Dear Discord Chapter Ten

                                                              Dear Discord
                                                              Chapter Ten




    Two weeks, and another train ride later, we were only a short trip away from reaching Canterlot. “I don't want you going in with me,” Discord whispered as we were walking cautiously along in the woods. “What?! No! Discord, I-!” My protest was cut off by Discord leaping infront of me, and picking me up, pressing my arms close to my sides. “I'm not going to loose you again!” he croaked. I stared at him wide-eyed, looking him over in worry. I hadn't even noticed it, but he had obviously been holding back much sadness since we'd gotten here. Well, probably for this whole thing, really, not just the last few hours. Getting closer to the center of the cause for all this was the final straw on his normally happy and playful manner.     He ducked his head down, and pressed it against my heart, breathing hard. But I had seen the tears start to fall before he had hidden them. “I can't. I'm not risking it again. I already have way too much, and I'm not going to do it anymore,” he said, voice thick and heavy. I smiled sadly, and hugged him as tight as I could with him holding me the way he was.
    Gently, I pushed Discord away from me, and made him look at me. He still held fast, but did so.  “We both got into this. Together. And we're not ending it any other way.” Discord searched my face as I said this, and for a second, he lightly smirked. “So, basically, you're coming no matter what I say?” he chuckled, voice small. I grinned. “Yep!”

    The night we went to sleep was just as nice and quiet as the night we spent before going to my old home. No one would ever imagine anything sinister happening during this night in a million years. Since we were closer to Canterlot now, Discord was staying up for as long as he could to keep watch, and every morning, we snuck to a new spot as soon as we could, as quietly as we could. Tonight however, after doing this for many nights in a row, refusing to let me do so a few times, he was fighting to stay awake. I was nearly sound asleep, but I was dimly aware of Discord in my dreamy state.
    His arms were crossed, as were his legs, and I was laying with my head on his shoulder as we sat against a tree on the ground. Every now and then, his head'd nod down, and eyes start to slide closed before his ears perked, and he shook himself awake again. He yawned constantly, and blinked hard as he tried to watch and listen to anything going on around us. Finally, my mind stopped being aware of that, and entered total blackness as I fell totally asleep.     It might've been hours, but it felt like mere minutes when there came a sharp and loud noise that jerked Discord and I both wide awake. We looked around wildly, hearts beating a mile a minute. We had no idea what that noise was, or where it came from, but it was extremely nerve wracking. It had sounded like a thundering whistle of some kind.
    Suddenly, we heard scuffling in the leaves, no louder than if the wind had rustled them, but I flinced to it fast enough to see a bit of white, and flash of gold armor in the moonlight.

    Discord saw it too, and reached for me without hesitation. As if on cue, there came many shouts, and about twenty guards ran at us. Discord yelped, and shot up like a rocket into the air. Seconds after taking air, he had to dodge fired spells before getting a chance to race away. Five pegusi set chase to us, slowly gaining. Discord panted as he flew, looking behind him every few moments, and I looked below for something we might use for cover. Suddenly, Discord shot a glance over his shoulder, and yelped. “Where are they?!” I looked behind us, and the white dots from before, were indeed gone. “Did they stop chasing us?” I wondered. “Are you kidding? Why in Equestria would they-gah!” Discord slammed backward, faltering in his flight. A guard that had risen high above our sight, had dove down at dangerous speed, and rammed his head into the side of Discord's face. He clutched it, groaning, and tried to gather himself to face his attacker.
    “Discord!” I gasped, wildly looking up and around for the other four. “Above you!” I called, spotting another coming guard. Discord was still drastically dazed, having just been rammed into at probably four to seven or more miles per hour in the face. It'd be surprising if nothing was broken. He half blindly tried to whirl around, and dodge him, but ended up getting slammed in the back as if by a rock before I could warn him, another I hadn't even noticed hitting him from below. He screamed in pain, and I was knocked out from his grip. I gasped, falling for a moment, but managed to catch air after a few tries. I flew as fast as I could to Discord, now hardly keeping himself in the air. He shuddered, and curled in on himself, wracked with pain, and clenching his teeth. It ached to see him like this, and also enraged me on the inside. I took stand beside him, and watched the sky.
    “GoldenDream! Fly away, get out of here!” he gasped, coughing half-way into the sentence. I didn't say anything. Another guard was racing down. I scowled, and snorted. “You'll never bloody reach your target!” I murmured, flying harder and faster than I can ever recall straight toward the colt. As we got closer, I brandished my horn at him, and used my hooves to gallop in the air, and gain even more speed. He stretched out his hooves at me, and rammed into me, knocking me backwards and down. Even still, he obviously wasn't prepared for the fight I'd give. Well, mare or no mare, he had made the mistake to under estimate me, and that was always a big mistake.
    I bucked, and slammed my hooves down on him, and bit with as much force as I could as we fell in a tangle of bodies. He only yelped and howled, struggling to get free. Eventually, he managed to free himself, and flap away. I snorted after him, but went cold as I looked for Discord, and didn't see him. “Discord?!” I yelled. “Discord!” Only silence answered me, making me feel more sick. Why did I leave him? There were other guards, and they probably used my distraction as a chance to take him down even more.

    I heard a pained yell echoing from the ground, and dove for it. Branches cut my face, but I hardly noticed them. All I wanted to do was find the source of sound. And finally, I saw it, though I half wish I hadn't. Discord was crumpled on the ground, obviously having taken many more blows just as I had feared. A guard raced to him, and for all the pain he was in, Discord scurried back from him, narrowly missing the front hooves that had almost hit him with full force. He arched his back with a loud hiss, and snarled at them. A corned, injured animal defending itself in fear. “Dis-mmph!” Another guard grabbed me, and covered my mouth. “No!” Discord yelped, seeing me. He clutched his side with a paw, bleeding a little in several places. “Let her go, deal with me!” he growled.     The Lieutenant of the group chuckled as he stepped up to us, the guard holding me shoving me into the ground with my hooves behind my back, and my mane being pulled back to force my head up. I winced in slight pain at this, and jerked away from the colt coming up to me. “Sorry you lot, but the Princess has a score she wants to settle with you. Now you'd better come with us to the castle,” he said silkily. Then he leaned down to me. “You gave one of my guards an awful lot of trouble up there. You're a bit of a pretty little spit-fire, aren't you?” he smirked. His look turned sour, and he spat in my face, though I forced myself to only glare at him. Discord leapt for him, snarling. “Leave her alone, you coward!” The two guards by him lurched him back by his hands, and he cried out in pain as he was forced hard into the ground, and pinned into it. He sucked in breath through his teeth, and screwed up his face as he contained a scream. “You're one to talk in the position you're in,” the Lieutenant remarked with a glare. Discord growled low and fiercely up at him. “Nothing would please me more right now, than to break your face,” he spat. But the threat didn't seem to bother the colt. He simply smirked as he went up to Discord, making him growl harder and louder the closer he got. The colt stopped inches from his face, and, like lightning, punched him. I jumped at the sudden movement, and cried out in alarm. “Stop it!”
    Discord groaned under his breath from the force of the hit, and kept his eyes shut. “You would, eh? Well go eat dirt, draconeqqus,” he hissed. Discord scowled up at him, wincing in pain. “Altight, all. Let's move them out.”




    It was still hard to understand what was happening. It was like some horrible nightmare. They clapped the two of us in cuffs, and forced us along. Naturally, they were absolutely horrible to Discord. He stumbled many times, and limped. But they only laughed at him, and kicked him down in an already wounded spot, making him yelp loudly and groan in agony. When he had been hit so much, he was all but screaming in agony, I couldn't stand it anymore. I bucked away the guards walking by me, and charged the ones that had been kicking him. Discord scrambled to stop me, and shielded me from any harm they wanted to deal out on me. “You hurt him once more, and I swear it'll be the last thing you do!” I snarled.
    Discord was shoved out of the way, and held in place by two other colts on the Lieutenant's signals. “My, she really IS a spitfire, isn't she, Discord!” he laughed, yanking my head to one side, and down. I refused to yelp, or make any kind of sound at all as he dragged me infront of Discord by my mane. Discord struggled hard as he could, weak as he was. “Let her be! Don't touch her, you rat!”     The Lieutenant pushed me into the ground, and held me there with his hoof. “Don't touch her? You mean like this?” he mockingly asked before bringing his hoof down onto my head with a very faint crack. It hurt too much for me to scream, and left me seeing lights pop infront of my eyes. I groaned, feeling the pain spread over my head like a wild-fire. Discord roared with fury, and the guards holding him only just managed to keep him in place. His claws, I noticed in my blurry vision, and dazed mind-state, dug into the dirt he scrapped so hard at it in order to try and break free.

    The guard above me just watched Discord struggle till his chest heaved, a deep frown on his face as he glared at Discord's red eyes, alight with anger. Finally, though unwillingly, Discord's body gave out on him. Slowly, still glaring into the Lieutenant's face, his movements slowed till he sunk to the ground, fighting until he could fight no more. He panted by my head, his breath hot against my cheek, and he stared ahead as if sightless.     “Uncuff them, and give them some water. Their too exhausted to get away by now, and the water will keep them alive till they get food...in their cells, tomorrow,” the colt said briskly. He trotted off to the rest of his men, and began setting orders for making shelter and food.
    As ordered, we were both uncuffed, and the guard who did so, left for water. All Discord did in reaction, was let his arms fall limp to his side on the ground. He panted harder now, and nearly looked sick for all the abuse that had been dealt on him tonight. I fought back tears, not wanting to give any of the stallions here the satisfaction of seeing or hearing me cry. A guard came up to us with two cups of water. He waited as I gently, and carefully lifted Discord's head, and whipped off the thin white froth around his mouth. He set the cups by me, and glanced almost pityingly at me before turning to leave. The look had surprised me, but when I thought back, he had been the only guard that hadn't kicked at Discord. Infact, he had been the one I flew to attack in the air, and later walked to closest to me when I was cuffed, and we went through the forest.     I looked down at the water, and held one to Discord's lips. He became aware of it, and drank it greedily. I picked up mine, and carefully poured each of his many cuts and bruises with a little of the sparing water. It was all I could do for him. When I brought the left over water to him to drink again, he opened his eyes, droopingly, and looked up at me. His mouth hardly moved, and his voice sounded as if he hadn't had anything to drink for days. “GoldenDrehm... I'hm shorry,” he whispered. “Shhh, don't talk. Just drink,” I soothed, smiling a small smile at him, and brought the cup up to him. With a grunt, he pushed his head up, and shook it as he pushed the cup to me. “I already did. You need some too.” “But, Discord, you're far worse off than me, take i-” Before I could get another word out, Discord grabbed the cup, and pressed it against my own lips till I swallowed nearly all but a few drops. He poured the remainder on the very, very small cut that had appeared on my head after the head stallion had punched me. He dropped the cup, and gently rubbed the water against the cut more with his thumb.


    The night wore on, and became quiet till even the fire died. Discord was fast asleep, though he kept twitching in pain, and shuffling in a restless manner. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night, however. I was too worried for him, and kept my eye on him for hours. Finally, a slim breath of light began to show on the horizon, and I shivered with cold, trying to stay warm by Discord's side. I shut my eyes to rest them, mind in too much of a whirl to fall asleep. What will come of us now? I wondered.
    “Psst!” I looked up and around for the noise. Seeing nothing, I figured I imagined it, and snuggled against Discord again. “Psssst!!” it came again, louder by a slight degree. I leaned away from Discord, and looked around better than last time. With a pang of fear, I saw the young colt that had given us water standing outside his tent. He looked around the camp, and silently flapped over to me. He leaned in to my ear. “Get Discord up, and follow me as quietly as you can!” he hissed. Was this some kind of trick? Was I really in a position to wonder something as that? After two seconds of staring at him dumbly, I quietly turned to Discord, and shook him awake.     He blinked awake at me, looking exhausted, and yawned. “Discord, can you float behind us?” I whispered. He tiredly looked from me, to the colt, expression bemused. But he shrugged, and nodded. “Follow me,” the stallion breathed, flying through the trees. Discord and I followed, keeping off the ground so as not to make a single sound.

    We went in many different weaving directions for about an hour, and the day got colder from the wet dew rising, and the light increasing. Finally, I dared to speak aloud. “Where are we going, and what did you all do with Gossamer?” I asked, keeping my voice low. “I'm sorry. Your bird was caged, and if I had tried to get him out, it'd have awoken everyone. I know Celestia won't harm him, though. As for where we're going...I'm taking you to Luna's strong-house. You see, I secretly work for her. I stay with Celestia to gather any valuable information. I'm sure they'll be extremely pleased to see what I've brought with me this time,” he chuckled. I felt like weeping for joy. “Thank Luna!” I gasped. Discord gave a relieved sigh as well, and sagged in the air. “I...I'm really sorry. F-for both of you...it horrified me to watch that back there. If I could, I'd have saved you both. But I'm no match against 19 other ponies,” he murmured. I smiled at him. “It's alright. You've saved us. You should be proud...we're forever grateful to you,” I said. I smiled back at Discord. He simply smiled, and nodded at the colt, too weary and hurt to do or say anything else. My smile faltered, and I winced as I looked him over.
    He was in bad shape. In the light, he looked ten times worse than he had in the torch and fire-light last night. His fur was mangled where ever there were large bruises, or cuts, and the bashes had made much more bigger and nasty bruises than I had thought. At least two of his cuts were large, too, and had thickly dried blood covering them. Thick from being deep. Or, at least, deep enough. They had even broke open again, and trickled out fresh blood. “Don't worry. We'll take good care of him when we get there, I promise,” the young stallion assured me when he saw how worried I looked.




     Two hours later, we reached a road, and saw a carriage sitting by its side. We got inside it, and saw Fluttershy sitting in there already. “Fluttershy!” I cried happily. She squealed in excitement, and we tightly hugged each other. “GoldenDream! We've been so worried, and we missed you both so...oh my! Discord, what happened to you?!” she suddenly gasped, taking in his state. Despite being as hurt as he was, Discord's eyes shone at the sight of the familiar pegasus, and he grinned at her. “Oh, you know. Ran into some guards, got into some trouble, that sort of thing. It's all good fun,” he chuckled lightly.     Fluttershy bit her lip, and looked at us sadly. “Oh, dear... I'm so sorry, you two! That's just awful!” she exclaimed in horror, eyes large and sad.     “Well don't worry! We'll get you all fixed up once we're there. You're safe with us, now,” the young stallion that had led us here said, smiling, and poking his head inside the window. He blushed through his smile as he looked at Fluttershy. “Hello, miss.” She blushed as well, and smiled back at him. “Hello, SwanLight.” She hid her face behind her mane like she sometimes did, and he ducked his head out to tie himself to the front of the carriage, and fly us off with the other pegasus that had been waiting by it before. I raised my brow at Fluttershy, and smirked at her. Discord was holding back a laugh. “...What?” she asked innocently.


    Discord finally got some real sleep on the trip to the strong-house. Fluttershy and I whispered about what had happened for a long time to make sure he wasn't disturbed. The only new news that'd happened on Luna's end was that Celestia was taking greater measures. Search parties for us would be found, and arrested, and, as to why we had been caught this time, her guards had been spreading into the country rather than focusing on the towns.
    After much of that talk, and simply catching up with each other, we sat back in comfortable silence, a slightly chilled breeze blowing through the open windows. I looked at the sky, and down at the ground that looked like a patch quilt, so high did we fly to be unseen. I glanced over at Discord, too exhausted to even snore, a pained crease on his forehead. Fluttershy looked up at him, as he was sitting right by me. “Do you think he'll be ok?” she whispered. “I hope so,” I whispered back, leaning to him, and lightly placing my hoof on his limp hand. It twitched softly when I did, and he faintly smiled in his sleep. Fluttershy and I both smiled at this, and she put her hoof by mine. Discord's faint smile twitched a little bigger, and he mumbled in his sleep a little. Fluttershy gigled softly, and then glanced over me. “You know...you look the same since I last saw you. Where's your horn and wings?” she asked a little timidly.     I sighed lightly, smiling at her still, and took off the spell that hid them from sight. There wasn't much point anymore, was there? “...Oh. It looks really different,” she remarked politely. I smirked. “I'm sure it does.” “Does it feel different?” she asked. I shook my head. “I feel a lot younger than I already was, but that's it. I still get tired, and I could still die if I was, say, fighting in a battle. But I don't think I can die from sickness, and certainly not old age,” I replied. She nodded, sending her pink-rose colored mane bobbing gracefully.
    Fluttershy looked up at Discord's face again, smiling fondly, and here blue eyes full of memories. “I remember when I reformed him... for months, he struggled with trying to find ways to use his magic for good, and still have more harmless fun with it. It was still the most important thing to him, friends were just a new thing he was slowly getting the hang of that was a step above it. He seemed so confused sometimes, and didn't even seem to know why. Even when he learned more about what friendship meant, and what it meant to be a friend on his part, he never seemed to figure out what it was that bothered him.” She had said this at total random, but she hadn't seen him in months, so it was probably natural for her to be thinking back on those things. Especially since she was Fluttershy.     I smiled, and listened intently. “After a while, he sort of had a name for it. He didn't feel like he had a true reason for chaos, or making it anymore. And since that's all he was made for, that was a problem. It didn't hold the same joy for him anymore... And no matter how hard any of us tried, we couldn't do anything to help him resolve it,” she continued, turning to look at me as she paused. “And then you came...,” she said, smiling lightly at me. I blushed a little, and shut my eyes in shyness, though I couldn't help but smile as well.
    “You know why none of us, Twilight and I, hadn't told you no one was in love with him right off, and put your mind at rest? Because...at one time or another, we all had been in love with him. Or, at least, we thought we were for a short time. Pinkie, Twilight, and I were the three he came to the most, and opened up himself to the most, so how could we not?” I nodded, smiling in understanding. You could tell to look at her that this seemed to be something she needed to confess off her heart. “As you know, GoldenDream, no one can meet him, and not fall in love with him. He does everything to make you fall head-over-hooves,” she giggled. “Yes, he does!” I snickered, grinning up at him fondly. “Well, we were not safe such a fate, either. But, fortunately, that ceased, and we have felt nothing for him since but the love of a close sister,” she said finally, in a strong and firm voice that sounded certain of itself. I smiled, and let out a breath. “I know I already pretty much knew that in the long run, but it's good it to hear it so straight forward from one of you. I'd never leave Discord, especially when he has a choice with who he wants to be with too... But it wouldn't do well on my conscience, nor my heart to go through all of this and be hurting one of my friends in the process.”


    Much as I loved to look out the window in a train, or carriage, or other mode of transportation, the trip was taking hours, and the breeze was pretty lulling. Fluttershy said that the place they were hiding out at was by the sea, and whenever a party was about to leave to look for us, they'd pick a place to start, and either Luna or Twilight would transport them there. Teleporting is kinda tricky. You have to know the exact place you want to go to, such as the name of it, or where it is. But unless you've been there many times, and picture the exact spot you want to appear in, the place you'll land in will be pretty random. (However, the more powerful you are, the less likely you're going to end up being teleported into a tree near where you're going.) And the more powerful you were, the greater the distance you could teleport yourself, others, and the more ponies you could teleport in general. Which was why only Luna and Twilight were doing it. But once the parties were gone, they'd have to travel back to the base, because teleportaion was impossible. Hence the reason we were flying back. Discord needed his rest, and Alicorn though I was, I hadn't learned how to use, let alone handle my powers. I could end up turning a pony into a tree. With eyes, mind you. And we didn't need that.
    Discord had woken hours ago, and was very restless for someone sore and in pain all over. He wanted to get there, and see every pony already. As for me, the sun was setting, and for all its beauty, I could hardly keep myself awake to enjoy it. All I could do was blink hard, yawn about a million times, and find myself jerking awake after having fallen asleep for a few seconds, dreaming weird mini-dreams.     Discord had taken to slumping in his seat with crossed arms, and a smirkish pout after Fluttershy had given him the stare for not settling down, and minding his injuries. For a while, he decided to watch me, giving an amused snort every so often. At last, he rolled his eyes, and made me jump slightly as he picked me up. He grunted a little, screwing up his face, but before I could protest, he had me in his lap, and leaning against his warm body. “Are you ok? I don't want to hurt you...,” I said hesitantly. He just smirked down at me, and pulled me against him, keeping me all the warmer, and making my sleepy mind even fuzzier. “Shh. Just go to sleep. You're making me tired all over again just to look at you,” he chuckled. I blushed, and smiled, feeling that nervous and yet happy feeling for the billionth time that I always had whenever I was around him. I'd had it inside me for such an age by now, that, rather than getting used to it, I had just accepted it as a normal feeling to get around him. You never got used to the feeling. You either lived with it, or hated it, and I certainly hadn't chosen the latter. I shook myself out of my thoughts, and did as bidden. I needed to sleep anyway. I hadn't since early into the night last night. So I did. Cradled against Discord's chest by his soft lion's paw, and his heart thumping under my ear like a lullaby.

    It felt like part of a dream at first, though a part of my mind knew it wasn't. But I wasn't ready to wake up...I just wanted to sleep. “Are you sure you can carry her, Discord?” I heard Fluttershy whisper. Discord sucked in his breath quietly. “Of course I can!” he muttered, trying not to wake me. My mane swung back and forth, and I lay limp and tired in his strong, and pained arms. Silence followed, and my mind went back to total sleep again.
    It seemed like seconds passed, when once again, I heard talking. “YAY! DIS-” “Shhhh! GoldenDream!” The first voice that had shaken my mind, and made me shift a little, was PinkiePie's. The other, more soft, had been Discord's. “Oops! Sorry! Yay! You're here! Woohoo!” Pinkie whisper-cheered. I heard Twilight giggle softly. “Come on, Discord. We've gotta fix you up. You're in bad need of it,” she said. “But what about GoldenDream?” he almost whimpered. “We'll take good care of her. I promise. She'll be fine.”

    When I really, actually woke up the next time, I felt a lot more refreshed, and heard waves crashing on a shore very faintly almost right away. I could feel cool sheets and a pillow under me, and warm blankets ontop of me. I sat up, and looked around. It was just a simple, wooden-paneled, beach room. There was a window covered with blinds, and I slid my covers off to go look outside it. Water and sand and sky, and nothing else could be seen no mater where I looked for as far as I could see. Very simple, yet very pretty. Even in my room, I could smell the sea salt, and feel the warm sun rays warming my coat.     I heard my door open, and Twilight came in. We grinned at each other, and clung to one another as if we'd been apart for years. It had felt like that. “We're so, so, so glad you're both ok!” she said, finally pulling apart from me, and smiling widely at me. “So am I,” I lightly joked. She giggled a little, and nodded for me to follow her. She led me out of my room, and down a hall to some stairs that led down. “Where's Discord?” I asked. She smirked. “I knew you'd ask that soon,” she teased. I flushed, and rolled my eyes with a flustered smirk. She nudged me with a laugh. “He's much better, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear. Nothing turned out to be too serious. He'll just ache pretty awful for a long while. And I'm taking you to eat before anything else. You have to eat before you can sneak off to him,” she added with a smirk right before I could ask again. I blushed deeper, smiling. “Alright, alright, I get it,” I laughed.
    All of the rest of the girls were eating too, sitting in a large kitchen, and eating sandwiches and some sweets. And the second they all saw me, it was like an explosion set off. They all jumped up and around me, hugging me, laughing, and all talking at once in excited voices. I could only catch bits and pieces of the things said, and questions asked to me. I laughed, and untangled myself from all of them. “Hi, every pony! I missed you guys like crazy!” And thus the next half hour was spent with me answering a dozen questions, and catching up with each of them. I hardly got a chance to eat anything, I was talking so fast.

    “So...um, GoldenDream. Luna told us that the only way to make your immortality permanent, and unable for Celestia to remove it from you, is to marry Discord,” Rainbow hinted with a light tone, as if it was a simple subject. I blushed a bright red, and ducked my head against my body to hide my smile. “Yes...I know.” She smirked at me, and a few of the other girls exchanged smiling glances. “Sooooo...are there gonna be wedding bell-” “Are you gonna get married?!” Pinkie suddenly cut in with an excited squeal. I laid my head on the table, blushing up to my ears now, and trying not to laugh. “Guuuuys!” They all laughed, and I shyly sunk away, my meal eaten and gone. “Can we go see Discord now?” I half laughed. They all grinned, and walked behind me. “So, that's not technically a no,” Pinkie hummed, bouncing beside me. I smirked. “I guess not... But we haven't exactly talked about it yet,” I said.
    Discord was laying in a bed, drinking some chocolate milk out of a cup with a straw, and a doctor was writing a few things down on some paper. Discord brightened at the sight of me, and grinned. “GoldenDream!” I smiled at him, and found myself walking in alone. Twilight had held the others back, and smiled at me, waving her hoof to go in. “We've already said hi to him. Go on in,” she assured. I smiled a little gratefully at her, and they shut the door behind me.     “Hello, sweetie,” I said, looking and feeling just as happy as he looked to see me. “How are you feeling?” I asked, sitting by his bed-side, and letting him hold my hoof. He smirked. “Ready to get out of bed.” He flashed a look at the doctor, and I laughed under my breath. Discord sat up. “Seriously, I'm fine! Can't I go do something now?” he whined. The doctor, seeming to be used to his constant protests by now, simply poked his hoof into Discord's head, and pushed him down, saying, “Beeed rest.” Discord huffed, and laid against his pillow again, crossing his arms with a small pout. “Good Draconeqqui,” he muttered. I stifled a laugh, and grinned down at Discord. He just rolled his eyes. “How bad was he, doctor?” I asked. He smiled over at me. “Sore, cut up, and stubborn. But he wasn't too critical. Amazingly, nothing was broken. And, mind you, many things should have been. But our main concern was any internal bleeding,” he said, smirking a little when he told of his behavior. I glanced at Discord worriedly. The doctor looked at me from the corner of his eye, leaving the paper work for a moment. “Oh, don't worry! He had none of that, either. He's just fine, honest. He may feel like he was caught in a stampede for a few days, but beyond that, he'll be fine,” he assured. I smiled, and sighed. Discord snorted in amusement at me. “Of course I am. You can't get rid of me that easily, silly mare. Don't you know that by now?” he chuckled. I smiled at him, and kissed his cheek, making him blush a little. “He can get up tomorrow, but at least two of his cuts are deep enough that his bandages will have to be checked, and changed at least once a day,” the colt cut in, handing me some disinfectant, and rolls of wrapping. “One on his leg, and one on his shoulder, where there's already bandages on right now.” “Thank you, I'll make sure we change them,” I promised.

    Discord and I had been quietly talking about the girls, and the house we were in. It seemed very big, with at least three levels, if not more, and countless rooms. I asked him if he had seen Luna, and right as he was saying no, someone knocked on the door. The doctor opened it. “Ah! Princess Luna! Come in, please!” he greeted warmly. Luna walked in, smiling at the two of us. “I figured you'd both be in here. Welcome, at long last, you two! It's a large relief to have found you at last, despite the cost it took on your part,” she said. “Never mind the cost, we're here, aren't we? And we're just as happy to be here as you are,” Discord said, beaming at her. Luna nodded, no longer grave. “I was glad to hear you'd be alright, but, I admit, there is a pressing matter that I must ask about rather bluntly as soon as possible,” she informed, voice as light as she could make it so as not to make us nervous.
       I cocked my head, and Discord pricked his ears. “Are you going to get married while you are here, and make GoldenDream's immortality permanent?” she asked. Discord blinked. I blushed yet again, and avoided his glance with a shy smile. I could feel him smirking at me, and blushing himself. He gently picked up my hoof in his hand, and fondly caressed it with his thumb, smiling at it before giving it a long, light kiss. I blushed more, and bit my lip through my smile. He chuckled, and turned my face to his with his lion paw, running his thumb over my chin and lip, and looking right into my eyes.     “Luna...will you two please leave us alone for a moment?” he asked without looking away from me. Luna smiled knowingly, and nodded, shutting the door behind her and the doctor. “GoldenDream?” he asked, raising his brows pointedly. “Yes, Discord?” I asked, giggling in a giddy way under my breath. “I know that I am the crazy, old, silly, and wacky spirit of chaos. I know perfectly well that we may make a very odd couple... But I also know that we've been to the ends of Equestria and back, in all its blessings and curses, and still we have stayed true to each other, and never left one another. You have changed me even more than Fluttershy, giving me reason and purpose to do the chaos I had always been made to desire to do. For heaven's sake, I would've gagged at the mere thought of making the speech that I'm making right now,” he laughed. I grinned at him happily. “In short, my dear, I can think of no one else that I would rather spend my eternity with! So... My dear. ...Will you marry me?” he at last asked.

    Despite everything, I could hardly believe what I was hearing. It was like something out of a dream that I had had all too often, only inexplicably more wondrous. For a moment, I simply beamed happily up at him and his ever handsome smile under his radiant eyes. “Yes... Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!” I chokingly laughed out, collapsing into his arms in a rush of ecstatic tears. “Oof!” he laughed, gathering me to him in a long, warm embrace. He grinned, nuzzling his snout against my back as I giggled, and cried into his neck and shoulder.     At the happy sounds they no doubt all heard from outside, all but the doctor came bursting in from the door, cheering. Even Princess Luna was nearly bouncing, and shouting huzzahs. Each of them hugged both me and Discord, happily chattering, and congratulating the two of us, laughing and speaking loudly. So much so, that ponies walking past poked their heads inside in curiosity with pricked ears. Once they noticed, most of the girls gave us questioning looks, as if silently asking if they could pass the word. Discord just laughed. “Go ahead! Might as well, eh?” So within the hour, the entire house and its inhabitants knew of the news on our engagement.
    That night, at dinner, Fisheye greeted me once more with a warm welcome, and inquired upon Discord. “I'm afraid he cannot join us tonight. The doctor has ordered him to stay in bed until tomorrow, and he is eating his meal in there,” I said, smiling. “And yet you left the side of your invalid?” he chuckled. “Yes, when I knew you were here. And I knew I should even if you weren't,” I laughed as we walked to our seats, and the others sat at the table. Fisheye did not sit after he had pushed my seat in for me, but stood at the head of the table, and raised his glass. “If I may, everyone? To the engagement of our new Princess, GoldenDream, and our old Prince, Discord, who is, sadly, unable to join us tonight. May they have a happy and blessed future, and a happy marriage,” he said. My friends, and all the others that sat at our table, and the next few tables around us in his large estate, raised their own glasses, and clinked them all together in celebration. I flushed, but smiled proudly, and bowed my head as our host started our prayer.     “Lord. Creator of the sun and moon that our Princesses raise and lower, and everything under them and beyond them.. Thank you for bringing GoldenDream and Discord not only safe to us, but together in the first place. That they each may know not just the magic of friendship, but the wonder of love, granted only by You and Your blessing. Bless them further in their marriage, and let their life together become happier, and not have much more, if any, hardship. But whatever they and any of us may face, Lord, always do as You have: stay by us till the end of time. Bring Your favor on all here...and all who are not here, as well. Those who are still searching for the two, and trying to get back here, or back to their homes, those unjustly behind bars, and those who have had difficulties at home without even getting involved. In Your Name, Amen.”
    Everyone began to eat, and talk after all said a strong “amen” in unison, and I was about to ask what Fisheye had meant when he mentioned ponies that had been suffering when they weren't even involved, when Rarity interrupted me. “Oh, darling, I have a bit of a confession to make!” she giggled. “When you and Discord had disappeared, all of us went to look for you inside your house at one time, and I happened to see some sketches you had done of a dress... Well...I'm afraid I made it, and fortunately, I've kept it safe all this time. I must show you before you go to bed, I just know you'll adore it!” she squealed. I smiled at her. “I'm certain it's as beautiful as all of your clothes are, whether they are my designs or not, dear friend.”


    Throughout the whole dinner, I never got a chance to ask Fisheye what he had meant, and I had all but forgotten about it after many hours of talk and pomp. When it was all over, and most of the ponies excused themselves to bed, I decided I should go too. Rarity was at my side within moments as I said good night to our host, and the rest of my friends, who were all talking with Princess Luna for wedding plans that might be executed. They all waved to me, grinning, before whispering excitedly about our wedding once more.     “Rarity? Exactly what dress was it I had drawn that you made?” I asked as we stepped into her room. Fabric, and ribbon, and many other things were strewn around all over the place. For someone such a neat freak as Rarity, it was almost comical to see the tools of her profession in total chaos all around the room. She smiled, and pulled out a large box. Rather than answer me, she just gestured for me to come over. “Oh! Do you think that if all of us helped you, we could make a dress in time for my wedding?” I asked suddenly, only just considering it. The wedding would have to be soon, and simple, in the circumstances we were in. A dress would be needed quickly. Rarity laughed, and flew the top off the box. I saw what was in it, but I didn't believe it. “I don't think you'll have to worry about that, darling!”
    I gaped at the beautiful thing, hardly daring to breath on it, let alone touch it. “Oh, my...gosh, Rarity!” I gasped. She pulled it out, making the soft silk of the creamy color from the Ivory flutter many shades as it took on the most graceful folds. “Try it on, darling! I've been longing to see it on you! I had this strange feeling it'd be good to make it, and keep it safe on hoof. I was so nervous the guards that searched my house might take it, that I hid it in the tree house my sister and her friends play in, making them guard it with their lives,” she giggled, running her hoof over the soft fabric fondly. I laughed a little, and let her slip it on me. It felt like I was in a cool cloud, and I felt like a Queen, rather than a Princess in it before I ever even looked at it in the mirror.
    Rarity had gotten every detail I could have wanted down on this wedding dress. It was nothing but silky satin fabric, with the back of the skirt covered in an overlay of lace. The whole thing was Ivory and cream, and glittered with my beloved Swarvoskian crystals among the embroidery that lined the end of the skirt and its decently long train. The dress had no collar, but, rather, a low and graceful neck-line that made my long sleeves leave my shoulders bare. Just below my shoulders, and again at my elbows, there were two velvet puffs on the sleeves, and I could see Discord's name embroidered in many places along them. Even at the base of the sleeves, where they ended in a point on my hoof. Rarity lightly placed a small tiara on my head, a cathedral length veil decorated with opal stones, and lace on its edges attached to it. She placed her alabaster hooves on my shoulders, and smiled at me. I felt ready to cry, I was so overwhelmed with happiness, honestly. “You look like a masterpiece, darling,” she breathed. I turned to her, smiling, and hugged her. “I love it, Rarity! I can't thank you enough!” She hugged me back. “You don't have to thank me, I wanted to do it for you,” she said. After a moment, she pulled away. “Now, come on. Let's get you out of that before any pony sees it, and ruins the surprise,” she laughed, helping me out of it, and stashing it carefully away. I thanked her sincerely once more, and said good night to her before checking in on Discord. He was already alseep, snoring soundly, so I left him undisturbed, and went into my room for bed.