//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: These Dreams // by lorettafox //------------------------------// Twilight opened her eyes to have the sun greet her face. She glanced at a nearby clock to see it was around one in the afternoon. She then realized she felt someone draped over her body. She turned her head to see a gray colt body halfway over the top of her own, fast asleep. She sat there, looking at the sleeping gray colt. How in Equestria did they go from enemies to forbidden lovers? She thought about the time he first broke out of his stone imprisonment. She and her friends first discovered that cotton cloud cloud and giant apples he had created on Applejack's farm. He even turned the corn into popcorn! She remembered rushing to Celestia after getting an urgent letter from her about Discord. She then remembered how shortly after he had been re-imprisoned in stone, she began to having these dreams about them being involved romantically. It had scared her at first, but slowly, she began to realize that he was a nice pony and could be a very romantic stallion once you got passed his chaotic powers and appearance. She glanced over at her nightstand, where the jewel Discord had given her last night laid comfortably on the top. Their engagement had been offical when he gave her that stone. They were now engaged to be married. How strange they went from enemies to now almost marriage. It's weird how destiny works for you. She couldn't wait to get married to him and have all of Equestria watching. Suddenly, the horrible daydream she had before flashed in her mind. What if they tried to stop the wedding, saying that something was mentally wrong with her and that they shouldn't be together? She was going to introduce Discord to her parents and her whole family today, what are they going to think of him? What if they don't give them their blessing, or worse, they disown her? A yawn was then heard in the room and Twilight turned her head to see the gray colt that had been sleeping on top of her had finally awaken. "Good afternoon, Dizzy. You finally decided to wake up, have you?" she smiled happily. The gray colt climbed off of her and returned to his original form. "Hey, I need my beauty sleep like any other pony in the palace." Twilight laughed. "Oh sure you do." she spoke with sarcasm. She hopped out of bed and began looking in her closet. "What should I wear to my parents? It has to be just right for the occasion. This isn't just any normal visit to my parents." she spoke in slight panic. Discord simply smirked at the purple alicorn as she dug through her closet, trying to find a nice outfit to wear. "My dear, if they panic at all, I can simply use an acceptance spell on them like I did with Celestia and Luna." he assured her. Twilight came out of her closet with a sun hat on her head. "Dizzy, I can't do that to them. I understand with Celestia and Luna since they would put you back into stone if they thought you hadn't change. But I want my parents and family to actually accept us for who we are and not just cheat them into believing we should be together. Also, this way I would know that the blessing they could give us would be genuine. I would prefer them to actually like you then you to just use some acceptance spell on them." "Fine, I'll be nice and do things your way. No acceptance spells." he stated in slight annoyance. "I'm glad you understand. Now, I have a plan on how I'll introduce and eventually tell everypony the big announcement." "Go on." he said with great interest. "I'll introduce you as my colt friend that I had met during one of my trips through Equestria and hopefully my parents can absorb your presence as a simple colt. If they like you as a colt, then I can reveal you to the family in your true form and announce that we're getting married sometime soon. Will you do it for me, please? Just to warm them up at least and I can explain everything to them." "Aren't we being a bit deceptive?" "I know I am being deceptive but I just want to see how you being around my parent plays out and see if they like you as a colt. Hopefully, my siblings will like you as well." "You mean Shining Armor and Princess Cadence?" "Yes. Shining Armor is very protective of me and if he likes you, then my parents and Cadence will surely love you. We just have to play this safe until the big reveal, ok?" "I guess we can go with your little plan. After all, I do love being in disguise." he said as he turned himself back into the gray colt. Then there was a knock on the door. "Twilight Sparkle, may I have a word with you in your room? It's about your colt friend." It was Princess Luna's voice. "Come on in, Luna. It's alright." Twilight said happily. The door handle glowed a faint blue as Luna had used her magic to push open the door. She walked into the room and closed the door directly behind her. Luna quickly took notice of Discord in his colt form. "I see he has spent the night as well." Luna said with a slightly nervous smile. "Any friend of Twilight is a friend of Luna's." "Luna, are you alright? You sound nervous, like something is bothering you." asked Twilight. Luna cleared her throat. "Twilight, I need to talk to you about your supposed colt friend. I know he's Discord hiding himself from suspecting pony eyes." Discord walked next to Twilight's side and gave Luna a smirk. "I see you know my tricks anywhere, my little Luna." he teased. "It has been awhile since I've seen you simply as Luna and not Nightmare Moon." Luna instantly fell to the ground and covered her ears with her two forehoofs. "Don't bring that up! Do not bring that up! I'm still trying to forget those horrible memories!" she screamed in the Royal Canterlot voice. Twilight rushed to Luna's side. "Luna, what's the matter? Why is his comment bothering you so much?" "I can't say it. It'll make me relive those awful memories once more." Luna said with tears in her eyes. "Luna, perhaps I can make you forget those memories. I know memory spells that could make you forget those awful times." "It is of no use, Twilight Sparkle. Other ponies have tried to rid these memories from me. The spells they casted only worked for a short time before they returned, more vivid then they had been before." "I am sorry, Luna. I'm sure Discord didn't mean to recall those painful memories. Right, Discord?" she said in a stern voice as she gave him a glare. "I'm sorry." he said. "I didn't know it had that much of a negative effect on you, little Luna." Luna stood back up on her hoofs. "I-It's ok. You said you were sorry, so it's ok now." she cleared her throat. "Now that I know you don't mind me knowing it's Discord, Twilight, Cadence has informed me that you will all be visiting your parents within the next hour." "That's right, princess. I have a big announcement for everypony. I'm sure you can easily guess what it is." "You're going to reveal Discord to them? That's very brave of you, Twilight Sparkle, to say he is now your friend now and has changed. I'm sure it won't be easy to tell them." said Luna. "It won't be, princess, but I have everything all planned out." "That's wonderful. Celestia and I will be stopping by after a few hours. Perhaps you can introduce him then, but you don't have too. He is your friend now and you can do whatever you'd like." "I'm so glad we have Luna's permission of when I'm going to be introduced." said Discord in annoyance. "Discord! She's just trying to be considerate!" yelled Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, if anything is to happen and you need our help, just light up the sky with the shape of a crescent moon and we'll rush to your aid immediately." said Luna. "I must leave now for I don't want to keep you from your parents, Twilight Sparkle. Good day to you and see you later this evening." "Good day, Luna." Twilight said as Luna opened the door and walked out of the bedroom. She looked at the gray colt standing next to her. "Ready to meet my parents, Dizzy?" "I was born ready." he joked. ------------------------------------------------- The two were walking to Twilight's parents' house that was a fifteen minute walk from the Canterlot Castle. They were walking along when a gray pegasus came up to them. "Hi there, Twilight!" she said happily. "Oh, hello there, Derpy. Delivering some mail around Canterlot today?" asked Twilight. "You bet! After I'm done, I'm gonna sample some of the Canterlot muffins! I really wanna try the royal muffin. It sounds really good." Derpy smiled when she noticed Discord. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see you there. My name is Derpy Hooves!" "Dizzy." he said flatly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Dizzy! Maybe I'll bring your mail to you someday! Please excuse me now, I have some mail to deliver and muffins to sample!" Derpy said as she trotted away. Discord looked at Twilight. "Who the hay was that?" he asked. "That was Derpy. She's a mail carrier that goes all throughout Equestria. I'm sure you also noticed her eyes easily." "I sure did. How can she even see with her eyes in two different places?" "Discord, that's rude! She can see just fine like any other pony! Don't make fun of a pony who is different than you!" "I was only asking an innocent question. No need to send the royal guard on me, my dear. Calm down." Twilight let out a small sigh. They walked a few more minutes when they came upon a familiar sight to Twilight. It was her parent's house. It was now to put her plan into action and hope they accept him so she can reveal him as he truly is. "Ready to meet my parents officially, Dizzy?" she asked. "Like I said, I was born ready." he joked. Twilight knocked on the door with her forehoof. A moment later, her mother answered the door. Her mother smiled happily when she saw her daughter. She gave Twilight a hug and when she pulled away, she noticed Discord the colt. "Who is your friend, Twilight?" she asked. "This is my friend, Dizzy. I met him on one of my trips around Equestria." smiled Twilight. "He seems like a nice pony." Mrs. Sparkle tapped her forehead in stupidity. "Where are my manners today? Come on in you two! We have another guest over at the moment as well! I'm sure you'll remember him, Twilight!" Twilight and Discord walked in the door and turned the corner to see Mr. Sparkle talking to a yellow unicorn with purple mane and tail happily. "Twilight! You're finally here! Remember Starshine?" he asked. "Oh, hi there Starshine. It's been awhile." Twilight said. "Dad, I want you to meet one of my friends." "And who might this colt be?" Mr. Sparkle asked. "This is my FRIEND, Dizzy. I met him on one of my trips traveling through Equestria." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Sparkle." Discord said in proper-like voice. "Glad Twilight is making so many new friends now that she's in Ponyville. She never really had much luck when we dated." It felt like a chord had been ripped inside of him. This unicorn had dated his Twilight? When and how the hay long? "I remember when you two dated. You two were the cutest couple ever! I still can't believe Twilight still managed to form a crush on such a sweet stallion like you!" Starshine laughed. "I was surprised to. Never thought a bookworm such as Twilight would ever form a crush on any colt, especially me." "Mom! Starshine! You guys are embarrassing me!" Twilight said as a light blush formed over her cheeks. "Oh, how cute!" Mrs. Sparkle said happily. An hour had gone by and Discord had been pretty much silent the whole time the family had gotten together. Even Cadence and Shining Armor had arrived and noticed that he wasn't going to talk. Everypony was enjoying themselves when Discord noticed that he hadn't seen Twilight for the last few minutes. Where the hay was she anyways? Discord turned around and walked around a corner to see Starshine whispering something to Twilight. "Really? You really will get me one?" Twilight asked excitedly. "Anything for a number one fan." Starshine said with a smile as Twilight squealed and pulled him in for an affectionate hug. Discord stared at the two for a moment. When he couldn't look at the two any longer, he slipped out the back door when no pony was noticing. He walked outside into the large garden that was in the back of the house. Many different plants grew everywhere and some were even tall enough to hide him if he were in his normal form. He walked abit into the garden and took notice of some hedges that were shaped almost like a box, expect the fourth wall was missing. He quickly ran into the open box and turned himself back into his original form and hid away in case anypony decided they wanted to come into the garden. He leaned back against the hedge and looked up at the blue sky. Maybe it would have been better if he were just like Starshine and perhaps less chaotic, Twilight's parents might like him just as much as Starshine. Her parents did like Discord, but they didn't show it as much as they had showed it to Starshine. Maybe if he were less chaotic, things would be better. He knew Twilight's personality of organization kept his chaos in check, but maybe if he were less chaotic, it wouldn't be such a big burden of Twilight's part. "Dizzy? Dizzy, where are you?" Twilight called as she had walked outside, worried about where he had disappeared to. She kept calling out his name when she found him in the open hedge box. "Dizzy, what are you doing out in the open hedge box all alone for?" "Twilight, do you like that Starshine colt in there?" he asked, ignoring her question. "Well, sure I like him. He was a really good friend when I was younger." she smiled. "Oh...I see." he said flatly. Twilight caught onto his tone. "If you're thinking if I still have any feelings for him still, they don't exist anymore." "But your mother said you two made the cutest couple..." "We were a couple when we went on a few days, but I ended it since it was interfering with my studies. I thought I liked him like a crush, but after we went on a second date, there wasn't anything really there. No spark at all. He completely understood and we just remained as simple friends." "But, I saw you and him just a few minutes ago and you were hugging him. What was that about?" "Oh, that!" Twilight said happily. "Starshine has a girlfriend by the name Pen Writer and she's one of the best new authors in Equestria! He told me she had a book on the way and would get me one of the first copies! I love getting books as soon as they're out!" "Oh, was that all?" he said in relief. "Discord, were you jealous of him that something might happen between the two of us?" Twilight asked him in a teasing matter. He remained silent. "Well, no matter what Discord, I will always love you and no other pony. I honestly never would have thought I would develop feelings like this since I was so adsorbed in my own studies. I thought I didn't really need love, until you began sending me those dreams. Then I knew I couldn't live without your love." Discord gave Twilight a smile as tears began forming in her eyes. "And this may sound rather cheesy coming from me, but even though we nor married, I already feel like we're husband and wife and have been so in love for so long." The moment was just too precious for him. Discord stared into her purple eyes that were now shining since tears had just filled them. After a few minutes, he just couldn't take just staring at her anymore. he caught Twilight by surprise by grabbing her by the waist and pinning her against the hedge, before giving her a kiss like the one she had given him as a 'gift' to him. After a moment, he pulled away and pulled her hoofs above her head. "Now has your colt friend ever done anything like THIS?" he whispered into her ear. "I could only imagine. I doubt romance novels can become reality." she spoke with a slight giggle. He simply looked at her as a smirk formed over his face. He stroke Twilight's cheek with his lion paw, making her blush in the process and whispered back to her, "Who says they can't?" he spoke as he caught her in another kiss. "Twilly, Dizzy, where did you go? Where are you two?" Shining Armor called out. The couple looked at each other in alarm as the kiss had been cut short by her brother's shouting. Before they could do anything, Shining Armor saw them in the open hedge box. Twilight was still pinned against the hedge so Shining Armor instantly thought that Discord was trying to hurt his little sister. He instantly went into protective big brother mode and lunged himself at Discord, pushing him off of Twilight. "Leave her alone, you monster!" Shining Armor shouted. "A monster, am I?" he said as he snapped his fingers. His magic levitated Shining Armor off of him and bounded his hoofs together like he had been tied by a lasso. "Could any monster have done that?" Just as Twilight thought it was bad that her brother thought Discord was a monster, her entire family had come outside when they had heard Shining Armor shout at him. Her family looked at Discord and then Shining Armor in horror. "Stay away from my sister, you monster!" Shining Armor shouted. "Leave our daughter alone, you vile creature!" her father shouted. "Wait, he's not a bad pony! He wasn't hurting me!" Twilight protested. Not hearing Twilight's protests, her family kept yelling insults at the mismatched creature. Twilight looked at the scene in horror, she knew this kind of thing was going to happen. What was she going to do? "We have to use our magic together to make them forget." whispered a voice in Twilight's ear. Twilight turned to see Discord had turned himself into a butterfly, leaving the family in confusion on where he had disappeared too. "You're right. They can't remember what happened here. I just couldn't handle all the interrogating they might do to me and I can't have them wanting to hurt you." With that statement finished, Twilight's horn and crown glowed as Discord's butterfly wings glowed as well. The couple's magic came together as a ray of dark purple magic as it zapped her entire family, wiping the entire encounter out of their minds, so they could no longer recall it. "I have to go back to the castle." he whispered to her. "Stay with your family. I'll be waiting for you when you come back tonight." he then disappeared in a burst of light. Twilight went on the rest of the night with her family without Discord and felt heartbroken. If her brother couldn't see past Discord's exterior, she doubt that anypony else in the family would too. She even explained what had happened to the princesses in secret and they didn't know what they could do for her case. What was she going to do if nopony accepted her and Discord together?