> I'm Afraid I Haven't Told You Everything...
>  by Teyeson Bee
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Misunderstanding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It had been two months since the Tirek incident. The day that Twilight and her friends defeated the soul-sucking beast and got a new castle to go with a princess status. Twilight had realized her role as the Princess of Friendship and everything was at peace. With the girls being living embodiments of the Elements of Harmony, they were able to fully protect Equestria full-time. Everything was just fine...or was it?

It was a simple, sunny afternoon as Twilight trotted down the streets on Ponyville. As she trotted, she hummed a happy tune. She was on her way to the bookstore to acquire a new Daring Do book that had just hit the shelves. Nothing too much out of the ordinary. When she arrived though, she noticed that the bookkeeper was outside, and it looked like he was locking the door and turning his "Come in. We are Open" sign to the "Sorry. We are Closed" side. Twilight tilted her head in confusion. She was well aware that the bookstore didn't close until 8 pm, and the sun was still shining. Curious, Twilight went up to the bookkeeper.	

"Uh...excuse me," Twilight said, catching the bookkeeper's attention.

"Sorry, Princess," the bookkeeper said as he put the keys in his vest pocket. "We just closed."

"I can see that," Twilight stated, "but why are you closing so early? Is it a holiday or something?"

The bookkeeper looked at Twilight with an equally confused look. "What do you mean early? It's after 8." He then lifted his hoof to reveal a watch strapped around it. Twilight looked closely, and sure enough, he was right. "It's 8:15 to be precise," the bookkeeper continued, "though it's weird. I don't know why the sun's still up, but hey; curfew is curfew. See you later." And with that, the bookkeeper trotted away, completely emotionless in his expression.

The same could not be said about Twilight. As soon as she saw the time, she blanked out. Her mind was racing with questions. The biggest one was; if it's 8:15, then why was the sun still up. Celestia was never late when setting the sun. Something was definitely up. Twilight quickly let out a deep breath as she tried to stay calm. Maybe the Princess was busy with something important and she just forgot. Twilight then reached into her saddle bag and took out a quill and some parchment and wrote a notice to Celestia. After finishing, she used her magic to teleport the letter and waited. A few minutes passed, but still no response. Twilight was starting to really get worried. Celestia was always good at responding to Twilight's letters quickly, but not this time. After 10 minutes of nothing, Twilight was starting to sweat. She looked back up at the sky, and the sun was still in the same place. It wasn't even close to being lower. Twilight couldn't take it anymore. She waited long enough. She had to see if the time was right and if her dates matched up. Not wasting any time, Twilight galloped as fast as she could back to the castle.





"SPIKE!" 

The doors of the treehouse castle burst open as Twilight came running down the hall and into the throne room with a look of absolute panic on her face. Spike, who was asleep on his throne, jolted awake and fell on the floor in surprise. He groaned as he got up. "Well, it WAS a good afternoon nap," he grumbled to himself. He then looked over at Twilight, who was hastily going through a stack of books. She then came across her calendar and quickly turned the pages. As she stopped on the page of her choice, she looked up with panicked eyes.

"Spike," Twilight softly said. "What season is this?"

"Fall," Spike responded.

"And what time is it?" Twilight asked in increased volume.

"Uh...8:30," Spike replied as he looked at the clock on the wall.

"AM or PM?" Twilight asked practically shouting.

"PM," Spike hesitantly answered. 

"Spike," Twilight said going back to her soft panicked tone. "If the time is 8:30 pm and we're in the middle of the fall season...then WHY IS THE SUN STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SKY?!" 

Spike looked out the window, curious at what Twilight was talking about. Surely enough, the sun was still shining bright in the sky as if it was still early afternoon. By now, the sun would've been gone to make way for the moon. "That IS bizarre." Spike calmly stated.

"Bizarre? BIZARRE?" Twilight hastily questioned. "No no no! Having your alarm clock go off five minutes early; that's bizarre. This is...BAD! This is REALLY bad! Celestia should've lowered the sun by now, but as we can see, she HASN'T! This is the WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!"

"Thank you Rarity," Spike stated sarcastically. "Have you tried writing to the Princess and asking what's going on?"

"You think I would be panicking if I hadn't?" Twilight responded. "This is serious! If the sun isn't lowering, and I can't get a hold of Celestia, then that can only mean one thing!"

"What?" Spike asked.

"Celestia is GONE!"





"GONE?" 

Twilight had gathered all of her friends together at the fields on the outskirts of town to go over the situation. The other elements were gathered around Twilight; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Once Twilight had told them, they were just as stunned as Twilight was. "Ah don' understand," Applejack said, scratching her head. "Why is this happenin'?"

"I don't know," Twilight answered. "All I know is that I was walking down the street, on my way to the bookstore to check out some new material. When I got there though, it was just closing. I asked why they were closing so early, and the clerk said that it was after 8. After they said that, I was curious, so I wrote a letter to Celestia, and she didn't respond within the 10 minutes I waited. I know that she ALWAYS responds within at least five minutes, so I knew that something must be wrong, so I ran back home to check if the dates matched up, and unfortunately, they did!"

"What do you think happened?" Rarity asked. "You don't think she's sick do you?"

"I don't think so," Twilight responded. "She would've said so if she was."

"Oh," Fluttershy whimpered. "I hope she's not lost. Or missing!"

"Ah don' know 'bout that," Applejack said. "The Princess knows Equestria like the back of her hoof! She couldn't get lost!"

"What if she's not lost, but she's still missing!" Rainbow chimed in. Everypony turned to face her with expressions of worry on their faces. Was she saying what they thought she was saying? "What if she was...captured!?"

"RAINBOW DASH!" Rarity shrieked. "To bring up such a possibility..."

"Besides," Pinkie interrupted. "Who would have the ability to capture the most powerful pony in all of ponykind?"

"There's only ONE pony that comes to mind," Rainbow said through gritted teeth. "Actually, not even a pony. One creature. A certain creature who has the power to do anything! Who's had a vendetta against Celestia before!" The others stared at her confused, trying to put two and two together. Finally, a shocked expression came across all of their faces when they found out who Rainbow was talking about. 

"Ya don' mean..." said Applejack.

"It would make sense!" replied Rainbow.

"But he hasn't caused any harm in a while." stated Pinkie.

"More the reason for him to make a move!" responded Rainbow.

"NOW WAIT A MINUTE!" Fluttershy spoke sternly as the others pulled their attention to her. "If you're thinking who I think you're thinking Rainbow, then you better think again! There is no proof whatsoever that he is behind this!"

"What more proof do you need?" Rainbow asked impatiently. "This is just the kind of thing he would do."

"But he's reformed!" Fluttershy argued.

"Yeah, that's what he said last time," Rainbow responded. "I would've thought that you of all ponies would be the most affected by his betrayal during the Tirek incident. If he's shown us anything, it's that he can't be trusted." The girls looked at each other uncomfortably. Fluttershy was right in saying that there was no proof yet of him doing this, but he definitely was capable of it.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him," Twilight said. The others nodded in agreement. Since they had become living embodiments of their elements from the Tirek incident, the Six had means of summoning him as they had been able to do before with their element necklaces and crown. The group gathered around in a circle as they closed their eyes and focused hard. Pretty soon, all six ponies began to glow and rise up from the ground. As they hovered in place, a ribbon-like trail of rainbow magic traced its way along the six, creating a circle. In a flash of rainbow light, a figure appeared before them. He was tall, had the head of pony, and the body of...well...anything else. It was Discord; the former Lord of Chaos.

The timing of his summoning, however, was not the best. When he appeared, he wasn't his usual "naked" self. He wore a blue baseball cap with the letter P on it, on one paw, he wore a giant foam finger with a #1 on it, and in his other paw, he held a little waving flag. "C'MON UMP!" Discord shouted as he appeared. "WHAT ARE YA, BLIND? That ball was right down the-" He suddenly stopped as he realized that he wasn't at the Pitch-Ponies' baseball game anymore, but in Ponyville. He looked around a little before he spotted the six ponies surrounding him. His eyes fell on Twilight first. "Ugh! Twilight!" he groaned. "I thought you said you were gonna give me a heads-up before summoning me! It's the bottom of the ninth!"

"This'll only take a second Discord," Twilight said calmly but sternly. "We have a bit of a crisis on our hooves. Have you-"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE PRINCESS?" Rainbow yelled as she got right in his face. So much for just asking. Twilight facehoofed herself as she shook her head. This was not how she wanted things to go down. Discord, however, chuckled as he snapped his fingers and made the baseball stuff disappear.

"What ever are you talking about my dear?" he asked.

"Celestia's gone missin'," Applejack said just as sternly as Twilight. "That's why the sun's still burnin' bright!" Discord looked up at the sky to see that she was right. The sun was indeed still high as if it was the afternoon. Discord then snapped his fingers to produce an old grandfather clock in front of him. The time on it read 8:00 pm.

"Well that explains why it's still so bright out," he said as he made the clock vanish. "What? Did Celestia sleep in today?"

"Don't play dumb with us Discord!" Rainbow snapped. "There's only one creature in all of Equestria who can kidnap the Princess, and you're it. So where's the Princess?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy gasped. "I thought we weren't going to accuse him!"

"Now now Rainbow, I appreciate you thinking about me so much," Discord calmly joked, "but I haven't even seen the Princess in a while. Besides, did you forget that I'm reformed?" A halo then appeared over his head as he placed his paws together in an angelic pose.

Rainbow slapped the halo away. "Yeah right! That's what you said the first time, and we all know how THAT turned out!" She then turned to the others. "He betrayed us once. Whose to say that he wouldn't do it again? Remember, he IS the Lord of Chaos!" The others looked around uncomfortably. They didn't want to jump to conclusions, but Discord had shown that he can easily break their trust again. The only one who didn't have that look was Fluttershy. Discord's face dropped as he looked at the expressions of the ponies that he called friends.

"Wait. You all don't think that I would do this, do you?" he asked. The girls just looked all over with uncertainty. Discord's expression changed to that of shock and disbelief. "No! No I wouldn't! Not now! You have to believe me, I didn't do it! Applejack?" The orange pony turned her head away silently. "Rarity?" Same response. "Pinkie Pie?" Though she didn't turn away, she DID hang her head. "Twilight?" A moment of silence passed as Twilight glanced from Discord to her friends.

"I don't know anymore," she finally said quietly. "I want to believe you, I really do. But...if you didn't take her, then who did?" Discord couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure he did stuff in the past that he now regretted, but he was trying to make amends. And now, the ponies that were supposed to be his friends were now accusing him of kidnapping the Princess. Another awkward silence passed by the group as all looked in different directions with a combination of disbelief and uncertainty. Suddenly, the silence was broken with the sound of running up from behind. Everypony turned to see Spike, running toward them at full speed, with a scroll in his claw. When he finally caught up to them, Spike was panting like crazy. Everypony stared as he caught his breath and straightened up.

"Twilight!" Spike said excitedly. "I have news! You're not going to believe this!" He then opened the scroll and started to read it aloud.

My Dear Twilight,

I bet by now, you and the rest of Ponyville are wondering why the sun hasn't been lowered yet. I can explain. It turns out that my dear sister had been working really hard today, and had decided to take a little nap. Unfortunately, the nap lasted much longer than she expected. When I saw that the sun wasn't lowering to make way for me to raise the moon, I got worried. When I reached the castle, I found Celestia sleeping like a rock. We both had a good laugh, and that was it. The sun should be lowering at any time now. Sorry to make you all worry.

Yours Truly,
Princess Luna

When Spike had finished reading, he looked up to see that everypony's face had changed dramatically. They all looked absolutely relieved. At that moment, everypony looked up to see the sun starting to finally set. A huge sigh of relief filled the air as the ponies smiled. After Twilight thanked Spike for the news, he made his way back home as the others turned back to each other.

"Well that's a load off my back!" Applejack said.

"Yeah," Pinkie agreed, "I was really starting to get worried."

"AHEM!" Everypony stopped and looked over to see Discord with his arms crossed and his cloven hoof tapping on the ground impatiently. He did not look happy. At that point, everypony blushed furiously as Discord glared at them. "Well?" he said bluntly. "Isn't there anything you'd like to say?"

"Sorry Discord," Twilight said calmly. "We were just panicked. We weren't thinking."

"Well that makes it all the better!" Discord snapped sarcastically. Everypony straightened up at Discord's outburst. "Y'know, I know that I've done some terrible things in the past. I know that I've cause chaos on more than one occasion. But you know what? I've been trying to make amends for what I've done. You guys are supposed to be the elements of harmony, spreading friendship wherever you go, but it seems the only one you DON'T want to friends with is me!"

"Come on Discord," Pinkie chimed in. "That's not true!"

"Oh no?" Discord asked with a raised eyebrow, "Every time something goes wrong in Equestria, I'm the first one you blame. Oh no! The dam's gonna burst! It must be Discord! Oh no! A house is on fire! It must be Discord! Oh no! There's a pony behind on their taxes! It must be Discord! You guys have done NOTHING to at least try and trust me. Even after my first time reforming, you all have had nothing nice to say to me!" He then snapped his fingers and produced a magic TV screen that started to show moments with the six and Discord.

"Don' play dumb with us Discord! We know you're really behind this!"

"Yeah right! This has got your cloven hoofprints all over it!"

"Drop the act, buster! We're onto you!"

"I say we blast him back to stone!"

"Whatever color you are is the color of trouble!"

"And good riddance!"

As the screen disappeared, the six ponies looked at each other with shame. They really hadn't said anything nice to Discord after his reforming. The only one to really show him kindness was Fluttershy. "You see?" Discord continued. "No matter what I try to do, I'll never be seen as anything...but a monster! But I guess I'm used to that. I mean, I was seen as nothing but a monster even before my first takeover of Equestria! Even before I did anything wrong!"

The others looked at each other confused. "What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked.

Discord scoffed. "Why don't you ask your precious princess of the sun? If I know her, she hasn't told you anything about what REALLY happened all those years ago! Do you think I just started out this way?" The six looked at each other again. They hadn't really thought about it. "She probably made me out to be the bad guy from the start," Discord chuckled as he turned. "Well, if you have nothing else to accuse me of for today, I think I'll take my leave. THANKS FOR NOTHING 'FRIENDS'!" And with the snap of his fingers, Discord was gone, leaving the Mane Six with only their thoughts.





"Poor Discord," Rarity said softly as the six walked back to Ponyville. "I guess I never really thought about it, but we HAVEN'T treated him very kindly lately."

"And we're supposed to be the Elements of Harmony," Pinkie sulked.

"Well ah feel darn right embarrassed," Applejack mumbled.

"You should feel more than that!" Fluttershy scolded. Everypony jumped as they turned to face her. They had seen Fluttershy agitated before, but this time, she looked furious and hurt. "You all should feel ashamed! He's right you know. You guys have been nothing but unkind to him since the beginning of his reformation! And YOU!" She pointed towards Rainbow, who in turn, straightened up. "You just showed the exact opposite of your element! I know Discord has done stuff in the past that hurt others, but how can he move on, if you keep reminding him of the bad he had done?" She then turned back to the others, whose heads were all hanging in shame. "We are suppose to spread friendship across ALL of Equestria. What would the Princess say if she saw us holding a grudge to the creature that needs friendship most of all? I can only imagine how hurt the poor thing is feeling right now."

"Ah guess we've never thought about it that way," Applejack said. "We've all seen Discord as nothin' but a villain, but we've been too blind by our grudges to try and bury the hatchet."

"I don't see what burying a hatchet has to do with forgiving Discord," Pinkie chimed in. "Where are we supposed to even find a hatchet?" The others rolled their eyes as Rarity noticed that Twilight's head was still hanging, but the expression on her face was different. It was a face that the girls were all too familiar with. She was in deep thought. 

"Twilight? Are you alright darling?" Rarity asked. Twilight snapped out of her thought and raised her head to meet with her friends.

"Yeah I'm fine," she answered, "but I can't help but think of something. What do you think Discord meant when he said to ask the Princess about what REALLY happened all those years ago?"

"Maybe he was just making stuff up," Rainbow stated bluntly.

"RAINBOW!" Fluttershy scolded.

"Sorry! It's a habit!"

"I don't think that's it," Twilight pondered. "I could tell that there was some real hurt in his voice when he said that. I think that something happened with him and Celestia a long time ago that led him to become what he is today!"

"You think that Celestia's keeping information from us?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't know," Twilight responded. "I mean, I would hope that the princess would tell us everything, but what if something happened that she was so ashamed of, that she didn't want us to think badly of her. What if SHE had something to do with Discord turning evil!"

The others gasped in shock. "You really believe that?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't want to, but what else did he mean by, 'Do you think I just started out this way'?" Twilight answered. "I think that it's time to ask Celestia for the whole story. What REALLY happened with Discord all those years ago."

"What are we waiting for?" Rainbow said. "Let's go get some info from the Princess!" The others started to leave, before they looked up to notice the moon completely out. With everything that had happened, they had forgotten that it was later than they thought.

"On second thought," Twilight snickered, "maybe we should go first thing in the morning." Everypony nodded in agreement. "Ok everypony, we'll meet at the train station to catch the 9:00 train, go to Canterlot, and THEN we'll find out what really happened with her and Discord."

After everypony had said their goodbyes, Twilight made her way back to the castle. As she walked, she couldn't help but think of everything that had happened. She was feeling a whole bunch of mixed emotions. Embarrassment for accusing Discord, shame for not showing her true element towards him, relief that the Princess was ok, and confusion about what happened in the past. All the emotions made her feel rather queasy, so as soon as she entered the castle, she went straight to her room and plopped down on the bed. The rushing thoughts running through her head, however, were more than enough to keep her up. She just couldn't believe that the Princess would keep crucial information from her, but it was a possibility. What REALLY happened with her and Discord? What REALLY caused Discord to take over Equestria? Did she have something to do with it?

These questions haunted Twilight until exhaustion finally took over. Slowly but surely, Twilight's eyes shut as she drifted off to sleep.
		
> Princess. What Happened?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning, the girls didn't waste anytime in catching the 9:00 train to Canterlot. The trip was a quiet one, as each one of them had too many thoughts on their mind. Even Pinkie Pie didn't talk, and THAT was something everypony was surprised about. Even though they didn't talk about it, they were all thinking the exact same thing; What was Celestia not telling them? They had all looked up to the Princess since the first day. They had always seen her as perfect. But she was still a pony. Princess or not, she still had her faults. There could well be something that she wasn't telling them about her past. None of them wanted to believe that she would lie to them, but it was possible that she didn't tell them something crucial. One thing was for sure, they were going to find out, one way or another.

The train ride seemed to go longer than normal, but they finally made it to Canterlot. The six made their way to the castle, a million different thoughts still racing through their heads. As soon as they arrived, they entered through the front doors and made their way down the long corridor. As they trotted, the silence was finally broken by Rainbow Dash. "Not gonna lie guys," she said, "I'm kinda hoping that Celestia ISN'T hiding anything." The others looked at her. "Hey, everypony was thinking it."

"I hope so too," Twilight said, "but I just can't get the feeling that there is a possibility that she is."

"What do we do if she is?" Applejack asked. "How are we supposed to react?"

"We listen," Twilight answered sternly, "and we make sure to hear every bit of information before reacting." Everypony nodded in agreement. When they finally reached the throne room doors, they stopped at the two guards outside.

"Halt!" one of the guards called out as the six approached, "Nopony sees the Princess without an-" He then stopped as soon as he saw that it was Twilight. The two guards hastily bowed their heads. "Princess Twilight Sparkle," the guard said with his head still bowed. "My apologies. I didn't mean to-"

"It's quite alright," Twilight interrupted. She then signaled for the guards to raise their heads. "I need to speak to the Princess please."

"Of course!" the other guard said. "I'll inform her that you are here." As the guard went through the door, Twilight turned to the others.

"Alright girls. Remember, we are here to ask," She turned to Rainbow with a stern expression, "NOT accuse."

"Alright alright!" Rainbow reassured. 

Within a second, the guard opened the door the full way, allowing Twilight and the others to enter. The throne room was as big as ever, with a long red carpet leading to the throne, and stained glass windows on both sides of the room. As they made their way down the hall, they passed the special windows that told of all of their accomplishments. The defeat of Nightmare Moon, Discord's first rise to power, the girls defeating Discord, Shining Armor and Cadence saving Canterlot, Spike getting the Crystal Heart to Cadence, Princess Twilight, and, the most recently added, the defeat of Tirek. They finally made it to the throne, where Celestia sat, surrounded by advisers and guards. The girls stopped as they saw the guard in front stop to face the Princess.

"Your Highness!" the guard announced. Celestia looked up and smiled softly. "Her other Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and friends." He then bowed and stepped out of the way for Twilight and the others to move forward.

"Hello Twilight," Celestia greeted in her usual soft, caring tone. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Hello Celestia," Twilight greeted back as she and the others bowed a bit.

"By the way, I am deeply sorry for the scare yesterday," Celestia said. "I must've worked too hard. I laid my head down for a second, and the next thing I know, Luna's waking me up and it's evening. I was so embarrassed. I hope I didn't scare you girls too much."

"Actually Princess," Twilight said as she raised her head, "that's kinda what we need to talk to you about." She looked around at the other ponies around the room. "Alone."

"Very well Twilight," Celestia nodded. She then signaled for the advisers and guards to leave the room, which they did hastily. As soon as the doors closed, Celestia looked to the six with a smile. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Your Highness," Twilight started, "a bit of an incident happened yesterday, and it's kind of our fault." Celestia's smile faded a bit. "We DID freak out a bit, and we assumed that something terrible had happened to you."

"We thought that you were captured!" Pinkie Pie chimed in, "And well...we kinda...blamed it on Discord." Celestia frowned in concern, nodding as she followed along.

"We were so blind to what he did in the past," Rarity said, "that we didn't even ask him. We accused him."

"And after we got Luna's letter, Discord lashed out at us. We deserved it." Twilight continued. "But as he scolded us, he said that he was used to being called a monster his whole life and told us to ask you what REALLY happened all those years ago." Celestia's expression suddenly changed to a mixture of curiosity and concern. "He said he didn't start out at a villain, and that sparked our curiosity." A moment of silence rang out throughout the throne room as the ponies all stared at the Princess, who glanced from the curious ponies. Celestia got up from her throne and walked over to the closest window. She sighed deeply as she looked out the window at the city in front of her. The girls couldn't see her face, but they could tell that she had a serious expression. Finally, Celestia spoke.

"I always thought that the past would catch up to me sooner or later, even if I would try to deny it." The six perked up as they stared at the Princess. "I was foolish to think that I could just forget the past, no matter how hard it was. If I am to truly let go, I must tell somepony. And you six are definitely worthy to know the whole story." She then turned to face the six, their faces glued to her's. "When the Discord incident happened, I told you that he tried to take over Equestria before, and how my sister and I defeated him with the Elements of Harmony. That is true. But..." She sighed heavily as she continued, "I'm afraid I haven't told you EVERYTHING."

"What do you mean Princess?" Twilight asked.

"My dear Twilight," Celestia continued, "there WERE events that happened before the incident I told you about. Events that would indeed haunt me until I pass. Though not all the memories of the past were bad. There was a time when they were good." Celestia smiled a bit. "To be honest, a lot of those memories were thanks to, believe it or not, Discord."

The six ponies' faces changed to that of surprise. Pinkie and Rainbow's jaws even dropped. "You had good memories with Discord?" Applejack asked.

"Oh yes Applejack," Celestia nodded. "In fact, there was a time when Discord and I were...best friends."

At that point, all of the six's jaws dropped. They were expecting news that they haven't heard before, but nothing of THAT caliber. They just couldn't believe it! Discord and Celestia were friends? A moment of awkward silence passed as the Princess stared from each of shocked ponies in front of her. When the silence finally was broken, the only thing that came out of their mouths was,

"Say what?"

Celestia chuckled, "I know it seems hard to believe, considering all that you know about Discord, but it's true. I have known him for a long LONG time. I met him when I was a mere 12 years old. He was so scared. So...timid. I took a liking to him and we became friends. We were friends for so long after that. It seemed that we would be together forever. But..." Celestia's voice changed as the six broke out of their shock to see that her lip was trembling, and a tear was forming out of the corner of her eye. "...but then everything changed. Why did it have to change? Why did <sniff> things have to turn out that way? Why didn't I do anything?" At that point, the six saw something that they had never seen before; Celestia started to cry. Of all the years that they've known her, they always saw the Princess as strong-willed and able to keep a good composure. Now, she was crying softly, as if something was so powerfully heartbreaking, that it was just too much for her. The others looked at her with concern. What could've happened that would lead Celestia to cry at a mere memory? 

Twilight slowly walked over and put a hoof over Celestia's shoulder for comfort. "Princess," she said softly. Celestia looked into Twilight's concerning eyes. "What happened? Whatever it was, we promise that we won't tell a soul. Nothing leaves this room. Right girls?" The others nodded with smiles. Celestia smiled back and straightened up as she wiped her eyes.

"Yes. You all deserve to know the FULL truth. Maybe telling somepony is just what I need to move on. You girls might want to get yourselves comfortable." The girls followed Celestia back to her throne as she sat down. She then tilted her head up as her horn began to glow, but nothing was happening. The six all sat in a semi-circle around her and got in a comfortable listening position. Just then, the doors to the back of the thrones creaked open and in trotted Princess Luna.

"Did you contact me sister?" Luna asked. The spell that Celestia cast must've been a telepathic contact spell.

"I did," Celestia answered calmly. "Could you please have all my appointments cancelled until further notice? This is too important. If the staff have any problems, I'm putting you in charge."

"Of course sister," Luna said as she bowed her head. As she left the room, she couldn't help but turn her head as she wondered what her sister was talking about. But, it wasn't her place, so she continued out the doors, which closed after her.

"Alright my little ponies," Celestia started as the others got comfortable, "I will tell you of the-"

CRUNCH!

Everypony snapped a look towards Pinkie, who was holding a large cup of popcorn, and eating it rather loudly. As soon as she saw that everypony was glaring at her. Pinkie blushed and said, "Sorry," as she popped another piece in her mouth and chewed it silently.		

Celestia cleared her throat and started again. "I will now tell you of the FULL past between Discord and myself."
> Finding Discord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It all started back when I was just a filly of 12. At that time, Canterlot was not where it is today, but where the Castle of the Two Sisters rested. The Everfree Forest hadn't even grown at that time. The castle was once surrounded by a small town, filled with ponies big and small. The ruler of Equestria was my father; King Solaris. He was the keeper and master of the Sun and ruled over the kingdom with a kind heart. He never looked down on any creature, and was great at keeping harmony, which is why so many loved him. My mother, Queen Cosmos, died a year after Luna was born, so my father was responsible for both the sun and the moon, as the nighttime was once my Mother's position. Ever since I got my cutie mark, I was told that someday, I would have to take up the mantle as Ruler of Equestria and Keeper of the Sun, as it was my destiny as an alicorn. 

Anyways, after Luna had turned six, she and I would be allowed to roam the outer regions of the town, which was surrounded by small caves, lush fields, and hills that Luna and I loved to play on. I remember how we used to roll down them on our sides to race to the bottom. We would see who could climb the hills the longest without getting winded. Those were good times. One particular day, Luna and I were out playing near the caves by the town walls. We were climbing over rocks, pretending to be brave knights protecting their fortresses, and even getting in a stone throwing contest. I had also decided to show Luna a specific cave which held a powerful creation that you girls might remember; the Tree of Harmony.

"Come sister!" I called out to Luna, who was a few yards behind me. "I want to show you something you will NEVER forget."

"Ok! Wait up!" Luna called back. As soon as she caught up, I led her down the long flight of stairs that led to the cavern opening. When we got inside, I pointed to where the Tree was, and couldn't help but giggle when I saw the look on Luna's face. She always loved shining things, and the Tree was no exception. Slowly, she walked up to the Tree, continuing to stare in awe of it, as I walked beside her, beaming with happiness. "W-what is it sister?" she asked.

"This, my dear sister, is the Tree of Harmony," I responded. "See those gems hanging from the branches?" Luna looked around the tree until she saw the gems and nodded. "Those are the Elements of Harmony. They are responsible for protecting ALL of Equestria, and the Tree is what channels their energy. Father showed me it when I was your age, and now, I get to show you!"

"Wow," Luna gawked. I smiled a bit as I watched Luna continue to stare in wonder at the magnificent tree. "Wait a minute," she suddenly said as she snapped out of her trance. "I thought Father was the one who protected Equestria."

"He is," I explained, "but Equestria's a BIG place. So Father deserves a little bit of help right?"

"Right!" Luna nodded happily. "There's somepony else who needs help too."

"Who?" I asked.

"You!" she shouted as she started to run. "You'll need help to beat me up the stairs!"

It took me a split second to get where she was going, but when it finally did click, I started to laugh as I galloped toward my speeding sister. It was a close call, but Luna did beat me up the staircase (of course I was holding back). At that point, the time was getting late and I figured that it was best if we went back to the castle. On our way back though, I heard something coming from the cave area. It was a faint sound, but it almost sounded like...sobbing. My curiosity got the better of me as I headed in the direction of the sound. Luna noticed this and quickly came up behind me.

"Sister?" she said rather loudly. "What are you-" I shushed her a bit as I neared the cave. Luna closed her mouth tightly as she followed closely behind me. As we ventured into the cave, I could hear the sobbing getting louder. Whatever it was, it was coming from further in. I could feel Luna grabbing my hoof as we went in further. Finally, my eyes caught sight of a silhouetted figure in the darkness. It was too dark, so I couldn't tell what it was. All I knew was that it was crying. Though I was only a filly of 12, the sound of anything crying made me feel sad. As I stepped forward, my hoof hit a stone, and that was all it took. The crying stopped as I saw the silhouette look towards me and moved further into the cave.

"Wait!" I called out. The figure stopped. "Please don't go away. I won't hurt you." A moment of silence passed, with only the sound of the figure's breathing. After a minute, it spoke.

"Are you here to cower from the monster too?" he asked. Yes, by the sound of the voice, it was male. Young, but still male. He also sounded like he was crying for a while, with a hint of fear and hurt in his voice.

"There's a monster in here?" I asked.

"Me!" he responded. "The scary creature that doesn't have a proper description. Something that can't be explained, so <sniff> ponies fear it."

"I highly doubt you are a monster," I calmly stated. "There are no such things as monsters."

"If you saw me, you wouldn't think so," he called back.

"You could try me." I responded. Another moment of silence passed, with the figure and I staring in the darkness. Finally, I saw the figure start to move towards me. Luna was busy cowering behind me, not knowing what was going to come out. The tension started to build so much, even I was a little nervous. That changed, however, as the figure stepped into the light of the cave. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. He had the head of a pony, but his body was made up of so many other things. His torso was long, almost elastic, with a lion paw for one limb, and an eagle talon as the other. His legs were made up of a cloven hoof and something that looked like a dragon leg. He also sported a deer antler, a bat wing, a snake tail, and some kind of antennae and pegasus wing. His face wore a terrified look, complete with red and yellow eyes and a single fang peeking out from the corner of his mouth.

As soon as Luna saw him, she let out a small yelp as she ran behind a rock. The creature let out a tiny sob as he hid his face from us. "Sister!" Luna called out. "Let's get out of here!" I didn't move though. I didn't even flinch. The appearance of the figure was so interesting, that I was almost hypnotized. As I started towards him, the creature flinched a bit, as if I was going to pounce on him and eat him. I drew closer and closer, getting a good look at who was in front of me. With my face a few inches from him, I observed him from top to bottom. After I was done, he and Luna looked anxiously at me, wondering what I was going to say. When I finally spoke, my mouth formed into a smile as I stated,

"How unique!"

The creature froze, his face making the most confusing look. "Unique?" he asked. "You're...not afraid of me?"

"Why would I be?" I asked kindly. "Everypony's different in their own way. It's what makes them special. And I'd say you've got a whole carriage-full of special!" I giggled a little at the statement as the creature and Luna looked at me like I was absolutely crazy. Neither of them knew what to say. Suddenly, the creature opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then started to close it again, before opening it, his face making a silly look all the while. I soon realized what he was doing, and used my wing to block him out before he finally let go.

"AH-CHOO!"

I didn't see what happened, all I heard was Luna squeal again after he sneezed. Curious, I lowered my wing, and jumped a little when I saw what had happened. Between the creature and I was a tiny, pink cloud. And if that wasn't curious enough, there were little droplets of some brown liquid raining from the cloud.

"I'm so sorry!" the creature hastily said. "I can't control it yet. Please don't be mad!" 

My curiosity was still getting the better of me, so I stuck a hoof out and let some of the brown liquid drip onto me. I then raised my hoof to my mouth and gave a little suckle. Luna looked at me with concern, only to see me giggle at the taste of the newly discovered liquid. I quickly opened my mouth and stuck my tongue out under the cloud to let the liquid fall onto it.

"It's chocolate milk Luna!" I called back to her, "He can make it rain chocolate milk!" I then touched the cloud. It was sticky to the touch, and as I pulled away, some of it stuck to my hoof, so I curiously licked it off. As the sweet taste hit my tongue and quickly dissolved in my mouth, I realized what it was. "And it comes from a cotton candy cloud! How amazing is that?" At that point, Luna came out from behind the rock and came closer to me to get a better look. I offered Luna a piece of cloud, and she hesitantly took it. As she popped it in her mouth though, her mood changed, as the fear melted away into a happy giggle. She then made her way to my side as we both stuck our open mouths underneath the cloud and let the sweet milk dribble down our throats. We continued to giggle as the creature's face was changed into a smile.

"You...you really aren't afraid of me!" he said quite happily. "But...but why? I look so...repulsive. With powers that can't be explained!"

"Maybe that's why ponies are afraid," I said as I licked my lips of the milk. "They just don't know what to say. By the way, my name is Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Luna. What's yours?"

The creature hesitated a bit, as his red eyes darted all across the cave. "That's fine," I said. "You don't want to say right now. So, where's your family?" I seemed to have hit a nerve when I said that, because as soon as I said family, his expression dropped, and he turned away with sorrow. My expression dropped too. I knew what that meant right away. "Oh," I said softly. "I'm so sorry. Well, we can't leave you out here in the cold all by yourself." I then turned to leave the cave, but looked back towards him. "Come! You can stay with us!" Both his and Luna's eyes went wide with both confusion and fear.

"Sister!" Luna said. "What about Father?"

"He won't mind," I reassured her. "He can't turn a helpless creature like him away. Come stranger!" He didn't move, looking tense and unsure of what to do. "Do you really want to stay out here in the cold?" I asked. The creature shook his head no, and hesitantly took some steps forwards towards us. Anxious to get him back home, I went back to him and took his paw and led him out. Although I didn't see it, I could tell that he was blushing furiously. And to be honest, so was I.





"You really weren't afraid of him?" Rainbow asked. "I would've at least been a little bit tense." The others nodded slightly.

"I know it sounds strange," Celestia answered, "but I just didn't see anything frightening in him. I only saw...somepony special who needed a friend."

"That is SOOOOO sweet!" Pinkie squealed excitedly. "So, what did your Father think of Discord when you brought him home?"

"Well," Celestia continued, "my Father wasn't the one I was worried about. If there was any pony I knew wouldn't like Discord, it was Royal Scroll; my father's head adviser. He was in charge of keeping the peace, though he did a REALLY good job at discrimination. As soon as I introduced Discord to the company in my father's throne room, well...it could've been better."





"My dear Princess!" Royal Scroll said in disgust. "With all due respect, how could you bring a...a monster into the palace?"

The creature shrunk back in terror as everypony looked at him with disgust. I, however, stood in front of him and retorted, "He is NOT a monster! He's just a little different." I then turned to my father, who was sitting on his throne, looking at the creature with curious eyes. "Father, I found him in a cave outside the town. He looked so alone and terrified. I just had to help him somehow! Oh please can he stay here?"

"Absolutely not!" Scroll intervened. "This is a royal palace. Not a...petting zoo! No creature outside the boundaries of the walls can-"

"Excuse me Scroll!" my father bellowed. "I believe my daughter asked ME! Not you!" Scroll bowed his head respectfully. My father looked the situation over, glancing from the creature to me. I waited in anticipation as he thought, and the creature looked just as anxious. Finally, my father tilted his head up and smiled a bit. "Very well Celestia. He can stay." I happily, but silently squealed with delight. Royal Scroll had other reactions.

"But...but your Majesty. With all respect, I would think that having that beast in here would be most unhealthy for your daughter! What if it were to attack her?"

"No arguments!" my father stated firmly. "If he wanted to attack Celestia, he would've done it by now. He does not look menacing in my eyes. And it is my job to make sure that there is peace throughout the kingdom is it not?"

"But sire-"

"IS IT NOT?" Scroll closed his mouth and nodded. "Then that is my decision. We are done here!" He then turned to me and smiled softly. "Celestia, why don't you show our guest to the guest room."

"Of course Father!" I stated happily as I took the creature's paw again and led him out of the room. As I passed a bowing Scroll, I couldn't help but quickly stick my tongue out and softly raspberry him. The creature giggled as the doors closed behind us. I led him down a series of long corridors before we stopped at a big door on the left side. I opened them and we stepped inside. His eyes went wide as he looked over the humungous room. The bed was a king-size, meaning he would have plenty of room, and the room even came with a toiletry station in the back. As he looked over the room, I happily watched him. "What do you think?"

"It's...different from what I'm used to," he said in awe.

"Good," I said with a smile, "Wake up is normally at 8:00, but I can see if I can't squeeze it to 8:30. Breakfast is in the Great Hall, my Princess Etiquette lessons end at noon, and steer clear of Royal Meanie-Scroll. Other than that, welcome! I'll leave you to it then." 

As I started to leave, I was quickly stopped by the sound of his voice. "Celestia?" I turned around to see him staring at me, rather confused. "Why? I mean, why would you want to do all of this...for me?"

My tone changed to a sweet and soft serious, "Because what others see as a monster, I see as somepony who just needs a friend."

He blushed a little as his face curled into the first smile I saw from him. He had a nice smile. "Thank you," he stated. I smiled back and started to close the doors when he stopped me again. "Oh, and Celestia?" I stopped as I looked at him smiling back at me.

"My name is Discord."  

	

	
> Responsibilities and Chocolate Milk 
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	Though we started out slow, it didn't take long for Discord and I to really connect. The first step was making him feel comfortable. Though others in the castle, especially Royal Scroll, flinched in fear or disgust when they saw him, I reassured Discord that they would warm up to him. It seemed that for the longest while, the only ones who didn't see Discord for his looks were Luna, Father, and myself. Everyday, he would wait in his room while I went through my Princess Etiquette lessons, and afterwards, I would visit him, and we would talk. He wasn't much of a talker at first, so for the first week, I did the talking. I told of how my father and mother were the rulers of the sun and the moon, responsible for the rising and setting of them. How that skill is passed down through the royal line. I explained that when the time would come for my father to pass, not only would I be in charge of raising and setting the sun, but I would also be in charge of ALL of Equestria. It was a difficult job, but I didn't worry too much, seeing how alicorns live such an awfully long time. As Discord listened to my conversations, he would just smile and laugh at the silly remarks.

After he had gotten more comfortable, he started talking about himself. He told me that his species was something called a draconequus, which was a super hybrid between a pony and, well, everything else. He told me how he once had a big family. A father, mother, and three brothers. He told how his species came from a faraway land, far outside of the kingdom. He also told me of the tragic tale of how he lost them. Apparently, there was a big storm that came through the land, a storm that not even the draconequus could control. His mother told him and his brothers to run, which they did. However, the parents never made it out of the storm. After that, he and his brothers traveled around, searching for somewhere to go. They were finally able to find a village and thought they could rest there. They were sadly mistaken.

When the villagers saw the draconequus boys, they were frightened beyond belief. They assumed that they were all demons, sent from Tartarus to ravage the land. The villagers took up arms and attacked the frightened children. Though Discord managed to get away, his brothers, however, were beaten to death by the frightened villagers. Discord never tried another village after that, too afraid of sharing his brothers' fate. He traveled alone after that, roaming over different mountains to find places to stay. Every time he was spotted by a pony, they would either run away in fear, or throw rocks at him, yelling at him to go away, and calling him a monster. Finally, after traveling for weeks, he stumbled across my father's kingdom. Too afraid to go to the town, he hid in the caves, and that's when I found him. I was literally in tears after he told me the story. I couldn't imagine a more tragic backstory! After he had finished, I gave him the most comforting hug I could summon. He hugged me back, and, well, we both cried.





<HONK!>

The others looked over to see Pinkie Pie blowing her muzzle loudly into a tissue, tears gushing from her eyes. "So sad!" she said as she continued to cry, "Poor Discord! I should've given him a hug when I had the chance! The poor unfortunate-" She soon stopped as she saw the other ponies looking at her again. "Sorry. Continue."





After that, it seemed that Discord had gotten more comfortable. He started to actually come to the Great Hall for meals, trying not to notice how the others looked at him. He always sat beside me of course. He even became more open over time, and I had finally seen Discord for what he was good at; fun and playful mischief. Once during breakfast, Discord got a little idea to play a prank on Scroll. He rigged his goblet so that the drink would spill out before it reached his mouth. An old trick today, but back then, it was quite new. As soon as the drink spilled all over Scroll, I couldn't contain my laughter. I laughed so hard, I actually snorted. Scroll looked furious, but my father saw it as harmless child's play. After that, Discord started to use his magic more often as well. All he could do at that age was cotton candy clouds and chocolate rain, but it made Luna and I happy. However, Royal Scroll started to accuse Discord of using Black Magic, and that made the guards and servants fear him even more.

There was ONE pony who saw Discord's powers interesting; Starswirl the Bearded. At that time, he was a member of the Royal Magic Council, as well as Luna and I's magic teacher. Though he was still rather young, 30 years give or take, he was still one of the most powerful unicorns in all Equestria. Once he saw Discord's powers, he was intrigued, and even volunteered to try and train Discord into controlling his abilities, hoping to unlock some more of his yet-to-be-discovered magical abilities. Though hesitant at first, Discord soon agreed, and to all of our surprise, he started to get control of his magic. It wasn't long before he could just snap his fingers and the magic would happen. After some more training, he was even able to expand his magic passed cotton candy and chocolate milk. Though he didn't just get it right away. I still laugh when I think of how many times he accidentally turned Starswirl's hat into a balloon, or how he was able replace Starswirl's hooves with glue. The more confident Discord got with his magic, the more confident he got with his personality. 

Though with all that was happening, Discord and I always made time together. As the years passed, our friendship only grew even more than before. I remember how we would take nice walks through the gardens, talking about our day, and even him playing pranks on me. One particular day, he and I were walking and talking, when I turn away for a second, and he's gone the next.

"Discord?" I called as I walked through the maze of plants and statues, "Discord? Where are you?" I walked into a clearing of the garden where the big fountain was, and I noticed that the statue looked a bit...different. Normally it was an alicorn, but this time, it looked like a dragon. I didn't recall any other fountains in the garden, so I slowly trotted up to it and closely examined it. Suddenly, the statue came to life and looked at me, looking as if it was going to pounce. I was so startled, my first instinct was to shoot a simple beam from my horn. As I hit the statue square in the head, it fell backwards into the water with a loud, "OW!" Instantly, I knew whose voice that was. I took a few steps around the fountain to see Discord, turning himself back to normal while rubbing his forehead.

"Geez 'Lestia," he grunted as he got out of the fountain, "I try and just startle you, and you shoot me with a laser? What the hay?"

"I'm sorry," I answered teasingly serious, "But that's what you get for trying to startle a princess."

"What do you mean try?" Discord asked, "You WERE startled!"

"No I wasn't," I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Yes you were!"

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes you were!"

"No I wasn't!"

"No you weren't!"

"Yes I was!"

I stopped and grunted in defeat as soon as I realized what I had said. Discord started to laugh as I just looked at him and shook my head with a smirk on my face. He was always able to get me with word play. He was quite skilled with it. Another thing about Discord was that he could always make me smile. Even with all of his pranks, I could never truly be mad at him. I was just happy to see HIM happy. The years went by so fast, but every minute was enjoyable, for as long as Discord was with me, I was happy.





"Ok," Rainbow interrupted, "where's the sad part?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded.

"What? All this happy talk is just asking for something sad to happen!" Rainbow responded.

"She has a point," Applejack mumbled to Rarity.

"Girls!" Twilight snapped. "Just because something good is being described in a story, it doesn't automatically mean that something sad is going to-"

"Actually," Celestia interrupted, "something DOES happen."

"Called it!" Rainbow said. Twilight glared at her and she hastily closed her mouth and turned back to the princess.

"Something DID happen, like I said," Celestia continued. "Something nopony could ever predict. Something that changed my life forever. When I was 16, my father grew incredibly ill. Not even immortal alicorns were resistant to disease and illness. The royal physicians did all they could, but no magical remedy could cure him. They tried basic treatment, but that didn't work either. With weeks gone by and no signs of him getting better, the end result was announced."

"My father was dying."





I stood there with Luna beside my father's deathbed with tears forming in my eyes. Luna was crying as well as she held onto me. As I looked at my dying father, he looked so...peaceful. Even at death's door, he still looked as magnificent and strong. The nursemaids were scattered around him and Royal Scroll was standing beside us. Even though he wasn't the most charming pony around, it still showed that he cared...enough at least. 

"C-Celestia," Father said in a weak voice. I leaned towards him to hear him better. "I-I am so proud of you and Luna. You're going to make fine p-princesses of the sky. Y-your mother is smiling right now."

"Daddy!" Luna cried as she leaned towards him. "You can't go! You just can't! It's not fair!"

"Everything must pass at some point my dear," my father responded with a smile. "Even alicorns." He then turned to Scroll. "S-Scroll. I want you to look after my daughters."

"Of course your Majesty," Scroll responded calmly.

Father then turned towards me. "Celestia. Look after your sister. Be there for her, be strong for her, and p-protect her."

"Yes Father," I tearfully replied.

Father then took my hoof and leaned me in towards him further, until our horns touched. "And now," he said, "like my father before me, I will pass on the power of the sky to you." His horn began to glow as it connected with mine. It caused my horn to glow as he transferred the magic. A sudden warm sensation filled me as this happened, as if somepony had shined a warm light on me that covered my whole body. After the transfer was complete, I lifted my head to see him smiling at me. "N-now you have the power of the sun and the moon. When L-Luna is old enough, I want you to transfer the moon power to her, for it is HER destiny, as it is yours to rule the sun."

"Yes Father," I said. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," he said even more weakly. My father leaned back as everypony saw him start to fade. That's what happens when an alicorn dies. They fade into their element. "I w-will be with your mother soon," he whispered as his torso disappeared. With his eyes closed and his head fading into nothing, his last words were, "I love you both so much." Then he was gone. Everypony hung their heads in respect as Luna and I hugged each other. Tears were flowing from Luna as she grieved over Father's death. I wasn't completely crying, but tears had appeared in my eyes. I promised Father that I would be strong for my sister, and I was going to. 

A funeral for my father was held the next evening in the Great Hall, with all of his advisers and ponies who knew him personally giving speeches. The whole kingdom was there to pay tribute, which made me see how much my father was loved. The funeral was a peaceful one, with the speeches being about how much my father changed lives and how he was cared for. I never left Luna's side, seeing how she needed somepony to be strong for her. I had only wished that Discord could've come and given a speech. My father had helped him too. But he was afraid that he would cause a feared riot and then Scroll would throw a fit. I could see where he was coming from, so I didn't force him to come. Though, during the speeches, I DID spot him disguising himself as a statue by the window to get a view of the service. I knew it was him because the statue yawned at one point.

At the final moments of the funeral, Luna and I got up in front of the crowd to thank them for coming. As Luna and I stood up, Scroll was just finishing up his speech. "King Solaris's legacy will live on in our hearts for all eternity and beyond. With him gone, there is another matter at hoof. The new ruler of Equestria." The crowd started to murmur as Luna and I looked at each other. With Father passing, we had forgotten all about who would rule next. "Never fret ponies of Equestria!" Scroll continued, "We will NOT be without a ruler for long. In fact, we will have them today! King Solaris did not leave us without an heir to the throne. I present to you, the next ruler of Equestria...Princess Celestia!"

My whole body froze. My mind had stopped working. The crowd began to cheer as Scroll grabbed my leg and lightly pulled me up to the front of the crowd. My mind was still a blank. I was...the next ruler? I knew that I would have to take the title someday, but I never expected it to be that early. I was only 16; still a child. I had just lost my father, given an enormous amount of power, combined with the new responsibility to control the sun AND moon, and NOW I had to worry about ruling over ALL of Equestria? My legs started to get wobbly as my vision started to get fuzzy. The pressures of everything that had happened were too much for me to take at once. 

"Your Majesty?" I shook my head to clear my vision and looked at Scroll. "Is everything alright?" I looked out at the millions of eyes looking at me. Looking to me to guide them and to rule them. Millions of ponies, scattered out all across Equestria, would be looking to me to make all the right decisions. I couldn't take it anymore. The pressure was so much for me, I ran out of the room without saying a word. As I ran, I could hear more murmurs, as well as Scroll's booming voice announcing, "It's alright! She's just shy is all! As per tradition, a proper coronation ceremony will take place when the Princess turns 21!" Five years? It might as well have been five days. I galloped as fast as I could outside to the gardens. It was the only place nopony would look for me. When I got to the open fountain area, my legs finally gave way, and I dropped down and started to cry. It was all too much for me. It was all too frustrating. I had never felt a bigger combination of sorrow, grief, fear, and frustration in my life. I took off my tiara and threw it to the side as I cried. I didn't want to think about anything that had to do with my "royal duties." I must've sat and cried for ten minutes, just hoping that it was all a dream, and that I would wake up at some point.

"Celestia?"

My head shot up at the sound of the familiar voice. I quickly wiped my eyes and looked around to see Discord, holding my tiara with a concerned look on his face. "Discord! I...I..." I stammered as I levitated the tiara onto my head. "I was looking for that! Thank you for finding it!" Discord didn't seem fooled at all. He walked over and sat down next to me.

"Celestia, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" I quickly answered, "I was just going for a stroll, and then I lost my tiara, and-" I looked at Discord, who in turn, gave me a serious look. He WASN'T fooled. There was no getting around it. I sighed deeply and said, "I'm sorry Discord. I just don't know what to say to all of this. I feel like my world has just been putting on more weight from the rest of the world. First I lose my father, then I'm given the responsibility of staying strong for my sister, then I'm given the responsibility of moving the sun and moon, and NOW I'm supposed to rule over all of Equestria? Ponies all over will be looking to me for guidance and support. Ponies will want me to be just like my father! It's like I'm told if I make one mistake, the whole kingdom will collapse!"

Discord put an arm around my shoulder as he looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "All that responsibility pushed onto you. It stinks doesn't it?"

I don't know if it was just that line, or me breaking apart again, but when he said that in the tone he did, I felt the tears starting to come again as I said, "Y-yeah. IT DOES STINK!" At that point, all dignity was forgotten as I started to bawl harder than before. Discord took his other arm and wrapped me in a comforting hug as I let the tears flow like a raging river. He rocked me back and forth as he whispered, "Shhhhhh." I felt such comfort as he held me, like all the pressure was gradually slipping off of me. Pretty soon, my crying died down, and we broke the hug as he looked at my red, puffy, tear-filled face.

"Celestia," he said softly, "your father was a great king and a great stallion! I owe him big time, and I'll always be grateful to him. He will live on in our hearts, and you WILL see him again. As for the princess role, I can honestly say that I think that you will be a terrific princess." I lifted my head a bit as he spoke. "For the years that I've known you, I've noticed excellent princess traits within you. You're kind, caring, compassionate, and brave to a T! I can only say that in the future, you're gonna get even more kind, caring, compassionate, and brave! You don't have to be your father, and everypony will realize that soon enough! All you have to do is be yourself, and they will love you! Because there is no pony better at being you than you!"

"Thank you Discord," I said with a smile as I wiped my tears. "I'm just a bit overwhelmed by all of this. I just want a way to feel like a regular pony for a while. To be free from my responsibilities." A moment of silence passed as Discord started to rub his chin and think. I didn't know what he was thinking about, but after a while, a smile came across his face.

"Come on!" he said as he stood us both up. He grabbed my hoof and started to lead me out of the garden.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he led me.

"You'll see!" Discord responded. He soon led me to the wide field at the corner outside the town walls. The field was vast and flat. Quite spacious for any occasion. As soon as we arrived. He stopped and said, "Alright. Close your eyes." I looked at him curiously. "It's a surprise!" I sighed a bit and closed them. I didn't know what he was up to, but I didn't think he would do anything to hurt or scare me. Suddenly, I started to hear snapping sounds and a low rumbling, like thunder. I was tempted to peek, but I trusted Discord with anything. After a minute, Discord finally said, "You can look now." I opened my eyes to see him standing in front of me with a smile. At first I didn't notice anything different until I noticed that the sky, as dark as it was, had turned a shade of pink. I looked up to see, just in time for a chocolate milk rain droplet to land on my muzzle. Soon another drop fell, and then another. Soon, it was an entire onslaught of chocolate rain drops. Discord had created a chocolate rain storm.

I stared at the sky in awe as the rain came down. I couldn't help myself. I started to laugh. I opened my mouth wide as I took in the sweet-tasting drops. I then looked down and saw that puddles were being formed. Before I knew it, I was jumping through the puddles, laughing like a little filly. Discord had done this so that I could forget for a while. Forget about being a Princess and just be me. And it was working perfectly! I continued to splash around and run in the rain with my mouth open wide. Suddenly, I heard another noise. A fast-paced folk song. I looked over at Discord, who had produced a self-playing fiddle that was performing a catchy folk tune. He walked over to me and bowed. "Might I have this dance m'lady?" I giggled and bowed myself.

"Why of course you may!" I answered in a proper tone. Discord and I took each other by the hooves and paws and started to dance. The tune was upbeat and fun, perfect for the scenery. We spun and twirled and kicked and slid all around the field that night. We danced, splashed, sang, and laughed all through the evening, not caring about the worries around us. My luscious pink mane had been matted down by the rain, but I didn't care at all. For once, I felt...free!

After Discord cleared out the sky and dried us both off, we just said on a hill, overlooking the billions of stars in the sky, without a care in the world. I didn't want it to ever end, and I knew he didn't either. 

"Discord?" I said. He looked at me with a smile. "Thank you. I really needed this. I don't feel so...afraid anymore. Maybe I will be a good princess."

"I KNOW you will," Discord said. I giggled slightly as I continued to look at the sky. Suddenly, an idea came to my head.

"Hey Discord! How about you become one of my advisers?"

Discord chuckled a bit. "Nice offer, but no thanks. I don't think the ponies of Equestria would appreciate their Princess having a monster as her advice-giver."

"Discord, you're not a-"

"I know what you're going to say," Discord interrupted in a serious tone, "but there's no denying it. To Equestria, I will be nothing more than a monster."

"Well I don't think so," I said with a smile, "and neither does Luna. Nor Starswirl."

"Yes, but for how long?" Discord asked. "What if they all change their minds about me? What if...you..."

"Now stop right there Discord!" I said sternly. "I will NEVER see you as a monster! I promise, as a Princess of Equestria, that I will NEVER see you as a monster or treat you like one. You have my word!" Discord looked at me and smiled. "After all, you're the best friend I've ever had!"

"You're mine too!" Discord said back. We shared another warm hug before realizing how late it must've been and happily headed back to the castle, my hoof in his paw. I may have not known it at that point, but that night would change everything for me and Discord. 

In given time.
	 

 
> Times with Discord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Wow Princess," Twilight said with a soft smile. "I never knew you and Discord were THAT close. It's kinda cute how you two were so inseparable."

"More than cute!" Rarity sighed dreamily. "It's...so romantic! Like one of those tragic love stories!"

"Bleh!" Rainbow gagged. "All the lovey-dovey talk is making me nauseous!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight snapped before turning back to Celestia. "So, what happened after that Princess?"

"Well," Celestia continued, "after that, it seemed that our relationship had gone up tenfold. Like we were even more inseparable."





Discord could make me feel...secure. When I was around him, I never was afraid. It got to the point where one evening, I was tossing and turning in bed. I couldn't sleep. When suddenly, a crash of thunder echoed into my bedroom, and I jolted awake. It was pouring outside, and lightning was flashing all around. At that time, I was still a bit nervous about thunderstorms. The power of the sound made me feel like I was so vulnerable and weak. So, I got out of bed and journeyed down to Discord's room.

"Discord?" I whispered as I creaked open the door. Discord jerked a bit before leaning up from his pillow and looking at me.

"Celestia? What <yawn> what's wrong?"

"Well...I can't sleep because of the storm. I was wondering...if it would be ok if I...slept with you?" A moment of silence passed as Discord and I looked at each other. Then, Discord smiled.

"Of course," he whispered as he scooted over. "Come on in." I gave a toothy smile as I trotted in, closing the door behind me, and climbed into bed with him. Though I started out staying on my own side, I couldn't help but scoot over and snuggle next to him. His warm body made me feel so comfortable and relaxed. In an instant, I was out.





"Whoa whoa WHOA! Time out!" Rainbow interrupted. "You...SLEPT with Discord?"

"Rainbow!" Applejack scolded as she slapped the back of Rainbow's head. "Get yer mind outta the gutter! It wasn't like that!" Her face then gave an unsure look towards Celestia, "It wasn't like that right?"

"No no," Celestia giggled a bit, as a slight blush came across her face. "It was never like that. I just slept in the same bed as him is all." Applejack gave a huge sigh of relief. 





After that, every time I felt scared or just couldn't sleep, I would end up going to Discord. Funny how I would instantly fall asleep knowing that he was beside me.  As the years went by, Discord and I spent even more time together, and he was always able to help me feel relaxed. Everyday I would have Princess Etiquette lessons, and I remember how they were SO boring! But then, afterwards, Discord always had some plan to help me unwind and forget my princess duties for a while. I remember one time, I had just gotten done with the lesson, Etiquette with Tea. It was as enjoyable as it sounded. After spending an hour and a half learning about the proper ways of sipping tea, sitting, and polite conversation, I wearily traveled back to my room, only to find that it had been modified. In the middle of the room was a large, blue, oval table with fancy-looking teacups and saucers on it. There was also a unique teapot that had three different spouts to it, little bowls with sugar and cream cups, and a crazy-looking cake with bright pink icing. Sitting at the table was that silly draconequus, wearing a bright blue suit and top hat, a monocle, and a twirly mustache. As soon as I opened the door, he turned and smiled.

"Ah-HA! So happy for you to join us Lestia!" he announced in a mockingly proper tone. "Come! Sit and be merry!" How could I not help but giggle as I saw this go down? Being one who loved to play along, I bowed and strutted in and sat beside him. "Would you like some tea?" he asked.

"Why thank you good sir!" I replied in the same mockingly proper tone. He snapped his fingers as the teapot levitated toward me and literally squirted the tea into my cup. I looked at the contents and giggled. "Why Discord. I hardly think that THIS is tea."

"Of course it is my dear!" he replied. "It's a special tea!" I took a sip and giggled as the contents hit my taste buds. As expected, it was chocolate milk.

"Ah. Chocolate tea," I said with a sigh. "My favorite. Oh Discord, how did you know?"

"Let's just say that I have an act for this," he replied as he twirled his mustache. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started laughing so hard, tears started to fall. After we talked a bit, he made the teapot and cups dance in my honor, complete with mini fireworks to complete the image. Each moment made me smile and just pushed every duty I had off of my shoulders. Just like the other times, Discord had helped me completely forget my stress. The party would've gone on longer, but Royal Scroll came through and kicked Discord out so that I could "work on more of my studies."





"Y'know, this Royal Scroll guy sounded like a real meanie!" Pinkie chimed in. The others nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," Celestia nodded. "It seemed that no matter what Discord tried to do to prove his gentleness, Scroll just saw him as a monster and a bad influence to me."

"They why didn't you just fire him?" Rainbow asked.

"I wasn't an OFFICIAL Princess yet," Celestia responded. "Until my coronation, Scroll was technically in charge, and he took advantage of that every moment he could. He started his own 'Fear Discord' campaign, and spread lies around about Discord, like how his magic is black magic, how his kind was feared among all others, and so many other things. It was because of him that the town would never give Discord a chance. There was even a time when he actually tried to banish Discord from the kingdom."





It was when I was 20 years of age. My coronation was just a year away, and Scroll summoned me for an emergency meeting to talk to me about the preparations. While going over everything, he soon brought up the subject of Discord.

"Your Highness," he said bluntly, "I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I just can't have that beast in the castle anymore. He is NOT a good influence on you, or your future as a ruler of Equestria."

"But Scroll-"

"I know that your father let him in, but things have changed. He may seem harmless to you, but he is a monster, and will always be a monster. His name speaks for itself! Discord means 'disharmony'! Surely you know this!"

"Of course I do, but-"

"Then I can't have a creature in this kingdom whose destiny is to cause disharmony amongst us. I have made a decision to banish him."

My eyes went wide with shock. "You can't do that!" I shrieked.

"You'll see that I can," Scroll answered. "You're not the official ruler yet. Not for another year. So until your coronation, I am in charge, and I say that it is time to unleash the beast into the wild, where it will never harm anypony-"

"NO!" I shouted. Scroll stopped and looked at me with surprise. "Firstly, I will NOT permit you to call Discord an 'it'. He is a living being, and a male at that, so he is a 'he'! Secondly, Discord's name may mean disharmony, but he has been nothing BUT harmonious since I met him. He has done NOTHING to deserve the title of a monster, and you have NO RIGHT to address him as such!"

"With all due respect Celestia-"

"Your Princess is SPEAKING! Thirdly, I may have not had my coronation yet, but were you NOT the one who announced me as the kingdom's new ruler after my father died?"

Scroll's eyes darted around in nervousness. "Well..."

"Were. You. Not. The one. Who. Announced me?"

"Yes your Highness."

"Then let it be known that I will defend Discord's honor with my life, and if he goes, I GO! Now you wouldn't want the ponies of Equestria to know that you drove out their future ruler, would you?" Scroll lowered his head and grumbled in defeat. He had nothing to come back with.

"No your Highness," he responded through gritted teeth, "I understand. The mons- I mean...Discord will stay."

"Wonderful," I said with a proper tone, "The meeting is dismissed." Scroll bowed and trotted out of the Grand Hall, the door slamming shut behind him. I didn't let him see, but my legs were shaking so much I could barely stand, and my heart was racing about a mile a minute. That was the first time in my life that I had really shown the properties of a ruler. Taking charge and being assertive. It was as if more of my fear was gone, and I was even more ready to be the ruler. As I happily trotted out of the Hall, I noticed Discord standing right outside the doors with a big smile on his face. I also noticed a small tear in the corner of his eye as he looked at me.

"Thank you," he said softly. 

"I meant every word," I replied with a smile.

After that day, my lessons as Princess were going much better, with less stress than before. With every day, I became more and more proper and eloquent. Of course, that didn't mean that I stopped my after-class sessions with Discord. Just because I wasn't as stressed, it didn't mean that I didn't want to see my best friend. Everything was just as I wanted it to be, and it seemed that nothing could get in the way of our happiness. 

The year had finally arrived. It was the eve of my coronation, and I was quite nervous, but still excited at the same time. Ironically, we had the coronation scheduled on the same day when Discord and I first met. Of course, that could've just been good timing by me. To celebrate not only our 'anniversary', if you will, but the eve of the coronation, Discord planned a picnic for us, right on the hill that best overlooked the stars. The same hill where we sat after dancing in the chocolate rain. He had packed all of my favorite foods, right down to, you guessed it, chocolate milk. Discord really showed that his magic had increased as well, because he was able to produce beautiful candles, a few instruments that played on their own, and even made a giant rosebush appear beside us. He knew how much I loved roses. It was such a charming sentiment. As we sat and ate, we talked about all that we had been through, and he cracked some jokes about politics that made me laugh out loud. It was a wonderful evening.

As the night winded down, Discord and I sat and looked at the stars. Nothing to bother us. Just in our own little world.

"So," he said softly, "tomorrow's the day huh?"

"Yes," I answered. 

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Maybe a little," I replied.

"Don't worry Lestia," he said with a smile. "You're going to be a great ruler! You're kind, generous, caring, brave, and gentle as a spring breeze. I wouldn't think of anypony better for the job!"

I giggled a bit at the charming compliment. "Thank you Discord. You're such a good friend. I can't imagine that I'd be here today, feeling this relaxed, if it weren't for you." I looked at him and he blushed a bit and turned away. I didn't show it, but I was nervous too. It was strange though. I had known Discord for so long, and not once got nervous around him, but for some strange reason, as I sat next to him that night, it was like I had a hundred butterflies in my stomach.

"I...I wouldn't be here either if it weren't for you," he replied. "You're the first pony to ever look passed the body and into the heart. I guess a monster CAN have a happy life." 

"You're not a monster Discord," I said, "and someday, everypony will see that. Someday." He smiled as we turned back to the stars. So many beautiful constellations were up that night. I remember it so well. As a moment of silence passed over us, Discord turned to me and gulped a bit nervously.

"Uh...Celestia?" I looked up at him, gazing into his yellow eyes, "I...got you something for the occasion. Think of it as a late birthday/early coronation present." He then snapped his fingers and a small object appeared. He lowered it down to me and I gasped in delight as I saw what it was. It was a small, golden brooch, with clear crystals all around it, and had a small figure of me in the center. 

"Oh Discord," I said with wonder as I levitated it to me. "It's absolutely beautiful!"

"That's not all," he continued. "I added a bit of my magic to it. Press that little button on the side." I looked on the side to see a small button standing out. I pressed it, and the brooch began to shine. I looked to see that my little figure self, which had its head and wings down, had lifted both as a miniature sun rotated above and around to the other side of the figure. I smiled softly as I watched it work, and felt a small tear come to my eye. I looked at Discord with silent awe.

"I love it Discord," I said as my excitement and happiness escalated, "I love it, and I love-" I stopped. Discord's face turned to curiosity as I turned away, blushing furiously. I had never been so embarrassed. I must've looked like a complete and utter fool around him. But just as I felt my embarrassment embody me, Discord put his paw on my shoulder and turned me back around. As I looked into his eyes, I saw that the moonlight had magnified the glow within them. I was hypnotized.

"Celestia?" he said softly, almost like a whisper.

"Yes?" I asked just as softly. 

"I...I..."

"Yes?" My heart started to pound harder as my brain was thinking of what all he might say. 

"I...I...really wish you the best of luck tomorrow."

My mind stopped. "Oh," I said, still blushing, "Thank you." Well THAT was enough to add to the awkwardness. The two of us went back to looking at the stars, now too embarrassed to even look at each other again. Suddenly, as I sat there with my thoughts, I realized that I had to do something. Something I will never forget. I turned to Discord and leaned my head up towards his. 

And then, to his surprise, I kissed him lightly on the cheek.

I could instantly see Discord start to blush as he turned to face me, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. All I could do was smile and lay back down, cuddling close to him. I had to show him how much he meant to me somehow, and I think that got my point across quite well. He responded by sitting back in his reclining position and letting out a happy sigh. Nothing more had to be said. We were as happy as two creatures of Equestria could be.





As Celestia finished the sentence, she looked at the six and giggled as she saw all the dropped jaws and wide eyes. She didn't expect any less of a reaction from them after hearing THAT.

"You...KISSED...Discord?" Twilight asked in pure shock. 

Celestia smiled and nodded. 

"You really HAVE been keeping stuff from us Princess!" Rarity said.

"I think it's so sweet," Fluttershy responded with a sigh. "I knew that Discord had some charming qualities in him. But Princess, I do have a question; Why is it that when I was reforming him, Discord referred to me as the first friend he had? Clearly it was YOU who was the first!"

Celestia's expression dropped as she looked away. "Because of what happened next."

Twilight and the others looked at each other nervously. They didn't like the sound of that. What could've happened that would cause Discord to push aside the thought of his very first friend?
	

	
> The Coronation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The morning of my coronation was everything but relaxing. After I was awakened at 6:00, I was rushed down to wardrobe to try on ten different dresses, which took...about an two hours. Afterwards, I had to go over some last minute Princess Etiquette, and then go over how the ceremony was going to happen. Scroll was going to say a few words on my father's behalf, then announce me. I would walk into the hall, down the carpet, and up to the throne to sit. After I took the Ruler of Equestria vows, I would sit on the throne and everypony would applaud. It was a simple process, but practicing for it was not. I had to do retakes six different times just because I needed to walk the right way. At first, I was walking too fast, then too slow. I was finally able to get it right on the seventh time, but even after that I wasn't finished. I still needed to choose which types of food I would want served, the choice of a band to perform, and what color of sashes I'd want hung in the hall. It was quite the stressful morning.

Finally, by 3:00, the guests had started to arrive, so I was asked to get ready in my room. It was tradition that nopony saw the new ruler before he/she was reveled. Ponies could have sworn that with all the preparations that I was getting married. Luckily for me, it wasn't anything THAT extreme. As the hoofmaidens prepared my dress and did my mane, I looked at myself in the mirror. What I saw was a completely different pony. The previous day, I was a little princess, just playing pretend of ruling the kingdom. That day, I WAS the ruler, or at least I was soon to be. I watched myself transform as the maidens finished my makeup and mane from young princess to soon-to-be all-time ruler over the entire land. After they had finished, the maidens bowed and left me to think. As I looked at myself, I couldn't help but realize that most of my fear was gone. Discord had taken my fear, and helped me realize that I COULD be a great ruler as long as I was myself. Of course, that didn't help the fact that I was still a little nervous. I mean, it WAS my coronation after all.

"You look beautiful."

I jumped a little at the voice as I turned around. There, standing in her own dress, was Luna. I smiled as she walked up to me. She had grown up so much as well. "As do you little sister," I replied. 

"Nervous?" she asked as we both looked in the mirror.

"Maybe a little," I responded, "but I'm not as afraid as I was all those years ago."

Luna smiled and placed a hoof around my shoulders. "That's good." We both just stared at our reflections for a little while, probably thinking the same thing; where had the years gone? Luna turned to look at me as she continued to smile. "It seems like only yesterday we were playing make-believe on the hills outside the castle huh?"  

"Indeed," I said back. "And just think, today is my coronation, but in just a few years, YOU'LL be the one receiving the title of Princess of the Night, just like mom." Luna lowered her head a bit as her face fell.

"I hope I'm able to make our parents as proud as you are today," she mumbled.

"Even more!" I said sweetly as I lifted her head. "I guarantee that you'll be the greatest Princess of the Night in all of Equestria."

Luna chuckled a bit, "I'll be the ONLY Princess of the Night sister."

"More reason to be proud of you," I snickered, "but just remember. No matter how old we get, I will still see you as my little sister, and best friend." Luna smiled as a tear fell from her eyes. We embraced and held it until a knock came at the door. 

One of the hoofmaidens peeked her head in and said, "We're ready for you Princess."

"Thank you," I replied as she closed the door. I looked at Luna and we both gave a nervous sigh. "Well, this is it. Let's go." And as we walked down the corridor towards the Great Hall, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming feeling of pride and nervousness all rolled up into one. I was just hoping that Discord could watch me.

Once we approached the Hall doors, Luna went in due to the fact that she had to stand at the throne area to wait for me. She gave me one last "Good luck," as well as a hug, and went on in. As I stood there, listening to the trumpets starting to play, I could feel my heart racing even more than before, like it was going to beat right out of me if it went any faster. If there was ever a time that I needed Discord and his words of encouragement, it was then. Suddenly, I heard Scroll start to talk, and I waited and listened for my cue. 

"Citizens of Equestria, we are gathered here today to witness a glorious event. The coronation of a new ruler. She is the eldest daughter to the late King Solarus and Queen Cosmos, current Princess of the Sun, and is more honored than anypony to receive such a title. You have waited for five years, and now it's finally time. Stallions and Gentlemares of Equestria, it is my greatest honor to present to you...Princess Celestia!"

At that moment, the doors opened, and without even thinking, I started to walk in with my head held high, and my chest puffed out, as was rehearsed. Though my eyes faced the front, I could see, out of the corner of my eyes, all the ponies looking at me. As I made my way up to the throne, I stopped in front of Scroll, who was holding my new tiara, a true symbol of my rule. I looked beside him, and Luna smiled and nodded. I did it back, and then lowered my head to receive the tiara.

"Celesta, daughter of Solarus and Cosmos," Scroll announced as he held the tiara over my head, "Do you swear to protect the citizens of Equestria with all of your might and ability, and see to it that all ponies are treated fairly?"

"I will," I answered strongly.

"Do you swear to uphold the laws set down by your father and his father before, and rule over Equestria justly and fairly?"

"I will."

"And do you swear to keep the peace in Equestria, delivering justice to those who deserve it?"

"I will!"

With every line, I became more and more passionate. I WAS ready to rule. I WAS ready to uphold the laws and keep the peace. I WASN'T afraid anymore. And as Scroll lowered the tiara onto my head, I turned around to face the citizens of Equestria. There must've been over 200 who showed up. As I stood there, full of newly found courage, Royal Scroll finished his announcement.

"Citizens of Equestria, your new ruler, Celestia: Princess of the Sun!"

At that moment, the whole Hall erupted in a thunderous applause that shook the entire room. I looked around at all the ponies, earth, pegasi, and unicorn alike, stomping their hooves and cheering for me. But out of all the applause, there was something missing. No, somepony. I looked hastily around for Discord, but I couldn't find him. Had he not wanted to see me, or was he just too scared of all the ponies? Either way, I was truly saddened.

That is until I looked over at the back window and smiled. Discord had disguised himself inside a stained glass window, back behind everypony else, and was applauding and giving me a big thumbs up. I smiled and waved, my self-esteem restored by the sight of my best friend. Everything. Was. Perfect.

After the coronation, there was a big feast held in the gardens in my honor. The whole thing was prepared ever so wonderfully. A large table was set up front for the royals, including Royal Scroll, Luna, and myself, surrounded by smaller round tables for everypony else, a giant ice sculpture/fountain was set up in the middle, proper music was being played by the finest violinists in the kingdom, and a long table was set up with a smorgasbord of fancy hors d'oeuvres. Everything was so proper.

But that still didn't take away from the fact that it was boring as dirt.

I was well aware that the whole setup was tradition, but it didn't help. I may have been the new ruler, but I still wanted others to celebrate and be merry. It wasn't just me though. I happened to notice that the other ponies looked just as bored as me, mostly due with the fact that there was no celebration. It was like a dinner you have after a funeral, like it was tradition, but there was nothing to celebrate. It seemed the only one enjoying himself was Scroll, who made sure that everything was done by tradition. I just sat at the front table with a bored expression on my face as others came by and congratulated me. All I could think was how much I needed a glass of chocolate milk, or a bit of cotton candy. Anything to liven up the event. My boredom did NOT go unnoticed by some.

"Sister," Luna said as she sat beside me, "is everything alright?"

"It's fine," I replied with a sigh. "I was just hoping that everypony would be a little more...festive. I mean, it IS my coronation celebration."

"I know," Luna sighed, "but as Royal Scroll said,"

'Tradition is everything!' we both said in a mocking Scroll voice. We giggled a bit before sighing again. The party really needed something to liven it up.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, stopping the party. "What is WRONG with you ponies? What is this; a celebration or a funeral march?" Everypony looked around, wondering where the voice came from. I knew exactly who owned the voice, and grew a bit nervous at what was going to happen. "You just got yourselves a great new ruler!" Discord called out. "You should be partying like there's no tomorrow! C'mon! Let's turn this into a REAL party!" Just then, in a burst of light, Discord appeared before the crowd wearing a white zoot suit and fedora. The ponies gasped as soon as he appeared, and Scroll glared with anger. With a snap of his fingers, things started to go down! First, the fountain started to squirt chocolate milk instead of water. In another snap, the hors d'oeuvres were replaced with heaping piles of junk food, and then noise-makers and buzzers appeared on each table with funny hats appearing on ponies' heads. Even through all of this, the ponies continued to look at Discord in horror as he tried to liven things up. Luna looked at me with worry, and I looked back with just as much. I feared that Discord might have just ruined the party.

Just then, amongst the quiet staring at Discord, a small chuckle was heard. Everypony looked around to find one of the sophisticated unicorns, who just happened to be a duke, twirling one of the noise-makers and laughing like a little kid. Just as everypony wondered what had gotten into him, another pony started laughing as he twirled his funny hat. Seeing this made more ponies laugh, which led to more join in. Pretty soon, a roaring of laughter erupted throughout the gardens. I couldn't help it. I started laughing as well, as did Luna. The only one who WASN'T laughing was, you guessed it, Royal Scroll.

"Citizens! Don't get sucked into his chaos! He'll drive you all insane!"

Unfortunately for him, nopony was listening. They were too busy sticking their goblets under the fountain to get some milk, or blowing into their noise-makers. Discord looked the situation over before snapping his fingers again and replacing the slow violinists with face-paced fiddlers, playing a fun folk tune that ponies started to truly dance to. Despite all of the fun that was going down, Scroll still wasn't happy. He was trying to calm everypony down, but to no avail.

"This is NOT tradition! Not tradition I say!" he shouted angrily.

"Some traditions are meant to be changed Scroll," I said happily as I sipped my chocolate milk. "Now stop being such a party-pooper and enjoy yourself." Scroll looked at me with his jaw dropped in both disbelief and frustration, but I didn't care. Nopony cared. They were having fun. For the rest of the evening, Scroll sat in the corner, moping like a little colt. But not even he could ruin the party. As I looked at all the citizens of Equestria actually having fun and being merry, I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Not only had the party turned into a real celebration, but it seemed that Discord was finally being recognized for what he could do and how he acted, not for how he looked. Everypony forgot about how he looked and even were talking to him and asking him to do tricks. I watched as he juggled a variety of items to woo some of the younger crowd, and I laughed as I saw them clapping and begging for more. He had finally been accepted. At that point, I started to think that maybe Discord WOULD be a good adviser, and couldn't have been happier for him.





"Who knew Discord was such a party animal!" Pinkie laughed. "I outta see if I can get some tips from him."

"Yeah," Rainbow nodded. "He really was a fun guy!"

Everypony nodded as Twilight spoke, "So Princess, what happened next?"

"Well, the party went on for quite a while," Celestia continued, "and it seemed like everything would end swimmingly. But..." The others frowned suddenly as the Princess continued.





As the party winded down, Discord decided to go out with a bang. Literally. He summoned a whole bunch of fireworks for a finale. He called for everypony's attention as he snapped his fingers. "I would just like to say personally, that I am honored to have Princess Celestia as the new ruler! Am I right?" The crowd cheered as I felt a blush coming on. "She is everything right in the world. Kind, considerate, just, compassionate, gentle, and quite the dancer!" The blush deepened as I heard Luna snickering a bit. I couldn't help but crack a smile myself. "I would like to dedicate this finale to our esteemed leader. TO CELESTIA!"

"TO CELESTIA!" the crowd shouted happily as they looked at me. Discord then lighted the fireworks, and in an instant, dozens of rockets were shooting up into the sky and blowing into many colors and shapes. The crowd "oohed" and "ahhed" with each explosion. It was definitely a great ending to a great night.

The festivities were cut short, however, by a loud scream. At that moment, somepony pointed out towards the town and shouted, "A HOUSE IS ON FIRE!" Everypony stopped and turned to see that a house HAD caught on fire and it was already blazing. The laughing was soon replaced with gasps and panicking as they gazed upon the blazing inferno, engulfing the roof of the house.

"Guards!" Scroll shouted. "Head for the house! Look for anypony who needs help and put out the fire with your water spells! Make sure the fire doesn't spread!" The guards quickly did what they were told as they hurried out into the town. Pegasus guards started making rain clouds over the house while unicorns sprayed water from their horns, causing the flames to die down. Everypony just watched with worry as the fires were fought, and after about 15 minutes, they were extinguished. Everypony sighed of relief as the guards started to return.

"Was everypony alright?" I asked the head guard. 

"We made sure that everypony was rescued from the area," he responded, but then his face fell. "However, there was a soul trapped inside the inferno." At that point, my face dropped to horror. "We tried to get to him, but the insides collapsed before we could reach him. I'm afraid that he has...fallen." A choir of gasps and shrieks sounded throughout the gardens. My insides felt like they were going to burst. Somepony died. It was all so much to take in. How could it get worse? Well, the next guard who showed up was levitating something large, wrapped in a blanket. 

"This was found at the scene your Highness," he said as he unwrapped the blanket. Everypony, including myself, gasped at what we saw. 

It was the burnt remains of a firework.

Murmurs filled the area as ponies talked amongst themselves. I was still trying to take it in. It had to have been a coincidence. It couldn't have...he couldn't have...

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT MONSTER!" 

Everypony looked to see Royal Scroll, madder than he had ever looked, pointing at Discord, who had an expression of shock.

"YOU were shooting those things! YOU caused all of this!"

"He's right!" somepony shouted out angrily. "It's HIS fault! He killed an innocent life!"

Other ponies started to turn to that realization too, as they turned to Discord with scowls and started to shout that it was his fault. Discord looked at all the ponies ganging up on him, a look of terror on his face. "No! No I swear! I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"

"An accident indeed!" Scroll sneered as he turned to the crowd. "This monster is a KILLER! He has always been one to spread chaos and despair! His NAME implies it!" Ponies started to shout even more as they called Discord a monster and killer. I watched in horror as they all started to shrink back in fear again, as well as shout at him. 

"Seriously!" Discord panicked. "I didn't mean to cause anypony harm!"

"Something like this deserves proper punishment!" Scroll shouted. The crowd roared in agreement and started to chant, "Punishment! Punishment!" Scroll then looked to me, who at this point, was still in shock at all of this happening.

"Your Highness!" he snapped. "I urge you to BANISH this...this monster from the kingdom! He is NOT fit to live here anymore!"

"Please Scroll," I pleaded over the crowd's yelling. "This is nopony's fault. It is a sad moment, but it was an accident. Discord will be wiling to apologize, but he doesn't need to be banish."

"Are you saying," Scroll suddenly shouted for all to hear, "that you will NOT punish the killer?" At that moment, the entire garden went quiet as everypony turned their angry eyes to me. My heart suddenly felt like it stopped as they looked at me. Something about them, looking at me that way, made me start to worry. I started to hear murmurs go through the crowd.

"She won't punish him?"

"What kind of princess doesn't bring out justice?"

"Does she not care about us?"

As I heard these comments, I started to sweat. They were thinking things about me. They were judging me by my actions. I always knew that they would judge me, but not like this. I looked out at Discord, who looked like he was about to cry. His eyes were pleading with me. Pleading to have mercy.

"Please Celestia," he called. "You know me! I wouldn't hurt anypony on purpose! I'll do anything! I'll apologize. I'll serve community service. I'll even serve time, but PLEASE don't make me leave! I'm lost without you!" His pleads were tearing my heart apart. He was fully prepared to take responsibilities for his actions. That should've been enough to protect him. But then, Scroll spoke again.

"That isn't enough monster! You have caused the death of an innocent! And the laws that set this kingdom say that anypony who kills should be sentenced to exile!" The crowd shouted in agreement. Scroll then turned to me. "Princess, you vowed to uphold the laws of your father, and if you do not banish him, then you do nothing but build on a reputation as a ruler that doesn't care about rules...or the ponies you promised to protect." The ponies started to shout again for banishment. I didn't know what to do. Normally, I would've defended Discord in a heartbeat, but at that moment, seeing all the citizens of Equestria judging me, and ready to turn against me if I did not appeal to their wishes, made me feel conflicted. I turned to Luna, but she had the exact same look of shock as I did. My heart began to race as I glanced from Scroll, to the crowd, to Discord, and back to Scroll. I was stuck between helping my friend and satisfying the citizens of Equestria. Suddenly, as I thought of what to do, Scroll started to whisper in my ear.

"The only other suitable punishment for this crime is execution. If you do not banish him, I will take it upon myself to make sure your 'friend' is properly punished, and no matter what you say, I WILL have the ponies on my side. Your choice."

My heart dropped. He was threatening to have Discord killed if I didn't banish him. Even if I did stand up for Discord, the ponies would get to him either way, and Scroll would make sure that the ponies get their revenge. It was too much. The citizens were too riled up to listen to reason. I HAD to save Discord. Even if it meant doing what I promised I would never do. Gathering up all of my courage and willpower, I silence the crowd with a hoof and looked at Discord. A small smile appeared on his face, which made it even harder for me. I could feel my lip start to tremble, but I couldn't show signs of tears. So with my head held high, and doing my best to hide my quivering voice, I started to speak.

"Discord. Y-you have broken a sacred law of...Equestria. A-and by the p-p-power invested in me as Princess...I...I...banish you...from Equestria...FOREVER!"

The crowd cheered at my announcement as I quickly turned around. I started to feel the tears starting to come. I didn't want Discord to see me like that. I didn't want to see Discord's reaction. After a moment, I heard him speak, and when he spoke, I could hear the shock and disbelief that his voice was giving off. "B-but Celestia," he said softly, "you know me. I'm willing to pay my time! I-I didn't mean it! You know I'm not threatening! I mean, we're friends right?"

The tears started to flow even more as he finished. I could hear more murmurs go throughout the crowd, questioning whether or not I really was friends with Discord. I couldn't stand the pain anymore. I HAD to say something to get Discord away from here. For his own safety. Gathering up what composure I still had, I...I said, aloud for everypony to hear, something that I regret to this very day.




"A Princess...could never be friends...WITH A MONSTER!"




The silence that filled the area was horrible. I knew that I had just stabbed Discord, my greatest friend, in the back, for good reasons or not. I stood there, my back turned and silent tears flowing down my cheeks. 

"Celestia..." Discord's broken voice said softly. I could hear the pain and sorrow that had entered his voice in the way he spoke. "You...you said you would never treat me as a monster. You...said that you would never call me a monster. Y-you promised me..." Another silence filled the air as I took in every word he said and let it out through my tears.

"YOU PROMISED!!"

I jumped slightly at the outburst. I could hear that he was probably tearing up as well, and who could blame him? So much pain. So much agony. It was just all too much. Even so, I continued to keep my back to him. As much as I wanted to look at him, I had to drive him away. I had to protect him. After another short silence, Discord spoke again. And this time, his voice was filled with not only pain and sorrow, but also mixed with...anger.

"Very well Celestia," he said menacingly. "I'll leave. I should've seen this coming. I should've known that this was all for nothing. Did any of the times spent together mean ANYTHING? Was I just a toy to you? Something that entertained you for a while, but you would throw away after you got bored? Well, I'm sorry I was a big waste of space to you! I'm sorry that the monster ruined your life! I hope you have a great life! Thanks for everything...YOUR HIGHNESS!" And with the sound of a snap, he was gone.

As everypony sighed of relief and started to murmur about what just happened, I couldn't take it anymore. I was literally going to explode if I didn't release everything. Without saying a word, I sprinted out of the gardens, tears flowing like rivers. As I left, I heard Scroll announce, "It's alright everypony! The situation has been taken care of! Thanks to your wonderful princess!" I couldn't stand it. I had NO right for that title. I had just driven out the greatest friend I had ever had. Whether my intentions were pure or not, I just couldn't stand myself. I hated myself. I hated everything that I had said. I ran out of the town and onto the hills where Discord and I once sat and talked so much. As soon as my legs gave out, I dropped down and started to bawl. Much harder than I ever had. I was in so much pain. I was so hurt and scared and ridiculed. My bawling echoed over the plains, but I didn't care. I just wanted my friend back. As I sat there, creating puddles, all I could say was the same thing over and over again.




"I'm sorry Discord! I'm so sorry!"

	
> After Many Years
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia stopped as she wiped her eyes of the tears. Even after all the years, telling of that night still twisted her heart. As she looked towards the girls, it was apparent that she wasn't the only one with tears in her eyes. All of them, even Rainbow Dash, had trembling lips and watery eyes as Celestia finished the portion of the story. They would've never guessed how much Discord meant to Celestia, nor would they truly understand how heartbreaking it was for her to send Discord away in probably the worst way possible for both of them.

"Princess," Twilight sobbed as she wiped her eyes. "That was <sniff> one of the saddest things I've ever heard."

"IT WAS SO SAAAAAAAD!" Pinkie bawled as tears sprayed from her eyes like hoses. Celestia levitated a box of tissues to Pinkie, who took one and blew into it hard, making a loud, trumpet-like sound. "POOR DISCOOOOOORD!"

"I never knew how tragic his past really came to be," Fluttershy whimpered. "I-It makes my heart break to think how he must've suffered."

"Ah can't even imagine how hard it was for ya," Applejack said sadly. 

"It was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do," Celestia answered. "The first being sending Luna to the moon, but that's a different story. I keep thinking back, and ever time I do, I come to the same conclusion; I could've done so much more to help him."

"Don't think like that Princess," Rarity said as she wiped her own eyes. "You had no choice. You were just trying to protect somepony you cared about."

"Yeah! If you wanna blame somepony, blame that jerk, Scroll!" Rainbow said angrily as she jumped up. "Why, if I was there, I would've sent a sonic rainboom RIGHT THROUGH HIS-"

"Rainbow!" Twilight intervened. Rainbow, still steaming, cancelled out her observation and grumbled as she sat back down. Twilight turned back to the Princess. "What happened after that Princess?"

"Well, nothing was the same after Discord left," Celestia continued after she finished wiping her eyes. "The castle felt so...quiet. It wasn't as energetic as it was before. Discord brought fun into the castle, and unfortunately, he took it with him, along with my smile. As you would have guessed, I was the most affected by his departure. It was like a large portion of my heart had been taken away when he left. I couldn't sleep, barely ate, and couldn't even smile much. At night, I would find myself crying for hours before exhaustion finally took over. Though I put on a happy face for the citizens of Equestria, inside, I was so torn apart. I would sit in my room, hoping that Discord would return, wanting to see me again and reconcile with me, but however long I waited, he never came. Sometimes, I would forget that he even left. I'd get up in the middle of the night if I couldn't sleep, and head over to his old room for comfort, only to be faced with an empty bed and a horrible remembrance."

"My sadness didn't go unnoticed by everypony though. Luna knew, and was always trying to cheer me up. She would bring me a glass of chocolate milk or make her old funny faces to me. It was a well thought-out attempt, and sometimes it helped a little, but all in all, it just wasn't the same. Discord just had that thing that made me forget about my worries. Something that nopony could imitate, no matter how hard they would try."

"How long did this go on Princess?" Applejack asked.

"For a while," Celestia answered. "As the years went by, my depression did get a little better with the support from Luna. I WAS able to sleep and eat again. I had decided to stop waiting for Discord and try and continue on with my life. Though my heart still cringed and ached whenever I thought about him, I was a lot better. I was finally able to truly and fully be the princess that Equestria deserved. I had grown wiser, and cared much for the ponies of the country. I started to gain much respect and love from the citizens. Then, the day came when I would no longer be alone in my ruling. Luna had turned 21, and it was time to pass on the powers of the night to her. The coronation was a festive one; I made sure of that. My little sister had become the Princess of the Night, and started to rule over the country with me. And, there was something else good that came out of the coronation. Now that there were two princesses, I found it unneeded for a royal adviser."

Rainbows expression suddenly changed as her eyes grew wider, her wings began to flutter, and a smile slowly crept across her face. "So, does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yes Rainbow Dash," Celestia chuckled. "I dismissed Royal Scroll."

At that point, Rainbow soared up into the air in happiness. "YES!! About time too!" As she lowered herself back down, the others nodded in agreement.

"I'll say," Pinkie said. "I mean, he was so horrible! Did you call him a meanie bo-beanie?"

"Well, no..." Celestia mumbled as an embarrassing blush appeared on her cheeks, "but I did let him off in, well, probably a not-so-formal way. I believe I said something like..."





"You are fired, you uncouth, blackmailing, oaf! You have no further use here, and unless you want me to teleport you to the black pits of Tartarus, you'll get off the castle grounds, and out of the city, IMMEDIATELY!"



 

The six stared with mouths dropped to the floors at the blushing princess. It didn't seem like the thing that Celestia would say, but then again, she hated his guts, so it sounded more legit. 

"That. Is. SO AWESOME!" Rainbow squealed in delight. "I couldn't have said it better myself if I had tried."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side Celestia," Twilight said, nervously chuckling.

"Well, I still had some built-up anger at what he said and did to Discord," Celestia said embarrassingly. "I mean, I didn't like how he treated Discord while he lived in the castle, but it had been five years since the incident, and well, I was just waiting to say something like that."

"I take it he took it rather well?" Rarity asked sarcastically.

"Well, if you call taking it well as him stomping out in a huff and slamming the door so loud that it shook the room, then yes," Celestia responded. "After he left, I could definitely feel myself relaxing a bit more. It turns out that I was right about not needing him. Luna and I worked very well at ruling over Equestria. We handled things fairly, and made decisions for the good of the ponies. The years passed on, and the day came where we would face our first great challenge; saving the Crystal Empire."

The six girls gasped. "You mean to tell us that the Crystal Empire incident was BEFORE Discord?" Twilight asked.

"That's right," Celestia nodded. "The order of events from the last 1000 years goes; King Sombra, Discord, Tirek, and then, of course, Nightmare Moon."

"If you don't mind me gettin' off the main topic," Applejack said, "what was fighting King Sombra like?" The others leaned their heads towards Celestia in anticipation.

"Well, it was one of the toughest battles that we went through," Celestia said. "Sombra was a powerful adversary, and fighting him was no walk in the park. However, Luna and I were able to finally combine our abilities and banish him to the arctic, and as all of you know, that's when the Empire vanished."

The others leaned back as Twilight made a pondering face. "So Celestia, how much time passed before Discord came back? I mean, he did come back right? That's how the story of his first takeover started. How long was he gone?"

"100 years," Celestia responded softly. The ponies' eyes widened. 100 years? They couldn't imagine living without each other for 10 years, and Celestia was separated from the greatest friend she had for a century? Celestia noticed their expressions and nodded, smiling weakly. "It seemed so much longer back then."

"Ah can imagine," Applejack mumbled. "So...what happened with him, if ya don't mind me askin'? How exactly did the whole takeover thing occur?"

Celestia's smiled faded as she continued her story, sounding more sorrowful than before.





Well, as you could imagine, as 100 years passed, I had grown so much, both mentally and physically. I had reached the physical peak of an alicorn. For you see, once an alicorn hits their physical peak, they stop physically aging. My curly pink mane had grown into the flowing rainbow style you see today. With all that had happened, running the kingdom, stopping Sombra, and controlling the sun, I felt like I could handle anything that came my way.

I was 100% wrong.

It was an average day in the kingdom. By that time, I had not forgotten about Discord, but thanks to the support of Luna, I had now moved on. Nothing too out of the ordinary was happening that day. I was busy going over some royal documents, humming a merry tune, when the doors of the Hall flew open, and one of the guards came galloping in like his tail was on fire. His face was sweating profusely, and he wore an expression that looked like he just saw a ghost. He hurried to where I was sitting and bowed hastily.

"Your Highness!" he said, trying to catch his breath. "I have urgent news from the town!"

"What is it?" I asked calmly.

"Well...your Highness...there's something strange going on!"

"What?" I asked, more concerned with the situation.

He started to stammer, trying to find the right words. Whatever he had to tell me, it must've been hard to explain. "I-I don't know how your Highness, but...it's...RAINING CATS AND DOGS!" 

Naturally, I thought that he was speaking metaphorically, so I just sighed of relief and went back to my documents. "What's so strange about that?"

"Not figuratively, your Highness!" he practically shouted. "LITERALLY! There are literally cats and dogs falling from the sky!" He then pointed to the windows. I turned and my expression changed to that of pure shock! I ran to the windows and peered out to see that it was true. Hundreds of dogs and cats of different breeds were literally raining down from the sky. I opened the soundproof windows, and immediately heard a chorus of woofs and meows as the animals fell onto the streets and houses. Ponies were running out of their cottages and looking up at the sky with both shock and curiosity. Never in all of my years had I seen something so bizarre. As I turned around to talk to the guard, another came storming in, looking just as shocked as the first.

"Princess Celestia!" he panted. "I have news in town!"

"I know!" I said. "It's literally raining cats and dogs!"

"Besides that!" he replied. "The roads have...well...turned to soap! Ponies are slipping and sliding all over the place!"

Before I could truly stop to figure what was going on, a third guard came running in with the same expression. "Your Highness! The-"

"It's raining cats and dogs and the streets have turned to soap! I know!"

"Besides that! Something's wrong with the sun and moon!" This bit of news caught my attention. "It's daytime one minute and nighttime the next. We thought something was wrong with you and Princess Luna!" As I opened my mouth to speak, the lighting in the castle changed dramatically from light to dark, proving that there WAS something amiss with the sun and moon. I truly didn't know what was going on. The three guards looked to me, waiting for my orders. Pushing aside my confusion, I straightened up and lifted my wings for attention.

"I want you to go into town and make sure everypony is safe. Help anypony who needs help, and then announce that I have ordered an all-out shut-in! Everypony is to stay indoors until further notice."

"Yes ma'am!" the guards saluted as they galloped with haste out of the Hall. As the doors closed, my formal expression changed into a pondering one. As I started to pace the room, I just couldn't wrap my hoof around it. I didn't know how to take it all in. Cats and dogs raining from the sky? Soap roads? The sun and moon going haywire? Nothing could explain what was going on.

I looked out the window once more to see everything that was happening. It was not a pretty sight. Not only were cats and dogs still raining and ponies were still slipping on the roads, but even more impossible things were happening. Animals were running around with really long legs, birds were flying upside-down, cottages were being knocked over like cardboard cutouts, and there were even buffaloes in tutus, dancing in a line. It was as if the entire kingdom was in one big dream of impossibility. As I looked out at the mayhem, all I could say was, "This doesn't make any sense."

Suddenly, the sound of laughter echoed through the Hall. I quickly turned around to see nopony near me. I looked around the Hall, but didn't see anypony. It was as if the laughter came from an outside source. "Hello?" I called out. "Is anypony there?" The sound of laughter returned and I straightened up, looking around at the ceiling. Just then, a ghostly voice started to speak.

"Make sense you say? I must ask; what fun is there in making sense?"

The voice sounded so familiar, but the echo made it hard for me to properly place a face and name to it. "Show yourself!" I shouted.

"Now now Celestia!" the voice jokingly said. "That's no way to talk to an old flame."

"You know me?" I asked as I looked around for the source. "Who are you?"

"Aww, you mean you don't remember me?" asked the voice, still mocking away. "That makes me want to cry!"

"Enough!" I shouted. "Who are you? Are you the cause of what's happening in the kingdom?"

"Why yes! Beautiful isn't it?"

"Not really." I continued to look around the chamber, even looking outside as I spoke, hoping I would catch whoever it was off guard. "Why are you doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious? To get to you!"

"Wait. You're doing ALL OF THIS just to get my attention?"

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" Every second this voice spoke, the crazier he sounded. It was like he was in his own little world. "What do we have for her Johnny? You win a meeting with me! What do you say Celestia? Deal, or no deal?"

"No deal," I sneered. "I don't take time for dealing with weirdos. I'm just going to fix everything right now." I turned around and started to walk back to my throne as the voice spoke up again.

"But if you don't meet me, what will happen to little Luna?"

I halted immediately, my heart stopping for a millisecond. A shocked expression came over my face as he finished the sentence. Every feeling I had was replaced with fear. I quickly turned around and shouted towards the ceiling, "What about Luna?"

"I thought you might ask," the voice said. "I was just saying how I happened to stop by her room and just had to swoop her up and bring her to the party!"

At first, I thought it was a bluff. Luna was young, but she was still a powerful alicorn. I just thought the voice was trying to intimidate me. "You LIE!"

"Do I?" the voice asked. Suddenly, the voice was changed to a familiar one. One that stopped my heart in fear and panic.

"CELESTIA! CELESTIA, IT'S D-MMMPPPHH!" Luna's voice was muffled out as it sounded like she was being gagged. My insides dropped in a panic as Luna's voice disappeared and the other voice interrupted.

"Now now Lulu! We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now would we?"

"LUNA!" I shouted. "What have you done to her?"

"Oh don't worry," the old voice said. "She's fine. But, you know, that can be changed so quickly." His tone then changed to mock sobbing. "I would spent many a sleepless night if anything...unfortunate happened to her..."

All the fear and panic quickly changed to rage as I heard him say that. Through gritted teeth, I looked up and growled, "If you so much...as hurt one hair on her mane...then BY ALL THE POWERS OF THE SUN I'LL-"

"Oh don't go getting your horn in a twist Celestia," the voice interrupted. "Nothing's going to happen to her. That is as long as you do as I say." I grunted as I looked towards the ground, pondering on what to do. I wouldn't normally give into a mad stallion's demands, but my sister's life was probably on the line, as well as the safety of the rest of the kingdom. 

"What do you want?" I mumbled.

"All you have to do is come to the large fields outside the castle walls," said the voice, "and you can have Luna. Easy-peasy! What do you say Celestia?"

Like he even had to ask. "Alright. But I expect you to let Luna go as soon as I get there!"

"You have my word. Ta-ta for now Celestia!" And with a echoing laugh, the voice vanished into the air. I didn't have any time to waste. I galloped as fast as I could out of the castle and flew out towards the fields. I knew that it was probably a trap, but I was willing to do anything to get my sister back. Even bargain with a crazy pony.





"Wait a minute!" Pinkie Pie interrupted. Celestia stopped as everypony looked at her. "I don't understand something. How come you didn't recognize that it was Discord? That anything that was happening was because of Discord?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Oh Pinkie. That's-" Her face suddenly changed to a pondering one. "Actually, that's a good point. How did you not immediately recognize Discord?" The others nodded in similar curiosity.

"I hadn't heard from Discord in 100 years," Celestia answered calmly. "I had almost forgotten what his voice sounded like. After all, I didn't realize that he was also immortal. He never told me." The six "oohed" in realization, and they sat back again as Celestia continued.





As I said, I hurried as fast as I could out of the city, praying the entire time that Luna was alright. Hoping that nothing bad had happened to her. She was all I had left, and if anything happened to her, I wouldn't know what I would do. As I flew over the city walls, I traveled over to where the fields were. The flat piece of land stuck out quite well, since it had changed from green and luscious to checkered patterned and bumpy. As I lowered myself onto the ground, I quickly looked around. I shouted for Luna's name, and at first, nopony answered. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna, standing on a flat piece of the checkered field. Without thinking, I quickly galloped over to her. As I neared her, I saw that she was waving her head back and forth, and a gag was positioned over her mouth. Her muffled screams were all I heard as I got closer and closer. 

When I had finally reached her, I ripped the gag from her mouth just in time for her to quickly say, "Sister! It's a tra-" Before she could finish, Luna was blown back by an unseen wind. When I went to get her, a blinding light stopped me. I covered my eyes to avoid hurting them, and when I lowered my wings, I saw a giant magical force field surrounding myself, with Luna looking from the outside. Suddenly, I heard a familiar echoing laugh.

"I can't believe you FELL for that! I remember you being naive, but not THIS naive! Has being a princess all these years really cloud your senses?"

I just couldn't stand it anymore. I looked around furiously, trying to distinguish the source of the voice, and shouted, "THAT'S ENOUGH! I want answers! Who are you? Why are you doing all of this? SHOW YOURSELF!"

The voice groaned in annoyance. "You are such a spoilsport. I guess more about you has changed than I though, eh Lestia?"

"Lestia?" I thought. "Nopony has called me that since-" That's when an occurrence came to me. At that moment, all of my insides dropped as my eyes grew wide with disbelief and shock. All of my fury was thrown away, and replaced with fear. Fear that there was a possibility that somepony I knew from a long long time ago was the one behind all of this. I started to stumble backwards as I tried to push the possibility from my mind. "No...no it can't be! IT JUST CAN'T BE!" 

The voice chuckled deviously. "Starting to put the pieces together? Allow me to solve the puzzle for you."

At that moment, a small ball of magic energy appeared in front of me, and started to grow. It grew and grew, until it was as tall as a tree. Then, in a blinding flash of light, a figure stood before me. My entire body went numb as I trembled at the figure in front of me. Fear and shock raced through my faster-than-light beating heart, as I realized that the possibility was true. My eyes grew as wide as plates and my pupils shrank to pins as I stared at the familiar figure in front of me, laughing maniacally. The familiar figure was tall, had the head of a pony, a goat's leg, bat's wing, snake tail, and a deer antler.

It was Discord.
> Celestia vs Discord
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	No words could describe how I felt. Discord had truly returned, but he seemed so different. He had gotten taller and grew a white beard, but the biggest change was his expression. As he stood there, laughing maniacally in front of me, I saw a trace of...insanity in his eyes. It was truly terrifying. I didn't know what to say about it. What WAS I supposed to say? I just stood there, frozen as a tidal wave of emotions flooded through me.

"You should see your face Lestia!" Discord gasped in between laughs. "Oh if only I had remembered my camera! It's a regular Kodak moment, isn't it?"

After realizing that he was waiting for me to speak, I snapped out of my trance and was able to talk. Though I didn't know what to say? What would you say to somepony who had been gone 100 years and suddenly came back? Finally, I found my words, and with a trembling voice, I said, "D-D-Discord? I-Is it really you?"

"No. It's John de Lanci," Discord sarcastically responded. "Of course it's me Lestia! What's wrong? Not expecting me? I would've called ahead of time, but I just LOVE surprises instead! Don't you?" He laughed again and snapped his fingers, turning a nearby dandelion into a REAL lion with green, leaf-like legs that started to chase other animals around. "By the way," he snickered, not taking an eye off of me, "how do you like my handy work?" 

I looked around at the rising mayhem that surrounded us as my thoughts and emotions continued to race. "Y-You did this?" I asked, still quivering.

"Yep! It's something isn't it?" he responded. "Comes a long way from making cotton candy clouds eh? Which reminds me." He snapped his fingers again, and in an instant, pink clouds covered the entire sky. "I've been working REALLY hard to perfect my techniques You don't know how hard it is to-"

"DISCORD!" I suddenly snapped, all thoughts of what was going on finally coming together for me to actually start a real conversation. Discord stopped and looked at me with his unfazed smile. "I don't understand. Why are you doing all of this?"

Discord smiled even wider. "I'm glad you ask Lestia! You see, I've been thinking for a while. I mean, I had 100 years worth of thinking. I was pondering one day about the meaning of my name. Do you know what it means Celestia?" I opened my mouth to answer, but Discord beat me to it. "Disharmony. But what does disharmony mean? I looked up the word in a dictionary and found some classy words that go with disharmony. Havoc, calamity, and mayhem. All were good, but there was one word that really caught my attention; Chaos. I liked the sound of it. I decided that since I wasn't doing anything at the moment, I would make a new goal for myself. Do you know what that goal was?" I was almost too afraid to ask. "To show the world what chaos can do! I spent the last 100 years training in my abilities, all to cover the world in chaos and then rule over it! Something I realize that I was BORN to do!" Discord let out a sinister chuckle as he gazed at the landscapes around us. "My first order of business was to take care of a certain old unicorn who had caused me much grief." My eyes grew wide. I didn't have to ask who he meant.

"What had you done to Royal Scroll?" I asked.

"Let's just say that the old coot is keeping the flying badgers in the 5th dimension company," Discord chuckled. I instantly shut my mouth. By the way he was saying that, I somehow knew he wasn't kidding! If Discord could send ponies to other dimensions, even back then, then what could he...I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Of course," Discord continued, "I soon realized that I couldn't rule the world until I impeached the current ruler, so here I am!" Discord then struck a triumphant pose, as if he was proud of his decision. The horrid thing about it was I sensed no sign of him joking. He was absolutely serious, no matter how crazy he acted.

"And besides," he continued, looking at me with a smug grin, "what better place to make the chaos capital of the world than in the place where it all began?" With another sinister chuckle, he snapped his fingers again and small fireworks started going off around him, and thunderous applause was heard out of nowhere.

I couldn't take it anymore. All of my thoughts had finally worn themselves out and I just couldn't listen anymore. This wasn't the Discord I remembered. 

"DISCORD!" I snapped. The applause was cut to silence as he looked at me. "This isn't you!"

"Oh no?" he asked.

"No! The Discord I knew would never act this way! You're acting like a...like a..."

"A monster?"

That was when my heart completely stopped for a second. The mention of that one word brought back the horrible memories. The last thing I truly said to him. My face froze as the painful remembrance flooded back into my mind, along with the pain I had saying it. From the corner of my eye, I could see Luna looking from the outside of the force field. I could tell by her face that she could hear every word that was being said. Discord just looked at me, his eyes narrowing and his once cocky smile sunk into a frown. "Did you really think that I've forgotten about that?" he asked bluntly. 

"Discord," I said softly. "Is that what this is about? Causing all of this...this mayhem? Messing with the balance of nature? Threatening Luna?"

"Threatening Luna?" he asked, sounding mockingly appalled. "Did you really think I was seriously going to do something to Luna? Celestia, I may be a monster, but I'm not heartless!"

"Discord, you're not a-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Discord suddenly snapped, making me jump with fright in the process, only to have his tone return to a sinister mocking. "The only reason I threatened Luna was to get to you!"

"For me? Why?"

"It's like I said before Celestia," he said as he circled around me. "I can't rule over this world until I've impeached the leader. That's you." My mind went into shock as my eyes widened. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? "Now, I can give you two choices. Either you step down as ruler, or...we fight for the title."

My eyes grew wide as my heart stopped for a second. What was once my greatest friend I ever had was now challenging me to a fight for the authority over the kingdom. No words could express how terrified I felt. How could I bring myself to fight Discord? Even with him acting the way he did, I didn't want to believe that he had completely changed. "Discord," I said sternly. "I will NOT fight you!"

"Oh ok!" he said happily. He then snapped his fingers and a piece of paper appeared along with a levitating quill and ink vial. Discord levitated the paper towards me as the quill dipped into the ink a few times before also levitating to me. On the paper, in big, bold letters, it read Authority over Equestria. "If you just sign here," Discord continued as he pointed to the line at the bottom of the page, "you can sign the kingdom over to me. Easy peasie!"

"I-I can't do that either!" I hastily replied, resulting in Discord looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "I just can't hand the kingdom over to you! It's my responsibility, and you're not...you Discord!"

Discord looked at me for a few seconds, like he was pondering, before making the contract, quill, and ink disappear and smiling sinisterly. "Very well. If that won't be the case, then you know what has to be done!" Then, with another snap of his fingers, I found myself in what seemed like a fighting ring. I looked around, confused and horrified by the sudden scenery change, until I saw a miniature Discord wearing a black and white striped shirt appear in the center of the ring.

"FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS!" the creature announced as he pointed to the corner opposite of Celestia. "In THIS corner, the most powerful entity of Equestria! The being of chaos! IIIIIIIIIIT'S DISCOOOOOOORD!" Suddenly, the sound of a roaring crowd rang out around me as Discord appeared at the corner, waving and blowing kisses. "And in this corner," the mini Discord continued as it pointed towards me, "the ruler of Equestria and the Princess of the sun; CELESTIA!" A wave of boos followed as the creature called my name. I just stood there in complete silence and utter confusion. Then, with a loud shout, the mini Discord shouted with all its might, "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!"

In a flash of light, the ring was gone, and Discord and I were back where we were before. I had no idea what that was about, but I was thinking that it was Discord's own way of saying that I had to fight him. "Alright Celestia," Discord said as he put up his fists. "Put 'em up! C'mon! Give me your best shot!" He floated around me several times, still with his fists up and taking a few occasional jabs towards me, but I would not move. I would not fight my friend, no matter how different he was acting. After a while, Discord got bored and stopped in front of me. "C'mon Lestia!" he said in a whiny voice. "I've got chaos to create! Let's rumble!"

"NO!"

Discord straightened up as soon as I shouted. I had to get his attention somehow and let him know that this wasn't a game to me. And if I had to shout at him to do it, then so be it. "I will not fight you Discord!" I repeated. "Please! We can talk about this. Let's just sit down and-"

"The time for talking is over!" Discord retorted gruffly. He then looked around until his eyes spotted Luna, still outside the force field. As soon as he saw her, he turned back to me, and his mouth was curled into a sinister smile. I knew that THAT smile could not lead to good things. "If you won't fight me on your own accord," he said menacingly, "then I'll need to give you some encouragement." Then, before I could ask what he was planning, Discord snapped his fingers again. There was another blinding flash of white, and when I opened my eyes and looked forward, my stomach dropped and all the blood drained from my head in horror.

Discord was holding Luna, confined in the air by magic binds, and hovering a small dagger next to her heart.

"NO!" I shouted instantly. "I thought you said you wouldn't hurt Luna! You're not heartless remember?"

Discord just chuckled sinisterly. "I also said that the only reason I threatened her was to get to you. Well," he hovered the dagger closer to Luna, "I'm going to get to you, one way or another. You choose Lestia!"

I stood there, millions of thoughts racing through my mind, with my eyes glued to Discord and my sister. I felt twinges of fear for my sister's life, grief at the sight of Discord completely changed, and rage for the urge to give in and fight my greatest friend. I didn't know what to do! I quickly ran the possibilities in my head as I looked from Discord to Luna. If I gave in and fought, I would ruin any chances of trying to get through to Discord. If I didn't fight, there was the slight possibility that he would hurt Luna. But would he really do it? Had Discord really changed for the worse? Was I really going to risk finding out? These questions and more buzzed through my head. I didn't want to fight. I didn't want Luna to get hurt. I JUST WANTED MY FRIEND BACK!

"Time's up!" Discord suddenly said as he raised the dagger. My eyes quickly shot to Luna, who was looking at me, her eyes filled with tears. As I watched the dagger start to descend upon my sister, my instincts kicked in, and with tears forming in my own eyes, I charged full-speed at Discord, my horn beginning to glow. Discord noticed this, and when he saw me charging, his smile widened as he tossed the dagger and Luna aside and faced me.

"Finally." he mumbled.

My first shot fired towards Discord's face, but he easily dodged by tearing his head in two, reassembling it after the shot passed through. I prepared to fire again, but Discord got to me first. He snapped his fingers, and before I knew it, I had fallen over. I looked down at my hooves and noticed that he had glued them together. He looked down at me, grinning with pride, before a shout rang out.

"SISTER!!!"

We both looked in the same direction to see Luna charging towards Discord with her own horn glowing. My fear kicked in again. "NO LUNA! DON'T INTERFERE!"

"No!" Discord said as he dodged Luna's blasts. "This is brilliant!" With another snap of his fingers, Discord was replaced with a brick wall, which Luna ran into. He then appeared again, sitting on the wall and laughing. "Of course I'd have to defeat BOTH princesses! Have to tie up ALL loose ends right? C'mon Lulu! Let's see what you got!"

"Don't. Call. Me. LULU!" Luna shouted as she shot at the wall, making it turn to a pile of rubble. Discord just shook off the dust and dodged again as Luna shot another blasts at his torso. 

"Oh c'mon Lulu!" Discord scoffed. "Don't get your horn in a knot!" He laughed as he literally tied Luna's horn in a knot. Luna tried to undo it with magic, but the knot effectively blocked her magic usage, and she was powerless. Finding my strength again, I undid the glue to my legs and shot another blast at Luna, unwinding her horn. Discord turned to me and pouted. "You're such a party-pooper Lestia!"

"I don't want to fight Discord," I said, "but if I must to get through to you, then so be it!" Summoning up a large sum of magic, I then shot a powerful beam right at Discord, and for a second, it almost seemed to hit him, but then I noticed that he had summoned an umbrella, and used it to block the attack.

"Did someone leave a window open?" Discord asked mockingly. "I thought I felt a draft. Here, what do YOU think?" He then whipped the beam back at me and knocked me square in the torso. I staggered back, gasping for air as I looked to see Luna soaring up and trying to dive bomb him, but once again, Discord was too quick. He dodged the attack, dressing up like a bullfighter and mocking Luna with a red cape in the process, and Luna hit the ground with great velocity. I quickly regained my breathing and ran over to her to see if she was OK. Besides a few bruises, she seemed fine, but that still didn't help our situation. The battle went on for several minutes, which consisted of us just trying to land a hit on Discord. Our efforts were for naught. Discord was successfully able to dodge, block, and parry all of our attacks, and with each of our attacks, he had much more effective ones. Tying our wings together, wrapping us up in our own tails, Discord continued to toy with us, and didn't even break a sweat. He didn't even stop cracking jokes and laughing. After a while, I realized that he really WAS just toying with us. He really DID possess the power to do anything, and if he put all of his might into attacking...it made me terrified just thinking about it.

After what seemed like 10 minutes of getting our flanks handed to us, Luna and I stood, though we could barely stand, in front of Discord, huffing and wheezing with exhaustion. Our coats were ruffled and bruised, our manes were dirtied, but we still stood.

"Had enough?" Discord asked smugly. I looked to my sister, who looked even more exhausted than I, and looked back at Discord. I just couldn't stop to believe it. I couldn't believe, not even as we were fighting, that the Discord I knew was gone. He HAD to be somewhere in the maniac that stood before us. I thought that I could beat it out of him, but that was worthless. The only thing I could think to do was to talk to him. Try and appeal to his old nature one last time. Gathering all of my energy, I slowly walked towards him. Luna tried to stop me, but I pushed her back. I stopped, inches in front of my old friend, and I sighed heavily.

"Discord," I said softly, "when will this end?" Discord's smile faded a bit as I spoke. "You have proven that you are quite strong. You can use your power to help so many, but instead you use it for chaos. I can help you make a better living." I walked closer and placed a hoof on his claw. "I can truly help you, so that things can be as they once were. You can be the Discord I knew from-"

"THAT DISCORD IS DEAD!!" he suddenly shouted as he slapped my hoof away. I stumbled back in fear as he leaned over me, a fit of rage filling his eyes. "THAT DISCORD DIED WHEN YOU KILLED HIM!" Tears started to fill my eyes again as he continued to shout. As the memories of that night started to come back. "You KNEW that I wouldn't do anything to seriously hurt another pony. You KNEW that I was ready to do whatever it took to stay with you, even serving time. You SWORE that you would always be there for me! But when the time came for you to defend me, an innocent creature of circumstance, what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?" He then leaned his face closer to mine, his eyes filled with rage and hurt, as he whispered, "Nothing!"

"I didn't want things to go that way!" I retorted as my sight became blurry with my tears. "I didn't have a choice!"

"Didn't have a choice?" he asked through gritted teeth. "DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE? You were the PRINCESS! You could've defended me in an instant! You could've done WHATEVER YOU WANTED! But no! You couldn't find it in you to defend a MONSTER!" I then watched his claw raise in the air and come down onto me. My horn began to glow, but the shield was not enough to contain the furious might of the magical force across my face. My cheeks began to burn from the magic as I faced Discord again. Luna ran to my aid, but Discord contained her in another smaller force field as he continued to assault me with more magic swipes, each one more brutal than the next.

"Who was the one who promised to never leave me behind?" He asked as he continued his assault. "Who was the one who promised to never call me a monster?!" One after another, the blasts started to become too much for me. "WHO WAS THE ONE WHO BETRAYED ME WHEN I NEEDED HER THE MOST?!? YOU!!" With that last word shouted, I finally dropped, the strain of the blasts and my emotions finally getting the better of me. I heard my sister cry out my name, but I could barely see her. All I could see was Discord, standing before me with a furious grin on his face, looking down on the pitiful excuse for a princess of Equestria.

"But, none of that matters now," Discord said, regaining his sinister, mocking tone, "because now, I've proven that I am stronger than BOTH of you, and now," he then snapped his fingers, and a ball of magical energy was hovering in his palm, "I'm going to finish the job. Have to tie up loose ends remember?" As he raised the energy over my head, as Luna continued to cry my name, even as I lay there, broken and defeated, all I could think of was how I could fail my friend the way I did. At that moment, I felt that I deserved to die. I just turned away, closed my eyes, and waited for him to deal the final blow.




"Why?"

I opened my eyes as I heard his familiar voice. He didn't sound sinister. He didn't sound smug. It sounded like his voice was...quivering. Curious, I looked up to see that Discord, still holding the magic over as if he was going to strike, with his teeth gritted and tears streaming down his face. 

"Why can't I do it?" he asked again as he stared me down. "You have caused my so much grief. I spent many nights in my lonely cave outside of the kingdom, crying myself to sleep. I spent so many days just wishing to see you again." As he spoke, I could feel my own tears coming again. I could hear his pain. 100 years of pain. "You don't know how many nights I spent, wishing I could come back, to be with you again, and for things to be as they once were."

"YES I DO!" I suddenly shouted as my tears streamed down my cheeks. "I felt the same way Discord!" His eyes widened at the remark as I continued. "I spent the exact same number of nights crying MYSELF to sleep, wishing you could come back. I wished every night that things could be as they once were!" The energy ball in Discord's palm disappeared as he lowered his arm, his tear-filled eyes not breaking contact with mine. "We CAN do it again Discord! We can be as we once were. I'm truly sorry for what I did, and I spent many nights wishing I could take it back. Come back with us Discord. I'm willing to forgive you for what you've done! I want to be friends with you again! We can be friends again! Just like old times!"

We continued to stare at each other, no doubt the same number of thoughts racing through our heads. I truly wanted Discord back, and it looked as if he was wanting to be back as well. If this showed anything, it was that the old Discord WAS still inside him, and he was trying to get out again. Luna watched intently as we looked into each others eyes, as if we were staring deep into each others souls. Too tired and beaten to stand, I raised my head some more to show how intent I was about what I said, and Discord opened and closed his mouth rapidly, his mind thinking about what to say next. It could've been the moment where we could be together again.

Until Discord shook his head rapidly and his smug smile returned. I lowered my head in defeat as I felt my tears coming again. 

"It's too late," he said softly, but menacingly as he turned away towards the kingdom. "The new Discord is here to stay. I've decided I won't kill you though. I've just decided that a worse punishment for you would be for you to live with the guilt of failing your kingdom. Everything will fall into chaos, and it's all your fault. If only you had been smarter and kinder all those years ago, none of this would've ever happened." My heart dropped as I started to sob. I had failed my kingdom. I had failed my father. I had failed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Discord happily continued, "I have a chaos capital to create! Have fun in your guilt Lestia! And don't worry, I won't kill you! Never could to begin with. I mean, after all," he then turned his head and looked me in the eyes as he finished with a sultry voice, "You WERE the best friend I ever had." And with a flash of light, he was gone.

As soon as Discord disappeared, Luna's force bubbled faded and she ran over to me. "Celestia!" she cried over me. "Sister! Are you alright?"

But I wasn't alright. I was far from alright. I was broken, both physically and emotionally. The kingdom would be thrown into chaos, and soon, all of Equestria. All I could think about was how Discord was right. All of this could've been avoided if I had just protected him. He wouldn't have become who he was. I really DID kill Discord. And as I lay there, in a puddle of my own tears, all I could say was, "It's my fault. It's all my fault."

And as soon as I said it, a gray aura overtook me, and I was thrown into depression and guilt.

	

	
> The Sun Shines Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Gray. That is all I saw as I lay on my bed. It had been three days since my defeat at the hands of Discord, and he was not kidding when he said he was going to turn the kingdom into the chaos capital of the world. Outside my window, the sun and moon were going mad, buildings were upside-down, the clouds were pink, and the streets were covered with soap. Ponies were running all around, sometimes from being chased by a flying wagon with fangs. Chaos had taken over completely. At that point though, I just didn't care. Through those three days, all I did was lay in my room and do nothing but sulk. I didn't care about anything. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't even cry anymore. All I could do was repeatedly think about how I had failed Equestria. I was completely drained, physically and mentally. It was as if somepony had replaced all of my energy and spirit with a lead weight that was filled with guilt, and it was pinning me down. Discord's last words to me were still boring into my mind like a drill. How he said that I had caused everything to happen. How my actions all those years ago had caused the greatest calamity in all of history. And the thing was, I had accepted it.

I kept thinking how it was all my fault. If I would've just been a good friend to Discord and not think about myself, things would've been so different. But there was nothing I could do. Nothing that I could say to help Discord anymore. I had done too much damage, and I was paying for it. I kept telling myself how I was not fit to be the ruler of Equestria. How I had failed all the ponies who had looked up to me, Luna, and my father. I had promised him to take care of everypony and to look after my sister, and because of one action of mine, I had broken that promise. I couldn't even begin to imagine what my father would say if he saw how I ended up, though some thoughts did come to me. I imagined him looking down at me with a face of utter disappointment and telling me how I had failed and how he had made a mistake in leaving me with the kingdom. My crown wouldn't have been in the garbage bin if I wasn't serious about it. The guilt had completely overtaken me, and for three days, I did nothing but bring myself down. Then, on the fourth day...

BOOM!

I looked up to my bedroom door as it burst open. Standing in the doorway was Luna. She looked so tired and her body was dirty from head to hoof. I remember her telling me that during the time I was sulking, she would challenge Discord for the retaking of the kingdom each day. Unfortunately, it would always end with her losing horribly. She would sometimes try more than once in a day, but her tenacity wasn't enough to go against Discord's power. She had finally had enough with me moping and had to do something about it. As she stomped into my room with a glare of angry determination on her face, I just acknowledged she was there, and immediately started to mope again.

"Celestia, this has gone on FAR ENOUGH!" Luna barked. "I have tried to give you time to get your head together, but clearly, that's not going to happen on its own. It's time for you to get back into the metaphorical saddle and be the princess the kingdom needs you to be!"

"It doesn't matter anymore," I said glumly. "I have failed this kingdom. It doesn't need me."

"Of course it does!" Luna retorted, levitating my crown from the trash and placing in on the dresser beside me. "You are the shining beacon of hope to it. The ponies look up to you. They need you more than ever."

"Some beacon of hope," I sighed. "My actions have led to this disaster."

Luna drew closer to me as she spoke softer. "Sister, please! This isn't your fault!"

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"I'm a failure."

"You're not a failure."

"I can't help anypony."

"Yes you-"

"ENOUGH!"

Luna stepped back a bit as I straightened up. I turned to her and looked into her eyes intently. "Sister, I have caused the greatest calamity in all of the history of Equestria because of my selfishness! I can't afford to try anymore. I will not put the citizens at risk anymore. I have failed this kingdom, I have failed Discord, and I have failed YOU!" Luna lowered her face to the ground as I continued to shout. "I can't go on like this anymore! The kingdom doesn't need a princess who puts its citizen, no, the entire WORLD at risk of pure chaos! The kingdom doesn't need me. The world doesn't need me. You don't even need me! I'm. A. Complete. Waste. Of-"




SMACK!!




My cheek instantly started to turn red with pain from the strike. It silenced me in an instant. I was so taken aback, I couldn't even comprehend what had happened. My sister had never laid a hoof on me violently before. In any case, it got my attention. I put my hoof up to my cheek as I turned back to face Luna. When I looked at her, her face was still pointed at the ground, but her hoof was still raised from the strike. She then lifted her head and looked me dead in the eyes, her own eyes glistening fresh tears.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT AGAIN CELESTIA!!" she shouted, tears continuously flowing. "Of course I need you! I have always needed you, and will ALWAYS need you! You're my sister, and my love for you is unconditional! You're my hero. My best friend. You mean everything to me. Don't you DARE say that I don't need you or that you are a waste! You're the most important pony in my life, and I would rather DIE than be without you!"

The silence that followed the outburst was deafening. I couldn't even hear the chaos outside my window. My ears were still ringing with the echo of Luna's words. I had always known that Luna loved and cared about me as sisters tend to do, but she had never said that I meant so much to her, that she would rather die than be without me. She cared about me that much. And as we stared at each other, the tension of the moment combined with her kind words had broken through to me. So much so, that I lowered my head, and started to cry again. I then felt Luna's arms wrap around me in a comforting hug that made me sob even harder.

"Sister," Luna gently said as she held me, "I know what this is about. You feel like your actions have led Discord to embracing a chaotic personality and in turn, brought chaos upon Equestria. You feel like this is all your fault. But that is not true. You had done what you thought was right at the time!"

I slowly raised my head to look at Luna as she continued. "Tell me something sister; why did you banish Discord?"

"I-I wanted to protect him," I sniffled.

"Exactly!" Luna said. "It wasn't because you were trying to be selfish! You wanted to protect him from Scroll and his threat to turn the citizens into an angry mob." I looked at Luna with surprise that she knew the full story. Luna noticed my face and smiled softly. "I know. I heard what he said. It was horrible, and it put you in a horrible position. You did what you had to do to protect him. As heartbreaking as it was, you had to do it. And in my book, that makes you a very, VERY caring princess. Even if Discord didn't see it, it doesn't take away from that fact. The point is that your action shows that you are a princess who is strong, and who cares about its kingdom and everypony in it. A pony who cares is NOT a failure."

I wiped my eyes as I looked at Luna's smiling face. Such a young age, and yet, she seemed so wise at that moment. Luna then stood both of us up and pointed me towards the window, showing the chaos as it reigned down.

"The kingdom is in turmoil Celestia. It needs both its rulers. I can't do this without you. We all need you now more than ever." She then levitated my tiara over to in front of me, and I took it with my magic, and looked at it. My reflection showed just how fragile I let myself get, with the gray tone of my entire body and almost lifeless eyes. 

"And he may not know it," Luna continued, "but Discord needs you too. I know how much you love him."

I instantly felt my cheeks get hot with a blush as I glanced at Luna, my eyes as wide as plates, before turning away again. 

"Whether that is romantic love or family love, that it up to you to decide," Luna said, "but Discord needs his best friend. He needs to be saved from himself. For the hope that maybe one day, things might be as they once were." Luna then placed a comforting hoof on my shoulder and spoke with the utmost respect.

"It's time for the Princess of the Sun to shine again."

And at that moment, with those last few words spoken, it was as if a light had just flickered inside my heart. A new, determined light that told me that it was time to protect those I loved. Luna was right, and had opened me to the truth. My kingdom and family needed me more than ever, and I had to stop beating myself up, stop thinking of the past, and look towards the future. As I proudly placed the crown onto my head again, all color, as well as emotion, returned to my body. I turned to Luna, who stood there smiling even bigger than before, and said, "Thank you sister. I need you too." With happy tears glistening in her eyes, we embraced once again. 

As we broke the hug, I realized that the mission was clear. "We have to stop Discord," I said as I looked out the window. "But I will NOT hurt him. There has to be some way we can detain him."

"How?" Luna asked. "Even teamed up, our power isn't enough to even touch him. So what can we do to detain him?"

I started pacing the room as I thought intently. It was true that we could not touch him with our regular magic, but if there was a way  to increase our magic, maybe there would be a chance. "Increase our magic," I thought to myself, "or bring an outside source..."

Suddenly, an idea came to my head. It was a stretch, but at that point, I was willing to try anything. I turned to Luna who straightened up to attention. "Sister, do you remember when we were kids? I showed you the place that held the source of protection to all of Equestria." Luna looked confused at first, but I could see that the gears were turning in her head. Then, eyes widened as she realized what I was talking about.

"You don't mean..." she said.

"It could be our only chance," I replied. "Come sister! We must hurry!" 

Luna and I hastily flew out the window and into the mayhem that lived outside. After dodging some flying pigs and raining dogs, we finally arrived at the staircase that led to the Tree of Harmony. The Elements were our last resort. If they couldn't help detain Discord, then nothing could. Though Luna was concerned about removing the Elements from the Tree, I reassured her that the magic that resided within the Tree would still flow throughout Equestria. We grabbed the Elements, tucked them into the saddle bags we brought along, and quickly started to make it back to Discord. As we neared the kingdom again, my heart continued to race. Facing Discord again was something I never wanted to do. I was afraid that it would mess with my mind again, and my feelings would get in the way again. Luna must've noticed my thoughts because she called me out on it.

"Celestia," she said calmly, "I know it's going to be hard. I know you care about him, but that's why we're doing this. This isn't just for the sake of the kingdom, but for him as well. Maybe one day Discord will fit into this world, but for now, we have to do what needs to be done. You CAN'T let your feelings hold you back."

She was absolutely right. And thankfully, with the thought that I was helping Discord by doing this, I felt more confident. I turned to Luna and nodded as we made our way down the checkerboard landscape and a throne on a hill, facing the opposite direction of us. And on that throne sat my old friend Discord. My stomach started to churn again, but I kept thinking, "It's for Discord's good," and it helped. I was about to say something, but Discord must've sensed us, because he turned around right away, laughing insanely. 

"Oh-ho! This is SOOO much fun!" he chuckled. "How 'bout a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony?" He then held up my tail, making me gasp as I looked at my flank to see it was actually gone. I quickly shook it off though as we approached him closer.

"Playtime is over for you Discord!" I sternly said. Discord didn't seem to care though. In fact, he was just casually eating from a bag of something that looked like seeds.

"Oh I seriously doubt that," he said as he popped another seed in his mouth. "Hungry?" He threw a few seeds at us playfully, but we payed it no mind. When we didn't answer, Discord just shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

It was time to act. It was now or never. Luna and I opened our bags and pulled out the six Elements, forming them around us. Discord noticed this and mockingly said, "Oh! What have you got there?"

"The Elements of Harmony!" I announced.

"With them, we shall defeat you!" Luna added as the Elements began to spin around us, creating a magical barrier of power. 

Discord, however, did NOT seem phased. In fact, he hunched over his throne laughing. "You should see yourselves right now!" he cackled. "The expressions on your faces. So intense! So sure of yourselves! Hilarious!"

Not wasting anymore time, Luna and I looked to each other, nodded, and touched horns. In a second, a jet of rainbow light came soaring out of the barrier and shot straight for Discord, who was too busy laughing to notice. And before the beam touched him, I closed my eyes, and the last thought I had was, "I'm sorry old friend." 

When I opened my eyes again, the beam was gone, and in front of us stood a unmoving Discord, turned completely into stone, in a pose that showed him howling with laughter. Then, in another flash of light, the kingdom was completely returned to normal. From all around, ponies started to realize the nightmare was over, and they gathered around their two princesses and cheered. Luna and I smiled at each other and locked hooves as the citizens cheered our names. It was good to see the kingdom normal again, and its citizens safe. The threat of the Spirit of Chaos was over.

With everything returned to how it was, there was only one thing left to do. What to do with Discord? After some debate, Luna and I decided to place him in the castle's stone gardens as a symbol of disharmony and to inspire ponies who saw it to strive for peace. Or at least, that is what we told everypony. The real reason was because, to be honest, I wanted it to be a symbol of hope. Hope that someday, things could be as they once were between the two of us.

As Luna and I looked at the laughing Discord statue, the majority of the time was silence and reflecting. Both of us had been through so much change from the whole experience, both good and bad. We both realized that things weren't going to be the same for a long time, but for the time being, that didn't seem like such a bad thing.

"It's kind of sad," Luna finally said as she turned to me. "All who look at this statue will just see a monster on the outside, and how disharmonious he was. They'll never know the whole story."

I nodded slightly as I looked to her. "We'll know," I replied with a smile. Luna smiled back and we embraced again. I just felt so lucky having a sister that cared about me so much. I felt like I didn't deserve her. After a minute, we broke the hug and Luna started to head back to the castle.

"Come sister," she called. "The citizens have prepared a celebration for us."

"You go ahead," I called back. "I'll be there in a minute." Luna nodded respectfully and headed off. 

As soon as she was gone, I trotted closer to Discord. He looked so wild with his pose. It fit his personality so well. With everything that he had done, it still showed his crazy personality. I stopped right in front of him and sighed as I looked up at his still face, and spoke to him, just like the old times.

"Discord? I don't know if you can hear me, but...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry how this had to happen. I know I hurt you all those years ago, and I'm truly sorry for it, but, to be honest, I don't blame myself anymore. I just wish things could've gone differently than this. But this had to be done for your own good. Don't worry though. This isn't permanent. I will not give up hope. A day will come when you can return, and things will be as they once were. The good days, where you and me were together, happy. You just have to be patient ok? I will not give up on you Discord. And I'll come visit you every day. After all, you're the best friend I ever had." I felt pretty silly talking to a statue, but at that moment, I didn't care. He was my friend, and he was worth it. "I should get going now. You just keep your head up, as I will do with mine, and hopefully, I'll see you soon. Goodbye for now, my friend."

And with that, I walked back to the castle, filled with a new hope for the future for me and my friend, Discord.

	


> How We Once Were
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	After she said the final words of her story, Celestia looked down and chuckled. The mane six were sitting there, completely still, mouth ajar, and eyes glistening with a few leftover tears. Celestia wasn’t expecting any less of a reaction. She couldn’t blame them. She would’ve acted the same way if she was just told the untold story of the friendship between the ruler of Equestria with the Spirit of Chaos. She would’ve been surprised if they weren’t the least bit shocked and surprised.

As soon as the six found their words, the first thing that came out of all of them was just one word. “Wow.”

“I know,” Celestia chuckled. “Some story huh?”

“Some story?” Twilight said as she wiped her eyes. “That was one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, stories I have ever heard.” The others nodded in agreement.

“And to think that it was all true!” Fluttershy added. 

“I laughed, I cried, it moved me so much!” Pinkie commented.

“Well, I didn’t cry,” Rainbow scoffed. The others turned with a smug look as they noticed a stray tear coming down her cheek. Rainbow quickly noticed this and turned away from the others, wiping her face and eyes. The others just turned back to the princess.

“So, is that all to the story your highness?” Rarity asked.

“For the most part,” Celestia answered. “After the whole event, things went back to the way they were. I made sure to visit Discord’s statue every day and tell him of things happening. It was nice to just talk to him again, even though he probably couldn’t hear me. This went on for some time, until…well…” Celestia’s expression suddenly turned to sad as she spoke. “Nightmare Moon happened.”

The others’ faces fell, as they very well knew what the Nightmare Moon incident did to Celestia. Still, Celestia continued.

“After I had to banish Luna to the moon, I fell into a deep depression for a while and didn’t visit Discord very often. It was…quite a hard time for me.” The others nodded with understanding. “But,” Celestia continued, her expression lifting again, “after I returned to my average life, I started to visit him again. That went on for a while again, until I accepted Twilight as my pupil.”

Twilight blushed heavily as the others turned to her. She had no idea she had distracted Celestia so much from Discord. Celestia chuckled a bit, noticing Twilight’s expression.

“It’s all right Twilight,” she said sweetly. “You didn’t distract me from anything. In any case, you gave me more to care about.” Twilight blushed even harder.

“Princess?” Applejack interjected. “Ah just have one more question for you. During the second Discord incident, you acted so hostile against him when he first appeared in here. Why?”

Celestia didn’t say anything at first. She just got up, headed to the window, and looked out with a frown on her face. The others stared with concern as they waited for an answer. Finally, with a heavy sigh, Celestia answered. When she spoke though, they couldn’t help but notice that her voice was quivering.

“When I first got wind that Discord had returned,” she said, “I was hopeful at first. I was hoping that it was the right time to work things out. My hopes were shattered, however, when I realized that he was just spreading chaos again as before. I knew you girls would be wanting answers about what was going on. I was afraid that if I told you the whole story, you would blame me for the events, so I-” 

Celestia paused for a moment to fight back the quivering voice and the approaching tears. Whatever she had to say, the others could tell that it was hard for her. Finally, she continued.

“-I lied about Discord’s past, and left out his relationship to me. I didn’t want you girls to see me in a different light. As the one who caused Discord to go bad.” She then turned back to the six with clear signs of tears forming. “I put on an act to make it seem like I despised Discord. But while I was yelling at him and being hostile on the outside, I was crying on the inside. My best friend had returned, and it wasn’t any different than how it was the first time. I felt like I was stuck between rekindling my old friendship and keeping up appearances. I look back on what I did, and I just feel so ashamed. I should’ve told you girls the entire story! I’m so sorry." She then lowered her head as tears started to fall. "Forgive me."

Twilight didn't waste any time in trotting over to Celestia's side. She lifted her head so her eyes met her own and softly smiled. 

"Of course we forgive you Princess," she said softly. "We don't blame you one minute. Do we guys?"

"Of course not!" Pinkie answered. "We love you Princess!"

"Yeah!" the others chimed in.

"And besides Princess," Twilight continued, "We DO see you in a new light." Celestia's frown deepened a bit at the comment, until Twilight continued. "We respect you SO much more now. It took a lot of bravery to tell us the full truth, and we really appreciate you for it. Thank you for that Celestia."

Celestia's mouth curled into a smile as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You girls deserved to know. And it felt really good to tell somepony. I don't feel that weight on me anymore. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to ask you girls to do something for me."

"Of course Princess," Twilight said. "Whatever you need." The other nodded in agreement.

"I would like you to give Discord a chance," Celestia stated as the six listened more intently. "I know that he has done some horrible things in the past, but he's not a monster. We all have done things we're not proud of at some point. He has been through so much, and he needs friendship more than ever right now. I don't know if I'm the best candidate for that right now, but that's why I suggested you girls try at the beginning. If there was anypony who could start reforming him, it was you six." All the six blushed slightly at the compliment. "I know you all have a reason to hold a grudge to him, but for a creature who has been ridiculed, feared, and rejected his whole life, don't you think he deserves a bit of true friendship?"

The girls looked from one to the other, a pondering look on each of their faces. They DID feel bad about not giving Discord a chance when he was reformed. It's as they said in the beginning; they were so blinded by their grudges toward what he did, that they never gave him a chance. Until now, they had always seen him as a nothing less than a troublemaker. But after all they had heard, they finally realized that Discord was a suffering creature who had been through so much heartbreak, they almost couldn't blame him for going crazy...almost. Celestia was right when she said that he needed friendship more than ever. He needed somepony, or some ponies, to call his friends and help and support him when he needed them. As the girls gave a final nod to each other, they knew what they had to do.

"C'mon girls!" Twilight announced to her friends. "There's a draconequus in need of a friend, or six!" The others cheered in agreement as they waved goodbye to the Princess and left the throne room, leaving Celestia with a smile of reassurance on her face. As soon as they were gone, Luna came through the side door and walked up to Celestia. The smile on her own face said that she knew exactly what Celestia was talking about.

"How do you feel sister?" Luna asked.

Celestia didn't even have to ask what she meant by. She just took a deep breath and sighed, "Lighter. Definitely lighter."

"Good to know," Luna happily replied as she put a hoof around her big sister.



 

The six didn't talk much as went home. There was NO conversation they could make to come back from what they had just been a part of. With the occasional joking moment from Pinkie, it was a pretty silent trip. With good reason too. The girls were on a mission, and they weren't going to rest until the mission was complete. Once they made their way back to Ponyville, they headed to where they had first summoned Discord. That seemed like the best place to do it again. Without even saying a word, the girls formed into a circle, looked to one another, nodded, and closed their eyes to focus their energy. One by one, each of them started to glow, as the rainbow ribbon connected them. As soon as the circle was complete, the rainbow flash shined bright once again, and in an instant, Discord was once again standing in the middle of the six ponies.

Or in this case, he was sitting. He was sitting on a stool, in front of an easel, and holding a painting palette in one hand, and a paintbrush in the other. The weird thing was that he was wearing a dark-colored robe, a beret, and a long, gray fake beard on his face.

"C'mon Lisa! Work with me here!" he was shouting as he appeared. "Either you smile, or you don't! There's no in-betwee-" He suddenly stopped as he realized that he wasn't painting his patient, but sitting back in the center of his six "so-called" friends. This time, however, Discord just scoffed, snapped the outfit and equipment away, and stared at Twilight with his arms crossed. "Well? What did I do this time hm?"

"Discord," Twilight started, "I know that we aren't on the best terms right now-"

"That's the understatement of the year," Discord mumbled.

"But we have come to-"

"Let me guess!" Discord interjected. "The reservoir is on fire!"

"No-"

"Oh I know! The school is oozing GACK!"

"Discord, please listen-"

"You know, I try and I try, but it seems that no matter what I do, I can never do good in you six's eyes!"

"Disco-"

"You know what I think? YOU SIX are the meanies!"

"We're-"

"I do a few things that get on your bad sides, and you just can't let it go!"

"We-"

"I just don't know what to do anymore. Even if I stand still you think I'm up to no good!"

"WE'RE SORRY!!"

"You're sorry! That's another thing! I just-" Discord suddenly stopped and looked at Twilight with shock. "Come again?"

"I said we're sorry. For everything." Twilight repeated. Discord stood still, waiting for the joke to end, but all the ponies seemed sincere. Discord relaxed his body a bit as he listened to Twilight continue. "We were wrong to accuse you of so many things just because of what you did in the past. We were so blind to our grudges that we didn't even think to try and help with your reforming. Well, besides Fluttershy. Some Elements of Harmony we are. We should've been helping you all along, and yet we were putting you down and treating you like a monster. But WE were the monsters. We're sorry Discord. Truly, sincerely sorry." 

Discord was speechless. He literally, for the first time in a while, didn't have a snappy remark. He heard the sincerity in Twilight's voice, and the looks of remorse on the others' faces. He didn't know what to say. He never heard the six apologize to him, or even treat him kindly, before, beside Fluttershy.

"You all feel this way?" he calmly asked as he looked around at the others.

"Absolutely!" Pinkie happily said. "You're a really cool dude Discord! Sorry 'bout everything!"

"I shouldn't have been so harsh to you darling," Rarity added. "I apologize." 

"Ah feel mighty awful 'bout everything," Applejack complied. "Ya'll are welcome at mah farm anytime!"

"Yeah," Rainbow said. "I'm sorry I accused you before. I'll keep an open mind next time."

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said softly, resulting in some stares from the others.

"Fluttershy, you didn't do anything," Rainbow said.

"I know," Fluttershy replied. "I just wanted to be involved."

All joking aside, Discord didn't know what to say. He came into this expecting to be accused of something again, but instead, he was getting true-blue apologies. He felt, in no other word, touched.

"Well," he sighed, "I guess you wouldn't have to hold a grudge if I didn't give you a reason to. I apologize too." The others stepped back with surprise as they heard him say that. He wasn't cracking any one-liners or making silly faces. He was talking to them normally, and quite softly. "I won't deny that I acted like quite a monster back then, and looking back on it, I feel awful. I was a lost soul. Trapped in a world of chaos and disharmony, thinking that spreading it was the only life for me. But then, you girls showed me what friendship could do, and how powerful it was. I should've remembered that during the Tirek incident. Maybe the reformation process would've been stronger. I know it sounds," he snapped his fingers and an ear of corn appeared, "corny," the corn was then quickly thrown away, "but I really DID need some friendship. And I still do. I really am sorry for all that I have done, and I'm willing to make up for it. Can you ever forgive me?"

Twilight and the others glanced from each other to Discord, whose face had no traces of fooling. He was as sincere as they were. They could tell. Twilight then smiled and grabbed Discord's paw softly. The others soon followed, placing their hooves on top of Twilight's, looking at Discord with friendly smiles. "We already have," Twilight answered, "friend." And at that statement, Discord's own mouth curled into a big, happy, friend-filled smile as well.

"GROUP HUG!" Pinkie shouted before wrapping her arms around EVERYPONY, though no one dared questioned it. Everypony just savored in the happy moment. That is until Twilight felt a drop of rain on her head. When she looked up though, it turned out to be a pink cloud hovering above all of them, and it was pouring chocolate milk. Pinkie noticed this and quickly broke the hug and started drinking greedily. Twilight shot a look at Discord.

"What?" Discord asked innocently. "I'm not allowed to use magic anymore? C'mon Twilight! Magic is my forte! It's what makes me...ME! Besides, a little chocolate rain isn't hurting anypony, right?" Twilight looked back to Pinkie, who was now rolling through the chocolate puddles as everypony else couldn't help but crack a smile, soon including Twilight herself.

"Alright Discord," Twilight said. "You can still use your magic. Just as long as nopony gets hurt and no minds are altered. Oh, and no messing with the forces of nature on a huge scale."

"You have my word!" Discord happily stated as he crossed his heart (no literally, he held up a cross to his heart). "You know what? I think I need a different title too! I mean, Spirit of Chaos sounds too...chaotic. How 'bout something more played down, like...um...Ah-HA! The Spirit of Playful Mischief! That just rolls of the tongue doesn't it?"

All Twilight could do was shake her head and chuckle. At this point, it was best to just play along. "Very well Discord," she said. "You are now the Spirit of Playful Mischief."

"Excellent!" Discord said excitedly. "Now, onto more important matters! WHO WANTS WHIPPED CREAM WITH THEIR MILK?!"

Pinkie couldn't have reacted any faster. "Oh OH OH I DO I DO!" she called out. Discord then aimed his finger at Pinkie's open mouth like a gun, and in an instant, a stream of whipped cream came shooting out like a fire hose. As it filled Pinkie's mouth, the others couldn't hold it in anymore. They started busting out laughing. Even Twilight couldn't hold back the laughter. Pretty soon, six ponies and their new draconequus friend were laughing, jumping, and dancing around in puddles of chocolate milk and whipped cream.

It was one of the funnest days any of them ever had!







EPILOGUE





As the sun slowly started to set on the long day, Celestia sat on her throne, reading the recently arrived letter from her old pupil with a smile on her face.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's been a while since I wrote you one of these, but it seemed to be fitting for this news. I am pleased to report that Discord is now officially reformed. Turns out apologizing did the trick. He even apologized to us for what he did. And now, everything couldn't be better. He has promised to keep his magic under control and not get anypony hurt. He's even calling himself the Spirit of Playful Mischief now. I find it a fitting title. I have to say; it feels really good to have let go of my grudge against Discord. I feel...lighter.

I also wanted to say thank you for everything Princess. As I said before, it took a lot of courage to tell us the whole story, and I can only imagine how much it still hurt after all these years, but you shouldn't blame yourself. You're a great pony, and Discord knows it. Just keep your head high, and...I hope things can be as they once were between you two. I'll keep in touch with you about him in the meantime, and I'll see you soon.

Your faithful friend,
Princess Twilight Sparkle

Celestia chuckled to herself as she folded up the letter. She then got up and went over to a cabinet over in the corner of the room. She opened the top drawer and put the letter inside. Before she closed it though, she levitated a roundish item wrapped in paper. A softer smile appeared on the Princess as she unwrapped it. Inside was the golden brooch that Discord had given her all those years ago, crystals and all. Celestia sighed happily as she pressed the button on the side, which made the small figure move to raise the miniature sun. 

"You've kept it all this time?"

Celestia almost dropped the brooch she was so startled. She quickly turned around to see Discord standing behind her with a soft smile on his face. Celestia sighed of relief and put a hoof on her chest. "Discord. I didn't realize you were there."

"Sorry," he said. "They should put a bell on me." Celestia chuckled as she caught her breath. "I just couldn't help but notice the brooch. You...you've kept that after all these years?"

"Well...yes," Celestia answered softly as she looked at the brooch again. "It gave me hope. Hope that one day you would return, and we could be as we once were."

"I guess THAT didn't turn out so well the first time huh?" Discord nervously asked. Celestia blushed a bit and shook her head no. A moment of silence passed over the two as their eyes darted around the room. Finally, they spoke.

"I'm really-"
"I just want to-"

They both stopped and chuckled nervously before Discord said, "You first."

Celestia nodded and looked Discord in the eyes. "I just wanted to say that, even though I have said this so many times before, I am so sorry about everything Discord. I'm sorry how things had to turn out for us. I had always hoped that we would be great friends forever, but one little mistake led to an entire catastrophe. I didn't mean to hurt you all those years ago. I just wanted to-"

"Protect me?" Discord finished.

"How did you know?" Celestia asked shockingly.

"Pinkie Pie," he answered. "That pony just can't keep a secret."

Celestia nodded in agreement and chuckled before continuing. "But I really WAS trying to protect you, but I guess I could've done it a different way. I didn't want anything to happen to you. I cared too much about you. I'm sorry if I hurt you Discord. That was never my intention."

"I know," Discord sighed. "Even back then, I had a nagging feeling at the back of my head that you had a good reason for sending me away. I was just too brokenhearted at the time to think about it. But that's all in the past. I realize now that you DID care about me, and I took my aggression out on you, and all of Equestria. And for that, I'm truly sorry."

"Oh Discord," Celestia happily said. "I forgive you. I could never stay mad at you. You know that."

"As could I never stay truly mad at you," Discord complied. Another moment of silence passed before Discord held out a paw to Celestia. "Do you think...we can start again? A new slate for returning friends?"

Celestia's smile widened as she took his paw. "Of course!" she said happily. "It seems that my hope has come true. You really have come back to start again!"

"Of course I have," Discord smiled. "No matter what life has to put me through, past, present, or future, I could never give up on you. I mean after all, you ARE the best friend I ever had." At that statement, Celestia couldn't stand it anymore. She had been holding back tears of joy since Discord appeared, and now, they were ready to burst. Letting her instincts take control, Celestia flung herself at a surprised Discord and wrapped her hooves around him in a comforting hug. His body was just as warm as she remembered, and when he closed the hug, she remembered just how comforting they felt. Celestia let her tears of joy spill as she held her old friend. It was one of the greatest reunions of her life, and she didn't want to let go.

After a few minutes though, she knew she had to. She broke the hug and wiped the tears from her eyes, her smile still shining bright. Discord looked at her with the same smile and said, "So...do you think that things will return to the way they once were?"

"I honestly don't know," Celestia answered. "I suppose only time will tell."

Discord smiled in agreement and said, "I'll be seeing you Celestia," and was just about it leave, until Celestia called his name. He stopped and turned to her.

"If you're not busy," she said softly, "would you like to...stay and talk for a bit? It's been a while."

Discord smiled. It HAD been a while hadn't it? "Alright," he replied. Just then, an even better idea came to him, who smiled even wider. "I have just the setting for it!" Before Celestia could ask what, Discord snapped his fingers, and in a blinding light, the whole room was changed. Celestia covered her eyes with her wings, and when the light subsided, and she opened her eyes, what she saw made her gasp in delight.

She was in her bedroom, and a blue, oval table was set up by the bed with all the fancy teapots, cups, and confections that she remembered. And sitting at the table was Discord, dressed in a bright blue suit and top hat, wearing a monocle, and sporting a twirly mustache on his upper lip. When he spoke, it was in a mocking formal accent.

"Ah, Celestia! Would you care to sit and have some tea?"

What could Celestia do but play along, giggling all the way. Celestia stepped forward and bowed as she sat down. With a snap of his fingers, the teapot poured a familiar substance into Celestia's cup. The Princess levitated the cup to her mouth and took a little sip. When the sweet liquid hit her taste buds, she just started to giggle again.	"Why Discord," she said in her mocking formal accent, "this is chocolate tea! How did you know?"

"It's as I said before my dear," Discord chuckled, "I have an act for this!" And with a completed mustache twirl, Celestia was laughing as she hadn't laughed in a long time. All the great memories of Discord and her started to flood back into her mind. Their first encounter, them taking walks, dancing in the chocolate rain, lying out under the stars, and all the above and beyond. It just like old times, and she enjoyed every minute of it. The times with her greatest friend would never be forgotten, and though the bad times would still be remembered, both of them, including the Mane Six finally understood that dwelling on the past just gets in the way of looking towards a better future.

And as the two sat and talked and laughed, Celestia realized that things weren't going to be as they once were.

In fact, she had a feeling that they were going to be much, much better.





THE END