//------------------------------//
// Carpe Diem 
// Story: Sol Point 
// by CoffeeBean 
//------------------------------//

Scattered clouds drifted high above the estate, the noon sun offering light and warmth to the once dark and stormy valley. A gentle breeze occasionally jostled the trees, the ever peaceful sound of leaves colliding with their neighbors mixing in with the constant rush of the river and distant chirping of songbirds. The air tasted fresh and clean, the lingering scent of wetness the storm brought still noticeable. The only signs remaining of yesterday's torrential downpour and clapping thunder were the few puddles remaining in the uneven parts of the dirt and the slight murkiness of the river thanks to the runoff from the surrounding valley fjords. 

Celestia closed her eyes, her ears focusing on the sounds of her surroundings and her breaths deep and drawn out. She shuffled a bit, getting her legs into a more comfortable position beneath her, the big towel she had laid out on the patio to sit upon ruffling as she moved against it. Her ear flicked as the unmistakable mechanical whir of a fishing rod's reel being cast sounded off in the distance, her eyes opening and locking with the little boat Discord occupied as it bobbed downstream. The various lures hooked on his boonie hat glimmered in the noon sun, the thin line of his fishing rod occasionally doing the same as it hung in the air like the cable of a drawbridge. 

She watched as he suddenly tugged at his rod, leaning back in his seat as he rapidly reeled in a catch, moments later a fairly large trout breaching the water with a splash. He exclaimed in joy, reaching out and grabbing the flopping fish with a paw as he unhooked it, placing it within the boat and beginning to prep his lure for another cast. 

"Hey, Celly!" chimed Flip, bringing Celestia's gaze around to the young chef, "Lunch's ready!"

She smiled, nodding as Flip went back through the doors of the patio. "Thank you, Flip. I'll be in soon."

After a moment, the filly poked her head back out, looking not at Celestia, but at something in the distance. She brought her hoof up to shield her eyes from the sun, squinting. "Is Discord fishing?"

Celestia chuckled, looking out at the Draconequus. "That, he is."

"Where'd he get a boat?"

"The same place he gets everything; the snap of his fingers."

Flip hummed, continuing to stare at the gleeful Discord as he cast his lure far from his little boat. "Should we tell him lunch is ready?"

Celestia shook her head, smiling as she stood up from her towel. "He'll be fine."

Flip remained staring at Discord for a moment longer as Celestia passed by her. "Chef Tea's right... I dunno how to cook a fish."





Celestia pushed her plate away with a hoof, her fork falling to the empty saucer with a clink as she let out a groan. "Oh, I can't eat another bite..."

Chef Tea, who was at the other end of the table collecting dishes, laughed. "Finally?"

Celestia took a pause, looking over the unoccupied table before her, all of the staff having finished their meals and gone off on their business a while ago. 

She slouched, tilting her head and hiding behind her mane. "I'm a lot bigger than the average pony..."

Tea chuckled heartily, coming up to Celestia and putting her hoof on her hind leg. "Aw, I know that, Celestia!"

The two smiled, Celestia taking the smaller chef with a hoof and pulling the mare into her side. "I know you do, I was joking!"

Flip poked her head through the window of the kitchen's dividing wall, scowling at Tea. "Did you hurt Celly's feelings?"

"No, no! No, I didn't!" Tea waved her hooves in defense, her eyes darting to Celestia's. "Tell her!" 

"Flip; Chef Tea didn't hurt my feelings." 

The young chef narrowed her eyes at Tea. "Good."

Celestia let go of Chef Tea, tapping her on the flank as she went back to collecting dishes. "You'll have to try harder than that to hurt me. I've been walking around for something like three thousand years; I've heard it all."

"Like?"

Celestia huffed out a breath, tapping her chin. She held her silence a moment, Tea almost able to see the cogs in her mind turning.

"Scooberlotcher."

Tea's muzzle scrunched, a short scoff of laughter coming from her nostrils. "A what?"

"Scooberlotcher; somepony who doesn't work hard. I got called that by the Queen of Griffinstone quite a few times."

"Griffinstone had a Queen?"

"At one point, yes. Quite a long time ago." Celestia chuckled to herself. "She hated Luna; back then I was a little more liberal with letting my sister use her dreamwalking skills as a weapon."

Tea shivered. "Yeah; that's why I never made her upset. She'll literally haunt your nightmares."

The conversation was cut as an unexpectedly feminine shrill came from outside, Celestia looking over her shoulder out the window to see Discord recoiled back at one end of his little boat, a familiar red and orange avian standing at the other end with what looked to be a fish hanging from its, or rather; her beak. Celestia laughed, quickly standing up and going to the patio door, Tea following. 

"Give that back!" Discord exclaimed, his invisible magic surrounding the uninvited Phoenix and snatching the fish from her mouth, prompting the avian to screech at him. 

"I see you've met Philomena!" Celestia called, her voice drawing both Discord's and Philomena's attention to her.

"What!? You know this feather-brain?!" 

Philomena screeched angrily in return, swinging her talons and Discord despite still being held in his magic. 

"Philomena's my friend! She's been my pet forever!"

"Pet!? Since when did you have a pet Phoenix!?"

"Since a fair two thousand years ago!"

Discord looked at Philomena, the two glaring at each other before he finally allowed the Phoenix to stand on her own. 

"Now, Philomena; Discord worked hard to catch those fish!" she scolded, pointing an accusing hoof at her. "Apologize!"

Philomena hid her face behind a wing, her apologetic chirp inaudible to Celestia and Tea. Discord had a quick word with the Phoenix, his speech again too quiet to be heard.

"I forgot Philomena came with you." commented Tea, watching as Discord began rowing his boat back towards the estate, Philomena sticking along for a free ride. 

"She's just as retired as I am; free to do as she pleases."

"As long as she doesn't steal fish from Discord?"

Celestia laughed. "Yes; no fish-thieving."

As the boat pulled up to the porch Discord floated himself and his fishing gear up onto the wooden platform with Celestia and Tea, Philomena chirping happily as she flew up to Celestia, landing on her outstretched foreleg.

"Good day, Philomena." Celestia tickled the feathers of her friend's stomach with her other hoof. "Looks like you've put on a little weight!"

Philomena squawked, aiming her wing at Celestia's stomach, prompting her to giggle. "Indeed; I have too."

"She... understands you?" Discord asked as he snapped his fingers to de-materialize his boat.

"Of course; she's nearly as old as I am." Celestia moved herself and Philomena closer to him. "Now, you two need a proper introduction; Discord, this is Philomena. Philomena; Discord."

The two stared at each other for a second before Philomena held out her wing, Discord looking at the feathery limb for a moment before taking the feathers at the very tip in his paw, shaking.

"Ah; that's a good sign," Celestia commented with a smile. 

"What's a good sign?"

"She gave you a wing and not her talons. When she shakes with ponies she doesn't like, she'll use her talons." Celestia chuckled. "She's got quite the grip, too."

Discord smiled, looking to Philomena. "Well! I'm glad we could get off on the right foot!" he held up his avian-like arm, waving his own talons. "Or talon, as it were."

Philomena nodded. 

"So; have a good fishing trip?" asked Celestia as she began for the door, keeping her foreleg held up for Philomena. 

"Quite a good trip. I caught five trout... almost four trout had you not intervened." he returned jokingly, following Celestia inside, his hat, tackle box, and fishing rod all disappearing, leaving him with just his ice chest of fish as he followed her and Tea inside.

"Want me to try and cook one of those for dinner tonight, Discord?" Tea inquired, smiling up at him as he trailed her into the kitchen. 

"Cooking one now would be better, my dear Chef; I haven't had lunch."

Tea looked a little less enthusiastic. "Now?"

"Well, why not?" he too now looked a little worried as he set the ice chest down beside the fridge.

"I... don't know how to cook a fish. I was going to go find that book on how they prep meat in Griffinstone..."

He scoffed, waving a paw. "Oh, you'll be fine. Just de-scale it and grill it on a pan."

She perked up. "Oh! Alright, I can manage that."

Flip came in from the pantry, cheerful as ever. "What happened?" she chimed. 

"We're gonna cook a fish." Tea informed, flipping the ice chest open with a hoof. 

"I don't know how to cook a fish..."

"Eh, Discord says we just grill it." Tea lifted one of the trout from the chest, looking at it for a moment. "We're professionals; we can figure this out."





Discord's lunch had simply been a trial run for Chef Tea and her two cooks. After discovering the basics of how to perfectly cook, de-scale, and de-bone a fish, they had come together for dinner to prepare Discord the best fish of his life. Fortunately, the estate's library contained Tea's mentioned book, and after studying its contents for an entire afternoon, Tea, Flip, and Pan Sear went to work after preparing the family their dinner. Unfortunately for Discord, however; he had to wait while everyone else ate their food, but Tea had promised him that the wait would be worth it. 

The evening air in the dining room hung heavy with the scent of the sizzling fish and the other things the three chefs were preparing along with it. The way Discord occasionally shuffled in his chair at the dining table and licked his lips made it quite clear to Celestia he was giddy with anticipation; for her, the scent of the fish was somewhat unpleasant, but for him, it was most likely akin to smelling a cake baking. 

A squawk from Philomena drew Celestia's attention under the table to see the Phoenix standing beside Discord's chair, looking up at him. 

Discord too looked down, raising a brow. "And what do you want?"

Philomena tapped her stomach with her wing, holding her beak open.

"Wha- well I'm not the one making the fish! Go ask them!" Discord returned, pointing a finger into the kitchen.

"I think she's asking for a raw one, Discord."

He looked to Celestia, staring for a moment before bringing his gaze back to the nodding Phoenix. He scoffed, holding out a paw and teleporting one of his catches from the freezer to his paw, Philomena holding her beak open as he gifted the chilly fish to her.

"That's awfully nice of you Discord," Celestia commented, looking to Philomena as she gleefully hobbled by with her prize. "Especially since you can catch your own fish, young lady." 

Philomena gave a squawk of indifference as she trotted along into the living room, her wings half unfurled to keep her balance. Raven, Mint, and Vesper now too watched from their couch as Philomena hopped over to the fire, her wings carrying her up onto the marble ledge before the flames as she tossed the fish into the blaze. Silence reigned supreme, every pair of eyes on Philomena, the Phoenix never turning to notice the crowd staring at her as she simply focused on her fish.

Discord leaned back in his chair, pointing his open hands at Philomena. "I'm the God of Chaos and that surprised me."

Celestia nodded. "That's Philomena."

The sound of hoofsteps brought the attention from Philomena to the hall as Clean Sweep and Tremor came in. "Hello," Clean commented plainly.

"Don't disturb it." Mint explained, pointing a hoof at Philomena.

"Wha- oh, Philomena's here." Tremor spoke as he and Clean Sweet went to the middle couch. 

Mint hushed. "Quiet. We're observing nature."

The couple complied, they eyes now resting with the ever-still Philomena. Moments of total quiet passed before Philomena stepped forward, the flames of the fire caressing her as if they were fabric as she leaned in and retrieved her partially cooked fish, hopping down and trotting towards the open door of the balcony. 

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Celestia asked, seeming to be the only one unphased by the events.

Philomena stopped, looking at the bewildered Discord and squawking past the fish in her beak.

Celestia turned to him. "She thanked you." She now looked back to Philomena, smiling. "You can enjoy your free meal now."

Again, she squawked, hobbling out the door and taking flight, quickly gaining altitude and disappearing above the estate. Discord pressed at his temples with his fingers, his eyes wide as he let out a long sigh. 

"She just showed up..."

Celestia hummed.

"Hung out for an evening..."

She hummed for a few seconds longer.

"Then stole my fish and left."

"Yep. She's a free-loader."

He threw his arms up. "She cooked it, too!"

"She's picked up quite a few skills along the way."

"Ya know," Vesper piped up. "Mint and I once saw her gather up some sticks and make a fire to cook a starling."

"Along with... everything that just happened." Discord returned, his tone less bewildered. "Is she fire-proof?"

"Indeed. She's a Phoenix, after all."

Discord held his silence for a moment before slouching into his chair. "Whatever. I still got my fish to look forward to."

"Actually," Flip leaned through the kitchen's divider wall window. "It'll be another little while. I burnt the Kale chips."

Discord flipped around. "Kale? Do I look like I'm on a diet? Can't you slice some potatoes up and make proper chips?"

Flip went blank a moment. "I could. I will! Great idea!"

Celestia giggled. "I don't know, Discord; I think you've gotten a little thicker since you came here."

He scoffed. "You act as if that's my fault."

She grinned, "Well, you are the one eating the food, after all."

"Not eating every bite plus some of what your chefs make would be a travesty." 

"That, it would be."






Discord set his fork to his totally empty plate, the paw once holding the utensil taking a white cloth napkin from the table. He daintily dabbed the napkin on his lips, setting it back to the table and intertwining his fingers, resting his chin on his fists as he looked over the three chefs before him, their expressions worried.

"So...?" began Chef Tea.

He nodded. "So."

Celestia contained her giggle as she watched from the sidelines, the nervous aura of the three chefs thick enough to cut.

Flip rubbed her hoof against her foreleg. "Were my chips good?"

Discord looked past them, his stare thoughtful. "Good..."

"Like... did they taste good?"

He hummed, looking at her. "Good is such a simple term."

A snort of laughter broke through the hoof Celestia held to her mouth. A long pause of silence was finally broken by Discord sighing as he sat up straight.

"I have a deal for you three."

They nodded, remaining quiet.

"Can I have that for every meal for the rest of my life?"

The worried frowns flipped instantly, the three chef's eyes lighting up like Hearth's Warming trees.

"Of course!" "I-I'm glad you liked it so much!" "So, my chips were good?" came the responses. 

"You'd want fish for breakfast?" Celestia cut in.

"Maybe not for breakfast... I do love the waffles you make, Flip."

She blushed, her smile beaming. "Thanks, Discord."

"No, thank you. Thank all of you. That was... absolutely delicious. I see why you're such a renowned chef, miss Tea Leaf."

Tea also blushed as she waved her hoof at him. "Oh, stop it with the 'miss Tea'. I'm just doing my job."

"Well, you and your staff are doing a fine job."

"Goodness," Celestia began, "That must have been a very good fish because it takes a lot to make him become that serious."

"Oh, it was a very good fish." Discord assured with a nod.

"Well," began Chef Tea. "If you keep catching the fish for us, I have no problem continuing to cook them for you."

"You've got a deal!" Discord turned to Celestia. "As long as your fish-thief bird doesn't show up again, I should be able to sustain a healthy supply of fish."

"She's not a thief! You gave her that fish."

He hummed. "Maybe so, but you're forgetting that she nearly took one right from my line."

Celestia's mouth opened in preparation of a rebuttal, but her words failed to come forth, a little sound of defeat coming from her after a second. "I suppose you're right in that aspect..."

"If she asks nicely, I'm more than happy to give her more."

Celestia smiled. "That's nice of you, Discord."

"If I didn't, I'm sure you'd throw me out."

She chuckled. "You're right; I would."