//------------------------------//
// Genuine and Honest 
// Story: Sol Point 
// by CoffeeBean 
//------------------------------//

Through the cacophony of rain slamming against the canopy of leaves above, Discord heard something. He sat up straighter, his ears perking as his eyes darted to Celestia, who still lay motionless in the grass beside him. He aimed his flashlight at her, watching with intent as her hoof twitched. Leaning in, he heard a little groan escape her lips, his eyes wide in anticipation as her head lolled side to side.

"Celestia?"

Her eyes finally fluttered open, her gaze darting around and taking a moment to finally lock with his. 

"You alright?"

"Wha-?"

"Are you okay?"

She winced, slowly bringing up a hoof and holding it to the side of her head. "No."

"Does everything still work?"

She gave a weak smile. "Yes... everything still works."

Unexpectedly, he pulled her up and wrapped her in a tight hug, her muddy cheek pressing into his chest. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

Instantly, what murky darkness she could see began spinning, her head throbbing and a horrible feeling coming to her stomach. "W-Whoa... alright, Discord... I'm, uh, I'm still quite dazed."

"Oh," he quickly broke the hug, lowering her back to the ground. "Sorry."

"You're alright..." she groaned, covering her eyes with her hoof, "I do not feel good."

"What's wrong? Is there some way I can help?"

"I just need a moment..."

Discord's fingers snapped, an umbrella appearing in his hand. He held it over her, the water falling through the canopy above no longer reaching her. The hoof that shielded her eyes came down, her gaze meeting his through the darkness. 

She gave a warm smile, one that, despite the cold winds and rain, melted his heart. "Thank you, Discord." 

"Of course, Celestia."

They shared a smile for a moment before Celestia let her head back down to the grass, her eyes closing as she huffed out a sigh.

"Where's HMS Sun Skimmer?" 

"Lost to the river," he sighed, "took my fish with it."

She whined. "Really? She's gone?"

"Indeed."

"That was our ship..."

"I can always make another." 

"But.. that one was ours. We named it."

Discord offered a gentle smile. "Well, we'll just have to make the next one ours, as well, now won't we?"

Her eyes came back open, their pink hue seeming to shine in the darkness. "We will, indeed."

Again, their eyes remained locked and their lips kept curled in a smile for a few seconds, Celestia breaking the gaze as she looked off to the side, the blush gleaming on her cheeks hardly visible. 

"So," Discord began, "Can we get out of here? I'm freezing."

Celestia groaned as she slowly rolled onto her stomach, taking a deep breath as she coped with her spinning vision and overwhelming dizziness. 

"I think I can walk."

Discord raised the hand free of an umbrella coming up, his fingers poised for a snap. "I was more thinking I could teleport us back to the estate."

"Waitwaitwait!" a yellow aurora surrounded his wrist, "don't!"

He stared at her in confusion for a second. "Uh... why not?"

"I still need a moment. Being teleported is already dizzying enough..."

"How long is 'a moment'? I'm starting to feel a little chilly."

He snapped his fingers, a small chili appearing in his palm. Celestia stared at the veggie for a second before looking up at Discord's stupid grin.

"That was truly terrible."

He nodded. "I know, wasn't it great?"

She rolled her eyes, her horn igniting as she performed some kind of spell, one Discord could see no effect from. 

"Alright..." she began, groaning as she slowly stood up, her legs wobbly, "I suppressed the urge to throw up... you can teleport us now."

"T-Throw up?"

She looked at him for a second. "Yes, that's what a concussion does. Especially one this severe."

"That sounds exciting."

She huffed out a sigh, keeping her head low. "Quite."

"Well... ready?"

She sighed again. "Ready."





"Here's your tea."

Celestia tiredly brought her chin from the dining room table, her vision still seeming to spin.

"Thank you, Raven," she replied with a groan.

Raven nodded, stepping back, but still keeping her eyes on the Alicorn, as did every other member of staff around the dining room table. Celestia sat in her usual place at the tables head, a damp towel still draped over her shoulders. Taking a good drink of the fresh, hot brew, Celestia let her head back down to the table, her periodic groaning being the only sound besides the rain beyond. It had only been a fair 10 minutes since Discord and Celestia had reappeared on the porch, soaked and muddy from their misadventures, and in that time the feeling in her stomach had only worsened, as did the dizziness and painful thump in her head. 

"No fears, Discord, M.D. is on the case!" called Discord as he entered from the hall, a stethoscope around his neck and his figure adorned with a white doctor's jacket. 

Celestia turned her gaze to him, leaving her chin resting the table. "Fantastic."

He came to her side, taking a knee and holding up a hand, snapping his fingers to materialize a bone saw. "So, you've got some head pain?"

She glared at him through the corner of her eye, her look saying everything. He stared for a moment before getting rid of the saw, a second snap of the fingers bringing forth a standard first aid kit. 

"So, uh..." Chef Tea stated, her look of concern shared by Flip and Pan Sear, who stood to the right of the table with Raven, "should you send a letter to Princess Luna... or go to a hospital, or something?"

"Yeah," Tremor, who stood with his wife, concurred, "concussions aren't something to be left alone."

Celestia winced as Discord parted her colorful mane on the left side of her head just below her ear, dried crimson tarnishing the gently hued hair. 

"There's nothing to do but rest," she sighed, "I just need a moment."

Discord rolled his eyes. "You've said you need a moment for the past thirty minutes."

Celestia responded with a grumble, closing her eyes while he dabbed a cotton ball on the bruised laceration left by the mast. 

Discord whistled. "That mast was movin'. This whole area's pretty bruised."

Chef Flip gasped, turning and trotting away from where she stood between Tea and Pan Sear, "I'll grab some ice!"

Celestia's eyes came open, her gaze following Discord's hand as he pulled a bandage from the first aid kit. "Ah-ah-ah, wait a second."

He paused, looking at her for a second. "Uh... what?"

"Don't put that sticky little thing in my mane. Just... leave the wound open."

He dropped the bandage back into the box. "Your call, don't blame me if it gets infected."

She chuckled. "This cut'll be gone by morning. Us Alicorns are quite good at healing."

"I goth th ieth!" blabbered Flip as she trotted in, a white cleaning cloth bundled to hold a few ice cubes held in her mouth.

Celestia smiled as the young chef dropped the ice before her. "Thank you, Flip."

"You're welcome, Celly!" 

The bundle of ice became surrounded by a yellow aurora of magic as it floated to the place the mast had struck, causing her to sigh in relief. "That feels better already."

"So," Mint, who stood with Vesper to the left of the table with Clean Sweep and Tremor, began, "aside from the concussion, how was the trip?"

"Enjoyable." "Disastrous." stated both Celestia and Discord, respectively. 

They locked eyes, Discord's arms crossing over his chest. "Enjoyable?"

She giggled. "Overall. You didn't enjoy yourself?"

"I was enjoying myself until we got tossed around like a rock in a blender. Not to mention, I lost all my fish." 

Celestia drew in a sharp breath, adjusting where the ice rested on her wound. "And we lost HMS Sun Skimmer."

There was a second of silence as every staff looked to Celestia, who returned their collective gazes. 

"Sun Skimmer?" "The HMS Sun Skimmer?" "What's a Sun Skimmer" "You named that little boat?" came the simultaneous questions. 

"We did name it. Discord named it, actually," she looked at him from the corner of her gaze, keeping her head aimed forward, "in fact, that ship was a gift."

Now all eyes went to Discord, who was frozen in place as if he had looked a cockatrice in the eye. 

"A gift?" Raven inquired with a grin, her look being shared by her comrades.

He cleared his throat, standing from where he knelt beside Celestia, his fingers snapping to de-materialize his doctor's apparel. "Yes, a gift. A gift that, luckily, I can make another of."

"While that may be so, that was our ship," Celestia turned her head to look up at him, "you used a piece of your magic to make it a true, tangible object."

He waved a paw at her. "It barely made a dent. Something that small is quite menial to my abilities."

She frowned. "But, you still created something for me, and you had to give a piece of yourself to do so. That's a greater gift than any."

Their eyes remained locked, but he didn't feel her gaze, he felt the gazes of every other member of the staff staring at him. He quickly glanced over them, feeling as if he were the defended standing before a jury. 

"I-I, uh... well, you're welcome, Celestia," he stuttered, looking down to her. 

There was that smile. A smile no different than any other she had worn before, but somehow, he could tell it meant more than what it presented on the surface. 

"You two really are adorable together," Raven commented, eliciting a few stifled giggles from the chefs around her. 

"Adorable!?" "Adorable?!" They rebutted in unison.

Simultaneously, their wide eyes met, the pair remaining speechless for a while before Discord cleared his throat, breaking the gaze he held with Celestia as he turned to Raven, holding his head up in distinguishment. 

"I am not adorable, I am handsome, let us clear that up."

Raven dipped her head, looking at Discord through her bangs. "But you don't deny that you and Celestia make a cute couple?"

Celestia began massaging her temples, "I don't need this now," she grumbled in a low tone.

"We're good friends and we enjoy each other's company. There is no couple here." He stated firmly, crossing his arms.

"You two have been inseparable for the last week." Vesper prodded, bringing some nods of agreeance from the other staff.

Celestia groaned as she pushed herself into a standing position. "I'm going to sleep." 

"As am I!" Discord concurred, standing off to the side and letting Celestia lumber along between him and the table, "I'm tired, and don't wish to be verbally tossed around after I just got finished being physically tossed around." 

He snapped his fingers, disappearing off to somewhere. The staff turned their attention to the wobbly Celestia as she made her way towards the hallway.

"You know, he was blushing," Raven commented.

Celestia stopped in her tracks, looking over her shoulder and staring at Raven for a time before looking over all the other members of the staff. "Goodnight, everypony."

With cheeky grins and suggestive tones, the staff returned her goodnight. Groaning in what was either annoyance or pain, Celestia turned her head forward and slowly continued on, her body swaying as she lumbered along. Coming into the entry hall, her eyes met with Discord's, as he stood in waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Who does she think she is?" he exclaimed in a low tone, making sure his speech was only heard by her. 

She offered a weak smile, continuing past and up the stairs. "She's just poking fun."

Discord lifted into the air, staying off to the side of the stairs and following their spiraling pattern upward, keeping pace with Celestia, "'Cute couple'!? Calling me adorable... preposterous."

"She said we were adorable, not you."

He rolled over, floating on his back and holding up his arms. "We're not adorable! We're frightening. You snort flames, and I do whatever it is that I do."

"I suppose we do make a good team, though."

Discord nodded. "Exactly; a team. A team of friends."

"Nothing more than friends."

"Exactly."

Celestia paused her ascension, stopping on the second-floor landing and teetering side to side, her head drooping and eyes closing as she quietly groaned. 

"You... doing alright?"

She weakly nodded. "Just need a moment."

"Are you sure you shouldn't go to a hospital or something?"

"I'm fine."

After a second's more wobbling, she dropped to her haunches, huffing out a breath. Discord watched her with concern, his hand nervously rubbing his knuckles as he hovered at the other side of the railing. 

"That spell's wearing off," she grumbled.

"Spell?"

"The one stopping my stomach from rejecting its contents."

His brows raised. "Oh."

She groaned, slowly sliding to her stomach, keeping her chin resting on her front hooves. A crushing feeling of guilt suddenly came over Discord as he watched the pained Alicorn before him. His tenacity in continuing on despite the storm had caused her pain. If they had turned around, Celestia wouldn't have a concussion, and they'd still have HMS Sun Skimmer. He'd also still have his fish. And Ice chest.

"I-uh, I'm sorry." 

She rolled her head to the side to look at him, now keeping her cheek on her hooves. "Why?"

"I caused this. This is my fault."

She stared at him for a second. "How is this your fault?"

"You said we should've turned around, but I kept us going."

For the third time, there was that heart-warming smile. "If I wanted us turned around, I would have done it, whether you would have liked it or not."

He held his tongue, her eyes locked with his for only a moment longer before he looked off to the side. "Well, maybe so, but... still, I-I feel this is somehow my fault."

She sighed, turning her head back to where her chin sat on her hooves. "This isn't your fault, Discord. It was an accident."

Again, he stayed quiet. Silence failed to fall, the heavy thrash of rain against the windows of the entry hall filling the tall, dark space with a constant yet soft rumble. 

"I also failed as a friend."

She looked back. "What?"

"I wanted to have tonight be fun, and I wanted to repay you for nearly destroying your pocket dimension," he sighed, lowering his head, "I didn't quite do that..."

She chuckled sweetly. "Discord, I had a wonderful time with you tonight! I haven't felt so alive in a long time, and I haven't felt so happy just talking with somepony in a long time, as well."

He looked up, his frown flipping to a gently hopeful smile. "Really?"

"Really. This concussion isn't anything to worry about, it's just a little bump on the head. If anything, it made this night even more exciting... albeit a little annoying."

"Well... I-I'm more than happy to hear that."

Their eyes remained locked for a while, Discord being the first to look away. Celestia giggled, turning her head and putting her cheek on her hooves, "I thought you said you weren't adorable," she said sweetly.

He crossed his arms. "I did say that, because I'm not adorable."

She chuckled. "I don't quite know about that."

"You're just flattering me."

"I'm not flattering you, I'm being honest."

"What, you think I'm cute?"

"You're cute when you get all sweet."

He scoffed. "Sweet. I'm not being sweet, I'm being genuine."

She nodded. "Yes. I'm being honest, and you're being genuine."

"Exactly."

The chat died down, again the rumble of rain taking over. Celestia took a deep breath, standing up and teetering a bit, leaning against the railing to keep herself steadied.

"Goodnight, Discord," she mumbled, beginning her wobbly trip up the last flight of stairs.

"Goodnight, Celestia."