Caught in the Middle
A quiet knock echoed against the door, so soft that Princess Luna barely heard it. Her eyes were narrowed in confusion as she turned in the direction of her door. She glanced cautiously at her bed and breathed in relief to see Discord still sound asleep.
Who would be knocking on her door at this hour? It couldn't be Celestia; Luna had witnessed her heading off to bed several hours ago. A royal guard was unlikely as the guards tended to barge into the room right after knocking.
"...Princess Luna?"
Luna's eyes widened slightly. Twilight Sparkle? The lunar alicorn's stomach fluttered at the mention of that name alone.
Ever since the fateful Nightmare Night, Luna had developed a soft spot for the remarkable mare. She had tried to keep it to herself and wait for the right moment to confess her feelings, but Flash Sentry had Twilight's heart the moment she laid eyes on him. Luna was never given the chance before Twilight had announced her relationship with Flash.
It had been a hoof to the face for Princess Luna, but she swallowed her pride and convinced Twilight that she was happy for the new couple. When Discord came around, he quickly wormed his way into Luna's damaged heart. And as Luna watched him sleep so peacefully in her bed, she couldn't find the words to describe how much she adored the draconequus.
"Princess Luna, please... Are you awake?"
Luna shook her thoughts aside and quietly opened the door using her magic, blinking in surprise as she noticed the small tears trailing down the mare's cheeks. "Twilight??" Luna spoke in worry, ushering the lavender alicorn inside. "What's wrong?"
Twilight gave a soft sniffle as she reached up to wipe at her eyes, a sad smile on her face. "Sorry to wake you, Princess Luna..."
"Let's cut the formalities, Twilight. We're equals, remember?" Glancing at the bed to make sure she hadn't awoken Discord, she levitated a blanket around the lavender alicorn's shoulders. "Now, tell me what has you so upset."
A shrug was Twilight's first response as she lowered her head before she managed to whisper ever so softly, "Flash...and I broke up..."
Teal eyes widened as the realization hit Luna. Her ears immediately folded back at this, her eyes narrowed and her wings spreading as she snarled in fury. "Twilight, Flash Sentry is a scoundrel for hurting you like this! How dare he-"
"No." The stern tone of Twilight's voice silenced Luna as her head rose to meet the other's gaze. "I was the one who broke it off..." She sighed softly as she shook her head. "I didn't like him at first, but I did learn to love him...but I can't be with him...when my heart belongs to another pony..."
Oh, so Twilight Sparkle was interested in somepony else? Who else could she possibly like?
Soft lavender lips pressed themselves against Luna's cheek, stunning her out of her thoughts. Wait, what? WHAT.
"You don't have to say anything..." Twilight breathed as she held the lunar alicorn's gaze steadily. "I know that this can't happen... I just...I felt like you should know.."
With her head lowered, the lavender alicorn trudged toward the door, feeling that she was no longer welcome there as she placed the now folded blanket upon the nearby coffee table.
"Wait!" Luna gasped aloud as her mind managed to process what had just happened. Twilight actually...like her too? Was this a dream? She couldn't believe it! "Twilight, I like you too! I have for a long time now!"
Dead silence filled the room as Twilight seemed to take in Luna's words. To Luna's horror, it only made it worse when she realized that the lavender alicorn was crying again. "I know you did... I always knew..." Twilight lifted her head, her eyes glassy with tears. "And I was too much of a coward to let myself be with you... I was too caught up in what every pony else would think... I only agreed to go out with Flash because he was a colt and I thought it was the way things were supposed to be... But I can't want him the way I want you... And now you've found somepony else who will treat you right... And now it's my turn to be the one alone..."
Luna whispered, "Twilight..." But she couldn't find anything else to say. It wouldn't be fair to Discord to just leave him without a reason for Twilight. Even the lavender alicorn knew that as she wished Luna a good night and approached the door. The lunar alicorn hung her head in sympathy.
"Where are YOU going?" That familiar voice followed by Twilight's cry of surprise caused Luna to raise her head and gasp. Discord had snatched up Twilight by her torso, dragging her toward the bed. "Come here," purred the draconequus as he pushed Twilight upon the mattress as he curled around the struggling alicorn as she cried out, "let me go!"
A light blue aura radiated from Luna's horn as she hovered in front of bed, her ears folding back again but this time in fear and panic. Discord must have overheard their conversation. He had to! Why else would he suddenly snatch up Twilight? No matter how much she loved the draconequus, she couldn't allow him to hurt Twilight! "No! Discord, don't hurt her, plea-" Her voice was suddenly cut off by...laughter?
Discord raised his head up at Luna, frowning softly as if offended. "Hurt her?" He rolled his eyes and turned around to let Luna see the lavender alicorn. The draconequus's paw was squeezing the mare's side and dancing over her belly while his tail curled in to brush his ivory tail against her hind hooves. It brought squeals and fits of laughter out of Twilight, her front hooves swatting pitifully against Discord's paw as she flailed under his touch. "Why would I hurt Equestria's little egghead? I just thought she needed a good laugh after that little sobfest."
Slowly yet surely Luna lowered herself to the floor, the confusion clear in her eyes as she watched Discord torment Twilight. Discord...wasn't angry? If he overheard everything, the draconequus would have a legimate reason to be upset. Yet here he was, a big grin on his face as he mercilessly tickled the lavender alicorn. Before the lunar pony could ask Discord to stop, the draconequus had ceased his assault, his paw moving to stroke along the base of Twilight's feathers to soothe her as she panted softly against the bed. He gestured for Luna to come closer, which the alicorn obliged and climbed onto the bed.
"Now, Twilight." Discord spoke, gazing down upon the lavender alicorn. "You and Luna like each other. Luna and I like each other. But if you ask me, I don't see why we couldn't work something out between the three of us. All that's missing is the feelings between you and I and surely that can change over time, don't you agree?" He asked, reaching out to run his finger along Luna's mane.
Twilight blinked as she thought about the idea Discord had suggested. What Discord had just suggested was polygamy. It was unheard of among Equestria. Well, actually... it wasn't completely unheard of. A few of her friends had recently gotten into a polygamous relationship. She was confused and puzzled at their relationship, she just didn't understand. And what would happen to her reputation if she agreed to this relationship? She was royalty, for Equestria's sake!
But then again, Luna was royalty too. And even so, her reputation wasn't great, but it never affected Luna. She never let her affect her lifestyle choices. Maybe Twilight should start thinking like that too. And the relationship didn't actually sound that bad. Perhaps it was at least worth a shot. She raised her head to look over at Luna curiously. "What do you think, Luna?"
Said lunar alicorn glanced down at Twilight, her eyes holding the other's gaze. "I would like that... I would. But it really is up to you and Discord, Twilight. I can't ask you to do something that for me...unless you want to, I suppose."
"I..." The lavender alicorn rolled over onto her belly, tucking her wings against her back as she met eyes with Luna. "I want to... I want to try, at least, for you."
Luna couldn't help but smile at the alicorn before Discord spoke up. "Great. Now can we please go back to bed now? I never realized how hard it was to get some sleep for the princesses in this castle."
As Luna giggled at his remark and admitted that being a princess was a busy job, Twilight Sparkle decided this was her cue to leave, rising to her hooves and stepping toward the edge of the bed. Just before she could jump off the bed, Discord's tail swiped her off her hooves, dragging her back over to his side.
"Again, where are you going? You're sleeping here tonight, egghead." The draconequus snickered softly as the lunar alicorn moved to curled up against Twilight, her wings tucking over the mare's back. Discord's arm stretched over the lavender alicorn, his hand resting gently on Luna's back.
Watching Twilight Sparkle lean her head against Discord before slowly drifting off to sleep warmed Luna's heart nearly to core. After seeing the mare so distraught and torn mere minutes ago, it was almost hard to believe the peaceful and perfectly content mare in front of her was the same pony. And as she saw Discord resting his head against mattress, already sound asleep, one thought crossed Luna's mind as she laid her head down as well: When Celestia finds them together in the morning, she would have a LOT of explaining to do.