Dreamers Beware

by ApplauseJunkie

Epilogue

It took Discord only a few days to recover, and as soon as his magic was strong enough he snapped his fingers and healed Fluttershy in an instant. The two of them came walking out of the hospital side by side, both looking a little tired, smiling warmly. They had only a few moments of peace, however, before Pinkie Pie spotted them and went screaming through the entire castle that they were out and about. Everypony came running while Pinkie and Cheese grabbed their party cannons and hurried to the ballroom. "PARTY TIME!!!"

The ballroom was decorated in seconds, and half of Canterlot showed up to celebrate Fluttershy's return. All of Equestria had come to look to Princess Twilight and her friends as heroes and guardians of harmony. When it had gotten out that Fluttershy's life was in danger, the entire country had waited with bated breath for her safe return. Now that she was safe and the six were together again, Equestria was safe. Everypony had a reason to celebrate.

Vinyl Scratch brought her turntables and laid down a high-energy beat, and Pinkie and Cheese started the dancing. Eventually everypony was shaking their tail in delight, even the princesses. Cadance and Shining Armor flew down from the Crystal Empire for the celebration, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived by train in time to join in the dance. The three fillies dashed to their sisters, whom they hadn't seen since the whole ordeal began.

"How'd he do it?" Apple Bloom asked her sister.

Applejack shook her head. "We ain't asked yet."

Sweetie Belle was giggling uncontrollably and could not stop chanting "Rarity has a special somepony! Rarity has a special somepony!"

Rarity and Spike just blushed and smiled.

Amid the dancing, Shining Armor smacked Discord on the back. "Well done, Discord. We're glad you could save her."

The draconequus blinked. "But my protection spell didn't work."

The prince just laughed. "The spell isn't the point. Think about it. Was it magic that saved her in the end? "

"No, it was--" he stopped short. So far he'd been able to avoid telling anypony how he had saved her. He wasn't sure how the other ponies would feel about a partially reformed villain falling in love with one of the heroes of Equestria.

But Shining Armor and Cadance were smiling at him and he knew they knew. They had been the first to know, really. He smiled softly. "You were right," he murmured, making sure nopony else could hear. "Thank you both."

Cadance nodded. "We're very proud of you, Discord."

Fluttershy had been swept away by her friends, who could not contain their joy at having her back again. They kept hugging her and telling her how happy they were, squealing and cheering excitedly.

To Discord's surprise, he seemed to have become a bit of a celebrity as well. Apparently the ponies knew that it was he who had gone into the dream realm after her, risking his life to save hers, and they were eager to show their appreciation. Discord found himself shaking hoof after hoof of ponies he'd never met, nodding and smiling at countless faces who told him how glad they were that he had saved Fluttershy. It felt strange. Just months ago these ponies would have run screaming from him, and now they were thanking him and treating him like a hero. Did they not remember who he was? He began to wonder how long his newfound acceptance would last, before their suspicion returned.

Despite his discomfort, he was soon the center of attention. Even the princesses stopped dancing to come and smile at him, and the five friends followed Fluttershy as she moved to stand next to her rescuer. He shifted closer to her and shrank imperceptibly, as if she would protect him from their searching eyes. But she couldn't prevent them from asking the question that had been on everypony's mind since they came back.

"How did you do it, Discord?"

He gulped. It seemed that thousands of eyes were staring at him, waiting for him to explain what he had done to rescue her. Fluttershy smiled up at him encouragingly.

"I...I..." he choked. They would never accept him. If he told them that he was in love with their beloved Fluttershy, they would turn on him, drive him away. He would be back in the Canterlot sculpture gardens before the party was even over.

Fluttershy saw his discomfort and stepped forward. "He reminded me what was real and what wasn't. It's hard to tell in the dream world, but once I realized that only one thing was real, we were both able to wake up."

"Only one thing?" Applejack repeated.

"And what thing is that, exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy looked up at Discord. He swallowed, knowing she wouldn't spare him this. He had to tell them himself. But how could he tell all these ponies, these ponies that not too long ago had feared and hated him? Looking around for some means of escape, his eyes met those of Princess Luna. She was smiling at him. He blinked, and she nodded.

"It's...love." He looked down at Fluttershy, who was smiling up at him. He smiled, too. "Only love is real."

The ponies in the ballroom drew a collective gasp. Discord flinched to see several faces turn angry, and even more look disgusted at the idea that he loved Fluttershy. He shrank a little under their withering glares, and hung his head in shame. What had he expected? It was stupid of him to think anypony would ever truly accept him.

Then, silently, Fluttershy slipped her hoof into his claw. He looked down at her, to see that she was still smiling at him. A warmth grew in his chest. She loved him. She had said so in the dream world; she had kissed him and held him, and now she looked up at him with an expression that told him that even if she was the only pony in Equestria who accepted him, she would never leave his side.

Discord's heart thudded. Suddenly, it didn't matter what those ponies thought. She loved him too. He straightened up, grew back to his full height, and faced the shocked crowd. "Yes, I love her. That's why I went in after her, why I was willing to give my life for her. I'm head over cloven hoof in love with Fluttershy, and I don't care who knows it." He held his head in the air defiantly and braced himself, waiting for their backlash.

The silence was deafening. Then, very slowly, Princess Cadance started to clap. After a few moments, Shining Armor joined in, followed by Luna. Then Rarity clapped, whispering, "I knew it." Pinkie Pie and Cheese eagerly joined in on the ovation, and one by one Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle all began to applaud. Soon, everypony in the room was stomping their hooves and cheering, their disgust forgotten.

Discord blushed and awkwardly rocked backward on his heels. When the cheering didn't stop, Fluttershy flapped her wings and flew up to give Discord a kiss on the cheek. The applause tripled, and the couple giggled.

Finally everypony returned to their festivities. The Cutie Mark Crusaders attacked the buffet, Pinkie and Cheese started a conga line on the dance floor, and, much to everyone's delight, the Wonderbolts burst in in full array to congratulate Discord and Fluttershy.

Princess Twilight wandered the edges of the ballroom, silently eyeing the windows and wondering whether or not Discord's actions would be considered important enough to be preserved in stained glass. If it were her decision, she would give him a place right next to Spike retrieving the Crystal Heart, but that was up to Celestia and Luna, not her.

"Something on your mind, Twilight?"

The princess turned to see Flash Sentry looking at her with his signature awkward expression. She shrugged. "I was just wondering if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were going to make a stained-glass window for Discord and Fluttershy."

"Well, you're a princess, too. Don't you get to help decide that?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, this is their home, not mine. I don't have a right to tell them how they need to decorate it."

Flash smiled for a moment, then quietly reminded her, "You know, you have a castle of your own back in Ponyville.You do get to decide how you decorate that one."

Twilight's eyes widened, and then she grinned and tackled her guard with a hug. "Flash, you're a genius!" She squealed.

He chuckled and smiled warmly. "I learned from the best," he replied, tossing her a wink. She blushed and twirled part of her mane around her hoof.

Rainbow Dash had been talking excitedly to Spitfire as soon as the Wonderbolts captain had arrived. She watched Rainbow show her all of the tricks she had learned since her session at the Wonderbolts Academy, and listened to her explain how much she'd been practicing and how she was confident she was ready to be a Wonderbolt. Spitfire was growing impatient, and when Soarin walked over with a giant apple pie in one hoof, she made an excuse and zoomed away. Rainbow Dash wilted.

"Don't worry about it," Soarin mumbled through a mouthful of pie. "She's always like that. You'll learn to deal with it."

Rainbow Dash looked at him and smiled weakly. "Y-yeah. I guess I come on kinda strong," she mumbled, looking down at her hooves.

"You don't have to say that like it's a bad thing," the Wonderbolt said, setting his pie on a nearby table and walking around so that he could see Rainbow's face. "You gotta be assertive to be a good Wonderbolt. Honestly, I think the reason she hasn't recruited you yet is because you're so important to Equestria. She doesn't want to take up your time with training."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "Really?"

Soarin nodded. "If you ask me, I think you already have a much more important job than being a Wonderbolt."

The cyan pegasus blushed a little. "Aw, come on, you guys are the best fliers in Equestria! What could be cooler than that?"

"Um," Soarin pretended to think. "Saving Equestria from tons of horrible monsters, rescuing all three of us Wonderbolts plus your friend Rarity, being able to do a Sonic Rainboom that even we can't do, and basically being the coolest pony ever..."

Rainbow Dash had just enough time to regain her composure and toss her hair haughtily as Soarin looked back at her. "Yeah, well, I guess I am pretty awesome." She flinched as her voice cracked, and Soarin chuckled.

"Yeah you are. Hey, you wanna dance?"

She raised an eyebrow. "With you?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's okay if you're not up to it..." He looked at her playfully.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "What, you think I can't dance?"

"Well, can you?"

She grinned competitively and grabbed his hoof, dragging him onto the floor.

Already on the floor, Rarity leaned against Spike's chest as they slow-danced together. "Mmm," she sighed. "I have to admit, Spike, I never imagined that this would be as lovely as it is."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, being with you. Of course, I hadn't expected it to come so soon..."

"So soon?" Spike looked down at her curiously.

She smiled warmly into his scales. "You think you're the only one who had thought about this before it happened?"

The dragon's eyes widened and he stammered a little. Rarity chuckled. "Yes, dear."

Spike swallowed. "How long have you...?"

"Since you rescued me from the Diamond Dogs. I didn't say anything earlier because I knew you were so young; I wanted you to grow up a little first." She raised her head from his chest and looked up at him. He stared down at her.

"You were waiting for me to grow up?"

"Well I didn't want to invest in you if you were going to outgrow me, now did I?"

Spike watched her face for a moment longer, then exhaled with a smile. "Oh, Rarity. How could you think I would ever outgrow the love of my life?" He took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. She returned his embrace eagerly.

Across the ballroom, Cheese Sandwich shivered, his cutie mark expanding and contracting like an accordion. Pinkie Pie tilted her head to one side. "Cheesy sense?"

Cheese nodded. "Yup. Trottingham." He put his hoof under her chin and pulled her face to his. "I'll take care of this party, then I'll swing by Manehattan and pick up my things from my parents' place. Can you have a place set up for us by the time I get back?"

Pinkie grinned. "Consider it done, my stallion of cheesiness!"

He kissed her hard for a moment, then bounced in the air with a "Whoohoohoo!" and he was off. Pinkie smiled at him as he left, knowing he'd be back.

In one corner of the ballroom, finally free of the attention, Discord and Fluttershy reclined on a plush sofa. She sat with her head on his chest, and he had coiled his neck around her so that his head rested in her lap.

"Discord?" she asked.

"Hm?" he answered dreamily, lost in his own daze of happiness.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth in the dream?"

He stiffened. "I did!"

"But not at first."

Discord sighed. "I thought if you knew everything that I had done, you would hate and fear me, like you did in the waking world."

"But I don't hate or fear you, Discord."

"You did at first."

"You were evil at first."

"Evil!" Discord unwound himself from around her and sat up. "I was never evil. I have never intentionally harmed anyone."

"But you made them unhappy."

"Only because they didn't understand my vision!" He huffed indignantly.

Fluttershy looked at him. He sighed. "But you do. You understand, don't you?"

She nodded, and rested her forehead against his. "I do understand, Discord. Your chaos is a part of who you are, and I love you for who you are. But you understand too that it's possible to have your chaos without making anypony else unhappy?"

Discord smiled. "I'm starting to." He kissed the tip of her muzzle. "And I have you to help me see the difference."

Fluttershy grinned. "Yes, you do." Gently, she leaned forward and planted a little kiss on his lips.

Discord sighed happily. Yes, this was much better than eternal chaos.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long to wrap up you guys! Yes, this one' s all finished, but there will hopefully be more where this came from!

Comments

[Twilight Sparkle KAPOW]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Yay!

[KT]

Wow good job at fitting so many ships in!!! Have a cookie!

[Zeeone]

I'm Bill Clinton and I approve of this fanfiction.

[bluejay27900]

Awww its over
I'm happy it ended the way it did.

[Featherclaw]

Ships ahoy!!

[Redrose99875]

..............

s X Infinity

IT WAS TOO AWESOME!!!, And the the fact that if had my favorite ships in here made it TWENTY% COOLER

[ChaoticSummers]

This story is soooo awesome and cute and I love that there is more than one couple story in this. Your story is remarkable and I couldn't take my eyes off of it!!

[Carnation83]

YAY! What a great story!

[Coco Candy]

Thank you for this AMAZING story!!!