The aching in Celestia's body only grew as her conscious was gained. The first thing in her sight was familiar bristly fur, which felt more greasy than usual as she ran her hoof downwards, then upwards again. She couldn't resist shuffling up against the warm fluff in front of her, in doing so earning a lion paw being wrapped around her. The princess gave a sigh of pleasure, soon followed by a blanket being pulled over them.
While she very much enjoyed being in the position she was in, each heart beat pumped doubt into her veins. Perhaps this relationship had gone too far, hence last night.
Perhaps they knew too much about each other.
Only now had she realized her hooves were clutching the draconequus' fur as her thoughts went further. Her eyes opened as she heard his fur brush against the fabric surface they both lay on. The alicorn moved her head up so they locked each other's eyes together.
"You okay?" His voice was hoarse. Maybe he had used it more than he should have.
"Mhmm..." The princess mumbled, closing any gaps between them.
"You seem tired."
"Mhmm..." Her eyes fell to his chest, as she started to draw faint circular motions on his fur. She heard a low chuckle come from the draconequus, who then lifted his talon to gently stroke her cheek. The feel of his touch made her blush. He gave a satisfied sigh, then didn't speak for a few moments.
"Hey... Tia...?"
"Mhmm?" She glanced back up at him.
"Will we be like this? You know... forever?"
The alicorn blinked. "How do you mean?"
"We'll be best friends, no matter what, right?"
She paused for the next couple of heartbeats. A hint of doubt flashed at the back of her mind, but she shook it off, then gave a sweet smile, and stole a kiss from his lips.
"Of course we will." She whispered.
It warmed her heart to see him smile. He then raised a brow.
"Isn't the sun supposed to be up by now?"
Celestia's magenta eyes moved towards the window. Though the glass was covered by the curtains, she could still tell the moon was still high enough in the sky. She buried her muzzle back in Discord's fur.
"Not for another ten minutes or so..." She lazily murmured into his warm chest. Her eyelids began to droop, until her vision left her again.
It was only meant to be a five-minute sleep in, but lack of sleep caught up with her, stealing away her consciousness for longer than she intended.
---
Nudge, nudge
She gave a groan.
Nudge, nudge
She covered her ears.
Punch
"Ow!" She yelped, jumping up on her two front hooves. She reached a hoof over to her shoulder and rubbed where it was sore. "Ugh... why did you do that Disc-AH!" As she lifted her head to look behind her, she didn't see Discord at all. Instead, a certain unicorn wizard stood at the edge of her bed, glaring at her. "St...Starswirl..." She stuttered.
Celestia peeked at the other side of the bed, praying that whom was there before had already vanished. Her heart dropped when her wish wasn't granted. Discord still lay there, the blanket half on, half off.
She turned her head back around to meet her mentor, however she avoided making any eye contact with him.
"Care to explain, Celestia?" He growled.
She kept her mouth shut.
"I'm not asking."
The princess hesitantly opened her mouth to say something, but another voice interrupted her.
"Technically you did - that was a question, after all."
Celestia turned around to see Discord stretching his limbs, speaking with a chilled tone.
"You - be quiet." The unicorn spat. The draconequus gave a bemused huff.
"You're not the boss of me."
Before he could say anything else, his mouth became stuffed with Celestia's feathers as she slammed her wing over it. The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, before the alicorn finally found the strength to face the wizard.
"I..." She had no idea where to start. Starswirl narrowed his eyes.
"How long?"
"Wha..."
"How long has this been happening?"
Tears threatened to be set loose in her eyes. "A...A hundred and fifty years..." She choked.
"A hundred and fifty years?" He echoed her. "You've been lying to me and Luna... for a century and a half?"
The alicorn narrowed her eyes. "I never lied, for I never told."
Starswirl gave a sigh, mixed with anger and disappointment. "That doesn't make it any better, Celestia." He said sternly. "Sometimes I did wonder why you left so late at night, or came back so early in the morning. I only witnessed it a few times, but..." He shook his head. "I trusted you, Celestia. I never expected... this."
"I meant no harm!" She protested desperately. Yet the wizard still raised a hoof, signalling her to be silent.
"I understand it now. Why you asked me what a draconequus was, all those years ago..." He scraped the carpet irritably with his hoof. "I trusted you." The words were repeated, only so they could sink in.
Her cheeks began to grow wet. A talon brushed on them both, attempting to dry them off.
"Get your filthy claw off of her." The unicorn took a step forward. Discord raised a brow.
"Make me."
Starswirl's threatening glare stayed in place as his horn began to glow. Celestia whipped her head around to see Discord being lifted off the ground. Before she could act, her friend was thrown against the wall. The princess gasped, tears streaming all the more rapidly down her face. She galloped over to him, leaning down to muzzle his cheek. Relief flooded her as he blinked open his yellow eyes. He got his two splayed out front limbs and pushed himself off of the ground.
He and Starswirl both locked eyes. Discord's talon began to glow, however this time, Celestia could put a stop to any more violence. She lifted a hoof and lowered the draconequus' hand, to his surprise.
"Please... Don't." She murmured to both of them.
"Very well." Starswirl's horn stopped glowing. He straightened up his head to look back at Celestia. "However, I'm not letting this slide."
"And just what are you gonna do?" Discord scoffed, folding his arms.
"I'm not letting a creature like you be let loose in our land." He snarled. "We'll throw you in Tartarus if we have to."
"NO!" Celestia took a step in front of the draconequus. "Anything but that, Starswirl. He's done nothing wrong, I swear!"
"And just how do you know? How do you know he hasn't been bending reality as we know it behind your back?"
The alicorn stayed silent. Then,
"He wouldn't do that." She huffed. "You don't know him like I do."
"Oh yes, you know him so very well!" He tilted his head to the bed. A blush appeared on her face. Starswirl gave a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I can't let this go on. He has to leave."
The tears kept coming. "But..."
"Tell him to go, Celestia. He's not welcome in Equestria!" He trotted up to her, his eyes fiery pits. She couldn't look at the unicorn, instead she whipped her head over to Discord, who was staying silent.
He's not safe here... they know about him. She thought. No one will support the idea of us being together...
She sighed, then looked at the unicorn once again.
"Let me meet up with him one last time." She begged. "I won't try anything, I promise!"
Starswirl gave an unconvinced expression. He tapped his chin, then he sighed.
"Okay, fine. But I'll be watching you from a distance."
The princess gave a regretful nod. She watched the unicorn leave, then looked back at Discord, and immediately became confused when she saw his expression. She had expected him to look sad, or even angry. But no.
He was smiling.
Celestia shook her head. "You have to run Discord." She ordered. "I'll meet you at midnight."
"Okee dokee Tia!" He chuckled, before floating out the window. Celestia blinked.
Why was he happy?
She then sighed, then glanced at her regalia that she had carelessly tossed aside last night. I need to raise the sun... She looked at the clock. It should have been up an hour ago.
---
Celestia trotted silently through the Everfree, completely ignoring the unicorn following her a few steps behind.
"Celestia... I know that you're upset, but I cannot let a draconequus roam freely around Equestria!" He tried to reason with her, yet she took none of it to heart. Instead, she just picked up her pace.
"You can't just keep ignoring me forever."
Magic sparked from her horn, replacing his mouth with a zip.
Thankfully, he was silent for the rest of the painful journey. Luna may had made the night sky bright and beautiful, yet everything seemed darker than usual, and Starswirl's loud hoofsteps echoing throughout the forest wasn't helping. She wanted to at least pretend this was just a normal meeting, but with him as a reminder that it wasn't, she couldn't.
She must have dazed off into her own thoughts. Once she looked up, she was there. She felt the outline off her eyes water, but she blinked fiercely, forcing herself not to start.
"Stay here." She hissed to the unicorn, not bothering to look at him. Without checking that he was going to obey, she leaped over a bush that was in her path and galloped up the small hill and next to the tree. There, she waited. Usually, the princess would of called out his name, but that was because she wanted him to show up sooner. Right now, she hoped he didn't show up at all.
She stood there, still, paying no heed to the chilled wind brushing over her coat. Her throat was beginning to ache as it begged to scream the cries that she so wished to yell, but she refused. Yet, her mouth still quivered.
Soon - to soon for that matter, she heard a rustle. She looked to her left, seeing a familiar shape crawling towards her. Despite having the knowledge of what she was about to do, seeing him still made her smile.
"'Ello Tia! Not long time, no see!" He stood up in front of her on his hind legs. My ears drooped. This seemed to confuse him.
"Something wrong, dear? You don't seem like yourself..." Discord leaned towards her so that their heights where even. She refused to make any eye contact with him at first, knowing it would pain her too much, so he cupped her chin and lifted her head up, also causing a blush to appear on her cheeks.
"D...Discord..." She rasped. Her voice felt like it was scraping her throat as it climbed out of there to escape from her mouth. "Y..You realize what I'm about to do... right?" She gave a sniff. Discord tilted his head and pouted.
"Not really, no."
That was it. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She didn't let out a cry of hurt - she didn't want to make this any harder for him. But tears did indeed well up in her eyes. She blinked them away, then wiped them off her face with her hoof.
"You have to leave." She croaked out. The draconequus paused.
"Come again, Tia?"
"No!" She slapped a hoof on his mouth, then lowered her voice when she saw the surprise, mixed with hurt expression. "P-please... don't call me that."
He raised his lion paw and lowered her hoof from his mouth. "I don't get it... what are you talking about?"
"You should know... you were there this morning." The alicorn breathed in deep, trying to get some control over her emotions. "Discord... you... you have to go."
He widened his eyes. "But..." He stuttered. "You..." He was lost for words. "But, it was only this morning! You said to me!" Tears began to fall from his eyes. "You said we'd be best friends... forever." His voice wasn't raised, but it didn't need to be. It was rare that she ever heard pain in his voice.
"I know... I did say that." She tried to laugh at the irony. "I think I jinxed it..." No matter how much she tried, she couldn't even break a smile.
"Please, Celestia. Tell me this is some sort of sick joke." He begged her. Yet... she just couldn't give him the answer he desired. She shook her head and spun her whole body around, unable to look at him for any longer.
"Just go, Discord. And I don't mean to the nearest town, or city or... anywhere around here. I mean, run for your life. Far away from here."
There was quiet for a few moments. For a brief second, Celestia wondered if he had actually obeyed her. This was not true.
"Why?"
"...What?"
"Why should I leave, exactly?"
The mare slowly turned back around to face him. She lifted her head, then opened her mouth for an answer.
Nothing came.
"Well?" Discord folded his arms impatiently. "Why should I run?"
"...They'll kill you if you don't." She whimpered, cringing at the thought of watching her best friend being imprisoned or executed.
Then the draconequus grabbed something from the top of her head. In his paw, he held her crown.
"You're a princess. Order them to stop." He demanded, tears no longer coming. Instead, there was nothing but anger in his tone.
"I..." Celestia hesitated. "I... I can't."
"Why not?!"" He screeched. "You've kept on promising to me that you would do something about this... this discrimination against me! Now's your chance! Go up to that pile of old bones, and tell him that you want me to stay!" His paw and talon gripped the crown, she was scared it was going to shatter, he was squeezing it so tightly.
She shut her eyes, wishing it would somehow stop her from collapsing on the ground and breaking down. "I just... can't."
"You're a princess! Of course you can!"
Celestia then glared back up at him. "No, I can't!" She yelled. "No one would ever except you, don't you see? Whether they do or don't know what a draconequus is, they'd soon find out. They'd all lash out on you. They'd lash out on both of us! There's no changing what will happen!"
"They listen to you! You're their leader! Tell them I'm harmless! Tell them I won't eat their kids! Do something."
"Discord, how do I know that you're completely harmless?" He was aghast at his words. She hated to tell him such things, but she knew she had to. "To me, you're the sweetest creature alive. But to them? You've said it yourself - revenge is 'hilarious'. How do I know, if they do something to you, you won't do something back?"
"If that happens, they deserve it." He retorted.
"No. Revenge is the cause of war, Discord. It'll make things worse."
He gave a scoff. "What do you expect me to do, then? Curl up on the floor while they kick me until my organs are bleeding?"
"They wouldn't do that! And if they did, I would stop them!"
He scrunched up his muzzle. "Perhaps you should do something to prevent it then."
Her patience was beginning to fade. "It's not as easy as that."
"You always claim that your oh-so-perfect world always works how you like it. Pegasi can control the weather, so why can't you control them?"
"I'm not controlling anyone!" She spat. "I'm not some sort of puppeteer!"
The two of them continued to glare into each other's eyes for a while longer, both not daring to move a muscle. Then,
"If you love me, then it shouldn't matter."
The alicorn's eyes widened. "What?"
His claws scraped on her crown, leaving scratch marks on the gold. "If you really do love me, then a bunch of ponies who you barely even know shouldn't be whom you choose." He sneered. "You said that we'd be best friends. How is that possible when you're putting a whole lot of strangers before someone who loves you?"
Her mouth quivered, however, she shook her head. "It's not as simple as that, Discord. They're not just strangers. They're my subjects, and it's my sworn duty to protect them."
"Protect them from what?!" He barked. "Just what am I going to do?!"
"I don't believe you'll do anything!"
"Then what's holding you back?"
"Because after this, nopony will trust me!"
Silence.
Discord gazed at her, but it was no longer with anger, nor was it sadness. It was something she couldn't read.
He then grabbed the crown in one hand, and chucked it down the miniature hill they stood upon. Celestia eyes followed it as the piece of gold bounced a couple of times, before landing - its gem facing down on the grass. She spun her head back to him.
"I knew it." He growled.
"Knew what?"
"You're not the Celestia I knew. Not anymore."
The princess' eyes widened. "What do you mean?" She gasped. "Of course I am!"
"No." The draconequus hissed. "The Celestia I knew was the playful filly, who hadn't a care in the world. When she was with me, she wouldn't even think about the consequences. But then you gained more responsibilities." He took a step forward, his eyes narrowing. "Ever since you came running to me, showing off your new cutie mark, your new role, I knew that this would come. You'd let your role as a princess take over your life."
"How can you say tha-"
"Especially at the Grand Galloping Gala!" He interrupted. "Do you know how hard it was for me to get to Canterlot without being stopped in the street and beaten down or chased off? You didn't have to leave me there. You could've just told me to calm down, but no. You just left me that night all for the sake of your subjects, who barely even recognize you for who you are!"
"You hooked my sister onto puppet strings!" She retorted. "Of course I was going to be mad!"
"It's never just that though. Look where this princess-hood has led us now, Celestia." He turned her back to her. "You forcing me to leave, and for what?"
"Your own safety, that's what."
"No, your own pride." He corrected her. "Is little Tia too afraid to stand up for the monster? Why am I not surprised?"
She couldn't hold back her cries for any longer. "Do you not realize just how hard this is for me?!" She screamed through sobs. Discord remained unfazed.
"Yes, I do. But don't worry, you'll still have your little ponies as a reward. Perhaps you can create a wonderful friendship with them! Never mind me, I'll just sit in a cave, doing nothing but fear what the world with attack me with next."
"I don't want to do this!"
"If that's true, then don't do it then!" His head spun around to meet her gaze. "You have the complete ability!"
"Just because I can, doesn't mean I should!"
Neither of them responded with a single word after that. Discord just gave a sigh.
"...You lied."
Celestia flickered her ear.
"Our friendship didn't last forever." His ears drooped, as he began to saunter away from her. "In fact..." He stopped, for one last time.
"I'm not even sure it was there at all..."
He then disappeared into the night, for the last time.