Discord fluttered his suddenly-massive eyelashes and said, “So, after I turned myself into a mare, I just sidled up to them and said, ‘Hey, sexy. What’s going on?’ And let me tell you now: you should have seen the look on that mare’s face when her coltfriend’s wings just shot up!”

“Mhm,” Luna said.

“So she puffs her chest up and starts whining.” Discord lifted his lion paw, which had become the head of a blue mare with her tongue sticking out. In a scratchy falsetto, he said, “’Oh, Thunderlane, who is this floosy?’” His eagle talon had become the head of a black stallion with his eyes crossed. “’Oh, Flitter! I don’t know this babe—oh, uh, I mean mare!’”

“Right.”

The talking heads popped out of existence, and Discord closed his eyes with a smile. “So she slaps him, tells him they’re breaking up, and I’m already a half-mile into the air, laughing my antlers off. Pretty good, eh?” He leaned back in his seat and picked up his dish. “I must say, being redeemed has its perks. I’ve never found easier pranking targets than Ponyvillians!”

Luna nibbled at her cake, but said nothing more.

The sky was a deep crimson as the moon dipped below the horizon and the sun took its place. It had been almost a year since Discord had agreed to put aside his chaotic ways and embrace the magic of friendship, and ever since that day he and Luna had arranged these monthly get-togethers, where they would chat on Luna’s balcony and eat Celestia’s emergency stash of lemon cake. Despite their past quarrels, Luna saw it as a welcome escape from her usual rigidly-organized schedule of petitions and memos; Discord just liked lemon cake.

“Oh, come now. Not even a chuckle?” Discord asked, scarfing down another slice of cake. He leaned forward in his chair and smirked. “Does a love for good pranks not run in the family?”

“If that is your definition of a ‘good prank,’ then perhaps not.” Luna put her dish down on the table between them and looked up at Discord. “In what world is ruining a loving relationship ‘good?’”

“Well, it’s not like I did it purposefully, or anything like that!” Discord paused for a moment. “Alright, maybe I did, but I can’t control it! Causing chaos is just part of who I am.” He pulled out an x-ray machine and held it over his chest to show all five of his hearts tap dancing. “See? It’s in my blood!”

Luna gazed at him with lidded eyes before sighing and sipping her tea.

“What?” Discord frowned and crushed the x-ray out of existence. “You’re giving me that awful look of yours. What did I say?”

“I must wonder,” Luna began, her words slow and deliberate, “if when my sister allowed you to roam free, she realized you would be acting the same way you always have.”

Discord crossed his arms. “Are you implying that I haven’t truly been redeemed?”

“Perhaps I am.”

“Well, I never!” Discord gasped and threw his hands to his heart. “Of course I’m redeemed! How could you ever say something like that?” He paused for a moment and narrowed his eyes. “Celestia trusts me—why don’t you?”

Luna let out a long breath through her nose. Then, putting her tea down, she said, “Four thousand years ago, at the height of Equestria’s first golden age, you destroyed Canterlot. It was the middle of the night, and you replaced the base of Canterlot Castle with gelatin. The structure slid down the mountainside and into the town, destroying everything in its path. You erased thousands of lives in less than five minutes.”

Discord’s eyes went wide. “That was years ago!” he said. “You know that I’d never do something like that now. And besides, Canterlot’s stuffed full of more ponies than ever. Nopony today even remembers what happened.”

“I remember,” Luna muttered. “And I also remember the plunderseeds—plants imbued with dark magic, meant to destroy all of Equestria when you couldn’t. If Twilight Sparkle and her friends hadn’t stopped you, your seeds would have wiped out the Tree of Harmony for good.”

“I already apologized for that!” Discord said, smoke rising from his ears. “I planted those seeds years ago; they have nothing to do with whether I’m redeemed or not. And what do you mean, Sparkle stopped me? I helped her, and her stupid little friends! And Fluttershy!”

“As soon as the Crusaders accidentally freed you from your stone prison, you went back to your old ways. You did not even have to think about it!”

Discord leaped from his seat and towered over Luna. “So what, then? What’s your point? That I’m right? That I can never be good, because I’m the literal Spirit of Chaos?”

“My point is that it takes more than mere words to change oneself,” Luna said, rising from her seat and forcing Discord to take a step back. “How can you say you are redeemed when you still find excuses for your cruelty? True redemption takes time and effort; it takes a transformation of the soul, a complete incineration and rebirthing of the heart.”

“That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard,” Discord scoffed. “Even Celestia thinks I’m a good guy now, and to be honest, when it comes to talking about good versus evil, I trust her quite a bit more than you, Little Miss Nightmare. And that’s saying something.”

“Discord,” Luna said, head bowed, “are you redeemed?”

Discord blinked. “Am I…?” His face screwed back up into a familiar smirk. “I think we’ve already had this conversation. Yes, I am redeemed.”

“Are you redeemed?” Luna asked again, a bit firmer.

The smirk wilted into a scowl. “Yes,” Discord spat. “I am redeemed!”

Luna’s head shot up to meet Discord’s eyes. “Are you redeemed?”

Discord opened his mouth to answer—but nothing came. There was a glint in Luna’s leer that sliced through Discord’s skin like a machete and made his chest feel like a tear in spacetime. Not even a sound left his throat as Luna stared him down. The silence stretched out like an ocean, pierced only by the occasional chirp of birdsong.

It took all of Discord’s concentration to tear his gaze away and say, “There’s no point to this. If you’re just going to keep blathering on like a broken record, then there’s no point in me staying.” Discord gulped down the rest of the lemon cake and slithered up into the air.

Luna didn’t attempt to follow. “And where will you go from here?”

Discord manifested a picnic basket in one hand, and a frilly parasol in the other. “I have a lunch date with Fluttershy,” Discord said, resting the parasol on his shoulder. “At least she knows how to trust her friends.”

Luna lifted a hoof to her mouth to stifle a chuckle. When she saw Discord’s questioning glare, she shook her head and said, “I don’t think you quite understood my question.”

Discord plucked his eyes out and rolled them in his paw before turning away. “I’m starting to understand why Celestia grounded her,” he muttered as he snapped his talons and teleported away.

---

“Can you believe it?” Discord yelped, throwing his teacup around wildly. “Luna thinks she can just scold me, as if I’m some stupid foal. What does she know about being redeemed, huh? When was she ever redeemed?” Discord paused. He slumped in his chair and looked down. “Don’t answer that.”

Fluttershy winced as Discord gesticulated, tossing the tea out of his cup and into the air, only to catch it in his open mouth. “You know,” she said, crossing the living room to pour him another cup, “I’m sure that Princess Luna didn’t mean to offend you. She was probably just trying to help.”

“Trying to help?” Discord repeated, leaning into Fluttershy. “By insulting me to my face? By implying that all my hard work has been worthless?”

“It hasn’t been worthless!” Fluttershy sputtered, crushed against her sofa. She gulped. “But, you know, it is true that sometimes your pranks can be a bit… mean. And you could maybe think about working on your self-control—“

“Aaugh!” Discord cried. He flopped over onto his stomach to reveal an oversized knife sticking out of his back. “Not you too, Fluttershy! I thought you trusted me!”

“I do trust you!” Fluttershy insisted, floating over to where he lay. “But Princess Luna is very smart; she is the Princess of Equestria, after all.”

“And I’m the King of Chaos!” Discord cried, pulling a plastic crown out from one of his bushy eyebrows and placing it on his head. “But you don’t see me preaching about redemption while scarfing down lemon cakes.”

Fluttershy sighed. “I suppose not… But still. Can’t you just consider maybe listening to what she said?”

She looked back up, and Discord’s ears had disappeared. “Nope,” he said. He hovered up to the ceiling.

“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked.

“Out,” Discord said. He slithered over to the fireplace and up the chimney, out of the house.

---

As Discord approached Ponyville he cloaked himself in magic, so that he might be hidden from the prying eyes of anypony else who wanted to judge him. He flew over the houses and buildings and markets until he reached the center of town, where he climbed to the top of Town Hall and perched on a flagpole, making him look like a particularly grumpy bird.

Otherworldly curses flew from his lips as he watched the village move below him. “No respect,” he grumbled. “I get no respect. Who do these ponies think they are to tell me whether or not I’m redeemed? Of course I am! I’m the goodest good guy in this whole stupid dimension!”

And yet, even as he ranted to the clouds, he couldn’t help but grimace at the memory of Luna’s piercing stare. Even Fluttershy had agreed with her… maybe they had a point? Maybe he could be trying harder to do good.

Discord groaned and smacked himself in the face. He couldn’t believe he was even thinking about agreeing with them—but as he had discovered in the past three months, Fluttershy was easily the wisest and kindest pony ever to live. If anypony knew anything about what it meant to be good, it was her.

“Fine,” Discord said. He ripped a hole in the universe and stuck his arm in, rummaging around for a minute before pulling out a glowing halo, which he promptly affixed to his head. “No more bad things. I will prove that I am the shining beacon of virtue that I know myself to be!”

“Ooh, Rarity, that’s such a pretty scarf!”

A single drop of sweat formed at Discord’s brow.

Discord dropped down on all fours and peered over the edge of the roof. In the street below stood Rarity and Pinkie Pie, the former showing off a long blue scarf that was wrapped around her neck, and the latter gazing at it with wide eyes.

“It is, isn’t it?” Rarity asked, fluffing up her mane. The various jewels embedded into the fabric shined in the sunlight, making her look like a walking rainbow. “I just finished it last night. You have no idea how long it took me to find the right shade of zaffre!”

It took Discord a moment to realize that he was grinning. He spun back around and banished all the mischievious thoughts from his mind. He pulled at his antlers, chewed on his claws—he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He had sworn himself off pranks, and he was going to stick to his promise.

…But one last prank couldn’t hurt, right? It would be like his ‘goodbye’ to the world of chaos. His grand finale. His pièce de résistance.

He turned Rarity’s scarf into a garden snake.

He watched from above as Rarity slowly realized that the silk running across her neck had turned to scales. Her shrill scream cut through Ponyville, so loud that nopony could hear Discord’s snickering. Still yelping about how the universe had betrayed her, Rarity sprinted away, down the road and out of sight.

“Ooh!” Pinkie Pie cooed. She reached into her mane and pulled out an alligator. “Look, Gummy! Your cousin Gus came to visit!”

In the span of a few seconds, Discord had to create himself four new lungs to handle how loudly he was laughing. As Rarity’s screams faded into the distance, he forced his paw into his mouth and stifled his barks. Rarity had always been one of his favorite targets; she was just so dramatic! Half the fun of pranking was the reaction, after all.

Discord allowed himself one last giggle before flying away. The day was young, and the air was ripe for chaos.

---

Ponyville Market was only a few blocks away, and bustled with an energy that washed over Discord’s tongue like rich hot chocolate. He curled around a lamppost and scanned the stalls, searching for anypony who looked like they were in need of a good prank…

There.

Discord flew across the courtyard and landed on top of Roseluck’s flower stand. Rose had a toothy, static grin plastered over her face, and it only grew more strained the longer Mayor Mare perused her wares. “See anything you like, Mayor?”

“Hm.” The Mayor scratched her chin. “I must say, these daisies look absolutely scrumptious! Do you mind if I…?”

“Oh, not at all!” Rose said. “Go ahead!”

The Mayor nodded and leaned forward to take a bite out of a particularly fragrant daisy. Neither one of them heard Discord snap his talons, so the Mayor didn’t hesitate to rip off a petal and give it a thoughtful chew—only to scrunch up her face and spit it out.

“This daisy tastes terrible!” the Mayor said. “Like paper!”

“What?” Rose asked with a frown. She picked up the daisy the Mayor had bitten and turned it over in her hoof. “They were fine this morning—oh my gosh!”

“These are fake!” the Mayor said, picking up another hoofful of flowers. “They’re made out of fabric! Were you trying to swindle me, Miss Roseluck?”

“No, no! I swear, I don’t know how this happened!” Rose dove behind her stand and hauled out a massive barrel. She popped off the top, revealing another stock of assorted flowers. “Here, I just picked these yesterday, and I know for a fact that they’re okay to eat.”

Mayor Mare cast a wary glance at the flowers, but still walked forward to sniff them. She stuck her head in just as Discord snapped his talons again. When she stepped back, her face was covered in bees.

The Mayor shrieked so loudly she left the ground. With more bees flying out of the barrel by the second, she galloped away, flailing her head in a frenzied attempt to shake the insects off.

“Mayor!” Rose sputtered, running after her. “I don’t know how those got in there! Please, come back!”

Discord very nearly crushed the flower stand under him with how hard he was bouncing up-and-down, his entire body convulsing with laughter. Of course, none of the magical bees he had created would ever actually sting the Mayor, but Discord had never seen a pony pale so fast. Hay, he had no idea that old nag could even move like that anymore! Clearly he had failed to give the earth ponies of this town the credit they were due.

Discord jumped off of the stand’s canopy and floated up to a nearby rooftop, only to stop chuckling and frown. That last prank had been great fun, of course, but what could possibly top it? He stroked his beard, trying to force the broken slot machine that was his brain to come up with a coherent idea.

“Who else needs to lighten up?” he said, manifesting a pair of binoculars to look out at the town. “Who else is much too serious for their own good…?”

In the distance, the noontime sun glinted off of Twilight’s new crystal palace.

Discord smirked and left the rooftop behind.

---

“I… I think we’re done!” Twilight announced, putting her paintbrush back into a can of red paint. She turned to face the ponies who stood with her. “I think we’re finally done!”

Cheerilee, Muffins, and Blossomforth all whooped and cheered, thrusting their paintbrushes into the air. Muffins jumped into the air. “It’s so pretty!” she said. The others nodded and joined her in admiring their work.

For the past two weeks, Twilight and her group of fellow volunteers had been asked by the Mayor to help paint a mural in Ponyville Park, celebrating all the disasters Ponyville had survived over the years. On one side sat Tirek; on the other, parasprites flew through an ursa major’s arms; even Discord was there, his body wrapped around the entire wall like a living picture frame. And in the center of it all, a white space surrounded the six symbols that made up the Elements of Harmony. It was a symbol of Ponyville’s strength and perseverance.

“Thank you all so much for helping out with this,” Twilight said, turning away from the mural to face the others. “I don’t think anypony could have done a better job.”

“Thank you for leading us!” Cheerilee said, earning a round of nods from the other two. “We couldn’t have finished it so quickly if it weren’t for your scheduling skills.”

Twilight blushed and scratched the back of her head. “That’s nice of you to say. But I’m”—there was a flash of light behind her—“really not sure that it’s true! I mean, you all… what? What’s wrong?”

Cheerilee, Blossomforth, and Muffins all blanched at once. Blossomforth lifted a shaking wing and pointed at the mural. Twilight turned around and gasped.

Every figure on the mural—Tirek, the parasprites, even the ursa major—had been turned into Discord. Where there once was only one depiction of the chaotic spirit, there now were dozens, all with the same wide grin.

“Discord!” Twilight yelled, flaring her wings. “Get out here now!”

“You don’t have to yell. I’m right here!” The Discord surrounding the mural came to life and peeled himself off of the wall. He landed next to Twilight and looked up at the art installation with a smile. “What a beautiful picture this is. And you didn't even need me to model! You must have my striking good looks stuck in your mind!”

“I can’t believe you,” Twilight seethed. “Why would you do something like this?”

“Oh, do calm yourself,” Discord said, summoning a nail file to smooth his claws. “It’s just a dinky painting. I can put it back whenever I want to.”

Twilight and her fellow painters scowled as one. “It’s not ‘dinky,’” Twilight growled. “And I don’t care whether or not you can put it back; it’s about respect. You just think you can do whatever you want, and no one will say anything!”

“That’s right!” Roseluck yipped, running up to the group. Her mane was frazzled, and a group of bees had nestled themselves in her tail. Jabbing a hoof at Discord, she said, “I know that you were the one who ruined all of my flowers—I heard you laughing! And now Mayor Mare is trying to shut down my stand!”

Discord turned up his nose. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but it’s not my fault that the Mayor is a complete control freak. You’ll have to ask her therapist about that.”

“And you destroyed my brand new scarf!” Rarity shouted, walking toward them. Streaks of mascara ran down her face. “It took me months to design it!”

“You can’t prove that was me!” Discord said. “Snakes are a tricky sort!”

Twilight spent a moment longer glaring up at Discord, but soon enough sighed and let her head fall. “You know,” she said, “I trust Princess Celestia with all my life. But sometimes, Discord—I wonder if she was wrong about you being redeemed.”

Discord flinched away. He could feel six sets of eyes boring into him, burning past his skin and into his soul like flaming needles. He moved his lips wordlessly for a second before narrowing his eyes and saying, “Oh, yeah? Well… fine! I don’t need your approval, Sparkle. It doesn’t matter what you say; I’m a good guy now.”

“Good guys tend to value their friends over stupid pranks,” Twilight said.

Discord bit back the hexes flying up his throat. Without another sound, he teleported away.

---

There was a pop, and Discord appeared on a cloud, high above Ponyville. He landed pacing, circling the cloud and grumbling under his breath. Both talon and paw rested at his sides, clenched into fists.

“Those stupid ponies,” he said to the air. “Idiots, the lot of them. I make single mistake, and they jump all over me! Can’t they see that I’m trying? Can’t they just leave me—“

He turned around. Across the cloud from him stood Princess Luna.

Discord stumbled back a step, but just as quickly rushed forward, only stopping when he was so close that Luna had to crane her neck upwards to see his face. “And just what do you want?” he asked. “Come to gloat about how you were right, and how I’m such an awful creature?”

Luna didn’t answer.

Discord waited, but when nothing came, he spat, “Because I don’t want to hear it! None of this is my fault, and you know that. I’m just being the draconequus I was born as: chaotic. Evil. I am evil, and I’ll always be evil!”

Luna stayed silent.

“Are you deaf?” Discord asked, throwing up his arms. “Say something, you old git!”

Still, no answer. Luna just stared up at him—stared like everypony else stared all the time, no matter what he was doing. Whenever he passed, all they would do was watch him, as if he were going to turn their bones to feathers, or their blood to milk. They looked at him like he was nothing but a monster. Nothing but a bad guy.

And maybe they weren’t wrong.

Discord collapsed to his knees as nausea erupted in his stomach. His arms fell to his sides. “I hate this,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m tired of being feared. I promised everypony that I’d be good—so what’s wrong with me?” He managed to meet Luna’s eyes, and with a hard swallow, said, “You were right. I’m not a good guy; I’m the same as I always was.”

Cold set in over his bones. He let his head fall.

Luna touched his arm. He looked up.

“In my life,” she said, “I have failed many times, and I have learned many things about what it means to be 'good.' But, of them all, the greatest is this: redemption is always free to those who seek it, no matter who they might be.”

With her words came a new feeling—one that Discord could not name, nor could he even describe. His chest felt like it had been set ablaze, and yet, he didn’t mind. Too many words stewed in his mouth, but when he tried to use them, he couldn’t make a sound.

“Now,” Luna said, taking a step back, “where will you go from here?”

Every limb relaxed. Discord stood up and snapped his talons to teleport away.

---

Back in Ponyville, things hadn’t changed much. Rose and Rarity had calmed themselves enough to help Twilight and the others clean up, storing away paint cans and brushes in crates. The mural still grinned down at them.

Everypony looked up when a bright light flashed above them, but the reaction was a near unanimous groan. “What do you want?” Twilight asked..

Discord landed in front of her, arms folded behind his back. “I came to say,” he started. He took a long breath. “I came to say that I’m sorry.”

Every ear pricked up. Twilight raised a brow. “You’re… sorry?”

“Yes,” Discord said. “I let my own temptations overshadow the reason I’m really here: to earn your friendship. Let me see if I can undo some of the damage I’ve done.”

He snapped his talons, and the mural changed back to its original design, earning a cheer from Muffins, Blossomforth, and Cheerilee. He snapped again, and a wagon full of fresh roses landed next to Roseluck, along with a 'Letter of Apology' addressed to the Mayor. Another snap, and a long blue scarf appeared on Rarity’s neck.

“Oh my, cashmere!” Rarity cooed, rubbing the fabric against her cheek. “I must admit, cobalt isn’t my favorite color… but it’ll have to do!”

“Wow,” Twilight said, jaw slack. She looked up and smiled. “This is really nice of you, Discord! Thank you!”

“I don’t need your thanks, Miss Sparkle. Making your friends happy is just what a good guy does.” Discord puffed out his chest and nodded. “…But you are welcome.”

---

If there was one thing that Discord appreciated about Celestia, it was her choice of color when it came to sunsets. The orange that seemed to bathe the air itself was pleasing to Discord’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but pluck them out and polish them against his chest in order to see it all more clearly. How many sunsets had he missed, locked away in that statue? And how many had he ignored, spending his days trying to destroy Equestria?

He erased the thought and settled into his lawn chair with a contented sigh. Fluttershy was just down the hill, speaking with the fish that lived in the river. Discord watched her laugh and took a swig of his chocolate milk.

“This is the life,” he said.

“I am glad to see that you are doing well,” Luna said, sitting down next to him.

Discord nodded. “I must thank you, Luna, for slapping some sense into me; I was being painfully melodramatic.”

“It was my pleasure.” Luna touched a wing to his shoulder. “I hope that you take my words to heart.”

“Trust me, I will,” Discord said. He snapped, and a shirt appeared over his torso which read, ‘#1 Good Guy.’ “See? I’ve already got the merchandise all ready to go!”

“We will see about that,” Luna said with a giggle. She rose to her hooves and walked away.

Just as she was spreading her wings to fly away, Discord said, “Luna?”

Luna looked over her shoulder. “Hm?”

Discord rested his head in his hands and cast her a serene gaze. “Ask me again.”

Luna furrowed her brows for a moment—but then nodded as the realization came over her eyes. She looked to the ground. “Discord,” she said, “are you redeemed?”

Discord took in a sharp breath, as if he were caught off-guard. “Yes, I am redeemed.”

She lifted her head. “Are you redeemed?”

“Yes, I am redeemed.”

She turned and looked him in the eyes. “Are you redeemed?”

Discord returned her look without hesitation. In that moment, he felt something strike his heart—a familiar fire.

He nodded. “Yes, I am redeemed.”

Luna smiled and turned back around. “Then be the good guy.” She flew away.

Discord watched her go, then looked back to the horizon to watch the rising moon.