A yawning Luna came down the hallway of the Canterlot castle on her way to the dining room for breakfast on this sunny morning following the princess sleepover (and following her own long night of dealing with Discord and other dreamers). She inhaled deeply through her nose as she neared the room she sought. “Coffee…sweet nectar of the cosmos, I am coming for thou.” Luna smiled to herself and pushed open the dining room doors.

The large table, as expected, was fully spread with a lovely breakfast buffet which the sister’s had planned as part of the morning following their sleepover with Twilight. Yet, nobody sat at the table enjoying the feast.

Luna raised an eyebrow and glanced around. Then she moved back out into the hall and approached a guard stationed at the end of the hallway. “Excuse me, stallion?”

The guard jumped a little but swallowed and then put on his best look of determination. “Yes, Princess Luna, how may I serve you?” He put a hoof to his forehead in salute.

Luna sighed. ”Please, be at ease. I have had sufficient sleep—I will not yell or use my Royal Canterlot Voice, and I apologize if I have been causing you or other members of the castle staff distress in that fashion lately due to my tiredness. Now,” she smiled, “Could you tell me where Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight are? They are not in the dining hall, and breakfast is getting cold.”

The guard’s demeanor did relax a little now, and he nodded to Luna. “Yes, of course. Neither Princess has left the ballroom yet this morning, Princess Luna. Princess Celestia was seen briefly raising the sun two hours ago, but that was all. I will rouse them if you would like.”

Luna blinked. “I see.” She smiled but shook her head. “No, no, that will not be necessary. I shall go get them myself. Besides, until breakfast is over our Princess sleepover is still going on, and I am afraid rules still dictate that no stallions may intrude upon the slumberers under any circumstances. But thank you for your assistance.” She nodded in gratitude and then turned to head down the hall.

The guard saluted her once more. “Of course, Princess Luna.”

Luna did not have far to go to the ballroom—around a corner and down another hallway. Once she reached the familiar large doors, she opened one of them cautiously. “Sister? Twilight?” she whispered loudly. “Are you awake?” She entered and looked around. There over in the center of the ballroom Celestia stood with a smile, carefully magically cleaning things up from their festivities last night while Twilight still slumbered peacefully on the big pillow they had shared last night.

Luna approached with a smile and kept her voice low as she addressed Celestia. “Sister, is everything all right? You are usually at breakfast before I am. And is Twilight well?”

Celestia made a few empty cider bottles disappear and nodded with a smile in return, likewise keeping her voice low. “Yes, she’s fine, Luna. I think we forget sometimes that other ponies don’t rise at dawn and dusk like we do: they go to bed quite a while after it’s already been dark and wake up quite a while after the daylight comes. Twilight’s just sleeping normally, and I didn’t want to wake her. Or I at least wanted to wait until all the cleaning up was done before I did to give her as much time for rest as possible. I think you wore her out a little last night, Luna.” She smiled more. “Thank you. I think she loved the slumber party.”

Luna smiled more and nodded. “Of course, Celestia. I am glad I could give her a good memory. I think it was a good memory for all of us actually.”

Celestia nodded in return.

Then Luna raised an eyebrow. “When I asked a guard for your whereabouts, he told me that no one had seen you ever since raising the sun. Is everything all right with you, Celestia?”

Celestia swallowed and looked down a little as she folded a blanket with her magic. “I just had some trouble sleeping.” She yawned just a little and tried to cover it with her hoof.

“Trouble sleeping—you? How do you mean?” Luna tilted her head to the side.

Celestia shrugged. “After you left us for the evening, I suppose I just had a lot on my mind.” She sighed, her gaze faraway and thoughtful and perhaps just a little sad. “I watched over Twilight to make sure she fell back asleep, and then I just found myself looking out the window for a while, thinking. Then before I knew it the time for dawn had come, and I raised the sun and then came back here for a small nap.” She still looked down, focusing on her magical tasks with a very slight blush.

Luna’s eyes went a little wide. Then a look of realization came over her. She considered and then smiled at her sister. “Well, um…you’ll be happy to know, sister, that even after leaving you and Twilight in such a rush last night, my duties went well. Every single subject awoke refreshed and full of hope for the new day, I assure you…from the most peaceful slumberer to the most restless dreamer. Everyone’s emotions are at peace.”

Celestia raised her eyes to meet Luna’s. “Really?”

Luna nodded, smiling more.

A deep sigh of relief left Celestia, her smile grew and her demeanor perked up slightly. “Oh good. I’m very glad to hear that, Luna. Thank you for being so…thorough in your duties.” She bowed her head.

Luna bowed her head too. “You are quite welcome, Celestia.”

The two sisters looked to each other affectionately for a moment.

Then Twilight yawned and turned in her cozy sleep.

Celestia smiled warmly down at her. “I suppose before breakfast gets cold we should really wake her up.” She leaned down and gave Twilight the gentlest nudge with her head. “Twilight? Twilight, it’s morning.”

Twilight merely yawned again, still lost in deep, peaceful slumber.

Celestia chuckled and nudged her again. “Twilight? Can you hear me?”

The friendship princess just sighed peacefully.

Luna stepped forward. “Allow me, sister. Our ‘baby sister’ takes after me in terms of the depth of her slumber. Besides,” she grinned a little, “I have tried this technique before with success. Just watch this.” She cleared her throat, much to Celestia’s interest and amusement, and leaned down to speak near Twilight’s ear. “Twilight Sparkle—you have only two minutes to get to your first class of the day or Celestia will be forced to mark you tardy…”

“Ah!” Twilight gasped with a snort and sat bolt upright, eyes wide. “Tardy!? But I haven’t been tardy a day in my life! Oh no, no, I’ve got to—” Then she paused…then she looked down at herself…then she examined a wing. “Wait…I’m not a student anymore…I’m a princess…right?” She looked up at her hostesses.

Luna chuckled and Celestia couldn’t help a small laugh too.

“My apologies, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna assured, offering her a hoof up from the bed. “You are a rather deep sleeper, and my sister and I merely wanted to awaken you before breakfast got cold.”

Twilight took her hoof to stand up, smiling a little sheepishly. “Oh, that’s fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep so late. It’s just so comfortable on that bed, and especially with someone’s wing over you.” She smiled softly. “Thank you both so much for last night. It was so much fun.”

Celestia and Luna nodded.

“Of course, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna smiled more.

“We’re just glad you enjoyed yourself, Twilight.” Celestia smiled more too.

Twilight beamed a little and then raised an eyebrow. “Can I help with cleaning up at all?”

Celestia smiled but shook her head. “All taken care of. But thank you anyway, Twilight. Let’s just go enjoy a nice breakfast together now.” She turned and headed toward the ballroom doors.

Twilight nodded and started to trot after Celestia while Luna followed behind as all three princesses left behind the ballroom and entered the hallway.

“Did you have a productive night, Princess…um…I mean, Luna?” Twilight asked with interest, glancing behind to the moon princess.

Luna nodded. “Oh yes, very productive. All was made well and kept well. And I’ve enjoyed the moon’s increasing light as we prepare for it’s full state during the…Gala…” Luna’s words slowed and her eyes went a little wide. There, up ahead in a window on the right and just out of Twilight Sparkle’s and Celestia’s vision, suddenly appeared Pinkie Pie bouncing up somehow from the ground below and waving to her.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it,” Twilight replied. Then she raised an eyebrow. “Luna? Is there something wrong?”

Luna blinked and looked to her. “Oh, erm, no, no, there’s just…something small I forgot to tend to from last night, and I’ve just remembered it. You and my sister please go on ahead to breakfast. I will join you in a few moments.” She smiled and waved a hoof at them.

Celestia, about to turn a corner, paused and glanced back at her sister, smiling with an eyebrow raised. “Are you certain, Luna?”

Luna nodded. “Positive, Celestia.”

“Very well,” Celestia nodded in return and then looked to Twilight. “Let’s go, Twilight. I don’t know about you, but after an evening as full as last night was, I could use a good breakfast.”

Twilight turned to her and nodded, trotting after her again. “Me too.”

The two princesses disappeared.

Luna let out a deep breath and then looked to the window again, upon which Pinkie Pie flew up a second time into view. Luna then dashed over and opened the window, putting her head out.

“Hi Princess Luna!” Pinkie Pie greeted brightly as she waved a hoof before descending back to the ground. Closer inspection by Luna revealed that Pinkie Pie was using a trampoline positioned on the ground near a castle wall to complete these great leaps into the air. The pink party pony was gone for a couple of seconds but then popped right back up in the air again at eye level with Princess Luna. “We have a super secret appointment today to go over stuff for the Gala, right?” She disappeared again.

Luna sighed but managed a sincere smile and a nod as soon as Pinkie reappeared. “Yes, we do, Pinkamena. Thank you for reminding me.” Pinkie disappeared and then reappeared again. Luna went on. “But please wait half an hour for me and please try to keep your presence here a secret. All right?”

Pinkie fell again only to come rising up once more. She gave a salute. “Okey dokey lokey! I’ll wait for you in the courtyard behind the hedges!” She winked as she fell.

Luna smiled, waiting for her return, upon which she nodded her head. “Yes, that will be most acceptable. Then I shall sneak you into the castle so that we can continue my lessons in learning about modern parties. Thank you very much, Pinkie.”

Pinkie dropped down and then fell and flew up again, her smile beaming. “You’re welcome!” She raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, now how am I gonna get off this thing—oh!” Suddenly Luna’s magic surrounded Pinkie and caused her to float down gently to the ground. “Thank you!” Pinkie called out in a loud whisper.

Luna just sighed and shook her head with a smile. Then she closed the window and departed to have breakfast with her sister and Twilight Sparkle.

“Ahh…” Discord gave a very large yawn, his eyes still closed. “Mmm…what a night…” He stretched a little on his ‘bed’ which he realized now was a particularly fluffy cloud somewhere in the sky. The sun was getting a little bright now too, he couldn’t help but notice as he shifted. He squinted and then finally opened his eyes a little. “Hmm…I directed my magic to bring me to a place that had as little to do with my dreams as possible. So where am I?”

“About a half a mile below Cloudsdale and five miles west,” a familiar voice suddenly told him.

“Ah!” Discord jumped a little and then sat up entirely, glancing around for the source of the voice.

“Up here, Discord.”

Discord looked up only to see Rainbow Dash on a cloud above him peering down at him with a curious grin on her face.

Discord instantly let out a very deep sigh and rested back on his cloud again. He rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself. “Of course—I ask my magic for the opposite of my dreams, I get brought to the element of loyalty. Why not?”

Rainbow Dash just raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay? You seem a little out of it. And you’ve been sleeping pretty funny—like all twisted up and muttering to yourself and snoring like crazy.”

“Do you always creepily watch and critique people who are trying to finish off a good night’s rest, Rainbow Dash?” Discord asked with a scowl, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rainbow Dash sighed and moved her cloud a little lower to put them closer to eye level. “Aw, come on, Discord, I was just kidding. I really do want to know if you’re okay—I haven’t really seen much of you lately, and you did seem kind of upset while you were sleeping. Is stuff about the Gala bothering you and all those lame rumors?”

Discord sighed and glanced away with a pout. “Why, do you want to tease me about it or something if that is indeed the case?”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Hey, if something’s really bothering you, I’m not going to tease you about it. I know things can be a little rocky between us, but we’re still friends, right?” She smiled at him. “If you’re having a problem, well…I’ll admit Twilight’s probably the best one to ask for advice or Fluttershy, but I can still try to help.”

Discord’s scowl faded, though something dry and skeptical still remained in his look as he sat up and his eyes met hers again. “Really?”

“Absolutely.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Look, I know we’ve had a rough start, but I think that was because my thing’s loyalty and, well…up until a couple of weeks ago you were pretty much the opposite of loyalty. I think it’s kind of like how you don’t get along with Applejack the best either, probably because her thing’s honesty and you lie a lot—like all the time—or you used to. Anyway, Discord, I just want you to know that if you want to talk or even if you just want a chance to hang out outside of a big castle or away from a lot of the touchy feely stuff, I’m here for you.” She held out a hoof to him. “What do you say?”

Discord was looking at her with a great deal of interest now. He moved forward on his cloud, reached out, hesitated, and then raised an eyebrow and added, “But can we still tell just a few lighthearted catty jokes at each other’s expenses now and again—just for old time’s sake?”

Rainbow Dash grinned and nodded. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Discord smiled now and took her hoof to shake it. “Fine then.” He yawned, reclining back a little on his cloud. “I was having some bad dreams yesterday—bit of a problem of mine lately. And last night I just thought a change of sleeping scenery would help me rest more comfortably. Hmm…” he chuckled, cuddling back into his cloud a little more. “Those non-fliers don’t know what they’re missing—clouds are just so plush. Am I right?”

Rainbow Dash laughed a little. “Yeah, I’ll admit, there’s nothing more comfortable than sleeping on a cloud.” She leaned down toward him more. “Are you done sleeping for now though? I was going to go help Applejack finish up some pie baking this morning. And Spike’ll be there. If it’ll help you get your mind off of whatever’s bothering you, you should come too.”

Discord’s eyes went a little wide, and he raised an eyebrow. “Spending time together? And free pie—for me?” He gestured to himself with his paw. “Wow, I really must have impressed you girls with that whole ‘I’m sorry, here’s the amulet that’ll open the rainbow chest, please forgive me’ thing.”

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes. “Do you want to come or what, Discord? We can race there.” Her look became just a touch smug. “I bet you can’t beat me! I’m practically a reserve Wonderbolt now you know.”

Discord grinned a little. “A race? With you? Okay that I wouldn’t mind at all.” He flew up. “When I win, I get apple pie and you get some humble pie. Sounds like a good deal to me.”

Rainbow Dash grinned more, a determined smirk coming to her face as she flew up. “Oh yeah—we’ll see about that! Ready…set…”

Discord snapped his fingers and made a starting gun appear which he quickly fired, causing confetti to fly everywhere. “Go!”

They both flew off.

“Uh…Applejack—what’s part rainbow, part spinning disk of doom, and can streak through the sky at crazy speeds?”

Applejack smiled at this cute riddle-like question from Spike as she moved some pies from the counter to the table in the kitchen of Sweet Apple Acres. “I don’t know, Spike—what?”

Spike gulped, pointing out of the window he was looking through. “I don’t know, but it’s heading right for us!”

Applejack grinned and walked over to him. “Now, Spike, what in the world are you talkin’ abo—HOPPING HORSE FEATHERS!” Applejack had just enough time to grab Spike and drop them both to the floor as whatever it was the baby dragon had seen in the sky crashed night near the main house. Luckily, the kitchen remained in one piece, and Applejack and Spike only felt a great tremor from their place on the floor.

As the dust settled outside, Applejack stood up and straightened her hat. “Spike, you all right?”

Spike nodded, standing up as well. “Yeah, I’m okay. But what was that?”

Applejack went to the window again. “I don’t have the foggiest—” Her eyes went wide again as she opened the window and looked out.

Outside, Discord and Rainbow Dash sat breathing heavily and smiling at each other…and in the middle of a large crater of dirt right on the Apple family front lawn.

“Aw hey no fair, I don’t even know how to do that spinning body disk thing you do!” Rainbow Dash grinned at the chaos master and gave him a nudge with her hoof.

“Ah,” Discord insisted smugly, “But it was still flying, and as long as it was flying, it counts. I didn’t use a drop of magic at all. Don’t short change yourself though—you’re pretty good, Rainbow Dash…for a pony.” He rolled his eyes to the side, his smirk growing.

“For a pony?” Rainbow Dash flew up, smirking a little back at him. She brought a hoof to her chest. “Pfft, please, I’m good for anything! I’ve even beaten griffins in races! And I tied with you, that’s gotta count for something. I bet with a little practice I could beat you easy!”

“Is that a challenge for a rematch, I’m hearing?” Discord countered, likewise taking to the air just above the ground.

The two just remained playfully staring each other down for a moment.

Then suddenly a screen door opened and closed, and a not too happy looking Applejack appeared before the pair. She sighed deeply. “Hey, if ya’ll are done patting each other on the back about your flying game, who in tarnation is gonna clean up my yard?”

Discord and Rainbow Dash blinked and then looked at her. Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck and glanced away sheepishly. “Oh, uh, sorry, Applejack.” She looked around at all the dirt and the large hole. “I’ll get right on that.”

“Oh, here, let me,” Discord insisted, waving off both ponies. And then with a snap of his fingers, everything about the front lawn was turned back to normal. “There all nice and orderly, Applejack.” He rolled his eyes. “Better?”

Applejack just sighed, and put a hoof to her head. “Discord, I appreciate you fixing the mess, but what are you doing here anyway?”

Discord shrugged. “Rainbow Dash invited me over to help with the pies.”

“Awesome—more help means more pies to eat!” Spike suddenly announced as he climbed up on the windowsill now to wave to his friends with a smile from inside the kitchen. “Hi, Rainbow Dash! Hi, Discord!”

Both Discord and Rainbow Dash smiled and waved back at him.

Applejack, meanwhile, just raised an eyebrow at the pair before her (especially Discord). “Well…if you’re sure you wanna help, come on in.” She gestured to the house. “But Discord,” she gave the master of chaos a serious look, “we do our chores and work around here the earth pony way, which means no more magic, at least not for the pie baking. Okay?”

“Oh fine, honest, earthy Applejack.” Discord sighed deeply but nodded. “No magic for the pies.”

Applejack gave him a nod and a smile in return. “Good. Just follow me around to the back door then.” Then she turned and went back around the corner of the house in the direction she had come from.

Discord just sighed and looked to Rainbow Dash, speaking a touch dryly. “Is she always this picky?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged and smiled. “Eh, you’re just off to a rough start again. Come on, I promise you’ll enjoy yourself.” She started heading forward and Discord followed her. Rainbow Dash glanced at him. “And uh, thanks for cleaning up the yard. That was pretty cool.”

Discord smiled a little. “You’re welcome. But I’m sure it’s nothing that Twilight couldn’t have done if she’d been here with me.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head though. “Nah, Twilight wouldn’t have raced with me for starters. She’s still getting used to the wings. And either way she always tries to get us to clean up our messes ourselves.” She put a hoof to her chin. “Something about ‘learning the hard way’ being ‘learning the fun way’ and not wanting to keep us from the chance to take responsibility for our actions.” She rolled her eyes.

Discord chuckled. “Sounds like her. But personally I see no problem with taking a few shortcuts. It keeps things fun. And chaos is excellent at them after all. And speaking of which.” He snapped his fingers and instantly the two of them were inside the kitchen. “All of that walking to he back door was making me tired.”

“Discord…” Applejack, seeing them appear in the kitchen as she entered through the screen door herself, looked at him sternly.

Discord sighed and held up his paw. “All right, all right, no more magic for what we’re doing. I promise.” He took a step forward and shrugged, most of the usual sarcasm slipping from his tone. “Really, I’d just like to help, Applejack, if you could use it and if you don’t mind. I have some free time, and I really need to take my mind off of some things. And after all, we are friends, right?” For the first time, Discord didn’t ask the question in a sarcastic and cheeky tone. He appeared somewhat aloof, yet it was obvious that underneath his casual demeanor he cared about Applejack’s response to his offer.

Applejack raised an eyebrow in surprise at first, but then she saw Rainbow Dash smiling at her and giving her a nod from behind Discord. Applejack smiled in return. Then she looked to Discord again and nodded. “If you really want to help, then of course—friends are always welcome here, Discord.”

Spike nodded, climbing down from the windowsill and counter with a big grin. “And it’s a great place to be welcome—it smells like warm apple pie and its full of as many yummy tastes as Twilight’s library is full of books.” He dashed forward and grabbed Discord’s arm to lead him over to the stove. “Come on, I’ll show you how I light this bad boy, and then you can switch around the pans inside for me so that the pies bake evenly—I can never hold onto them since my arms are still too small.”

Discord just nodded, allowing himself to be led (and with a more pleased and relaxed smile on his features than he’d had in quite a few days). “Sure, Spike, if you insist.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash just stood with each other, watching the scene.

Still with the smile stretched across her face, Applejack then whispered to her friend out of the corner of her mouth. “Rainbow Dash, what exactly in the name of apples were you thinking bringing him into my nice, clean, organized kitchen full of pies?”

Rainbow Dash sighed, nudging her a little. “Aw, lighten up, AJ. I saw him this morning, he looked a little bummed, so I invited him to this and it brightened up his day. I figure if I want to defend him as my friend at the Gala or against anything else, I have to try to get close to him. This way you can too. Even if he is a little hard to handle, I think we’ll be okay with him.” She gestured forward with a nod of her head. “And look—he’s actually letting Spike show him stuff, and it looks like he’s caring about it. He’ll be fine.”

Applejack sighed but nodded. “I suppose that makes sense and that we should try to get to know him more. I just hope you’re right about us being okay looking after him for a bit.” She took a deep breath and then went forward toward Discord and Spike (who were just finishing up switching the pies around) and cleared her throat. “Those pies in the oven should almost be done soon. I’ll start whipping up and adding some filling to some more crusts so we can get the next batch in right away.”

Rainbow Dash just smiled more and walked over near her friends too now. “Meanwhile, I’ll get started on scrubbing the dishes. And Spike, you and that fire breath of yours are on drying duty when you get a chance.”

“Then that’ll just leaves you and me on pie duty,” Applejack informed Discord with a nod and a smile. “Come on, I’ll show you the spices for the filling.”

Discord sighed but did walk over to her as he shut the oven door now. “It’s an apple pie, Applejack. I think in the last millennia or so of living I’ve learned what the ingredients are in that.”

Applejack just grinned though. “Well, you’re gonna learn again then since no one makes apple pie like the Apple family. Now hop to it!”

Discord rolled his eyes but did follow after her (hopping the whole way). “Yes, all right. Though I reserve the right to put together a few special pies of my own. But for now let’s start and we’ll just see how the better pie maker is.” He grinned as Applejack put the ingredients all before them on the table and started to explain about them and her family’s baking history.

Perhaps it was due in part to Spike’s presence mellowing the room a little or maybe it was just do to the fact that the smell of freshly baked apple pies is one of the most soothing scents in creation, but a couple of hours had passed now, the pies were pretty much all done, and Discord, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash had actually managed not to kill or prank or cattily tease each other to death. In fact, as the baking process finally finished, leaving a few dozen pies set upon cooling racks all over the room, the group of friends sat together around Applejack’s kitchen table eating a pie each and enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done…though not without at least a little good-natured cheekiness from the master of chaos of course.

“Discord,” Applejack sighed, her look dry, “Please stop using a straw to eat, or should I say drink your pie—that sucking sound is unnatural and it’s driving me crazy. Here, use a fork.” She calmly handed him a fork with her hoof.

Discord, right in the middle indeed of drinking his apple pie somehow through a straw, paused and looked at her. “Of course—ruining all of my chaotic fun and even after I was so well behaved about the pie baking and holding off on using magic until now. Oh fine.” He snapped, making the straw disappear. “But don’t worry, I’ll get my own fork.” He snapped his fingers again…only to make a ‘tuning fork’ appear in his hand. “See, it’s a fork.” He flicked it, put the vibrating instrument into the pie, then took up a wobbling bite and stuck the whole thing into his mouth, causing himself to vibrate too. “Mmm…” He pulled the tuning fork out and swallowed. “Ah good, I’m perfectly out of tune, just like I like to be.” He chuckled to himself and proceeded to eat more pie.

Applejack sighed but had to smile as she shook her head and put down the extra fork. “Anyway, thank you for your help, Discord. You’re right, you actually were really well behaved, and I appreciate it.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash nodded and swallowed a big bite of her own pie. “Maybe you’re not so bad after all even if it is hard for us to get along sometimes.”

Discord chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’m fantastic, and you both know it.” He sighed, resting back in his chair. “Actually this has been a rather enjoyable way to spend a morning. Maybe a little more hard and organized work than I care for, but definitely better than some of the stress and dramatics lately that I’ve been put through. Just simple, straightforward, easygoing, friendly time together—and with snacks.” He finished his pie now and then magically folded up the tin until it looked like a little metal sculpture of himself. He laughed and tossed it aside. “Could you spare another pie, Applejack? I’m afraid I’m famished.”

Applejack smiled and nodded as she finished swallowing a bite of pie. “Yup, you can have another one, Discord. Actually, Spike and I have been making these all last night and this morning just for some taste and presentation testing, so most of them are up for grabs.”

Discord grinned more. “Don’t mind if I do then.” He snapped, and another pie from the cooling racks appeared before him, which he started eating with his tuning fork. “Ooo, this one has gobs of gooey honey butter on top.”

“Mmm…” Spike swallowed a bite of his own pie with a big smile. “If you want a good topping, try amber crystals and rose quartz crumbles.” He grinned, and indeed the pie in his arms appeared to be covered with quite a few of the shiny gems he had insisted on bringing over last night.

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, well, I’ll try anything once. Mostly because I can eat anything.” He snapped and suddenly his pie was topped with gems. Discord took a large bite and chewed. “Ooo, there’s a bit of a crunch to that.” He grinned and swallowed. “I like it.” Discord chuckled, then his eyes lit up with an idea and he held up his fingers to snap. “Anyone want any chocolate milk as long as we’re kind of technically having dessert for breakfast anyway?”

“Yeah, that’d be aweso—!” Rainbow Dash started to say before Applejack put a hoof over her mouth.

Applejack raised an eyebrow at Discord, her tone and look a little dry. “If we say yes, it ain’t gonna start raining chocolate milk in my kitchen or all over my apple trees, right?”

Discord shook his head. “You have my word, honest Applejack.” He grinned extra innocently.

Applejack let out a sigh but finally lowered her hoof. “Well, all right.” She smiled. “I might like some chocolate milk myself anyway.”

“Sounds good to me,” Spike agreed, finishing another big, delicious bite of pie with a perfectly content smile upon his face.

“Chocolate milk all around it is, then. Hmm…” And then with a chuckle, Discord snapped his fingers…and a little pink raincloud appeared over himself, Spike, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, each one raining chocolate milk on its owner.

“Hey!” Applejack frowned and covered her hat with one of her hooves.

“What gives?!” Rainbow Dash scowled and tried to cover her head with her wings.

“Mmm, yummy!” Spike just opened his mouth and took it all in.

“Hmm, hmm,” Discord chuckled as he sat there holding an upside down umbrella over his head to catch the milk and then lowering the umbrella to sip from it. “Oh calm down, girls, I was only kidding. Here, we’ll do it the boring way.” He snapped again—instantly, his umbrella was gone, all the rainclouds disappeared, everyone was clean and dry, and each person had a glass of chocolate milk in hand with a crazy straw and colorful little paper umbrella in it.

“Very funny, Discord.” Applejack rolled her eyes but did smile a little again and sip her milk. “Mmm,” she smiled more, “This really is good though. No wonder Pinkie Pie kept drinking from your rain clouds that first time you returned.”

“Aw, boy,” Spike kicked back, taking a deep sip from his own glass, “I wish Twilight would whip up things this fun for me, but she only does it on special occasions.” He rolled his eyes. “The rest of the time it’s ‘Spike, eat your vegetables and ‘Spike, drink your juice’ and ‘Spike, we’re having delicious and nutritious bran flakes this morning for breakfast.’ I could get used to stuff like this chocolate milk thing. You should hang out at the castle more often Discord.” The baby dragon took another deep sip.

Discord waved him off, smiling proudly. “Oh you’re too kind, Spike. But I’m sure I’ve been loitering around that place enough lately. I’m glad you’re all starting to appreciate my wondrous talents though.”

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash countered (having just finished chugging her entire glass of chocolate milk), “Don’t try showing off too much, Discord. Twilight’s magic is totally just as strong as yours even if it can’t be too chaotic.” She put a hoof to her chin in thought. “But Spike does make a point—no matter what she can do, Twilight mostly just uses her magic to learn lessons or teach people stuff or help organize things or to study. At least you can just let yourself do whatever you want.” She smiled and pointed at him. “You’re kind of like the fun Twilight.”

“Rainbow!” Applejack gave her a look.

Rainbow Dash just shrugged and looked at her, already in the middle of taking another bite of pie. “What? Nothing against Twilight, I know she’s got duties and stuff, but he kind of is.”

Applejack looked firm for a moment long but then couldn’t help a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Well…maybe you do have sort of a point.” She chuckled a little and turned her attention back to her pie.

“Ha!” Discord laughed heartily, finishing another bite of his own pie. “I’m the ‘fun Twilight’! I was always going for the ‘fun Celestia,’ but I’ll take what I can get I suppose!”

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes and smiled at him. “Yeah, I do have to say, even if sometimes I don’t really get your sense of humor, and sometimes you can be a little obnoxious and even a little dark, and sometimes you do some crazy things that seem completely impossible, you do know how to have a good time and make people smile.”

“Wouldn’t that make him more like the ‘less perky Pinkie Pie’ then?” Spike suddenly asked.

There was quiet for a second, and then everybody burst into laughter.

The four friends went about finishing up their snack together with smiles and good humor. Once they were all done, Applejack stood up and started to bring some empty pie pans and the plates the friends had used to the sink. “All right, well, I reckon this has been fun, but I’m afraid I need to get on with the rest of my chores for the day now. Thank you kindly, everyone, for your help. And Spike,” she turned on the water and glanced over her shoulder, smiling more, “I think Twilight should be home from her princess slumber party now if you want to get back to her.”

Spike smiled a lot and nodded as he stood up. “Great, Applejack—I’ll go get my stuff! And thanks again for having me.” He dashed out of the kitchen.

“Princess slumber party?” Discord stood up, looking intrigued as he brought his empty pie tins over to the sink.

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash was starting to dart around the room putting away the baked pies now that they were cool. “Twilight wanted to have a nighttime Gala planning session with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna so that Luna wouldn’t lose more sleep, and then I guess they all stayed over there last night for a big sleepover.”

Discord blinked, looked a touch concerned for a moment, but then let out a breath and did his best to grin normally. “Oh, well, I really should have been kept informed—sounds like a fun thing to have crashed if I’d known about it. But I guess that just means I’ll have more saved up antics for the Gala.” He went over to the sink and started using his hands to hold each dish Applejack cleaned and rinsed off, and he then used a dishcloth held by the end of his tail to dry the dishware (and he was very obviously trying to act very casual as this process progressed).

Applejack observed his kind behavior of helping her with pleasant interest. But she had also caught the slight hint of unease in his tone and couldn’t help noticing how his eyes were a little downcast in thought. She considered and then asked casually, turning back to her dishes. “Speaking of the Gala, I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to that shindig this year. Though I can’t say I wasn’t nervous about it last year, it being my first time and all back then.” She glanced over her shoulder, barely making eye contact with Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash saw her look and nodded, shutting away the final pie in the fridge. “Oh, um…yeah.” She smiled, flying over by the sink. “The Gala was on our minds a lot last year before we went. But it turned out to be a lot of fun once we stopped working ourselves up about it and just enjoyed ourselves.”

Discord sighed now. “Girls, I appreciate the attempt at an indirect pep talk, but I already know that this Gala thing’s going to be a disaster.” He managed a half smile and shook his head. “I’m just going to do my best to make it a fun disaster. I’m the ‘fun Twilight’, remember?” He laughed a little but mostly looked down, still focusing on his drying (and still clearly with many deep thoughts on his mind.)

The girls looked at each other in concern and then back to him.

Then Rainbow Dash sighed. “Okay, that’s it.” She put a hoof to her forehead and scowled a little. “Discord, look, we all decided to try and avoid the subject because we didn’t want to make you nervous about everything that could go wrong at the Gala, but I’m going to tell you something about our time there last year.”

“Uh, Rainbow Dash, are you sure about that?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Aw, come on, AJ, he’s not a baby and he’s already convinced it’s going to be the worst night ever. Maybe at least knowing that the Gala doesn’t exactly go perfectly for everypony will make him feel better.”

Applejack sighed but nodded. “All right, it’s worth a shot. And honesty is the best policy after all…”

Suddenly, Spike reentered the room with his satchel over his back. “Oh, are we talking about last year’s Gala—boy that was a disaster, huh?” He chuckled.

Applejack sighed and gave him a little nudge as he came to stand beside her. “Spike, we’re trying to ‘ease into’ that part of it, okay?”

Meanwhile, Discord had finally stopped his drying now and was just looking at them all in confusion, an eyebrow raised.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and glanced at her earth pony and dragon friend. “Look, I’ve got this.” She turned back to Discord and landed in front of him. Then she met his eyes with her gaze, and let out a breath. “Look, Discord, not to go into too many of the embarrassing details, but basically all six of us and Spike went to the Gala last year convinced we were going to have the best night ever and that all of our dreams about the party would come true, yada, yada.” She rolled her eyes. “But nothing worked out. At all. And instead of just letting things go and trying to enjoy just being there and spending time together, all of us just got really really frustrated until we started ruining the party for everypony else along with for ourselves. So if anything bad or embarrassing happens to you this year, just know that we know what that’s like and we’re gonna be here if you need us to make it better.”

Discord raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Oh come on, you’re Celestia’s perfect little ponies—your time at the Gala last year couldn’t have been that bad.” He glanced at Applejack.

Applejack let out a deep sigh and shut off the sink. Her look and tone went a little flat. “By the end of the night the we’d gotten ourselves into such a mess that Princess Celestia had to sneak us all out the back to escape from the angry mob of other party guests. And then we hid out at Spike’s favorite donut shop, drowning our sorrows in tales of the night and tons of baked sweets. And that’s the honest truth, I swear.”

Discord glanced to Spike for confirmation, and was met with a nod from the baby dragon. “Yup, it’s true.” He sighed and shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. “And if they had just listened to me in the first place and spent the Gala together, all of that drama could have been avoided.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash sighed but had to smile and nod. “Yup, Spike’s exactly right,” Applejack confirmed.

“So what do you say, Discord?” Rainbow Dash smiled and flew up again, pointing at him with her hoof. “You ready to quit worrying and to quit listening to silly rumors and just enjoy yourself and spending time with your friends no matter what?”

Discord looked from one girl to the other, an eyebrow raised, hesitating for just a moment. “If I say yes…we don’t have to group hug or anything, do we?” He grinned a little.

“Heck, no.” “Absolutely not!” both Applejack and Rainbow Dash announced at the same time with nods and big smiles.

Discord had to laugh now. “Well…I suppose if you girls can mess up then anyone can mess up….” He looked up at them and nodded, a touch of determination in his features. “Fine then, we’ll try it your way. I’ve been letting myself get way too stressed out about this silly party anyway, not to mention other things, and that just isn’t good for my health. But if you two and the others made mistakes last year and…even Twilight too, right?” He raised an eyebrow.

Both girls nodded.

“Mmm hmm.”

“Uh huh.”

“Ohhhh yeah,” Spike added with a big nod, taking some of the dry pie tins to the cupboard.

Discord smiled more. “Then who am I to beat myself up about anything that might go wrong as long as I try my best…right?” He glanced to them for confirmation, upon which both girls nodded again, smiling brightly. Discord smiled too. “Um…thanks, you two. You know, maybe you’re not as much of a loud mouthed show off,” he glanced to Rainbow Dash with a grin, “…and you’re not as much of a goodie two shoes stick in the mud,” he glanced to Applejack, his grin growing, “as I used to think.”

“And maybe you’re not as obnoxious and deceitful,” a smiling Applejack started to reply.

“And maybe not as sneaky and self-absorbed,” Rainbow Dash added, “as we used to think.”

All three friends shared a laugh.

Applejack sighed, glancing around the kitchen. “Well, I reckon that’s enough cleaning up for now. I’ll just have to get the rest of the pies put away later when they’re cool.”

“Yeah, I’ve gotta get going anyway.” Rainbow Dash flew up. “I’ve got some cloud busting to get to. Spike?” She glanced at the baby dragon. “Do you want a ride? I can make a super fast detour to Twilight’s castle.” She landed, spreading her wings so he could hop onto her back.

“Uh,” Spike looked hesitant, “super fast? Well, um…” He swallowed.

“Oh, don’t trouble yourself, Rainbow Dash,” Discord suddenly offered, looking to the baby dragon. “Spike, I can take you back if you want. I have to go see our Friendship Princess anyway—I left something in her library last time I was there. Of course,” he stretched up, “I’m more in the mood for a lazy, leisurely flight if you wouldn’t mind.”

Spike smiled. “Not at all.” He trotted right over to Discord. “Thanks anyway, Rainbow Dash! And thanks for letting me sleep over, Applejack! I—oh!” Suddenly Spike paused and belched up two rolled up and sealed scrolls. He glanced at the names on them. “Oh, they’re from Twilight! One for you, Applejack, and one for you, Rainbow Dash. Hey, it looks like invitations to the reopening of Twilight’s throne room.” He handed each girl her scroll with a smile.

Both girls took their invites with interest, special smiles coming to their faces.

Discord just sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m just going to assume that Twilight wants to give me my invitation in person. All the more reason to be on my way then.” He floated up and stretched out. “Come on, Spike, let’s get going.” He snapped his fingers and made Spike appear sitting on his back.

“Oh, um, okay.” Spike waved to his friends. “Bye, guys! See you soon!”

Discord gave a little wave as well. “Yes, bye, ladies, I’m sure we’ll all see each other once the secret of the throne room is finally revealed after all of this unnecessary build up.” He shook his head with a smile and then snapped, making himself (with Spike) disappear.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash finished waving the boys goodbye.

Then Applejack glanced at Rainbow, smiling a little. “Well, that didn’t go too badly at all. And I think we really helped Discord feel better about the Gala by letting him know that making a mistake there isn’t he worst thing in the world.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah. And I actually think he will try his best to make the Gala a good party for himself and everyone else.” She scratched her head with her hoof, smiling more. “Maybe the ‘reformed’ reformed Discord really will be kind of cool.” She went along with Applejack in the direction of a couple of the pies Discord had made himself sitting on a cooling rack on the counter. “And the pies he made don’t seem half bad either—they look really weird and lumpy but they smell really good.” She inhaled deeply and smiled.

Applejack inhaled deeply too. “Yeah. What do you think, should we try some?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, let’s give it a shot.”

Each girl sat down before a Discord-made pie, took up a fork, and put their utensils into their crusts at the same time.

SPLAT! SPLAT!

Springs behind each pie came up, causing each girl to receive a circle of warm apples and flaky crust right in the face.

“Discord!!!”

“Discord!”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash wiped away the pie from their eyes only to reveal a note now stuck to each of their faces, both reading the same thing. ‘Sorry, had to! I promise though, only a couple of the pies I made are rigged…probably. And admit it—it would have freaked you out far more if I hadn’t done something like this. Ta ta! Discord!’

Both girls let out big sighs and shook their heads. But then Rainbow Dash licked some of the pie insides from her face and smiled. “You know, he actually does make a pretty delicious apple pie.”

Applejack licked some from her own face. “Yeah, I actually have to give you that. He does.”

Rainbow Dash grinned, her eyes narrowing cheekily. “Wanna get cleaned up and then later take all of his pies over to Sugar Cube Corner and prank Pinkie Pie? If anyone loves a pie to the face, it’s her.”

Applejack laughed and nodded. “Sounds like fun. Count me in.”

Both girls finished sharing a laugh and then proceeded to separate Discord’s pies from Applejack’s and to get the remnants of his prank cleaned away.

“You actually nearly destroyed all of Ponyville not to mention Rarity all because you were suffering from dragon greed, and Twilight’s best idea was to take you to a vet?” Discord asked dryly, glancing over his shoulder at Spike who was still seated on his back as the pair soared in the air over Ponyville.

The two friends had gotten to talking a little over the last few minutes as their flight had continued. And with much of Discord’s history already known, Spike had started with a story or two about himself.

Spike put a claw to his chin in response to Discord’s remark. “Well, I wouldn’t say ‘destroyed’ so much as ‘damaged.’ And Twilight did her best. She only took me to the vet after the doctor in Ponyville said she didn’t know much of anything about helping dragons. Actually, only Zecora ended up knowing what was wrong with me and how to fix it.”

Discord sighed. “Oh yes, the rhyming one.” He rolled his eyes. “Like that bit doesn’t get old fast.” He shook his head. “Now, you see,” he gestured to himself with a grin, “if I had been reformed at the time, you and Twilight could have just come to me about the problem and I would have had the answer and you wouldn’t have had to endure hearing it in verse.” He considered, glancing skyward with his claw to his chin. “Of course, if it was only after my first reform, I may have waited until things got out of control anyway just for fun before giving you the answer, so I’m not sure if much time or ‘damage’ would have been saved.”

“Wait, wait, you would have known what was wrong with me?” Spike asked, an eyebrow raised.

Discord scoffed and nodded with a grin. “Oh, of course. So many ponies make their primary concern helping other ponies or only spend their time around other ponies. But I’ve spent time with all sorts of magical creatures during my travels including dragons. I know a little bit about everything...mostly because I am a little bit of everything.” He smiled more, glancing over his shoulder again. “If you ever have any other questions or problems, forget about the vet. I’ll be happy to help you myself, Spike.”

“Really?” Spike beamed. “Thanks, Discord. That’s…really nice of you.” He seemed almost confused for a moment though he did still smile.

“Hmm, I might even be willing to let you tag along if I ever decide to go off among the dragons again in my travels.” Discord laughed to himself, looking forward again as he flew.

Spike looked away with a slight cringe. “I don’t know, Discord. I appreciate the offer, but the last time I tried going off with dragons, I ended up in a lot of trouble and it just didn’t go too well. And that was even with the girls secretly following me along to keep an eye on me…” He sighed, pouting a little.

“Oh you’ll end up in tons of trouble going among them with me too,” Discord explained with a grin. “But luckily you’d also be with someone who has magical powers that control all time, space, physics and imagination, so…if Twilight could spare you for a week or a month or whatever, I think we’d be fine.” His grin picked up on one side. “And I guarantee you, no nosy if well-intentioned mares will be secretly following along even if I have to turn Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world again to keep them all busy fixing the mess just to make sure of it.” He winked over his shoulder.

Spike’s smile beamed. “Discord…I-I don’t know about anytime soon but someday, maybe…I really think I’d like that. Thank you.”

“No problem, baby dragon,” Discord assured with a nod. Twilight’s castle was coming in sight now, which Discord noticed. “Incidentally,” he glanced over his shoulder again, “Now that I’ve got you all buttered up, you wouldn’t want to give me a spoiler about what’s in Twilight’s throne room that will shortly be revealed, would you?”

Spike smiled but shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “No can do, Discord. Sorry. But I can tell you that I think you’ll like it.”

Discord sighed. “Oh, fine, I’ll wait to find out the details if I truly, truly must.” He rose up a little bit and now came to land on the balcony of Twilight’s library. He snapped, making Spike appear standing beside him. “There you go, Spike.”

“Thanks for the ride, Discord.” Spike smiled up at him and then dashed through the window doors into the library. “Twilight, are you here? Twilight?”

Suddenly Twilight magically appeared in the library with a smile. “Hi Spike! I’m glad you’re back. I was just down in the throne room looking over the new…uh…um…looking at nothing important, just stuff, heh.” Finally noticing Discord now, she cleared her throat and rubbed her head nervously with her hoof. “Hi Discord, nice to see you.” Twilight blinked, recalling a certain incident from last night’s slumber party, and something a touch more serious came to her tone and smile. “How are you doing?”

“Other than utterly dying from the dramatic suspense about this throne room thing…” Discord sighed dramatically, his look dry, “Fine I suppose. I actually had a nice morning baking pies.” He glanced up in thought and chuckled to himself smugly. “I even left a few very special ones behind for a couple of my friends.”

Twilight smiled. “That sounds great, Discord.”

“Yeah, he helped Applejack and Rainbow Dash and me,” Spike confirmed. “Then he gave me a ride here.”

Twilight’s eyes went a little wide and she smiled more. “Thank you for that, Discord. That was very considerate of you.” She used her magic to make a scroll appear. “Oh and speaking of the throne room, before I forget, here’s your invitation for the formal unveiling Discord. It’s tomorrow night. I really hope you’ll come.”

Discord took the invitation and grinned. “Oh like I would miss this, Twilight Sparkle. You’ve been being sneaky and secretive about it enough, now I have to know what you did down there, though from what I can deduce it involves me somehow. What, did you commission a portrait of me to hang up in lieu of a throne? Maybe add an engraving somewhere on the floor in your throne circle that says ‘Discord was, or rather should have been, here’? Or perhaps you installed a hotline phone so you could call me whenever and wherever if you need my priceless help? Or did you just put a fold out chair in the corner for me?”

Twilight just grinned, her gaze becoming all-knowing. “You’ll know tomorrow night, Discord. Until then, no hints.

Discord rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, I know the drill.” He sighed. “Anyway, as long as I’m here and before I forget, I left Starswirl’s Guide to Nightly Musings here last time I was around, and I’d like to grab it again.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why did you leave it here?”

Discord just shrugged as he flew past a couple of the sparse bookshelves before pausing in front of one. “Because I needed it kept safe, and I’m pretty sure you’re just irrational enough about words on a page to lay down your life lest any of these precious tomes should come to harm.” He chuckled to himself and snapped his fingers, making a formerly invisible shelf suddenly appear inserted between two of the regular shelves, and lo and behold it contained Starswirl’s book.

Twilight just rolled her eyes and smiled.

Discord took down the book and put it under his arm. Then he looked to Twilight with a grin. “And speaking of ‘nightly musings’, I hear you had a princess sleepover last night. Give a pat on the back to whoever was in charge of me not finding out about that in advance, otherwise you would not have had an easy night, Twilight Sparkle, I guarantee it.” Discord laughed more, though at the same time he noticeably glanced away.

Twilight’s smile faltered. She considered for a moment. Then she glanced at Spike. “Spike, um, would you mind putting away your things and then heading down to the throne room, and I’ll meet you there?”

Spike nodded. “Sure, Twilight. Bye for now, Discord!” He waved to the master of chaos and then was off with his satchel over his arm.

Twilight watched him leave with a smile. Then she looked to Discord again, considered her words carefully, and approached him. “Actually, you know, last night was more of a slumber party than a proper sleepover…because Luna couldn’t stay since she had to go out and perform her nightly duties.”

Discord shrugged, suddenly leaning back against a wall flipping open a page of the book and finding it ‘very interesting.’ “Hmm, yes, well I suppose that’s true.”

Twilight sighed and glanced to the side. “You know, I’m sure Princess Celestia will be happy if that book turns out to have helped you somehow, Discord. She may not be the princess of the night, but she cares very deeply for the welfare of her subjects no matter whether they’re residing under the sun or the moon.” She smiled a little, her eyes going to Discord again. “Why, just last night when Luna had to leave to help someone with a very bad nightmare, Celestia stayed up almost the whole night worrying about that person.”

Discord stopped pretending to flip through pages. His eyes went a little wide. “Did she?” He barely glanced up from the book.

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Almost like she had an idea of who the person was somehow and was very worried over them, like they were a close friend. During breakfast, Luna told me Celestia seemed very happy and relieved when she mentioned to her that all of last night’s dreamers had ended up well and happy. I think it meant a lot to her.”

Discord blushed very softly and sighed now, shutting his book. “Yes, well,” he swallowed, “Celestia always was a bit mushy and sappy. I, um…I actually wanted to return this today, so I should probably go see her now before she gets too busy with her affairs for the day.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Of course. Have a nice day, Discord. I’ll see you soon.” She waved at him.

“Yes, yes, you have a friendly, bright, cheerful, happy day too, Twilight,” Discord managed, giving her a quick wave in return before flying outside and into the clouds with his book.

Twilight watched him go and smiled a little more to herself. “I don’t think it could hurt to let him know that someone cared enough about him to stay up all night worrying…and especially someone he might care about a lot too.” She stood up to leave the library, her smile only growing as she headed down to the throne room to work on a few last minute details for the big unveiling.

Author's Notes:

Thank you, everyone, for reading and for bearing with me about update delays for this story. My schedule is packed right now, but I'm going to do my best to keep posting chapters here and there as I can.

Next chapter-- "Cakes and Chaos"--Discord, wanting to return Celestia's book just to get that direct encounter out of the way, but still wanting to stall, ends up paying Pinkie Pie a visit. And somehow, whether he wants to avoid her or not, he ends up bumping into Celestia too (and under particularly adorable circumstances that even he can't just shrug off). And meanwhile the Canterlot castle staff keeps speculating on whether or not Celestia is secretly pining away for chaos (and what her taking on a suitor would do to the political arrangements of Equestria). I hope you guys enjoy it