//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Threads and Lines 
// by Eltirions 
//------------------------------//

Discord poofed himself into Canterlot’s throne room with a flood of rubber duckies following in his wake. ‘’Good day!’’ he called out.

‘’Hello, Discord,’’ Celestia serenely greeted him, content to ignore the tide of rubber duckies that had conveniently drowned out Noblepony #23’s stupid request. ‘’It is good to see you again.’’

‘’It is good to see you as well, my dear Celestia!’’ Discord snapped up a throne of cotton candy in front of Celestia and laid down horizontally on it. ‘’I came to give you my reply to your letter.’’

‘’Oh?’’ Celestia leaned forward. ‘’Tell me, what have you chosen?’’

Discord smiled. ‘’I’ll attend your little ceremony, if I can cause some chaos afterwards.’’

Celestia nodded. ‘’Deal.’’

‘’Wait, just like that?’’ Discord raised an eyebrow at the alicorn. He had honestly expected that to be harder. ‘’Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft in your old age.’’

Celestia chuckled. ‘’Hardly. But you put away a dangerous villain, and quite likely saved Equestria from much trouble in the future. One night of indulgence is a small price to pay.’’

‘’And besides,’’ she continued in a conspiratorial whisper, ‘’I might be inclined to make it an official holiday, if you happen to cause some trouble for the nobles.’’

‘’You have yourself a deal, my dear.’’ Discord stuck out his griffon talon, which Celestia shook with her hoof.

‘’Oh well,’’ Discord said as he got up from his impromptu chair. ‘’Keep this, as a memorial. I’ve got places to be.’’

Celestia smiled and nodded. ‘’Of course. I’ll send you another letter once the ceremony has been given a date.’’

‘’Until then,’’ Discord said, before teleporting away. He reappeared above Ponyville and immediately snapped up a window that showed him the room he’d just been.

He gave it three hours before Celestia noticed the pink stripes in her mane were now actually cotton candy.

‘’Hey, Discord!’’ the voice of Rainbow Dash called out from above him.

Discord angled his neck at an uncomfortable angle upwards. ‘’Hello, Rainbow Dash.’’

The pegasus dove down and landed next to him. ‘’What’s that?’’ she asked, gesturing at the screen.

Discord chuckled. ‘’I may have just pranked Celestia.’’

‘’Really? Cool.’’ The pegasus stretched her wings. ‘’Sorry, but I gotta get back to napping. Bye!’’ And away she was.

Discord chuckled again, and for a moment considered pranking her once she fell asleep. But he decided against it, because getting into a prank war was not on his list of things to do. Something that was on his list was making a gift for Rarity.

Discord reached into his skull and pulled his brain out, before beginning to pick it for ideas. Clouds? Too pegasi, and they would dissipate or make her wet.

He inadvertently blushed. Not in that way, he amended himself. A part of him continued that train of thought, regardless of his wishes in the matter. After a few seconds of bemusement, he gave up and continued with his work.

Gems? Too heavy. Gold? Too gaudy. The flesh of a thousand virgins crying out in ecstasy? He really shouldn’t have visited cousin Slaanesh. Hir presence always brought out the worst in him.

Again his thoughts drifted to Rarity, but this time as a Dark Eldar, standing over him with a whip. He blushed again, and quite literally swatted the thought away.

Chaos, what was getting into him lately? He needed to look at it before it became more than an irritation.

He picked up his brain again. Silk? Too boring. Dreams? Luna would demand one as well. The same went for the Sun, Moon, Stars, and for books.

Then he had it. It was simple, and yet it fit so well.

Determined, he set out to complete his task.




|-x-X-x-| 




Rarity had just started working on a new order. This one came from another rich pony, a stallion that wanted a new suit for his wedding. She had politely inquired if the bride needed a new dress as well, but to her hidden disappointment an order had already been placed at another company.

Oh well, it mattered little. Working on the stallion’s clothes was a refreshing change of pace from the clothes she usually made, which were almost unilaterally made for mares. And the money didn’t hurt, of course.

She reached for another piece of fabric when she heard the bell ring. ‘’One moment!’’ she called, before putting down the things that were being held in her magic. She then walked down to the door, quickly checking her appearance and deeming it satisfactory.

She opened the door, and… ‘’Ah, Derpy!’’

‘’Hello, Rarity!’’ the mailmare said. ‘’I’ve got a letter for you.’’

Rarity graciously accepted the letter with her magic. ‘’Thank you, darling. Have a nice day!’’

‘’You too!’’ Derpy replied, before flying off. Rarity closed the door, then opened the letter.

Dear Rarity,

I write this without my seal, so that people don’t get all uppity about it. You know who I’m talking about.

Anyhow, you’re hereby invited to Discord’s award ceremony for imprisoning Tirek again. I do hope you will attend. The ceremony will be held the coming Sunday, from 12:00.

Signed,

Celestia

A personal letter from the Princess! And how informative it was. Rarity made a note to store the letter somewhere safe later. Wouldn’t want it to get lost or damaged.

And apparently, Discord had imprisoned Tirek again? Did the Princess mean Lord Tirek, the centaur? But he was imprisoned in Tartarus, no? And if he had escaped, why had the Princess sent Discord to capture him, and not the Elements of Harmony?

Rarity shook her head to clear her thoughts. It didn’t matter how it had happened, it just had, and now Discord was getting a medal. Good for him.

She walked back up the stairs to her workplace, and picked up where she left off.

The rest of the week came and went, and on Sunday morning, Rarity and her five friends gathered at the train station. They had all received invitations, of course, and Spike and Sweetie Belle were staying with the Apples for the day.

‘’Imprisoning Tirek is pretty impressive,’’ Twilight said. ‘’From what I’ve read, he could steal the magic right from a pony.’’

‘’That don’t sound too good,’’ Applejack commented. Rarity resisted the urge to give a un-ladylike snort. Understatement of the century.

‘’No,’’ Twilight agreed. ‘’He was a real threat to Equestria back in the day, but the Princesses imprisoned him in Tartarus.’’

‘’And then he was stuck for a thousand years, right?’’ Rainbow asked. As usual, the pegasus resisted common decency and remained in the air while her friends were on the ground. 

‘’Yes, he was,’’ Twilight affirmed. ‘’I’m curious how he got out though.’’

Their conversation was cut short as the train pulled into the station. They boarded and soon enough they were away. Rarity sat against the window, with her to her left Twilight and then Fluttershy, and across from her were Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie.

‘’So, you think Discord’s gonna show?’’

‘’He better.’’

As Rainbow and Applejack began what was no doubt a very interesting and intriguing discussion, Rarity instead looked out the window. There wasn’t much to be seen, and she’d taken the train often enough in recent years that she already knew the sights anyway.

So instead, her mind wandered to Discord. Would he show? She certainly hoped he would; while she didn’t mind coming to Canterlot, she had needed to reschedule some things in her planning, so if the trip wasn’t worth it Rarity would be quite cross with the Draconequus.

And… Maybe seeing him wasn’t such a bad thing. They’d gotten off on the wrong hoof, but things were alright now. Rarity had called him her friend, and meant it.

But, as she looked out the window at the landscape rolling by, she wondered what friendship really meant.




|-x-X-x-| 




The Throne Room of Canterlot Palace was filled with ponies. Celestia had announced yesterday that Discord would be receiving the Equestrian Medal of Service, and a crowd had turned out to see it for themselves. Rarity and her friends were at the front; Princess’ privilege and all that. She didn’t mind in the slightest.

Everyone waited eagerly for the guest of honour to arrive. And arrive he did.

‘’Good afternoon!’’ Discord greeted as he moonwalked out of the floor. ‘’I thank you all for joining me here tonight-’’

‘’It’s not night,’’ a random pony in the crowd pointed out.

Discord snapped his talons, and day turned to night. ‘’As I was saying,’’ he continued, ‘’I am honoured that you are here to witness my ascension as the undisputed ruler of Equestria!’’

Celestia coughed pointedly. ‘’Ahem.’’

‘’What? Oh yes!’’ Discord bowed dramatically to Celestia. ‘’Seeing as Her Sunnyness is still in charge, I will pass taking direct control from Canterlot and instead will accept the medal I’m apparently getting.’’

Celestia, to her credit, took it all in stride. ‘’Discord,’’ she said, stepping forward, ‘’for your aid against the escaped criminal Tirek, we hereby award you the Equestrian Medal of Service!’’

With her telekinesis, she floated over a golden medal and pinned it on his chest.

‘’That’s a very pretty medal,’’ Discord said idly. ‘’Just one question: wasn’t Luna supposed to be here as well?’’

Celestia nodded. ‘’She was, but there was a diplomatic incident between two nations in Manehattan, and she had to go and smooth things out.’’

‘’Understandable.’’ Discord didn’t really care, he was only here for the medal. ‘’Well, if that is all…’’

‘’It is.’’

‘’Brilliant.’’ Discord snap-teleported away, leaving behind several hundred balloons filled with firecrackers, because why not?

Rarity sighed. ‘’Nothing’s ever normal around you…’’ she muttered under her breath.