After the Gala

Chapters

Harboring Feelings
Back at the Castle
Asking Mr. Chaos
They're On to Us!
The Truth Comes Out
Only the Beginning

Harboring Feelings

Author's Note

Disclaimer: I do not own "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," or its characters. They are property of Hasbro Studios and DHX Media.

Harboring Feelings

"After the Gala"
By TwilightSparkle3562

Chapter 1

"Harboring Feelings"

Following the antics caused by the ex-master of chaos, Discord and his companion, the Smooze, Twilight and Princess Celestia stood as they watched Pinkie Pie dance with the slimy creature. It was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, the biggest night in Equestria and all had descended on Canterlot for the soiree.

However, for Princess Twilight Sparkle, who was attending the gala for the first time since she was crowned a princess, had come to help organize the gala and thought that she had failed to help her mentor relax and enjoy herself. It was the first major event in Cantelot since the events with Tirek and many of the ponies were still feeling the effects from his rampage.

Tonight, in her mind, was supposed to be a part of the healing process until Discord and the Smooze arrived.

"I'm sorry, Princess Celestia," said Twilight. "I thought I could give you a break tonight, but it turns out I was in over my head."

However, Celestia said otherwise, for little did Twilight know that she had enjoyed herself immensely.

"You have nothing to apologize for," replied Celestia, happily. "This has been the most FUN GALA in years!"

"I know," sighed Twilight, lowering her head and shutting her eyes. "It was a…WHAT?"

Twilight couldn't believe what Celestia had just said. In her mind, she thought that Celestia was going to be cross for letting the Gala get out of control.

"But there was ooze all over the place," protested Twilight, running to face Celestia. "And one of the guests tried to send somepony to another dimension."

"I know," replied Celestia, opening her wings. "Can you imagine how dull it would have been if I hadn't invited Discord?"

Celestia then pushed Twilight onto the dance floor with her left wing, excited to finally get involved with the festivities.

"Come on, whoo!" she cried, pushing Twilight onto the dance floor. "The night is still young!"

This conversation ran through Twilight's mind for the rest of the evening. She didn't bother to think of the first time she was at the gala. Celestia had said that it always awful and thanks to inviting Twilight and her friends the first time around, it was what she always wanted it to be, lively and enjoyable. But it seemed that thanks to the events with Tirek and the Plunderseeds, Twilight had tried to make it easier for Celestia so that she could actually enjoy it.

"I don't understand," thought Twilight as she and Celestia retreated to her private quarters that night. "Why would Celestia say that this was the most fun gala in years? Could it be that she may like Discord after all he has done? There is something about her liking Discord."

Soon, the gala had come to an end and Twilight was still thinking about why Celestia would invite a creature like Discord to even come to the biggest night of the year.

"Princess, can I ask you something?" asked Twilight as she accompanied Celestia to her quarters that night. "There has been something on my mind and I need to tell you about it.

"Of course, Twilight," replied Celestia, still feeling giddy at all that had happened tonight. "What is it you want to ask me about?"

"I'm glad to see that you enjoyed yourself tonight," said Twilight, who was feeling slightly sheepish. "But, I wanted to help you oversee the gala so that you could have a break from your royal duties. Is it just me, or do you like it when royal events are ruined?"

Celestia could only chuckle at this as she and Twilight walked into her quarters. In her mind, she knew that Discord had truly changed for the better.

"Well, you know that the Grand Galloping Gala is always awful," replied Celestia as she laid down by her fireplace. "I know you were trying to make it easier for me, but I wanted to give Discord a chance to show that he is truly reformed and willing to learn the magic of friendship."

"If he is going to learn the magic of friendship," said Twilight, joining her mentor by the fire. "Then he definitely has a lot to learn. I warned him to keep his friend under control and he didn't listen to me."

Celestia could see that despite Discord being fully reformed, she could see that Twilight was still not going to trust him fully.

"I think you are just being too hard on yourself, Twilight," said Celestia, looking over to her student. "Just because you are a princess doesn't mean you have to act formal and regal all the time. I have seen you be yourself and it doesn't have to stop. There is much more to me underneath the regal of my title and I know there is much more underneath the regal of your title, too."

"Are you saying that you wanted Discord to come tonight?" remarked Twilight, using her magic to undo the bun in her mane.

"I did," said Celestia, sighing in exhaustion. "We've been through a lot these past couple of months, Twilight. Tonight was a night that we could have fun for once. Besides, I liked Discord's joke about flying better than you."

Despite being insulted when Discord made that joke, Twilight let out a small chuckle.

"I have to admit," chuckled Twilight. "That was a little bit funny, even if it was insulting. I have to admit, I still have trouble flying even though I am an alicorn."

Feeling as though she had gotten through to Twilight, Celestia smiled to herself. Tonight was about letting loose and Twilight was starting to let it loose.

"We all have trouble at something, Twilight," chuckled Celestia. "Sometimes, it's best to make light of the situation in a fun manner."

"Good thing Cadence wasn't here tonight," continued Twilight. "She probably would have been insulted. Then again, she did like how Discord livened up our visit when she came to Ponyville."

"But, I would have told her it was all in good fun," replied Celestia, who got up and used her magic to remove her red gown that she had worn for the gala. "Besides, Discord is much more than just a creature of chaos, Twilight. He has a heart and I know he can be a trusted ally to us. I said that I have seen a change in him and I mean it."

Twilight could see that she was starting to get the message that Celestia was trying to get across to her. She was right, Discord had a heart. But, his antics were still concerning to her.

"It's a step in the right direction for him," said Twilight. "However, I cannot help but wonder about that other dimension he tried to send Fluttershy's friend to. Who exactly was that creature on the other side?"

Celestia's eyes widened upon hearing that and began to think of when Tirek sent her, Luna and Cadence to Tartarus. Had it not been for Fluttershy intervening, she could have been reliving that dark moment in her life.

"Princess, is something wrong?" asked Twilight, nervously. "Was it something I said?"

"No, Twilight," replied Celestia, trying to hide her worried look. "It's just that the portal Discord opened tonight reminded me of when Tirek sent me, Luna and Cadence to Tartarus. I will have to admit that it did bother me a little bit tonight."

Twilight sighed and agreed with Celestia on that. Discord did try to go too far in sending Tree Hugger to the other dimension.

"I'm sorry, Princess," said Twilight in a comforting voice. "I know you went through that experience all too well. That creature on the other side was probably worse than Cerberus."

"Not really," replied Celestia, who suddenly broke into a smile, much to Twilight's confusion. "He looked harmless and a little funny looking, if I do say so myself. I would like to meet him someday."

This caused both princesses to break out into a small laughter. Yes, it was another dimension, but it was a funny looking dimension that looked harmless as Discord had made it out to be.

"Before I leave, Princess," said Twilight. "There is one thing I have to ask you and it's kind of strange, but…"

"Yes, Twilight?" asked Celestia, getting up from being in front of the fireplace. "What is it?"

"Well, uh, I know it sounds silly, but," stuttered Twilight. "Do you love Discord?"

A slight blush of red came to Celestia's face and she chuckled a little bit in embarrassment. In her mind, she thought of why Twilight would ask such a question. Maybe it was because of that bouquet of flowers that Discord had given her when Twilight received her castle and title.

"I don't think that I love him, Twilight," said Celestia, nervously.

"Come on," insisted Twilight, hinting at her mentor's embarrassment. "I know you do."

Celestia hesitantly shrunk down at her youngest equal's insistence and it was at that moment, she knew that she had to tell Twilight something.

"We're just friends, Twilight," whispered Celestia in a low voice. "If you think that Discord and I are like Cadence and Shining Armor, you're mistaken."

Feeling that she had gotten her answer, Twilight backed away from Celestia and allowed the elder princess to get back to her normal position. By the time their conversation had concluded, it was nearly time for Celestia to raise the sun and she needed her rest.

"Well, if there is anything else I can do for you, Princess," said Twilight, walking to the door of Celestia's quarters. "I'd best be getting back to my castle."

"You might as well," she replied. "I'll be raising the sun soon and I need my rest."

Hugging her mentor goodbye, Twilight walked out of Celestia's quarters and headed back towards her castle.

Back at the Castle

Chapter 2

"Back at the Castle"

After spending her time with Celestia, Twilight returned home from Canterlot and immediately flew into her bedroom. Spike had long been back while she was with Celestia, so Twilight was careful to be quiet as to not wake Spike up. Taking off her blue gala dress, Twilight immediately started to look into the history that Celestia had with Discord.

"There is something that she is not telling me about," thought Twilight, as she scoured through Celestia and Luna's old journal. "Why is it that she likes about Discord? Could it be something that I was never told about?"

Twilight looked through page after page with any mention of a possible friendship or even romance between her mentor and her old enemy. But, much to her surprise, she found nothing and shut the journal, sighing heavily.

"Ugh, there's nothing," groaned Twilight, lowering her head and sighing in frustration. "Why wouldn't Celestia tell me that she likes Discord? I thought she said that we need to be open with one another."

Just then, a set of footsteps came towards her room, followed by a knock at the door and Twilight turned to see a small purple dragon with a blue blanket in one claw and a doll in Rarity's likeness in the other.

"Twilight, it's the middle of the night," yawned Spike, stepping into her bedroom. "What's going on?"

"Oh, sorry Spike," she replied sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I certainly wasn't trying to."

Spike then noticed the journal of the two sisters on the table and walked over to see what Twilight was doing with it. In his mind, he thought that Twilight was doing some bedtime reading, which was quite normal for her.

"That's all right," he sighed, rubbing his eyes. "You must be doing some bedtime reading and reacted to something in the journal."

"No, it's not that," sighed Twilight. "It's just that there was something Celestia is hiding from me. Something that she doesn't want me to know."

"What?" asked Spike. "What doesn't Celestia want you to know?"

Twilight closed her eyes and placed the journal on her bed, before walking over to a picture of Celestia and her at her princess coronation. Looking at the picture, Twilight sighed to herself and Spike joined her at her side.

"Spike, did you notice how happy Celestia was with Discord's antics tonight?" asked Twilight, pulling the picture to her face. "I wanted to make things easy for her by helping out in preparing for the gala."

"But, I thought Princess Celestia found the Gala boring," remarked Spike, thinking back to the donut soiree that they had after the last gala. "She said so herself, you know."

"I know what she said," replied Twilight, putting the picture back on the mantel. "But, its just that after what we went through with losing the library and dealing with Tirek, I just wanted tonight to be a night of relaxing and not having any problems at all."

Twilight then sighed heavily again and looked back towards the journal that was sitting on her bed. The more she looked at the journal, the more she wanted to figure out about what Celestia was hiding from her.

"Maybe she wanted to invite Discord because he was sorry for what he did," suggested Spike. "We can't stay mad at Discord forever because of what he did. Sure, what he did was hurtful, but we need to at least give him a chance, Twilight."

"And we have," replied Twilight, sitting down on the bed with Spike at her side. "Discord's not an enemy of Equestria anymore, but he still can be a nuisance as you saw tonight. I thought when he came tonight, he was going to ruin everything I worked for to make this the best night ever for everypony. However, rather than being upset, Celestia was happy he came. There is something about the two of them that I need to find out about."

"What do you propose we do?" asked Spike, getting off of the bed. "Should we ask Discord himself?"

A small smirk came to Twilight's face as those words were spoken. Asking Discord would get him to reveal the truth about his feelings towards Twilight's mentor. However, rather than doing it now, Twilight needed to get some sleep and decided to wait until morning.

"Spike, I think you just gave me an idea," chuckled Twilight, evilly. "Of course I'll ask Discord. He will tell me everything."

Spike could see that Twilight was going to be up to no good and it in a sense, reminded him of when Twilight went crazy over an overdue friendship report to Celestia. Then again, Twilight was crazy over certain things and this was definitely one of them.

"This certainly won't end well," he whispered to himself as he walked out of Twilight's bedroom.

Meanwhile, Twilight went to sleep and looked forward to getting the truth about Discord and Celestia from the ex-master of chaos himself. Little did Twilight know that she was in fact being watched not by Celestia, but by Princess Luna, who had not attended the gala due to her duty as Princess of the Night.

"Why is Princess Twilight so determined to get the truth from you, sister?" she thought to herself. "Perhaps if I go into her mind, I'll find out the truth for myself."

However, before Luna could teleport herself into Twilight's mind, she saw a glimmer of sunlight coming out from over the distance. It meant that her time was done and that she needed to end her patrol.

Returning to Canterlot, Luna saw her older sister raising the sun and starting the day. She knew that Celestia needed to know the truth about what Twilight was doing and quickly.

"Sister," she said, walking over to Celestia. "There is something urgent I need to discuss with you."

"Is it about not coming to the gala?" guessed Celestia. "I've told you that as princess of the night-."

"It's not about that," interrupted Luna, cutting in on her sister's sentence. "Twilight Sparkle wants to find out about your secret with Discord."

A sharp and sickening look came onto Celestia's face, knowing that Twilight was going to find out about her secret affair with her old archenemy.

Asking Mr. Chaos

Chapter 3

"Asking Mr. Chaos"

When Twilight and her friends gathered in the throne room of the friendship castle the next morning, none of her friends knew of the thoughts that ran through Twilight's mind. Finding out the truth between Discord and Celestia was her top priority and Twilight was going to stop at nothing to find out the truth.

"Are you sure that you want to dig into Princess Celestia's business?" asked Rarity. "There really are some matters that nopony should even bother looking into."

"Don't you see, Rarity?" cried Twilight, stamping her hoof down on the map. "If Celestia didn't want Discord to cause trouble at the gala, she would have said so. But she didn't and enjoyed his antics."

"It was the same when we came to the gala the first time around," pitched in Rainbow Dash. "I mean think about it, Celestia always found the gala to be boring. She likes it when its livened up."

All the ponies except for Twilight nodded in agreement over that statement. Rainbow Dash was right to say that Celestia enjoyed the gala when it gets screwed up.

"There is a big difference between Discord being a nuisance and living things up," insisted Twilight. "I think that maybe Celestia could have feelings for him."

"Why shouldn't she?" said Pinkie Pie. "If he could make the gala fun, then why not? I sense wedding bells in the future."

Hearing this nearly made Twilight want to throw up. As far as she was concerned, a relationship between Celestia and Discord that would go the way of Shining Armor and Cadence would be a train wreck times three in her mind.

"Don't you think you just might be overreacting to all this, Twilight?" suggested Rarity, kindly. "It's not they are going to even think about being married? Besides, having them together in matrimony would be…interesting, to say the least."

"I agree with Rarity," said Applejack. "There is a difference between being friends and being in love, Twilight. I'm sure that they are just friends and nothing more, sugar cube."

Just then, Twilight's horn glowed and she began to cast a spell to summon Discord to the throne room.

"Let's find out if Discord can tell us himself," she said and produced a spell to bring the creature of chaos to the throne room. When Discord appeared, he was seen lying on a bed with a stuffed animal in Fluttershy's likeness in his lion arm.

"Eww," remarked Spike, taking note of the stuffed plushie. "He's got a Fluttershy toy!"

"What's wrong with that?" said Fluttershy, looking over towards Spike. "If you can have a toy in Rarity's likeness, then what's wrong with him having a toy in my likeness?"

At that moment, Discord opened his eyes and yawned loudly to make Rarity remark in a disgusting noise. He then got out of bed, thinking he was in his home when he found out exactly where he truly was.

"That's funny," he whispered to himself, producing a bathrobe. "This isn't my…"

He then looked over to where Twilight and her friends were looking at him and the creature of chaos let out a pierced scream, acting like his privacy had been violated.

"My goodness!" he cried, stepping back slightly. "Don't you ponies know better than to spy on others?"

"There is a good reason to why I summoned you, Discord," said Twilight, walking over towards him while Discord snapped his fingers, getting rid of the bed and bathrobe. "I have something important to ask you."

"Now, hold on a second, Twilight," replied Discord, looking nervously over to Fluttershy. "If this is about last night and how I nearly sent Fluttershy's friend-."

"Its not that, Discord," she whispered, flying over to him. "Twilight has something that she has been meaning to ask you."

Twilight closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she looked up at Discord with stern looking eyes. Discord could see that he was about to get chewed by Twilight for his antics, even though she said it wasn't about them.

"Discord," she asked. "Are you in love with Princess Celestia?"

Everypony in the room fell silent when Twilight asked the question. Discord could see that he was blushing red with embarrassment over being asked such a question.

"Answer me," demanded Twilight, quietly, waiting to her an answer from him. "Are you in love with her?"

"Why would you even ask me such a question?" remarked Discord, who unknowingly produced a pair of angel wings and a bow and arrow. "I am not in love with your teacher, Twilight."

"She is not my teacher anymore, but we are very close," replied Twilight. "I know you are in love with her, Discord and I want to know why."

The rest of Twilight's friends wanted to speak up and tell Twilight to stop this interrogation that she was putting Discord through. The more Twilight insisted, the more nervous Discord had become.

"Twilight," said Discord, producing the same bouquet of flowers he gave to Celestia. "Are you saying that we are in love because of these flowers I gave her? I gave these flowers as an apology for what I did and that I am no longer an enemy to Equestria. All I gave her was my friendship, not my romance, you silly goose!"

Discord broke into a laughing fit over Twilight's reaction, but the Princess of Friendship was not amused nor was she convinced. Even though Discord repented for his actions, Twilight could not fully trust him and viewed him as a continual nuisance to her and her friends.

"I'm not convinced," said Twilight, coldly, causing Discord to stop laughing. "You are not telling me the truth, Discord!"

The sound of Twilight's bellow caused the room to shake and cause her friends to back away nervously.

"That's enough, Twilight!" snapped Fluttershy, flying into her face. "If Discord doesn't want to say anything, he doesn't have to say anything!"

"Fluttershy's right, Twilight," added Rarity. "Perhaps maybe you'd better let this go. I mean, you acted like this before at your brother's wedding and we all know what happened then."

Twilight was still not going to let it go and silently allowed Discord to disappear from the throne room.

"Come on, sugarcube," said Applejack, who then walked over to Twilight. "Don't let this get to you. I know how protective you are and I know your protectiveness can get you into trouble."

Feeling a sense of defeat, Twilight sighed and walked back to her throne as her friends followed.

Meanwhile, Discord had teleported himself to Canterlot and made his way towards Canterlot castle…

They're On to Us!

Chapter 4

"They're on to us!"

Feeling that Twilight was catching on with his relationship with Celestia, Discord quietly disappeared from the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom and disappeared over to Canterlot castle. He knew that Twilight was going to do whatever it takes to break up his relationship with Celestia and he had to reveal the truth to her at some point.

"Why is Twilight being so adamant on me?" he thought, quickly disguising himself as a pony to avoid suspicion. "Doesn't she see that Celestia and I are just friends? I don't even want to think about married life right now. Besides, I have Fluttershy."

Soon, Discord found himself in the Canterlot throne room where he remained while there was nopony in sight. Letting his guard down, he snapped out of his disguise and let out a deep sigh. Just then, the doors to the throne room opened and Celestia walked in, almost the same way as when Discord tried to repair the stained glass windows. Seeing Discord in the throne room, she let out a small gasp of shock.

"Discord!" gasped Celestia, trotting over to him. "What are, what are you doing here?"

"Twilight is on to me," sighed Discord. "She thinks that you and I are in love and is trying to break us up."

"How can she do that?" cried Celestia, pacing around the throne room. "We're just friends, Discord! She really thinks we are in love because I loved your antics at the gala."

Discord could not believe what he had heard in front of him. Sure, he and Celestia were friends now, but that didn't mean that they should be in love. After all, he was a creature of chaos and she was a princess of Equestria and the two of them marrying would cause conflict in Equestria unlike anything that they had seen before.

"And as another thing," continued Celestia, still pacing around the throne room. "Even Luna has gotten suspicious of us, Discord. What can we do to convince them that we are not in love?"

Discord was playing around as Cupid while Celestia tried to think of a way. Seeing Discord as the angel of love was not helping their situation.

"That's not helping!" barked Celestia. "Did you change into that when Twilight questioned you?"

Discord's silent 'I don't know' only confirmed to Celestia that Discord did indeed assume the cupid role in Twilight's presence.

"I should have known," she said as Discord shedded away the disguise. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so engaging in your antics, Discord. I know you were just trying to liven up the Gala…"

"Don't say another word," interrupted Discord, placing his fingers on Celestia's mouth. "Twilight still doesn't fully trust me after all I have done. But, she needs to understand eventually."

"We need to tell her the truth," said Celestia, walking up to Twilight's fully restored coronation window. "Twilight may be a princess now and being princess means that she needs to protective over those she governs."

Discord silently nodded at what Celestia was saying as she continued to speak.

"But there is a difference between protecting our subjects and getting in on our personal matters," continued Celestia, her voice slightly stern.

Discord then turned into a policeman and swung a baton around, but Celestia gave him a glare and Discord quickly dropped the disguise. She then let out a small sigh and lowered her head down towards the floor.

"I know, I know that I shouldn't be too hard on Twilight," said Discord, walking over to Celestia. "Those flowers I gave you were nothing more than an apology for what I did. Yes, I made a mistake and deferred to Tirek's side. But, we should move on from that period of time."

Discord then dangled a pocket watch in front of Celestia's eyes showing the time the moment Discord joined Tirek's side.

"Some ponies can't move on, Discord," sighed Celestia, walking up to her throne. "I wish both of us could go back and fix what happened with Tirek, but we can't. We have to move on. I tell that to myself since I banished Luna to the moon or when I turned my back on Twilight when she tried to warn us about Chrysalis. We can't turn back time, we have to move on."

"I know," replied Discord, snapping away the pocket watch. "She needs to know the truth, Celestia. Yes, we were enemies. But, that was a long time ago."

He then transformed into a mad hatter and sat down in a large chair, drinking a cup of tea with Fluttershy's pet bunny, Angel, in the other side.

"I'm fully reformed now and not the creature that corrupted Twilight Sparkle and her friends when I escaped from my stone prison," said Discord, snapping away the mad hatter disguise and the chair. "If only she could see that for herself."

Discord sighed heavily once again as Celestia walked over to him, nudging her head against his eagle's arm. Discord could see that he was starting to feel comfortable with Celestia around him and felt more relaxed than at any point of his life.

"She makes me feel so relaxed," thought Discord as he stroked her flowing mane. "Yes, we are friends. However, I can't help but think that perhaps Celestia and I…"

He then felt his eyes pop open and look down at Celestia, who was slowly falling asleep. Maybe perhaps that they were falling in love, but he didn't want to believe and Discord knew that Celestia didn't want to believe it either.

"No, no," thought Discord. "I am a creature of chaos, she is an alicorn princess. There is no future as a married couple for us. We are friends and we have to prove it somehow."

The truth about Celestia and Discord's relationship was soon about to come out…

The Truth Comes Out

Chapter 5

"The Truth Comes Out"

Following her private time with Discord, Celestia walked out of the throne room and towards her private quarters to summon Twilight to Canterlot. In her mind, Celestia knew that Twilight needed to know the truth. Once the letter was written, she used her magic to make it disappear so once it arrived, Spike could belch it out for her to read. Unfortunately, the timing of the letter's arrival had caused Spike to wake up with a sharp pain in his stomach.

"My dearest Twilight," she read while sitting up in bed. "I understand that you have been suspicious about my feelings for Discord. I believe that it is time that you learn a secret that I have kept from those that are closest to me until I felt was necessary to reveal. Please come to Canterlot as soon as you have read this. Yours truly, Princess Celestia."

Rolling up the letter, Twilight got out of bed and stretched her wings out for the late night flight over to Canterlot. Spike was baffled by all this and wanted to know why Twilight would be summoned at this hour.

"It's the middle of the night, Twilight," protested Spike, still reeling from the sharp pain. "Can't Celestia wait until she raises the sun?"

"No, Spike," replied Twilight, sharply. "This is the moment that I have been waiting for and Celestia feels that the time is right. I'll be back in the morning."

Before Spike could say another word, Twilight took off into the air as she saw Luna transmitting herself between dreams of her subjects while they slept. Flying as fast as she could, Twilight arrived in Canterlot and made her way towards her mentor's private quarters. However, as soon as Twilight landed, she was surprised to see that Princess Celestia was nowhere in sight.

"I don't understand," Twilight whispered to herself while walking around her mentor's quarters. "Where is Celestia? Why isn't she here?"

Twilight called out to Celestia in an effort to find her, but there was no reply. Even walking down the halls of Canterlot castle, Twilight was unable to find her mentor. Twilight continued her search until she came across the door to the throne room which was open very slightly.

"You can come in now, Twilight," called a voice and Twilight entered the throne room to see Celestia standing in the throne room looking up at Twilight's coronation window. "I'm sorry to have misled you to where I was, but I wanted to find the right place to tell you everything."

Twilight walked up and joined her mentor at looking up at the window. Twilight was impressed that Celestia had taken a keen interest in her window, but that was not the reason that she was here.

"I think you must know why I am here, Celestia," said Twilight, looking at her mentor. "I've been thinking that you must have had some kind of admiration for Discord, despite all he had done to us."

Celestia closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh as she walked up towards her throne. It wasn't her time to sit on the throne, as Luna was controlling Equestria at this time, but this was important. It was wrong of ponies to keep secrets from one another and Celestia was not going to bend this rule for her own gain.

"You see, Princess Twilight," she began, talking in a low voice. "Discord and I have gone back a thousand years and we have always not had the animosity we have had for one another."

This was a surprise for Twilight, who let out a small gasp as Celestia activated her magic to produce a round screen similar to the map in Twilight's castle. However, rather than show a map, holographic images of ponies were being shown before her eyes.

"What you are seeing before you happened during the reign of my mother and father, King Apollo and Queen Umbra," explained Celestia, showing Twilight two ponies standing on a balcony. One was a male alicorn that was white like Celestia and had a gold crown on his flowing red mane. The other was a female alicorn that was gray like Luna and had a black crown on her flowing blue mane.

Twilight had never seen anything like this before and was taking a keen interest in what her mentor had to say.

"1,000 years ago, they ruled Equestria with the love and respect that they showed for their subjects," continued Celestia. "Luna and I were being groomed in taking their place as supreme rulers of Equestria. However, there was an enemy that our mother and father despised."

"Who?" asked Twilight. Celestia then strengthened her magic aura and the surge produced a black magic that covered a portion of the map in darkness and the magic revealed to show a black castle that bore a striking resemblance to the Crystal Empire when King Sombra ruled it.

"Two creatures," replied Celestia, showing Twilight two creatures that were similar to Discord's design. "Their names are King Confusio and Queen Confusa, rulers of the chaos world who sought to make Equestria part of their world. My parents forbade me and Luna from ever crossing to the chaos kingdom. At that time, chaos creatures would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. But, there was one creature that I felt was harmless and that he needed a friend."

Twilight looked a little closer and saw what appeared to be a younger creature of chaos with a worried look on his face. Upon closer inspection, the younger creature bore a very striking resemblance to Discord.

"Is that Discord?" gasped Twilight, shocked at what she was seeing before her eyes. "But, he doesn't look so evil."

"He was never evil to begin with," replied Celestia, who then changed the map to show a different scene of her and Discord having fun in an open field. "Discord was a creature that was born to lead a different life and it wasn't a life of causing chaos."

Twilight continued to show attention to what was being displayed before her eyes. She could see her mentor at a younger age, with a pink mane and Discord, playing jokes together on unsuspecting ponies.

"You might as well say that we taught each other to break our bonds that were holding us," laughed Celestia, slightly. "Discord had a dream to travel across Equestria and entertain ponies with his antics. He taught me that there were times that I would have to liven up the parties that my mother and father would host, much to their annoyance."

"I can see why that you enjoy his antics, Princess" remarked Twilight, when Celestia suddenly changed the scenery back to the previous one, showing the armies of ponies and chaotic creatures coming towards one another.

"But it wasn't to last forever, Princess Twilight," she said, sadly. "My father learned of my friendship that I had with Discord and forbade me from ever seeing Discord again. It was during this battle that my father forced me to watch him and his army destroy the chaos empire. Luna and I could only watch as the armies fought one another and killed one another. When it was all over, my father was killed along with the chaos king."

A small tear came from Celestia's eye as the memories of her father's death were still fresh in her mind. But, it was not the only loss she had that day.

"Princess, if you don't want to go any further…" Twilight started to say, only to be stopped when Celestia raised her left front hoof to silence her youngest equal.

"I need to tell you this, Twilight," said Celestia, her voice slightly choked up with emotion. "After the battle, I flew over the sight of death and it was during this flight that I saw something that changed my life forever. I looked in the throne room of the chaos kingdom and I saw Discord being crowned king of chaos and it was that moment that my friendship with Discord came to an end and for the next thousand years, we were enemies."

Twilight could not believe what she had just witnessed and it was at that moment that she had developed a newfound respect for Celestia and what she had to go through.

"You have to understand, Twilight," cried Celestia, looking over at Twilight. "I didn't want to turn Discord to stone. I wanted to reason with him and convince him to abandon what he was doing. But, he wouldn't listen and the more I reasoned with him, the more chaos he had created. I had no other choice but to turn him to stone, Twilight."

The pain in Celestia's voice had greatly affected Twilight and she sat next to Celestia on the throne and rubbed her hoof gently in an effort to calm her down as she lightly cried.

"You did what you had to do, Celestia," said Twilight in a soothing voice. "It's not easy to lock away someone you were friends with for a long time. But that's over and done with now."

"I know it is Twilight," replied Celestia, looking at Twilight with tear filled eyes. "But, after Discord was released from his stone prison, I wanted to test Discord's commitment that he was willing to pledge his alliance to the good of Equestria. If he could capture Tirek without any trouble, then I could give him another chance at our friendship. He failed me when he betrayed us, but you and your friends got him to realize the error of his ways."

Twilight couldn't help but feel better at these words of encouragement from her mentor, who was starting to pull herself together. At the same time, however, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was being overprotective.

That was a matter she would have to think about the very next morning…

Only the Beginning

Chapter 6

"Only the Beginning"

When Twilight awoke the next morning, she knew that there was much more than Celestia had told her back in Canterlot. All that she had heard from her mentor was not the full story and in Twilight's mind, was only the beginning of a new journey that she would take as princess.

"I see that Princess Celestia told you the truth about us," said Discord, popping in front of Twilight dressed in a pink bathrobe and a cup of coffee in his eagle claw. "Maybe now you'll leave us alone, eh?"

Twilight decided to ignore the remark that Discord had made and instead focused on what needed to be done. Going down to her throne room, Twilight took one good look at her map and think to herself of the mysteries that she would be unearthing in due time.

"Not quite, Discord," sighed Twilight, as the creature of chaos teleported himself into the throne room. "There is something about you and Celestia that I need to learn more about."

"What do you mean, Twilight?" asked Discord, turning himself into a globe. "Whatever you want to find, I will show it to you. All you have to do is point where."

It became clear to Twilight that Discord didn't want her interfering in his past with Celestia. However, being the all-knowing pony that she was, Twilight had to find the truth whether Discord liked it or not. This was her mentor and mother-figure that was being talked about.

"Discord," said Twilight, looking up at him. "Celestia showed me something from her past that I found to be very shocking. You and her used to be friends. Is that true?"

"Yes, Twilight," replied Discord, turning back into his usual self. "Celestia and I were never the enemies that you and your friends had come to have known."

Discord then walked over to a window and looked out over the Equestrian landscape. In his mind, what Twilight was doing was bringing up old memories, memories he thought that he would forget forever. Even during his two imprisonments in stone, Discord still tried to keep the memories out of his mind.

"It seems now that you need to find out the truth," sighed Discord, suddenly turning into a tour guide and talking in an informative voice. "I can show you everything that went on between us from the time we were young to present day."

When Discord had failed to get Twilight enlightened by his act, he dropped the act and let out a heavy sigh. The look on Twilight's face meant that she was not playing around with this issue.

"Come on, Twilight," groaned Discord. "Lighten up a little. If we are going to take part in this journey through time together, we might as well have a little fun with the idea."

"What I saw last night wasn't fun, Discord," sighed Twilight, who was quickly losing her patience with him. "I know you had a troubled past and are hiding from them with your antics. You have a history that needs to be known for all to see. So, its time for you to face your fears whether you like it or not."

Instead of being moved by this, Discord turned his back on Twilight and the Princess of Friendship let out a sharp groan of frustration.

"You can't hide your feelings anymore, Discord," insisted Twilight, banging her hoof on the table. "You have to face them! I know you had a troubled past and are trying to hide it, but we all have to face the truth sooner or later."

Discord was starting to grow desperate at this point as he continued to hear the insistence coming from Twilight's mouth. He wanted to disappear and return to Fluttershy's cottage, but Twilight was going to make sure that he stayed put.

"Can't I at least tell you about it in a book, Twilight?" pleaded Discord, producing a book and reading glasses. "It's a lot safer this way."

"Discord, the more you are going to hesitate, the more animosity will build up inside of you," replied Twilight, firmly.

Finally, Discord realized that he couldn't keep fighting anymore and finally gave up. He knew now that he was going to be looking at his past and there was nothing he could do about it. Besides that, he was still being hated by several ponies for his betrayal to Tirek's side, despite the fact that it was over and done a long time ago.

"All right, Twilight," he moaned, feeling defeated. "I'll show you my relationship with Celestia and my rough family history. But, can we do it at sunset when everypony is asleep?"

"If that is what you want Discord," replied Twilight. "But, I don't want to be kept waiting any longer. Celestia couldn't tell me the full story and you are the only one I can turn to. We can do this together, Discord."

Twilight placed her hooves on Discord's lion paw and eagle claw in an effort to calm down Discord. Discord could see that he was feeling a sense of relief when he felt Twilight's hooves touch him. In a way, he was already starting to feel a sense of security. This was the princess who had freed him from Tirek's clutches despite his betrayal and Discord finally decided that if Twilight helped him, he would help her.

"There is much more to this pony than meets the eye," he thought to himself. "Perhaps I should learn about my history and teach her that I am not the master of chaos that I claimed to be."

Just then, a loud noise was heard and the sounds of Twilight's throne room doors were opening.

"Meet me at sundown," whispered Discord and he quickly disappeared as the doors opened to reveal Spike with a scroll in his hand.

"Twilight, was that Discord?" asked the baby dragon. "It sure sounded like him."

Twilight didn't say anything for all she knew that she was about to take part in a whole new adventure. An adventure into the past that would finally give her the answers that she had been wanting to find for a long time.

TO BE CONTINUED...