After a short while, you and Celestia came to the mutual agreement to sleep for the next few hours until the sun needed to be risen. The door remained locked, just in case Marty decided to attack you when you were sleeping. You yawned.
'Uh, Discord?' Celestia said quietly. 'You know, you don't have to share the bed with me if you don't want to.' Through the darkness, your paw reached out and found the Princess's hoof.
'But I want to.' You whispered. You heard her giggle as you both rose and headed for the enormous four-poster bed. You climbed in and Celestia curled up next to you. She wrapped her front hooves around you, sharing in your warmth. It wasn't long before she was asleep, dreaming happy dreams. You followed shortly, but not before thinking for a while.
'What does this mean? Does she want to be more than friends?'
You sighed, concluding that she was merely being nice to you and that you were destined to be apart. You were so close, but you were so far. With that final thought, you let your hurt soul enter a welcome sleep.
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The next day, you woke before the Princess did. You sidled cautiously out of the bed and made your way over to the balcony at the side of the room. You looked back at Tia. She seemed so peaceful, and you hadn't the heart to wake her. Instead, you rose the sun for her. The glowing orb peeked over the horizon, casting a glowing yellow light on the land. The sight could have warmed the coldest of hearts.
'Very well done, Discord.' You heard a voice from behind you. You jumped. The rising of the sun had woken Tia.
'Oh, I didn't mean to wake you up.' You apologized. 'Wow.' You thought. 'She even looks radiant in the morning.' Celestia shook her mane, allowing it to cascade down her neck in a waterfall of colors. She trotted over to where you were standing and once again wrapped her forelegs around you in an embrace. You stroked her mane with your paw and she nuzzled into your chest.
'I don't want today to happen...' She mumbled, still half-asleep. You laughed.
'And why might that be?' You whispered.
'There's so much to do.....' She trailed off. 'I've got to make a public announcement about the deaths of the King and Queen.... I'm not looking forward to it.' Your face fell, and you hugged her tighter. 'I wish you could be there with me...' You froze.
'You know that can't happen, Tia.' You said softly. 'They're hardly going to take well to their leaders being killed by chimeras anyway, let alone if there's one standing up there with you.'
'I know....' She mumbled. 'I'm hungry....' Her stomach growled. She let go of you and unlocked the door to her room. When she opened it, she discovered a white unicorn stallion standing on the other side.
'Good morning Princess!' General Pants said cheerily. Too cheerily. 'Might I just congratulate you on that spectacular prank last night?' He laughed unenthusiastically. 'You really got me!' He extended his hoof for Tia to shake.
'Nice try, Marty.' she said, grasping his hoof with her magic and turning it over, revealing a small device strapped to it. 'Joy buzzer. How basic can you get?' She laughed, before walking past him. You followed, giving Marty a cheeky grin as you passed. You leaned in close to his ear and made a soft chicken noise before dashing down the hallway.
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The royal kitchens were a sight for sore eyes. The delicious scent of cooking wafted out of the doorway, drawing in anypony who came near. The shelves were stacked with herbs and spices and the cupboards were stocked with exotic fruits and vegetables. Bundles of fresh flowers were lined along the center table waiting to be prepared. The larder was the most magnificent part of it all; it alone held forty-eight different types of hay. Forty-eight. Celestia started opening up cupboards and pulling out ingredients.
'Oh. You would have thought a castle like this would have chefs.' You thought out loud.
'We do, silly.' Celestia laughed. 'But I do believe my librarian warned them of an oncoming horror and they fled with the rest of my staff.'
'An oncoming horror?' You pondered. 'Oh, would that be the same librarian I-'
'Yup.'
'Oh.'
'Anyway, we don't need them. What I am about to make you will blow you away.' Celestia skipped over to a device standing on the side of the counter. She pressed a button on it, resulting in a loud noise erupting from it. You jumped and shied away from the torrent of pain on your eardrums.
'Whoopsie!' She said, before turning a dial on the side causing the noise to quieten. You were still shaken from it.
'What is that thing?' You asked.
'This? It's a radio. It's so you can listen to music without having to have a marching band with you.' She laughed.
'Music?' The term was unfamiliar to you.
'Yeah, you know. Music.' She sprung over to another counter and started to clatter some pots and pans.
'Music...' You tested the word on your tongue. The radio was at a bearable noise level now, and you leaned in to listen to it. A steady drum beat came through it, overlapped with the riffs of an electric and bass guitar. A sole male was singing over the top of the sound.
'Aha!' Celestia cried out from the corner. 'Found it!' She trotted over to you and presented you with a jar. The jar was filled with a thick brown spread. On the front, the label read 'Nutella'.
'This, my friend, will blow your mind.' She smiled as she used her magic to twist off the lid. The smell immediately hit you, the thick chocolatey scent causing you to salivate wildly. Celestia took out a butter knife and started to sing along with the radio.
'I want to break free! I want to breeeeakk freee!' She chimed. 'I want to break free from your lies, you're so self-satisfied, I don't neeeeed youuuuuu.' Her voice intertwined perfectly with the voice of the stallion of the radio. She laughed as you watched her skip about.
'Nothing like a bit of Freddie in the morning.' She giggled as she took out a loaf of bread, taking two slices and spreading them with the heavenly-smelling goo. She passed one over to you and took one herself. You took a small bite to test it, before ravenously scarfing down the rest. You looked up at Tia to see she too had devoured hers, a small amount of spread smeared on her cheek.
'Please, sir. Can I have some more?' You asked, batting your eyelids at the Princess.
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After several more helpings of chocolatey goodness, you and Celestia left the kitchens and made your way down one of the elaborately-decorated hallways.
'So, tell me more about this music.' You asked the Princess, genuinely fascinated.
'Oh, music is great. I'm surprised you'd never heard about it before! Ooh, you haven't found out your music taste yet. We need to do that soon!' She turned down the end of the hallway.
'Taste?' You asked, following her.
'What kind of music you like.' Celestia clarified.
'Well, what you were listening to sounded good.' You suggested. Celestia turned around sharply and pressed her nose to yours aggressively.
'That's because it was, unlike some filth!' She growled. You edged backwards, but she had you cornered. She shook her head and the fury in her eyes dispersed. 'Oh, sorry! I- uh, ponies can get very passionate about music sometimes. I get a little angry when I think about some awful bands with too much credit....' She trailed off. She turned back and continued walking. You discovered something then. You discovered that angry Celestia was adorable.
As you followed her, you thought you heard a small sound. She heard it too. The sound was slowly growing as it seemed to be getting nearer and nearer. Suddenly, the sound filled the hallway and a blue blur rammed into you at a ridiculous speed. The sound was apparently some sort of war-cry. The sky-blue pegasus mare pinned you down on the floor, and was just about to beat the stuffing out of you when she was seized in a glowing aura.
'Victory Dash. What in Equestria do you think you're doing?' Celestia's voice sounded harsh as she floated the pegasus off you. You got up and brushed yourself off.
'Defending you, Princess! There is a monster following you!' The blue mare struggled in the Princess's hold, attempting to land a punch on you.
'Monster?' You said indignantly. 'Do I even know you?' The pegasus took no notice of your words.
'Actually, Victory, this is a friend of mine.' Celestia let the aura dissipate and you braced for another attack. However, when nothing came, you opened your eyes and saw that the mare was outstretching a hoof toward you. You took it.
'A friend of the Princess is a friend of mine, uh...' She gave you a cue to tell her your name.
'Discord.'
'Discord. Welcome to the castle.' The pegasus smiled.
'Good.' Joined the Princess. 'Now, Victory. Please call together court and notify them that I will be making a public announcement of the King and Queen's deaths in an hour.'
'Yes, Maam!' The pegasus bolted off down the hall as fast as she came. Celestia sighed.
'Sorry about that. Sometimes I wonder if we over-train the royal airforce...'