//------------------------------// // Party Crashers--You Gotta Love 'Em ('Summer Sun Setback') // Story: Endgame of Chaos // by Azure129 //------------------------------// “I suppose I could fix everything. But isn’t the real miracle here the miracle of teamwork and character growth?” “Oh come on!” “Discord is right—Twilight needs us.” Rainbow Dash’s lament followed by Fluttershy’s very wise words about himself being right were the last sounds Discord heard before his magic made him reappear outside near the throne room wall. He snapped away the ‘miracle’ get-up and leaned against the stone exterior of the castle, fingers digging into the mortar as his smile quirked into an expression of doubt. He closed his eyes. “You do not have to do this for them—they can fix it. It’s just a party…even if everything that’s going wrong is clearly the result of those three evil idiots traipsing around here somewhere! You do not have to rope and hog tie those three and stick them in the dungeon, you do not have to make the food and the weather and the entertainment perfect with a snap of your fingers, you are not going to break your promise to yourself to make sure the girls take care of themselves.” Discord opened his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine. Okay, now I need to stop freaking out before I turn into Twilight.” He shuddered and flew off of the wall. “Anyway, this issue is low key danger at best.” He looked down at the party—dark clouds and wind, a few apple ponies wrapped in blankets, entertainment guests being divas. Even without the ‘threesome of theatrics’ here mucking things up, all of these incidents could have easily happened on their own. It was more boring than chaotic. Though watching the girls slapdash things together to keep Twilight in the dark definitely had some chaos potential. Discord smiled a little and made a mental note to come back to the castle courtyard for that part of the evening—and to observe very closely how Twilight would handle herself when she inevitably found out about all of this. For now, whatever Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow wanted here was his greater concern. Discord snapped himself away. Hiding deep in the rafters of the throne room—not even invisible but just standing in a shadow with a pink dodo mask and pink feather boa around his neck because, seriously, these three could be even more clueless than Grogar sometimes—Discord watched as Cozy Glow peeked into the room with Tirek and Chrysalis waiting just outside. “Not here—the archives are in a different part of the castle.” She closed the door. Discord sighed to himself. Announcing a key element of your diabolical plan out loud—how predictably villainous. To his interest, one of the dodo’s looked up at the door then trotted off somewhere with a scowl. Discord really appreciated this security protocol idea of Luna’s—it was chaotic and it could drive Celestia nuts sometimes. Win-win in his book. It was nice to have part of the security system taking over his work for him. Archives—so they weren’t even looking for the princesses or artifacts or spells? They weren’t even going to trash the castle? Probably looking for the archives to find dirt on Grogar—weaknesses or something. Discord decided to leave this matter alone now and let the security protocols and the natural stupidity of the three villains handle things. Besides, he needed to get back to the girls (not to fix things, just to check on them, he promised himself). Discord snapped himself away. From a cloud, Discord watched the end of the Summer Sun Celebration—and the start of a new holiday (like the pony sisters needed anything else to inflate their egos). Still, it was refreshing to see Twilight take charge and create the holiday instead of just looking to Celestia and Luna for approval. She and her friends had fixed the whole party without a single snap from him: they were all growing up. Discord smiled to himself. “You know, it really does seem like you just might be ready for whatever comes next, your majesty.” He ate a crescent moon cookie. Who could see a bleak future ahead when the sun was coming up and friends were all smiling and you were eating a cookie? The guests started to clear out. Before Luna and Celestia could invite Discord down from the sky to check in on him, or before the girls could invite him just to stick around, Discord snapped himself into the castle. He couldn’t sense the magic of Tirek or Chrysalis or Cozy Glow anymore—good, they were gone. But he could follow a slight trail. He found himself at the doors of the library. Discord raised an eyebrow. “They seriously went for the archives? Everything in here is boring though! And those three know they’d get a better reaction from messing with Twilight’s books rather than Celestia and Luna’s.” Still, Discord snapped open the doors. He floated around a bit—boring history books, boring biographies, boring geographical studies… the fiction was okay though, he guessed. He kept going deeper into the library until he reached the start of the archives section, and then deeper, following the trail into a dimmer and dustier part of the library. Suddenly he could feel a lot of protective spells, and now some of the book spines had images and titles that were a little…dark for the pony sisters. “Oh sweet chaos, Celestia’s archives have a restricted section.” He took a breath: at least most of these books seemed to be about unicorn magic (which none of that bad guy group possessed), or dark ages of Equestria’s past (which were long gone), or powerful artifacts which obviously were under much better protection than these dusty old… Discord’s eyes widened. There was a plank on a shelf with chains that were loose and no book. He went close and inhaled deeply, sensing the magic. The trio had been here, but another magic’s presence lingered. Discord shivered: magic about the bell and Grogar. His pupils shrank. “Oh my.” He bit his lip and began to pace in the air. “I knew I let myself get too confident about everything being okay! Ridiculous holiday messing with my head! And I let things get worse! Why didn’t I think to check the library for a restricted section? If I Twilight-level freaked out now, no one would be here to see it so it wouldn’t count, right?” he asked to no one in particular, his paw on his forehead. Still, he heard two familiar voices suddenly saying his name from not too far away. “Discord?” Celestia. “Discord!” Luna. Discord’s head split in half and resulted in him having two full heads. One head’s eyes were darting around as it bit its lip, the other head gave the first one a dry look and raised an eyebrow. The panicked head dragged one of Discord’s hands down his face and whispered in a high-pitch, “I did not sign up for babysitting the salvation of Equestria!” The serious head grabbed the first one’s shoulder with his one of Discord’s arms. “Get it together, Discord! They’re ponies, you’re the chaos lord—you can figure this out! Now march out there and be the smarmy, sarcastic, stupendous draconequus you are!” The panicked head nodded, and then the serious one knocked their heads together, causing both to combine into Discord’s original one. He shook his head then snapped himself to the entrance of the library. “Dis—Oh there you are!" Celestia smiled as he appeared right in front of herself and Luna. “Good morning, Discord!” Luna smiled (but hid a yawn). “Celestia and I were just about to have breakfast. The girls are fast asleep already from all the excitement, but we thought you might like to join us.” “It’ll be fun,” Celestia’s eyes hazed, and her grin grew, “we can talk about how you’ve ‘known us longer than anyone’ and about how you used to ‘terrorize us’ and how we ‘turned you into stone’.” Luna chuckled. “Twilight informed us of your colorful offer to assist her with the final preparations earlier.” Discord rolled his eyes with his usual charming grin. “Oh ladies, while I would adore the chance to make your silverware dance and crack jokes about ten centuries ago while munching on royal food, I’m afraid I have to be off. But you’re welcome for having me grace you with my presence for this entire holiday.” Celestia sighed but nodded, her smile a little weaker though. “I understand. You probably want to rest too, Discord. And…it’s really been a while since we’ve talked.” They hadn’t spoken privately ever since just after Sombra’s attack when Celestia and Luna had needed to nurse him back to health embarrassingly enough. And Discord had not brought up again his concern about the future—no sense worrying any pony in advance, he had decided after that day. “But do you need something?” Luna asked, glancing around. “We were surprised to find you in the library. Perhaps you are looking for some sort of reference?” Discord chuckled. “No, no, I think you’re confusing me with our favorite book pony, Twilight. I was simply wanting through the castle in search of random places to booby trap for fun. But drat, you got me before I could get to the books. Oh you cheeky princesses, always one step ahead.” He leaned in closer, laughing. Luna continued to smile but Celestia’s was still a little weak. “I see,” Celestia replied simply, “well, if you ever come by just to talk about anything, we’ll be here.” “Until you’re not,” Discord couldn’t help but mumble as he flew past her. Celestia blinked and frowned a little along with Luna. They shared a look then turned to Discord who stood in the doorway now facing away from them. “Discord,” Luna said quietly, “we already told you we wouldn’t leave until we were sure the girls were ready and that everything was safe.” “We still haven’t picked an exact day,” Celestia added, “but we needed to move the process forward. Discord, the ponies need to learn how to say goodbye to us, and Twilight needs to come into her own. It’s time, Discord. But we love Equestria and the girls. We won’t just disappear forever.” She tried to smile again. Discord sighed, arms crossed. He didn’t turn to face them. “I know.” He rubbed his temple then blinked and managed a smile again as he turned back to them. “I’ve really got to get going though. I suddenly remembered a very important errand. Good day, ladies. Congrats on the holiday! And do me a favor and drop hints to Twilight that I deserve one too.” Before they could answer, he waved and snapped himself away (his ears drooping a little as the last sight he saw was the pony sisters watching him with frowns). Why was the Crystal Empire so cold? Even with the protection of the Crystal Heart, the weather was like endless wintertime up here. How did these ponies deal with it? Discord had half a mind to snap up a heatwave (with a little spicy salsa rain for good measure), but he decided to refrain. He didn’t want to get on her bad side—he had questions, and he needed her listen. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t make an entrance. Which was why Discord found himself floating on the kitchen ceiling just after dawn while below him a bleary-eyed Cadance with crazy hair and a pink robe with stuffed animals in the pockets heated up a baby bottle over the stove by hoof and used her magic to create a large mug of coffee. Discord watched as she put in four spoons of cream and four sugars—did this princesses run on sweets or something? But he was too distracted by the amusingly chaotic look of ‘morning Cadance’ to care much about the answer. Cadance yawned and look like she could barely function until she brought the coffee mug to her nose and inhaled deeply. Finally Cadance’s eyes opened a little. “Want a scone to go with that coffee? My speciality is jalapeño cheddar.” Cadance smiled a little. “Actually, I prefer chocolate scones. But thank yo—DISCORD!” The coffee mug dropped toward the ground and the bottle nearly went flying out of the pot of hot water. Discord righted both items before anyone could get hurt (or any precious coffee or milk could be lost). “Hey there—i know it’s great to see me, but you don’t have to go creating a mini display of chaos for my benefit.” Cadance rubbed her forehead with her hoof and closed her eyes again. “I’m a little groggy right now but still pretty sure this isn’t a dream. Discord, if you’re here to ‘test my friendship’ or something, isn’t it a little early?” “Silly Cadance—testing friendship was something the semi-reformed Discord did, but I’m fully reformed now and much more helpful than I used to be. See?” He grinned then snapped up her mug to be twice as big…and twice as full of coffee. Cadance’s eyes widened and almost sparkled as she carefully took the mug in her magic. She took a deep sip then looked to Discord again. “Uh, thank you, Discord.” Discord sighed and rolled on his back in the air. “You’re welcome, I suppose. Oh and don’t forget this.” He levitated the warm baby bottle from the stove, wrapped it in a dishcloth, and floated it over to Cadance who caught it in one of her forelegs. She smiled a little, an eyebrow raised. “You’re being suspiciously helpful and suspiciously unchaotic—what do you need, Discord?” “First of all, I can’t help being unchaotic right now. For the Summer Sun Celebration Twilight specifically requested I do nothing Discordy—which is a word that has no set definition, but I do know it when I’m doing it. Second of all, I am always helpful in my own roundabout way.” He winked as he flipped back onto his stomach in the air. “You still haven’t denied that you need something.” Cadance kept smiling. Discord shrugged. “We don’t talk enough Cadance—I figured we’re overdue. And what with all the changes happening in Canterlot and to Equestria, I thought I’d stop by and check on the only classic Equestrian princess who isn’t retiring.” Cadance still eyed him. Discord sighed. “You weren’t at the Summer Sun Celebration, and I was curious—why?” “You’ve never been a parent before, have you, Discord?” “Ugh,” he cringed, “I should hope I’d never put myself in a situation where I had to be so responsible.” She laughed softly. “I didn’t go because it involves a lot of traveling and staying up all night and loud noises and crowds. If I put Flurry Heart though that, her sleep schedule for a least a week would be, well…chaos. Which means mine would be too. And Shining and Sunburst and I just got her sleeping through the night and staying up only during the day. Discord—I’m not going back.” Cadance yawned and took another big sip of her coffee. Discord smirked. “And let me guess—that little thing wakes up exactly at sunrise. Tell me we don’t have a mini Celestia in the making.” “With her wingspan, I’m not so sure.” The two of them laughed. Then Discord sighed, glancing down aloofly. “I really did just want to talk, you know. And I figured you’d be alone right now.” “Well, as long as you’re willing to lend a claw, come on.” Cadance turned and headed out of the kitchen, Discord following after her. “Shining Armor had to lead the troops through formation at dawn this morning, and Sunburst and Starlight are off visiting their parents again, so it’s just me with Flurry right now.” “You could have servants take care of her…” “I wouldn’t miss a moment of taking care of her, Discord.” Cadance gave a sleepy smile. “She’s my world.” “Fine, fine—sentimental ponies. What do I have to do?” They reached a door and Cadance opened it. “Not much—just avoid magical blasts and keep her entertained for a little while.” “Eh, that’s basically what I had to do the last time I was at war with Celestia and Luna—I think I can manage.” He headed inside with her. Cadance closed the door and turned on the light. “Good morning, Flurry girl.” “Bah!” Flurry Heart instantly teleported in front of her mother, reaching for the bottle. Then her eyes went to the coffee and widened. “Ooo….” She smelled the mug and licked her lips. Cadance surrounded both items in a magical barrier. “No coffee for babies. And no bottle yet. First we have to get you cleaned up: you know the drill.” Cadance levitated both items over to Discord, who caught each in a hand. “We’ll just leave these with our special visitor—Discord.” Flurry Heart’s eyes locked onto the chaos master, Her head tilted so far back as she looked up at him that she did a back flip in the air. Discord grinned, his head tilted, and waved to Flurry Heart with his tail. “You’re the one who destroyed the crystal heart by crying and who blasted a hole through a book Twilight was holding. I like you.” Cadance caught her daughter with her magic and led Flurry Heart (who was reaching toward Discord with eyes shining with wonder) over to the changing table where she laid her down and proceeded to check her diaper. Discord reclined on the floor, glancing around the nursery. “So, you like all this ‘parenting’ stuff, huh?” Cadance nodded as she disposed of Flurry Heart’s old diaper and got out a fresh one. “I love it. I always wanted the adventure of being a mother.” She laughed softly as she booped Flurry Heart’s nose. “Is that what you came to ask me, Discord?” Discord waved her off and scoffed. “No, no, I haven’t reached that level of boredom yet. Just making conversation.” “It sounds more like you’re avoiding getting to the point.” Cadance placed a puff of powder in the new diaper and then wrapped it around a giggling, squirming Flurry Heart. As soon as the diaper was secure, Flurry Heart teleported out of her arms and right up to Discord. She perched herself on his horns and gurgled. Cadance laughed as she went over to the crib to straighten the blankets. “If she climbs all over you, that means she likes you.” “Good,” Discord grinned, “glad the feeling is mutual.” He wrapped his tail around Flurry Heart to lift her off his head then placed her gently on the floor with his tail coiling around her a few times to support her. “And I never avoid my point, Cadance—I just get there in my own, sweet, chaotic time.” Discord’s smile grew as the baby clearly continued to be fascinated with him, touching his tail scales and smiling and reaching for the rest of him. He dangled the tuft of his tail above her head to play with. Cadance came closer to Discord, her eyes hazed and she looked at him with a special smile. “Discord, are you in love with someone? Is that why you’re here?” The chaos master’s eyes widened enough to fill his face. “Who…would I even be…” “Oh, I figured maybe Celestia or Luna,” Cadance said far too casually as she used her magic to put away a few toys. “I mean they’re retiring, you’re about the same age, you’ve known them for a while…” His jaw dropped to the floor. Then his look went utterly dry—he was going for a scowl but was painfully aware it looked more like a pout. He glanced at the baby. “Oh Flurry Heart, your mommy is a very twisted pony.” Cadance snorted with laughter. “Mommy just likes matchmaking as much as Auntie Twilight likes solving Friendship problems.” Cadance grabbed a soft brush in her magic ran it through Flurry Heart’s mane a few times. “Besides, Discord, love is always what creatures come to me about. If I get an unexpected visit or an invitation somewhere, it’s always about romantic advice.” “I know the feeling.” Discord sighed. “I rarely get invited places unless it seems like my magic will come in handy. Fluttershy is the exception of course. But usually if I’m somewhere it’s because I just showed up on my own—like at the Summer Sun Celebration.” Discord was looking at the baby with a dull gaze but a small smile as he tickled her chin with his tail tuft. Cadance’s eyes widened a little, and her smile softened as she put away the brush and turned to Discord again. This time she sat down in front of him. “You don’t get to make many appearances either, huh?” “Hardly. It’s like there’s minimal room for me in the budget or something.” Cadance chuckled, and Discord cracked more of a smile. Flurry heart gurgled and teleported herself out of Discord’s tail…but found herself right back in it again. Cadance raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask Discord explained. “Proximity spell—something I cooked up for emergency situations so I can make sure magic doesn’t take Fluttershy from my side. Guess it works well on teleportation-happy princess babies.” Cadance teleported her mug over and took a deep sip of her coffee. Then she gave Flurry her bottle. “Discord—you know, whatever you want to talk to me about, it’ll be between us. I trust that if you want it to stay private, there’s a good reason for it to stay private.” Discord glanced away, trying to look bored. “I can’t tell you everything—it’s such a long story, and I don’t have the patience. I just…” he rubbed his temple, “when you say you’ll tell no one, would that include Celestia and Luna and her majesty Twilight?” “It’ll just stay between you, me, and Flurry Heart. Don’t worry, she’s good at keeping secrets.” Discord looked at the baby again—she was sucking her bottle and looking up at him with eyes that were just too big and cute to be fair. He twirled his beard around his fingers and considered carefully for a moment. Then he started. “Cadance, even though Flurry Heart is safe and cared for and almost absurdly powerful, do you still worry about her sometimes?” “I worry about her every moment of my life,” Cadance replied simply. “Maybe it won’t be as strong when she’s older and can take care of herself more. But right now, even with Equestria at peace and the Crystal Empire secure and her surrounded by guards and crystal walls and magical protection and family—I do worry about her, Discord. I love her.” Cadance touched Flurry Heart’s cheek with her hoof. The baby gurgled. “So…that’s normal: irrational worry about creatures you care for who are definitely capable but not as powerful as you?” “It depends on the situation. But at the very least I think it’s understandable.” Cadance looked to Discord again. “But just because I worry about her doesn’t mean I’m unhappy or that the worry takes over my life. I accept that all I can do is love her and support her and trust the other creatures who care about her to keep her safe just like I do.” Discord slouched a little, arms crossed. “Letting go is such a bother.” Cadance nodded. “But letting go helps things work out better in the end for everyone. I end up able to feel calm, and Flurry eventually learns to take care of herself. I’m not saying it’s easy, leaving some things up to chance…watching someone you’ve cared for change and grow and maybe even need you less…” Her head was down, her gaze on Flurry Heart. “But when you love someone, you trust them enough to make their own choices.” She raised a hoof and wiped a tear from her eye then blinked, her gaze going back to Discord. “Sorry, I got a little emotional imagining Flurry Heart all grown up… Discord?” She had an eyebrow raised: Discord hoped she hadn’t seem him wipe a tear from his own eye. “No, no,” he quickly started, “don’t be sorry. Hearing all of that is helpful. It makes me feel less lonely.” A beat passed and then his eyes widened. “I mean, not ‘lonely’—why would I ever be lonely? Heh…” He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Okay, why is it almost too easy to talk to you?” “Because I’m a mom, Discord,” Cadance replied, “and I’m the princess of love. I try to create a safe space for creatures and their emotions wherever I go.” She frowned a little. “I’m sorry if you’ve been lonely, Discord. But I’m glad what I said helped you a little with whatever’s on your mind.” He nodded. “I—lonely really was probably too strong of a word.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, er… I… the real reason I came here was to suggest in some sort of tricky and playful way that you swing by Canterlot sometime soon. But… maybe being here is better for you—you know, with your subjects and your hubby and this little ball of feathers and fuzz who’ll probably be empress of us all someday.” Cadance tilted her head, an eyebrow raised. “Is the master of chaos inviting me to Canterlot for a specific reason? Or, I guess, un-inviting me?” “I don’t know.” Discord pouted, scowling a little. “I was thinking about it, but you have your hooves full already with a lot. Besides, it might not be the best time anyway—she’s just starting to really get there, they all are…” “This is about Twilight and the girls running Equestria, isn’t it, Discord?” He glanced away innocently. “Maybe. And maybe now I’m thinking that holding strong to making them do everything on their own from here on out is the best plan. And I don’t know if involving you would be cheating anyway.” He furrowed his brow in thought. “I may regret asking this, but you did double my coffee for me this morning, so I’ll give it a shot. In what way is asking me to come to Canterlot cheating, Discord?” Cadance laid down on the floor, sipping at her mug like it was full of life itself. He bit is bottom lip but then finally let out a deep breath and rested on his elbows on the floor in front of her. “Well, since Celestia and Luna are retiring, naturally they’re disinclined to fix problems for the girls when they come up Those six ponies have tried to turn to me to just snap things better, but I’ve cut them off. They can’t assume I’m always going to be around to fix stuff just because I’m practically the most powerful being in Equestria.” He glanced away for a moment, his look less stubborn and more faraway. But then he went on as he had before. “You are a tricky factor though, Cadance. You’re still an active princess, but your domain is up here in the Empire. But the Empire is technically connected with Equestria. So I’m not sure if you coming around would be a good thing to help Twilight if she needs it since you’ll be available anyway for the foreseeable future, or if it’ll be a bad thing because it’ll give Twilight and the girls a crutch.” He snapped up a crutch and balanced the stick end in his paw. Flurry Heart stopped sucking on her bottle for a moment and burped. Discord looked at her, leaning close. “Also, Flurry Heart’s probably happiest with you here to watch over her.” Flurry Heart reached up and tugged Discord’s beard. He winced but then smiled as she giggled. “Driving me nuts—you really were born to be a princess, weren’t you?” She smiled and picked up her bottle again. “Discord…” He turned at the sound of Cadance softly saying his name. She had her hoof on his shoulder. “How about this—if someone in Canterlot needs me, like the girls or Celestia and Luna or even you, I’ll come. Because when the girls defeated Sombra, they still needed Celestia and Luna and Starswirl battling the Everfree Forest at the same time. And when the girls put on the summer sun celebration, they still needed all the ponies there working together to make it happen. So even if Twilight and her friends can and will do whatever Equestria needs on their own, I’m happy to be there to play my part. I’m not afraid. I want to protect our world—for Flurry Heart—so she can grow up in it just as happily as I did.” Discord looked at her in wonder for a moment. Then he gave a single nod and swallowed. “Ponies should summon you for more than love advice. You’re a tough cookie, Cadance.” Discord snapped up a moon-shaped cookie from the Summer Sun Celebration and presented it to her. Cadance took it with an appreciative smile and dunked it into her coffee before swallowing it in one bite. “Mmm…” Flurry Heart pouted and reached out to where the cookie had been, her lip wobbling and her eyes big and shining. Discord noticed and held up his fingers to snap. “Discord, no sugar for breakfast,” Cadance chided gently. Discord rolled his eyes but nodded. “Okay, but how about just something small? I promise, minimal sugar…” Discord put on a big-eyed pleading look of his own. Cadance nodded with a smile. “Okay, Discord…something small.” With a snap of his fingers, the milk in Flurry’s bottle changed to chocolate milk. Her eyes widened at the sight and then she chugged the milk with a big smile. Cadance stood and gently floated Flurry out of the confines of Discord’s tail with a smile. She lowered her voice. “Flurry likes a nap after breakfast—she gets sleepy. And then mommy gets to rest a little more, which is nice.” Cadance brought Flurry Heart into the crib and tucked her in with fresh blankets. After a few final sips from the bottle, Flurry let it go, blinking. She burped then started to snuggle in and close her eyes. Cadance walked quietly back over to Discord. “I should probably go,” the chaos master whispered, already with his fingers raised to snap. “Actually,” Cadance gestured to the door, “that cookie reminded me I’m starving. You mentioned scones or something before—“ With a smile and a snap of his fingers, Discord had them both back in the kitchen. Cadance was seated at a table and Discord was floating in the air. He snapped again. The table filled with various apple desserts (including scones) and several slices of cakes and more moon and sun shaped cookies. “I took some leftover goodies with me from the Summer Sun Celebration for the road. Feel free to dig in—I’ll just grab some more cookies for the road.” “You’re really leaving already?” Cadance asked after pulling her eyes away from the delicious spread. Discord shrugged. “Well, you’ve got your morning routine, and I’m sure you like to relax when you get the chance. And now that the serous stuff is out of the way, I’m going to be prone to chaos and pranks, and I know how draining ponies can find that.” “Discord,” she smirked, “I have a powerful magical alicorn baby—I am immune to chaos and pranks. Stay, rest, eat.” He blinked then smirked with an eyebrow raised. “You are such a mom.” But he did take a seat as well. “And tell me about the summer sun celebration,” Cadance went on after swallowing half a scone and another deep sip of coffee. “It sounds like things didn’t go so smoothly at first, but I know it must have been wonderful.” She leaned on her hooves on the table with a big smile. Discord took a slice of cake. “Oh yes, it was almost sickeningly touching. There were tears and laughter, fire performers, weather patterns, a full buffet. And now we have a new holiday—the Day of the Two Sisters. Seriously, so much pomp about sun princess and moon princess raising the sun and moon and being princesses.” “Aw, Twilight made them their own holiday to celebrate sisterhood? I think that’s sweet, Discord.” She dunked another cookie in her coffee. “Maybe one day Twilight will give you a holiday too. A chaos day. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun.” “Do you really think so?” Discord perked up, ego and all. “Totally.” Cadance blinked. “I’m sorry, Discord, I almost forgot—can I get you some coffee too?” “Oh I’ll get it, don’t worry.” He waved her off and snapped up a mug even bigger than hers full of steaming, sweet goodness. “Half pure espresso, half hot chocolate—my favorite.” He drank deep then let out a pleased sigh. “Oh that feels good after tonight’s shenanigans. Nobody truly understands how stressful it is to be me.” “I know what you mean.” Cadance shook her head but then smiled again. “But at least we know how are our jobs are and how good we are at them.” “I like you, Cadance—you’ve got the poise of the pony sisters without the pomp.” “And I like you too, Discord—you’ve got the wisdom of the pony sisters without all of the seriousness.” “Just don’t suggest I’m in love with one of them again—I’d like to keep my breakfast down please.” He rolled his eyes. “Had to at least ask, Discord.” Cadance relaxed more into her seat with a yawn. “Speaking of Celestia and Luna, I can’t wait to see them in retirement. I think it’ll be funny.” “Oh, it’ll ludicrous—you should have seen them taking a vacation last month. Basically four days of near-death experiences and wandering off alone for giggles. Silly princesses.” He considered then leaned on his elbows on the table too. “Ooo, have them babysit Flurry for you whenever you want! You deserve some downtime, and it’ll keep them on the toes of their hooves.” “Already making plans for it…” Cadance winked, and she and Discord shared a laugh as they ate their way through the snacks and their coffee. Sometime later enough that the sun was in the kitchen window, Discord heard hoof steps and opened his eyes, unsure of where he was. He quickly realized he was slumped over one end of a kitchen table with a sleeping Cadance seated across from him and a bunch of pie tines and used plates between them. And standing in front of him was Shining Armor with Flurry Heart in one foreleg. Discord stretched a little, groggy. “Okay—I ate too much apple pie. I admit it. Never tell Applejack, but it was so good…” Shining Armor grinned. “Good morning to you too, Discord.” Flurry Heart giggled and reached for Discord, touching his nose. Discord tickled under her chin with his tail tuft then stretched, twisting himself in a spiral and untwisting himself. “Hello, Shining Armor. You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here in your kitchen with a bunch of eaten snacks and your wife passed out and snoring and doused in crumbs.” Shining Armor just shrugged, still smiling. “Discord, I’m pretty used to unusual things by now. I’m married to a princess and I have a sister for a princess. This is not the weirdest thing I’ve seen in this kitchen.” “Name something weirder.” “Sunburst and Starlight accidentally in each other’s bodies and brewing up a potion to switch back that involved a live chicken, zap apples, and twenty coconuts for some reason.” Discord’s eyes widened. “…Okay, point taken.” “How was the Summer Sun Celebration?” Shining Armor levitated a bottle over from the stove and gave it to Flurry Heart. Discord considered. “Your sister is actually learning to own being Equestria’s new leader—who would have guessed.” “That’s my Twily.” Shining Armor’s smile brightened. Discord smiled for a moment too but then cleared his throat, quickly yawned, and floated up. “I should get going. When Cadance gets up say bye for me.” He floated closer to Flurry Heart. “And bye to you too, little lady. Be a good girl—as in keep shooting random bolts of magic chaotically but only shoot them at scary things. Got it?” Flurry Heart grabbed his whole face and snuggled it. Discord eventually managed to pull away. “Ta ta, everyone!” With a snap of his fingers he disappeared. Discord snapped himself right back home where he promptly collapsed on his sofa, eyes closed. “I’m not sure if I just made a major breakthrough in all this drama or got deliriously sidetracked. But I am glad the pink one isn’t retiring, I guess.” He sighed deeply. “The book and the Bell… If those three have any real talent whatsoever I hope it’s in keeping those things from Grogar. And I hope they’re not stupid enough to use the book and Bell themselves: I did warn them. The girls and Twilight really have grown up though: they can do this. I know they can.” Discord curled up his body, grabbed a pillow, and decided to try for more sleep. He felt better but still a little unsure. And he suspected the time for feeling anything but perfectly ready was running out.