//------------------------------//
// Downpour 
// Story: Sol Point 
// by CoffeeBean 
//------------------------------//

Discord's head shot from his pillow, the crash of thunder rocking him from a once peaceful slumber. As the earth-shaking rumble faded, the main room filled with the muffled patter of heavy rain, drawing his eyes to the pitch black outside world, the tiny bit of light coming from the single bulb in the kitchen being just enough for him to see the patterns of water on the windows. He shuffled around on the couch, pulling his blanket up further as he snuggled back into his bedding. If there was one thing Celestia's great size was good for, it was that her blankets were twice, if not three times the size of what would be normal, meaning he was able to secure himself a properly sized sheet and not have to conjure one up every night. 

As with everything, the blanket was a pure, silky white fabric with ornate golden stitching around the edges. He found it comical how she followed the same color palettes and themes with most things in her life. It was fitting for her to have such tastes in décor, her pearly, almost pink fur and the golden ordainments she once wore matched perfectly with most things around her. It was a bit odd to see that most of the furniture and trim of the estate was made from darker species of wood rather than lighter ones. Perhaps it was simply to add contrast. 

The soft clapping of hooves against the metal stairs in the entry hall perked Discord's ears. He sat up, listening as the pony reached the bottom of the stairs and began making their way down the hall. As he suspected, Celestia's bright figure appeared from down the hall as she made her way towards the kitchen, her white coat and waving mane standing out profusely against the night.

"Did the thunder wake you up, too?" he asked tiredly.

She jumped, "Oh! I didn't even see you. Uh, no, I've been up. Came down for some tea."

Discord rubbed his face, moaning as he stretched. "Staying up late doing whatever it is that you do in that study of yours?"

Celestia simply hummed, her back turned to him as her magic worked with the tea brewer. Discord sat up fully, blinking as he looked out the windows to the hefty storm beyond. "Well, looks like you were right..."

"About?"

"The storm."

"Of course I was right." 

Discord gave a hearty laugh at her confidence. "Are you sure you aren't a part-time weather radar?"

She chuckled, looking over her shoulder, "At this point, I suppose I am."

Celestia continued on preparing her drink, Discord looking on for a short while longer before throwing his blanket off to the side as he stood up, groaning as he arched his back, a few pops sounding off from his spine as he stretched. 

"You aren't going to try to get back to sleep?" inquired Celestia as she walked into the main room.

"Maybe in a while. I've always been a fan of storms."

Discord watched as she went to the closed patio doors, that rumble of the rain taking over the room as she looked outside. 

"I wonder if it's raining in Canterlot."

Her voice held only a little tone of longing.

"You miss that old castle, don't you?"

"How could I not? Leaving was like saying goodbye to a life-long friend. I didn't just leave my castle behind, I left my entire life behind."

"If you're so troubled about retiring, then why did you retire in the first place?"

"I'm not troubled by it, per say. Surprised at myself is more apt. I never thought I'd actually do it. The day I decided to build this estate, I thought; 'You're never going to make it out here, Celestia. You've made yourself too essential.'" she chuckled, still staring out into the murky, stormy night. "I'm glad I was wrong."

She was so incredibly hard to read. She always had been. No matter how hard Discord focused, he couldn't see what she felt. At times, it seemed she was horribly downtrodden by something as if she carried the weight of burden on her shoulders, but the next moment she was as free as a bird; cheerful and happy. Maybe what he saw that perplexed him wasn't a skillful concealment of emotion, but a total openness of emotion.

"So, that's why you started training a protege, hm? A successor to allow you to fall back to here?"

"In a few ways; yes. Twilight's rise as a Princess wasn't entirely to get me away from the front lines. I knew that one day, I'd falter. And, up until a few years ago, if I had faltered, then all I love would have fallen with me. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't keep letting myself be the only thing standing between Equestria and her foes. Twilight... has become far more than a student or Princess. She's the light in the dark. She's the one who keeps the peace, and the one who keeps freedom in place."

Discord didn't quite know how to respond. He stared at Celestia, her eyes still resting with what lay beyond the windows, or possibly her own faint reflection. He noticed her hoof rubbing against her other front leg as if she were nervous about something.

"I'm still worried about things. I worry if I've done a good enough job making sure my family can fill the roles I've left behind. I'm confident in Twilight. I have been for a long time now. Cadance has done a wonderful job, and so has her husband... but I worry about Luna. I'm sure she can deal with being in charge, especially since she was the one that wanted the position, but I worry about her being alone. The fact I'm not there... Discord, you don't know what it's like in her mind. It's... not a healthy mind. The dreams and nightmares she sees, the premonitions she gets about the past and the future, and the thoughts she can hear. I've always been there to listen to her. I'm the only one she trusts to take her seriously and to not see her as some sort of maniac. She doesn't trust Twilight, or Cadance, or any of her staff to actually listen."

She sighed, placing her hoof on the window and pushing her forehead into the glass, the tip of her horn connecting, as well.

"She told me to not worry about her, and she's said in her letters that she's overjoyed I'm finally relaxing and doing what I want for a change... but how can I not worry about her? How can I not feel guilty about what I did to her in the past?"

The high-pitched howl of the tea maker cut the room, drawing both Celestia's and Discord's attention to the column of steam spewing from the clear glass kettle. Celestia made her way to the machine, taking the kettle off the element as she began brewing her tea. She huffed out a heavy sigh, lowering her head.

"I apologize for dumping all of that on you."

"Keep going."

Celestia looked back, a look of surprise plastered on her face.

"Well, it's quite clear you need to actually tell someone these things." he put a paw on his chest. "I'd be a bad friend if I didn't listen."

"You... consider me a friend?"

"Well, you did let me into your home, after all."

"E-Even after the things I've done? We... don't have a bright past."

"And that means we can't have a bright future?"

Celestia drew her gaze to the side, speechless. In the near darkness of the main room, he could have sworn he caught the glimmer of a tear rolling down her cheek. 

"You don't... know how much that means to me."

Her voice was incredibly soft, almost unintelligible over the rumbling downpour outside. Discord now took the speechless role, not quite knowing how he should respond as Celestia collected her steaming cup of tea, her hoofsteps lumbering, almost solemn, as she made her way into the living room. She stood beside the couch in which Discord had made his bed, her eyes resting within her tea for a time before she looked up, her horn coming to life as she magically caught fire to one of the half-burnt logs in the fireplace.  

"Having you here has brought a lot of things to my mind that I've... more or less forgotten about."

Celestia huffed as she looked back into her tea, sitting down across from Discord, his blanket getting trapped beneath her.

"When you are tasked with protecting an entire nation... and you and only a few others are the only ones who stand on the podiums of power, you have to make decisions quickly. There's no time to think. There's no time to think of the future, or of the past. No time to wonder if what you're doing is wrong, because the only thing you've ever known is being right."

She looked up, her bright pink eyes seeming to dance and shimmer in the dim firelight. 

"It was, I suppose, easy enough for Luna to forgive me. She's my sister. Our bond is deeper than any other relationship imaginable. But... you forgave me for locking you away in stone. You forgave my student for doing the same. Y-You look upon somepony who has stripped away countless years of your life..." Celestia's eyes shut hard, tears flowing freely, her breaths shuddering. "a-and you called her a friend..."

Before her head could fall, Discord wrapped her in a tight hug, his paws barely able to connect thanks to her size. Unexpectedly, Celestia's head rested on his shoulder, her gentle cries barely making it over the rain beyond. He held her at tight as he possibly could, her tears warm on his shoulder. Her silky fur ruffled beneath his paw as he gently pet down her neck, her crying instantly weakening from the comforting embrace. 

Something pulled Discord from this moment. His vision seemed to travel from his body to a place above him and Celestia, where he looked down to ponder on what was happening. The sounds of the world seemed to blur away into nothing as he realized the circumstances. The Princess Celestia was in his arms, crying on his shoulder, telling him things she had most likely only ever let loose in front of those she trusted and loved the most. His heart felt heavy. Breathing had become a chore. Something about her gentle weeping hit him in a place he didn't know he had. It was the same feeling that had struck him when Fluttershy had wept before him. He dreaded the feeling. 

"You've done more for me than just let me live in your home, you know?" Discord began, his voice a little sweeter than he intended. 

Celestia brought her head up, sniffling as she locked eyes with him, his arms still around her.

"You've forgiven me for my past, as well. If you hadn't done the things you'd done, I probably wouldn't be here. I would never have met Fluttershy, either. You and that dorky student of yours showed me just how wonderful it can be to have friends and to love others. For that... I thank you."

Her lips quivered as her eyes darted over Discord's face, her pained frown turning to a smile. She returned the embrace, resting her head in the crook of his neck not to cry, but to offer affection. A smile crept onto Discord's expression, his eyes closing as he savored every moment of the hug that he could. He felt Celestia's head come up, his eyes opening to meet with hers. She laughed, looking away.

"You're extremely sweet when you want to be." she chuckled, Discord finally letting her go.

"This is your fault! Getting all emotional with me..." he huffed jokingly.

"I know, I get like this at night." she sighed. "Too much time to think."

Discord shook a finger at her. "I told you to not do that! It's dangerous!" 

The two shared a little laugh, simultaneously diverting their gazes as a deep blush lit up their cheeks. Celestia looked into the fire, taking the first drink of her sweetened tea, Discord simply peering off out the glass doors of the patio.

"Thank you, Discord." Celestia began, her eyes still locked with the small fire. "I... needed to hear that."

"I've done nothing that would require thanks, Celestia. Quite the opposite, if you think back."

Celestia looked back to Discord, smiling as she floated her cup of tea up in a toast. "Well, let's not dwell on a dark past."