you one last time. If this is all true… if you're seriously just using me to get at Tia… what's your goal in all of this? Do you want to rule? Is that it? Or do you just want petty revenge?
Luna's probing worked, and Discord immediately launched into a monologue as she made her move. She ignored his words, and used his recoiling upon himself as an opportunity to project a false image of her body out of the cave. The intangible alicorn galloped out into the open sea and began running down the cliff, catching Discord's attention and causing him to stop his speaking and pursue. Luna immediately shifted her body into the form of a deep black mist, and phased up through the cave wall, placing herself back in the open ocean as she swam desperately for the surface.
An enraged roar rose to her ears, followed by the sound of a large volume of water swirling below her. She didn't bother looking back, knowing that her shadowy clone had dissipated into the water and Discord had begun pursuing her with all of his speed.
Tricky wench. I like that. Perhaps I'll kill you slowly to show my appreciation…
Luna swam harder than she ever had before, and she could feel the heat of his breath upon her back. She knew that the end was nearing, and she was still too far from the surface to make it out alive. She closed her eyes, and put into action her final plan.
Her horn glowed with black light as her body temperature dropped, her skin beginning to freeze and her hooves becoming heavy as she glowed with an icy light. Luna whipped her neck to the side as she unleashed a bolt of light blue magic, which rose upward and exploded in a nova of forst. She used the last of her strength to shift back into a form of blackened mist, and rose upward as the entire body of water began to freeze around her.
Tendrils of creeping ice evolved into sheets, solidifying the liquid and creating a thick underwater glacier. The solidified block stretched far and wide before making its way downward, trapping Discord in mid bite while Luna continued to rise as an insubstantial cloud of darkness through the ice. As the block floated upward to the surface, Luna, too, rose out of the water, flying high up into the sky before regaining her usual body. She fell onto the ice, absolutely exhausted and panting heavily while staring down at the frozen serpent far below her.
Luna was too tired to celebrate her apparent victory, and she was immediately glad that she had not bothered as she saw the icy prison surrounding Discord begin to crack. His jaw closed far below, smashing the ice surrounding his face, and he began to thrash wildly, breaking a path upward to the surface as he slithered forth. Luna's adrenaline kicked in, and she quickly galloped along the ice floe, trying desperately to get away from where he was bound to surface.
Did you REALLY think it would be that easy?
Luna fell and tumbled over herself, sliding backwards as the ice fragmented and exploded upward around her enemy's rising form. His long, snakelike body protruded from the freezing ocean, separating the chunks of glacier and causing them to float and bump into each other haphazardly. The surface of the ice glowed in the moonlight, and silence once again reigned as Luna stared up at his gigantic form, waiting for his next move.
I suppose Celestia having power over the fires of the sun would indeed imply that you control the cold associated with the moon's embrace. You are indeed far more impressive than I gave you credit for, though your trickery will not help you now.
Luna gazed longingly up at her moon and stars, wondering inwardly if it would be the last time she ever saw them. Her heart sank as she realized her best efforts had failed her, and she slowly began to accept her defeat.
Tia… I did the best I could. You have to find some way to stop him…
Discord lowered his head to the floating land that Luna lay upon, and slowly slithered himself toward her. His fangs parted as his tongue once again left his mouth, flickering in the cool night air as he hissed. He stared her down as she stood shakily, flaring out her wings and lowering her head, ready to charge.
Oh, don't tell me you seriously think you can win in a physical fight! You are helpless, Luna! You've given me your best, and all of your efforts have failed!
Cold water dripped from Luna's coat as she stood her ground and narrowed her eyes at the approaching serpent. She breathed deeply, banishing all thoughts of failure from her mind as she leveled her horn directly at Discord's rapidly approaching face. She smiled wickedly as a final, desperate, idiotic plan came to her, and she quickly worked to enact it. No. It isn't over. I can stop him… I just need a distraction.
Luna raised her head once again and whipped her sopping mane out of her face as she yelled to him.
"DISCORD! IF YOU THINK THAT YOU'VE TRULY WON, THEN FIGHT ME IN YOUR TRUE FORM! IF I'M SO PATHETIC, WHY DO YOU NEED SUCH A BODY TO FINISH THE JOB?"
Discord stopped moving and coiled around himself, rattling his membranous tail as he narrowed his eyes at her.
Interesting choice of words. I don't think you mean my TRUE form, Darling. If you even knew what that was, you would never ask to engage it in combat.
Luna's face sunk as she realized her mistake, but she quickly steeled herself and began to cast what may have ended up becoming her final spell.
"You know perfectly well what I meant! Assume your typical twisted body, and let's do this with honor! If you really respect my abilities, you'll give a fair fight! Besides, you have nothing to fear, right?"
Discord laughed at her and lowered his head to the ice below.
I suppose you're right, for once. I have you on the ropes, my Dear. You cannot run, I can see your exhaustion. It would be so much fun to play with you properly before I toss you aside. Very well. Consider this your dying wish, and consider it granted.
The spiky fangs parted as Discord let out a hiss, and his normal form of a draconequus walked slowly out from inside of the larger body's throat. He emerged clapping before he floated over the fangs and let his mismatched feet fall to the ice as the larger body behind him disappeared into a swirling black portal.
"I really must say, you've put on an impressive show thus far. You've been much harder to subdue than your mother was, and it is looking like I'll have to actually remove you by force. Pity."
Luna gave him a confident smile, her horn still pulling magically with all of its might. Though she had never before drained herself in such a way, she continued to push her magic to and beyond its limits in a desperate attempt to save herself.
"Yes. Yes, you will. But it's not happening, not today. You may have my sister figured out, but you don't know the first thing about me."
Discord chuckled as he began walking toward her. "Oh? I've seen what you can do, and though I'll admit that I didn't think to watch you as you were trapped on the moon, I wouldn't have bothered if I had even thought of it. It must have been so boring, and your actions were not your own, anyway. I've observed more than enough of you as a child to know how you work, Luna."
Luna advanced on him, shaking her head and smiling. Inwardly she felt sick, knowing what she would have to do in order to buy herself the necessary time for her clandestine assault to continue. She took a deep breath, thankful that he could not read her mind, and began to sashay forward, watching in delight as he stopped his own advance with a confused look upon his face.
"Do you? You may have seen a fraction of my abilities thus far, but I was speaking more of my thought process. You think you understand me? What if I told you that I understand you?"
Discord crossed his arms and leaned back, stroking his goatee. He gave an amused snort, and watched with interest as Luna continued to walk slowly toward him.
"Oh? Well, this is certainly a twist. I won't lie, you have my attention, my Dear. You're quite good at stalling for time, if that's what you're doing. However, you are clearly of no threat to me. I can easily see how exhausted you are, so if you're trying to cover something up, I doubt it is anything substantial. Speak, oh Night Mother. Let Uncle Discord hear your oh-so-professional analysis."
Luna stopped feet from him, her horn still glowing. She trembled more and more, her insides turning to jelly and her confident expression faltering a bit as he called her bluff. She gave him a coquettish smirk as she tilted her head and resumed her act, hoping for the best and fully expecting him to strike at any moment. If he's stupid enough to play along, I'll keep it up, even if he knows something is off. Here's hoping it's convincing…
"I, too, was trapped alone for a long, long time. I know what it's like to feel loneliness, true loneliness, where nopony can reach you. I think you're torturing Celestia because she did to you what she did to me. She took everything from us both."
The traitorous, insincere words made her entire mind scream in protest against her, but she knew she had to try to feel as if she were speaking the truth in order to make it seem convincing. She tried her hardest to act as though she was truly feeling her sentiments as he looked at her with an amused expression upon his face.
"Hmm. Perhaps, in a sense. However, I have all the time in the word. All three of us are immortals, and though being trapped for so long was indeed irritating, in the end, it counts for nothing. I highly doubt you truly sympathize with such thoughts, though your attempts are certainly amusing. Anything else to say before we begin to play, Lulu?"
Luna shook her head as she grinned. It was a smile of shame and futility, but she hoped that it came off as one of guilt instead. "You misunderstand. Though I love my sister very much, she has indeed done more than enough for me to want her off the throne as well. Does that offer to rule at your side still stand? What if I told you I'd sooner follow in the footsteps of my mother than those of my sister?"
Discord uncrossed his arms and stepped toward her, regarding her with a possessive smile. "Then I would tell you that you cannot fool me with simple words, Luna, and I would need to see actions to back them up. Your assistance would indeed make the process of stealing back the crown quite a bit easier, but I can sense your insecurity and other intent. After all, your horn is still gl-"
Discord didn't get a chance to finish speaking as Luna leapt forward and captured his lips in her own, shuddering in disgust as she committed herself entirely to her sickening gambit. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, catching him completely off-guard as she pushed a hoof into his chest, forcing him down to the icy surface below. The two fell with a thud, and Luna poured more energy into her spell, trying her best to speed up the process so that she wouldn't have to take her charade much further.
She gave him a lustful smirk as she looked deep into his shocked eyes. "Now do you believe me?"
Discord craned his neck up and licked the side of her face, pulling her closer in to his body with a claw. "No, I do not in the slightest. But if I can get away with this and send you running back to Tia, I won't miss the opportunity. Change of plans, Darling. Come closer."
He reached his talons up to her flank and dug them into the alicorn's side, drawing blood as he forced her to buckle forward and fall into him. He bit her ear as Luna gasped in what he assumed to be pleasure, but what was truly pain. Luna leaned forward and pressed her chest to his, trying to squeeze his piercing arm off of her side with little success.
"D-discord… stop… if we're doing this… p-please stop hurting me…"
He laughed and wrapped his arm further around her, spinning along the ice as he snaked his upper body around her own. "Oh, but hurting you is the entire idea. I'll let you live after this, so that you can retreat back to Canterlot in shame. You've played with fire, Lulu, and now you're going to get burned."
Luna's teal eyes widened at his words while she felt his tongue on the back of her neck, and she momentarily broke the spell to instead change into a her mist form, sliding out from under him and reappearing a good distance away on the ice.
"N-no… I won't let you! Get away!"
Discord raised his bloody talon to his face, licking the substance off of it as he watched Luna's horn glow again while she panicked. The mare quickly turned and started to gallop away from him as the draconequus began to give chase, laughing all the while.
"You cannot escape me, Little One! You've made an offer, and there is no going back! Perhaps you're right, and I long for comfort in the arms of another. What happened to your proposal to help me relieve that tension?"
Luna ran as hard as she could before flapping her wings and trying to take off. Her feathers were still damp and quite heavy, and gaining altitude proved to be an incredible struggle. Blood still oozed from her right flank, and she found herself beginning to black out as she only managed to rise feet from the ground.
"There was no offer! G-get away!"
Discord took off after her, snaking through the sky and laughing madly. "Certainly not how I interpreted it. Come back to the ground, and let's finish what you started, lest I change my mind and take your life."
Luna looked behind her and past Discord, finding it hard to suppress her smile. She began to circle slowly before dropping out of the sky and onto the ice to wait for him. Just a few seconds more…
As she watched Discord land, she stood upon her hind legs, forcing herself to move in an enticing rhythm despite the pain and stress that she was undergoing. "You want it? Come and take it. If you'll truly let me go, then I'll offer up whatever you want. Just… just promise to leave Tia alone for a while."
Discord walked toward her with purpose, completely ignorant of what was going on behind him and taking Luna's smirk to mean she had finally accepted the idea of the pleasure that he could bring her. "Oh, I will. Stop dancing and ready yourself, my lovely little alicorn."
Luna dropped to her hooves and turned, smiling wide, knowing that she had him. She flicked her tail out of the way, giving him a full view of her backside as she turned her head and winked at him.
Discord stopped directly behind her, placing his lion paw upon her damaged flank and letting it trail down her side before giving her a spank, earning a flinch from his prey. "I take it back, Little Luna. You are nothing like your mother. The first few times, I had to take what I wanted from her, and here you offer it plainly. I suppose that makes you quite a bit smarter, doesn't it?"
Luna spun quickly, removing his access to her flanks before he could make another move and force himself upon her. She grinned wickedly at the distracted chimera, and the intensity of the aura surrounding her horn doubled as a loud roar of moving water nearly drowned out her words.
"YES, IT DOES!"
The seas rose in a giant, rolling hill of water that rapidly approached the pair as the moon itself floated mere hundreds of miles above the ocean. Luna beat her wings and flew up, dragging the orb directly over her and bringing the tides with it, causing the colossal chunks of ice to rise up and become a deadly rain of frozen projectiles. Discord gasped at the sight and had no time to move out of the way as the massive wave of ice and water collapsed on him while Luna changed herself to black mist yet again and flew even higher. She regained her alicorn body as she watched in absolute delight while Discord was buried, smiling as the clear water gained a slight red tint as he was crushed and sliced by the freezing splinters of the glacier.
Luna wasted no time as she forced her utterly exhausted body to fly off toward Canterlot, not bothering to check if he had survived. On some level, she knew that he had, but the thought barely dampened her spirits as she reveled in the fact that she had managed to escape with her life and her innocence. She allowed herself a light laugh as she flew and sent the moon to rise back to where it belonged, hoping that she hadn't caused any serious flooding or damage, but knowing that such a thing was inevitable. As the morbid thoughts crossed her mind, a familiar voice rose inside of her, and she closed her eyes and immediately felt like crying as he confirmed her worst fears.
I will admit… I have not felt pain in over two thousand years… I congratulate you on your ingenuity, Luna… you are far more creative than your sister… but now, this ceases to be a game…you had better plan carefully, as I will soon come to claim my rightful throne… be ready…
Luna shook the thought from her mind, doing her best to block it out as her chest heaved with effort. She continued to fly at top speed for close to half an hour before she reached the vicinity of the castle, every muscle in her body screaming for her to stop. She landed hard upon the cobblestone outside of the palace, trotting unsteadily as she came down and fell to the ground. Several guards immediately galloped over to her, lifting her soaked and bloody body up from the walkway.
"Princess! Are you alright? What has happened?"
Luna smiled weakly at the guard holding her, unable keep her eyes open any longer.
"G-get… Celestia… b-bring me… to…"
Luna collapsed into the stallion's forelegs, completely spent as sleep overtook her. The pegasus holding her looked to his partner and gave a nod as he watched his friend gallop off into the palace. He hoisted Luna's unconscious form as best he could, and followed carefully into the massive gate of Canterlot Palace.
Selena regarded her pathetic husband with extreme distaste as his limbs were held tightly by the invisible strings of her lover. A shrill cackle left her mouth as she sneered at him and whipped another tendril of star-covered blackness across his chest, drawing more blood from the helpless stallion as he screamed in protest.
"S-stop this madness! S-Selena! Discord! Y-you cannot… PLEASE!"
Lumon's red and orange mane hung down into his face, spilling over his blood-soaked chest as he breathed in shallowly, barely alive. He licked his lips as he fell forward to his knees, feeling the threads holding him up dissolve, leaving deep cuts around his wrists and ankles.
Discord's deep, characteristic laugh joined Selena's own, and Lumon watched through his one working eye as the chimera before him removed the crown from his head.
"I think you've ruled for plenty long enough. I tire of submitting to your useless rules and boring rhetoric. It seems that your wife agrees with me. Unfortunate that you lack the strength to stand against us."
He slashed a claw across the alicorn stallion's face, earning a laugh from his stolen lover. She spit into her husband's mane before giving him a hard kick to the side of the head, causing him to roll over along the ground.
"Indeed I do. It is over. Order is for the weak, and ruling through love and kindness has lost all meaning. Everypony loves you, but they do not appreciate me, nor do they care at all about the master archivist who has done more work than you ever did. The tables have turned, you pathetic fool, and now it is time for those who have truly earned it to take the crown."
Discord advanced upon the dying stallion, and lifted the alicorn's head with his claw so that their eyes could lock. "Don't worry, old friend. I'll take excellent care of your daughters for you."
Lumon gave him a menacing growl as Discord turned to Selena and nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Do it."
Selena raised her foreleg and stomped her armored hoof into Lumon's throat, earning a sickening crack and an intake of breath as he looked up at her in total shock. He tried to sputter final words, but only a shuddering gasp left him as the life drained from his eyes. After several seconds of muted struggle, the king was no more.
Discord moved to wrap his arm around his smiling love and gave her a quick kiss, spinning the bloody crown around his stained talons. He pulled back and gave Selena a possessive look, before speaking to her in a satisfied tone.
"Now that we are King and Queen, I think you need a new name. You know, leave the past behind, something harder and more fierce to fit with our iron rule."
Selena paused and considered before giving the chimera an affectionate nuzzle. "What would My Lord suggest?"
Discord stroked his goatee, arching a brow in amusement before he thought of the perfect name.
"How about… Nightmare Moon?"
Credits go to Cadenceofrain.