More Than Friends?

Discord wasn’t aware of what had just happened for another few moments of staring at the ceiling. His eyes wandered down to the sun princess nestled against his body. Did they have sex? Is that was sex was? Discord didn’t understand, he didn’t even remember it.

“Oh, we just fell asleep.” Discord said in a low and quiet revelation. “Strange, I never fall asleep that easily.”

As Celestia shifted further up his body, more of her warmth blanketed him. The heat was better than any of the plush sheets or pillows in this room.

“Should I wake her…? Or…” Discord mumbled to himself, looking down at the slumbering alicorn as she hummed quietly in her sleep. Slowly reaching down, he pokes her nose. “Um… Wakey?”

The princess stirred slightly, but remained adamant to stay in her nocturnal form. Discord poked her again. “Wakey uptime.” He chuckled.

Sighing, Discord cocked an eyebrow before poking Celestia again. “C’mon, my leg’s numb.”

A light knocking was heard on the chamber door, followed by an eerily familiar voice. “Sister?”

Discord’s heart sank as he started repeatedly poking Celestia’s nose like a child impatiently waiting for an elevator by spamming the button. “Wake up wake up wake up.” He quietly chanted.

“Sister, it’s nearly time to raise the sun. Usually I am the last to wake, but you haven’t quite… done your usual routine.” Luna’s curiosity was obvious in her voice, hoping for answers but not wanting to pry at the same time.

Discord’s hand was a blur as he poked Celestia’s nose a dozen times a second. “Not good not good not good wake up wake up.”

The handle to the room started to twist, making his heart quite literally explode from his chest in an almost comedic fashion. As one last ditch effort, he set the scene in less than a second, and when the door opened, Luna was greeted with the sight of Celestia clumsily brushing her mane in front of her vanity mirror, her pajamas completely wrinkled and disheveled.

“Oh. Perhaps I was overzealous.” Luna admitted almost disappointedly. Celestia merely nodded, her head lazily flopping up and down. “How did you sleep?” Celestia shrugged in response. Luna squinted, staring at her sister for a few moments before the concern in her voice made Discord cringe.

“Are you alright sister? You seem a bit… distant.”

High above the two sisters, Discord was hurriedly pulling the puppet strings he had attached to Celestia. Unfortunately, as he prepared to project his voice, he accidentally pulled too hard, and the string attached to Celestia’s arm snapped.

"Yes Luna, I'm good. Thank you." Celestia said as her left arm completely fell limp, slamming onto the vanity tabletop. Discord flinched, but kept going, thankful that Celestia was facing away from Luna, or she might have seen the fish mouth movement of her sister’s lips. Luna seemed to grit her teeth, cringing a few steps back at the loud pound of Celestia’s fist.

“I didn’t mean to disturb…” Luna’s apology was cut off as Celestia did something that made Discord nearly faint in panic. She snored, making Discord lose his grip and drop the strings as Celestia’s head flopped onto the vanity. Luna’s mouth slowly parted as if to say something, only to drown it out in silence. “...you… are you okay?”

Discord watched in horror as a bundle of strings slowly drifted down, before landing in Luna’s mane, and on her horn. Luna’s arm snapped up as if attempting to swat something out of her hair. As soon as she did so, Celestia fell to the side and out of the chair. The string wrapped around Luna’s arm and yanked the night princess forward with a squeal.

As he watched the trainwreck unfold before him, Discord weighed his options. Get caught by Luna and then get turned into a small puddle of jello, bail completely and possibly ruin his new relationship with Celestia, or just keep watching and hope for the best. Deciding to hope for the best, he floated higher still, until he was touching the ludicrously high ceiling. Once his gaze snapped back to the scene, he saw that Luna had become even more tangled. Each time she thrashed, one of Celestia’s limbs flailed.

“Stop messing around and get me out!” Luna fumed, staring down at her sister in a bout of confused and annoyed kicks. As Luna’s leg shot out in the kick, Celestia’s leg shot forward and tripped Luna. Luna yelped as Celestia was raised up into the air momentarily before the weight of the older princess sent Luna up to the ceiling, pinning her there. Luna’s head banged repeatedly against the ceiling in annoyance. Her eyes slowly scanned to her left, now eye-to-eye with an unfamiliar pony. Luna’s movement just melted to nothing.

“Uh… Hello!” Discord said in a faux-cheerful tone.

“H-hello?” Luna’s greeting was almost over-extended. Discord merely smiled, his expression strained to keep a nonchalant look. “Are you a… guest?”

“Ah… yes!” Discord said, hoping Luna wouldn’t notice the fact that he was floating.

“That’s good… and what brings you-” Luna glanced down at the ground far below them. “To our ceiling?”

“Um… Nothing in particular.” Discord smiled nervously.

Luna stared at him, not uttering another word as if something caught her eye.

“Yes?” Discord prompted, dreading what Luna was going to say. Her mouth opened to speak, but was shocked into a simple squeak as the two of them (one unwilling) felt freefall take them towards the floor.

“AN INVISIBLE WIZARD DID IT!” Discord cried out, as he watched the ground speed towards him. Moments before collision, momentum simply ceased, replaced by a warm glow surrounding their bodies. Discord slowly glanced up to see Celestia towering over him.

“Sister, what…?”

“Luna, would you mind waiting in the hall for a moment?” Celestia said with a smile as Luna was propped up onto her feet gently.

“But…”

“I promise we will talk, just give me one minute.”

Luna reluctantly nodded and started to walk towards the door. Her face was a light shade of red, and her stride was wobbly as if adjusting to the blood circulating in her body at an angle that would be considered ‘right-side-up’. As soon as she was gone, Celestia’s face washed from her happy expression to what he could only describe as apathetic. The skepticism had already begun as she scanned his face for answers, knowing she was going to receive a false one or two.

“Um… An invisible wizard did it. Sticking to that.” Discord chuckled nervously. Celestia’s ear twitched, pointed toward the door as if listening to something. A mere ten seconds later and Discord was dropped. He braced himself for the hard floor, but was instead greeted by her mattress. He hadn’t even realized she moved his spatial position.

“A- A guinea pig with a weed wacker!” Discord continued as sweat began dripping down his forehead. Celestia kneeled down, his gaze snapping away to avoid her own as it neared his prone level. Her hand gently tilted it back towards her. A small rag was now in her hand. Discord’s mind snapped to confusion. Just like when he was moved, there was no evidence of any magic being used. The thought was quickly dismissed as she slowly started to wipe the sweat from his forehead and brows.

“I can wait as long as you want.” She said calmly, a caring smile returning to compliment her caring touch.

“I… woke up, and you were still asleep.” Discord began, “I tried waking you gently, but it didn’t work. Then Luna knocked saying it was getting close to sunrise, and I panicked!”

Her finger shushed him, the smile on her face growing. Celestia knew the truth and was just happy to hear him say it. Discord knew she knew, and was wondering how she knew, or if she knew he knew she knew. Celestia continued her efforts, cleaning and drying his face softly.

“I kept trying to wake you up, but then Luna turned the doorknob, so… I went with the first thing that came to mind, and… That was to put you in your pajamas, attach strings to you, and puppeteer you so Luna wouldn’t notice. Things… didn’t go as I planned.”

“I know Discord. I was awake.”

Discord’s stressed expression suddenly turned to one of pure… blankness. Almost like one of those emoticon things Luna had discovered and shown to Celestia with a bit too much enthusiasm. Discord’s face looked like two periods on either side of an underscore.

“What.”

“I can honestly say that if these are how all our mornings are going to be, then I will never be bored again.” Celestia began to giggle as the scrunched up look on her face just exploded.

As if reading Celestia’s thoughts, Discord’s face literally turned into just two periods on either side of an underscore.

“Oh Discord. You’re not the only one who likes to have fun.” Celestia gave him a wink that made him feel flushed, like the beginning of their relationship all over again. So basically yesterday. The fact he had gotten so flustered over this made him feel embarrassed, a taste of his own medicine, and he knew it quite well. But the fact that she pulled one over on him seemed to only enhance the love he had felt the night prior.

Blinking, Discord began to chuckle. His chuckle turned into laugh, and his laugh turned into a full on roar of uncontrollable cackling.

“R- Really Celestia! Y- You are t- too much!” He managed to say between laughs. “Y- You’re even more diabolical than me!”

Celestia still had that big smile on her face the entire time. Discord found that things had moved around again, now half his body under the blankets as she continued to dab the sweat from his forehead.

As his laughter subsided, Discord managed to speak up. “Huh… I don’t remember being going under the blanket again…”

“Oh, that was me.” She laughed gently before sliding next to him beneath the blankets.

“Oh? That should’ve been more noticeable. You moving me under the sheets.” Discord put a finger to his chin, trying to remember when Celestia had moved him. The sound of humming was heard, snapping him from his thoughts. His focus became almost non-existent as he realized he was no longer in Celestia’s bed. The two of them were in the same positions, but in Twilight’s bed back in Ponyville.

Discord lay in a stunned silence for a long moment. “How in the name of pop rocks lightning did you do that?”

“Do what?” She inquired in a more nonchalant tone.

“How did you instantly teleport us to your student’s bed? Without a bright flash?” Discord inquired. “Even I take a split second to teleport from one place to another, no matter the distance.”

“Oh, well I’ve always been able to.”

“You’ve… always been able to?” Discord paused in thought. “Just… how powerful are you, Celestia?”

“Hmhm… You know that little potion Twilight used awhile back that let her see into the past?”

Discord dumbly nodded, eager to hear her explanation. Celestia gave a low chuckle before continuing. “Well, I guess you could say it works both ways. It’s a tad more difficult, but it’s possible to glimpse the future. Except, well, I don’t require a potion to do so.”

“You… can see the future. Where’s the crystal ball? Even Pinkie needs a crystal ball to see into the future.” Discord chuckled.

Celestia just smiled a little more and continued. “I saw what was going to be. And I knew what needed to happen.” She said with something in her tone that Discord could barely hear, yet it was there. He recognized it as exhaustion, and not just from a busy day, but a busy life.

“Self fulfilling prophesy? Have you ever tried to stop such events?” Discord asked.

“Like?”

“Well, if you… ‘foresaw’ yourself having coffee tomorrow morning, why not have tea?” Discord ponders.

“What I choose to do the next morning is something I don’t pay much attention. Unless of course someone poisoned my drink.” She laughed, shaking her head. “You’re missing the point.”

“I apologize, but I am quite unsure as to what this point is.” Discord sighed.

“I had planned on stopping you, but then I saw something.” She began.

“What did you see?” Discord asked, his voice genuinely curious.

Celestia just stared at him, her grin bordering on face breakingly wide.

“Nooooo. You didn’t.” Discord said. “No waaaaay.”

She simply raised an eyebrow and waited for his next statement.

“You saw because of me, they made ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter!’” Discord gasped. Celestia just began laughing, putting a hand to her mouth.

“Well, I didn’t see that coming.” She giggled absurdly. This was probably the most he had heard Celestia laugh at any of his jokes.

“You have selective future vision! You need glasses!” Discord stated loudly, summoning a pair of rectangular glasses and putting them on Celestia’s face without giving her a second to react.

“... Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to see you in cute glasses.” Discord chuckled.

“Oh, goodness.” Celestia, beginning to recover from that ordeal, straightened the glasses and crossed one leg over the other. “If you wanted to see me dressed up, all you had to do was ask.”

“It is more fun to just surprise you and hope you don’t react fast enough to stop me!” Discord laughed.

“Mm, you know I’d let you do whatever you want to me.” She said in a calmer, alluring tone.

“Then I shall parade you around Canterlot dressed as a banana!” Discord stated boldly.

“If that is what you wish.” She said. Discord just stared at her with his usual smile, which slowly faded as he saw genuinity in her eyes.

“S- Seriously? You’d go around Canterlot dressed as in a banana costume? Just because I want you to?”

Celestia nodded without so much as a moment's hesitation.

“You… really mean it?” Discord asked, his voice lowering. Celestia took the glasses off and gave that warm smile that he couldn’t seem to get enough of. The removal of the glasses seemed to reveal wrinkles just under the sun princess’ eyes that were practically the only blemish on her body. But even then, they seemed to only enhance her beauty to the ancient chaos master. She scooted closer to him on the bed and took his hand in hers.

“I mean it.” She said. The three simple words seemed almost anti-climactic to him, yet that was all that he could think for her to say next. He was at a blank.

After a long, silent moment, Discord chuckled. “And now, for some reason, I don’t want to make you do that… Instead I just, want to hold hands, and hug in public. Maybe even kiss. But for some reason I feel much less eager to make you do something humiliating.”

“Now hold on, that’s just crazy.” Celestia teased, giving his hand another squeeze.

“Look at us, a couple of lunatics, sitting in bed, talking about banana suits and holding hands in public.” Discord sighed, before shouting “And there’s nowhere I’d rather be!”

“I couldn’t have put it better myself.” She sighed, gently pulling Discord into a full body cuddle.

“You’re so soft and… oh, what was that word again? I heard Pinkie say it once… I think it was sexaaaaayyyyyyyyy?”

“Ohh definitely. Sexaaaaaay.” Celestia’s smile twisted into a failing attempt to hold in her laughter. For some reason she just couldn’t keep her normal demeanor around him anymore. “Exactly what I was going to say about you.”

Discord chuckled, before pausing in thought. “Celestia? What did you really see that made you… decide not to stop me?”

A squeeze of his hand brought Discord’s eyes down to her palm, seeing the hand was slipping from his grasp. He watched it move up to point, and when he saw what she was pointing at he was more disoriented at the fact that the scenery had changed again. He had absolutely no idea where he was this time. It was like they were in… space? It looked like the entire area they were in was wrapped and coated in auroras and brilliant stars that seemed so close he could touch one just by reaching for it.

“Where are we?” Discord asked, looking around rapidly at everything that was happening around them. Celestia was standing, walking down the aisle of stars, and Discord was floating along with her almost unwillingly.

“Somewhere only two other ponies have been.”

“Okay. So this isn’t space. There have been a few dozen ponies in space…” Discord reasoned. Celestia showed the ever slightest of a grin, and he saw the corner of her mouth raise at his words.

“Which means we’re either in a different dimension… Or a different plain of reality.” He concluded.

Celestia ignored his train of thought. Discord caught pictures seeming to materializing around him. The pictures were moving, and it looked like he was gazing through windows. In each window he saw different scenes, some familiar, some strange, and some outright boring or plain.

“Why are there… Thingies? Why is one showing Luna reading a comic book? That… hardly seems important enough for this weird sparkly dimension.”

“They may seem unimportant, but there is one similarity that they all share.”

“I… have yet to see the similarity… I mean, Luna reading a comic book, Twilight eating cereal, Twilight playing with Spike, Twilight… playing air hockey with Rainbow Dash, Twilight… Hang on.” Discord turned to look back at the one with Luna reading a comic book, only to see Twilight giving Luna a large box filled with more books of all kind, not just comics.

“They… All seem to have Twilight Sparkle in them.” Discord concluded.

“Brilliant deduction.” She chortled playfully, giving him a pat on the head.

“But still, what does this have to do with why you chose not to stop me?”

“You don’t pay attention very often, do you?”

At that, Discord gave an indignant pout. “I do pay attention. I just don’t understand pony logic very well, being the god of chaos and all.”

“Who was the one that brought the elements together when there was no hope left, the first time you were freed from stone?” Celestia started, glancing toward a window that almost mimicked her speech.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Discord sighed, gazing at the window with deep shame and regret, looking back at what he did to those he now called his friends.

“And as I’m sure you heard, we were invaded by changelings awhile ago. It was Cadence and Shining that finally recovered enough of their magic to send Chrysalis packing. But do you know who saved Cadence in the first place? The ONLY one who doubted the fake Cadence’s identity and saw through the illusion.”

“I’m just going to go out on a limb here and guess Twilight again.” Discord mumbled.

“Then of course it was Spike that saved the Crystal Empire from Sombra.” Celestia said, the statement seeming to end when Discord clearly assumed she would go on about Twilight somehow doing something.

“Celestia, I hate to be rude, but what exactly is the point to showing me all this?”

“Well, I can’t give her all the credit. She learned a valuable lesson, though.” Celestia smiled. An unfamiliar scene played beside Discord which drew his attention. He saw Twilight trapped in a prison of black crystals, with Spike waiting just outside it.

“You have to be the one that bring her the Crystal Heart. If you don’t, you’ll fail Celestia’s test!” Spike shouted.

Discord could see the panic on Twilight’s face as she tried teleporting, but was shot back inside by a wave of black magic. He stared wide eyed at the scene, and how hard she was trying to escape, when Spike was already out and could have easily gotten the heart to Cadence. This wasn’t like the Twilight Discord knew.

“The Crystal Empire incident, I assume…?” Discord asked, “Something seems off about it though, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Oh?” She mused, staring at the window and waiting for his mind to catch up.

“Something seems very odd about how Twilight is acting. Almost as if she’s determined that only she can be the hero. Just tell Spike to go already, jeez.” Discord huffed.

“She wasn’t always the selfless princess you know now. There was a time where she genuinely considered everything as a test, or something she’d be graded on.”

“Heh, she still does that sometimes. Usually when it comes to anything involving her books.” Discord chuckled. “Let me give you some advice Celestia, never, ever, EVER bring sticky foods into her library. There will be a high risk of bodily harm.”

“And you learned this from experience I assume?” She teased, flicking his ear and making it twitch.

“By experience, and by watching other ponies get chased from the Castle by a very angry Princess. Though, if you were to spill something in the book, you’d get off easier, as she just fainted at the sight of her book covered in caramel. I was worried she was having a seizure!” Discord bellowed with laughter.

Celestia and Discord began moving again down the tunnel of memories and events. He looked at the many windows, seeing things he’d seen, things he’d only heard of, and things he never even knew Twilight went through. There were some moments that made him cringe, a feeling he wasn’t used to. There was one in particular that Discord had to look away from completely. From the quick glance he had, he could see Twilight standing over Celestia’s battered body as Nightmare Moon flew towards them.

“W- When did that happen?” Discord asked, pointing in the general direction of the image he refused to look at again.

“That was when Twilight drank that potion a little after she received her ‘princess’ status.” Celestia stared at the screen with a look that seemed to match the more sad tone that passed between her lips.

“Oh good. So it was just a vision… o- of the past.” Discord’s voice cracked. “That’s… what really happened, huh?”

Celestia didn’t utter a word in response and watched the scene unfold.

“We should move on.” Discord sighed, “No sense dwelling on the worst of things.”

“It lead up to this, and I’d say the ends justify the means.” She sighed quietly. A thought occurred to Discord. How much of the future did she see? And when did she start looking?

“How far have you gotten? How much have you seen, Celestia?” Discord asked. Celestia’s mouth opened to speak but didn’t say a word. “How much have you just… let happen? Knowing the future is a dangerous game, Celestia.”

“Yes, it is. I merely did it at first because I could. But the more I saw, the more I wanted to look away.” Celestia began, placing her hands in her lap as the princess started to levitate, her posture looking as if she was sitting in a chair that wasn’t there, something that Discord may have done. “I tried to stop you. I tried to stop my sister, Chrysalis, Sombra…”

“Tell me Celestia. Do you think that what you have seen must happen? That what you have seen will happen, no matter what?”

“You don’t understand. I saw the outcomes to all the changes. I watched, planning on doing things differently. But when I did, the futures I saw weren’t the same. They always ended… worse. There was one thing that only one reality had, and it was that one thing that had to remain.” She tried to speak more but just waited for his response at what she had already said.

“Ah, but Celestia, I think you fail to realize that even in your infinite wisdom, there will always be somepony who knows more about something than you.” Discord’s voice had changed to something almost… smug, but not quite. “I see that you know that the future does not exist until it becomes the present. Infinite possibilities, and yet you can only see the set course if you change nothing.”

Celestia just gazed at him, her expression only changing slightly as a smile barely made it’s way onto her face. “A lovely sentiment. And perhaps you’re right.”

“And you saw the outcome changing for the worse every time you tried to prevent it. Tell me Celestia, what do you think went wrong on those occasions?” Discord asked, reminding Celestia of her earlier lessons when Twilight was still extremely young.

“Because every future I made… was missing her.” Celestia pointed to one of the many windows. This one was of Twilight laughing at a party that was obviously hosted by a certain pink pony.

“I am… not quite sure I understand.” Discord said slowly.

“I’m not sure either.” Celestia started to laugh. “I couldn’t make much sense of it… But everything I tried to do, all the ponies I tried to save didn’t matter. Because for some reason she just… wasn’t there. I don’t understand it anymore than you. At least, I didn’t used to.”

“Hm… I’ll have to ask an expert, next time I see him.” Discord muttered to himself.

“There are many alternate realities all around us. Some ponies think that every choice you make creates some alternate universe, and that there are billions, limitless futures with many, many choices that were made. But the thing is, they’re already there. We don’t ‘make’ them, they just exist. And when I made a change, it merely took me to a universe where what I changed happen. But that’s where the strange part comes into play…”

“Wowee Princess! That’s really confusing!” Came a familiar voice, once again. Discord and Celestia slowly turn to face the window of Twilight’s party. There sat Pinkie Pie, with her face pressed against the ‘glass’ of the window, her muzzle scrunched because of this.

“Uh… Princess? Shall we move on?” Discord suggested.

Celestia grinned, rolling her eyes at the scene before the two of them started moving forward. “Heeeeey! Where ya going!”

“So, do you understand how it works?” Celestia shook her head and glanced over at her discombobulated friend.

“Yes. I… Sorry, still sort of… She scares me sometimes.” Discord shivered, glancing back at the window Pinkie was staring out of.

“Discord.” Celestia’s voice was a tad more forceful to gain his attention.

“I mean, I’m the god of chaos, for crying out loud!” Discord huffed, “Why does she feel the need to try and upstage me?”

“Discord…” Celestia tried again in the same tone.

“It weirds me out! She’s just an earth pony! Did she steal some of my magic when I wasn’t looking? Or-”

“DISCORD!” Celestia’s voice boomed almost glass shatteringly loud. All the seemingly endless windows flickered and distorted momentarily. The aurora around them seemed to shift to darker colors at the same time.

“Y- Yes Celestia…” Discord whispered meekly. Her appearance seemed to have changed only slightly. The wavy hair she usually had was no longer flowing and was just as limp as a normal pony’s hair. All he could focus on however was the stern look she was giving him, one that would even outmatch Fluttershy… and hers didn’t even work on Discord.

“I need you to focus, do you understand? I have never been more serious in my entire life.” Celestia stated each word clearly without much pause.

“Yes Celestia.” He repeated.

There was a momentary distortion in his vision and her hair was once again flowing. She turned away from him and the two began moving down the lane once more.

“Look, while this is all very, very interesting, I need to know where you’re going with all this.”

“I thought that would be obvious by now. I have told you in a couple ways, but you don’t seem to hear me.” Celestia seemed slightly annoyed at his words but didn’t fail to keep her demeanor calm.

“We started out with why you didn’t stop me. We’ve gone over that it would mean that Twilight would not have… been there, if that happened. But it seems that you’re trying to explain even further beyond that.”

“Because I saw what she becomes, how she changes Equestria, how she already HAS changed it. And a world without her is… one that I wouldn’t find worth living in.” She continued, her tone returning to the saddened octave she was using earlier.

“Your… fascination with Twilight seems almost unhealthy, Celestia. Yes, she is indeed a very delightfully dorky mare, but… I’m sure most others, if not all others would have chosen to avert the disasters.” Discord muttered. “What is it about her that… drives you to such thoughts?”

“Because each future I viewed ended the same. Sure, there are some that are a tad happier. Some with less villains and disasters, but they all end the same way.”

“By your tone, it sounds very… not good.”

“Eventually, they all go dark.” She finished, growing almost deathly silent.

Discord blinked, before chuckling nervously. “G- Goes dark? You don’t mean that literally, do you?”

Celestia was no longer even attempting to look in his direction, yet Discord could see the despair radiating from her self.

“No. No.” Discord shook his head. “You don’t mean that… everything went dark because you and the sun die… do you?” His tone was pleading with Celestia, begging for her to just start laughing as if this was all a joke. Her lack of response only made him choke silently on the rising dread in his stomach. He felt sick…

“Please… Celestia… Tell me you’re making this up. Just, tell me this isn’t real. Tell me I’m still asleep. L- Luna? I’d like it if you could stop this! I don’t like this nightmare!” Discord shouted.

“Do you know how it feels to know that should anything happen to me, I would take everypony else with me? That is the burden I have lived with.” Celestia continued almost as if Discord wasn’t there.

“No. This is just some horrible nightmare.” Discord muttered. “I’ll wake up in bed with you, and then I’ll pretend that none of this ever happened. Because it didn’t.”

“All the futures went dark, save for this one.” Celestia uttered like a beacon of light in a dark room.

“You mean that… This is the best possible future?” Discord asked in a more hopeful manner after a long silence.

Celestia smiled and turned to him, gently taking both his hands and caressing them with that warm touch he had nearly forgotten about since this trip started. “Discord, you will live to see beautiful things. Amazing things… You and the ponies of Equestria will not go gently into the dark, cold night. Although, you will see it many many times before your time. I wouldn’t want to leave Luna without a job.” She laughed gently.

“Hm? You think I’ll see something more beautiful that the pony that’s right in front of me?” Discord asked cheekily.

“If you could only see what I am seeing right now.” Celestia’s happy tone returned as their eyes made contact. The first true contact since the bedroom.

“Yourself, in the reflection of my eyes.” Discord chuckled. Celestia’s smile grew and twisted slightly before she finally lost her demeanor with a bout of laughter, something he had mastered doing to her.

“Well, that’s the only thing I could think of possibly matching your beauty! Your reflection!” Discord teased. That lovely feeling of her embrace returned as she wrapped herself around his body. He’d thought she was trying not to break him by the gentleness of her hold, but he knew that wasn’t it.

“Celestia…? Is there something wrong?”

“No, not at all.”

“That’s good. I don’t like it when you’re upset anymore.” Discord hummed, wrapping his arms around the Sun Goddess and gently squeezing her. “But… You said that I will see beautiful things. Didn’t you mean ‘we’? Cuz we’re together now, right?”

Discord could feel her warmth fade momentarily, not receiving a response to his question. There was definitely something she didn’t want to talk about.

“Uh, Celestia? Why didn’t you say ‘we’?” Discord asked, a slight bit of urgency in his voice.

“There’s a reason Twilight is so important.” She answered almost as if he asked the wrong question.

“C- Celestia, why didn’t you say we?!” He asked again, his eyes watering slightly. The windows shifted slightly, and the one that caught Discord’s eye was one of Celestia in much the same place the two were right now. Except in the scene, she looked much, much younger. Still a full grown mare, but Discord could tell. He saw her curled up, levitating in the star filled void. She looked sadder than any other pony he’d ever seen.

“Celestia…? There’s one without Twilight in it…” Discord whispered.

Without any replies, he was forced to watch the window. Her younger self was crying, and that seemed like all she could do in this frame. “W-why… why does it happen… it’s always d-dark…” The younger one sobbed. The sight hurt Discord to see, but he knew that he wasn’t going to get out without watching it through. He saw the same frames he had been looking into, except they were all black, as if someone had painted over them. “I don’t know what to do...”

“I… I don’t want to watch this.” Discord said. “I don’t need to watch it. Let’s go. P- Please.”

“I need you to understand.” Celestia begged in a gentle, caring tone. She tilted his head back to the frame as it continued to play.

The Celestia of the past continued to cry. But something happened almost in the blink of an eye. The frames disappeared. This obviously wasn’t her intention, as the sobbing mare went silent. Her head slowly rose up and looked around, unknowing of what had occurred. She stood up, walking almost aimlessly through the path trying to find something. It was a solid minute of walking, looking almost as if she was going to give up and began sobbing again. Celestia leapt back as the windows reappeared again, but with a white painted look instead of black. She just stared at them, never having experienced this by the way she was reacting. One of the screens changed, showing an unfamiliar purple unicorn reading a book. She approached the window and gazed into the scene playing before her, perplexed and intrigued at the same time. “Who are you?” Celestia mumbled aloud, her voice becoming lost to the void around her.

Her hand raised up to the screen, slowly approaching it as if a child seeing the stars for the first time. The moment her hand made contact, another of the white screens flickered to yet another scene with the purple unicorn. Celestia’s mouth was parted and she probably didn’t even know it. The princess slowly approached the window, seeing her and five other mares gathered around her sister Luna. The armor caused Celestia’s heart to sink, knowing it was a nightmare that she had seen, possibly many dozens of times in her future gazing. But as she grew closer, she saw that there wasn’t the armor of Nightmare Moon clasped on her body, but was instead… crying? Perhaps she was just seeing things, but this is one future she had never witnessed before. As she touched this one, another screen lit up. And another, and another, and yet another… All with scenes and pictures that were new to her. She traveled down the line, further and further, witnessing the many acts of this purple mare.

But she suddenly reached one that threw her off completely. These events were all chronological, and they continued on for miles. Yet, one frame was distorted, blurred, coated in a layer of static. She couldn’t see what it was an image of, or what the scene was supposed to be. But she could see what everything after it was. But what was IT? What had to happen to ensure this future. One she continued to watch. One she continued to observe. The more she went along, the happier she got, seeing a future she had yet to see. And this was one she never wanted to let go. Celestia kept coming back to that blurred frame, staring at it. What happened? She was scared at the same time. This was the brightest, no the only future that was possible. This was the only future that didn’t end, and she didn’t know what to do to make it happen. She was afraid for certain, but now she had something that she had lost awhile ago. She had hope…

Discord sat in silence for a long while, mulling over what he just witnessed. Occasionally opening his mouth to speak, before closing it again. There had been times in the past where he hadn’t known what to say, but for the first time in his life, Discord did not know what to think. Finally, after what felt like an eternity he turned to her and asked, “What changed? Did you do something to… change it to the visions of Twilight?”

“No. I don’t know what happened, it certainly wasn’t me. But I wasn’t really thinking about it at the time. I just saw hope, and it was what I clung to.” She answered with a soft sigh.

Discord sighed along with her, “What about the… blurry window. What about that one?”

Celestia started to smile again, glancing toward the many windows that were still around them. “These are the same windows as in the scene. Do you see any blurry windows here?” She inquired in a more snarky manner.

Discord quickly glanced at the surrounding glimpses into Twilight’s life. “No. There isn’t.”

“Well, you remember where it was, and it’s all chronological. So you tell me which one it is.”

Discord slowly walked through the tunnel of Twilight, glancing upon many familiar and unfamiliar scenes before coming to one that seemed to make his heart skip a beat. He recognised it as the missing window, but also knew the scene all too well. It was Twilight’s fight with Tirek. “Th- this… is the blurred timeline?”

“Yes. It was the one thing I couldn’t see. And that was the worst thing too. I had no idea what I was supposed to do, but in the end… it worked out.” Celestia laughed again, obviously reminiscing to that day that was definitely dark, especially for Discord. Yet, she was acting as though it was the happiest day of her life.

Discord frowned, remembering how horrible he felt that day. The unrelenting shame that he felt the weeks following. It wasn’t until he heard about the entity Luna had created, the Tantabus, that he even dared show his face in front of another pony aside from Fluttershy.

“I’m sorry Celestia, but despite how things turned out, I don’t remember that day too… fondly. So, why are you laughing?”

“Because up till then I had no idea what would happen. But after Tirek, the picture became clear. I saw why it needed to happen. And regardless of what you did, you did what needed to be done. And neither of us really knew it.” She replied with a bit of glee still in her voice.

Discord’s lips finally cracked into a smile, the giddiness of the Sun Princess becoming contagious and causing his spirits to lift. “This really is something…” He chuckled.

“It also proved something to me. It let me know that it could be done, because It was the one thing I didn’t see coming. I did it first hand.” She continued, growing a little calmer as she stared at the window. “You remember what Luna, Cadence and I did you sway Tirek from gaining our power. Or rather, delay him.”

“You gave Twilight all of your magical energy.” Discord smiled, “Like giving a gallon of coffee to Pinkie Pie. Not even she could handle it.”

“And not only did Twilight contain it, but she walked away like it was nothing.” Celestia continued, glancing toward the window as it shifted to Twilight testing her new abilities (albeit, somewhat messily).

“Like it was nothing? From what I could tell, she could hardly prevent herself from sporadically teleporting all over the place.” Discord stifled a laugh.

“Oh? Perhaps you should watch a little closer.”

Discord’s smile faded only slightly as the portrait shifted back to the fight between the purple princess and Tirek. Discord was not around for the battle, he was rather trapped without any freedom at the time. The scene absolutely shifted his demeanor to awe. Twilight was flying better than she had ever, avoiding everything that was thrown at her. The times she did get hit was shrugged off like a strong breeze. Twilight was so calm, using the colorful magic effortlessly and with swift flourishes of her horn. The way she wove the magic was almost beautiful in a way. It was definitely a sight, regardless of the devastation that was following in the uninhabited zone.

“It looks like she’s not even trying, doesn’t it?” Celestia mused.

“When she was struggling to stop herself from casting magic, it was probably much easier just… letting it all out, and channelling everything she had into attacking Tirek.” Discord replied.

“Perhaps you’re right. But I’d say she performed extremely well, considering in every other future where we attempted the magic transfer, every other stallion or mare died.” Celestia lowered her tone back to a more monotone and uncaring one, as if she would rather not be reminded of some things she’d seen.

“Are… are you serious?” Discord asked, his voice full of disbelief.

“And every other time I saw it happen, it was with just one of our energies. But on this day, we had no choice. It was all or nothing. Twilight took three, where as a normal pony wouldn’t even stand one. I saw futures where Cadence attempted it, Luna, and even I. They all ended the same…”

“It’s okay, Celestia. They didn’t happen. Your student took that magic, not you. Not Luna, and not Cadance. Little Miss Twilight Sparkle. Saving the day as usual.” Discord chuckled, attempting to cheer up the ivory mare.

Celestia’s eyes met his for a few moments, returning her smile again. “She does more than that.” She began. The scene with Tirek seemed to pass as the two were brought forward down the line, faster than Discord could process all the passing windows, so he merely waited for them to arrive at whatever scene she wanted him to see. Almost caught off guard at the sudden stop, Discord quickly regained his senses and stared at the window they were now in front. It showed Twilight, and she looked far older than the one he knew. Her hair was flowing much like Celestia and Luna. The shades of purple and pink, the colors her hair normally contained, was now a mere outline of what her hair was now. Within the twin-colored portrait of hair were stars. It looked almost as if staring up at the night sky, each star giving a twinkle every so often. Discord felt himself gazing at them almost as though they were right there in front of him. Finally his gaze was drawn upon her form.

Twilight was much taller, probably at the same height as Celestia was now. Her skin was as smooth as skin could get, and the clothing she wore seemed only slightly elegant. A simple dress that would easily be found in Rarity’s shop. Other than that she wasn’t wearing much that would show her as royalty. He could tell she wore no makeup, no earrings or other accessories, nor any form of highlights to show off her body in any way. It was a humble sight to behold, and one that Discord couldn’t help but compare to his love that stood beside him.

“Wow… Years and years in the future… And she doesn’t change much, does she?” Discord chuckled, pointing to a quill that was tucked behind her ear, a tiny ink stain on her left shoulder beneath the tip of the writing tool. “No matter how much older she gets, I don’t think she’ll ever change.”

Celestia nodded as if to agree, but only half as she spoke the simple words, “You’d be surprised…”

The door to Twilight’s chambers creaked open, and a tall, but all too familiar dragon poked his head in. His head, however, was much higher up than the height assumed. Once Spike stepped in, he seemed to be dressed in a much different uniform than the guards Discord saw around both Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire. They seemed unique, as if Twilight had her own style of armour given to the guards of Ponyville. The metal was less defined and seemed to almost blend into the white leather that twisted and folded around his body. Whatever it was didn’t look all too protective, yet it almost radiated of magic when he stared at it. The dragon that wore it was a good five and a half feet taller than the Spike he knew. There were no weapons on his person, and Discord could figure out why.

“Still gussied up I see?” Twilight spoke as a grin formed on her face. She didn’t even turn from her papers and knew who had entered her room. Spike’s eyes seemed to roll, yet they didn’t move an inch. Discord knew that half-bored look all too well, he practiced it in fact!

“You still get a kick at knowing where all your soldiers are don’t you?” Spike said in a feigned scoff. The white armour slowly changed to a dark shade as the magic in it dissipated. Spike then took the armour off and set it beside her bed. The clothes beneath it were as generic as anypony walking the market.

“Well, the magic doesn’t just let me know who the pony is, or where they are in the castle… It adds protection. And there is no one who opposed to the idea.” Twilight huffed, her grin only fading for a moment before returning in full.

“Oh really? And how often do ‘know who I am’, or see ‘where I am in the castle’. You just can’t get enough of me can you?” Spike stuck his tongue out as he fell back onto the bed, hands behind his head in his usual lazy manner.

“Oh get over yourself.”

Spike smiled a little wider before the two started laughing.

“Hey, Spike? Have you seen my favorite quill?” Twilight asked, looking through her desk drawers.

“You’re usually great at organising things. You’re telling me you already forgot where you put it?” Spike teased and rolled off the bed, walking over toward Twilight’s workplace.

“Well, it isn’t in any of its usual spots, and I don’t know if I left it in the Throne Room, or the Private Library.” Twilight sighed, lifting up the papers on her desk to see if the quill was underneath them. Spike reached toward her head and plucked the quill from behind her ear. Twilight looked back at him and stared wordlessly at the feather.

“You’re right, it was in the library.” Spike smirked.

By the unamused stare she gave him, Twilight obviously was showing she understood the joke. “Very funny.”

“What? All I’m saying is that you’re smart.” Spike shrugged, handing her the quill. “It’s a compliment!”

“I’m sure that’s what you meant.” Twilight chuckled, taking the feather from his hands and twisting back toward the desk.

“Well alright. You’re not just smart. You’re tall. You look like you haven’t aged a day past twenty.” Spike began, wrapping his arms around the princess from behind her sitting position. Her smile grew and her hands slid up to caress the arms embracing her. “You’re beautiful… and as perfect as the day I laid my eyes on you. And there’s nothing that’ll ever change the way I feel about you.”

Twilight turned in her chair to face him, their eyes seeming to lock together. “Good enough?” He asked.

Twilight placed her hand on his cheek. “Good enough.” She nodded, their faces coming together and allowing their lips to cling to one another almost as fluidly and quick as water, making it seem like this wasn’t the first time.

“Well… That was… Unexpected.” Discord said, still blinking from the startling image of Twilight kissing Spike, “But still, she had the quill behind the ear, so she couldn’t have changed too much.”

“Oh Spike… You naughty, naughty dragon.” Twilight’s voice rang from the scene, making Discord’s face grow a light shade of pink.

“Okay she’s a completely different pony! I get it! I am noping the heck out of here!” Discord shouted, swimming in mid air to try and escape as quickly as possible. Celestia tried to contain her laughter, only stopping when the scene changed once again. This time was of Twilight sitting in a throne. This time in Canterlot. Where there would normally be two thrones, there was one. The crescent moon was in the center of a sun, seeming to be a mix of both thrones in design.

“Oh, come on! She gets two castles?!” Discord huffed, “I can’t even get a house because I ‘decrease neighbouring land value’!”

“That’s because she can handle two castles.” Celestia joked. Discord watched as a guard approached Twilight.

“Princess, you’re needed back in Ponyville.”

Twilight nodded, her horn glowing momentarily. As soon as she was there, the scene changed back to the Ponyville throne room. This throne room still contained the map, and the seven thrones. Spike’s was much larger however. The six other thrones however, were filled with mostly unknown ponies. Only one of the ponies did Discord recognise, and that was Cadence. The mare was as majestic as Twilight, now with flowing hair of her own. It was official, all princesses age in reverse.

“Glad you could join us princess.” A larger pony droned. His outfit was reminiscent of a Saddle Arabian pony.

“Don’t get me started Prince Sally.” Twilight retorted almost nonchalantly.

“Salazar.” The pony snorted.

The thrones no longer bared the cutie marks her friends had, but now had the symbol for six other nations. Discord could guess what each of the ponies represented.

“Celestia… I don’t know how much more I can take.” Discord sighed, “Knowing what’s going to happen… It’s not something I think I particularly… enjoy knowing.”

“And what is about to happen, may I ask?” Celestia cocked her head to look at him.

“I don’t know. I like not knowing.” Discord said evenly.

“You have to know by now why Twilight is important. You do know, right?”

“No. You’re wrong. You didn’t look hard enough.” Discord said, his voice starting to waver.

“I know you may find this hard, Discord…” Celestia tried to speak, but was cut off.

“I won’t let it happen!” Discord shouted, “I’m not gonna let Twlight take the sun and moon! I’m not gonna let you die!”

“Everyone goes eventually. You can’t let that get to you, Discord. I promised you I’d let every moment count, and every moment I’d spend with you…” Celestia comforted the distraught chaos lord that had been in his pony form since this all started. The scenery in the window had once again changed. Twilight was in what looked to be a solitary garden, Canterlot Castle in the distance. She was kneeling in front of a smooth, gray stone.

“I WON’T LET YOU!” Discord cried, covering his ears and shutting his eyes tight.

“You have to look.” Her voice echoed through his head. The images played in his head regardless of him actually looking at the screen. The stones had words on them, but all he could look at was the symbol above the first one. It was a picture of a cloud, with a rainbow colored lightningbolt arcing below it.

“Stop it!” Discord wailed, shaking his head rapidly. Celestia caressed him, holding him tightly as the next image flashed. This stone held the image of apples. The next was of three purple diamonds, then balloons. Discord couldn’t open his eyes, unable to push the images away as he desperately tried to stop the rest from playing. The only thing that escaped his lids were a stream of tears from both eyes. Next, and most painfully, was a picture of a butterfly. All movement and sound stopped from Discord in one solid moment. The scene lingered on this stone, and Discord was forced to stare at the name beneath it.

“F- Fluttershy… No…” Discord sobbed. The tears fell freely as his eyes finally opened, now seeing the same stone he saw, but now with the white princess looking down at him. He could see that her eyes were red, and she looked like she had been crying too.

“The one thing that is certain, is something that is both beautiful and tragic. And that thing is that life always ends. But that’s not a bad thing.” Celestia wiped his cheeks and eyes of the sadness that coated it.

Discord’s ears twitched as Celestia next spoke, hearing another voice layered atop it. “There is a sunset and sunrise to every day...”

Discord turned to the window and saw that Twilight was that other voice. He now saw the grave she was kneeling in front of. The two princesses continued their statement. “They’re both free, as no amount of bits could buy their majesty. All ponies rich and poor, young and old, short or tall, can afford to see them. So while you can, take it all in, before your own sunset comes around.”

The two stopped, Discord now seeing that those words were etched just below the symbols of a sun and moon. Twilight’s eyes were clear now, and he could tell she was crying alongside the both of them.

“The sunrise has never been the same…” Twilight’s voice uttered in a shaky, almost broken tone.

“And they never will again.” Both Twilight and Discord spoke, their sorrow unmatched, yet alike in endless ways. He looked up at the sun, never wanting to look away, and praying he never goes blind. He finally understood. Discord had been reckless, and childish his entire life. He never took anything seriously. But now he was sure… he’s not going to miss anymore.

“I’m so sorry…” Discord whimpered, his whole body quivering in her arms.

“Discord…” Celestia placed her hand on his cheek, her gaze never leaving his. “I have thought about the future for long enough. From now on, now is all that matters.”

With a long overdue kiss, the two felt their emotions bursting free from their eyes. Their tears were of sadness, joy, dread, longing… and union. A union with walls so high that not even the strongest griffon could peek over. And these walls would never wear nor tear. The first parting of their lips was only met with a few words from the sobbing draconequus, “If only there was more time…”

Without finishing, he was silenced by her lips. Their arms embraced one another in the most desperate struggle to hold on. They were afraid that every time they let go, it would be the last. And the two would certainly treat every moment as such. Celestia found herself falling as Discord placed her onto the invisible walkway among the starry void they were in. With every passing moment the two were filled with less emotions. All the bad just melted away. All the guilt, the pain, the sorrow. The only things that existed at that moment were the two of them, right there, right now. Celestia’s head fell back as something that was long awaited by the both of them happened. She felt him, more of him than she had ever felt before. The lovers, in one solitary moment of time, became one. Their tears became sweat, their love turned to adrenalin, and their bodies joined.

No words were expressed at this time. Their only language was each other, speaking through touch alone. At that moment they knew everything about one another. Every sensitive spot, every point of pleasure. The two found harmony that no amount of friendship could show. Bliss was all that mattered, and they both felt the time pass as quickly as sand through your fingers. Many years of patience, mixing with the countless generations of loneliness, were shattered like like a mirror. Each broken piece reflected something about the other, and both Discord and Celestia could see each other. Truly see each other. And those broken shards were the most beautiful objects the two have, and will ever see. As soon as it started, their minds were colorless, blank canvases as endless colors and shades flooded onto it. No art compared to the masterpiece being painted at that moment. The passion they would never forget exploding higher than any mountain and lighting the skies like the most brilliant fireworks.

When the two regained their senses, Discord realized he was on his back, and Celestia had her face buried in his chest. The two glanced at each other as their smiles returned. Their laughter echoed through the endless sea of aurora. They were together, and nothing else mattered.

“You know… I was comprised of many different limbs, from many different creatures. You know why?” Discord broke the wordless silence.

“Why is that?”

“Because I couldn’t decide.” He said, glancing outward to the beauty that surrounded them. Discord felt his smile growing whether he wanted it to or not. “But I think I finally made my choice.”

Celestia was beaming, her arms sliding beneath him and pulling herself tighter against the pony. And yes, pony. Discord only had one form now, and it would never change again. A bundle of glee began forming in his body as she felt her warm lips making their mark as she traveled up his body. Once they reached his neck, they stayed, tenderly massaging his new body with the utmost care.

Discord’s eyes had wandered only for a moment, but something caught his eye. Although he was being attended to by the goddess of his dreams, he couldn’t help but look at the window again. They hadn’t moved at all, and this time Twilight was gone, perhaps moved on. Yet, there was one aspect of the grave that he had missed. The date… It was blurred, as if tampered by someone. The numbers themselves weren’t altered, but there seemed to be a distortion, much the same as the one that the younger Celestia had discovered. Except this looked different, like she was the one to blurred it. His demeanor remained, but that dread he had felt earlier began to knot in his stomach again.

“Celestia… what is that?” He pointed to the grave. Celestia’s head turned only enough so that her eyes could look upon what he had selected. In that moment, all the color in her body drained.

“Nothing. It’s nothing…” Celestia quickly tried to turn his attention away. But he wasn’t having it. In a white flash, he was on his feet, staring at the screen. With each passing moment, the date became less distorted. Startling the pony, the screen disappeared entirely. His eyes snapped to Celestia, seeing she was standing as well. The only word he could use to describe her expression was fear. Discord closed his eyes, seeming to focus intently as one thought filled his mind. The grave, the image of his curiosity. He heard a gasp from Celestia, opening his eyes to see the tombstone was now on all the screens. Quickly, he flashed to one of the screens. He gazed upon the blurred image, now a little clearer. Only partially did he read the birth date before it flicked off again. “Discord please!” She begged, the sense of panic clear in her voice.

Again, he reappeared next to another. Then another, then another. He was moving faster than she could close them. Moving faster, and faster… The screens passed by like a flip book, each getting clearer and clearer as the stars whizzed past him. Faster, and faster, until he was no longer seeing graves. Freezing at a screen that showed Cadence, Shining Armor, and Chrysalis. He was looking at the Canterlot wedding. He was confused, why were these different?

The pieces of a puzzle he didn’t want to solve slowly became clear as each piece fell into place. He slowly made his way back up the timeline, seeing he was back in the present he knew and loved. But each time he moved up a panel, a gut wrenching feeling gripped his entire being. After Tirek, there was nothing. Every window beyond that bad been closed. Celestia was standing beyond it, her hands so tightly bundled together that Discord thought they may bleed.

“Why are you… hiding these scenes?” He asked, Discord’s breathing growing heavier.

“Let’s just go home, okay? You said you wanted to wake up, so just take my hand.” Celestia’s voice was a stammer, her hand extended. She was desperate for him to come with her.

“I… I need to know.” Discord uttered. He had gone through this whole experiencing wanting to close his eyes, to turn away and never look back. But this was eating at him, and the emotions clouded anything before this moment. Discord approached where the window used to be, and Celestia shouted,

“Discord!” The distress and sadness clear in her voice. As if just background noise, he reached his hand forward in ignorance of her presence. The moment his hand hit where it was, the screen reappeared. His eyes widened, all thoughts going black as he stared at the picture. The grave was there, but there was nothing written on it. Slowly a smile crept onto his face and a bout of laughter started to spout from his mouth.

“Oh Celestia, you are cruel. Playing such a joke on me.” He quipped, the happiness still in his voice. But when he looked at her, she was still sad. Her eyes were sunken and the features pale. Discord’s expression fell almost painfully slow into a mix of worry and uncertainty. A gentle violet glow snapped his eyes back to the screen. He saw that he aura began to carve something into the stone. Discord couldn’t look away. His jaw was beginning to shake as the shape of whatever was being drawn became clearer and clearer. As the purple light died down, he saw his biggest fear confirmed. There was a sun etched into the stone, freshly engraved. He could feel tears beginning to form in his eyes once his gaze shifted back to Celestia. She had the same desolate expression.

“I’m so sorry…” Celestia whispered in a tone so quiet that even she could barely hear.

“You… said the windows were in chronological order. And this one is right after Tirek.” Discord stuttered through his sorrowful voice. “How long after?”

“I didn’t want you to find out like this…” She mumbled.

“How long!” Discord screamed, the windows flickering to static before disappearing. Celestia was startled, tears streaming down her face as she continued to stare at him with a mix of sadness and fear.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

“You don’t get to be sorry! I deserved to know!” Discord’s sputtered. His voice was filled with anger, rage, sadness, remorse… “If I had known… I would have been better. I would have been kind, a better… a better pony.”

Discord had never looked more of a mess. His eyes were tearful and pouring more down his body, and his nose was running. Celestia hated looking at those emotions, but never took her eyes off him.

“You put up with me… with all of this for thousands of years. The weight of the world on you and all you could do was watch. You deserve more… You, y-you… You deserve… so much… m-m…” Discord trailed off into a shaking babbling mess, unable to form any more words.

Celestia regained his focus merely by grabbing his head with her gentle grip. He felt both her warm palms stroke his cheeks. “You, are everything I deserve and more.”

With one more kiss, his mind blanked. The stars began to disappear, and the aurora filled space they were in melted to black. There was a moment of the cold loneliness before he pleaded one small phrase. “I don’t want to wake up…”

Discord’s eyes snapped open. He was in her bed again, Celestia’s body still wrapped around him. He brought a hand to his face, seeing it and the pillows behind him were soaked with his tears. His eyes burned painfully, but it didn’t matter. When he gazed down at the sleeping beauty in his arms, he saw the same tears on her own face. His heart wretched and quaked painfully in his chest. Discord didn’t know which emotion was which anymore. He found himself buried in her hair, inhaling her lovely scent. He didn’t even know if it was perfume, or just her natural musk. There was nothing he wanted to know more.

With every muscle of his body relaxing, he gave up. He knew what was going to happen, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“I suppose it’s my fault, really…” He said aloud, staring up at the ceiling after his head fell back onto the wet pillow. “So much time wasted. So many years… And what? Torture, cruel acts. That’s what I did. It took so much of my time, and yours. I was naive, and young. But…” He paused, his hands gripping her body tighter. “It’s time I grew up.”

After what I saw, I had no idea what to do. There was no hope, yet this world that wouldn’t be possible without her. No amount of apologies could wipe away my crimes. I’m done with my old life, I’m done with being Discord, and I’m done with the self pity. I will not let another day pass by unabated I will do right by others, and live in the name of those who could not. Those whose lives were sacrificed to get us here will not be forgotten. I will always love you, my sweet sun. You will always rise in this heart, never to set again. I will never forget you.

Discord felt the tear run down his cheek as he wrote the last words, a smile slowly forming as his lips curled up. There were no amount of words that could describe his love for Celestia, but this was the best he could do. He set the pen down and lifted the paper, re-reading it silently to himself. His entire body tensed up as the door to the room opened. He slammed the paper to his chest and stared straight ahead, his eyes wide.

“Discord? Why are you still here, I thought you wanted to visit Twilight.” Celestia’s voice rang through the room. He smiled and glanced back at her royal form peeking through the door.

“I do. I’ll be there in a moment. And it’s Accord now.” Discord corrected. Celestia’s eyebrow raised at his words.

“I doubt that will catch on.” Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Oh poo on you. Now shoo, I’ll be along shortly.” Discord sighed. Celestia giggled quietly and closed the door, leaving him alone. Discord was smiling undoubtedly, and his eyes rested back on the paper he wrote. He glanced to the photo on the desk he was sitting at. It was of him, Celestia, and their seven friends in Twilight’s castle. He just stared at the photo, his eyes heavy as he looked at the memory. Discord took the frame and pulled it open, sliding the message he wrote behind the picture before shutting it again. He set the frame back down, looking down at the image. That picture now meant more than any memory he had in his mind. And he would never be able to forget it. All the pain that he had gone through, all that he had learned, he knew things wouldn’t be the same. But that’s not a bad thing. Ponies change, and so must he. He is a pony now after all! But the lesson he got from all this, the lesson he will never take for granted… No one lives forever. And there won’t be a single moment where he looks away from the sun again. Because the sun isn’t setting… it’s only just arisen.