Princess Luna stood at the top of the ballroom staircase smiling proudly and greeting ponies with all of the grace and decorum natural to the princess of the night. Despite her earlier nervousness about tonight’s Gala, Luna was finding great comfort in this familiar position as hostess. As yet another guest finished shaking her hoof, she sighed and smiled to herself. “Now this is the Canterlot and Gala I remember—royal greetings, formal bowing, ponies honored to meet us. There’s just no Royal Canterlot Voice, but that’s easily enough omitted.”
“Luna?”
Luna glanced to the side of the staircase and smiled as a familiar purple pony approached her. “Twilight Sparkle, have you come for some pointers on greeting the guests when it is your turn? You can certainly feel free to assist me as you did my sister last year.”
Twilight smiled but shook her head. “No, but thank you, Luna. I just wanted to talk to you about Celestia and Discord.”
Luna nodded. “Yes, I managed to see their dance. It seemed enjoyable for my sister…though the crowd around them quickly got too thick for me to make out much of what was going on once it ended.” Luna glanced out to the ballroom and blinked before looking back to Twilight. “But where are Discord and my sister now, Twilight?”
Twilight frowned a little and rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s a long story. After their dance ended, Discord…kind of got carried away with the escort thing. I think he was starting to get a little too concerned about making sure that other ponies would be impressed by him instead of just having a good time with Celestia. And so she finally just left him and went out to the courtyard. We talked to him though, and he went after her. And now the girls and I are going to split up and try to keep the guests from wandering outside so Celestia and Discord can have some privacy. I thought you’d want to know.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Celestia actually left him? What in the world could he have done to—”
“I think it pushed her over the edge when he said he was ‘just like everypony else’ and then actually turned into a pony,” Twilight replied dryly. She sighed. “I knew he might be a little on edge tonight, but I didn’t think he’d be that on edge.”
Luna’s eyes went wide. “I see.” She considered. “Well then, I think your plan with the girls is sound. Let us all do our best to put some of the attention for the evening on ourselves for now: the best thing will be for Celestia and Discord to talk privately if there’s been a misunderstanding.” She smiled a little. “In fact, this situation might be a very good thing. I made the moon and stars particularly bright tonight, the flowers in the courtyard are fragrant, the cricket music is gentle: some time alone out there away from all expectations of others may be just what Celestia and Discord need to work out their differences…and even to acknowledge any deep feelings for one another that may be at the source of those differences.”
Twilight blushed slightly. “Well, it’s worth a shot.” She managed a smile again. “Anyway, I’m going to head back downstairs and try to strike up a conversation about the Rainbow Power with some of the guests. I’ve been working on some theories, so I’m sure I could keep ponies talking for a while.”
Luna nodded. “Very well, Twilight. And I shall remain here for the rest of my shift and encourage ponies to enjoy the sights inside of the ballroom before they venture to the courtyard or gardens for amusement.”
Twilight nodded. And then, noticing more guests arriving, she steeped away with a smile. “I’ll talk to you again soon, Luna. Bye for now.” She trotted back down the stairs.
“Goodbye for now, Twilight.” Luna smiled more, lost in thought for a moment, but then let out a breath and resumed her enthusiastic formal greetings to guests. “Good evening and welcome to the Gala. Please enjoy the lovely night ahead of us all.”
Into the cool evening air outside of the ballroom walls, the master of chaos humbly stepped with a deep sigh. ‘She wouldn’t go far. It’s still her party, after all. And she can’t be too mad…right?’ Discord swallowed and rubbed his temple with his paw. “What did I do? Did I really let myself get too carried away with impressing her and everypony else?” He considered. “Dramatic greetings, excessive compliments, picking her up to give her hoof to the guests, actually turning myself into a pony….” He cringed. “Okay, maybe that did go a little far. But still why should she be so very mad? I…” And then Discord paused as he came around a pillar and spotted Celestia sitting on a chaise lounge overlooking the gardens. She was looking down, a slight frown on her face.
The chaos master took a breath and approached the empty chaise lounge beside her. “Is this seat taken?”
Celestia’s eyes went wide. But then she let out a breath. “No. Though I thought you’d prefer to be inside entertaining the guests.”
Discord sat down and resisted rolling his eyes. “No, no…entertaining people isn’t any fun without you there to watch me do it. It never was. Why do you think Canterlot was always my favorite place to attack with chaos?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, but then she blinked and frowned as she glanced at him. “Discord, why did you do all of that?”
Discord’s eyes went wide. “Oh…I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s complicated!”
“Discord, can you please stop acting like I won’t understand whatever it is that’s bothering you?” Celestia sighed deeply, trying to keep her tone level. “I will understand, believe me: I’ve had a thousand years to learn how to understand everyone’s problems. I would have understood about your nightmares and your guilt over Tirek, and I’d understand this!” Her voice was raised slightly at this point.
Discord blinked at her tone and then huffed a little. “Look, can’t you just let me apologize to you for upsetting you without the two of us having to ‘talk about’ everything!?” He used air quotes. “Is this sentimentality a princess thing or a modern mare thing?”
Celestia scoffed and rolled her eyes with a smirk. “And is being secretive and stubborn a male trait that I’ve forgotten about or just a draconequus thing?”
Discord’s eyes went wide and then he scowled. “For the sake of chaos, Celestia, you got me to go to the fanciest pony society party of the year, you convinced me to wear a tuxedo, and then you put me next to you like some kind of crowned prince in training! Did you really think nothing was going to go wrong?”
“I hoped that whatever went wrong would be fun, not…whatever that was back there,” she countered, gesturing with her hoof to the ballroom (and scowling a little too now). “I want you to be comfortable around me, Discord, not comfortable worshipping me. You practically put me on a pedestal in front of everypony. And you brought up those rumors about us! You made us into a spectacle for their amusement.”
“All I did was try to make sure I was the perfect escort for you for the night!” Discord held out his arms. “I tried my absolute best to be charming, to be cordial, to be the life of the party, to be a good host for your guests! What was so bad about that?”
Celestia huffed and shook her head. “I didn’t want to go with a ‘perfect escort’, Discord, I wanted to go with you!”
Discord paused and then frowned distinctly, his eyes narrowing more. “Oh, thanks, Celestia. Glad to know where we stand.”
Celestia blinked a couple of times and frowned herself now. “Discord,” her tone was gentler, “that’s not what I meant.”
“Did you actually expect to have an awful time with me?” The chaos master gestured to himself.
Celestia’s look went dry. “Discord, believe me, if I wanted to have an awful time at the Gala, I would have just gone alone like usual.”
Discord raised an eyebrow. “What in the world are you talking about?”
Celestia shook her head. “Discord, you’re missing the point. What I meant was I didn’t want to go with somepony who would bow and wave and strut around being everything everyone expected I should have in an escort. I didn’t want to be here with someone who would treat me like a princess first, and you never do…except for tonight. Why?” Her purple eyes met his red ones.
Discord blinked, and he felt so grateful for the darkness of night obscuring the blush he could feel building in his features. “I…I don’t know. I just thought, for Gala night, maybe you’d prefer…” ‘I’m completely in love with you, and any slight capacity I ever had to think straight about anything involving the two of us has gone completely out the window at this point.’ “I just…didn’t want to risk you thinking you’d made a mistake asking me to go with you or everypony else thinking that too. I was nervous.”
Celestia sighed. “Well, maybe you could have run that thought by me, Discord. I don’t ever want you to treat me like a princess first, no matter where we are or what’s going on. I have to let that happen sometimes in situations for the sake of the nation and my job, but not with my friends.” She frowned again. “When you told me you’d like to think of me as your princess, I didn’t think you meant it at the expense of our friendship. Would you like it if I always just treated you as ‘The master of chaos and former tyrant ruler of Equestria’ first and ‘Discord the person’ second?” Her voice was quiet, her gaze stern. “That’s how a lot of ponies have still treated you ever since your reform. How would you feel if I put your title and your legacy over the two of us just being close?”
Discord blinked a couple of times. Then he pouted and scowled again and looked forward. “I hate when you’re right.” He sighed. “But was what I did really so bad that you had to storm out of there and leave me all alone?” His gaze softened again. “I don’t like getting left alone. It’s…upsetting.”
Celestia sighed, and her gaze softened as well. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left you on the dance floor like that. I don’t know.” She looked down. “It’s been so long since I took an escort anywhere”
“Does that mean you hated our dance too?”
Celestia blinked at the sudden question but then smiled and looked to Discord again. “No, I loved our dance actually. It was the most fun I’ve had in ages.”
Discord rolled his eyes (and resisted the urge to blush). “You see this is what I mean, Celestia, what do you want from me? Chaos? No chaos? Manners? Wild abandon? What?” He scowled at her again.
“I just want you to be yourself, Discord!” Celestia countered, her tone rising in passion again. “Our dance was chaotic, our dance was you, and so I liked it! But you cannot tell me that those dramatic bows and trying to get everypony to approve of you and talking about me like you revere me were you at all!”
“A-And how do you know none of that’s me?” Discord held his head high.
A rare sarcastic smile came to Celestia’s lips as she replied simply, “Well, I think the biggest clue was that you capped everything off by turning into a pony of all things!”
“Oh will you stop making these excellent points and just let me apologize already?!” Discord rose up a little, pouting and glaring down at her.
“Fine!” Celestia rose up a little too, glaring up at him.
“Fine then!” Discord shot back as he moved closer. “I’m sorry! It was wrong to completely change the dynamic of our relationship on a whim without talking to you first!”
“Apology accepted!” Celestia moved closer too. “And I’m sorry I left you in the ballroom!”
“Apology accepted too!” Discord fired back.
.
The two remained starting each other down for a few moments, breathing a little heavily.
And then Discord blinked a few times. “Did…” his voice was quiet again, “did…we just have a fight?”
Celestia blinked a few times too, then nodded, her tone and gaze calming again. “Yes, I think so.”
“Okay.” Discord swallowed. “What does that mean for our friendship?” He had to ask the question before he lost the nerve.
Celestia’s eyes went a little wide but then she let out a breath and replied, almost smiling a little, “It means that we feel close enough now to disagree with each other and to actually work through those disagreements…instead of, um…one of us using the fight as an excuse to try and take over the nation and the other one of us using the fight as an excuse to turn the first one to stone.” She smiled sheepishly. “I know it might seem a little confusing, but it’s a good thing, Discord.”
Discord only looked down though, eyes still wide with confusion and a frown still on his face. “I never had a fight with a friend before though. Not unless you count, um…me betraying the girls to Tirek, and the girls strongly disagreeing with me about it.” He glanced at her. “This is…normal?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes. As you grow closer to all the girls, Discord, Fluttershy included, you may fight sometimes. But that’s how you learn from each other and make your friendships stronger. Everything between friends doesn’t have to be perfect all the time, Discord, and everything can’t be perfect all the time. We’re real beings, no matter how powerful or old or wise we are: differences come up.”
“Oh.” Discord considered and let out a sigh, looking forward.
Celestia sighed too and looked forward.
For a while there was just quiet and the sound of crickets and the fountain water trickling and the light rustle of night air through the trees.
Then Discord took a deep breath. “You know…however odd it sounds…I think part of me actually missed this.” He saw Celestia raise an eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. He went on. “This: how we would fight in the past, how intense the arguments could get.” He smiled a little and looked to her more. “The way you’d pout and paw the ground, and how your ears would twitch every time I delivered an insult that was better than yours, not to mention that ‘near Royal Canterlot voice’ stern tone you can have. Not to mention the grim Celestia glare.”
Celestia smiled. “Actually, you know, except for Luna, no one ever disagrees with me the way you just did. It might be nice to have a friend who challenges me sometimes.”
“As long as you won’t put me away for high treason for doing it, I’m your draconequus, Celestia.” Discord grinned more and winked at her.
Celestia giggled softly.
Discord looked forward and then started laughing. “Did I really scoop you up on top of the staircase and start giving ponies your hoof to shake?”
“Yes.” Celestia started laughing too. “And did you really ignore requests to dance from some of the most eligible mares in the kingdom just to keep going on and on about me being perfect?”
Discord laughed more. “Now that I think about it, I suppose I did.” He looked up at the moon. “And did I really turn into a pony right there in the middle of everyone?”
Celestia’s laughter rang out. “And did Pinkie Pie really ask you to turn her into a draconequus next?”
The two were in a full laugh riot now. Eventually they settled back against their seats and got themselves under control more.
Discord sighed and wiped a tear of mirth from his eye as he turned to her. “Celestia…I like this. This was how we started being friends, just talking and laughing. Maybe we could…kind of start the night over with this?” He shrugged with a sheepish grin.
Celestia smiled and nodded to him. “I’d like that, Discord. Very much.”
Discord sat up and moved his legs over the side of the lounge chair to face her. “So, do you want to head back inside and try socializing like a normal pony and her escort?”
Celestia considered but shook her head. “No, I think we’ve made enough of an appearance for now. Luna and Twilight and the girls can handle the Gala. But maybe you and I could…take a walk, Discord? I’ve always wanted to see the garden and the courtyard on Gala night, but I’ve never had a chance to. We could talk for a while and just enjoy our time together before going back to everypony.”
Discord blushed faintly and nodded. “I’d like that.” He stood up and then leaned down and held out his arm for her. “My lady?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, and when she was met with a playful wink from Discord, she laughed and nodded with a bow of her head. “As you wish, good sir.”
Celestia stood up as she took Discord’s arm, and then the couple headed out to stroll along one of the paths winding throughout the moonlit castle grounds.
Inside, the girls were on their patrols throughout the ballroom doing their best to distract the guests: Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were having the band strike up some livelier tunes than usual for dancing, Rainbow Dash was performing a few aerial tumbles as she reenacted for some ponies one of the battles she and the girls had been in, Applejack was on the ground not too far away discussing the quality of the Crystal Empire reserve cider with a group of guests, Twilight was addressing a large group of ponies with a brief lecture on Rainbow Power, Luna was still surveying the room from the top of the staircase as she greeted ponies…
…And Rarity and Spike were standing over by the main exit to the courtyard, ready to talk anypony out of a moonlit stroll for the moment.
Rarity’s strategy so far had been to engage the ponies who passed by in polite Gala conversation and then to direct them to one of the other girls for amusement.
Spike, still at her side, just tried to smile and be helpful…though he also looked out to the dance floor with longing. He recalled how Discord had danced with Celestia and wished he had enough courage to attempt such a bold feat with Rarity. “Even if Discord did get a little carried away,” Spike mumbled to himself, “at least he tried. He even had her held in his arms on two hooves.” Spike sighed: he knew he was too small to try that with Rarity. ‘Still though, it’s a nice thought for one day…’
Rarity finished another conversation with somepony and then turned to Spike as the guest departed for another part of the ballroom. “I think the party’s going much more smoothly now, don’t you, Spike? And I’m sure things between Celestia and Discord must be going more smoothly too considering how much private time we’ve managed to secure for them.” She beamed a little. “I think the evening will turn out to be a rousing success.”
Spike smiled up at her and nodded. “I think so too, Rarity.” He hesitated, then swallowed and made himself go on. “Rarity? Do you think that soon…since I’m your escort and everything…maybe you and I could dance?”
Rarity blinked, and then her smile grew and her eyes hazed. “Oh Spikey Wikey, yes, of course.” She touched his cheek with her hoof to let their eyes meet. “I would like that very much, and it’s very kind of you to ask.”
“Great.” Spike had an utterly dreamy look on his face. “So, maybe…right now?”
Rarity put a hoof to her chin as she gazed down at him. “Well, we really have given Discord and Celestia enough time to find a private place to talk. Perhaps we could…”
“Rarity, I say, Rarity, is that you?”
Rarity looked up and smiled as a familiar light blue pony with a suit jacket and top hat approached her. “Oh, Fancy Pants,” she waved and then lowered her hoof, “how nice to see you here.” She looked to his pale mare companion. “And Fleur dis Lee, of course it’s a pleasure to see you as well.” Then her eyes went to Jet Set, Upper Crust, and Blueblood behind them. She managed a polite smile and nodded. “And Jet Set, Upper Crust, charmed, as usual. And…hello again, Prince Blueblood.”
Jet Set and Upper Crust smiled and nodded, and Blueblood gave her a nod back, though he quickly pouted and held his head high once the necessary gesture was complete.
Rarity touched Spike’s shoulder. “Allow me to introduce my escort—young Spike. He’s princess Twilight’s most trusted advisor, and as you might know a key figure in the Crystal Empire for his large role in defeating evil King Sombra.”
Spike swallowed and gave the five elite ponies a little smile and wave. “Uh, hi everypony. Nice to meet you.”
Upper Crust tilted her head to the side with a grin. “You’ve come with a dragon for an escort? How modern!”
“Yes, very trendy considering what Princess Celestia’s done this year with inviting Discord.” Jet Set nodded.
Fleur giggled. “Oh, I think he’s a very sweet baby dragon. Don’t tease him you two.”
“Oh we’re not.” Jet Set waved her off with a laugh, then gave a nod to Spike with a smile. “Very pleased to meet you. A hero of the Crystal Empire should always be welcome in Canterlot high society.”
“Yes, quite.” Fancy Pants nodded. “And I’m afraid we don’t get to acquaint ourselves with too many dragons, so it is quite a pleasure to meet you, Spike.” He held out his hoof.
Spike hesitated but shook it and smiled again at the group. “Uh…thanks, everypony.” He released Fancy’s hoof and stepped closer to Rarity.
“So…Rarity…” Blueblood suddenly stepped forward. “I believe we got off on the wrong hoof earlier.” He smiled in his usual overly-charming way. “It’s very nice to see you at the Gala again this year, and we were wondering if you’d like to join our party.”
Rarity managed a very sincere-looking smile in return to him. “Oh, it’s a very flattering offer, and I wouldn’t mind talking with your companions for a little bit. But to be honest, Princess Twilight and the rest of her court and I are still trying to find a way to spend the Gala together, and I don’t want to be unavailable in case an opportunity presents itself.”
Fancy Pants nodded. “Of course, of course. We’d appreciate even a few minutes of your time though, Rarity. You see,” he smiled a little sheepishly, “we’ve all been talking, and, well…we were wondering if you’d be so kind as to discuss Discord with us.”
“Yes.” Fleur nodded. “After all, there were so many unfortunate events surrounding him and the Tirek incident not too long ago. We’ve all been a little concerned ever since Discord’s dance with Celestia and the display he put on afterwards. And now he and Celestia seem to be missing.” She frowned a little.
Jet Set nodded. “Yes, and as the local movers and shakers at the party, we feel it’s important to look out for the princess’s welfare. And it’s really not Discord’s fault if there’s been some sort of problem. This is the most elite party of the year, after all; not exactly something he’s used to.” He smiled smugly, holding his head high
“Yes,” Upper Crust added with her own smug smile, “I don’t think anyone expects him to have the skills yet for the necessary grace and tact. That’s really a question of social upbringing.”
Blueblood smiled at Rarity and moved closer to her. “We just want to make sure Princess Celestia is treated well tonight. And of course, you feel the same, Rarity.”
Rarity looked from one to the other of the group before her, her eyes slightly wide.
Spike raised an eyebrow and looked from the group back to Rarity.
Another moment passed though, and then Rarity took a breath and smiled to the group. “Of course.” She chose her words very carefully and kept her tone light. “We’re all concerned for our princess’s happiness naturally. But, Fancy, everypony, I assure you Celestia’s fine and there’s really nothing to worry about. Discord’s a perfect gentlecolt. He’s just a little…eccentric, but in a positively charming way once you get to know him. Truly.” She nodded.
The group all looked to each other hesitantly but then managed smiles and looked back to Rarity.
Fancy cleared his throat. “Oh, I’m certain you’re right of course, Rarity. It’s just, well…those rumors about something romantic between Discord and the princess were never officially denied or confirmed.” He smiled sheepishly. “Of course we don’t believe Princess Celestia actually would be so reckless in her personal life. But as ponies who know what it’s like to have the eyes of Equestria upon us, we also want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt in any way. And we want her to know that she has supporters to help her in case a problem with Discord arises.”
“If you know where they’ve gotten to and could let us know, it would help put our minds at ease,” Fleur added gently with a smile. “We just want to make sure she’s okay.”
Rarity cleared her throat and merely continued to smile at the group as she shook her head. “Oh, I completely understand, but I’m afraid I couldn’t possibly be of help. You see, I don’t know exactly where Discord and Celestia have gotten to, but I’m certain they’ll be back soon. And until then we have Princess Luna and Twilight with us if any major concerns do arise.” Her smile brightened. “And speaking of Twilight, I should get going. As I said, she and I and our friends are all still trying to work out a way to spend the Gala together. Goodbye for now. Spike, let’s be off.” She gave a gentle nod to Spike, nodded to the others, and then departed at a graceful trot while the ponies watched her go with raised eyebrows.
As they moved farther off, Spike tugged on Rarity’s dress and looked up to her. “Rarity, are you sure we should be leaving the doors out to the courtyard unguarded with them standing there like that?”
Rarity just smiled. “Spike, as far as they know, you and I were just standing there to get some fresh air. But if we kept lingering, they might suspect Celestia and Discord were outside and then go looking for them. Hopefully now though they’ll simply stop being so rude as to go around questioning a beautiful new friendship for their princess. Besides, we really should check in with the other girls about spending time together tonight, and you and I still have to find the perfect time for our dance together.” She winked down at him.
Spike just beamed up at her. “Rarity, you’re a genius.”
Rarity giggled and waved him off. “Oh Spike, how kind of you to say so.”
Spike hesitated but then took her still raised hoof in his claw as they walked. “I’m having a really nice night, Rarity. Thanks again for saying I could be your Gala escort. It’s been nice spending time with you.” He blushed a little.
Rarity gazed down at him tenderly. “I like spending time with you too, Spike. Our friendship is very, very special to me.”
“Thanks, Rarity.” Spike looked down, beaming a little. “It’s special to me too.”
Rarity’s smile warmed. “Come along, Spike. Let’s finish enjoying our evening together with our friends.”
Spike nodded, and the couple continued moving together through the ballroom.
As Rarity left them behind, the party of elite ponies just looked after her with eyebrows raised.
“How odd?” Jet Set remarked.
“Indeed,” Upper Crust added.
Fleur tilted her head to the side, frowning a little. “Of all the members of Princess Twilight’s court, you’d think she would be the one with the most concern for Celestia’s public image and Discord’s as well.”
“Perhaps she just doesn’t feel comfortable discussing the matter.” Fancy Pants scratched his head with his hoof. He let out a sigh and considered for a moment and then lowered his hoof and smiled. “The Princess may have asked her to be discreet, after all.”
“Ah, yes, of course.” Fleur smiled and nodded. “Oh, how intriguing. Well then, perhaps we should just mingle until Celestia and Discord return. They may have important business together.”
Blueblood sighed but nodded. “Yes, that may be all we can do for now. But we can at least continue to be on guard about any stray signs of chaos in Discord’s absence until he and Celestia return so we can observe his behavior directly again.”
Fancy Pants sighed but nodded. “We’ll keep on our guard, of course. Now,” he smiled again, “there are quite a few foreign dignitaries here this evening and political leaders from different parts of the nation. Let’s mingle, and perhaps we’ll hear something of their opinions on Discord. We might be able to gain a better understanding of how his presence in local society now is viewed by those at a distance.”
The party nodded to each other and gave various replies of acquiescence before trotting off to socialize (Blueblood still pouting to himself a little though as they went along).
Discord and Celestia had walked far enough now that the sounds of the Gala had faded in favor of the gentle music of the garden crickets and the occasional trickle of a fountain stream. Their evening was lit up by fireflies and glowing moonflowers and of course Luna’s full moon overhead surrounded by bright stars.
The couple walked in silence at first, smiling and admiring the scenery.
Then Discord took a breath and glanced at Celestia. He had a question to ask based on the little exchange they’d just had. And since he was being himself with her now—rather than politely beating around the bush about everything—he decided to be direct
“So…you have an awful time at the Gala when you’re alone?” The chaos master raised an eyebrow as he put his arms behind his back.
Celestia blinked and then looked down with a slightly sheepish smile. “Oh. I did say that, didn’t I?” She swallowed. “I’d rather you didn’t let that get around, Discord, but it is true.” She sighed. “The Grand Galloping Gala has always been awful, at least for me. It’s such a formal affair, and Luna was always been better at high society things and etiquette. In the old days, she would have seen to most of the hostess duties, and I would have just assisted. But after she left…I just kept putting on the Gala and going through the motions and standing up there alone shaking hooves all night. But it really has been just awful if you count ‘boring’ as awful even if I have enjoyed giving the ponies a good time.”
“I didn’t realize….” Discord’s eyes went a little wide. “If that’s always been the case though then why haven’t you gotten an escort in the past?”
Celestia blushed slightly (his question was so much like Luna’s from the other night about her lack of companionship for Galas, though in a different context of course). But then she considered for a moment and smiled. “Because I never thought I’d have fun with an escort until I thought of having you for one, Discord.”
Discord’s look brightened considerably. “And I haven’t completely failed to live up to your expectations?” He shrugged with a sheepish grin.
Celestia laughed softly and looked to him. “You haven’t failed at all, Discord. Maybe the night didn’t start out exactly how I expected, but isn’t that the point of chaos? This is the first completely unpredictable Gala I’ve ever been to, and I owe it all to you.”
Discord felt like bursting with happiness inside. He settled for a wide smile. “Don’t kiss up, Celestia, it’s beneath you.”
Celestia smirked a little. “And how about you, Discord? Are you enjoying the night?”
Discord blinked. “Me?” He shrugged, still smiling. “Well, you’re right about one thing, Celestia: left to it’s own devices, this Gala could turn into a boring awful mess. But I’ve liked trying to find my place in it and giving your subjects something to talk about.” He smirked a little. “And dancing with you was pretty fun too. You’re not bad on two hooves, you know, even just for holding close. I’m sure a lot more stallions are going to be a lot less nervous about asking you to dance now that they’ve seen how good you are at cutting a rug.”
“Maybe.” Celestia laughed softly. “But I’m not really looking for a string of partners, Discord. Though I am looking forward to when we’ll dance again. But I shouldn’t be selfish. There really were a lot of mares interested in taking a turn with you around the dance floor. If you want to let them, feel free. I want you to socialize and enjoy yourself, Discord, even if you are my escort.”
Discord did his best not to frown at the fact that she was technically encouraging him to go off with other mares. “Oh, but none of them could be as fun to dance with as my old foe. And besides,” he grinned again, “I’m still settling into the modern social scene. Give me a little lull after finally accepting the magic of friendship, Celestia, before I go breaking hearts all across the nation.”
Celestia’s gaze warmed. “Discord, I had no idea you were a lover.”
Discord kept himself together: he even stood tall, his head held just a little high, as he replied, “I’m a creature of many talents, Celestia. Keep getting to know me, I guarantee you’ll be impressed.”
“I already am, Discord.” Celestia smiled more. “But I’d still like to keep getting to know you. That’s been the most enjoyable part of our friendship so far for me. And I hope getting to know me has been enjoyable for you too.” As they rounded a corner to a new area of the gardens, her gaze turned to take in all the beauty of the flowers and the topiaries.
“Very…” Discord let out a soft happy sigh (gazing at her as she gazed at the sights around them). He covered by clearing his throat and going on. “But I feel like we’ve just barely scratched the surface with each other. We really should spend more time together, like I said earlier, just for the sake of catching up.”
“Is there anything you’d like to catch up on right now, Discord?” Celestia turned her violet eyes to him again with a smile.
“Oh, I’m sure we can think of a few things if we try. “Discord shrugged, grinning. “But nothing superficial, no basics like we’re two strangers getting acquainted. Let’s make what we share and what we ask about each other as random as possible—for the sake of chaos of course.” He winked.
Celestia nodded. “For the sake of chaos.” Her eyes lowered, and she smiled a little. “No one knows this except Luna, but each year after the Gala, I raise the sun from my room the next morning and tell the staff I’m going to sleep in…but then I spend about an hour in bed eating a cake for breakfast. And then I usually work in going to the spa within the next week. I find the whole thing very relaxing.”
Discord had to laugh. “Luna’s right, we really need to intervene about this cake obsession you have, Celestia.” He grinned a little more and gestured to himself. “Hmm…oh, here’s a fun fact about me: did you know that ever since that supremely hilarious misadventure I had with Twilight and Cadance, I have a slight phobia of tatzulwurms?” ‘Admitting that to her in one of my dreams nearly got me a kiss. It’s worth a shot in real life.’
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “You’re afraid of tatzulwurms?”
Discord rolled his eyes. “Slight phobia, Celestia dear, slight phobia. Those things; all wriggling and gnashing with tentacles. And then it sneezed on me—yuck! I swear, I am never picking magical flowers again.” He sighed. “So, yes, if I turn all evil again, just sic one of them on me, and I’ll beg you to encase me in stone just to get away from it.”
Celestia really tried not to laugh but then she just couldn’t help herself, and Discord laughed too.
Celestia let out a breath. “Discord, can I ask, where did you come up with that pony form of yours?”
Discord blinked, then shrugged. “Oh, that was just sort of a generic transformation. I, uh…I used it for trying to bait Tirek when he was still weak.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Worked way too easily. I should have known I’d complicate things somehow.”
Celestia nodded, her smile remaining. “Well, it was very interesting to see even if the circumstances weren’t ideal.”
“I really thought you’d be much happier than you were to see me as one of your little ponies, you know,” the chaos master teased.
Celestia smiled more. “Ironically, I think the thing I was most disappointed in was your height as a pony. You don’t know how nice it’s been having a male friend I can actually look up at to talk with.”
Discord chuckled. “Celestia, what a perfectly selfish and superficial thing to say. I approve. It’s nice to hear you being a little less perfectly diplomatic than usual.”
Celestia laughed too.
Then Discord sighed and raised an eyebrow at her. “Speaking of pony forms, here’s a question, Celestia: does it ever bother you that your mane and tail are as long as they are and constantly flowing?”
Celestia glanced at her mane and tail, then looked to him again and shrugged. “You get used to it. If anything, the movement provides a nice breeze for me whenever it’s warm outside.” She observed him for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. “Do you ever feel off balance being made of so many different creatures, Discord?”
Discord shrugged. “Not at all. Everything works somehow, it just has its own odd way of working. And please don’t take this personally, but frankly I find being in proportion, especially in proportion and on all fours as a pony, to be really off putting.”
Celestia laughed. “I understand, Discord.”
“Then let’s continue sharing random and slightly embarrassing facts about ourselves, Celestia.” The chaos master smirked. “I think this is getting to be quite fun.”
Celestia nodded. “I think it could be too, Discord.”
The couple went along beneath the moonlight, walking and talking.
Discord could sense magical imbalances in powerful creatures, but Celestia and Luna could also sense certain shifts in subtler kinds of magic during the times of their reigns—the day and night respectively.
And right now, standing atop the ballroom staircase and shaking the hooves of ponies, Luna’s eyes brightened for a moment as a very good feeling came over her that somewhere out in her night a special kind of magical spark between two creatures had suddenly begun to set itself to rights again. An imbalance was corrected. Her night, at least in the surrounding area, felt truly at peace.
Luna smiled to herself, her gaze warm as she continued the hoofshakes. ‘If you and my sister can find common ground again so quickly after such a serious disagreement, then perhaps you’re better for each other as intimate acquaintances than even I have yet realized, Discord.’ Luna let out a sigh as a break in the arriving guests gave her a moment to survey the room and then the silver light of her bright moon shining down through the windows.
She closed her eyes for a moment and willed the light more silvery and willed the stars to twinkle their absolute brightest.
‘It couldn’t hurt,’ the princess of the night thought to herself with a small giggle as she opened her eyes again.
Meanwhile (as Luna attempted to play matchmaker by tweaking the heavens themselves), Celestia and Discord’s walk around the garden went on. And the gentle pastime was already doing wonders for relaxing the both of them and letting them enjoy their time together again as true friends.
‘How does the princess of the day look that beautiful coated in moonlight?’ The chaos master grinned at his glowing companion with a sly look as the thought passed. And then he cleared his throat and continued their conversation. “…Oh come on, Celestia, I shared mine with you: my most humiliating moment as a bad guy was when the girls put me back into stone after I first got out. I completely didn’t see it coming, and I struck such an awful pose of surprise. Now, you can’t tell me that you don’t have a most embarrassing moment as a good guy.” He nudged her shoulder gently with his tail (and savored the feeling of a small part of him meeting a small part of her). “Come on, share with your good buddy Discord.”
Celestia sighed with a small smile and finally nodded. “All right, Discord. My most embarrassing moment was, um…during Cadance’s wedding when Queen Chrysalis attacked.” She shrugged, looking down, blushing slightly. “You see, after she struck me down and I sent the girls off for the Elements of Harmony, I sort of blacked out and then I woke up and…” she rolled her eyes to the side, “…Chrysalis had encased me in a cocoon and hung me upside down right in the middle of the throne room. It was not my finest hour, Discord. I’m just so glad that nopony noticed before I had a chance to get myself free. Luna had a good laugh when I told her about it though.” She looked over to see Discord looking at her with wide eyes and an eyebrow raised.
“Wow.” The chaos master cleared his throat and tried not to grin too much. “No offense, but I’d pay big money for a picture of that one. Upside down in the center of the throne room—nice touch.” He chuckled more as Celestia nudged him with her shoulder (and he savored the little bit of additional contact as well). “And besides that, to get taken down by Chrysalis of all creatures. Really, Celestia, as far as bad guys go, she’s not exactly ‘A Plus’ material. Ooo, look at me, I can change form.” He snapped his tail, made himself look like a draconequus changeling for a moment complete with black fur and holes, then snapped himself back to normal.
Celestia tried not to laugh and nodded. “True, normally I could have subdued her. But she had absorbed the power of Shining Armor’s love for Cadance. The powers of friendship and love in their purest forms are beyond my power to stop. They’re even beyond your power to stop, Discord.”
The chaos master rolled his eyes to the side and let out a mumble he couldn’t help. “Tell me about it…”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
Discord cleared his throat and waved her off. “Oh, er, I was just saying, that, uh…even though she did have the advantage of all that love, it’s still awkward that she beat you. The next time she comes back, she’ll definitely rub that in your face even if it wasn’t really her power that let her win, and even though she knows for a fact that without her changelings helping her she is way out of the league of villains who could match you.”
“There’s a league?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, grinning a little.
Discord shrugged. “There’s definitely a certain power level you’d have to be at.”
“I see.” Celestia tilted her head to the side, smiling more. “And who would be in this ‘powerful league’?”
“Oh…” the chaos master put his arms behind his back, “probably Nightmare Moon…Tirek, but only at full power…yours truly…”
“You really think you and I are that evenly matched, Discord?” Celestia’s eyes were practically twinkling now.
An almost humble grin came to Discord’s features. “I think we match up quite well, Celestia, yes.”
“Hmm…” Celestia looked forward to the flowers and topiaries around them, “Actually, I always thought you were more powerful than I am.”
Discord’s eyes went a little wide. “Well…maybe.” ‘She doesn’t want me flattering her anymore—might as well tell the truth.’ “On a day to day basis, perhaps. But I get the feeling you have access to more power than I do. And you definitely manage power and magic better than I do. So I think all of that makes us even.”
Celestia’s eyes hazed and her smile grew. “Ah, but what if Chrysalis drained me of my love—then she would be more powerful than I am.”
“Chrysalis is never going to drain you of your love.” Discord rolled his eyes with a grin.
“How can you be so sure?” Celestia held back a chuckle.
“Because,” he shrugged, “she’d have to get through me to do it. And I am definitely more powerful than she is. So there.” He stuck out his tongue.
Celestia rolled her eyes. “My hero.” Her smile picked up on one side. “If you’re bucking for knighthood, Discord, you’re off to a great start.”
Discord’s eyes hazed a little. “Oh, it…it really wouldn’t be much, stopping Chrysalis.” He held out his paw to admire it. “Besides, we’ve run into each other a few times back in the day, and she’s mostly a lot of talk: always popping up and announcing her grand plans, monoluging like crazy. She's the only villain I know who likes to hear herself talk more than I do.”
Celestia held back a laugh and smirked at him a little. “Anybody else on the list of powerful magical foes who could almost beat me?”
Discord rolled his eyes. “Well…there's Sombra, of course. After all, he dealt in the darkest forces he could find.” Discord smiled a little. “Kudos on saving the Crystal Empire, by the way. I figured you had a fifty-fifty chance of that working out when the situation arose. My biggest regret about being a statue at that time was not being able to get myself a front row seat for the show.”
Celestia smiled. “Thank you, Discord. But I didn’t save the Crystal Empire—Spike and Twilight and the girls did.”
Discord nodded. “Yes, yes, I know they were there in the end, and also apparently for some reason everyone worships Spike in the Crystal Empire as a savior. But certainly you must have supervised or helped deliver the final blow? Or Luna? Or even Cadance?”
Celestia, however, just shook her head. “No, not at all. Luna did have some doubts, but I left things entirely to Twilight, Spike, and the girls. I didn’t even go near the Empire until the day had been saved. I knew they could do it. It was important that they did it.”
“Why?” Discord raised an eyebrow.
Celestia’s smile softened. “The same reason I asked you to handle the Tirek situation all on your own, Discord: because I can’t see to everything myself anymore. And because faith in others is at the heart of the magic of friendship, Discord.”
Discord’s eyes were wide for a moment. Then he frowned a little, his voice quiet. “I’m sorry again for disappointing you about that, Celestia.”
Celestia smiled up at him. “You came through in the end, Discord. And you’re here with me now. Believe me, nothing about you is a disappointment to me.”
There were moments now where Discord swore to himself in his head that if she said one more sweet thing to him, he was going to give those soft pale pony lips such a kiss that she might actually request Luna to keep the night going long into the daytime hours just so they could have as much time as possible on this romantic evening to explore their new passions.
Discord resisted but just barely. He smiled and looked down instead. But then his thoughts wandered: something was nagging at him. And he blinked as he realized what it was and turned back to Celestia with an eyebrow raised. “But Celestia…if you and the other princesses and even the Elements of Harmony technically didn’t help at all, then how did little pre-princess Twilight beat Sombra?” His tone became serious. “I know that guy, Celestia, and you have to fight dirty to beat him. He dealt in high-level dark magic—stuff even I’m not insane enough to play around with.”
Celestia’s eyes went a little wide at the question. Then she looked down. “I know, Discord. Which was why I taught Twilight dark magic.”
“You did WHAT?” Discord abruptly stopped walking and practically tripped over a topiary bush. He quickly righted himself and brushed off his tuxedo as Celestia came to pause beside him. “You taught Twilight to use dark magic?” He blinked. “Wait, better question—you know dark magic?”
Celestia let out a breath, still looking down. “My magic studies over the years have been extensive, Discord. And especially after Nightmare Moon…I thought it would be wise to understand what had taken my sister away from me so that I would know how to see the signs and stop it if I saw it happening to anyone else…or myself.” Before he could say anything to that, she simply added, “The loss of Luna hurt me greatly: I imagine the pain must have been close to the pain she felt about the rejection of her nights. And I was all the ponies had left. I wanted to be prepared.”
Discord’s smile fell. They were quiet for a moment. Then he spoke to her in a gentle, low tone. “The time without Luna, what happened…it hurt you that much?”
Celestia gave a single nod. Her voice was low too. “I banished my own sister. There were days when I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. And nights when I couldn’t look up at the sky. And a lot of anger and regret in between…”
Discord frowned so much. “Celestia…” He almost wanted to reach out and touch her just to comfort her. “You know…if sometimes it’s a little hard to talk to Luna about it or even Twilight…I’m always here for you. And about anything: whatever’s bothering you, even if it’s something small. I mean…I like you and want you to be happy. So I’ll listen if you want.”
Celestia glanced at him, at first with eyes slightly wide and then with a gentle smile. “That would mean very much to me, Discord.”
Discord smiled a little, then glanced down. “And maybe sometimes I could…talk to you about things that have made me feel bad? Like Tirek…and things in the past…things before I even met you. Things that hurt me too.” He swallowed. “I think it would take me a very long time to work up to that with Fluttershy. I never want to upset her.”
Celestia nodded. “You can talk to me about anything, Discord. No matter what.”
Discord sighed. ‘I hope you really mean that…darling Celestia.’ He smiled a little again. “Thanks.” Then the chaos master cleared his throat. “So, erm, what were we talking about?”
Celestia raised an eyebrow but then blinked. “Oh, um…dark magic.” She cleared her throat. “So, yes, I learned a little. I can’t do much with it though: darkness and solar magic don’t mix well together for too long.” She closed her eyes and then opened them. For just a moment they flickered with blackness and glowing green. But then she blinked a few times, and her usual violet eyes returned. She brought a hoof to her head. “It also gives me a slight headache. But I did teach Twilight. I knew she would need it against Sombra. And I trusted she’d be able to handle the power.” And then Celestia turned and commenced walking onward again.
Discord just stood there for a moment, his jaw dropped open. Eventually though he blinked and dashed up back alongside her. ‘I know this is so wrong, but when her eyes got dark like that for a moment—it was both terrifying and strangely…thrilling.’ He swallowed, pinched himself in the side with his tail for the thought, and then started speaking again. “That, um…must have been an awkward thing to give her lessons about…”
Celestia shrugged, her gaze forward. “All I did was give Twilight a single demonstration of dark magic just before she left for the Crystal Empire. It was all she needed: she mastered the skill after that.”
“A single demonstration?” Discord had an eyebrow raised again but this time he was frowning and scowling a little. “Celestia, that can’t be right—even I would need more than a single demonstration to learn magic like that.”
Celestia smiled a little. “I know. But Twilight is special, Discord. She’ll be a great leader, you know.” She winked at him.
A little bit of Discord’s grin returned, and he looked forward. “Be that as it may, I’m still partial to you as my princess. But if you’re guaranteeing her legacy, I’m sure she will be.”
Celestia laughed softly. “Speaking of Twilight, are you enjoying living with her and Spike?”
Discord smiled more. “Oh, it’s not so bad. In the morning I wake up in a room filled with chaos and crystal, then I go about my chaotic business, and then I come back for the night for snacks and pre-bedtime shenanigans. Twilight reads books and asks me the occasional question about my opinion on some advanced magical spell. And Spike asks me about dragons. The whole living arrangement is one big sappy mess. I wouldn’t change a thing.” He chuckled.
Celestia smiled more. “You sound like a very happy little ‘family’, Discord. I’ll have to come over one day for tea to see it all in person.” Her smile picked up on one side. “And you’re advising Twilight about magic?”
“Yes.” Discord nodded. “I mean, I haven’t been ‘schooling her in dark forces’ or anything…” He rolled his eyes with a grin. “But she does run magical questions by me sometimes. Or sometimes I find it so strange how absorbed she gets in reading about magic that I ask her about it.” He grinned a little. “Though if she really can absorb high-level magical practice just from a simple demonstration, maybe I should start taking a more practical approach to our discussions. In fact, considering how many times she’s seen me demonstrate chaos, I wouldn’t be surprised if Twilight’s an expert at it now and doesn’t even know it.” He laughed.
Celestia laughed too. Then she let out a breath. “Discord, can I ask you something? I’m afraid it might be a little personal though.”
‘Is it if I want to run away with you to a private island where we can talk and giggle and get close all alone together for as long as we want? Because, if so, the answer is yes.’ Discord nodded. “Fire away, Celestia. We are trying to get closer, after all.”
“Very well.” Celestia nodded in return. “Discord, now that you’re fully reformed and everything with Tirek has been taken care of, have you given much thought to your future? I mean…long term? What kind of place do you want to make for yourself eventually in the world?”
Discord blinked. “Oh…I don’t know. At first I thought I’d travel for a bit, like I mentioned. And then I suppose I’ll come back here and snap up a house for myself, practice chaos, visit friends, goof off. Sort of an early retirement, I guess.” He flexed his fingers. “I had a good run making a name for myself, but now maybe I’ll just focus on me and being happy and if my chaos can help make anyone else happy too.”
“I see.” Celestia looked forward, smiling distinctly and with her eyes all but sparkling in anticipation.
Discord noticed of course (Discord was coming to notice everything about her). “Celestia, you’re thinking something. What is it?”
The sun princess only smiled more. “I had an idea about your future. I’ve been trying to work it out for a while now. You might think it’s crazy though.”
Discord had to chuckle. “I might think it’s crazy? Oh, try me, Celestia, please.”
Celestia nodded. “Very well.” She looked up to him. “You like children, Discord—like Pumpkin and Pound Cake and even Spike; you get along with the girls very well; you’re a master of your own kind of magic; you’re intelligent and creative; you enjoy being the center of attention and addressing a crowd; and you like to show off just a little…”
Discord’s grin picked up on one side. “All true. Do go on.”
Celestia smiled more and continued. “So…the thought occurred to me…” She took a breath. “Discord, I thought that perhaps someday you might like to be a teacher.”
Discord blinked and opened his mouth but then just paused. “I…Huh?” He raised an eyebrow.
Celestia tried not to chuckle. “A teacher, Discord. I’ve been considering your personality, making diagrams, looking over the paperwork…. You like young people, you like talking, you’re more than qualified in terms of magical experience. So I’d like you to consider coming to come to my Unicorn Academy to spread chaos by teaching it.” The enthusiasm in her tone grew. “Discord, your magic is almost limitless in its capabilities and works on a whim and is creative like no other school of magic. Think of what it would mean to young students of magic to learn that way of using their powers, to expand beyond the traditional ways. Even I might like to sit in on a class or two. You said alicorns could learn chaos, so I think there’s a chance advanced unicorns could learn it with time and patience and practice. Professor of Chaos: not as intimidating a title as ‘Master of Chaos’, I know, but I thought it had a nice ring to it. What do you think, Discord?” Her smile was gentle, but her eyes were practically shining in anticipation.
Discord’s eyes, meanwhile, were wide as he absorbed the proposal. “I…Celestia, it’s a wonderful thought, really…and I’ll admit I did not see that coming. But…I don’t know.” He furrowed his brow. “There’s the compatibility issue, and I have no idea if I’d be happy as a teacher. Not to mention once you’ve tapped into magic like mine, it can be easily abused. I don’t think I could responsibly communicate that power to young unicorns—at least not without sending Equestria into a chaotic spiral from which there might be no return, and not in a fun way.”
“Discord,” Celestia put more ease into her tone, “it’s nice that you’re worried about the unicorns, but…what I’m proposing wouldn’t exactly be an introductory course, you know.” Her smile picked up on one side. “Only my most advanced, gifted, and mature students would be allowed to pursue study with you.”
Discord raised an eyebrow again. “Still, I…” And then he blinked, and his gaze drifted over to Celestia again. “Only the most gifted, you say? Really?” A proud grin bloomed upon his features.
Celestia’s smile grew, and her eyes hazed. “Yes. Just a few students at a time and only the best. It would be an advanced, specialized area of study. And you could make your own rules, even write your own textbook.”
“A book on chaos?” Discord’s grin was practically giddy. “Oh, Twilight would love that.” He had a good chuckle, but then sighed and looked to Celestia again as another thought occurred to him. “But what are all of the parents going to say when they find out big, bad me is forming the minds of their precious foals?”
“Well, your course would take some time to develop and implement, Discord,” Celestia explained, “so by then I’m sure you’ll have proven your worth to everypony countless times over. But either way, I control what happens in my school walls and the lessons that are taught. And the age level of student you would be teaching would surpass the threshold for needing any parental permission anyway.” She shrugged.
“I see.” Discord nodded and put his arms behind his back as they continued on through the gardens. “Well…it’s something to think about. Me…teaching chaos. It’s not a horrible idea, Celestia…until I turn the castle into cheese and set parasprites loose in the halls.” He gave a sheepish smile.
Celestia only grinned all the more though. “Sounds like an excellent first lesson, Discord.”
The two magical beings shared a laugh.
As they walked along, Discord’s look became pensive, and he even twirled his beard around in his fingers until he finally spoke again. “Celestia…I’m sure it’s not my place since it’s ‘your school’, but could I throw a condition out there about this teaching idea? Provided, of course, I ever formally agree to it.”
“Certainly, Discord.” Celestia nodded. “What is it?”
Discord took in and let out a deep breath. “I want an exception made. I want to be able to teach pegasi and earth ponies chaos too if they pass an entrance exam by me or something and I find them up to the challenge of learning my magic.”
Celestia blinked. “But…Discord, since you’d be teaching a magical practice, I don’t understand how…”
The chaos master just smiled and looked to her again. “You don’t need magic to be chaotic, Celestia. And I’d want my class to be about learning the theory of chaos just as much as the magical practice. Besides limiting things to unicorns feels just a little snooty, don’t you think?” He shrugged. “I mean…look at Pinkie Pie. That little earth pony astounds me sometimes: she almost breaks more laws of physics than I do. Really, where does she hide those party canons? How does she pop out of random places? How does she have so energy all the time? And she was the only one who appreciated my chaos right from the start, if you remember. She could be a star pupil easily without magic: she has a gift. So if I were to teach, I would want to be able to each all creatures who have such a gift, not just unicorns, not even just ponies in fact.” His eyes lit up a little as the idea progressed in his mind. “Griffons, goats, donkeys, even dragons—I’m a little bit of all of those things, so I think it could work.” He nodded to himself. “Do we have a deal, Celestia?” He held out his paw.
Celestia just looked back at him with her eyes bright and an impressed smile on her features. And she nodded. “Deal, Discord.” She shook his paw with her hoof. “I think we could work something out. I would just have to be present for the entrance exams to officiate things in that special circumstance.”
“Officiate?” They separated and then Discord smirked a little. “Hey so, if I do this…if I become a teacher…does that make you the principal? My boss?”
“That makes me your colleague, Discord,” Celestia corrected with a nod of her head. “I’ll see you around the water cooler. And by the way, if you think chaos isn’t for the faint of heart, try teaching aspiring unicorns sometime, parent-teacher conferences and all.”
Discord chuckled. “I think I could grow to like working with you. It’s already been…easier than I ever dreamed to learn to like you as a friend.”
“I like you too, Discord.” Celestia smiled up at him.
There was a moment of quiet then beneath moonlight with the perfume of flowers in the air and cricket song all around and the fountains still trickling in the background, the din of the party all but forgotten. And Discord and Celestia strolling side by side, smiling and looking into each other’s eyes without any need for words.
A very strange feeling came over Celestia. Then Luna’s warning about Discord’s feelings came back to her once again. And just for a moment, she found herself trying to imagine how it would be if she were actually here with someone in a special way: a mare and her escort beneath the night sky who were more than friends. And she almost tried to imagine how she and Discord would be different with each other if they….
But then the sun princess took a breath and decided that Discord’s kind words coupled with the romantic atmosphere of the gardens and the nighttime must just be getting to her. “I’ll, um…” she cleared her throat and turned her eyes from his, “I’ll help you in any way I can if you decide to come to the Unicorn Academy, Discord. We can work on your lesson plans together, and you really can practice trying to teach me chaos to get a better idea of what you’d have to do to teach others.”
Discord nodded (and pushed aside sudden thoughts about intimate private tutoring sessions with her, and half wrapping himself around her to guide her to her chaotic goal, and the ecstasy that might come from having her sweet magic share something with his). “I think we could arrange something like that. Maybe I’ll…crash a few of your sunrises sometime soon and we could take the time then to see.”
“My sunrise?” Celestia raised an eyebrow at him.
“Yes,” Discord nodded with a shrug. “That’s what’s most special to you, Celestia, just like chaos is most special to me. So I’d like to get to know that part of your magic better.” He cleared his throat. “And it might help me with teaching too, watching you and having you to talk to about this. I’ve never studied pony magic very closely after all.”
Her smile grew, and she nodded. “I’d be happy to have you with me for bringing the day, Discord. It’s a bit of a personal experience for me but…somehow I think it would be nice to share it under these circumstances.”
Discord smiled more. “I’d appreciate the opportunity.” He raised an eyebrow. “You know, I’m almost curious enough to see if this’ll work that I’m tempted to try teaching you some chaos right now.”
Celestia smiled but shook her head. “I wish we could, Discord, but we’ve already been out here for a very long time. For now I think we should go back inside and try to mingle a little. Besides, I don’t want the ponies to worry too much about us or to think we’ve gone missing.” She looked forward and blushed a little as she added with a sigh, “With how imaginative they’ve all been lately, who knows what kind of rumors they’d come up with about us sneaking off together.”
Discord glanced to the side shyly but had to chuckle a little. “Fair enough. And we’ve almost doubled back now anyway.” They could hear the sounds of the party growing louder as they moved on. “Chaos forbid you should run off alone for too long with your ‘date’. You might elope with me or something.”
“And steal away one of the most eligible bachelors at the party?” The sun princess laughed. “I’m afraid that would be terribly rude of me, Discord.”
Discord chuckled. “You’re just charming enough to pull it off you know, dear Celestia.” He winked at her.
Celestia blinked and smiled more then looked down a little. “Thank you, Discord.”
“You’re quite welcome.” Discord smirked. “As long as we have just a few more moments of privacy together, one more question, Celestia: have you ever danced on two hooves before? Just curious. I wasn’t sure if I’d gone too far picking you up like that at the end of our dance. Still, you held your own.”
Celestia blushed and shook her head as they came in sight of the lights of the ballroom again. “No, I can safely say that was the first time anypony tried to dance with me like that. And it was nice to show the other ponies that I can still do more at these parties than just shake hooves and look pretty on a staircase.” She smirked a little.
Discord chuckled. “It would be a crime worthy of a villain to relegate a mare like you to hoofshakes for your whole life, and I for one wouldn’t stand for it…however pretty you do indeed look smiling on top of a staircase and greeting your little ponies with care.”
Celestia blushed and glanced at him with an eyebrow raised.
Discord just smirked back at her. “What? It’s sort of a statuesque image, and I for one am an expert on statues.” He held his paw to his chest and chuckled.
The sound made Celestia smile again. “Well, you did make a rather regal one, Discord.”
Discord straightened his bow tie, looking to the open doors to the ballroom beckoning them. “Yes, well, let’s hope the other ponies at your party think so too. As long as we’re going back inside I think it’s high time I really did set the record straight about myself, warts and all.” He looked to her and bowed slightly, holding out his arm. “Shall we then, my lady?” He smirked playfully. “And I promise, no more revering you and telling everyone how much I like you and trying to act like a high society draconequus. I’ll just be my nice, normal, not so bad but still pleasantly cheeky self.” He winked.
Celestia gave him a nod and hooked her foreleg with his arm. “I’d love that, Discord. Let’s go.”
The chaos master and the sun princess proceeded forward inside.
Mere minutes earlier…
Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity (and Spike) found themselves all standing together in a circle at the center of the ballroom, smiling happily. They had done their best to distract all of the guests for quite a while now. And though Celestia and Discord hadn’t returned to the party yet, the pair certainly must have had enough time by now to sort out their differences. And so now, perhaps, with the night still slightly young, the group of girls and the baby dragon could finally spend some quality Gala time together.
Twilight held her head high. “Well, girls, we did it: we helped keep the Gala going, helped keep Discord and Celestia from having to deal with all of the attention tonight, and now finally we have time to just enjoy the night together.”
“Together!” all of the girls (and Spike) announced with smiles.
Then the clock tower near the castle chimed an hour.
Twilight’s eyes went wide. And then she sighed very deeply. “…Except now its time for me to finish up the last of the hoofshakes.”
“Aw bummer!” Pinkie Pie frowned, and all of the girls glanced at each other with uncertain frowns.
Twilight raised her head and put on a smile though. “It’s okay, girls. All of you enjoy the time together. I’ll try and catch up with you when I’m done.”
“Are you sure, Twilight?” Fluttershy stepped forward. “We could all separate again and pretend like we still needed to be apart until you got back.”
Twilight’s smile warmed. “It’s okay, Fluttershy, you don’t have to do that. But thank you.” She looked to everyone. “Have fun, girls.” And then with a small wave, Twilight turned and went off to the staircase. Once there, she ascended until she was standing at Princess Luna’s side. She smiled up at the night princess. “I’m here to take over the hoofshakes for you, Princess Luna. Discord and Celestia still aren’t back yet, but I’m sure they will be soon, and it’ll probably help Celestia a lot to have you free in case there are any more problems. And I’m sure the girls would all like a chance to get to talk to you more too.”
Luna smiled warmly. “I agree that it will be good for me to be there for my sister and Discord if they need it. But as for talking with the girls…I believe that’s not going to be a possibility if I leave this staircase.” She gestured behind Twilight with her head.
Twilight blinked and turned around.
There behind her on the stairs stood all of the girls and Spike, smiling and waving.
“Girls?” She smiled back and raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
Applejack shrugged. “Well, sugar cube, we figured that if we can’t be together on the ballroom floor because you’re up here doing greetings, we’ll just have to join you up here at the top of this staircase.”
“Absolutely.” Rainbow Dash pumped a hoof into the air. “Those royal duties of yours haven’t come between us yet, and they aren’t going to now!”
“And you couldn’t possibly think that we’d leave you alone after everything we went through last year.” Rarity winked.
“Yeah.” Spike nodded. “And besides, I have to prove to you once and for all that parties together are better than parties alone.” He winked.
“And party greetings are my specialty!” Pinkie bounced up in the air.
“And, um…I don’t mind greeting ponies as long as I’m not alone.” Fluttershy shifted her mane and gave a sheepish smile.
Twilight practically beamed. “Oh girls…” She came forward, and the six mares and baby dragon shared a group hug. When they all pulled back, Twilight turned to Luna again. “Princess Luna, is it okay if they stand up here beside me while I greet the guests?”
Luna’s smile warmed. “You are a princess, Twilight, and so it is up to you. But as an expert on royal etiquette, I have to say I don’t think it’s inappropriate in the slightest for a leader to have her royal court at her side.” She gave a nod to the group. “Have fun, ladies and young Spike.”
“Thanks, Luna!” Twilight waved as she departed, and the girls and Spike joined in.
Luna waved back over her shoulder and then descended into the ballroom.
And so finally, in between Twilight’s greetings to arrived Gala guests, the group of friends had some time together to talk and catch up and share their Gala experience.
Out on the ballroom floor, meanwhile, Luna looked around and then proceeded forward. ‘Celestia and Discord really have been outside for a while…all alone…on their date.’ She blushed a little. “I just hope I didn’t make the night out there too romantic.” She smiled awkwardly and then couldn’t help laughing softly and shaking her head as she mumbled to herself. “Celestia running off with Discord…. I always knew she was just waiting to do something rebellious. I certainly didn’t see this particular form of rebellion coming, of course, but to each mare her own, I suppose. Soon I suppose I’ll have to start tiptoeing my way around her dreaming about the two of them.” She smiled a little more.
“Princess Luna!”
Luna blinked and turned as Cher Rouge approached followed by her husband as well as the Skysburgh Governor and his wife.
The night princess smiled and nodded as they bowed to her. “Duchess Rouge, Duke Honoree, Governor Albatross, and Lady Downy, I hope you’re all enjoying the evening.”
They each nodded and bowed.
Cher smiled as she raised her head. “Oh yes, we are enjoying ourselves very much, Princess Luna, merci. But we were wondering where Princess Celestia and dear Discord have gotten to? They both seemed a little distressed when they left the ballroom earlier. I hope everything is all right.” She frowned, her eyes wide with sincerity.
“Yes.” The Governor nodded. “And we were especially looking forward to talking to Discord more and hearing his views on pony society. I hope he hasn’t left for the evening or been offended in any way.”
“Oui,” the Duke added. “And I hope Princess Celestia hasn’t become distressed by the events of the evening either. I was especially looking forward to seeing her actually getting to mingle and enjoy the party this year.”
Luna’s smile warmed. “Your concern is very considerate. I was just about to look into my sister and Discord’s whereabouts actually. But rest assured, I’m certain they’ve just been in the courtyard. I believe the start of the night was a little overwhelming to them, and they needed some time alone to enjoy the evening and take stock.”
“Oh, c’est magnifique!” Cher beamed. “I am so glad nothing has happened to disrupt their evening together and that they’ve had a chance for some privacy.”
“Yes, and the courtyard is simply lovely on a night like this,” Lady Downy added with a smile. “If they needed a moment alone, I can’t think of a nicer place for them to have gone.”
“Ah, so they’ve been in the courtyard this whole time!” Suddenly Prince Blueblood (followed by his elite group) came up with a triumphant smile. “Well, at least we know they’re still on the castle grounds and that the princess is safe.” He gave Luna a bow as he stopped before her. “Princess Luna. And visiting dignitaries, how delightful!” Blueblood nodded to Cher’s group as well.
The rest of his party stopped and likewise bowed to Luna and nodded to the new group (who nodded to them in return).
Fancy Pants smiled as he straightened up. “Yes, at least that mystery is solved. We were starting to get worried about the couple and especially Celestia.”
“Perhaps we should head out to the courtyard now to find them,” Jet Set suggested, gesturing toward the exit.
Luna’s eyes went wide as a brief image flashed through her mind of the whole group heading out there and stumbling upon Celestia and Discord in various potential scenarios—still having a spat, just starting to make up, having fun together as friends but in a way that suggested something more if viewed from a certain perspective…having an epic battle or even possibly ‘necking in the hedges’ as Celestia had once joked.
“Pardon, but I do not think we should disturb them if they really have sought a moment of privacy together,” Cher replied with a blink. Her smile fell a little as she looked to the new group of ponies.
The night princess blinked and cleared her throat as she came out of her thoughts. “Yes,” she quickly replied, “I don’t think there’s any need to disturb them without cause. They’ll be back shortly, I’m sure. In fact, I…er…” She took a deep breath. ‘If all else fails, I’ll use the backup plan. I was hoping to have Pinkamena with me for it, but if worse comes to worse…Pony Pokie. Certainly such a spectacle will distract anyone.’ Her eyes drifted toward the entrance to the courtyard. “Yes, I’m sure Celestia and Discord…Oh, there they are!” Luna’s whole look brightened as Celestia and Discord did indeed stroll back into the ballroom (and smiling, arm in arm). “Come, let us greet them.” And with that she started to trot off in their direction.
The other ponies smiled, nodded, and trotted after her.
Soon enough a nice group had formed around Celestia and Discord, especially as other ponies in the ballroom noticed their return as well.
The night princess came close to her sister, her voice low. “Celestia, is everything…all right?”
Celestia nodded, her gaze warm. She kept her voice was low too. “Everything’s perfect, Luna. Discord and I had a nice talk. And thank you for the lovely night we got to stroll through while discussed our friendship.”
“Of course.” Luna smiled more. “I’m just happy to see you enjoying the Gala, sister.”
The sun princess’s smile grew as well. “Thank you. And I hope you’ve been enjoying yourself as well, Luna.”
Luna nodded. “Yes, I’m glad I came to the Gala this year. It has been a pleasant experience.”
“I’m glad you came too.” Celestia nodded in return.
“Everypony,” Discord, meanwhile, cleared his throat and addressed the ponies around them (and in a much calmer tone than he had used earlier for talking to others), “so sorry for denying you the presences of myself and your charming day princess for a little while. We’re back, though, and better than ever.” He chuckled. “In fact, while there’s still time, I thought it might be fun for all of us to get to know each other better but in a chaos-centric sort of way. And if nopony minds, I’ll go first. Anyone interested in me explaining about my experience with my reform and the Rainbow Power…Tirek parts included?” He raised an eyebrow, and his grin picked up on one side. “I know you’re all curious, and besides I do love giving my ego the boost of being the center of attention.” He chuckled.
There were mumbles of assent from the crowd.
“We’d love to hear your side, Discord.”
“We’d like to know how the magic of friendship made you want to come back to the side of good.”
“After this will you tell us more about yourself? I’m afraid I don’t know too much about chaos?”
Discord nodded. “Very well; I am my own favorite subject after all.” He snapped himself up a champagne glass of chocolate milk with a crazy straw, snapped to make a few hors d’oeuvres juggle themselves in a circle near him to nibble on, and then floated up to rest on the air. “Now let’s see…”
The chaos master began his tale, engaging his onlookers with all of the ease and humor and magic tricks to show off natural to him instead of a bunch of pretentious airs and desperation to show his devotion to Celestia.
Thus the party entered a peaceful moment suggesting the rest of the evening would go off well and that Discord and Celestia would end the night on a happy, friendly note and make an enjoyable memory together that they would never forget.
But the Gala was only just half over for Discord, Celestia, and everypony else: anything still could happen on this special night.
From atop the staircase, while greeting ponies and talking to the girls, Twilight managed to catch sight of Discord and Celestia and Luna and the ponies around them below. And though the scene appeared similar to the one from earlier that had strained Celestia and Discord’s friendship, Twilight had a good feeling that something had changed in the situation right now to actually strengthen the bond they had. (She was especially encouraged by how relaxed and himself Discord seemed now, floating as he talked and sipping the actual glass of his champagne glass of chocolate milk through a straw while Celestia looked up at him with a bright smile and occasionally laughed and stole one of his flying hors d’oeuvres). The friendship princess sighed and smiled before turning her attention back to enjoying her time with her friends and helping greet the final arriving guests for the evening.