She stares at me, still as stone, as if she were the one trapped within a rock prison. Her vibrant eyes drill through me, trying to read my thoughts. I know she's here to berate me, to mock me on my failure, but I don't intend to listen. No, no. I plan my escape, the best way to enact my revenge on those foolish foals and this—this—prissy princess.

Then she speaks, and for some unknown reason, I listen.

"Discord…"

I both love and loathe the sound of my name rolling off her tongue—from the lips I had teased so many kisses from in our foal-hood. As those memories flood to my mind, anger boils inside me again. How wasted my affections had been towards this pristine pony—there was no way in Equestria she ever truly returned the feelings I had harbored for her. Celestia steps closer and studies my eyes intently before she drops her head and tucks it under my frozen chin.

If I could blink, I would.

Her actions startle me back into listening to her and leave me hanging on her every word.

"I… am ever so sorry we came to this, old friend," she whispers, and I imagine her eyes closing in regret. "… Dizzy…"

Oh.

I had forgotten about that pet name—it was locked away with my memories of courtship and evenings of sneaking out accompanied with frantic scrambling to get her back home in time to raise the sun.

Celestia exhales and the warmth spreads like wild fire over my neck. If I could, I would shiver from the sensation. Silence settles into the evening before she begins to speak again, her voice low, "… Dizzy—you were my best friend. I could trust you with everything—my fears, secrets, even my dearest little sister. The two of you… meant everything to me," she sighs, and I feel a trickle of moisture trail down my outstretched arm before it slowly drips off my flared claw. "I thought… If I let you see what your dreams of chaos would do the world and its inhabitants, you would change your mind… and come rule beside Luna and me.

"I realize now I was horribly wrong… You are the embodiment of chaos itself, and nothing, not even I, could take that out of you."

I am stunned at her words, and extremely more so at her following actions. Her lips touch my cheek for the first time in over a thousand years, and it makes me want to cry. How I longed for that little bit of affection from this pony, the one I had blamed for so long for all that had ever gone wrong in my life after she let me go to roam the chaos of my mind. The sensation of her cheek on my own draws me out of my revere and I long to look at her once more—not as my enemy, but as my dear companion, friend… lover.

Quietly, she sighs, "… you would have made a fine king, Discord."

King.

The word rings through my head, like the lyrics to a favorite song, bouncing around my skull and causing my mind to whirl at the connotations being king could mean. King, of course, means ruling. Since I was not born into royalty, it would mean marriage—to the very mare I had vowed to hate for eternity for allowing me to wander into my destruction.

Slowly, Celestia raises her head and steps back. I long to break free from my prison and reach out to keep her there with me, but I cannot. Instead, I watch her sad, lonely eyes close, which allows for more tears to break free and stain her beautiful cheeks. She looks back up at me, her violet eyes swimming in crystalline droplets. "… I love you, Dizzy… come home."

A loud crack rings through my ears and I suddenly find myself leaping at the white alicorn, who simply stares at me in shock as I force myself from my recent prison. I tackle her down the perfectly trimmed lawn and refuse to let go as we roll to a stop. Before she has a chance to call out for the guards—because I don't believe she thought I could hear her musings—my lips are laced with hers, my lion paw desperately cupping her cheek. All struggling ceases and I feel her long lashes brush against my thumb as her eyes flutter shut and she presses into the kiss.

"Tia," I whisper against her lips as I pull away slowly, still keeping the distance between our faces at a minimum.

"Hello, Dizzy," she murmurs, sneaking in another quick kiss as my eagle claw rakes through her pastel mane before joining my other hand on her opposing cheek. I smile—well, smirk is a better word for how it looks—as she touches her nose to mine and I wind my tail around hers. "Welcome home."

My finger presses against her lips, silencing her softly. "… I get to make it rain chocolate once a year if this is going to work."

She clicks her tongue and furrows her brow as she pouts at me—that expression was the very reason I fell in love with her. "Ooooh… fine. But only once a year on Hearts and Hooves day."

I gag. "Oh, please, that pathetic excuse for a holiday."

"It's the only day where it makes any sense, Dizzy."

"… why not just make a new holiday?" I tease, raising a brow and shifting my wings. My Celestia laughs and then sighs before she kisses the underside of my jaw, making my eyes droop lightly.

"Very well. We'll think of something."

After the words roll from her lips, I slowly raise up and shift off of her to allow her a more comfortable position. The sun spirit rolls onto her side, her back pressing into my middle. My eyes drift shut softly and I tuck my head over her neck, holding her close as I allow my eyes to drift shut with a content sigh. Her hoof slips into my paw and I clutch it tightly as I listen to the soft beat of her immortal heart.

"… I also want my umbrellas to meow."

"Dizzy!"