While Twilight, Celestia, Luna and Pinkie Pie had been spending their time party planning and Rarity had been spending her time sewing, Discord had been off for over a day now enjoying himself as thoroughly as possible and ‘celebrating’ finally understanding what all of his strange dreaming had been about…. And what better place to celebrate than in the tropics?

The sun was now setting for the day and giving off a particularly rosy and orange glow in Discord’s current location reclining on the white sands of a small island off of Horseshoe Bay. The draconequus was smiling and resting on a lounge chair while wearing sunglasses and sipping a fruity drink from a straw inserted into an upside down hollowed out coconut.

The last rays of sun moving just beneath the ocean horizon now, the master of chaos let out a sigh and smiled to himself. “What a perfectly chaotically relaxing evening for me. No rules, no chores, no confusing emotions about confusing ponies. Oh I feel infinitely better now that I’ve sorted out this dream nonsense and what’s bothering me. I think I might like a girlfriend—simple as pie.” He shrugged, snapping up a piece of pie for himself which he ate in one bite and then sipping some more of his drink. But then of course Discord sighed and rolled his eyes with a grin, snapping away his now unneeded sunglasses. “Oh, all right, fine, maybe ‘simple’ isn’t the word for it. Let’s face it, in this little pony-dominated plane of existence, my prospects are slim, so I doubt I’ll be courting anyone soon.” He smiled again. “But still it’s just nice to know what was bothering me and to be able to go back to sleeping whenever I want to without fearing Luna’s wrath. Certainly now that I’ve faced my problem, my dreams will go back to being about nice, pleasant loopy chaos.”

Discord yawned, snapping away his drink and resting his arms over his chest. “I really need to take more trips like this…and stop clinging so much to the greater Ponyville-Canterlot area.” He sighed, his voice lowering. “I guess I’ve just wanted to make sure everypony really was all right after Tirek and…what I did.” He frowned just a little. “And then I guess there’s the Gala thing too to get through. After that’s over though, I really do need to think about what I want to do with myself, where I should go, what’ll be best for everyone and for me.”

Discord contemplated the pressing problem for a moment, but then a yawn escaped him as sunset progressed into twilight and the sky dimmed. “But for now, falling asleep on this toasty, private beach so far away from all the cares in the world is my most important goal.” He smiled and snapped up a fishing hat for himself to pull down over his eyes, though then his voice lowered a little more as he added, “…Even if I have grown to like those cares quite a bit.” The master of chaos yawned once more, and finally as the moon began to glow in the sky, Discord fell asleep under the stars, feeling relief at slumber for the first time in days instead of anxious curiosity about what uncontrollable sun princess dream he would have this time and if a vigilant Luna might indeed send him to the sun for it.

Discord blinked a few times, feeling in a haze. “Where am I? I…” He suddenly noticed all the gloom and darkness around him, the stiff rocky peaks, the bleak horizons… “Tartarus.” His eyes went a little wide. “But…But no, I was never bad enough to get sent here, never!” He swallowed, a slightly pained look coming to his eyes and a sad feeling building inside of him that made him add, “But maybe I should have been sent here anyway. I…”

Then Discord blinked and suddenly noticed that he was not inside one of the stone prisons of this place but rather standing near the threshold of one.

“Discord…?”

The sound of Celestia’s voice coming from that prison cage made him blink and inhale sharply and blush just slightly all at once. He dashed forward and came up to the bars of the magical prison to view its inhabitants.

There on the stony floor and behind the stone bars lay Celestia as well as Luna and Cadance. Cadance and Luna’s eyes were closed in near unconsciousness. Celestia’s eyes barely blinked open as she tried to shelter and comfort her sister and niece despite her own clear weakness. All three mares were looking gaunt and their colors were dull and their cutie marks were missing. Discord couldn’t help but notice particularly that Celestia’s pretty hair didn’t even flow anymore. The loss took away some of the chaotic effect of her mane and saddened him. The whole sight saddened him. “Celestia, how did you three get in there again? What’s going on? Here, I’ll get you out, I—” He snapped his fingers…but not one thing happened.

Discord’s eyes went wide, and he felt something drop in the pit of his stomach. He snapped again and again and again. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. “My magic’s gone…” He felt his breaths become shallow. “That really, really does not make any sense—even for me.”

“And what fun is there in making sense?”

A very dark, almost gravelly voice boomed this question from behind Discord, causing the draconequus to jump. He turned around but saw only the grayness of the place and also some thick black clouds looming overhead. “Who said that?!” he asked in surprise.

“Hmm…” The voice merely gave a low chuckle. And now Discord noticed the dark clouds starting to take a shape.

Discord’s eyes narrowed. “Tirek—is that you? Look, I get it—you think it’s hilarious and ridiculous that I’m friends with ponies now, but I AM! And, magic or not, I will keep these three princesses and every other friend I have safe no matter what the sacrifice. You cannot hurt them. And I am going to get them out and take them home even if I have to walk to Canterlot carrying the three of them on my back!” His eyes narrowed in anger.

“Hmm, hmm, hmm!” The voice’s chuckle just went into a dark little laugh of amusement as the black clouds took shape more.

Discord shook his head and turned back to the cell, his tone and look softening again. “Celestia, I’m going to help you. Don’t worry, everything will be okay. You’re going to be fine. I promise. You and Luna and Cadance…”

Celestia, however, just shook her head in reply. “No. I don’t think we will be, Discord. Not anymore.”

“Wh…What are you saying?” He tried to smile, though there was desperation in his look. “You’ll be fine, you’re always fine. Of everyone, you’re literally ALWAYS fine. And Luna’s got spunk, I’m sure she’ll be better than ever soon. And I put Cadance through the rounds once, and she came through with flying colors. You alicorns are fighters.” Discord smiled more.

Celestia just sighed though, her violet eyes shining a little. “We’re three ponies, Discord. And even we can only handle so much. Even I can only handle so much.” She looked down and nuzzled her sister and Cadence, covering them more with her wing. She looked up toward Discord. “Discord, why did you let him put us here? I trusted you so much, and you let me down. You let all of us. How could you?” She looked so sad.

Discord’s eyes went a little wide, and in that moment he was certain he truly did have a heart because he felt it break a little. “I just thought…Oh…” He shook his head, frowning and scowling, “Oh never mind! What does it matter what I thought, what does it matter how you got here, and what does it matter what any of us did before!? The point is to get you out of this prison! And you have my word I will!” He took a few steps back, braced up his shoulder and then heaved against the magical bars encasing them but with no luck. The stone floor of the prison did shudder a little though, but that action only made Celestia and the other princesses shudder a little too. “Please Discord, it’s no use.” Celestia shook her head. “You can’t break a Tartarus prison with brawn. And if you try, it’s only going to cause us more pain.” She frowned up at him. “Whatever we did to make you think our friendship with you wasn’t important and respected, I’m so sorry, Discord.”

Discord blinked, his eyes full of sadness as he held to the bars again. “Celestia, what is wrong with you? You didn’t do anything, it was all me, I…I…” He shook his head again, changing the subject. “The point is, don’t apologize to me!” He scowled a little. “And stop moping, stop acting like ‘this is it’ and you just want to go out gracefully! I won’t let you give up!”

“Oh, but why shouldn’t she ‘go out’, why shouldn’t they all ‘go out’?” the voice behind him asked sinisterly. “More room for you! That’s what you were driving at all along with this friendship thing, isn’t it—just pretending and looking for an opening to present itself for your naturally evil ways to strike?”

“You stay out of this, Tirek!” Discord cried, scowling and whipping around. “I did not start this, I just got caught up along the way. And the only way I’m finishing it is to get those three out of here, get them better, and get them wiping the floor with you, you pompous, selfish monster!” He let out a breath, his anger growing, his eyes narrowing. “So help me, if I had my magic…”

“Uh, uh, uh, but you don’t have your magic, do you? Hmm, hmm, hmm…” The voice chuckled, and Discord could make out a form becoming visible in the approaching and lowering clouds of an upright being much like Tirek was.

Discord stomped his hoof into the ground. “Hey, at least I have the magic of friendship still—something you’ll never understand and that you can never take away! I was confused, but I am in a much better place in my life now! Twilight Sparkle showed me friendship in its truest and purest form by saving me! And it’s changed me forever—I’ll never be who I was again.” Discord just stood there, breathing heavily for a moment. Then he blinked. “Twilight…” he blinked again, “Twilight!” He stared defiantly at the dark cloud figure still forming. “You don’t have Twilight, and Twilight has all the magic!” He smirked. “Oh, you’re in for it now. I may not know all of Celestia’s ideas about what Twilight’s future will hold, but I think I’ve pieced together a few spoilers about her grand destiny, and let me tell you....” His smirk grew, “She will bury you in friendship, buddy. Hmm,” he chuckled, “you just wait.”

“Discord you can’t just count on me to make everything better. I can’t do everything.”

Discord blinked and turned around only to see Twilight behind him now standing outside of the cell and working a counterspell at the magical walls of the prison but straining. “I need your help too.” She glanced at him. “I know you feel guilty about what you did…but if you would just talk about it, we can all give you the forgiveness you need and you can feel better.” She tried to smile a little.

“I don’t care about feeling better! I don’t deserve to feel better!” Discord cried back, growing more and more frustrated. “Twilight, forget me. You can do this—you can set them free. You’re stronger than I am! You’re a better person than I am! I need you and Celestia and everypony, but…you don’t need me in the same way.” He sighed, looking at the sight of the three princesses trapped and the one princess fighting to free them. “This is all my fault…” left him in a whisper, and he turned away from the cell toward the clouds again. “Nobody would have to be so strong if it wasn’t for me.”

“Hmm,” the booming voice of the clouds yawned, “yes, well, this has been amusing, but now I think it’s time for you to finish what you started, Discord. As in finish these princesses…and all of their little pony friends too.”

Discord raised an eyebrow and then turned around to the cage again. His eyes went wide as he caught sight now of all the rest of his friends weakly piled into the Tartarus prison along with the princesses while Twilight still vainly tried to free them all. “No!” He approached the stone bars, desperation in his voice. “I-It’s all right, it’s all right, I’ll fix this.” His gaze caught sight of Fluttershy, huddled close to Celestia and looking particularly frightened. “Oh Fluttershy,” he added so softly, “I’m so sorry.”

Then a dark scowl and a look of determination came to Discord’s features. He turned back to the dark clouds, which were very close to him now and starting to take shape more and more distinctly. “Let. Them. Go. And then GO AWAY, Tirek! Or stay, but take me prisoner instead if you think you have me figured out so well and I’m so amusing to you. But keep away from those ponies! You have no idea who you’re dealing with when it comes to them, to any of them.”

The dark voice laughed boomingly. “I have no idea who I’m dealing with when it comes to them? Well, you have no idea who you’re dealing with when it comes to ME!” And after that last boomed word, a snapping sound was heard, and suddenly the black clouds took shape right in front of Discord…in the blackened form of himself, with his own face staring darkly down at him, a wicked smile etched into its angry features.

Discord gasped harshly and started to stumble back. “No, no, no, no!” he shouted, shaking his head. “I’m not a monster like that, not anymore! I’m not evil, my powers aren’t evil, I know I’ve done evil things, but I’m sorry! I am!”

“Too late.” The cloud figure moved closer. “Tirek was right—good guy isn’t your speed at all. If he hadn’t betrayed you on a whim, you’d be laughing it up in the Canterlot castle throne room right now making chocolate rain pour down and the moon and the sun flip flop places for fun while everypony suffered and weakened just like all of these ponies!”

“No!” Discord just shook his head, backing up closer to the prison cell. “Go away, you’re not me, GO!!!” He snapped his fingers over and over but to no avail.

“Discord…” A faint, female voice suddenly seemed to be calling to him from the back of his mind, and it sounded so familiar.

“You’re full of hate and greed and evil. Admit it and just be yourself, Discord. Stop acting so pathetic!” The dark figure of himself glared down at him, still moving closer. “Only a bad person, only a person just like Tirek, would have made the choice you made, and you know it.”

Discord did his best to look back up at it defiantly as he found himself now pressed against the Tartarus prison bars. “I was not the bad one! Tirek was the bad one, I just made a mistake I…Oh it doesn’t matter, I don’t want to talk about this! The point is, I don’t want to be the bad one anymore!”

“Discord!” There was that female voice again, and now a dull light appeared shining behind the dark clouds.

The dark figure of himself still moved in closer. “You can’t change your nature, Discord—you are chaos, and chaos brings evil. Your magic is evil. Remember how much fun you had torturing the ponies and other creatures with disorder and disharmony when you ruled? And how you hated Luna and especially Celestia for imprisoning you…very especially Celestia because she let you stay that way for a THOUSAND YEARS!?” the voice boomed. “Remember all those plans you had to ruin her…”

Discord’s eyes narrowed. “I would never hurt her now! I…I love her! I-I love all of my friends! And she did her best! At least her intentions were good!” he countered, pressed completely against the prison bars now and blushing even though he didn’t realize it. “I was just…I was just…” his face fell, “I was just a monster…” A deep breath left him. “And maybe I still am one even if I don’t want to be…” He closed his eyes.

“DISCORD!” And now a bright ray of light shone through the dark cloud figure, bursting him apart. Discord blinked and then suddenly felt a hoof on his arm pulling him far away, though he longed in vain to go back and set the ponies free and even take their place whether he had to or not simply for the sake of being able to hide his shame in the loneliness of Tartarus forever…

“AHH!” Discord awoke, sitting bolt upright with a yell. He was breathing so heavily that he clung to his chest with his paw. He looked around fearfully and found himself still reclining on his lounge chair on the quiet beach, though the night had grown significantly darker by now.

“Discord! I—”

“AHH!” Discord started at Princess Luna suddenly coming forward and addressing him. He barely caught his breath and looked to her. “Luna! Luna?” He raised an eyebrow. “What…Luna…What is going on? Where’s Tirek, I mean me, I mean…” He put a hand to his head. “I mean…oh, thank chaos, that must have just been an awful dream.” He collapsed back completely onto his lounge chair in (shaky) relief.

“Yes, Discord, but more than an awful dream.” Luna frowned, her eyes full of concern. “I’ve kept myself sensitive to your nightly moods lately, but even if I hadn’t been doing so and even this far out on the edges of Equestria, I would have felt the traumatic impact of your nightmare without question. I’m just glad I was able to enter it in time and pull you out before your psyche was too damaged. Are you all right?” She raised an eyebrow, looking him over.

Discord’s eyes just went very wide. “You went into my dream? Wh-Who asked you to go into any of my dreams?!” He tried to scowl and frown, but he was still so shaken up that he barely managed either.

Luna frowned a little more. “I’m sorry, Discord. I know, as my sister told me, that you did not wish for any assistance from me regarding whatever sleeping or dreaming problem you’ve been having lately. And of course I am bound by such a request to respect the dreamer and not enter their mind. But—”

“Wait, you KNEW I didn’t want you in my head and you still went in my head!?” Discord sat up entirely, scowling at Luna in frustration all the more (and trying very hard not to blush).

Luna’s eyes went wide, but then she scowled a little too. “If you’ll let me explain, I had to enter your dream in this case because—”

“O-Oh this is just so typical!” Discord started to ramble nervously, crossing his arms over his chest and slouching down again. “No privacy, no privacy at all! Oh sure, when Discord’s a stone statue we’ll all just leave him alone all the time, but the second he’s back to normal everyone has to throw themselves at me in friendship. You all want to love and tolerate the heck out of me—I get it already! Sheesh!”

Luna took a step forward. “Discord, privacy was not an issue here—I have a duty to—”

“Well I don’t care what you saw, you know!” Discord suddenly announced, and by now he was indeed blushing a little. “Any wisps of memories or previous dreams or private thoughts—I don’t care at all! It’s a free nation thanks to this silly egalitarian society you and your sister concocted. I can think what I want without anypony turning me to stone or sending me to the sun or anything else!” He looked away defiantly.

“DISCORD!” Luna suddenly announced in her royal Canterlot voice, effectively collapsing his lounge chair and sending him skidding back a few feet over the sand.

“Ow!” Discord rubbed his side and then his ears. He blinked a few times and swallowed, then looked up at Luna contritely. “Erm…yes?” he offered with a little grin, his hysterics over finally.

Luna was just standing braced on all fours, scowling a bit. She took one final breath to calm herself and then straightened up and approached him. “Two things: first, I am going to give thee a hoof up.” She held out her hoof to assist him with standing. “And second, you are going to listen to me very, very, very carefully. All right? No talking, just listening.”

Discord bit his lip but nodded and took her hoof to stand again. “Yes. Okay, Luna…” He glanced down, blushing a little more as they separated. ‘What’ll I do if she knows? What if she caught sight of anything from my other dreams, any bits of my thoughts lately about…?’

Luna took a deep breath, any frustration leaving her features. Then she cleared her throat and addressed Discord calmly. “Yes, I did know you were having some troubling dreams lately. Yes, I did know you did not want me interfering with them, both because my sister explained that fact to me and because it was easy deducible by the fact that you didn’t come to me for advice. And yes, I am bound by my duties as princess of the night to respect the wishes of dreamers regarding my presence in their dreams. BUT with one exception…” she frowned a little again, “If I sense a person’s nightmare is so severe that it may cause harm to them or others somehow, I must interfere for the safety of our subjects.”

Luna looked into his eyes, her tone growing softer. “You have my word I did not peek into anything of your subconscious mind or your private thoughts, Discord. I focused in on your nightmare and only lingered long enough to understand the danger you were facing and to understand how to extract you from it safely.” She bowed her head slightly. “I’m sorry if I’ve offended your privacy in any way. But you were in a highly agitated state, and I feared you would be led into a mental or emotional collapse.” She looked up at him again, an eyebrow raised. “You frequently pretend to be well when you are not, don’t you, Discord? I could sense great confusion in your mind. I know you are chaos, but there are some things any mind should not handle without proper understanding.” She took a few steps closer to him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” Discord held up his hands, smiling a little and backing away from her, “Easy there, Miss Moon, th-there is nothing wrong with me, really! I had one little nightmare about the trauma of Tirek—I’m sure every pony in Ponyville has had the same thing.” He shrugged.

“Every pony in Ponyville wasn’t plagued by thoughts of guilt and regret and fear putting them on the brink of psychosis though,” Luna countered as gently as she could.

“Hey.” Discord scowled a little and looked down at her firmly. “I do not ‘fear’ anything. Anything. Ever. Got it?”

Luna sighed, summoning all of her patience. “Discord, I understand emotional and mental distress very thoroughly. It has always been in my domain as princess of the night. And it is something I have struggled through as well.” She frowned a little, taking another step toward him. “Celestia told me you refused to talk about the Tirek incident, and I think I see why now. The memory of your actions is too painful. And you cannot face what those actions might say about you.” She tried to smile. “Discord, I didn’t even go to the Gala last year because I was still so concerned with what she and everypony else would think of me. And do you know how long it took me even to talk about Nightmare Moon and my banishment once I returned to my sister and Equestria? For the first few months after I got back, I all but avoided Celestia, and when I did see her I pretended nothing had happened. I know what it’s like to feel bad about hurting her most of all. Despite any differences you may have, she’s very loving and caring, and to cause her any distress is—”

“You know what, Luna?” Discord cut her off now, holding up his paw, his eyes closed and almost smiling a little. “Contrary to the kindred relationship you’ve invented in your head between us and your confusion from that idea that somehow Celestia’s affection is super important to both of us, I’m sorry to say you’re wrong!” His eyes opened with a scowl, and crossed his arms over his chest. “My problem is very, very, very complicated. I don’t even know what’s going on with me.” He blinked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, I thought I knew…Actually, I thought I knew twice so far, but now once again I think I need to reassess a little…” He shook his head. “But the point is there is a world of difference between you and I, and as I keep trying to explain to anybody who asks, me talking about my problems won’t change anything that happened in the past, so why bother?”

“Because it could help you, Discord,” Luna urged. “You would feel so much better. I know I felt so much better when I—”

“We’re not the same, Luna.” Discord leaned toward her, scowling again. “You’re sharp—think about it a little. We have not made the same mistakes. Not exactly.” He pulled back and sighed, looking down, his voice lowering. “And I don’t want to feel better about the things I’ve done. I just…don’t want everybody trying to help me or feeling bad for me. That’s all.” His arms lowered and he glanced up at her again, his tone quiet and sincere now. “You can’t tell anyone you found me like this or about my dream. Please, Luna.”

Luna’s eyes went a little wide. She came forward completely now and put a hoof on his arm. “Discord, I am bound as Princess of the Night to never reveal the contents of a person’s dreams to others. But as your friend, of course, I further give you my personal promise that I will not tell anything of your thoughts or dreams to others.”

Discord sighed softly. “Thank you.”

Luna smiled a little as she removed her hoof from his arm. “But Discord, this sort of dreaming must be taken very seriously. In fact, if all of your other distressing dreams have been about the same subject matter, I don’t know how I haven’t felt compelled to rescue you sooner. And when my sister and I first saw you sleeping in the meadow in the statue garden, you seemed so serene and content as you dreamed.” She put a hoof to her chin in curiosity.

A scoff like a chuckle left Discord and he replied dryly with another scowl, “Yes, well, you caught me, Luna dear—up until tonight I was ENJOYING dreams about tossing anybody who ever cared for me into a prison and blackening the skies of Equestria with my presence. Suddenly not caring for such a horrible activity must have just been caused my something I ate!”

Luna raised an eyebrow. Then she sighed, her look becoming a little dry. “Defensiveness. We are more alike than you realize, Discord.” She took a breath, her gaze softening again. “Of course I know you couldn’t have been dreaming about enjoying such an activity, Discord. I am only puzzled about how, if such issues of your recent actions and such nightmares have been causing you confusion and strife, I could not have sensed it until now.”

Discord let out at very deep breath, grimaced a little, but then made himself quietly give her an answer. “My dreams…the ones that have been ‘distracting’ me…haven’t been about this. This is the first and only dream I’ve had about the Tirek thing.”

“But your prior dreams have indeed been causing you distress as well… But they have not been nightmares? They have been dreams of pleasure?” Luna raised an eyebrow.

Discord blushed at her choice of words but felt grateful that the night and moonlight must be hiding some of it. “Yeah, you could say that, I suppose.” He looked away, smiling uncomfortably.

The two magical beings just remained standing together in quiet for a moment, Luna in deep thought, Discord trying to avoid deep embarrassment.

Then Luna let out a breath. “Discord, I’m sorry, I want to assist you with this. I at least want to make sure your dreams don’t cause you mental or emotional harm even if you would prefer to work out the details and meanings of them yourself. But I cannot do that lacking so much information. Even if you do not wish for me to see your dreams, perhaps if you described some of them to me, I could help you find some insight into what is bothering you overall and how to resolve the issue.”

Discord sighed. All of his anger appeared gone, but he still shook his head. “Luna, I just can’t. It’s too private.” He looked up at her.

Luna looked into his eyes and nodded. “I understand. But I am here to help you if you change your mind. And no matter what you have been dreaming of, you have my word I would never judge you for it.” She bowed her head, then raised it again. “But you have to know that if I sense you in great distress again, I will have to enter your mind and awaken you even if I do not make note of the details of your dreams.”

Discord gave her a single nod. “I understand.” He swallowed. “And for what it’s worth, even if I seemed a little upset at first, thank you for…doing what you did just now for me. I do think I needed that.” He shrugged, trying very hard not to shudder too much at the memory of his nightmare.

Luna smiled a little. “Please do not mention it, Discord.” Then she bit her lip. “If I could make one final suggestion though… If you do not want to talk about your other dreams with me, please consider talking about them with my sister. She is a very good listener. And I believe you and she have a close connection…and I know you love her just like you love all of us.” She smiled more and added a touch sheepishly. “My apologies. You yelled the part of your dream about loving us so loudly that I couldn’t help but overhear it. But anyway, please consider confiding in Celestia about your private matters.”

Discord just rolled his eyes to the side, his grin picking up on one side. “Heh…yeah, uh…no.” His look became completely dry. “Not that some girly gushing to your sister about my most intimate feelings doesn’t sound just peachy, but I’ll pass. Besides…” he walked past Luna, rolling his paw in the air in a dramatic gesture, “I-I was only caught up in the moment when I started gushing about loving Celestia and everypony else—near mental and emotional breakdown you said, right? And anyway, like I said, I’m handling things myself. I’ve even got that dream book Starswirl wrote, and I’ve been studying it. Everything is under a relatively acceptable degree of control.”

Luna looked after him with just a touch of concern but then nodded, following in his wake, trying not to smile at his sweet attempt at denying his true feelings. “Very well. But,” she teleported herself directly in front of him, stopping his progress forward. “Discord. Really. Even if there are other things bothering you, even if the situation is complex, you can’t just keep not talking about Tirek and pretending nothing ever happened. You have to face it. And you will be happier when you do.”

“Nope, actually, I’m afraid, despite any reform of mine, I don’t ‘have to’ do anything.” Discord looked down at her with a grin and a shrug. “Chaos and all that. I get to avoid what’s good for me for as long as I can pretend to be amused by it!” He chuckled.

Luna sighed. “Discord…”

“Oh and another new development,” Discord snapped is fingers, making an ear horn appear which he put up to the side of his head. “I’m afraid I can’t hear anything you’re saying anymore. Hmm…well, it is awfully early in the day—so early that it’s still night, in fact. But I suppose our long dramatic talk must have filled up the quota of sound, sappy, princessly advice that I can handle for the day.” He snapped his fingers, making the horn disappear, and shrugged. “Who would a thought, huh?”

“Discord, seriously…” Luna tried to go on, though she couldn’t help a smile trying to develop.

“Sheesh, you keep talking and talking,” he made a talking gesture with his hand, “But all I hear is yada, yada, yada, some static, yada, yada, crickets chirping, yada, yada, friendship is magic…” He grinned brightly. “Hey, not bad—if you could lecture me like this every night, then I wouldn’t have to hear a thing Twilight or Celestia says to me all day. I could just nod and smile and miss all the boredom!”

Luna just smiled and shook her head. “Just be careful Discord. And also try to fall asleep a little closer to Canterlot next time please?” She yawned. “I haven’t been getting much sleep myself lately, so making a trip all the way out here in the middle of the night was not an easy task for me.” She stretched. “And now I have to teleport myself all the way back home—of course, I might have to fly a little bit at first just to get in range considering how tried I am, and then…” Luna’s eyes went wide, and before she could say another word, Discord had snapped his fingers and she had disappeared in a burst of light.

Discord waved to the few sparkles of magic dust that floated in her wake. “You’re welcome for the free trip home, Luna.” He sighed, flying up into the air. “And at least that gets you out of my hair for now. I’ll just fly home myself—it’ll clear my head, and by the time I get back Luna should be off helping some other dreamers or adjusting the starlight or something.” He began to head in the direction of the mainland, talking to himself in a mocking princess-ish way as he did so. “You should talk all about your feelings Discord, you have to face the Tirek thing Discord, you can’t avoid your problems for forever Discord.” He scoffed. “Hmm, well, watch me try just the same.” And with that he soared up through the nighttime clouds over the expanse of dark water to savor the peace and quiet and perfect opportunity to let his denial flourish.

A little while later, Discord landed just outside of the gate before Fluttershy’s cottage. It was still the dead of night, though the moon and stars at least shone brightly overhead to offer him some light.

Discord yawned. “I really, really, really do need to get on making myself a place to live. Normally I could at least ask Fluttershy to let me crash here, but now that it’s so late that I’ll just have to make do sleeping on the hammock in her garden.” He walked through the gate and up the small drive. “At least it beats spending the rest of tonight in the Canterlot statue garden though…in close proximity to Luna who officially has her eye on me now and heard me announce I ‘love’ her sister and all of my friends.” He rolled his eyes. “Meanwhile, considering tonight’s latest slumber-time fiasco, I really have to reassess what it is exactly that’s wrong with me. Maybe it’s got nothing to do with the Gala or Celestia or a girlfriend…maybe my problem really has just been guilt over Tirek.” He frowned a little at the idea, then sighed as he stopped at Fluttershy’s picket fence to rest against it for a moment. “Maybe if all else fails and it’s the only way I can get a handle on things in my life and sleep normally again…and if she really would keep everything in confidence and not judge me…maybe I really will tell Luna everything.” He paused to consider the possibility for a moment. Then he blushed entirely and sighed deeply, dragging a hand down his face. “Yeah, and then I can go sizzle on the surface of the sun while Luna sets up a magical anti-Discord barrier twenty feet around Celestia just in case. Discord, you really must be tired. Go get some sleep already.”

Just as Discord flew over the fence though, he noticed a light in Fluttershy’s backyard near her door. He approached, then blinked. “Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus pony was standing under a tree with a light cloak over her back and a small lantern at her side. She had a bag of some kind of feed in her mouth.

Upon seeing Discord, Fluttershy blinked and then put down the feedbag. She smiled at him. “Discord? Hi. What are you doing up?”

Discord raised an eyebrow, smiling a little back at her. “Oh, I had some bothersome dreams again. I needed a little flight to clear my head, and I ended up here so I thought I might spend the night snoozing in your garden hammock.” He glanced at her curiously. “What are you doing up so late, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy smiled and gestured with her head to the tree. “Oh, I always wake up for a little while around the middle of the night. That’s when I feed the owls.”

“Hoo, hoo!” An owl suddenly chirped, popping its head out of a hollow in the tree.

Discord glanced at the owl and then looked back at Fluttershy. His smile and gaze warmed. “Of course you do. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Equestria’s kindest mare.”

Discord patted his friend on her head, and Fluttershy just smiled more up at him. “Anyway, Discord, since I’m already up, would you like to come inside and sleep on the couch like usual?” she asked. “It’s such a chilly night after all. And I have some hot chocolate brewing on the stove if you’d like any.” She turned back in the direction of the cottage.

Discord nodded. “I would love that, Fluttershy.” He followed her inside and instantly went over to her sofa which had served him many times in their brief friendship as a sleeping place. Fluttershy removed her cloak and then went to the linen closet to retrieve a warm blanket to cover Discord. Then she went to the kitchen and emerged a moment later with a tray holding two mugs of hot chocolate which she set down on the coffee table at his side. “Here you go, Discord. Would you like to do the honors for the marshmallows?”

Discord grinned, sitting up a little. “Don’t mind if I do.” He snapped his fingers. Instantly over each mug appeared a small white cloud that started ‘snowing’ marshmallows onto the top of the hot chocolate. Discord chuckled, holding up his fingers for another snap. “Say when?”

Fluttershy giggled and observed her cup for a moment longer. “When, Discord.”

Discord snapped to make her marshmallow cloud disappear, waited an extra couple of seconds, and then snapped away his own mug’s marshmallow cloud. “By the way, I made the marshmallows taste like cookies this time. And there are a couple in there that’ll taste like lemon—for the sake of chaos, you understand.” He winked

Fluttershy laughed softly, finishing a deep sip from her mug. “It’s delicious, Discord. Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, Fluttershy.” Discord took up his own mug to drink.

Fluttershy smiled at the sight of her friend all cozy and then went over and got a small fire going in the fireplace before heading past Discord back the direction of the stairs. “Well, have a good night, Discord. And if you have any more bad dreams, just remember I’m right upstairs if you need me.”

Discord chuckled and sighed, putting aside his hot chocolate to cuddle into his pillow. “Okay, dear Fluttershy, I’ll remember.” Fluttershy smiled back at him and started to head off. But then suddenly Discord bit his lip and reached out to her. “Er…Fluttershy…? Wait…”

Fluttershy turned back to him. “Yes?”

Discord tried to smile. “I just, um…I-I know I might be putting you out a little bit right now and that I’m not the easiest person to care for as a friend…so I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.” His smile fell away and he looked into her eyes. “I’m truly and sincerely sorry for any…um…bother I might have caused you…tonight…or recently.” He cringed just a little.

Fluttershy looked at him curiously but then just smiled more. “Oh Discord, you’re not a bother and you’re not putting me out at all. Don’t be sorry. I love having you around. I consider you one of my best friends.” She looked back into his eyes.

Discord’s smile grew. “Oh…thank you, Fluttershy. Thank you.” He swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re one of my best friends too.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Goodnight, Discord.” She pulled up the corner of his blanket to tuck him in a little more, turned off the lamp on the coffee table and then departed upstairs.

“Goodnight,” Discord called after her with a little wave. Once he was sure she was gone, he let out a deep breath and rested back against his pillows. He took another sip of his hot chocolate, which made him smile more, but then his smile fell a little again. “No, it’s no good trying to apologize to her for Tirek if I do it indirectly so that I’m the only one who knows I’m doing it. It has to be a real, full, outright apology or nothing.” Discord sighed, looking down into the mug of his little drink. “For your sake, Fluttershy, I’ll think about talking about Tirek. For you, I’ll try. Even if I don’t deserve to feel better, you do deserve an apology from me.”

Discord finished his hot chocolate and soon drifted off into a light sleep for the few remaining hours until morning, having no very unusual dreams…except the occasional flash of rainbow colored flowing hair that provided him with more comfort than he cared to admit.

At the crack of dawn, an exhausted-looking Luna pushed open her bedroom door, entered, magically shut the door tightly behind her and let out a deep sigh.

Her head sunken low in tiredness, she walked across the room and magically drew the curtains to hide the bright sight of the rising sun and encase her room in the shadows she enjoyed. Then she threw herself onto her bed. “I am getting too old for this…” Another deep sigh escaped her and she yawned. “Perhaps if Celestia and I had assistants? No, no, that would never work…I’m too proud to accept help and Celestia is too self-sacrificing.” She smiled to herself, closing her eyes a little and magically pulling up her blankets.

Luna gazed around her room, savoring the quiet and the full day’s rest to come. “No Gala planning for me today thanks to Twilight Sparkle’s night meeting coming up in a few days—I shall have to thank her properly for that suggestion.” She smiled. “And no one should disrupt me for the rest of the day for anything else—the note I just put on my door about how anyone who dares to interrupt my slumber shall be met with a royal degree of nightly doom should do the trick.” Luna chuckled to herself, turning in her bed and yawning again, her eyes closing.

Then the night princess frowned a little, her mumbling growing softer as sleep started to overtake her. “As soon as I awake again, I’ll…I’ll have to start thinking on Discord’s situation a bit. He told me to think about it—we’re not entirely the same. Very well, I will consider that point and what it might mean. And…I must ponder what else might be confusing him. He said something about turning him to a statue, sending him to the sun…There must be guilt.” She smiled a little, nuzzling into her pillow. “But it’s so very good that he said he loves Celestia and all of his friends. That is what is most important. Love and friendship are very good things to have, so warm…I’m sure he will be okay.” Luna gave one last yawn and then started to doze and have dreams of her own.

A little while later, Celestia sat at the dining all table alone eating her breakfast in peace, a content smile upon her face.

A guard entered the room and approached her now. “Your highness.” He bowed, then raised his head, looking a touch nervous, “Your sister remains in bed and the note on her door warning of awakening her is still on display. Did you…still want me to try waking her for breakfast?” The guard swallowed nervously but did his best to look firm and determined.

Celestia smiled more but shook her head. “No thank you. You may leave Princess Luna to her rest. If she wakes up later and wants a midday snack, I’m sure the kitchen staff will be happy to prepare her something.”

A smile of relief came to the guard’s features, and he nodded and gave her a salute. “Thank you, Princess! I will make your orders known.”

Celestia nodded. “Thank you. You are dismissed.”

The guard bowed and then exited.

Celestia sat in serene silence for a few moments longer. “Hmm,” she sipped her juice, “I forgot how quiet breakfast alone can be. It’s been so nice having Luna to talk to each day. But she must be so tired, no wonder she wanted to get to bed early.” Celestia glanced around the large, empty dining room and observed the large buffet set before her. “Still though, it would be nice to have some conversation and someone to share all of this with.” She moved a muffin onto her plate and started to nibble one of the corners.

Just then her ears caught the sound of a light tapping at the window behind her chair. Celestia turned to the window and blinked, her eyes going wide and her smile growing: there, hovering in the air and giving her a little sheepish wave, was Discord.

Celestia instantly stood and went over to him, magically opening the window. “Good morning, Discord. What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?”

Discord flew inside and shrugged, landing before her and glancing off to the side casually. “Oh, I was just passing by, and I thought it might be nice to check in on you, make sure everything’s okay…um, assure myself that the lady I’m escorting is still in one hundred percent perfectly fine condition.” He put his arms behind his back and then blinked and added with just a touch of sheepishness he couldn’t hide, “Oh and, um, good morning too.”

Celestia chuckled. “I’m perfectly fine this morning, Discord. Thank you for asking though. And are you all right?” she asked politely, raising an eyebrow.

“Me? Oh, well, yes, erm…” Discord cleared his throat and smiled casually enough. “Fine as can be expected, I suppose.”

Celestia nodded. “I’m glad to hear that, Discord.” Then she just smiled up at him as kindly as ever.

Discord’s smile picked up just a little on one side. And he couldn’t help but gaze kindly back at her too (and maybe even a little more warmly than he realized.)

Eventually Celestia smiled a little more and spoke. “Discord, do you have any plans this morning? And have you eaten breakfast yet?”

Discord blinked. “Plans? Well, no…I was going to visit the girls at their next meeting in Twilight’s castle, but that’s not until much later. And I woke up early and left Fluttershy’s house before she was up. I snapped up some muffins for her for, but I didn’t want to wake her to share them with me so, no, I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

Celestia’s eyes brightened a little. “Well then, would you like to stay here and have breakfast with me? I’m afraid Luna’s too tired to come down this morning, so I’m all alone at the moment.”

Discord blinked. “Really?” He considered, then his grin picked up on one side and he couldn’t help himself. “Are we going to have to hide behind a suite of armor or something if one of your guards pops in on us again this time?”

Celestia laughed and shook her head. “Not at all. They’re expecting me to be in here for a little while. If anything, me suddenly disappearing would cause them a lot more panic than you suddenly appearing as my guest.”

Discord’s smile grew, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “In that case, could I make one small request?”

Celestia’s look became just a touch dry, though she remained smiling. “Does this request have anything to do with a ‘glass of water’? Twilight warned me about requests like that.” She smiled normally again. “Speaking of which, I knew you could dance but I did not know you could sing.”

Discord just laughed and waved her off. “Oh I am a man of infinite talents, Celestia. But very funny.” He shook his head. “No, no, no glasses of water this time. Just one thing—while we’re having breakfast together, if a guard happens to come in, don’t explain my presence right away. I want to see the delicious look of unease that’ll come over his features to see you and I sharing a meal like it’s the most natural thing in the world.”

Celestia sighed and had to try very hard not to laugh as she nodded. “Very well, Discord. But before any guard leaves after entering here, I’m afraid I’ll have to explain things to him. If I really don’t say anything, then a new one will be popping in every five minutes just to stare at us in wonder and concern.” She smiled a little more and shook her head as she resumed her seat at the head of the table.

“Oh come now, are they really that afraid I’m going to put the moves you?” Discord rolled his eyes. “Though if they are, perhaps I should be flattered—clearly they have a lot of confidence in my abilities to woo eligible princesses.” He chuckled, just a touch of smugness in his features.

“They’re just not used to me having a special friendship with a gentleman—or at least a friendship not brought about by some obligation of my duties or diplomacy,” Celestia supplied, smiling more. “They’re really not sure what to make of us, rumors or no rumors. But in a way I’ve enjoyed seeming a little more unpredictable to everyone around here. It’s been fun.”

“Me, a gentleman? And you, liking being unpredictable?” Discord raised an eyebrow. “Oh this I have to hear more about.” And then he went to take a seat at the other head of the table.

“Discord?” Celestia raised an eyebrow herself. “Where are you going?” She magically made the chair to her right pull out. “Sit closer to me. It’ll be easier to talk.” She smiled.

Discord paused mid-step and blushed just a tiny bit. He cleared his throat and turned back, trying to ignore his reaction and to cover it up with a casual smile. “Oh, erm…all right then.” He snapped his fingers, disappeared, and reappeared in the chair beside her.

Celestia smiled more and magically moved a tray of pastries before him. “Dessert first, right?”

Discord smiled more and nodded. “Now you’re understanding chaos, Celestia!” He chuckled and took an éclair, though he didn’t start eating it until he snapped and made the outside become creamy custard filling and the inside become a small bit of flaky dough with chocolate around it. “Anyway, as you were saying about unpredictability and fun and how I am one of the most sophisticated men around and truly one of the greatest friends it could ever be possible for a pony to have…”

Celestia rolled her eyes (and tried not to laugh at what he had done with the éclair). “I believe I was saying that you’re a very good friend, Discord, and that I’ve come to realize I have to be a little more unpredictable to make our friendship work. But I’ve enjoyed the change of pace.” She took a croissant for herself.

“I think I’m enjoying a change of pace quite a bit myself,” Discord added with a grin, finishing his inverted éclair.

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

Discord noticed and explained. “I like bringing a little chaos to people’s lives. And don’t let it get around, but as part of trying to understand your love of order a little, I’ve kind of learned to like how you and Fluttershy and the girls bring a little structure to my own life.” He shrugged, using his tail to pour himself a glass of orange juice. “You’d think having constants like good friends would dampen the effect of chaos, but actually it’s giving me challenges to work around. In a way, I think it’s helping my creativity, and I have all of you to thank for it.” He shrugged.

Celestia’s smile and gaze grew even warmer.

Discord noticed that too, sighed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t turn this into a sappy, mushy, heartwarming thing, Celestia.” He grinned a little. “First rule about having a ‘gentleman’ as a good friend—we tend to shy away from big emotional moments, or at least I do.”

Celestia couldn’t help herself as she sipped some of her morning tea. “And yet you hugged all of the girls after Twilight got her castle and then smiled and gave me flowers…”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I want to make a bad habit out of things like that.” Discord grinned, holding up his glass of juice. “My second reform may have taken, Celestia, but that doesn’t mean I’m not prepared to live my life as chaotically, obnoxiously, or hilariously as ever. I’m Discord, and no matter how many ponies I’m friends with, nothing will ever change that.”

Celestia smiled and nodded. “And I for one wouldn’t want anything to change you, Discord. I like you just the way you are.”

Discord blinked and his grin picked up a little on one side.

Just then the guard from before entered. “Your majesty,” he bowed and then approached, “Pardon the interruption but I just wanted to let you know that the flower samples from the florists for the Gala are…here and…and…uh…” His eyes went very wide at the sight of Discord angelically sipping the glass around a glass of orange juice with a halo over his head and trying to keep a straight face. “And…” The guard kept a distinctly wide distance around him. “Um…” his eyes went back to the Princess, “And they are available for you to look at whenever convenient.”

Celestia smiled at the guard and nodded. “Thank you. I will see to it as soon as breakfast is done. Discord has just been kind enough to join me.”

Discord gave a small wave to the guard, grinning a little.

The guard cleared his throat, resuming his professional manner. “Of course.” He nodded to Discord. “Welcome,” he managed. Then he looked to the princess and bowed fully. “Your highness.” And with that he departed the dining room.

Discord burst into laughter once he was gone. “I love how my presence always puts a kink into everything.” He made the center of his body kink to the side for a moment but then straightened up normally. “Glad he seemed content to leave you with big, bad me, your highness.” Discord gave her a mock bow with a flourish of his hand.

Celestia sighed and looked down. “Just Celestia to you, Discord.” She smiled a little more. “That’s another reason I’m glad you’re my breakfast companion this morning—you’re one of the only friends I have besides Luna who won’t stand on ceremony and treat me like a princess the entire time we’re together. You just treat me like Celestia. So let’s just keep talking as equals, as friends.” Then she magically raised her tiara from her head and placed it on the table beside her.

Discord smiled quite a bit himself. “Taking off the tiara—wow, you must be serious about this ‘friends and equals’ thing.” His grin picked up on one side. “Does this mean that until you put that thing back on, there’s no princess of the day? Because I nominate Fluttershy in the interim.” He snapped his fingers and made a little Fluttershy flag appear which he waved with his tail.

Celestia laughed warmly. “I…think Equestria will be okay on its own just for the rest of this breakfast. But I’ll keep her in mind if I ever need a fill in and Luna’s too tired.” She tilted her head to the side with interest. “I’m surprised you didn’t nominate yourself though.”

“Yes, well…” Discord snapped, making the flag disappear, and rolled his eyes to the side, “I think we can all agree that my track record as leader of this sappy place leaves something to be desired. Besides, it’s really too much responsibility.” He sighed, using his tail at first to grab a coffee urn but then switching to a teapot. He poured himself a cup. “Well, anyway, if you like conversation with someone who isn’t going to insist on treating you like you’re the greatest thing since diamonds and twice as flawless, I’m you’re man.” He smiled a little, looking to her again. “And I happen to like how you’re one of the only ponies besides the girls who doesn’t act intimidated by me all the time. So, yes, let’s keep talking as friends.” He cleared his throat. “I think after all of this practice we’ll be perfectly fine for keeping each other amused at the Gala.”

Celestia smiled and nodded. But then she frowned a little as he sipped from his teacup. “Are you having bad dreams again, Discord?”

Discord blinked, instantly lowering the cup. His eyes were wide and searching as he looked to her. “Why do you ask that?”

Celestia gestured forward to the cup. “Tea instead of coffee again. And the guards informed me that you haven’t been anywhere near the castle or the statue garden for a couple of days—I started to worry a little that you might be having more trouble sleeping.” She smiled a little sheepishly.

Discord let out a very small sigh of relief. “Oh.” He smiled again. “Oh, well, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I promise.” Then his grin picked up on one side, and he looked at her out of the corner of his eye as he resumed sipping his tea. “Though I didn’t realize you’d miss me so much. Sheesh, I was only out of your sight for twenty-four hours.” He sighed and shook his head. “This is why people are spreading rumors about you having a crush on good old Discord. I’d go around correcting everypony, but as we all agreed, better to let the gossip die out on its own…And besides, as you once said of yourself, I could certainly do worse in a special somepony.” He winked at her.

Celestia shook her head, trying not to laugh, and blushed just slightly. “Discord…” She sighed, breaking off a piece of her croissant to eat. “Somehow I think you’re enjoying these rumors a little.”

A quick laugh escaped Discord and he rolled his eyes and waved Celestia off, though he couldn’t help a quick touch of scarlet coming to his features. “Oh, nonsense—take a joke and have some more breakfast, Celestia. Try the donuts!” He grinned (just a little nervously) and then snapped his fingers, making half a dozen donuts appear on Celestia’s horn.

Celestia blinked and glanced up at the sudden change…but then she smiled and closed her eyes and started to laugh warmly.

Her laughter couldn’t help but make a chuckle or two escape Discord, and then he was laughing warmly too along with her.

Eventually Celestia magically took down one of the donuts to nibble on it, and the two continued their pleasant meal together with light and enjoyable conversation.

Meanwhile, after leaving the dining room, the guard that had interrupted Celestia and Discord let out a very deep sigh and just rested against a pillar for a moment, rubbing his temple with his hoof.

“Are you all right?”

The guard looked up to see his lieutenant approaching with a concerned smile.

The guard gave a salute and nodded. “Yes, sir, Lieutenant Steel Shield, of course. Sorry.” He sighed again. “It’s just…well, I should probably inform you so you can tell the others so that no one else will be surprised—Princess Celestia is taking breakfast with Discord this morning apparently.”

The lieutenant blinked and raised an eyebrow. Then he went over to the dining room door (which remained just slightly ajar) and peeked inside. He stepped back a couple of seconds later with a raised eyebrow and an intrigued half grin.

The guard swallowed sheepishly and cleared his throat. “Do you think they’re…on a date or something right now, or…”

The lieutenant turned to the guard and held up his hoof, smiling a little more. “Honestly, I don’t really want to know. But it doesn’t look like they’re doing anything necessarily date-like, if that information will put anyone at ease.”

The guard nodded and considered. “Should I tell some of the others to ‘check in’ on them from time to time just to…well…check on the situation?”

The lieutenant smiled but shook his head. “No, I don’t think that’ll be necessary. If anyone has anything urgent to discuss with the princess, then of course they should feel free to knock and enter. But for now…well, at least we know where Discord is and that he’s not making any mischief. And Celestia seems happy enough with him.” He sighed. “I think that we’re just going to have to all get used to him popping up around here a lot more often, or at least a lot more often until the Gala considering the escort situation.” He considered. “I’ll talk to Captain Copper Hoof—I think we should make sure unicorns are stationed throughout all wings, that way if there is a problem one of them can magically send a message to the rest of the guards.”

The guard nodded. “Yes, sir. I think that’s an excellent idea.”

The lieutenant nodded. “Well, on your way then. It’s almost time for the shift change, and I’m due for the post outside the ballroom doors.”

The guard smiled. “I have to deliver a message from the princess to the decorators in the ballroom. I’ll walk with you, sir.”

The lieutenant nodded, and then the two stallions went along on their way down the hall.

There was quiet for a moment, and then the guard raised an eyebrow at his superior. “Sir? Just out of curiosity…have any of the higher-ranking officers considered going to Princess Luna with our concerns? I mean, if anyone’s in a position to put a stop to Discord’s antics regarding Celestia, it’s her.”

The lieutenant grinned a little. “Only if you want to be the one to go to Luna with that suggestion. Right now the night princess is so stressed and overworked that if you even look at her the wrong way, lightning nearly strikes you. I don’t know what she would do if someone knocked on her door and suggested she take a more active approach in making sure Discord doesn’t woo her sister based on some rumors, and I don’t want to know.” He chuckled.

The guard had to laugh a little too. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We should probably save talking to her as a last resort. What about going to Princess Twilight Sparkle instead?”

The lieutenant sighed but shook his head. “I’d prefer to keep this an internal affair myself. And Twilight Sparkle is very close to both Discord and Celestia—I’m not sure she’d be willing to interfere either way. She…might even support Celestia and Discord getting together if that turned out to be the case.”

“Why??” The guard blinked and raised an eyebrow.

The lieutenant shrugged. “Because for all we know he really has changed and does care for Celestia and Celestia does care for him too, in which case we might end up having to get used to yet another new magical being regularly inhabiting this castle.” He sighed, shaking his head. “And I thought we’d never get used to suddenly having princess Luna to serve as well…But having Discord to tend to too…”

“Maybe we should talk to Princess Cadance,” the guard added a touch dryly, smiling a little. “She’s the princess of love after all. Or if all else fails maybe some of us could request a transfer to the Crystal Empire—a happy land far away from Discord with a perfectly harmonious couple ruling things.”

The two shared a laugh.

“Well,” the lieutenant sighed, “if you really do need a break from Discord, I’m sure Princess Twilight will be drafting guards for her castle soon.”

The guard’s smile picked up on one side. “A nice quiet new castle in Ponyville with a beautiful princess and her five beautiful mare friends regularly meeting in it. That might not be so bad.”

The lieutenant rolled his eyes and gave the guard a nudge. “As you were, soldier. If we don’t want Discord gawking at our sun princess, we should probably avoid gawking at any of the other princesses including Twilight Sparkle or her court.”

“Hmm, just a thought,” the guard replied sheepishly.

The two shared another small laugh and continued on down the hall together.

Author's Notes:

Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! I'll try to keep updates close to one a week at least for the rest of the month, but once May hits it'll probably stay at once every two weeks ^^ Sorry, I've just got a ton of stuff I'm working on, and work's going to be crazy starting then lol. Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed this installment Next update--Twilight ponders the idea of CelestiaXDiscord a little more, Luna ponders the difference between herself and Discord as former 'villains', and Rarity has an interesting dream of her own

Also, if you're interested in reading something by me in a different style than this (more dark/sad/tragedy), I'm doing a set of short companion fics for each of the Fiendship is Magic comics being released this month. So far Sombra and Tirek are posted, and next week will the The Dazzlings Thank you!