//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Rumor Hath It 
// Story: The Most Chaotic Night Ever!!! 
// by Azure129 
//------------------------------//

Discord's laughter had continued to ring out through the throne room…and continued…and continued…and continued….

"Okay, it's been fifteen minutes now," an impatient Rainbow Dash announced with a scowl and an eye roll, flying up in the air near him. "You can stop laughing, Discord. Really."

Discord, however, just continued to convulse in hilarity. He shook his head at her, trying to get out some words in reply. "N-No, c-can't! It's priceless! Celestia…me…DATE!" He laughed heartily some more. "Ooo, before we go I'll slip a note into her throne room—'Celestia, do you like me, check yes, no, or maybe!' Ha!" He twisted in the air in further amusement. "Oh, I hope I don't get her back from the gala past curfew!" More warm laughter burst from him. "Oh, do…do you think…okay, wait, this is a good one…do you think she's old enough for her first formal dance with a boy—maybe we should wait another thousand years!" He lost it and was consumed with laughter again. "DATE! Celestia and I on a date! At a pony gala! Black tie and ball gowns, oh that is rich!" His laughter barely started to calm down a little as he wiped a tear from his eye and managed at least to settle into a normal position in the air now.

Rainbow Dash, Apple Jack, Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy had all just been watching him curiously at first, though at this point they almost couldn't help smiling a little themselves. Pinkie Pie had practically been laughing along with Discord for a while now, just enjoying the warm, happy experience of the whole thing.

Rarity, however, had remained quite serious and quite overcome by the shock of this social development of the century which she had witnessed. And she was stunned by how flippantly her friends and especially Discord were handling it. "Of course it's a date, Discord!" she announced, holding up a hoof. "You must realize that. Think about any other formal dates you've been on—have any of them started any differently than this? A special somepony expressing a desire for some private time with you in a traditional setting?"

Discord wiped another tear from his eye and was finally under control enough to start responding in full sentences. He waved Rarity off. "Oh, I've never 'formally dated' before." He made air quotes around the term, but then he blinked, realizing what he had just admitted. He cleared his throat and tried to look a little bored now. "Er, listen, what's your point?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Celestia just asked me to keep her entertained for a night because we're friends and because she doesn't want to get bored now that she has some free time at the gala. Besides which, last I checked, she hadn't yet completely lost that flowing-rainbow-hair-covered little mind of hers." He rolled his eyes. "Believe me, I spent a good long while long ago trying to break that mare's perfect poise and piece of mind, but her sanity is more uncrackable than the stone she encased me in for a thousand years. She's nowhere near off enough to even consider actually going out on a date with ME!" He turned his head and flew away from the circle of thrones a little.

Fluttershy frowned and couldn't help speaking up. "Discord, I think you'll make a very nice companion for Celestia for the evening as a date or an escort or a friend or anything else."

Twilight smiled as supportively as she could manage and added some words of encouragement too. "If anyone can show you around the party and help you fit in, it's Princess Celestia. I'm…sure she made the right and best decision, inviting you to go with her."

Rarity, meanwhile, was stuck on another issue entirely. Her eyes went wide again and her head turned as she continued to look to Discord. "What do you mean you've never formally dated?"

A deep sigh left both Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash, and they spoke at the same time in tones of exasperation. "Rarity, not this again…" Each girl closed her eyes and put a hoof to her temple.

"Aw, dates, schmates!" Pinkie Pie announced, smiling brightly. " All that matters for a good party is having yourself a good time whether you're with friends or a special somepony or even on your own!" She closed her eyes and nodded, still grinning away.

"Girls, this is serious!" Rarity announced to her friends with conviction, unable to fathom their causal responses to what had just occurred.

Discord rolled his eyes once more, floating back over near the girls. "Oh, you'll excuse me, Rarity darling—during the few millennia I spent trying to encase the world in my chaotic grip, there wasn't much time for full-fledged courtship. For chaos's sake, I could barely fit in casual flirtation! You have to make sacrifices when you're an evil dictator, you know—a hopping social life is one of them." He put his hands on his hips, landing on the floor. "Besides, what good's regularly dating unless you want some special person to settle down and maybe raise a family with? I'm Discord, I'm chaos!" He gestured to himself, frowning and scowling a bit. "Could you really see me being responsible enough for all of that?" He scoffed. "Besides, I can't imagine the woman who would be complicated—or partially insane—enough to engage my long-term interests." He looked down and admired his paw, seeming casual enough about everything once more.

"I don't think any of us want to imagine that," Apple Jack couldn't help but add with a small shudder.

Fluttershy smiled softly. "I think Discord could find a very nice person to be his special somepony if he wanted to."

A small smile of pure appreciation couldn't help but come over Discord's features. He snapped and made himself appear by Fluttershy's side with a sigh. "Fluttershy dear, that's very nice of you to say, but I really don't want to find anyone like that. And that's not even the point anyway." He looked at the other girls, arms crossed over his chest again and giving a particular look to Rarity. "This is not a date. At all. In any way. Girls, the joke was funny, but now it's getting tired. I mean…Celestia!" He shivered a little. "She's so…so…so…orderly." He shivered again.

Fluttershy just smiled more while four of her remaining pony friends (and Spike) all just looked at each other with varying glances of awkwardness and uncertainty.

Rarity, however, had a sparkle come to her eyes, which went wider than ever now, a 'brilliant' notion suddenly occurring to her. "I…must…make…you…A TUXEDO!" She raised a hoof triumphantly.

Twilight blinked. "What?"

Apple Jack raised an eyebrow. "Er…what now?"

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. "What…?"

Rainbow Dash actually landed back in her throne, she was so thrown off by this announcement. "What?"

Pinkie grinned. "YAY, party clothes!" She blinked. "Oh, sorry, um, what?"

Discord frowned, holding up his arms. "Okay, okay, can we stop the 'what' gag now!?" He popped over to Rarity, hands on his hips, utter perplexity in his scowl. "Though just one more for the sake of how utterly random that announcement was…Rarity, what?"

Rarity smiled, her eyes shining with stars as she sat back a little in her throne but continued to look up, clearly lost in a fashion daydream. "A tuxedo, I must make you a tuxedo. Yes, I can see it now. Designing for Princess Celestia's Gala escort! And perhaps I could even coordinate something, and she might let me design for…her!" She all but squealed. "Oh to possibly design for a princess..."

Twilight had to raise an eyebrow. "Uh, Rarity, you've designed for me before, and you said you're designing for me for this Gala, and I'm a princess."

Rarity did not seem to hear her friend though, she was so caught up in her new goal. She went on. "Celestia—THE PRINCESS Celestia, the most honored and worshipped and popular royal in Equestria, wearing my clothes!"

Twilight blinked, a bit of a dry look coming to her features. "Someone saying Princess Celestia is perfect and comparing me to her. And now I know how Princess Luna feels." She sighed but almost smiled a little.

Rarity just giggled, delighting in her new plans as they formed in her creative mind. "And with the tuxedo…to be first designer ever to create for a draconequus! Ooo, I'll have to whip up a new fitting mannequin right away!" She clapped her hooves together.

Discord actually had a touch of concern on his features now. He bent over a little and waved a hand in front of Rarity's face. "Uh…Rarity? You who?" He snapped a couple of times (each successive snap either causing Rarity's mane to change color or Rarity's coat to change color or Rarity's horn to disappear until by the fourth or fifth snap she was back to normal again, all without realizing the changes had even occurred.) She still didn't seem to be paying attention, so Discord made a bullhorn appear in his paw and used it to repeat firmly (and loudly) to her. "THIS IS NOT A DATE, TUXES AREN'T REALLY MY THING, and I haven't agreed to ANY OF THIS!"

A determined look came to Rarity's features (she still showed no sign of having received Discord's message). "Oh this will be the most thrilling design challenge ever, and I shall not rest until it is complete!" She nodded firmly to herself, grinning in anticipation of the work to come. "There's so much to think about, so much to do, so much to plan!"

"HELLO!" Discord got rid of the bullhorn and just went for floating up in front of Rarity and waving his arms widely now, all but yelling. "Rarity, ground control to Major Rarity! Your 'client' has serious reservations!" He glanced to the other girls almost desperately. "Girls, one of you snap her out of it!" His six friends could only look to each other uncertainly however and then shrug, looking back to Discord.

"Sorry, Discord," Apple Jack announced with a sheepish smile. "Once Rarity gets like this, it's right near impossible to get her out of it. She's, what she likes to call, 'in the zone.'" Apple Jack made air quotes around the word with her hooves, her look turning a little dry.

Discord blinked, considered, and then popped himself over to Spike's throne. "Spike!" He bent over, smiling. "Look, we're both men of the world, and you always seem to get on well with our little element of generosity over there. And you're a dragon and I'm part dragon…" He pointed to his one leg. "Please, explain to her that we do not wear tuxes, and especially not pony designed tuxes!" His look grew firm.

Spike smiled and opened his mouth, holding up a claw. "Well actually…"

In an instant Rarity was out of her seat and over by Spike's throne, a hoof over his shoulder and an enthusiastic smile still upon her face. "Spike, you shall assist me! I can use your relative shape as a reference for Discord's ensemble! We'll have to spend hours together!"

Spike's eyes went wide and shone with stars. "Hours…." He took in a deep breath, clearly about to say 'yes, yes, a thousand times yes!' in his own shy way, but then couldn't help looking to Discord and biting his lip in a touch of distress about what to do about helping his new part dragon friend.

Discord just sighed deeply and dragged a hand down his face. "Oh, just forget it, just go…."

Discord waved Spike off, who quickly beamed and then nodded to Rarity enthusiastically. "Okay, Rarity, I'm all yours for whatever you need and however long you need it!" he assured with a big smile and a wink.

Rarity laughed. "Excellent. I knew I could count on you, Spikey Wikey." She nuzzled his cheek a little with her hoof.

Spike just let out a deep sigh, his eyes going hazed. "Of course, Rarity. Spikey Wikey is here to serve."

"Ugh," Discord rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, "And people wonder why I have no interest in falling in love, being at some woman's beck and call…." He brought up voice up to normal volume again. "Look, I'll handle this myself." He cleared his throat, crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned down with a firm gaze to speak directly to Rarity, looking her square in the eye now. "Rarity, look, I don't have time for this, the answer is—"

Rarity gasped, finally acknowledging Discord. "Oh you're right, time is of the essence! I must start right away! See you all later! Discord, I'll be in touch about your measurements and planning a fitting. Come on, Spike, let's get started!" And with that she scooped up Spike onto her back she dashed off down the entrance hall to exit the castle.

Discord just stood there, a finger raised, mouth a little agape, confusion in his eyes.

There was a moment of silence, and then Twilight sighed and addressed her remaining friends in the room. "Okay, girls…and Discord…it's still a little early but we're getting close to lunchtime, and we did have a full morning so far between discussing the Rainbow Power earlier and Princess Celestia's visit just now. Maybe we should all take a little break and get something to eat, and then we can talk about the Gala more later?" Her suggestion was met with nods followed by Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all rising from their thrones and proceeding to the entrance hall Rarity had just left by. Twilight stood as well to follow after all of them.

Discord just looked with desperation to each of the girls as they passed him by. "But wait a minute—shouldn't we stop Rarity? She's off doing nothing that I want!"

"Oh please, Discord!" Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes with a grin as she pranced by. "It's Rarity designing something—we couldn't stop her now even if we wanted to. She's probably already mid-choreographed song sequence about the whole thing at this point."

The other girls had to nod and give murmurs of agreement with Pinkie Pie's opinion on the matter.

Discord opened his mouth, seemed about to press the issue, but then just sighed and slumped a little. "Oh never mind. You girls go on. I'm going to stay here, and…I don't know, study more about friendship." He shrugged, straightening up with a clearly too innocent smile on his features made all the more suspicious by the little halo he suddenly had appear over his head.

Twilight paused just as she was about to enter the hall behind her friends and turned back to Discord, giving him a dry look. "You're going to try and redecorate my castle some more while we're gone, aren't you?"

Discord scoffed in disbelief, gesturing to himself with his paw. "Moi? Infringing further upon your new personal space? Oh what an absurd accusation, Twilight Sparkle."

Her dry look remained though, and she only raised an eyebrow, continuing to stare him down.

Discord maintained his look of innocence for a moment longer but then just sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, fine, yes, I was going to throw a few surprises here and there for you to find after I left—just little things and all in good fun. But we're getting just as clever as Celestia now, aren't we, Princess Twilight? Seeing so clearly through my 'evil' schemes." He strolled forward, heading past her toward the open window out of which Celestia had flown.

Twilight sighed but then took a few steps in his direction. "We really can have a talk about including you more in the castle somehow, Discord. I'd like that," Twilight assured in a sincere tone. "You're a special friend to me. After all, you were my key, and I've actually learned a lot about friendship from being friends with you. But I think it would be better for everyone if we waited and studied things and then figured out the perfect place for you to take in the castle, all right?" She smiled a little.

Discord, staring out at the view with a dull look, sighed and shrugged. "I suppose you're right, Twilight." He hesitated, then glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "You really consider us special friends?"

Twilight smiled more and nodded. "Yes, Discord, I do. And if you do have any concerns about the Gala at all, I'm here for you to talk to." She blushed a touch. "And I'm sorry if Rarity got a little carried away before—don't let her make you nervous."

"Nervous?" Discord blinked, turning around more. "About what? It's just a party, and like I said already it's definitely not a date." He pouted and scowled a little, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Of course not, Discord." Twilight bit her lip and hesitated as she considered the most diplomatic way of saying what she had to say. "What I meant was…I know Celestia will be by your side to help you, but you'll be meeting a lot of pony high society at the Gala, and…with Tirek's defeat so recent, that'll probably be the topic of most of the evening. So…if you're not sure how to manage 'the details' of that particular topic, I'm here if you'd like to talk it over." She smiled at him encouragingly, hoping she had put her offer of assistance in the most considerate way possible.

"Ugh, no thank you—I'm over what happened, everyone else should be over it too," Discord quickly replied with a scoff and not a moment's hesitation, turning away from her again…though his head went a touch downward. Suddenly he gave a little stretch and walked closer to the window. "All right, well, enough sentimental moments between us. I'm just going to go play outside or something now, maybe contemplate the fact that your pony goddess is 'courting' me." He laughed to himself a little more, shaking his head. "Oh that gag is still funny no matter how many times I laugh about it. Ta ta, Twilight." And with that rather quick goodbye, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Twilight looked at the place where he had just been, frowning a little at his stubborn if not somewhat defensive response and definitely hasty departure. "Maybe spending some time with Princess Celestia will be good for him. She's the best at making anypony feel better about themselves no matter what. And if she can see the good in him, then everypony else at the party will be able to too." She smiled to herself, hoping very much inside that things would work out for Discord in the end with this Gala business.

"Hey Twilight, are you coming? We've been standing at the castle doors for like ten minutes!" Rainbow Dash suddenly called out, flying up the hall and reentering the throne room, an eyebrow raised.

Twilight turned in her direction. "Sorry, coming!" she called out, and then raced outside to join her friends. Twilight found them all standing together (Rainbow Dash returning to hovering above them) outside on the large front lawn leading up to the castle entrance.

"Is Discord going to join us, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her friend with a smile.

Twilight smiled in return but shook her head. "No, I think he has some thinking to do." She considered. "Listen, girls…" she started to walk forward toward town, and her friends followed her, "I know last year we had quite a few interesting and…sort of destructive experiences at the Gala ourselves, and I think that this year Discord might have some questions for us about attending the Gala, but I think it'd be best to avoid any details about just how bad last year ended up being for us."

"Oh, is that why you stopped Pinkie when she was about to mention bringing half the ballroom down?" Rainbow Dash asked, an eyebrow raised.

Twilight nodded. "Sort of." She glanced at Pinkie Pie with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that, Pinkie Pie. I just didn't think it'd be the best thing to bring up at the time."

"It's okay, Twilight," Pinkie assured with her usual big smile. "I figured you had a good reason."

Twilight nodded. "Well, actually, I thought I did at first, but now I think I've got a better reason."

"Come again?" Apple Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight explained. "At first I just didn't want anyone mentioning how much we destroyed the Gala last year because I didn't want to give Discord the impression that somehow it would be okay if he got a little carried away and practically ruined the party on his own. But…I know he wouldn't do that." She put a hoof to her chin. "In fact, I think it's important to him to do well with this Gala, whether he admits it or not. So now I think we shouldn't mention last year to him just in case doing so makes him even more concerned over everything that could go wrong that night. I think it'll be better if he just goes and tries his best to have fun without worrying about messing up as badly as we did."

The other girls considered and the nodded.

"Maybe you're right, Twilight," Fluttershy added. "I don't want to make Discord uneasy."

"Yeah, party's aren't any fun when you're nervous!" Pinkie Pie supplied.

"I reckon we all agree then—no recapping the details of last year's Gala, for Discord's sake and for the sake of Princess Celestia's party," Apple Jack added.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Agreed. The last thing we want to do is make him so nervous that he accidentally does do something wrong." She cringed a little. "I mean, Celestia was cool with us trashing the place last year, but I'm not sure if she'd go for a round two of that, and especially when it really looks like she's looking forward to enjoying the Gala this year as a guest for once instead of just as a hostess."

Twilight nodded to all of them, smiling. "Okay, it's settled then." They were just coming into the center of town now. "And I also think we shouldn't spread around too much the fact that Celestia invited Discord as her escort. I'm sure she'll make a formal announcement about it on her own, but either way I don't want ponies to start gossiping or questioning Discord about this. I think Rarity suggesting it could be a date already overwhelmed him enough."

Her friends nodded in agreement.

"All right, all right," Rainbow Dash announced, flying on her back a little. "Enough about Discord and Celestia 'dating' all because she invited him as her escort to the Grand Galloping Gala. Let's pick out where we're going to eat—I'm starving."

"Hey," Apple Jack nudged Twilight with a smile, "Rarity's not here, so we can get away with going a little low class. What do you say we get some hay burgers from The Hay Burger? They should be open for lunch by now, and I know that's your favorite place, Twi."

Twilight brightened up a little. "Well…yes, it is, but I'll only go if the rest of you want to go." She glanced at all of her friends.

"Yeah, sure!" Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" Fluttershy agreed.

"Ooo, ooo, yes, I love that place—whenever I get the little filly meals, I get toys for free!" Pinkie squealed.

"Looks like we're all on board, Twilight!" Apple Jack winked.

Twilight laughed and nodded. "Okay, let's go then." She started to trot off, her friends following her.

Little did they know that being in the middle of town had let their conversation, however brief, meet the ears of a few passing ponies (or that Rarity had dashed through town only minutes ago talking animatedly with Spike about getting to design for Celestia and her 'special escort.')

Needless to say, a 'formal announcement' from Princess Celestia regarding her intentions with Discord at the Gala this year was soon to not be required.





Meanwhile, with a certain draconequus….

"I really need to snap up a home for myself."

Discord finally had to admit this observation aloud as he found himself reclining on the slightly steep and quite-less-than-smooth grassy surface of the back lawn of Twilight's Friendship Castle. He shifted again, trying to get comfortable. "Darn crystal tree roots, they're everywhere in this ground." He sighed deeply to himself, collapsing back into the grass again and glancing back over his head to view (upside down) the harmony tree castle behind him. "This is punishment for me planting those nasty little seeds that made you sick, isn't it, Harmony Tree? No place for a seven foot tall being of chaos to lie down on your castle grounds…and no throne in your throne room. Like you actually think I might betray them or you again or something, and you're snubbing me as a precaution." He sighed and looked forward again, trying not to pout too much. "Well, I suppose I'll just have to make do for now until I get around to that 'snapping up a home' thing." He settled in on his back as best he could to gaze up at the clouds. He let out a deep breath at the sight of the perfectly proportioned puffs of white in the simple blue sky. "So orderly. Those pegasi have no imaginations." He grinned and snapped his fingers, turning the perfect white clouds into varying chaotic shapes—cubes and spirals and smooth spheres. He even added polka dots to some and stripes to others, all in varying hues. "Take that, Rainbow Dash," he chuckled to himself. "Saying Celestia's crazy just for asking me to a dance."

He sighed again, still looking up to the sky, and started to let his mind wander. "It should be easy enough, getting through a pony party. I'll just make an appearance, walk Celestia around a bit, say hi to some new people. Twilight shouldn't worry so much." A bit of a frown came to his features. His voice lowered. "I know I didn't turn out to be the perfect hero from the start that Celestia wanted me to be, but I came through…in the end. They can't all hate me for taking the long way around. But I don't care whether they bring up my betrayal at the party or not, I'm not talking about what I did, not with anyone, not ever. I just want to forget it. I just want to enjoy having my friends back."

Discord silently brooded for a moment, but then he stretched and a normal, much more relaxed look returned to his features. "Oh, look on the bright side about this Gala business, Discord. At least Celestia's including you in something about her Canterlot Castle even if Twilight hasn't found the time yet to include you too much around here. That's something to look forward to. And afterwards, maybe you really can go off and start trying to find a place and purpose for yourself. After all, you're free, you're done with your plans for world conquest…yes, why not? You need to spread your wings, figure out what makes the reformed Discord tick." He sat up now. "And this Gala can be the commencement to your fresh start." A smile came to his features and he clasped his paw in his claw with a nod. "Yes, an excellent plan."

Discord's eyes went up to the sky again where his chaotic clouds still floated. "You know, those clouds really are so wonderful that I think I'll go for a fly through them. Besides, that'll help Rainbow Dash later when she has to bust them up. I don't want to ruffle her pony feathers too much." He chuckled and flew upward, soaring and spinning in the air. "Oh I'm going to the Gala, to the Gala, to the Grand Galloping Gala…with Celestia," he hummed to himself. "A date…" Discord laughed and shook his head as he sprang through one of his clouds. "I forget how young those girls are sometimes. I just hope they don't go spreading that little joke around. I'd never live it down, and Celestia wouldn't either." He scoffed as he spun and zigzagged through and around more of his work, soaring higher. "Yeah, really, what—Celestia's got some secret burning crush on me, and now that I'm a hundred percent reformed she's ready to pounce or something? Like the only reason she saved me from statue city was to get me all for herself because she's got a thing for me?"

Discord sighed, flying up very high, and resting on the loftiest fresh, white, fluffy cloudbank he could find. "And like I would ever fall for that perfect princess in return. Oh my little ponies, you are reading far too much into a simple dance." He closed his eyes and put his arms behind his head, settling in for a little nap up here. "I blame those teenage mare magazines and the music the kids are listening to these days." He yawned. "Even if I wanted a girlfriend, there would have to be better prospects than…" he yawned again, "Celestia." He smiled more to himself. "More fun prospects at least…more chaotic ones…maybe not prettier ones, but still I'm not picky." He was starting to doze now, and his final words came out in a mumble, the smile on his face fading a little as sleep took over. "I'd just like someone to talk to more than anything…someone who knows and trusts me. That's all."

Discord dozed off into the land of dreams for the time being.





In Canterlot now, as the morning was gradually drawing on into the early afternoon, Princess Celestia flew through the window of a large balcony and descended to the floor of the dining room, in which was set a table full of fresh fruits and baked pastries and other breakfast items. Her sister currently sat at one head of the table, happily munching away on a croissant.

Celestia smiled and approached, making her saddlebag disappear before taking a seat at the opposite head of the table. "Good morning, Luna—thank you for waiting up for me so that we could still have some breakfast together. Did you have a pleasant night?" She magically poured herself some tea and a glass of orange juice.

Luna nodded, sipping some juice of her own. "Oh yes, sister. I visited the dreams of several subjects, I battled a rogue timberwolf in the Everfree forest, then I fine-tuned the cicadas in their songs, later I put the night guard through several training exercises, oh and I organized the flight patterns of a whole new troop of bats." She smiled in a touch of pride, straightening up a little in her chair.

"That sounds lovely, Luna," Celestia replied with a smile, taking some fresh strawberries and a pancake for herself. "You must be tired."

Luna nodded, swallowing another bite of her pastry. "Yes. After a nice breakfast, I'm looking forward to a good, long day's sleep. Though I was very happy to wait up for your return, sister." She smiled at Celestia. "May I ask where you had to rush off to so early? You usually do not journey so far from the castle on your own, and especially not at this time of day."

"I was visiting Twilight Sparkle and her friends," Celestia replied, magically pouring some syrup on her pancake and starting to eat. "I explained to Twilight about our system this year for greeting the guests at the Grand Galloping Gala. I'll have her over soon so that we can go over everything together. I'm so happy you want to attend the Gala this year too, Luna." Her smile grew.

Luna's smile grew a little too, something happy coming into her cerulean eyes. "Yes, well…it's been so long since I've been to one, and I do finally feel that I have a firm command over my nightly duties again. It will be nice to spend an evening among other ponies and in some recreation, I'm sure." She magically took a sip of some coffee and then raised an eyebrow of inquiry at her sister. "Are you sure we don't use the Royal Canterlot Voice at all anymore, Celestia, even at formal affairs such as these?"

Celestia nodded, her smile warming. "Yes, Luna, no Royal Canterlot Voice at the Gala. We only use it in emergencies." She took a few pastries for herself.

Luna sighed deeply, finishing up her croissant and pushing away her nearly clean plate. "Very well, sister, but I do think you're taking all the flair out of everything with these modern policies." She magically raised a napkin to dab at her mouth.

Celestia just laughed warmly, swallowing a bite of pancake. "You'll get used to it more as time goes on, Luna. And I think you'll find that things are more fun this way too."

Luna's smile picked up a little more again. "Well, you do make a good point about things being more fun now, sister." She sipped some more of her juice and considered. "Celestia, will we be able to spend much time together at the gala?" She glanced to the side. "I'm not yet very used to spending a great deal of time around a great deal of ponies. Having you nearby would be helpful." She looked to her sister with a touch of hope and uncertainty, both of which she was clearly doing her best to hide behind her normal royal demeanor.

Celestia finished a strawberry and smiled warmly at her sister. "You'll do fine, Luna. Please don't worry. And if you do feel overwhelmed, then I will absolutely be there to help you, and I know Twilight and her friends will be there for you too." She frowned a touch. "I'm afraid I can't spend the entire night by your side, though. I've already promised to spend the majority of the evening with Discord. But feel free to join the two of us whenever you need to." She sipped some of her tea again.

Luna blinked, raising an eyebrow as she lowered her now empty coffee cup. "Discord? You mean, you invited Discord to the Gala…and he actually accepted?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes. In fact, I not only saw and invited him personally while I was visiting Twilight's castle, but I asked him to attend the Gala as my personal escort. He accepted both offers very happily." She magically raised a chocolate croissant from a platter and took a small bite.

Luna, however, in the middle of finishing her last sip of juice, reeled back a little and did a spit take half way across the table. She blinked several times. "You invited Discord as your…Celestia, why would you do that?" She stared at her sister, her eyes wide.

Celestia's smile picked up on one side and she tilted her head a little, observing her sister curiously. "Well, I wanted him to go to the party, but I thought he might feel self-conscious if I just invited him on his own, and I knew he'd be too stubborn to rely on the girls for support all night. This way he has me to rely on no matter what." Celestia sighed, looking down to her plate. "I think his reception might meet with…mixed reviews, and I just want to make sure he has enough friendship to overcome any issues and have a good time." Her smile returned.

Luna considered, her look of surprise fading to one of contemplation. "I suppose that is a sound plan, sister. Still, I've never known you to invite anypony to events as your personal companion…. What will the guests think?"

Celestia just shrugged though. "It doesn't matter what they think, Luna. All that matters is that we throw a lovely party to honor everypony. I'm looking forward to going with Discord. And I think he's looking forward to going with me." She laughed warmly, eating some more of her croissant. "He tried to act like he didn't care about the Gala at all at Twilight's castle when he thought I had overlooked giving him a ticket since I didn't send his along with the girls', but then when I extended his invitation in person and mentioned having him escort me, he wouldn't stop grinning about the whole thing." Something warm came into her look, and she was glancing down a little. "It was quite sweet actually, seeing how much it meant to him."

Luna eyed her sister curiously. "So he…is indeed looking forward to going with you just as you are looking forward to going with him then. But are you sure he's not possibly just going to use this situation to bring some chaos to the Gala?" She leaned forward a little.

"I hope he does bring some chaos to the Gala, Luna," Celestia replied back simply, her eyes meeting her sister's again as she used her magic to stir some honey into her tea. "But I don't think that's the only reason he wants to go or the only reason he wants to go with me. As I said, I could tell he wanted a ticket anyway just for the sake of spending time with his friends and being included. And I'm sure he wants to get closer as friends with me and with you as well now that his evil ways are finally behind him, but it's just hard for him to take the first step. You know how stubborn he is, Luna. So I chose to take the first step for him by having him be my escort." She smiled more and shook her head, sipping some more of her tea. "Oh, I'm sure some of the guests and citizens might have something to say about the arrangement, or at the very least that they'll be surprised, but I really don't mind, and I'm sure Discord won't either. I'll make an announcement about going with him at some point before the Gala though, just so everypony can get used to the idea."

Luna blinked once more at her sister's explanations. Then she cleared her throat. "I see. Erm…well, I…I hope everything works out for you then, Celestia. Um…you know, I'm rather full now. I think I might go out for a quick flight just to stretch my wings." She stood up from the table.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Really? But the morning's getting so late. Usually you're in bed by now for the day."

Luna smiled, heading toward the dining room door. "Oh, it's fine. I feel like going out, and I've never needed much sleep anyway. One of the many advantages of being Princess of the Night! And besides, I should get used to being awake a bit during the day if I'm going to help you with the gala planning. Goodbye for now, dear sister—have a pleasant morning!" Luna called over her shoulder before swiftly making her exit from the room.

Celestia's smile grew even more curious. "Goodbye, Luna," she called back. She considered for a moment, but then just shrugged and went about finishing her breakfast.





Now away from her sister and passing through the front entrance of the castle to head outside, Luna spread her wings and took off, heading directly for Ponyville. "I should speak to Twilight Sparkle about this. What unusual behavior for my sister…and Discord by her side at the party?" She sighed and shook her head. "He may be fully reformed now, but I do not trust him to take this night seriously at all. Yet, I must make sure it is taken seriously and is a success for the sake of my sister and the sake of the other ponies. They have all been through so much lately. At the very least, I should talk to Discord about all of this and express to him the importance of being the best escort he can possibly be for my sister."

Luna flew on for a bit longer, and soon her worried thoughts gave way to her just enjoying her morning flight—the little bit of nightly coolness still left in the air this high up, how the sun was still just a bit low and not blazing or blinding yet, the feeling of being free of all obligations since Celestia had domain over the day and she would not be needed until sunset. And as she started to fly over the outskirts of Ponyville and to see the little ponies walking and playing below, Luna smiled a little to herself. A sigh escaped her. "I don't know. Perhaps I am making too big a deal about this. I do tend to get carried away sometimes." She shrugged, her mouth quirking to the side a little. "Perhaps I'm just a bit jealous that Celestia will be occupied with another companion for the evening? But, no, that doesn't feel entirely right. I guess I'm just being overprotective. This particular Gala is important to the ponies, to my sister, and to me. I just want to make sure there are no problems." She landed on a cloud not too far from Twilight's castle. "I think I should still visit Twilight though." Luna smiled a little. "Talking with her is always very…comforting somehow. And perhaps if Discord is still visiting, I can talk with him and grow more comfortable still about his impending role in the Gala." She alighted from her cloud and flew down to land on an empty street in Ponyville, proceeding to walk the rest of the way to the castle. She smiled fully now. "Yes, I am just being silly. Nothing truly bad could come of all this. And after my brief visit, I'll head home and finally be able to get some rest." She paused to yawn just before coming out into the main avenue of Ponyville.

At that point, the voices of some other ponies speaking nearby could not help but suddenly come to her ears.

"Yes, it's true, my cousin heard Princess Twilight and her court discussing it when they came through town a little while ago. Apparently Princess Celestia has invited Discord as her escort to the Grand Galloping Gala."

"No! And Discord actually said yes?"

"That's what I heard. Can you imagine…the Princess and one of Equestria's most dangerous villains from history? I just hope she knows what she's doing."

"Oh what are you saying—Princess Celestia always knows what she's doing."

Luna had to roll her eyes at this comment.

The conversation continued.

"I guess. But of course, either way, Discord took her up on her offer."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what guy would turn down the most powerful and beautiful mare in Equestria?"

Luna just sighed deeply, a dry look coming to her features.

"Are you saying…. You don't think he would actually make romantic advances to her, do you?!"

"All I know is I heard Princess Twilight's court mention the word 'date'. I still can't believe it—Celestia never publicly seeks out any suitor in all the years of her reign, and now she puts him right in the best place to be the first one. I'm just glad the Princess can take care of herself. At least she and Princess Luna seem all recovered now from what happened with that awful Tirek…."

"You mean with what Discord let happen to them. Celestia truly has a big heart to forgive him so readily and completely, and to go out with him on top of it all."

"Mmm hmm…."

The two ponies walked off, continuing their conversation.

Luna just remained hidden in her side street, completely wide-eyed now…and with quite a touch of concern coming over her features as that last bit of what she had just heard slowly sunk in.

She didn't waste a moment. She walked out onto the main avenue but tried to linger in the shadows and remain unnoticed. "Other places where I might hear gossip, where are other places? I need to know more to determine the extent of this situation! The marketplace perhaps…" She made her way there and hid stealthily in the lingering morning shadow cast by the fountain in the center of town. Here she watched the ponies coming and going, and proceeded to listen for any mention of her sister or Discord. 'I cannot believe news of my sister's plan has spread already to the ponies, and that rumors are flying of her intending for her time with Discord to be a date! And now to hear what they are all saying of Discord's intentions!' Luna sighed. 'And this is why I tell Celestia to consider carefully before sharing her confidences with six barely more than teenage mares.' Then Luna blinked. 'Unless Discord himself is responsible for the dramatic turn these rumors have taken—perhaps he has been parading through the town, showing off my sister's generous invitation, suggesting such unbecoming or ungentlemanly behavior on his part regarding the Gala in his jests!' Her eyes went wide and then narrowed angrily at the very notion.

And then suddenly several distinct comments and snatches of conversation began to catch her ear from the many ponies passing by.

"Isn't Discord lucky to be chosen by Celestia as her special Gala guest?"

"I'll bet he's looking to charm Celestia right off her hooves to get his way now that he's in her good graces."

"Wow, Discord's going to be Celestia's date for the Gala! Oh I wish I could go this year just to see the Princess show up with an escort for the first time!"

"All I know is I hope she's a hundred percent certain that he's a hundred percent reformed. I don't know what we would do if something happened to the princess again. I heard she and Princess Luna and Princess Cadance all had to give up their magic for so long that they didn't even have the strength to leave the Canterlot Castle. That was why Princess Twilight and her friends had to defeat Tirek on their own."

"But Discord helped Princess Twilight get her Rainbow Power—he was even at the welcoming celebration for her castle! He's reformed again!"

"I think he's reformed, but I just hope he doesn't try anything romantic with Celestia. Did you see him give her flowers during the welcoming party for Princess Twilight's castle? And he winked at her!"

"She accepted the flowers and invited him herself as her escort. Perhaps she has taken a fancy to him. She likes magic, and he is a very powerful wielder of it. What do you think he'll do if he realizes that and it's true?"

"I think he'll have a good time at the Gala and break her heart when the night's over, then he'll probably brag about it all over Canterlot and Ponyville, I just know it. Personally, I still don't trust him entirely. It was awful how he betrayed Princess Celestia's trust. If he did it once, he might do it again."

"Celestia's always been such a good Princess to all of us. I just hope Discord won't hurt her in any way."

"Even if she takes a romantic relationship with him seriously, he would never take one with her seriously. This is Discord we're talking about, after all, reformed or not. I just can't imagine the scandal it could turn into for poor Princess Celestia if he really does take advantage of her kindness or affections and then publically embarrasses her in any way at the Gala."

'The idea that Discord might actually…and would he? The rumors alone are unacceptable!' And that was it. Luna had heard enough. Suddenly it seemed like she was catching bits of conversation from all of the ponies, and they were all about her sister and Discord. She quickly ducked into an alley and then took off and flew straight to Twilight's castle.

However, unfortunately, no one was in at the moment—neither Discord (for whom she was specifically looking) nor anypony else (the girls were still at lunch, and Rarity and Spike were still off designing together). Luna then darted around the landscape, scanning the skies for sight of Twilight or her friends, but finally had to let out a deep sigh and turn to head back to Canterlot. "If I wasn't so tired…" Luna blinked a few times, a big yawn escaping her. "Fine, I'll return home and rest for now. But later I am getting up, and as soon as the moon is risen, I will hunt the night and the land of dreams as well until I find that draconequus. We have some talking to do."

A firm look on her features, Luna continued her flight home. Upon arriving, she swooped down to reenter her castle and finally found her way to her bedroom where she fell into an unsatisfying and worrisome day's sleep.