"Good morning, Discord! I trust you slept well?"

"Lovely morning to you, Princess. How does this glorious day find you?"

Celestia couldn't help but grin at his theatricality; so like his younger self that she remembered so fondly. "Very well, thank you. I wanted to ask about the Midsummer Festival. How are preparations coming along?"

A poof of smoke revealed quite a long parchment with various doodles and notes scribbled across it. "Let us see." Discord conjured a pair of reading glasses to look over his plans and a pencil to check them off as he went along. "Streamers that turn into butterflies, check. Cups that never empty, check. Lollipops that sing as you eat them, check. Check, check, check, check! All that's left is to go over your personal guard detail…"

"That won't be necessary, Discord. This is a festival, not a military action."

The former spirit of chaos blinked at her. "Are you sure that's wise, Celestia? Queen Chrysalis or even King Sombra might make use of the festivities to…"

"Enough, Dizzy." The use of her old nickname for him silenced his tongue. "Yes, I have many enemies, but Luna, Cadence, and I can handle one day outside the palace without the aid of guards. Besides, we have something better."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"We have you." She smiled at his look of stunned confusion. "I have not forgotten our friendship, Dizzy. You lost your way once, but you came back. You've lived in the palace for weeks now and haven't turned back to evil…although you did scare poor Luna to death when you turned her room upside down." They shared a laugh at the memory of Luna's screech as she woke to find herself on the ceiling with no earthly memory of how she got there. "I'll admit that I was skeptical about you reforming, especially after last time…" She looked away as she recalled her last attempt many years ago to make her friend good; it had failed miserably. He'd tricked her into thinking he'd changed only to turn against her once again. "But I know now that I needn't have worried."

"I had a good teacher in Fluttershy. And something to look forward to when I did give up being the bad guy."

"What was that?"

He stepped forward and ran a single talon through a wayward piece of mane, pushing it back behind her ear. "Do you really need to ask, 'Tia?"

Her eyes widened when she realized what he meant, but she didn't back away. "Discord…"

"I know, I know. 'We're too different', 'I have duties that must come first'. I've heard it all from you before, 'Tia. But I'm not one to give up so easily. I'm not going to give up hope."

Celestia didn't know what to say. What could she say? She thought she'd beaten her feelings for her childhood friend down, but then he says something like this. He'd changed just for her? He hadn't given up hope that they could have something more than close friendship or bitter rivalry, so why had she? "Oh, Dizzy," she sighed with a shake of her head, her heart and mind in turmoil yet again.

"Princess Celestia," a new voice called. "May I speak with you regarding the festival?"

Thank the gods for small favors! she thought fervently. "Of course, Shining Armor. Just a moment. Discord, might we speak more about this later, after the festival?"

He stepped back and curled his long body down in a low bow. "But of course, princess. I am ever at your call!" She giggled at his dramatics, gracing him with a smile once more before joining her Captain of the Guard. She didn't notice Discord slip away, nor hear the maniacal laugh that exploded from his throat once he was alone in the Astronomy Tower. "Oh, dear Celestia. You really think that you can change me again? Sorry, love, but not even you can do that." He peered through the giant telescope at the distant planets and laughed at the way they trembled. "Chaos cannot be controlled, and to try is folly. You'll see soon enough, princess." He pulled away from the telescope and growled. "We could have been great together, 'Tia. But you have this annoying obsession with wanting to control me. I'll play your game for now, but when the universe cracks it'll be on your head, not mine. I'm just doing what you want me to by being the 'good guy'. I'm a patient guy, 'Tia. Either you join with me and rule at my side, or you watch your precious balance come crashing down around you. In other words: I win."

"Discord!" he heard her shout from the ground below. "We're preparing to leave for Ponyville. Are you coming?"

He pushed his dark thoughts away in favor of a sickeningly sweet sing-song voice that would have made Pinkie Pie proud. "Cooooming!"

Did you really think I'd turn one of my favorite villains into a goody-goody just like that? Naaah! Thanks for reading/reviewing, everyone! Now let's get pumped for the actual episode premiere on Saturday!