It's been a few weeks since Maria had woken from her coma, during which, she dreamed a whole lifetime. Now awake and back into reality, she tries to cope with life. How can you move on from something that never happened?
(SEQUEL TO "A DISCORDED LOVE")
It's been a few weeks since Maria had woken from her coma, during which, she dreamed a whole lifetime. Now awake and back into reality, she tries to cope with life. How can you move on from something that never happened? But the question remains in her mind: Was it all just a dream?
And, to make matters worse, her whole family is in danger; a villain wants revenge, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. How well will Maria fare?
It was all a dream. My husband, our children, my friends; all just one big illusion I seemed to have conjured up while I was unconscious and under the influence of the coma.
For a while after I finally woke up, I was doubtful. It all seemed too real to just have been a dream. But when a month passed and still nothing regarding my life in Equestria surfaced, I had begun to face the truth; it was all just a dream.
I was left with nothing. Nothing but the bittersweet memories of what I wished to be, a vivid imagination, and a deep depression. Having my life of complete happiness ripped and shredded before my eyes and being left with solely the ice cold numb realization that it wasn't real. Blood, sweat and tears, in which added to nothing more than a desperate attempt to live out my fantasies.
I sank fast before my parent's eyes. They don't understand the emptiness I feel. I could explain it a million times to them, and yet they won't see the pain and sorrow filling my chest. To them, I'm only getting worked up over a simple dream that I wanted to be real. But it goes much deeper than that.
I stopped writing altogether as well. Every time I tried, my mind would start back to the one story that started it all. I can't watch My Little Pony anymore either. It makes me remember all the times I spent with the real Mane Six.
My mind is cruel, torturing me with nightly visions of my life in Equestria; the life I've come to accept wasn't real. Select times when I had been coaxed from the best dreams, I'd feel that happiness -- I'd feel Discord's arms around me, holding me close as he whispered in my ear that it was alright. But then I'd wake up fully, and be numb with the cold of my bedroom, and the empty spot where I'd dreamt him to be. I missed my children too. Once or twice (or more), I'd whirl around at the sound of a crying child, or the cheerful giggle of a small girl, or even the call of "Mommy!". Day after day, my depression got worse.
December came, meaning that a total of five weeks had passed since I woke up from my coma. I'd been unconscious for a whole month. The doctors say that I've recovered nicely, almost miraculously, from my head injuries. It's funny though, I don't have any pain, save for the gaping hole that resides in my chest. There's no soreness, no headaches, nothing. Just a cold numbness that prohibits me from my happiness. I live a world of dreams now, the only place where I can be happy.
And I've come to the conclusion that the emptiness I feel in my heart when I'm awake is much greater than any pain I could ever feel.
"Maria?" a voice said, a deep, soothing voice that was calling for her, beckoning her from her sleep. Her eyes opened a bit as a warm hand rubbed against her arm slowly. Although her vision was blurred, she was able to make out the vague silhouette of her father, who was kneeling over. His rough but gentle hand rubbed her arm soothingly as he murmured her name again.
She struggled against the fatigue, her eyes cutting from the shadow of her father to the red blinking lights of the digital clock -- 7:45 AM.
"Why is it so early?" Maria managed. It wasn't a school day; this Friday marked the end of the 2nd Quarter of the school year, also marking the end of the 1st Semester. Front Range High School had decided that a 4-Day weekend was just what the students needed to replenish their minds. As a student, that was never the case, as they normally came back lazy and adverse to learning. But who could say no to almost a week of no school?
"Your Mom and I wanted to take advantage of the free day that you had. We've decided to make this day a bit more special for you." He smiled down at her with a sort of childish excitement. She looked at him in a tired confusion. His smile faded slightly. "Maria, don't you remember what today is?"
Maria shook her head. He stepped back and gestured to her phone. Propping herself up on one elbow, she took it up and turned the screen on, hissing as the bright light burned her sore eyes. But she was still able to read the date on the home screen: December 10 - Friday
"My birthday," she muttered, setting her phone down again. Maria's dad frowned as she laid back down on her side.
"Yeah...it's your 18th birthday." he said, his tone dimming. There was a blank emotion in her eyes, one he found troubling, and hard to understand. He didn't know what exactly took place that night, but he knew that something big happened to her -- Maria had changed. The girl that was said to be responsible for the incident, Beatrice Dean, said that it was an accident. And, when Maria came to, they decided that charges were not going to be pressed against the young lady. She did; however, receive punishment from the school, on accounts of numerous bullying accounts she took part in. Beatrice was given seven weeks of in-school suspension, and a temporary restraining order was put on her. She wasn't allowed to be within 20 feet of Maria as she recovered, a sentence that would last well into the 3rd Quarter.
He was relieved at this, although he was a bit disappointed. Maria had never came to him about having a bully of any sorts. There was that one time when someone said something about a dress she wore, but that was years ago when she was still trying to get used to her new body and the teenage world.
It was at this moment that he was really worried. Here it was, his baby girl was finally an adult, and she bore no resemblance to the former happy girl she was before. He thought back to her first moments of coming too, the clean white bandages wrapped around her head. She panicked, and it took several nurses to calm her down, as well as him tenderly patting her head as she sobbed. She never fully explained why, but what he gathered was that during her coma she had a realistic dream, one that took place over a considerable amount of time. She mentioned a name -- Discord, he thought it was, and said that she had married him, finding a happiness she never knew existed. They couldn't push for much more information, since as more time passed, her energy levels had begun to sink at an alarming rate. The doctor said that it happens often, when a patient has been under so long, the drugs make them hallucinate while they are under. The effects should wear off after a couple months as they began to reestablish themselves into reality. If her depression persisted, they were advised to take her to a therapist. But as of now, they had assured him that it was still too soon for her to recover.
Still, as a father, he was worried.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Alright, Maria. You should get dressed, we've a lot to do today." Maria nodded sullenly, sitting up finally, starting to get out of bed. Her father nodded to himself, kissing the top of her head. "We'll meet you downstairs," he said before leaving her room.
Maria sat on the edge of her bed, hugging herself; not just for warmth from the cold chill that seeped through the walls of her bedroom , but to try to conjure up the warm feeling she had in her dream, and to comfort herself from being drawn from it. It started to come back to her:
She was with Discord again, sitting on the floor of the living room with their children in their laps, sleeping peacefully. Laid out together, nothing could have made the scene any better; the warm fireplace, his arms draped over her shoulder, and her head resting against his. His familiar aroma filled her nose, and the softness of his coat, mixed with his natural body heat, made her blissfully happy. Screwball snored lightly, curled up against her mother. The twins were curled up with each other in their father's lap, with Random's hoof resting atop Chaos's head while they slept. Discord kissed her cheek, whispering sweet words of his love to her, making her blush and giggle softly. A soft lion paw came up to gently caress her cheek...
She sniffed, wiping away tears that bubbled to the surface. The scene was all too familiar, and the fading warmth around her was a cold reminder that it wasn't real. It brought her sadness back. Forcing tears back, Maria willed herself to get up and to dress herself.
When she later came downstairs, she was dressed in casual jeans, and a dark sweater. Her hair was braided down her back, falling in a neat line down her spine. Her parents were sitting at the table quietly, wisps of steam from their cups of tea swirling around their hands. Their voices were low murmurs, and occasionally one of them would sip at their drinks.
Her mother jumped when she looked over to see Maria standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Maria! I didn't hear you come down sweetie!" she said, standing, scooting her chair back as Maria went to sit at the table as well. "How'd you sleep, honey?"
"I slept alright," Maria said, seating herself. Her hands folded in her lap and she slouched a bit as she stared down at the table. Her fingers rubbed against the soft fabric of her jeans as she waited, otherwise, her body was almost completely still.
Her mother was on her feet afterward, making a beeline for the fridge. As her back turned, her gentle smile merged into worry -- she too, could see her daughter fading from them. The lively little girl they knew before the accident was gone, hidden under the shell Maria encased herself in. And all because of a simple dream? She shook her head, not able to even consider it. It had to be something else, it just had to be.
She knelt down and pulled a little cake from the top shelf of the fridge, then shut the door with her arm as she stood. Maria hadn't looked up yet, even when the cake was set down in front of her. When she did look up, her eyes fixed on the cake immediately. The cake itself was a creamy white, with purple and white frosting swirled on top. Her mind wandered back to a long-lost memory of her imaginary life;
Maria was given young Screwball a bath for the first time. Her mane was still short, but there was enough purple and white there for her to run her fingers through. The mother draconequus knelt by the small tub, keeping the young filly upright with her magic, while she rubbed soap in her little one's mane. Screwball giggled and splashed about, getting Maria's fur wet in some spots. But she simply shrugged it off as she played with her daughter's hair. In her own amusement, she swirled the dual-colored locks into a swirl, the suds in her hair making the formation stand for a little bit. Screwy babbled her baby talk, splashing again and chewing on a squeaky toy shaped like an orange with frog legs. Maria made bubbles appear in the water, making her daughter squeal in delight as she tried to pop all the small bubbles. Her mother grinned as she watched her play, still swirling her mane around her hair with the bubbles.
Maria was brought back from the flashback by a hand on her shoulder. She realized her vision had gotten blurry, and she wiped her eyes, pulling her hand back to see that her fingers were wet.
"Are you alright honey? Do you not like the cake?" her mother asked, slightly disappointed.
"No," she said quickly, wiping the rest of the tears away, sniffing. She forced a smile. "I love it. It's very pretty, and you know that purple is my favorite color." Although unconvinced, Maria's Mom simply shrugged it off in that moment and nodded, smiling a little herself.
"Okay Maria."
"Can I eat it later when we get back home, though? I don't really feel hungry right now." Maria said. Hesitantly, her parents glanced at each other, then nodded, and Maria pushed the plate from her.
* * *
The day had been quite eventful so far already.
Maria's parents had activities planned for the whole of the day, most of which required Maria to be blindfolded so as not to spoil the surprise. As a family, they went to the zoo, saw a movie, and sat in the spa a bit. Each activity had brought back memories for her; the zoo reminded her of Fluttershy and her little petting zoo in her cottage, the action-based movie plot made her think of Rainbow Dash, and the relatively short spa trip between her and her mother reminded her of the morning she spent with Rarity and Fluttershy before her first Gala, and her second meeting with Discord -- the same incident that used to fuel her anger against him, was now one of the most cherished of her memories.
Now, they sat in a diner, Maria with an unfinished plate of fries in front of her, and her parents looking upon her with worry as she stared emotionless out the window. The only thing to bring her out of her stare was the cry of a young baby in the restaurant.
"Maria, what is going on?" her Dad finally spoke up.
She didn't move. "I've already told you. You don't understand."
"You had a dream while you were unconscious, Maria. That makes no sense." he replied.
"It does when it feels like I've lived half my life." she finally pulled her gaze from the window, focusing her emerald eyes towards him.
"Please explain." her mother almost begged.
"I could explain it to you guys a million times, and you still wouldn't understand. I lived in Equestria for about 8 years; I was married, and I was truly happy. I had three beautiful children. My life wasn't pathetic anymore, and I had nobody telling me that I should do this, or do that, and everyone more or less accepted me. I experienced true friendship, and I found my true love. It was too real to be a dream. I woke up every morning in my husband's arms, I hugged my best friends almost everyday, and I took care of my babies. For once Dad, I felt needed. Important. I wasn't treated like I am here." She felt tears pool in the corners of her eyes as she spoke. She hastily wiped them away, brushing some of her hair from her face. "You don't understand what I'm going through. You don't know what it's like, Mom, Dad, to be truly happy for once in your life, to have everything you ever wanted; just to have it taken from you. To have to accept the fact that...it wasn't real."
Her voice cracked. The tears came more easily now. Wordlessly, Maria stood from the table and rushed outside, her face wet with salty tears. The cold December wind blew on her face, making it feel like ice. But she hardly noticed; she was overcome with the emotions that flooded through her. The hard sobs she'd struggled to hold back shook her body. She buried her face into the sleeves of her thin jacket and cried.
She'd said it aloud. It wasn't real. She had finally managed to say the cold hard truth that was staring her in the face. Her dream wasn't real. She had finally admitted it to herself, and that was the most difficult thing she had ever said. Her chest felt like it was being squeezed, like a huge hand was suffocating her on the inside.
She jumped when a pair of arms wrapped around. She looked up to see her mother's gently face creased with worry. For a moment, Maria saw how much her Mom had aged. She looked older, even though she was only in her late thirties. The two girls embraced tightly, and Maria cried in her arms.
After she had managed to calm herself, her parents took her back to the car, not even bothering to blindfold her. They didn't need to, as she was soon asleep during the car ride. When she woke up, the sky was a bit darker, and they had just parked in front of some sort of neighborhood with conjoined houses. Confused, she looked at her parents, who had gotten out. Her mother opened her door and helped her out.
"What are we doing here?" she asked.
"It's one of your surprises." she said with a little smile. "We've been planning this for a while now. Follow your father."
Maria was still confused when she walked up behind her father, who was unlocking the door to one of the joined houses. There was black metallic 36 on the creamy white door. The door was opened and they all stepped in. It had basic furnishing, and an upstairs that poked at Maria's curiosity. She looked around, then to her parents.
"What is this?" she asked them.
"Your independence." her father said, placing the keys in her hand. She was speechless, yet her fingers still curled tightly around the keys. "Since you're legally an adult now, we decided that you needed your own space. Besides, you're graduating this year. It's about time you gained a bit more responsibility."
Maria felt herself smile a little as she approached both her parents, hugging them.
"There's my little girl's smile." Her Dad said softly with delight.
* * *
They said they had one more surprise for her. Maria was once again blindfolded, although it had already gotten dark with the oncoming evening. But she complied, feeling a small tingle of excitement in her stomach for the first time in a long time. She fingered the key to her new place, of which her parents has taken the liberty of providing a few week's worth of food and already parked her Dad's old car in the driveway for her. It had taken Maria a while to get back fully into her life, and it seemed that many things had slipped her mind; she still couldn't believe that she was 18, for one. And she had forgotten that she was one semester away from graduating.
This new change of mood bewildered her a bit. It seemed that as she forced herself to face the facts, she was able to try to move on from those memories, though they would still remain very dear to her.
Finally, she felt the car park, and her parents get out. Her door was opened and her mother's hand helped her out. The blindfold had yet to be removed yet, so she was lead blindly to their destination. Her ears pulsed with the silence that ensued, and she fought the urge to take the cloth off over her eyes.
"Alright, we're here."
The darkness was removed from her eyes, and she blinked at the bright light that enveloped her vision.
"Happy Birthday Maria!"
Maria jumped at the sudden surprise. Most of her classmates and old family friends were gathered in a what looked like a karaoke bar. A large banner was hung over the stage, screaming her name in sparkly purple letters. Friends and family alike gathered around her, their voices jumbling together. She struggled to pick out a particular voice, but felt a warmness stir in her chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone else enter the building, a handsome figure, that made her look twice due to the familiarness of him. He didn't meet her eyes, but instead began speaking with her parents. Her attention was pulled away by one of their neighbors, a stout little woman with curly black hair atop her head and glasses on the edge of her round nose, of whom began to pull her towards the stage.
They wanted her to sing the first song.
Maria was quick to resist, but under the overwhelming presence of the crowd, she decided to give in and humor them. She flipped through the song book, weary that all eyes were on her. The silence soon became a bit too much, and she felt her face go hot quickly.
Then, she spotted the song. The song that she had sung so often, so long ago, it felt like it was just as real as her past life. Without a second thought, she chose the song, and listened as the familiar melody washed over her. She began to sing;
Lyrics omitted due to copyright. Read A/N
Her eyes began to blur with the tears as more memories had stabbed through her heart. She kept her emotions down until the last verse, when the group began to applaud her. Maria failed to notice their calls for an encore as she placed the mic down and turned offstage, making her way through the crowd. Her Mom tried to stop her, but Maria assured her that she was simply getting some air, and that she'd be back in.
"Alright, Maria. But be back soon, we're going to cut your cake in a few."
Maria mustered a smile and nodded, heading outside. A few more people stopped her along the way, along with the handsome stranger. By that time, someone had chosen a slower song to sing, and wasn't half bad at it.
"So you're Maria," he greeted her, flashing her a grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
There was something familiar about this man, Maria couldn't help but note. The way his blue eyes twinkled in the soft lights of the stage made her breath hitch a bit.
"It's nice to meet you too. B-but if you'll excuse me, I really need to go outside for a bit." she managed, pulling her gaze away from his.
"Of course. Save me a dance?" he asked her as she turned to leave.
"Maybe," she said over her shoulder as she hurried outside. The door shut behind her and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pressed her back against the backside of the building. Her heart thudded heavily in her chest. Something about that guy...
Maria shook her head, rubbing her face. A tiredness snuck up on her, and she suddenly felt drowsy as the whole day began to take its toll on her. The mood changes throughout the day had wore her down, little by little. For a moment, she considered going around to the front entrance and going back in and sitting with her family, instead of being cold and tired outside. She remembered her coat that had been taken off of her and had been misplaced somewhere in the building.
"Well, hello Miss Firestone." a voice called out to her. Maria looked around, alert with alarm. There was another guy there, about her age, or maybe a few years older, leaning back against the wall. Half of him was covered by shadows of the neighboring building.
"Who are you?" she asks, slowly backing up away from him. Her phone and everything was left in her jacket in the building. "And why'd you call me Firestone?"
"Oh that's right. You're referred to as 'Mohar', aren't you?" he sighed. "It's too bad you couldn't have had a different last name, what with you marrying that creature."
"What are you talking about?" she demanded.
"You don't remember me?" he asks, facing me. "I thought that after all the fun little things we've done together, you'd remember me. Or, perhaps you'd like to remember what your darling little husband did to me instead? Not the most honorable death, but very memorable, I can imagine."
Her brain felt like it was stuck, trying to process this information. Nobody else was there during her dream. So how could this guy know these details?
Unless...
"S-Silver?!" she choked out. She gasped; he had come upon her with such an incredible speed that she hadn't fully had time to process that he was standing over her until right before the back of her head hit the wall.
The number of times Maria had been blindfolded today had just gone up plus one.
She didn't know what was worse, however; the throbbing pain in the back of her head, the roughness of the rope that bound her wrists behind her, or the creaky wooden chair that dug into her arms and shoulder blades. She groaned as the rest of her senses woke up. A damp and humid smell filled her nose, and her mouth felt dry and tasted like the air around her. She was sweating through her thin long sleeve shirt as well.
Panic soon settled into her, making her skin prickle. She struggled against the bindings, a grunt of pain escaping her lips as the wooden chair bit into her muscles. She relaxed, taking a few deep breaths through her mouth as she mentally sorted through the situation.
"Nice to see you're awake." a voice said. Maria looked up towards the source, although the blindfold prohibited her from seeing him. Her brain processed the familiarity of the voice, and she remembered her sudden realization before she was knocked unconscious, which then explained her painful headache.
Maria felt herself bristle in her anger. "Silver." she growled.
"Oh, you remembered me this time!" Silver chuckled in sarcastic glee.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. 'Let me go!"
"Patience, my dear." he said. She felt a hand gently caress the side of her face. She flinched away from it, clenching her teeth. Silver sighed. "So temperamental. However, I must say you are much lovelier as a human than when you were identical to that hideous beast."
"Don't you dare insult Discord!" Maria shouted at him. He put a finger to her lips to calm her down.
"Shhh." he said gently. "It's alright Maria. You won't have to worry about that monster anymore. He's still in Equestria."
Maria growled and bit him, hard.
SLAP!
There was a smarting sensation to the left side of her face now. She bit back the whimper of pain that grew in her throat. Her closed eyes began to well up with tears. Silver, on the other hand, cursed and ripped the blindfold from Maria's head, tearing a few strands of auburn curls with it. Maria cowered slightly as the sting registered, blinking to take in her surroundings.
The room they were in was dimly lit and small. The walls were a dark grey, and were dark and cracking in many places, especially towards the ceiling. There were larger portions of the wall that were water damaged. A single lamp hung from the ceiling directly above them.
Silver brought her attention back to him by harshly grabbing her chin and forcing her head up to look at him. To Maria, he looked to be in his early to mid-twenties, with short blonde hair cropped military style, grey-blue eyes, and lightly toned skin. His eyebrows had curved downwards, and his mouth was twisted into a sneer, radiating his anger. His thin fingers dug into her jaw, making her wince.
He released her then, standing fully upright. He closed his eyes a moment, taking in slow deep breaths. Maria watched him silently, half-curious as to what exactly he was doing. When he finally opened his eyes again, he was smiling, calm once again as if nothing had happened.
"I understand that this must be so sudden for you, luv." Silver purred. "But look on the bright side. You can finally have your normal life back."
"I don't want a normal life anymore!" she protested. "I want Discord! I want my children! I want my crazy, abnormal life back again!"
Silver tisked, shaking his head. "I think you're failing to fully understand what's going on."He knelt down and leaned forward a bit to meet her stubborn glare. "They're not here, Maria. Everyone from Equestria is still back there. Discord and your children didn't go through the portal. They sent you back and didn't go with you. You know why?"
Maria opened her mouth to answer, but stopped. She didn't know why they sent her back. Or why Discord hadn't come back with her. The portal was surely closed now, meaning that she wouldn't see them for almost another three years. Why would Discord do that to her?
"Because," Silver continued, "They saw that you didn't belong. You've stirred up a lot of chaos during your time in Equestria, apparently. Their world didn't follow the storyline it was supposed to take, and Celestia came to realize it when you almost died. You know that fall you and your daughter took? It wasn't an accident. And Celestia finally took matters into her own hands, or hooves, and forced them to send you back. They can't follow you here either. Their magic wouldn't last long here, and when it goes out, so do they. Everything happened much too coincidentally, didn't they? But look at it now, everything is as it should be now."
Maria shook her head. "You're lying."
"Am I?" he looked surprise. "Then why isn't your dear husband here with you? Why are you even here in the first place? Somewhere deep down, you know this is true. If it wasn't, you wouldn't be away from Discord and your kids, would you? I know you're asking yourself. 'Why isn't my darling husband here? Why did I have to be sent back, when I was SO happy there? Doesn't he love me anymore?'" He mocked her in a high-pitched voice.
She felt her eyes watering, her heart sinking. He was right. Discord wasn't here. Her children were growing up without her. She lowered her head, closing her eyes in defeat. The tears started to fall.
Silver, on the other hand, smirked as he stood fully to his feet again. He crossed the short distance of the room, over to a short bench in one of the darker corners of the room. If Maria had been paying attention, she would've seen him pick up a small syringe, holding carefully as he hid it at his side, then approach her again. But tears blurred her vision, and her whole body shook a bit with her silent sobs.
"There, there, Maria. I still love you." he said softly, rubbing her shoulder. She said nothing, but simply pulled away as best as she could away from his hand. He frowned and put his hand on her shoulder again, more firmly. This time, Maria's head jerked up as she glared at him through her tears, ready to shout at him again. Her eyes, however, caught a glimpse of the syringe in his hand, and the determined look in his face. There was a dark liquid bubbling inside the clear glass of the body of the needle. Her eyes widened and she let out a shriek and began to struggle tirelessly, almost tilting the chair over in her panic.
Silver grunted and held the chair in place as best as he could. He held her shoulder tightly, pulling the cap off the needle with his teeth. Maria cried out as he tried to roll up the sleeve of her shirt to expose her skin. Instead, in his frustrations, he ripped a hole in the arm of the shirt and let it fall to her tied up wrist. Having her arm now exposed, he proceeded with prick her skin with the needle.
The needle had been fully inserted underneath her skin when the baseball bat came into contact with the back of Silver's head, making him crumple to the ground in an unconscious heap. The needle, however, stayed in her arm. Maria's tear-filled eyes looked up in fear to the person holding the bat. It was the same stranger from the party. His cold blue eyes glistened with anger, and his breath was ragged. The man tossed the bat away and went to kneel in front of Maria.
"Are you okay, Maria" he asked her as he undid her bindings. Her body slowly went numb, and she slumped forward a bit without the ropes to support her anymore. Her eyelids began to droop. The man pulled the needle from her arm, gasping quietly as he noticed the dark fluids. He flung the matter towards the wall, making the glass break and staining the wall with the syrup-like substance. He gathered Maria in his arms and kissed her forehead, cradling her body to him.
"Don't worry Maria," he muttered. "I've got you now."
Maria's eyes twitched beneath her eyelids. Her head no longer throbbed, and all the aches in her body were no more than a faded memory. She sighed and rolled over to her side, keeping her eyes closed. The only thing that was off was the heavy feeling that made her body feel heavier, like it was sinking deeper into the mattress. She tried to recall memories of the night before, and was curious as to why she was unable to. Maria vaguely wondered if she had been introduced to alcohol of some sorts, something that would make her feel the way she did at this moment. After lying in bed for a few minutes more, she tried to open her eyes.
She wasn't in her bedroom anymore. Instead, she was lying in a Queen-sized bed in a master bedroom, with boxes without labels stacked up against the walls, and an empty closet that stared at her openly from the other side of the room. A bit panicked, she sat up, throwing the covers from over her. She was dressed in her regular night shirt and shorts, which relaxed her a bit, yet at the same time confused her more. Her eyes gazed over her surroundings, trying to clear up the fog of confusion that clouded her ability to think. After taking a few deep breaths, she slid off the bed, her toes curling into the soft plush rug on the floor. She stepped tentatively towards one of the boxes closest to her and peeled back one of the flaps of the cardboard. She recognized more of her outerwear that she typically wore around the house.
She sighed, concluding that she was in the house complex her parents had given her for her birthday. Still, that presented more baffling questions that poked at Maria's mind. How'd she get here? Where were her parents? And, more importantly, what had happened last night that caused her to forget everything to have taken place last night?
She rubbed her temple to soothe the headache that was starting to build up. She walked towards the bathroom, yawning. She opened it and stepped in.
The air was foggy, probably from the hot shower someone had taken not too long ago. Maria's skin prickled with goosebumps at the sudden heat that rushed her. It made her step back with surprise. Her eyes blinked as she saw a figure, his back to her as he leaned over the sink, brushing his teeth. Dressed in a casual black T-shirt and what looked like male pajamas, it appeared that he had made himself at home. He was still rather tall leaning over, and Maria noticed the vague familiarity of the stranger. She was overcome with the urge to confront him, and, if it came down to it, to kick him out of her home. But she was unable to speak.
The man finished up at the sink, wiped his mouth and glanced in the mirror at his reflection. He noticed Maria standing behind him then, and turned to face her. His hair was still shiny with water, helping to conclude that he had indeed taken the shower. His eyes met hers, and Maria felt her heart skip a beat. They were a light crystal blue, and seemed to light up when his gaze fell upon her. Was it happiness? She couldn't breathe, let alone think about why he was looking at her the way he did.
He gave her a toothy grin. "Good morning, Maria."
"Who are you?" she asked shakily, finding her voice. His smile disappeared, but the gleam in his eyes did not.
"You don't know?" His tone had filled with hurt. She suddenly felt bad. Apparently, she was important enough, but she couldn't even bother to remember who he was. She tried to choose her words carefully.
"I'm sorry. I don't. But listen, whatever happened last night..." She trailed off as a realization hit her. "Oh my god. Did I sleep with you?" She asked in a horrified whisper.
Now he was confused. One of his dark eyebrows disappeared under the hair that fell over his brow. "Maria, what are you talking about?"
She didn't hear him. Now she was sitting on the edge of her bed wither hands over her mouth with a scared and panicked expression. "What if my parents found out?"
He knelt down in front of her. "What are you referring to, m'dear?"
"Listen, whoever you are, I'm so very sorry about this, but you're going to have to leave. I'm glad I don't remember anything last night. I just hope that you can forget that anything ever happened, because I want to...." She perked suddenly, looking down at him. "What did you call me?"
"M'dear." He answered, adding in a lower voice, "I've always called you that."
Maria looked into his eyes again. That gleam became familiar again to her. It was a happiness. Happiness mixed with something else.
Love, the word came to Maria. But then, only one person was capable of looking at her that way...
"Who are you?" Maria asked again slowly in a low whisper. Her voice shook a bit.
The familiar stranger smiled faintly, reaching up to take her hand. He kissed the top of it gently, making her heart skip. "I'm Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Do you still remember who you are?"
Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. A sudden weight was applied to her left hand in his, and she glanced down at it. A golden band was now on her finger, along with a beautiful diamond ring that twinkled and sparkled happily in the light that streamed in from the uncovered window.
"Discord?" She whispered. His toothy grin returned, and this time, she returned it, sliding down off the bed and into his arms, slinging to him with a small sob of joy. Discord wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried into his shoulder, soaking his shirt. But neither could care less, and Discord was simply happy to be able to hold his one true love again.
Maria pulled back a bit, and gently caressed Discord's cheek as her emerald eyes slowly took his appearance in. His own heart jumped when he saw the gleam in her own eyes. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She melted into the kiss, and both sighed contently. A thousand words were silently exchanged between them through the kiss;
I love you, and I missed you.
Discord pulled away a bit, using his thumb to wipe away the tears that slipped down her cheeks, she pressed her cheek into his palm, relishing in his touch as more tears fell. He gently shushed her, kissing her briefly again and wiping her eyes.
"It's okay. I'm here now, my love."
Maria bit back another sob that got caught in her throat, and simply clung to him tightly, squeezing her eyes shut. Deep inside, however, she was still afraid. Afraid that all of this was still part of her dream, and that when she woke up, she would be alone once again. He heard this, and kissed the top of her head, holding her to him tightly.
After a while, Maria had calmed, and was close to drifting off when Discord shifted slightly, nudging her awake. "Do you want to see them?" he asked her softly.
She felt her heart clench a bit at his question, nodding mutely. Discord nodded, getting to his feet and helping her up in the process. He took her hand and led her out the door of the bedroom, walking her down the hall and in front of a pair of bedrooms that Maria couldn't remember if they had always been there or not. He opened the door to the first bedroom, revealing a smaller room that seemed a bit empty, save for the bunk bed in the corner and a toy box across the room. As if in a daydream, Maria seemed to feel herself floating to the lower bed, seeing a small lump underneath the blankets. She reached out carefully, peeling back the layer to reveal a tiny little boy's face. His dark hair was messy from sleep, falling over his face. He looked to be about 3 years old at most. She blinked away the tears that pricked at her eyes and gently rubbed her thumb against his cheek, then brushed some of his unruly strands from his face. He stirred almost immediately, opening his eyes a little.
His eyes were a dark blue, like his father's, with little grey specks in them. "Mommy?" he asked, reaching a hand out sleepily towards her. Maria smiled softly, taking his small hand in hers and rubbing the back of it tenderly.
"Yes, Chaos, it's Mommy." She whispered to him, leaning forward and kissing his forehead. By this time, Chaos had woken up some, and had rolled onto his hands and knees, crawling to her and reaching for her. Maria took him in her arms and hugged him tightly. She stood upright, peering into the upper bed.
"Random!" Chaos called to her. "Look! Mommy's here!" he said exci6tedly. The little lump fidgeted, and a little girl's head peeked out from beneath the blankets. Her hair was also dark and curly, falling down to her shoulders and sticking up in odd places. Her eyes were a lighter shade of blue, however. "Mommy?" she asked, excitement in her voice. Her sleepy eyes caught onto her mother and she grinned. Maria smiled and reached for her, pulling her into her arms. The twins hugged her tightly, their faces stretched by the huge smiles they wore. Maria herself was almost overwhelmed with the reality of this.
"Mommy, does Big Sissy know that you're here?" Chaos looked up at her.
"No sweetie, Screwy doesn't know yet." She told him. The door hinges creaked softly behind her and she turned, seeing Discord holding a little girll to him. She had her arms around his neck and her face against his chest as she resumed the sleep she had been disturbed from. From behind, Maria could see that the 6-year old's hair was the same shade as her own, falling down to her mid-back in loose natural curls. She put the twins onto Chaos' bed, and Discord motioned for them to be quiet as he helped Screwy down to her feet.
Still overcome with sleep, she swayed a bit before gaining her balance. Her mother got to her knees behind her, putting an arm on her shoulder and turning her to face him. She gasped quietly. Screwball was almost an exact replica of herself, even down to the freckles that Maria tried so hard to forget she had. In that moment, she was proud of her freckles.
Maria pulled Screwy to her, rubbing her back and running her fingers through her hair gently. Screwy murmured something, sleepily wrapping her arms around her mother. Maria smiled, kissing the top of her oldest daughter's head, muttering her name.
"Mom?" Screwy pulled back, blinking in both fatigue and disbelief. Her dark green eyes widened a bit, and she pushed herself back into Maria's arms, sobbing quietly. Maria felt herself starting to tear up again as she held her tightly.
"Daddy, why is Sissy and Mommy crying?" Random asked.
Discord gathered his youngest daughter and son into his arms. "It's a girl thing." He chuckled. "You'll understand when you get a bit older, I promise."
The twins nodded. Discord sat next to Maria on the floor, and the kids all climbed into her lap. He put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.
