Dreamers Beware

by ApplauseJunkie


Forgiveness

Fluttershy was pacing nervously. It was half past three now, thirty minutes past teatime, and her usual tea guest had failed to arrive.

"Where is he?"

Last week they hadn't been able to have tea; the whole group had still been cleaning up the aftermath of Tirek's rampage across Equestria. Everyone had helped as best they could, but no one had really had time to talk to each other. Now that things had settled down, it was Wednesday, the day that Discord usually came over for tea at three o' clock. He had never been late before.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore, and trotted out the door of her cottage. She fluttered into the air to check if she could spot him, without any success. The pegasus frowned, but knew where to look.

Discord had long ago taken up residence in a little wobbly castle he had made for himself on the fringes of Ponyville, quite near to the Everfree Forest. It looked perfectly unassuming on the outside, but the interior was the haven of the Master of Chaos. There were no floors, only a vast empty space, much too large to logically fit into the small exterior, with a few pieces of furniture floating about. Fluttershy had been in it once before, when he first made it, but it still unnerved her.
She knocked politely at first, with no answer. She called his name a few times, still no answer. Finally she just tried the door, and found it unlocked.

The pegasus took one step and squealed. She had forgotten there was no floor. But where the floor should have been, instead a glimmering snowflake supported her hoof. When she tested it and found that it held her weight, Fluttershy ventured another step. More snowflakes appeared to carry her, and when she lifted her hoof, they vanished, reappearing when she set them down again.

Still cautiously, Fluttershy made her way into the chaotic castle. "D-Discord?" she called, but received no answer. However, a small gravy boat bounced up to her, barking like a dog and dancing around her. Fluttershy smiled when she recognized it. "Hello, little gravy boat!" she cooed, patting it gently, so as not to spill it. "Do you know where Discord is?" she asked it, and the boat barked excitedly and started to bounce away. Fluttershy followed.

At the back of the castle, at least one story down from ground level, Discord was curled up on a bed that sat nestled on the wall. The pegasus shook her head, remembering that gravity was not a law to Discord, and that lying perpendicular to the ground was perfectly normal to him. She approached him cautiously. "Discord?"

The draconequus simply curled up tighter, hiding his face under his arms.

Fluttershy frowned. "Discord, what's the matter? Didn't you want to come to tea today?"

Discord mumbled something into his sheets.

"What?"

"I didn't think you'd want me to come over for tea today," Discord finally replied through gritted teeth.

Fluttershy was shocked. "Why on earth would I not want you to come over for tea, Discord?"

"Do I need to remind you of recent events? I betrayed Equestria, remember? I betrayed my friends. I betrayed you!" At this last sentence he finally spun to face Fluttershy, and she could see that his eyes were filled with tears.

She didn't know what to say. "D-Discord..."

"I don't deserve any more tea parties. Any more friendship. I don't deserve you, Fluttershy." He turned away again.

The pegasus slowly floated around to the other side of the bed so she could see his face. "Discord, you're already forgiven for all of that!"

He scoffed quietly. "I doubt that. I wouldn't be surprised if no one ever forgave me."

"Well, I forgive you."

Discord blinked, causing a few tears to spill over his cheeks. He wiped them away hurriedly. "You do?"

Fluttershy nodded. "We're friends, and that friendship is strong enough to stand a few bumps in the road."

"I would hardly call betraying my friends a bump in the road."

The pegasus just smiled. "That's the beauty of friendship, it can withstand even the toughest situations. I'll admit that what you did was wrong, and it hurt me deeply, but you said you were sorry, and that's enough for me to grant you forgiveness for your actions."

Discord cringed to hear that he had hurt Fluttershy. He remembered the look on her face when he had caged her, when he had taunted her that she should have seen it coming. She hadn't. The pegasus had trusted him completely, and he had broken that trust. There were no words to express how sorry he was. "I've never regretted anything so much in my life," he finally whispered.

"I know," Fluttershy murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed and laying a hoof on his shoulder. "But you don't need to worry about it anymore, because everything is fine now."

He looked up at her in wonder. How could she be so kind and loving as to completely overlook what he had done? As she smiled reassuringly down at him, a warmth filled his chest, and he sniffed and wiped his eyes again, trying to smile for her. With a little effort, Discord uncurled himself and sat up in bed.

As soon as he did so, Fluttershy wrapped both arms around him in a gentle hug. Out of reflex, Discord set his head on her shoulder and nuzzled into her mane. She smelled like flowers, and her mane was soft as clouds. Fluttershy smiled and gently stroked his short black mane. "There, you see? Everything is all right."

Discord smiled silently. Maybe it was all right.
---
The following Wednesday, Discord knocked on the door to Fluttershy's cottage at exactly three o' clock. He clasped his hands behind his back and waited, daring to hope for a pleasant afternoon with his best friend. He hadn't left his house much since last Wednesday, and when he did, he tried to avoid ponies as much as possible. Even if Fluttershy had forgiven him, that didn't apply to the rest of Ponyville. But today he was cautiously optimistic. Tea couldn't be too difficult, could it?

When Fluttershy answered the door, she smiled weakly up at him. Discord frowned when he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and the fact that her mane hadn't been brushed yet that day. "Are you all right, Fluttershy?" he asked.

The pegasus nodded as she let her friend inside. Discord noticed that their tea-table was not yet set up, as it usually was. A yawn from his friend and his frown deepened. "Do tell me what's the matter," he pressed, leaning down to look into her tired eyes.

"I just didn't sleep well last night, that's all." She refused to meet his concerned gaze.

"Do you know why?" he asked, wanting to make sure this would never happen again.

"Well..." Fluttershy stared at her hooves.

Discord teleported them both to the couch so she could sit comfortably. He watched her patiently, silently urging her to go on.

"Two nights ago, I had the most horrible nightmare. I was walking by myself down a dark alley, when this pony pushed me down from behind. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a hat, all I could see was that he had a green jewel hanging around his neck that started glowing when I looked at it. Then the pony stood over me and put his hooves on my chest, and he pressed harder and harder, until I couldn't breathe, and--and--"

Instinctively Discord pulled her into his arms to comfort her as the tears began to fall. Fluttershy took a shuddering breath and continued.

"But then I woke up, and I still couldn't breathe. I couldn't move, and when I looked up, there was this...thing sitting on my chest, pressing down on me, like it was trying to keep me from breathing. It had the same green jewel around his neck, and it was glowing just like in the dream! But when the thing saw that I was awake, it turned into a moth and flew out my window."

The draconequus held her gently, looking down at her in concern. "And you haven't been back to sleep since then, have you?" he asked quietly.

Fluttershy shook her head.

Discord thought for a moment. "Well, you can't go on without sleeping. Would it make you feel better to have someone there to protect you while you slept?"

Fluttershy started to wipe her eyes. "Um, I don't know. Maybe."

"Because you know you're always welcome at my humble abode."

The idea of sleeping on the wall didn't really appeal to Fluttershy. "Oh, no, that's very nice of you, but I--"

Discord frowned. "I'm sorry, I thought maybe that would help."

"--what I mean is, could you maybe sleep here instead?"

Both of Discord's ears perked up. "Me stay here? But of course!"

Fluttershy hugged him tightly around the neck. "Oh, thank you! I'll feel much better about sleeping if I know you're here to keep me safe!"

The draconequus's mismatched pupils dilated slightly as he stared down at her. "Anything for you, my dear."

Silence ensued as the two just smiled at each other. Finally, Discord cleared his throat and snapped his fingers, causing the tea table to set itself complete with steaming teapot and cucumber sandwiches. "Now then, how about we have tea?"
---
When the sun set, Discord sat patiently on the couch, watching Fluttershy put all of her animals to bed. It amazed him what control she had over them, and how much each of them seemed to love her in return. Discord had always thought the quickest way to get something was to use either trickery or force, but this pony seemed to have full command over every living creature in the cottage, and all with tender smiles and soft words. It was remarkable.

Finally, all the animals were tucked into bed and quieted down, and Fluttershy trotted toward the stairs. Discord stayed put on the couch. When she got about halfway up, she noticed he wasn't following and paused. "Aren't you going to come protect me?" she asked quietly, looking at him with huge teal eyes.

Discord choked. He hadn't planned on actually sleeping in the same room with her, literally watching her sleep. That seemed like a bit of an invasion of privacy. But the longer she looked at him, the less resistance he felt to the idea, and eventually just smiled and slunk up the stairs beside her.

Fluttershy set about putting her room in order for the night. She made sure everything was tidy, brushed her teeth, got herself a glass of water to keep on the bedstand, and put on her pajamas. Discord had to admit she looked absolutely adorable in her little white nightgown. Then she crawled into bed, and glanced at him before blowing the candle out. "Where are you going to sleep?" she asked.

The draconequus smiled at her concern for him, then patiently snapped his fingers. A soft, round cushion appeared on the floor, and Discord curled up and nestled into it. "I'll be fine," he assured Fluttershy. "Now you get some sleep and don't worry about a thing. I won't let anything bother you."

Fluttershy smiled and blew out the candle.

It didn't take long for the dreams to return, however. Once again Fluttershy was hurrying down a dark alley, all by herself. She continually glanced behind her, shivering violently in fear. Everything around her was quiet, and even the gentle 'whoosh' of Princess Luna flying overhead caused her to squeal in fright.

Then suddenly, she was sprawled on her back. Standing over her was the same pony from two nights ago, wearing a hat over his eyes and a green jewel hanging from a chain around his neck. He grinned down at her as he placed one hoof and then the other upon her chest, pressing down mercilessly.

"Hey!" called a familiar voice. Fluttershy looked up to see Discord charging forward, glaring at her attacker. "Get off of her!"

The pony hissed at him, the green jewel flashing. Discord raised a hand to strike him, and suddenly Fluttershy was awake, and the same creature from two nights ago was flying across the room and slammed into the wall, propelled off of her by Discord, who was standing over her.

The impact from the wall stunned the creature for a moment, giving both of them a chance to get a good look at it. It was ape-like, hairy and messy, and relatively the same size as a pony. Its face was wicked and distorted, and pointed ears stuck up above its head. Around its neck, a green jewel dangled from a chain, which was beginning to lose its supernatural glow since Discord had interrupted the dream. It hissed at both of them, revealing cruel fangs.

Fluttershy screamed. Discord stood in partial shock. "Alberich...?"

The creature took its chance and produced a hat, the same hat the pony in Fluttershy's dream wore. As soon as it touched its head, the entire creature vanished, as if into thin air. Discord shook himself free of his surprise and lunged at the place where the creature had been, but encountered only empty space. He growled.

"What was that?!" Fluttershy wailed in terror.

Discord stood up and went back to her bedside. "That was an old friend of mine, actually."

"What?!"

The draconequus sat down on the edge of her bed to explain.

"His name is Alberich. He's an alp, a creature that can induce dreams and feed off the energy from the dreamer. I knew him way back before I ever came to Equestria. I recognized his hat, he's had that thing forever. It turns him invisible when he wears it. What I don't know is why or how he's here. I knew him over a thousand years ago, and alps don't live to be more than a hundred. Something strange is going on."

Fluttershy was staring at him in horror. Discord frowned and pulled her into a hug. "Don't you worry, he won't come back tonight. He knows better than to visit the same house twice in one night."

He started to let her go and go back to his own bed, but she held fast to him. He glanced down curiously. She looked up at him with fearful, pleading eyes. "Don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving you, I'm just going back over--" he paused when she squeezed tighter. "Y-you want me to stay...here? In--in your bed?"

Fluttershy nodded silently.

"Oh. Um, all right..." He awkwardly laid down next to her and let her pull the covers over the both of them. The she laid down and gently snuggled against him. Discord watched her with wide eyes, staring at her face as it slowly relaxed into sleep. Finally sleep began to take over his senses as well, and he closed his eyes.