//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Escalation Among Royals and Relationships 
// Story: The Most Chaotic Date Ever!!! 
// by Azure129 
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In the cool air before dawn, Princess Celestia rested after sending off her letter to her sister. She sighed, comfortable, cozy…but also missing something. And with a light blush, she realized what it was: the feeling of a warm arm over her body and light breath against her neck which she’d had yesterday. She turned in her bed in the dim room and smiled at the sight of her companion in his own bed. Discord was still sound asleep, smiling and cuddling his Fluttershy doll as he snored lightly. Then she smiled more as her eyes caught sight of a scroll attached to his nightcap with her name written on the outside. She used her magic to unfurl it and read the simple note.

Tia,
 
Wake me up for your sunrise. Trust me, I’d rather see it than sleep. Though I might take a little nap afterwards before breakfast.
 
Yours,
 
-Discord

The ‘yours’ in the letter made Celestia’s heart flutter. He really did want to be hers, didn’t he? And for her to be his… She rose from her bed, still blushing as she walked over to him and moved some of her mane forward to tickle his chin.

The chaos master gave a deep snore then laughed as he blinked his eyes open. He smiled as Celestia stepped back with a small laugh of her own. “Tia…” he yawned, “The real Tia, right?” He pinched himself with his tail then nodded. “Hmm, morning already? I see you got my note then.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “But Discord, you don’t have to make yourself wake up so early for my sun rises. I know not everyone is a morning person like I am.”

“Nonsense.” Discord sat up and stretched. “I’m eager to admire your handiwork. I’ll admit, I don’t think I could make a commitment to this ‘crack of dawn’ schedule like you do, but for our date…yes, I absolutely want to see your sunrise. Especially since I missed yesterday’s.” He snapped to make a big foam finger, a cap, and a poster appear, all bearing pictures of the sun.

She laughed softly. “Well, I’ll admit it is nice to have an audience for once that’s not just watching for the Summer Sun Celebration.” Celestia walked over to the balcony, her eyes hazed in thought. “You used to come see my sunrises a lot after our first gala…”

“And then I stopped,” Discord finished for her simply. “I know, I know.” She glanced over her shoulder to see him blushing and looking down as he went on. “I just couldn’t keep coming to them and move on from you all at once. You’re radiant when you raise the sun—full of potential and purpose. And every time I saw you like that, I…suppose I fell for you all over again.” He cleared his throat and shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry, I can get a bit sappy when I’m sleepy.”

Celestia blushed very much, still looking at the pale sky. “You think my sunrises make me look radiant?”

“Hmm…” Discord sighed, “With the new light falling over your lovely form and your hair pulsing from magic and your eyes ablaze with warmth—yes, quite.” Celestia felt like her knees would wobble, especially as he went on. “It’s a good thing you don’t open up those sunrises to the public usually. Every pony who popped in for one would become stricken with adoration for you. Then you’re dealing with hundreds of suitors, hundreds of ponies being left without companionship, pretty soon courtship rates decline and the population dwindles. It’s quite the slippery slop, and all because the princess of the day sets desire burning in the hearts of others whenever she wields the sun…”

“Discord!” Celestia had tried to power up her horn to raise the sun but now had to turn around and face him, blushing immensely. 

He just sat there on the edge of his bed with his sign and hat and foam finger, smiling charmingly. “What? Just letting you know. We aretrying to be more open about romantic things, right? And we did an excellent job last night, so why not keep going? Why shouldn’t I finally tell you how alluring you are once and for all?” He chuckled. “If you’re uncomfortable sharing with me though, I can wait to hear more about how delightful you find me too, Tia.” He twirled his beard and winked at her.

Celestia’s blushing burned for another moment but then suddenly she burst into laughter. “Discord!” She shook her head, her eyes hazing. “Maybe you’re right. It’s nice to be so open together.” She turned back to her window and powered up her horn, then added with a lilt of flirtation, “Maybe over breakfast we can share even more. It’s sort of nice not holding back.”

“Sounds great to me, Tia,” Discord replied behind her. “Now then, on with the light show—I’ve got a front row seat after all.”

She began to raise the sun. “By the way, Discord…I missed you this morning.”

“Hmm?”

As the light began to break over the horizon she explained. “I missed not waking up with you holding me just like in our dreams. I feel very safe in your arms, just like when you carried me away from the tatzulwurm yesterday.”

She raised her head and wings to finish placing the glowing orb of the sun up into the sky, then she let her magic slip away and turned back to her companion.

Discord was blushing pink and looking at her with wide eyes.

Celestia, eyes hazed and a small smile on her lips, just walked back over to her bed. “You said you might want to take a nap before breakfast, right, Discord? That sounds like a wonderful idea. I haven’t slept in for ages. We can talk more about our romantic lives and feelings later.” She crawled back under the covers and cuddled into her pillow with her Luna doll.

Discord just blinked and snapped away his props then dropped back on his bed. “I, um…of course. And actually instead of a nap, I might just take some notes for the academy. Suddenly I’m not so sleepy anymore.” Then he snapped up his glasses and a few scrolls and began to write with a quill in his tail.

Celestia just laughed softly. “Okay, Discord. I’ll see you when you’re done. Wake me up whenever you’re hungry.”

“Will do, Tia,” he replied shyly. Yet he glanced at her with a small smile that she returned. Then he added. “And I’ll be making breakfast for us this morning. Just leave everything to me, darling Celestia.”

She blushed more and nodded. “Thank you, Discord.” And then the sun princess closed her eyes and soon dozed off into a light sleep while Discord wrote on scrolls, smiling more and more to himself.





The sun was high in the sky, shining over Discord and Celestia as they rested in their clearing on the castle grounds after a lovely breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and orange juice with tabasco sauce. Celestia lay down in the grass with her wings pulled in, and Discord had his body half circled around her with his head resting on his hand. 

They had wasted no time diving right into a conversation about their romantic lives.

Celestia titled her head with an amused half grin. “Are you really trying to tell me that you only dated half a dozen females since our first gala?” She smirked. “From what you used to say in your letters, it sounded like you went out with a new girl every night when you were away on trips.”

Discord shrugged with a smirk of his own. “I flirtedwith plenty of ladies, but not many made me want to try actually dating them. And as for the few I did date, we’d only go out for a few months before I realized we worked better as friends—actually I was lucky to get through onemonth with some of them.”

“One month?” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Why?” 

Discord sighed. “Well…I’ve got a policy. After one month, I invite a girl over to Fluttershy’s for tea and I see how things go. If they try to be polite to Fluttershy and seem okay with our friendship, then we’ll go on more dates. But you’d be surprised how many mares are uncomfortable with me having a mare for a best friend. I can read the jealousy all over their faces. But Fluttershy and I are a package deal: I’d never leave her behind or neglect her for anyone in the world.”

Celestia’s eyes hazed in warmth. “I’m very proud of you, Discord: for looking out for Fluttershy and for realizing you deserve a companion who accepts all parts of your life and all of your friends.”

“Yes, I’m pretty proud of me for that too.” He held his head high with a grin. She laughed softly until he leaned close to her with a curious smirk. “Now then, spill—how many suitors have you entertained with your attention ever since our first gala? You’re always so private about that part of your life, I could never get a clear read on it.”

Celestia blinked a couple of times and blushed. “I…well…you mean suitors I’ve gone on dates with?”

“Yes.” He nodded, moving back a little.

She shifted. “Well, erm…just a few…dozen.”

Discord blinked. Then he beamed. “You really did try to get in touch with that part of your life to see what you wanted from it—congratulations, Tia!” He snapped up a gaudy crown. “The King of Flirting is Dead, Long Live the Queen of Flirting.”

“Discord, you’rethe flirt.” She made the crown disappear and stretched out a little more on the grass with a shy smile (that grew a little when she felt her hip brush the scales of his tail). “I carefully select somepony who I think would be nice to get to know better and ask for an introduction to them. But I almost never made it to more than just three or four of dates with any suitors. I’d realize so quickly they weren’t what I was looking for.” 

“I see.” Discord’s eyes hazed and met hers. “Well, I at least hope the time you spent with them was special to you both. And I hope you find what you’re looking for soon.” He blushed.

She let her hoof touch his hand on the ground. “I hope you do too.”

They shared a warm smile.

Then Discord chuckled. “The most serious girlfriend I ever had was Jasmine Flower. She was funny and pretty and clever and interesting…”

“You’re coming to a point soon, I’m sure, Discord.” Celestia sighed with a smirk.

He grinned and went on. “She seemed very right for me, but I knew she wasn’t the one. There was something special missing: something I always saw in you. Something I’ve never felt with anyone else.”

Celestia blushed and smiled more. “The most serious relationship with a suitor I ever had was with one of Luna’s guards.”

“Tia!” Discord blinked and chuckled. “You wooed a guard! Someone right in your own castle! And one of Luna’s! How did you keep that gossip under wraps, and please tell me more!”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “I always make sure that the stallions I see are discreet, Discord. And Luna set me up with him actually. He’s a night guard, I’m the princess of the day—and opposites attract. She thought I might enjoy the company of someone quiet and serious but with a unique sense of humor. And someone more my size—he’s a rather well-built Clydesdale.” She blushed as her smile grew.

Discord sighed deeply. “And I’m sure you’re getting to your point soon as well.”

“Yes, well…we enjoyed our time together, but eventually we realized we didn’t work. I started to feel in little ways that he wasn’t the one. And then of course one more small thing came along and finally convinced me to end our relationship in friendship like with all the other suitors.”

“Can I ask what that small thing was? Just trying to keep myself from making the same mistake you know.” Discord shrugged.

Celestia nodded. “Well…he snored.” She laughed to herself.

Her laughter soon stopped when she didn’t hear Discord join her and glanced over to see him looking forward with wide eyes. “O-Oh…” finally left him with a light crack to his voice. “He snored.” And then he blushed darkly.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at first but then blinked and blushed darkly as well. “Discord! Wait, I should explain. It’s kind of a funny story actually. You see—“

“Oh, no, no!” he quickly interrupted with a clearing of his throat. “No need to explain!”

“But really, Discord, it’s just—“

“You really do not have to, Celestia.”

“Discord, just listen to me. What happened was—“

“Tia, enough, please! I get it, he snored—let’s move on.” He clasped his hands on the ground and gave her a weak smile then blushed with his eyes wide before swallowing and glancing away. “I-I don’t really want to hear about it. We don’t have to mention it again.” Then his brow furrowed in a slight scowl to himself.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at first. But then she frowned. Distinctly.

Discord raised an eyebrow at the frown. “What?”

The frown descended into the closest thing to a scowl the sun princess could manage.

Discord blinked. “What?”he tried again.

Celestia sighed and stood up as she glanced away with her head held high. “I’m done with breakfast. I think I’ll go for a walk.”

“Oh.” He floated up. “Okay… Let’s—“ 

“A walk alone, Discord,” Celestia quickly corrected, blushing slightly. “Just because we’re on an extended date doesn’t mean we have to spend every moment together.”

Discord landed beside her, head tilted. “Okay, clearly I did something and you’re not responding well to it. Care to fill me in?”

“You’re very clever, Discord, I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” she replied coolly as she moved past him.

“Or you could just save us both some time and tell me since I’m not a mind reader,” he replied, arms crossed as he watched her walking away with a small scowl of his own. 

“Discord, I just need a moment alone.” Celestia stopped and turned her glare back to him. “Besides I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Goodbye.” And then she turned and headed into the forest.

Discord frowned a little but then scowled even more deeply. “Well, fine! I’ll just go for my own walk then! You’re not the only one with legs, and this forest is definitely more than big enough for the two of us!” With a blush and a pout he set off onto his own path through the woods (though it conveniently paralleled Celestia’s even if it was at a distance from it).

Celestia ignored the sounds of Discord entering the forest too and kept moving forward, lost in some very frustrated thoughts.





Luna had spent the first hours after sunrise in her room, enjoying a peaceful breakfast alone and reading her sister’s letter from the previous evening with interest. And in between the lines about the fun times Celestia and Discord were sharing, Luna smiled to detect notes of a deeper attraction and budding romance. And now, with her pleasant breakfast in bed eaten, the night princess was planning to write back to her sister and then settle in for a long day’s sleep.

Suddenly there was a crash somewhere not far off in the castle.

Not a ‘we’re under attack’ sort of crash, or a ‘someone is injured’ sort of crash—more of a ‘something big just fell into something else, and now someone has to clean up the mess’ crash. At first, Luna was willing to leave it to the servants until her ears perked up at the distant sounds of Twilight and Cadance’s voices.

Luna took a deep breath and folded up her sister’s letter, then gave a stretch. “Well, last night was uneventful and I’m not so tired yet. Before I retire, let us see how amusing the ‘war’ between friendship and love is going.” She smirked as she teleported into the hallway and headed in the direction of the noise and voices (which happened to be near the ballroom). “After all, if Celestia returns to a ‘Midnight Sparkle’ or a ‘Princess Dissonance’ she will not be pleased.” She chuckled to herself as she entered the ballroom. Then she paused, her eyes wide.

Somehow in the small amount of time since sunrise, Twilight and Cadance had each decorated half the room entirely in the theme of their domains. Twilight’s half held photos of herself and her friends as well as Celestia and Discord during special platonic bonding moments, a large banner reading ‘Friendship is Magic’, multiple books on friendship stacked neatly on tables, and finally a full replica of the tree of harmony with replicas of the elements wedged inside. Cadance’s side of the room featured silk hangings and paper lanterns all in pinks and reds, a banner that said ‘The Magic of Love’, vases of roses, and large heart-shaped archway constructed from crystal and a dozen types of flowers. 

And on the line right between the two room sides was a pile of heart-shaped potion bottles and many scrolls—clearly the source of the crashing sound.

For a brief moment Luna considered slowly backing out into the hall, going to her room for a cup of tea, and waiting until this whole thing blew over.

But then her responsible nature overcame her and she cleared her throat to address the room. “Good morning, ladies!”

“Luna!” Cadance and Twilight said at once.

“Sorry, did we wake you?” Twilight bit her lip.

“I knew we should have put a silencing spell on the room,” Cadance added with a frown.

Luna cleared her throat. “Oh, no no, I was just catching up on some correspondence before bed when I heard a sound from here. Is everything all right?”

“Oh yeah, sure, fine great!” Twilight quickly replied with a bright smile. “We just decided to start our decorating in here—both of us.”

“We wanted to lay out the foundation of our designs in a room that’s very special to Celestia and Discord.” Cadance rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “But Twilight and I might have gotten a little carried away for a moment, and then her sack of friendship letter scrolls bumped into my love elixirs.”

“Or Cadance’s love elixirs landed on my sack of friendship letter scrolls.” Twilight shrugged, equally sheepishly. “Anyway, I know the crash they made was a little loud. Sorry again.”

“Ah, I see.” Luna maintained a steady gaze and poised smile. “Well, I’m sorry I was not here to help, but I’m glad everyone’s all right. Good luck with the rest of your…enterprise. I’ll be in my chambers for a while.”

Before she could turn away though, Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Hmm…help?  That’s a great idea. Thanks, Luna!”

“Oh, uh,” Cadance blinked then smiled and nodded, “Yeah, that’s actually a wonderful idea!” She glanced at her sister-in-law. “We’ll both get help. What do you say, Twilight?”

“I say absolutely, Cadance!” Twilight swung a hoof through the air.

The sisters-in-law nodded to each other.

Luna continued to silently marvel at the politeness of their clear competition. She nodded her head. “Very well. Carry on, ladies.” She left the ballroom.

Once teleported back to her own room, Luna sighed. “I…may wait to see how this plays out before I write anything to Tia. And I may require some help myself from an outside source.” She yawned. “For now I’ll savor at least some sleep and see to Twilight and Cadance a little later. After all, how much more could their rivalry grow in a mere few hours?”

And with these famous last works, Luna settled in for a good morning’s slumber.





Celestia continued pressing on through the Everfree Forest, vaguely aware that she might be getting herself lost but not really caring. There was plenty of daylight, so all she’d have to do to find her way back to the castle was fly above the canopy. And as for any threats the forest might pose, she was perfectly confident in her magic to handle them. For now though she just needed to keep moving to keep at bay the frustration which her ruffled wings, heavy scowl, and pout clearly indicated.

“He has some nerve!” she whispered to herself. “Meanwhile, if he’d just let me tell the story he would have realized… But that’s not the point! Who is he to act like I just said something he has to sweep under the rug to accept? He knew I wasn’t just going to sit around like some perfect princess on a pedestal while he went out and courted.” She kept her gaze stern for another moment but then finally closed her eyes, slowed her pace, and took a deep breath, still whispering to herself. “Maybe we went too quickly, talking about our love lives up until now like that. But still…” 

SNAP

Celestia heard a thin branch snap like something was near her. Eyes wide, she held her breath and waited. When nothing happened she took a single step forward and heard a rustle like something pressing through underbrush. Her horn glowed and she charged through the forest growth to the direction of the sound. Anything sneaking around that much might not be friendly, and this approach would hopefully scare it off or at least give her the element of surprise. She entered a clearing, horn ablaze.

“Wait, Celestia, it’s me! Power down that thing!”

“Discord!” Celestia blinked a few times and her horn stopped glowing at the sight of the chaos master with his hands held up in front of himself. She tilted her head at first then narrowed her eyes slightly. “Were you following me?”

He lowered his hands and gave her a dry look. “No, I figured it was best to let you run off all alone into a dangerous wild forest full of predators without any way of finding you. Of course I’ve been following you! There could be everything from timberwolves to manticores to a rogue escaped villain from Tartarus in here!”

Celestia just rolled her eyes to the side. “I appreciate the concern but I think I can manage. I’m not that out of practice with defending myself.”

He scowled. “Why are you trying to take this as an insult? I just want to help you if you need it.”

“I didn’t ask for your help. I asked you for some time alone.” She walked past him.

Discord followed her. “And that’s another thing, what was with storming off back there? You know I don’t like being left alone.” He frowned a little. For just a moment Celestia did too until he went on with,  “And all because I didn’t want to talk about the intimate details of your extra special old flame.” 

Her anger flared again. “You acted like you couldn’t imagine I would have any intimate details,” she scoffed. “You didn’t even let me explain: you just presumed and acted embarrassed like I’d done something wrong.” She blushed.

He raised an eyebrow. “Like you did something wrong? What are you talking about? I asked you what HE DID to make you break up withhim?”

“And I tried to tell you, but you made me feel very uncomfortable about it!” Celestia huffed.

“Well, I still don’t understand, but what in the world can I do to make it better, oh demanding Celestia?” He landed right in front of her, scowling with his arms crossed.

She narrowed her eyes and pawed the ground. “Just disappear and let me finish my walk in peace…”

And then Discord dropped out of sight.

Celestia blinked and gasped. But then her gaze went down to the ground and she saw him. Discord had been standing on the edge of a steep slope of rocks and dirt, and apparently the ground had suddenly given way. Now he was gripping at the grass to keep from sliding down more.

“Discord!” She quickly came forward to help him—if he slid all the way down before he could snap his fingers he might really hurt himself.  She got a foreleg around one of his shoulders, but suddenly the patch of ground she was on gave out too. She gasped as their eyes met, and then Discord and Celestia had just enough time to hold onto each other before they went tumbling down the slope. 

Fortunately, the drop wasn’t too far, and holding each other made them suffer little damage from the rocks. And the best part was they ended up falling into a huge bed of soft flowers in a clearing. Pretty, blue…familiar…flowers.

The two of them caught their breath and opened their eyes. When they realized they were both okay, they quickly pulled apart and pouted again.

“I think you’re right,” Discord murmured, dusting himself off, “you do need to take a walk alone. Work off some of whatever’s bothering you before I start taking the insults personally.”

Celestia’s brow furrowed as she stood up. “I didn’t make the ground give way, that was a coincidence.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one pawing the ground with my alicorn stren—“ He paused, his eyes wide.

“What is it now, Disc—“ Celestia’s eyes widened as well.

They had both just realized they were standing in a huge patch of poison joke.

Celestia instantly teleported them out of the flowers where they collapsed on the ground together, breathing heavily.

“Do you think they got us?” Discord looked Celestia over and then himself.

“I have no idea, Discord.” She glanced at him then herself. “It can take time for the effects of that flower to show up depending on how much of it you’re dosed with. Let’s go back to the castle and see how we feel later.” She opened her wings, went to flap them… And then she found herself fully grounded and down on her knees. 

Celestia blinked a few times. There was a strange weight over her limbs and her head suddenly felt chilled by the breeze. “What in the world…? Discord, did something happen to me?” She looked at him.

He just stood there with his eyes wide. Then his lip twitched. “N-No.” A snicker escaped him.

Her look went dry. “Tell me what the poison joke did to me, Discord. Now.”

“You, uh…better see for yourself,” he replied, his smile bigger. And then he snapped up a full-length mirror.

Celestia’s jaw fell at the sight. Her mane was gone. Well…not really ‘gone’. Her head was bare and now she had a flowing rainbow beard and moustache the size of her mane.

Discord let out some snickers. “I’m sorry, it’s just. Wow…”

Celestia blushed and scowled. “It’s not funny.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, if I can’t fly because this beard keeps getting caught under my wings then I’ll just levitate myself up over the canopy.” Celestia powered up her horn: instantly it unpowered and a large rainbow lock of hair grew out of it.

Discord burst into full, raucous laughter now. “Oh I forgot how much fun poison joke is! And hey, apparently it doesn’t affect me. I guess it wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Celestia pouted at him, but then her eyes went wide.

“Tia, you look—“ He stopped laughing. “Wait, why does my voice sound so high-pitched?”

And now it was Celestia’s turn to smirk.

“And how did you get so tall, Tia? Oh, tell me you’re becoming a giant too on top of everything.”

“No, Discord,” Celestia replied with a full grin apparent even despite her beard. “I’m afraid you’ve shrunk.”

“Huh?” Discord turned and looked into the mirror. “Ah!”

He was practically a baby draconequus. Not a shrunken version of his adult form but a big-eyed little tyke, barely two feet tall, all of his features in childlike proportion (though his wings were strangely the same size as his adult form).

Celestia laughed. “The poison joke made you a colt. Now that’s funny.”

“I’ll fix this and show you funny….” Discord pouted and snapped his fingers.

Instantly a bolt of chaos magic went ricocheting off of multiple trees (causing Celestia and Discord to duck) before it finally zinged off into the sky.

“Oh boy. That’s…that’s bad,” Discord mumbled.

“What happened?”

“I uh…” he shrugged at her, “I didn’t really get a handle on my magic until I was about twice this size. I couldn’t direct it anywhere: I could only shoot random bolts of pure chaos all over the place.” He rubbed his temple. “Great, what are we supposed to do now?”

Celestia chuckled again at the sight of the baby draconequus looking so intense then sighed. “There’s only one option: we need the cure. And fortunately we happen to be in the Everfree Forest. We just have to find Zecora’s hut.”

“Oh boy…” Discord sighed again.

“What is now?”

“Zecora…doesn’t really like me.” Discord cleared his throat. “Remember that ‘Zebra Artifact Scam’ joke I made at the changeling hive? It was sort of based on true events. I may have drawn myself into multiple pieces of ancient zebra artwork for fun back before Tirek when I was only semi-reformed.”

The sun princess rolled her eyes. “Well, then you can just apologize to Zecora when we get there because we need that cure, Discord.” Celestia nudged him forward. “Now, you can still fly, I’m assuming. Go above the canopy and see if you see the smoke from her hut. Then we’ll head in that direction.”

“Fine. And yeah, I can fly.” He put out his wings and a couple flaps made him airborne.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t your wings return to child-sized too?”

“Because my wings have been this size since I was a child. Always thought they’d grow in, they never did, I’m a little sensitive about it, and it’s why most of the time I prefer to levitate. Thank you for pointing it out Miss ‘six and a half foot wingspan’.” Before Celestia could reply he was up above the canopy. He landed a moment later. “Looks like her hut’s about a hundred yards this way. Let’s go.” He turned to the start of the path but hesitated. “And be careful. Neither of us can protect our selves or each other in this state.

Celestia felt touched by the concern for a moment. But then her pout returned as she wrapped her new beard around her neck a few times to keep it away from her hooves and started following Discord, who flew forward.

The little chaos master sighed. “Let’s just get this cure and then we can go back to fighting I guess.”

The sun princess frowned a little, opened her mouth but then hesitated. “The cure is what matters most for right now, Discord,” she finally replied softly.

The two continued on in silence the rest of the way to Zecora’s hut.





“Just a few more ingredients I have left to pour /
And then I will be ready with the Poison Joke cure.” 

Zecora poured a bottle of purple liquid into two large basins.

“Thank you, Zecora,” Celestia replied sheepishly. “We appreciate you helping us. And sorry again for dropping in unannounced.”

Zecora finished stirring each bath with a large wooden spoon then set it on the floor as she turned back to Celestia. 

“Don’t apologize, please—I am not irate.  /
Indeed I’m happy to help a princess on a date.”

Celestia blushed a little and looked down…then sighed. Her beard and moustache had grown so long that she’d needed Zecora to come and cart her the last twenty feel to the hut. Even her hooves were growing long rainbow forelocks now. She glanced away with a blush.

Zecora approached Discord who had been sitting on a little stool twiddling his thumbs and not making eye contact. Her look grew a little dry, though she smiled slightly too. 

“I assist any creature who seeks my aid, /
Despite their past or the harsh tricks they’ve played.”

“I said I was sorry.” The mini chaos master crossed his arms and pouted.

A baby draconequus pouting was adorable, so Zecora’s smile warmed. She took some leaves from one of her shelves then went back over to the basins and sprinkled them into each one. She inhaled over each of the steaming baths and sighed happily. 

“Your baths are all set, use them freely, /
But get in quick while they’re still hot and steaming.” 

She put a saddlebag on her back. 

“For now I must leave to mark on my map / 
The place where the fresh poison joke patch is at.” 

She smiled at them and then departed.

Left in silence, Discord and Celestia eyed the baths. Discord got down off his stool. “Uh…can I help you get to yours somehow?”

“I can manage.” Celestia blushed in embarrassment and stepped carefully through the hairy layers of her beard and moustache then finally shifted herself into the bath. When she looked back at Discord, she realized he had been watching her with a look of concern, like he was making sure she got in safely. Now he blinked and then climbed up the side of his own basin and fell into the tub with a splash. Then he faced away from her. Celestia faced away from him as well. 

The two of them reclined back in the steam and water, thinking deeply.





“…Sister, right now they have not only decorated separate sides of the ballroom and recruited their own teams of castle guards and staff to assist, but they have even brought in reinforcements. Twilight—her first friend. Cadance—her first love. I have sent word to a reinforcement of my own: the element of kindness herself. I assure you, there will be no to-do when you and Discord return to the castle. In fact, pray, linger one more night on your date. And for now, watching our two fellow princesses politely clash is most amusing. I will not let them get carried away, but I do feel they ought to work this problem out for themselves. They are surprisingly more mature than you and I were at their ages.
 
Give Discord my regards. If I cannot be there to assist with your dreams and nightly needs, I am certainly glad that he is. And I hope he will continue to give you such nocturnal company in the future. 
 
Love and regards,
 
~Lulu

Luna used her magic to roll up the scroll she had just penned and send it away to find her sister. Then she resumed her post on a castle rampart gazing down through a window into the bustling ballroom. She had woken up from a long nap in the late afternoon and decided to get her bearings in private on what the princesses of love and friendship had been up to before making her presence known among them once more. And the amount of work the two of them had wrought was quite impressive. As Luna had mentioned to Celestia in her letter, they had even brought close companions in to assist: Twilight had teleported Spike here and Cadance had teleported Shining Armor. Luna was just waiting for her own assistant to appear.

“Princess Luna?” A loud whisper came from the sky behind her not far off. “Princess Luna, are you near here? You said to meet you on the castle roof and to be very quiet. Oh dear, I hope that wasn’t too loud.”

Luna turned and waved a hoof until the gentle yellow pegasus who had been speaking caught sight of her. Fluttershy’s look brightened as she joined the princess.

“Fluttershy, thank you for coming so quickly in response to my letter.”

“Oh of course.” Fluttershy smiled. “But I’m not sure how I can help. I’m not really good at interrupting ponies once they get passionate about something.” She shuffled a hoof on the roof.

Luna smiled gently. “Tis alright, Fluttershy. We do not need to stop Twilight and Cadance: we just need to supervise until they work out the situation on their own. Honestly this clash was bound to come sooner or later.” She sighed, her look dry as she glanced back through the ballroom window. “I’m just impressed with how civil they are being despite the clear competition. Perhaps it is because they are merely sisters-in-law and not sisters.” She shook her head and looked back to Fluttershy. “Anyway, you have Discord’s best interests at heart just as I have Celestia’s. I could use a companion since I cannot watch over these two constantly.” She yawned. “I’ll have to take another nap again soon before evening starts.”

“I understand, Princess Luna.” Fluttershy looked down. “As long as you really think I can help, I’ll do my best.”

Luna’s smile warmed. “I bore the element of kindness once myself: I can see why it chose you—your deep care for others in a great comfort in all times of conflict. I have full faith in you, kind Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy blushed and smiled, looking up again. “Thank you.”

Luna nodded. “And do not be afraid of being on your own while I am napping. I have a feeling you might find sympathy from Spike and Shining Armor. Though both of them acted quite supportive upon being summoned, I have watched them give each other uneasy looks as time has passed. They will welcome a neutral party, I am sure.”

“Okay, Princess Luna. I’ll talk to them.”

“Excellent. In that case, let us brace ourselves and visit the ballroom.” And with that Luna teleported herself and Fluttershy away from the castle roof and to the center of the ballroom.

Fluttershy blinked at the activity around her and brought a hoof to her mouth. “Oh my…”

Guards and staff were running everywhere trying to fulfill the princesses’ orders, and Spike and Shining Armor were doing the same.

Luna cleared her throat. “Attention ladies and new guests! I have awoken to see how your plans fair and also invited Fluttershy over that she may see as well.”

Twilight and Cadance turned to Luna as they had done earlier when she had entered the ballroom, only by now both princesses looked a little harried, their smiles nervous.

“Princess Luna, what do you think? I know we might be spending too much time on one room, but I’m trying to capture all the subtle arts of friendship!” Twilight gestured to her ornate side of the room. “Right, Spike?”

“Uh huh,” Spike replied very carefully with a nod and a forced smile that was practically a cry for help.

Cadance stepped forward with her head held high. “And I’ve done my best to conjure up a romantic atmosphere over here just suited to Celestia and Discord’s needs and which can serve as a basis for how to spread love through the other parts of the castle. Isn’t it perfect, Shiny?”

“It’s lovely, honey,” Shining Armor replied with an equally desperate plastered-on smile.

Luna held back laughter quite well. “I see. You’ve been hard at work. Perhaps a break is in order—you can each take some time to rest before dinner as I plan to do.”

“No!” Cadance and Twilight yelled at once.

Twilight cleared her throat. “We really shouldn’t waste any time.”

“And I don’t want to overlook any details of course,” Cadance added.

“Oh, Cadance,” Twilight waved her hoof, “you can take a break if you want—your side is fine. Really.”

“Oh no, Twilight!” Cadance replied with a wave of her own hoof. “My side requires even more subtle emotional layering. It’s hard to explain. But your side looks as thorough as can be. Why don’t you take a break, I insist.”

“Heh, no, no, that’s all right. I’ve still got to make sure each element of friendship shines—it’s very complicated.”

“Just like love!”

“Yeah, but…you know…not.”

The sisters-in-law were standing face to face now, grinning far too much.

Behind each of them, Spike and Shining Armor waved to Luna and Fluttershy with silent pleas for assistance. 

As soon as the princesses blinked and pulled back from each other though, both boys pretended to be whistling and hard at work again.

Luna sighed at the two princesses but nodded. “Very well. If there is any sort of emergency please wake me. Until then, erm…Spike, Shining Armor, you each had a draining teleportation to get here. Perhaps you would care to retire with Fluttershy for a little while with some tea?”

“Yes!”

“Please!”

These replies perhaps left the boys a little too desperately.

Cadance and Twilight each tilted their heads and frowned slightly at their partners.

“Oh, I really could use some tea since I flew all the way here,” Fluttershy gently added as she stepped forward with a humble smile, “and I wouldn’t mind some company. Please.” She looked from Twilight to Cadance with her teal eyes brimming with hope.

Of course, Twilight and Cadance each bit their lips then finally nodded.

“Sure—Shining Armor, go enjoy some tea and catch up with Spike and Fluttershy. I’ll handle things while you’re gone.”

“You too, Spike. Take a break, you’ve earned it.”

Not needing to be told twice, the guys smiled at each other and then dashed over to Fluttershy with expressions of pure happiness. The three trotted out of the room.

Luna gave her fellow princesses one final gentle smile. “Just keep in mind, ladies, that Discord and Celestia are quite in control of the fate of their relationship: in the end there is no need to get carried…away.” Luna’s eyes widened as one set of guards walked in with a cake bearing the message ‘Friends Forever!’ in frosting, and another set of guards followed with a giant chocolate sculpture in the shape of a heart. When the princesses didn’t even acknowledge her words for the sake of running to their latest decoration arrivals, Luna slowly backed out of the room and closed the door.

She turned to see Shining Armor and Spike: Fluttershy stood behind them with an awkward smile as the boys looked to Luna with wide eyes.

“You’ve got to stop them!” Spike whispered loudly.

“Luna, I’m scared—seriously. Do you think there’s a chance she’s a changeling again?” Shining Armor’s pupils shrunk. “I’d actually be a little relieved because it would make some of what we’ve done for the last three hours make sense.”

Luna bit her lip uneasily for a moment then looked with a steady gaze at both the dragon and pony. “Do not worry, tis a princess matter. And speaking of which, go have that tea and some snacks so that you may return here soon to support each of your princesses.” She sighed with a small smile. “And trust me, all will resolve itself in due course, even if I have to see to it personally. You have my word.” She nodded solemnly. 

Fluttershy came up between the two boys with a compassionate smile. “Come on, you two, some nice soothing tea and something yummy to eat really will help you both.” The two frazzled boys managed nods, and then Fluttershy led them down the hall.

Luna shook her head then teleported back to her room and nestled herself under the covers again. “Sister, you owe me a large favor for dealing with this all on my own while you’re out gallivanting with your suitor.” She yawned and chuckled softly to herself. “Thou best be making excellent use of thine time with thy draconequus.” Soon the night princess drifted off to sleep, knowing the final conflict between love and friendship was to come but confident in the abilities of her fellow princesses to continue handling it maturely…more or less.





Discord and Celestia had been sitting in their baths in Zecora’s hut for a good ten minutes now. Celestia was back to her normal, full-maned self, so she knew Discord must be back to his old self too. However, he had remained submerged for the full ten minutes with only a snorkel sticking out of the water. All she could make out was the long brown and tan and red curve of his body in the shape of the basin.

Finally she sighed, propped her front hooves on the edge of the basin and spoke to the snorkel. “Discord, please come up—we should talk.”

The snorkel sunk a little lower.

Celestia pouted but took a deep breath. “I want to apologize for—“

In a burst of magic Discord appeared sitting upright in the basin, his snorkel gear gone. “You want to apologize—well, do go on.” He had a slight smile despite his dry look.

Celestia blinked then frowned. “I want to apologize for yelling at you in the forest before and not seeing the danger you were in until you’d already slipped. I hope you didn’t hurt yourself.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

She sighed. “I’m not going to apologize for our fight earlier too. Today was not my fault, Discord.”

“Are you saying it was mine?”

“I—no…yes, but not…” She closed her eyes. “It’s complicated.”

“Okay then, if you can’t decide that, can you at least finally tell me what I did wrong?” When the sun princess raised an eyebrow at him, the chaos master only furrowed his brow and met her gaze. “Seriously. I don’t know, and I want to understand what upset you.”

Unable to find anything but sincerity in the question, Celestia sighed and her look softened. “I told you about my stallion guard caller, and when you asked why we broke up I said it was because he snored. And then you acted strange, and it made me feel like you…assumed something and weren’t okay with the situation.” She blushed, her head held high. “This is the modern age, Discord—mares aren’t subject to old-fashioned ideas about how they should court. Hey!” She blinked—he had just splashed her.

She turned to see Discord with his arms crossed and glaring at her a little, his tail clearly having performed the splash.

“Discord!”

“Thatwas for thinking so little of me! Did you seriously believe I’d have some kind of problem with the intimate details of your past? That I’d treat you like you’d done something wrong by getting closer to suitors at your own discretion? I do not hold ladies to a different romantic standard than myself, and I was not insinuating disapproval when I declined to talk about your snoring comment.” He leaned closer to her over his basin. “If you really want to know the truth, when I’m not sleeping out in the fresh country air like this, I tend to snore myself. And if you broke up with someone for that habit, I got worried that maybe…maybe I’d be a bother to you if you and I ever…if we ever…spent more time together at night. I…” He was stuttering now and blushing.  Then he blinked. “Hey!”

Celestia had just splashed him herself. She leaned over her basin and looked him in the eyes. “That was for doubting how strong my feelings are for you! I would never abandon you or anypony for some silly thing like that! Especially you!What you and I have is stronger than some six-week polite fling I had with a guard—you have to know that!”

Discord blinked a few times then pouted and shot back, “W-Well, I would have if you’d explained!”

“You didn’t give me a chance!” Celestia huffed.

Discord’s hands gripped his basin, and Celestia’s hooves rested on her basin just a few inches from his chest. They were nose to nose now, breathing heavily. 

For a moment something in Celestia’s look softened as Discord’s features flushed. She couldn’t help but notice how his mane was bristled up and his muscles were tense and how his wings were spread: he might have thought they were small, but she though their intricate, compact design only served to enhance the grand presence of his other features. He was so passionate, and he could bring out a passionate side of her as well. She was angry, yes, but for a moment another breathtaking emotion filled her too.

But the moment was broken as suddenly Discord’s eyes went wide and he moved himself back to the far wall of his basin. Meanwhile, Celestia caught her breath and suddenly realized her heart was racing. Discord looked down then exhaled deeply. “Okay…okay, fair enough. We both didn’t think before. And I hurt your feelings by playing off that moment so casually, and you hurt my feelings by assuming the worst about my response.” He came forward a little again and held out a paw to her. “Sorry.”

Celestia, her momentary internal fervor under control, swallowed and nodded. “Sorry.” She shook his paw and then they separated.

They were silent for a moment, looking down. Then Celestia took a breath. “Discord, can I please tell you what I meant by the snoring comment? I want you to understand…”

“Okay.” Discord glanced at her again.

Celestia smiled a little. “One sunrise I thought I’d fetch him from the barracks and surprise him with a nice early breakfast together. But when I got there he was sleeping. The other guards told me he’d just got off duty. I went to wake him up, but he snored loudly like he was in a deep sleep that he needed very much. And then I realized the princess of the day and a guard of the night couldn’t work: I didn’t have the heart to wake him from a well-deserved rest to join me for the day’s beginning, and he would never ask me to spend all night out when he knew how hard I had to work each morning from dawn. We just didn’t fit.” She glanced at him. “So it’s a small joke Luna and I have—that he and I broke up because he snored.”

Discord blinked then let out a deep breath. “Wow…we fought over an anecdote. We are incredibly ridiculous.”

“Maybe.” Celestia smiled a little more. “But I already told you I like being ridiculous with you…like the poison joke patch. We were too angry to laugh much at the time at ourselves, but it actually was kind of fun.”

“Speak for yourself.” He rolled his eyes but grinned. “I never want to be two feet tall again. Though I suppose it was fun feeling like a kid one more time.”

“Yes, and I’d prefer to keep my hair where it is. I never felt so out of place looking on a date.” She ran a hoof self-consciously through her mane.

His eyes hazed. “Who cares whether that glorious mane of yours is coming out of your head or your chin? You’re always beautiful to me.” 

“Discord…” Celestia blushed and rolled her eyes.

Discord chuckled then moved to the side of his basin nearest to her again. “So, we’re made up now?”

She nodded. “Yes, and I’m very glad.”

“Good.” He swallowed. “In that case, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Discord.”

He twiddled his fingers. “Just a few minutes ago when we were yelling at each other—it seemed a little more ‘energetic’ than fights we’ve had as friends. What I mean is…and if I’m the only one who felt this please tell me…when we reached that high pitch of shouting, eyes locked, am I the only one who felt a rush of delightful energy and wanted to…grab you and kiss you quite deeply?”

Celestia’s eyes went very wide and her blush returned.

Discord waited then cleared his throat and added lightly, “Never mind, it was stup—“

“You felt that way too?” She glanced at him hesitantly.

He shrugged but nodded. “Maybe that’s just a new thing now that we both have feelings for each other?”

“Maybe.” Celestia swallowed. “But we should probably resist it when fighting so we can work through our problems.”

“Okay.” He smiled, eyes hazed again. “But I have to tell you, it won’t be easy for me: I’ve been resisting you for years…”

Celestia’s smile warmed as her blushing persisted. “I’ve been having a similar experience over the last few months.”

They quickly glanced away from each other with awkward laughs and smiles. But then their eyes met again.

The chaos master shrugged. “So I guess we’ll fight sometimes, but then we get to make up, like we’ve always done as friends. There’s just a lot more passion behind it now.” His voice deepened as a blush crept into his features and a little smile curled at one corner of his mouth. “But we can work out this development during future disagreements, as you say. After all, we probably won’t resolve much if every time we get to the climax of a fight we just go at each other like a couple of hormonal filly teenagers.”

“Discord…” Celestia tried to sound disapproving of the comment but she smiled and glanced up at him. Her heart pounded again at the sight of her draconequus with his eyes hazed and his head tilted down mischievously while his chest puffed out a little and his strong arms leaned against the basin’s edge, long tail swishing lightly behind him in and out of the water. And then she couldn’t help herself. “I agree—giving in while we fight won’t help. But giving in after we make up would be fine I think.”

For just a moment his eyes widened in a little bit of that adorable fluster he could get when she flirted back. Then she giggled and leaned across the tub to rest her chest against his chest and her head under his chin. She closed her eyes: the sound of his heartbeat thumping like a calypso song in reverse made her smile more. 

When his arms came around her so his hands could gently touch her shoulders and he nuzzled the top of her head, she felt like magic was coursing between them.

“I’ll start a whole new war with you if it means we get to make up like this after it,” he cooed with a deep chuckle.

Celestia almost snorted with laughter. “Fine, but this time no magic: I’m too tired for all those spells and the Elements of Harmony. Let’s just settle things with a singing contest or something.”

“Deal. Winner gets Equestria, loser gets to buy the winner dinner afterwards…maybe at sunset, a table for two, glowing candles, a vase of eternal rainbow flowers for effect…” 

Her smile grew. “Such a romantic.” His fingertips were lightly pressing her shoulders, making her wings perk up as the rest of her relaxed. She let out a soft breath and gave into a small selfish impulse. “Discord?”

“Mmm hmm?”

“As long as we’re getting close right now, I…if you want to tell me whatever it is you’ve been wanting to tell me, I’m listening.”

He shifted a little, letting his chest brush hers, and sighed. “I’ll try. But not like this: I need to look into your eyes.”

Celestia’s eyes blinked open. “My eyes?”

“Trust me,” he replied. “They’re lovely, by the way. You know, when you took my advice after our first gala and started wearing your hair at special occasions so both your eyes would show, I felt so special.” He chuckled. “I don’t know how every other pony you looked at kept themselves from begging you for a date, but I just tried not to think about that part too much.”

Celestia gazed down modestly but then nodded. “Okay, Discord. You can look into my eyes when you tell me.” Though she was reluctant to leave her place nestled against him, she pulled back enough to meet his gaze. And for the first time she found herself looking quite deeply into his eyes now, observing their details. “Your eyes are nice too,” left her in a daze before she blushed at the words.

Discord scoffed. “They’re not, but thank you anyway: yellow and red different sizes when yours are like twin sunsets.”

If the walls of their basins hadn’t separated her and Discord, Celestia knew she would have done something very impulsive with him for that comment. And then a thought occurred to her that made her smile curl up at the ends just as much as his was. “If mine are like sunsets, then yours are like sunrises—bright and bold.”

Those eyes went so wide, and he turned pink. He blushed often enough, but he rarely turned perfectly pink. Pink had been Celestia’s favorite color as a filly. She whispered to him. “No matter what you tell me everything will be okay. I promise.”

He swallowed then found his voice again as the pink subsided. “Maybe I should kiss you first just in case it isn’t…” He was joking but she detected the slight nervousness there too.

Her eyes hazed more. “Don’t tempt me…”

Discord moved so close she thought he might kiss her but instead he lightly held her shoulders, gazing even more deeply into her eyes as she gazed into his. His voice was low and tender as he started to speak. “My darling Celestia…I—“

“I have returned from the patch of poison joke /
I hope you two have been enjoying your soak.”

Celestia and Discord jumped and held each other close in surprise as they turned and saw Zecora reenter the hut.

As soon as the zebra saw them she paused then grinned.

“I’m glad to see you both quite well once more /
My poison joke cure is most effective, to be sure. /
But one of those basins could fit two of you with ease /
If you prefer a bath together, next time tell me please.”

That did it: Discord and Celestia blushed and shot away from each other. Celestia instantly teleported herself out of the bath and took one of Zecora’s towels to dry herself off while Discord flew up over his basin and wrung himself out.

Celestia cleared her throat, trying to keep her sheepishness under control. “We were just, um…finishing a conversation from before our little accident. Thank you, Zecora, for everything.” Discord landed beside Celestia now, though he kept two feet of space between them.

“I am happy all has turned out for the best / 
I was honored to have you both as my guests.”

Zecora nodded to Celestia, and Celestia nodded to her in return. 

Discord cleared his throat. “Yes, thanks, Zecora—especially for helping Celestia.” When Zecora glanced up with a dry look she was met with a very sincere expression from Discord that then brought a smile to her face as well.

“Of course, a hoof I was happy to lend, /
In the service of curing two friends.”

Discord perked up a little.

Celestia’s smile warmed then she moved toward the door. “Come on, Discord, we’d better get back to the castle. It’s almost dinnertime.”

Discord nodded to her. “Coming.” He shared a nod with Zecora then departed out the door with his princess.

Once the couple was out of sight of Zecora’s hut, Celestia placed her hoof in Discord’s paw as they walked quietly homeward together.

“Tia…”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you—“

“Discord, it’s okay.” She blushed a little bit and smiled sheepishly. “I think I might have let my curiosity make me take advantage of the situation. I’m curious but…you’ll tell me when you’re ready. And I don’t want you to do it any sooner than that.”

Discord smiled gratefully and nodded. Then he let out a content sigh and looked forward. “Hey, Tia? When I was under water with the snorkel, I was thinking a bit. You know, it was nice to catch up a little on our prior romantic lives this morning but…maybe we went a bit too quickly. I’m surprised hearing all that stuff actually didn’t spark some jealousy or a misunderstanding even sooner.”

Celestia considered then nodded. “Maybe you’re right. It almost started to feel like a competition by the end. And we really did let things turn into a bad fight even if we made up.” She frowned.

“Exactly.” He nodded. “So instead I think it might be better to talk about the future: where we see things going and what we’re both looking for romantically in general.” Celestia blinked and raised an eyebrow in interest at the suggestion. “But for now,” Discord stopped their walking and stepped in front of her with a grin, “you know, that thing Zecora said about a bath together sounded kind of nice.”

Celestia’s jaw fell open a little. “What?!”

Discord chuckled. “What I mean is, why don’t you and I go for a nice swim together at the lake by the castle? Come on, we’ll bring a picnic down by the shore, splash each other for fun instead of in anger, then enjoy the sunset while we cuddle and eat cake.”

Celestia blinked then burst into happy laughter. “That sounds nice, Discord.”

“Great!” He snapped. Instantly he was in swim trunks with a snorkel and goggles, and Celestia wore a big floppy hat with sunglasses and was lying scooped up in Discord’s arms. 

“Discord!” She smiled and blushed, peering at him over the glasses. “You really don’t have to keep picking me up.”

“How else would I set us up to do a double cannon ball into the lake?”

Celestia’s eyes widened as Discord’s tail snapped.

The next thing she knew, Discord took a jump off of a diving board now stuck somewhere on the fourth story of the castle; they plummeted to the lake below as he held her tight and she wrapped her forelegs around his neck in both shock and excitement.

Then everything stopped and Celestia blinked. They were upside down, suspended just a few inches above the water. She looked into Discord’s eyes. 

He grinned. “…Unless you’d like to eat first and go for a swim later?”

She smiled then used her magic to send her hat and sunglasses to shore and to make a couple of large colorful towels and a blanket appear there as well. “As long as we’re here, let’s swim first. Zecora’s idea did sound nice, like you said.”

Discord chuckled. 

Then Celestia’s eyes hazed and she used her magic to keep herself levitated and send him plummeting into the water. As Discord came up sputtering she landed gently on the surface only to be splashed by a mighty wave from his tail which prompted her to splash him with a great push of water from her wings. 

Late afternoon grew into evening as the happy couple spent hours swimming and playing and laughing like carefree foals.





Late afternoon found Celestia and Discord reclining on blankets on the shore and laughing hysterically as Celestia finished reading Luna’s letter from home.

“Luna actually called them ‘Midnight Sparkle’ and ‘Princess Dissonance’! I can’t breathe!” Discord held his sides and wiped a tear from his eye.

Celestia barely caught her breath. “Oh I wish I could see them! Poor Twilight and Cadance. I just hope Luna steps in soon before they work themselves up too much.”

“Aw, but at the same time it’s sort of cute thinking of ‘the children’ fighting over us, Tia.” The chaos master subdued some of his laughter. “And if Luna’s got Fluttershy with her, she should be all right. Believe me, Fluttershy knows how to handle creatures at their most difficult. I put her through quite a lot when she was reforming me, after all.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Celestia got her laughter under control as well. “And I suppose Twilight and Cadance were bound to bicker a little at some point now that their both rulers and relatives.” She sighed. “We’ll see them in a couple days anyway—it’ll all get straightened out by then, I’m sure.”

Discord smiled gently and touched her hoof with his paw. “Definitely. It’s nice of Luna to offer us a little more time together. So don’t worry about what those other princesses are doing at all. We’re both off duty for now.” He sighed, gazing up at the castle. “A couple more days… I’m gonna miss this place when we go. I’m really starting to like your old castle, Tia. We should visit again sometime… maybe after I have you over for tea with me and Fluttershy one day?” He blushed a little as he glanced at her.

“Oh…” Celestia’s eyes lit up: he was already looking forward to a ‘tea with Fluttershy’ date with her. And his shyness about their future dates was so cute. She nodded. “Yes, I’d like that, Discord.” She glanced at the castle wistfully. “It’s been very fun being here with you. This place almost feels like home again.” 

Discord swallowed and squeezed her hoof. “Hey Tia?”

She turned back to him. “Yes, Discord?”

“So, remember how earlier I suggested we let each other into the romantic part of our lives by talking about what we want for the future instead of the past, and you agreed…”

“Yes, Discord.” Celestia nodded. “Now that we’re done swimming and eating, would you like to move on to that?”

He nodded. “I know this is still technically a first date, but I think we should get an idea of what we’re both looking for long term. You know, to make sure we’re on the same page about some things… long term. I think it’ll prevent some confusion later on and help us both feel more comfortable.”

“Okay.” She squeezed his hoof back, which made him smile. “I’ll start then.” Celestia cleared her throat. “Well, I think this one’s a little obvious, but are you looking for a casual relationship or something serious?”

“The serious one!” He answered very quickly then blushed and swallowed. “A-And you?”

She giggled softly. “The serious one too.”

Discord’s smile grew. “Good. Um…how many dates per week on average are you looking for in a serious relationship?”

Her eyes hazed. “As many as we can fit in while still making time for our friends and our callings and ourselves.”

The chaos master rested his head on his paw with a dreamy look. “I like the sound of that too.”

She giggled again. “You’re right, this is much more fun than our conversation this morning.” She considered. “Are you okay with late dates sometimes depending on how my schedule runs?”

He nodded. “Are you okay with me being unavailable Tuesday afternoons due to my private weekly tea parties with Fluttershy? It’s an engagement I never like to break.”

“Of course.” Celestia nodded. “Hmm…remember during our first gala I mentioned guards having to escort us on dates and stained glass windows to commemorate the relationship?”

Discord rolled his eyes but still grinned. “Yes…”

Her smile grew. “How would you feel about me throwing aside all of that tradition? No guards watching us, no announcements in the society column, no historical artworks. Just you and me enjoying each other’s company privately and on our own terms.”

Discord’s eyes lit up. But then he hesitated. “But…won’t your subjects worry or your guards get in a tizzy or something?”

“I’m a grown mare, I can take care of myself and I have my own personal life to lead. It’s about time Equestria accepted that.” She winked.

Discord beamed. “In that case, yes, I am very okay with you shirking all of that tradition. But maybe we could still have a statue or something carved of us for irony’s sake? Just a little one? Or at least a hedge sculpture out near our valley in the statue garden.”

“I’ll talk to the staff,” Celestia replied, and then the two of them shared a laugh again. They collapsed with sighs against their blankets on the warm ground.

Discord swallowed. “Tia, can I ask you a bigger question now?”

She nodded.

He took a breath. “Do you want to get married?”

“What?” For just a moment, Celestia felt like she was reeling even though she was lying on the ground. 

She supposed her look must have changed drastically because Discord quickly raised his head up and grinned. “You do know that wasn’t a proposal, right? First of all, I’d never do something that big with so little flair. And second of all, I simply wanted to know if marriage is something you’re looking for in general in your life.” He chuckled. “Sorry, I knew the wording was a little vague, but I couldn’t help myself.”

Celestia cleared her throat, “Oh, heh…very funny, Discord.”

“So?” Discord continued with a smirk.

“So…erm…”

His tone softened. “Do you ever want to get married Celestia?” 

She considered for another moment then glanced up at the sky. “I’ve thought about the idea, Discord, but not recently: not since I was barely more than a young mare. So I suppose the answer is that I don’t know. I think if the right creature came along, I’d… “ Her gaze softened but then she cleared her throat and went on with a light blush, looking back at Discord again. “Right now all I know is I want someone special in my life, someone to get close to, someone to make memories with. And…having you here as that creature feels very right.”

Discord just watched her with interest—not disappointment, not confusion, just a gentle curious acceptance.

Celestia managed a small smile and said the first thing that came to mind to move along the conversation. “Do you want to get married ever, Discord?”

He blinked twice like he was coming out of a thought then smiled a little. “Well…actually I would be open to the idea. Doing that or not isn’t a deal breaker for me or anything but…I guess the idea of a permanent partner in crime has an appeal to me. Maybe I’ve spent too much time around Cadance.” He chuckled then finished with a small sigh. “But for right now, I just want to finally explore my feelings for someone very special for me—for you. You’re giving us a chance, and I want to take full advantage. Our time together right now means a great deal to me, sweet Celestia.”

Celestia blushed rosy but smiled. “So it looks like we’re agreed then about marriage—we’re both open to the idea to an extent. And for now we’ll just explore any relationship we have together as it goes along.”

“Sounds about right.” Discord grinned.

Celestia bit her lip then did her best to keep her voice level. “Discord? Can I ask you a big question now?”

“Bigger than marriage? Bring the awkwardness on, Tia.” He chuckled.

She glanced at him with her smile pulled down at the corners and asked, “Do you want to have children?”

There was a moment of silence.

Then Discord, his face blank, replied, “I’m sorry—I don’t understand your question.”

“Discord…”

“Okay, okay…I guess I understand it…a little.” He grimaced.

Celestia frowned a little. “As long as we’re talking about marriage, I just thought….” She watched him blush darkly, his eyes wide. He bit his lip, glancing down and then back up to her.  She spoke softly with a gentle smile. “Discord, just tell me your true answer to the question. That’s the only way we’ll be able to work it out if we have a difference of opinion.”

He hesitated for one more moment then took a deep breath. “Okay.” He brought his paw to his forehead. “Celestia, honestly…I just don’t know about—that. I mean, I love visiting the cake twins and Flurry Heart, and I love teaching my students at your school. But raising a child, I…” he swallowed, “there’s so much work and commitment and responsibility, and that’s not really me. If it’s important to you I’d try to think more about kids, but I honestly don’t want to be a father.” He cringed in silence for a moment.

Celestia’s gentle smile hadn’t changed during his reply.

And then finally he worked up the courage to swallow and add, “So how about you, about kids?”

Celestia looked down thoughtfully. “Sometimes I used to look at my subjects together as families and think maybe it might be nice to have what they did. But my subjects themselves have been like children to me; my little ponies. And I got an even more personal experience being Twilight’s mentor when she was a filly. And I’m a little tired, Discord…and I saw how exhausted Cadance seemed after Flurry Heart came.” She sighed, stretching out more on the grass. “I guess I wouldn’t mind keeping the option open. But I don’t think I want to raise a family, Discord. I just want someone to share my life with in a new, special way.” Her eyes met his.

He just looked at her in wonder. “So…we’re kind of on the same page about that too?”

She nodded.

He beamed again. “I’m so happy I could kiss you.”

Her smile grew. “I’m afraid there’s a small problem with that plan.”

“Oh really—do tell?”

“It’s time for sunset in exactly forty two seconds. I still have a job to do. But I have a feeling that if you kiss me it’ll go on longer than forty two seconds, so maybe we should wait until afterwards.”

“Ah, fair point.” Discord sat up. “I’m just glad to have a front row seat for sunset now too.”

Celestia stood up and gazed at the sun already near the edge of the forest line in the distance.

“How do you know when it’s time to set and raise the sun exactly?” Discord asked (in the same curious tone that fillies and colts at her school sometimes asked her the same question). “Do you and Luna synchronize sun dials or something?”

Celestia shook her head. “I just know, Discord, in my heart. I suppose it’s like when you’re in love—you can’t help but know, right?” She blinked then glanced at him awkwardly. “Sorry, that was the best comparison I could come up with for it.”

He just gazed out at the lake with a curious little smile. “It’s all right.”

Celestia watched him for a moment longer. Then her smile warmed. “Discord, will you come here, please?”

He blinked then stood and walked towards her.

“Do me a favor? Put your hand on my shoulder while you watch the sunset?”

Discord raised an eyebrow but then chuckled. “Okay, you don’t have to tell me twice to touch you.” His hand gently came to the spot.

Celestia settled under his touch. “Okay. Here we go.” She took a deep breath and then her horn and body and eyes glowed as she used her magic to guide the sun to the horizon.

“Oh…” was all that left Discord at first, and then he was silent, his hand glowing where he touched her.

Celestia let her magic flow through herself entirely (and into Discord a little) as she raised her wings and finished her task. The sky turned a gentle purple with peach undertones as sun disappeared. The glow of magic left her horn and finally left Discord as well.

The chaos master just stood there, unblinking.

Celestia looked to him. “I just thought I’d share my sunset with you in a closer way. I wanted you to understand what the sun means to my magic and to me, how being ruler of the day fulfills me. I hope you enjoyed it.”

“I…” he took a deep breath and finally blinked, “That was…wow…” He removed his paw from her and touched his forehead. 

Celestia blushed. “If you think that was something, one day I’ll share a sunrisewith you—those are…different but in a good way.”

“I wish I could share my chaos with you like that.” He finally managed a full sentence, looking at her with wide eyes.

Her smile softened. “You already did—by teaching it to me so long ago, and now to our students.” He blushed more, and she walked past him holding back a giggle. “Discord, why don’t we head inside? Maybe I can take you on a little tour of the castle and then we can go back to our room and play some games and talk a little more about our future, hmm?”

“Uh, yeah…” he blinked a few times, managing to come out of his amazement, “Sure, I’d like that. Oh!” 

She took his paw in her hoof and trotted ahead to the castle with him in her wake as night fell.





“Psst…um, Princess Luna? Princess Luna, I’m sorry, but please wake up. I think we have a situation.”

“Hmm?” Luna raised her sleepy head. She was about to turn and see what gentle creature had woken her when her gaze caught sight of the sun lowering on the horizon through her window. She blinked, instantly flew up, powered her horn, and commenced the moonrise. “How could I sleep so heavily even if I am taking care of both daily and nightly affairs and two squabbling princesses? Thankfully I am just in time: if Celestia had seen the moonrise delayed she may have grown worried.” Luna let out a sigh of relief and then turned to Fluttershy (who she now realized must have been the one to have woken her). “Thank you, kind Fluttershy, for your assista—“ Luna paused

Fluttershy was before her biting her lip with her hair a little out of place. And flanking her were Spike and Shining Armor. Spike was dressed in a harmony tree costume with Owliscious perched atop dressed as a rainbow. And Shining Armor wore a large crystal heart costume and held Flurry Heart in one hoof who wore a tiny pink heart costume.

Fluttershy swallowed. “Um…I’m happy I could help about the moonrise. But also…um…well…”

“It’s like we’re gearing up for some really weird war!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “Basic Training did NOT prepare me for this!” Flurry Heart giggled and clapped her hooves. 

Spike’s look went dry. “Yeah, I’m pretty close to abandoning friendship and deflecting to the side of evil at this point. Do you think Tirek would like a dragon sidekick?” Owliscious hooted.

“Also, um…” Fluttershy added softly, “now Twilight and Cadance are getting much closer to fighting. And they want, um…well…since you’re the senior princess, I guess…”

“They want you to decide who’s right!” Spike and Shining Armor finished for her at once.

Luna’s eyes widened.

And at that moment Twilight and Cadance burst through the door, practically climbing over each other to get inside. Their manes were disheveled, their crowns askew (the fact that Twilight was even wearing her crown was noteworthy), and they had remnants of their projects stuck to them (bits of glitter and paper and even frosting).

“Luna! Wonderful, you’re awake! We were just coming to check on you!” Cadance came forward with a big smile, trying to regain some of her usual poise.

“Yes! We’ve missed you all day!” Twilight added (a little too) brightly. “Now that you’re up though you probably want to get caught up on everything that’s been going on in the castle.”

“We’ve been doing a lot, and we’re really interested in your opinion,” Cadance added with an eager nod. 

“Because after all, you’re Princess Luna!” Twilight went on. “An original ruler of Equestria! And this is your home! You’re Celestia’s sister, andyou’ve known Discord longer than any of us!”

They were moving closer to Luna.

“You learned first-hoof just how powerful friendship was when you returned!”

“And you also understand the delicate balance of a realm of power that some ponies can overlook!”

“Friendship shines brightest in the dark!”

“And love loves the night!”

Now the princesses directed their comments at each other, face-to-face, smile-to-smile. 

“Celestia said it herself—she needed to be friends with Discord before she could feel anything else for him.”

“And that ‘something else’ she could feel for him was love: the goal toward which their friendship was heading.”

“So you admit friendship is the foundation of love.”

“I admit love is the eventual goal of friendship in rare and beautiful cases.”

“And how many times as ‘love’ saved Equestria?”

“It certainly saved the Crystal Empire…”

“That was Spike.”

The young dragon groaned. “Oh, please, Twilight, don’t bring me into this.”

“Technically saved the Crystal Empire was my Shining Armor hurling me at Sombra with the crystal heart—a symbol of love!”

Shining Armor’s brow furrowed in distress. “Sweetheart, I…I second what Spike said.”

Polite forced smiles had turned to scowls now for the friendship and love princesses.

“Cadance, you don’t just get to swoop in here and decide that love is some superior form of friendship!”

“And you can’t ignore love just because it falls out of your realm. Friendship doesn’t get to take credit for everything, Twilight!”

“And love doesn’t get to pretend it’s better than friendship!”

“I’ve been a princess longer than you, there are some things I understand better!”

“And I’ve been on more adventures around Equestria as a princess and a student than you, so don’t think you understand everythingbetter!”

“Jealousy over a fellow princesses’ realm is never a good thing, Twilight. You ought to know that from your ‘adventures’, and I’m sure Luna has the heart to agree.”

“And lording a sense of superiority over a fellow princess is a poor way to be a leader, Cadance. You ought to know that from my adventures too, and I’msure Princess Luna has the wisdom to agree.”

Luna cleared her throat very distinctly.

The two princesses, breathing heavily, suddenly blinked and turned to her.

Luna had a dark look. She walked forward between the princesses, her voice cool and steady. “Spike, Shining Armor, Fluttershy—please remove any costumes, refresh yourselves, then take Flurry Heart and Owliscious into the courtyard to play.”

The creatures in question glanced at each other then nodded to Luna and headed out of her bedroom door. Luna approached the open door and signaled to a guard who saluted her. “Guard, inform the staff to cease and desist fulfilling any of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s or any of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s orders. And apologize to them on my behalf for today’s inconveniences. Inform them that they may take free leave for the rest of the night and all of tomorrow.” The guard nodded and trotted off.

Luna turned to fellow princesses last. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza—meet me in the observatory.” And with a flash of light and a crack of thunder despite the clear evening outside, Luna teleported away.

Twilight and Cadance swallowed and looked to each other uneasily.





As sunset had progressed into night, Discord and Celestia had finished their tour of the old castle (taking full advantage of trap doors and secret luges). They had retired to their room for cake and more talking and had found to their pleasant surprise that a lot more of what they were looking for in a relationship and for their future lives in general was in harmony. There were a few minor bumps, but knowing they were on the same page was ultimately a comfort to each of them. 

Discord grew a little quiet as the evening wore on, and finally with a sigh Celestia stood up from their place by the fire and said she was going to turn in.

“Tia, wait, one more thing…”

Celestia stopped and glanced at him with a playful smile. “A goodnight kiss, Discord?”

He blushed and couldn’t help smirking a little. “Yes…well no, but…” Then he came forward and took up her hoof in his hands. “Celestia?”

For a brief moment she thought he might propose to her, and the idea made her both feel like passing out and like her heart would take on wings to fly out of her chest. “Yes?”

“Will you go out with me tomorrow?”

“Wh-What?”

He blinked and shook his head. “I mean, I know we’re already on an extended date but… after everything the last few days, I just…as long as we have that final full day to ourselves, let’s go out tomorrow. No trying to impress each other, no silly fights, no involving others. Let’s just make ourselves invisible or make ourselves look like normal ponies and go do whatever things ponies do on dates—all the things. You have a nation to run, I have a force of nature to spread—it might be the only day we get enough time to ourselves for something like that. You’re amazing to me,” he blushed more, “and I want a chance for us to get to know each other as more than friends, slowly, happily, nothing in our way. What do you say?”

Celestia’s eyes brightened. “I say I’d like that, Discord, very very much. Of course I’ll go out with you.”

He beamed as he released her hoof and did a flip in the air.

She giggled. “Shall I wake you up for sunrise then?”

“Yes, please,” he sighed dreamily as he landed. Then he shuffled forward shyly and added, “And, speaking of a good night kiss, as long as you brought it up…” 

“Yes, Discord?” Her eyes hazed and her smile grew as she moved closer.

Discord’s eyes hazed too. And then he cupped her cheek in his paw and guided their mouths together.

Celestia had been correct earlier—they needed longer than forty two seconds for this. At the back of her mind, she recalled during their first gala Discord’s notion during his confession to snap them away somewhere private so they could have a whole evening to explore their budding romance. Suddenly all she wanted was for him snap them away to his thinking tree, the location of so many of her dreams about him. He had said she was a good kisser, and she wanted to explore that side of herself more with him and to let him have the same chance. She wanted to linger in one of those close moments they kept having.

Discord finally separated his lips from hers though. Celestia’s eyes opened and she caught her breath. She couldn’t tell if one or both of them were trembling slightly.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Huh?” She looked up at him, a little confused and dazed.

He looked down into her eyes, his voice deep and sincere. “That thing I’ve been trying to tell you for the last three days: I’ll tell you before tomorrow is over. You have my word, my lady.” He gave her a deep bow, and for once the motion was sincere, not playful. Then he straightened up with a small smile. “Goodnight, Tia. Until the morning, sweet dreams.” He waved then snapped himself into bed and let out a content sigh.

Blushing, Celestia finally wandered over to her own bed and got under the covers, both elated and curious about what tomorrow would bring. And considering some of her own plans for their final day together very carefully.