Twilight begins having weird dreams after returning home from the wedding of her brother and new sister-in-law. Her dreams seem to be having a connection with Discord in them. What exactly is going on here and why is she having dreams related to him? And is she feeling regret having him to be trapped in stone for eternity?
I've completely revamped the original story into this. This one will be much better, believe me on this.
"What a wedding!" Twilight Sparkle spoke as she and her baby dragon, Spike, walked through the library door. "I've never seen Pinkie eat so many sweets before!"
"I know. She must have eaten like three trailers worth of sweets tonight!" Spike laughed. "I can't believe you also sang at the wedding."
"Cadence insisted that I sing for her. Something about I've always been able to sing since I was a filly or something along those lines."
"Too bad I never got to throw that bachelor party." Spike sighed. "But the reception was fun, no denying that!"
"The reception was very fun. All the discourse that went on. I've never seen so many ponies in one place!" Twilight giggled.
"And to think, none of it may have not happened if you hadn't been able to find the real Princess Cadence."
"My brother would have married the Queen of The Changelings. That wouldn't have turned out well."
"But it's all good now, Twilight. Another villain who tried to take over is history." Spike said as he headed towards the kitchen.
"All that have tried to overtake Equestria have never won. The Changeling Queen couldn't do it, neither could Nightmare Moon, or Discord." Twilight said without giving much thought into her response. The sentence she had spoken registered in her mind a few seconds later. "Wait a minute, did I just say Discord?"
"Yeah. You were comparing him and Nightmare Moon to the Changeling Queen by how they were never able to truly take over Equestria. Are you spacing out or something now?" Spike called from the kitchen.
Twilight let out a loud and long yawn, signaling just how tired she was from the reception and the train ride home. "I guess I'm just tired if I can't detect my own sentences. I think I need to head to bed. But still, I haven't thought about the Discord incident for months."
"It just popped into your head is all, Twilight. These things do happen after all."
"Right. I think I'm going to head to bed. You can eat your snack and then it's straight to bed with you, young dragon." Twilight said with a smile as she climbed up the stairs to her bedroom.
Opening the bedroom door at the very top of the stairs, Twilight stepped into the room that was only illuminated the the full moon hanging in the sky. Everything in the room had a moonlight like quality to it, making it more inviting to Twilight as she simply wanted to do nothing but sleep. Twilight crossed the room and climb under her star covers. With one last look of her bedroom, she closed her eyes and drifted into a sound sleep.
Twilight opened her eyes instantly to find herself no longer in her moonlit bedroom, but rather a moonlit forest. A full moon hung high in the sky above some trees that had lost all it's leaves and only the branches remained. The forest had no apparent signs of life in it at all, only a soft breeze that ran through the branches, making a quiet whistling noise.
"Where am I?" Twilight said as she looked around the spot she was in. She quickly noticed that the forest was covered in a small layer of mist, giving it a creepy and mysterious vibe. "Why am I here?"
Twilight raised her hoof up to take a step forward when she noticed something white on the upper half of her leg. Looking down, she noticed that she was wearing a simple white dress, nothing special, just an ordinary white dress. "This is very unusual. How do I get out of this forest?"
Twilight looked around when she noticed a small light coming in the northwest direction of her. She turned her head in that direction and saw a small candle sitting in a container, simply sitting there and glowing brightly. Twilight walked towards the candle and looked at it, puzzled. What was a rogue candle doing in the middle of a forest at nighttime? Twilight really didn't think of an answer as she picked up the container with the candle inside with her magic so it could light a way out of this forest.
Twilight walked in the direction that she had found the candle. She glanced at her surroundings as she kept on walking forward. It was nothing but barren trees and mist that hung to them. The moon also seemed to be frozen in it's place as it still was hanging high in the sky. What was she even doing in this forest in the first place? Was she dreaming she was here or was this a real place?
Twilight kept on walking when suddenly, she stopped in her place. She had come to a gap in the barren forest as there was a stretch of road running through it. Maybe if she was lucky, a carriage or taxi would come on by and be able to get her out of this place. She looked in both directions and had her ears straight up, but she didn't hear and see anything coming.
"I want to get out of here!" Twilight groaned. "This is not a place I want to be!"
With her statement said, the sound of running could be heard coming up on the south end of the road. Twilight instantly flipped her head in towards where the sound was coming from as a blob was starting to appear. As the blob got closer to her, she could make out that it was a carriage being pulled by a single pony. The carriage came up the road as it began to slow down and stop nearby Twilight. The pony who had been driving it gave her an unusual smile.
"Care for a ride, Twilight? Rides at this hour are absolutely free." he said as he flashed his teeth, a slight snaggletooth made noticeable.
"Will you be able to get me out of this forest?" she asked.
"Of course. I run through here every night at this hour. I'll be able to get you out, if that's what you'd like."
"Yes, please! Get me out of here!" Twilight said as she stepped inside the small carriage. The carriage was cushioned inside and had a small window in which you could see the driver pony. Twilight stuck her head out the carriage door window and smiled at the strange pony. "Thank you so much for coming. I thought I was going to be stranded in there."
"No problem, Miss Twilight. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." the strange pony said as he kept on giving her his unusual smile.
Twilight peered her head back into the carriage as her magic closed the door. As soon as the door clicked close, the strange driver pony began to run forward, moving the carriage with him. Twilight then began to ponder something. How did this strange pony even know her name when she clearly hadn't stated it to him and what was a carriage doing in a forest at this time of night? Did carriages even run this late at night or was this pony kidnapping her?
"As long as I get out of this forest and back to a town, I can figure out exactly where I am." Twilight said with a sigh. "I can't be out to far from a town."
Time passed as the carriage kept on rolling by the barren forest, the moon not once moving from it's place and the mist never disappearing from the trees. It seemed like it was forever since this carriage came and picked her up from the forest when she suddenly felt it slow down and come to a stop.
"Here is your stop, Twilight." the strange pony spoke in almost creepy happy tone, which Twilight didn't catch onto.
Twilight peered out the carriage door window, hoping that they had finally reached some town. It turned out however that they were still in the forest and nothing seemed any different. "But this must be some mistake," Twilight began. "There isn't a nearby town that I could stay in so I can figure where I am?"
"Nope, this is the very end of the line, Twilight Sparkle." the driver said as an almost evil smile was starting to form on his face. "Besides, there is something very special waiting for you. Good bye, Miss Sparkle." With that said, the driver began to run up the road, both him and the carriage seem to disappear from view completely.
Something special was waiting for her? What could possibly be waiting for her in this barren, moonlit forest? Twilight let out an annoyed sigh as she began to walk away from the road with the candle being her only close source (besides the full moon) of illumination.
She kept on walking when the light began to show something that was not one of the barren trees. The light was shining on something that was gray and hard looking material. As Twilight walked a little closer to what the candle was lighting, the material appeared to be stone. Twilight gazed upwards as her candle followed her horn. The material was indeed stone and it turned out the stone was apart of a statue. But as Twilight looked closer, the statue turned out to be the one of Discord, when she and her friends had battled him after he almost got full control of Equestria.
It was definitely Discord, there was no doubting it. The look of pure horror was frozen onto his face as his hands were outwards as if trying to stop something. What was the statue of Discord doing in this barren forest? Ever since she had got to this forest, nothing had made any sense, causing her to ask so many questions about what was going on?
"What in Equestria is going on?" Twilight shouted in frustration. Why were all these strange things happening?!
A loud crack was then heard breaking through the otherwise silent forest. Twilight's first instinct was to look at the Discord statue, which was correct as a large crack was moving away from the center from where it started. Oh no. If his statue was cracking, that mean he could break free and plunge Equestria back into chaos! What was she going to do if he did?
Twilight began to light up her horn and try to use any magic she could to prevent him from escaping, but she was too late as a bright burst of light blinded her. When she could see again, she saw nothing but a mere pile of rubble where the statue was. Twilight began to look around in panic, seeing if she could find him anywhere and stop him from trying to spread his chaos again.
"Twilight! Twilight! Twilight! Wake up, sleepy head!" a cheerful voice was heard throughout the forest. With that, the forest began to blur away before Twilight.
Twilight sleepily opened her eyes to see Pinkie Pie standing over her with an excited smile. "Oh goodie! You're awake! I have something really important to tell you! Like ultra, super-big important!"
"W-What is it, Pinkie?" Twilight said as she rubbed one of her eyes with her hooves.
"Well, as you can see." Pinkie said as her whole body was shaking, something Twilight hadn't noticed until now. "Something really big is gonna happen soon and with my tail shaking all over the place, it gonna affect you the most!"
"Something big is gonna happen?" Twilight repeated back to Pinkie Pie. "What the hay are you talking about?"
"I don't know what it's gonna be!" Pinkie said. "All I know is that it's gonna be real big!"
"Real big huh?" Twilight repeated back once more. "I wonder if this has any connection with the dream I had." Twilight muttered to herself.
"Dream? What kind of dream did you have Twilight?" Pinkie asked, obviously overhearing Twilight's muttering.
"It was nothing. Just a regular dream."
"But anything can happen in dreams, silly filly! What did you dream about, huh? Being in an endless library, a weather factory, a moonlit forest?" Pinkie said as she began naming off various places one could be in their dreams.
Moonlit forest caught Twilight's attention. How did she guess that place of all places? "Moonlit forest?" she questioned.
"Yeah. I've been in one in my dreams before, it was rather cool. Why, were you in one in your dream?"
"I was, but does it mean something?" Twilight said as she let out a yawn. "I'm sure there's something in one of my dream meaning books."
Twilight trotted over to a bookcase and pulled out a book from the shelf with her magic. The front of the book read Dreams & You: Meanings for the Symbols In Your Dreams. Twilight quickly opened the book to the M section and quickly began to skim it, looking for moonlit forest. As quick as she had looked, she found the item titled moonlit forest.
"To dream that you are in a moonlit forest means that you are looking for something; perhaps a hidden part of yourself. This also means that you are slowly going through a change as well." Twilight read aloud. "Well, that didn't do any good."
"Aren't you having to adjust with having Cadence being your new big sister?" Pinkie suggested.
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't explain the other part, that I'm looking for something. What the hay would I even be looking before?" Twilight questioned as she let out yet another yawn for that morning.
"Are you feeling ok, Twilight? You seem to be yawning an awful lot. Did you sleep well last night?" Pinkie asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
Twilight let out another yawn. "Well, you did wake me up abruptly." she reminded Pinkie. "I guess I'm still tired. I think I'm gonna head back to bed. I can study later."
"Okey dokey lokey, sleepyhead! See you later!" Pinkie said as she happily bounced out of the library.
Twilight watched as the happy Pinkie Pie bounced out of her library. Now feeling the effect of just how tired she was as it washed over her, Twilight turned around and climbed the stairs back up to her bedroom. Spike had already been up and was running errands in Ponyville, so there was no one who could bother her.
Twilight sleepily walked across the bedroom and climbed into her bed with the best of her abilities. Making certain that she was comfortably under her covers, Twilight made one last glance around her bedroom. Everything was the same as when she got up this morning, as if something was supposed to be out of place. Satisfied that nothing odd was out of place (as if anything should have been) Twilight fluttered her eyes closed as her mind took over and sent her back to her dreamland.
Twilight opened her eyes to see that she was back where she had been before: right next to the pile of rubble that had been the Discord statue, wearing the same white dress. Twilight glanced up at the now pile of rubble, wondering why she had panicked so much when it had started to crack.
If Discord had broken free, what kind of chaos would that cause? Twilight shook her head at the idea, mentally calling herself stupid in the process. How could Discord possibly cause chaos if he broke free in a dream? Sure, he could plague her dream world, but it wasn't like he could plague the real world with his chaos.
Would it be so bad if he did plague her dream world with chaos? None of it would make no sense, not at all, but it would be an improvement over this moonlit forest, no matter how oddly calming in could be. The forest was oddly calming, but it was at the same time, creepy. A little sunlight would fix the place right up, but her mind wasn't cooperating with her and refused to change the scene into something else.
Twilight looked slightly harder at the pile of rubble before she let out a sigh. It must be uncomfortable to be entrapped in stone. Not being able to really much of anything. Not even talk to someone. It must be quite lonesome.
The Elements of Harmony had trapped him in stone once and they did it once again. But, why trap him in stone in the first place? The Elements were supposed to know what was the right thing to do, like with Nightmare Moon. They found the love that was in her heart (which was truly Princess Luna) and reverted her back to what she was before, a young princess who just wanted love and admiration. Could the Elements not sense any feelings of wanting a second chance in Discord, resulting them to turn him back into stone like he had been before.
"I-I thought it was the best for Equestria. B-But was it the best idea for him?" Twilight found herself wondering aloud. "Is being trapped in stone good for all of Equestria? Was there nothing else that could have been done? We couldn't have taught him the value of friendship at all?"
At that moment, a bright light flashed above Twilight. She shielded her eyes for a moment before the blinding light disappeared. Out of the bright light appeared a crown of some kind, it looked to be the Element of Magic crown. The crown lowered itself in front of her and simply began to float. Twilight peered at the crown for a second before she took ahold of it with her magic and brought it closer to herself for a better look.
"There was nothing better that could have been done. Stone was the only option. We couldn't have possibly have taught him how better order is then chaos." Twilight said as she began to feel a small hint of anger rise within her. "There was nothing else that could have been done? Stone was the only option?" she repeated again, anger now filling her voice completely. "There was nothing else that could have been done?! Why did stone have to be the only option?! Why? Why? Why?"
With a flick of her head, her magic sent the Element of Magic crown flying across the forest before it crashed into a tree, causing it to bend and the gem on the front to crack. "Some Element of Harmony crown that is!" she yelled. "I thought it was best for Discord to be sealed but the Elements are supposed to look into one's heart and decide one's fate! Guess how wrong and stupid I was! Elements of Harmony know justice, my flank!"
"I admit it! I feel remorse at what I did to you, Discord!" Twilight cried out as she looked once more at the pile of rubble. "You heard me! The Element of Magic regrets encasing you in stone! I know there could have been a better way to punish you and teach you how better order was. I don't know what, but I know there could have been a better way!"
Twilight collapsed to the ground below her. "I wish I could teach you how much better order is then chaos. But, silly me, you're trapped in stone, so that's impossible! If you did manage to get free, you just disappear and start chaos in a moment's notice, not even allowing me to teach you ANYTHING!" she screamed. "If you just let me, I could show you how wonderful order can be over chaos." she let out another sigh. "Great, I'm talking to myself. This cannot be a good sign."
Twilight's ears suddenly perked up when she caught sound of what seemed to be footsteps in the forest. Was somepony in her dream forest now? Twilight twisted her head in the direction of where the sound was coming from to see that she could make out a moving shape among the trees!
"Who is out there? I can see you moving in the trees!" she yelled.
As quickly as she had seen the figure move through the trees, it began running away from her. Now, it would be naturally stupid to run after a pony you saw in a forest at night, but this was a dream, and perhaps this pony meant something symbolically. Twilight got herself off of the ground and began to run at full force in the direction she saw the other pony run in.
She kept on running until she saw the figure of the pony becoming clearer and clearer. She had to stop this pony from running away from her. She needed to know who the hay was running from her. With her horn glowing and her eyes closed, Twilight teleported herself in front of the running pony, causing the other pony to crash directly into her. They rolled slightly and when they finally stopped, Twilight was on top of the mysterious pony, her hooves pinning them down.
"Now, who are you?" Twilight yelled as she looked at the pony she was pinning down. "Y-You? The driver pony who sent me here? B-But why?" she questioned.
"I brought you here for a reason, my dear." the pony said with an unusual smile, his snaggletooth very visible.
"W-Why? Why did you bring me here?"
"Because my dear-" the driver pony started before he was interrupted by a booming voice that rang through the trees.
"Twilight! Twilight! Wake up! Wake up!" The voice sounded like Spike. He was trying to wake her up.
"I needed to see my favorite mare face to face again." the driver pony spoke with a smile, his voice now sounding quite identical to Discord's. "And I'll be seeing you again soon, my dear."
"Favorite mare?" Twilight questioned as the forest began to swirl all around her. "What is that suppose to mean?" Twilight screamed out before the forest around her disappeared completely.
Twilight's fluttered her eyes open sleepily as she muttered something out. "What is that suppose to mean?"
"I don't know what you're talking about Twilight, but you must wake up!" said Spike as he held up a scroll to her face. "Princess Celestia has sent you a letter! It's about the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration next month!"
“Letter? What letter?” Twilight asked, finally coming back to reality.
“About the Summer Sun Celebration next month. Princess Celestia was thinking about holding it in Manehattan this year and she wants us to overlook it like we did two years ago.” informed Spike as he held the scroll in his claws.
“Let me see that letter, Spike.” Twilight said as she took the scroll and unrolled it with her magic. Bringing it to her face to read, Twilight began reading its contents.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I am writing to you in regards to the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration next month. As you know, this will be the 1003rd one and I have planned to hold it in Manehattan. I request that your presence be there by the 2nd of the month so that you can overlook the preparations. I also request that your friends come with you as well as I'm sure they have never seen such a big city before! I eagerly await your response my student.
Sincerely, Princess Celestia of Equestria
“I didn't realize that the Summer Sun Celebration was so close! Spike, take a letter to the Princess informing her that we would all be honored in attending the Celebration next month.” Twilight smiled.
“I'm on it!” Spike saluted as he walked off to go write Twilight's letter for her.
Twilight let out another yawn before she finally climbed out of her bed and over to her mirror. Oh my. Her mane was an absolute mess! Perhaps Zecora was cursing her mane again? Twilight laughed slightly at the stupid comment that flashed through her mind as she picked up a brush to organize her hair into it's proper shape.
There! Much better than looking like a bedhead! Twilight thought to herself as she smiled at her own reflection. Her smile quickly turned into a worrisome look as the last thing the driver pony in her dreams echoed through her mind.
He had to see his favorite mare after all. The driver pony's voice in her dreams at the last second sounded very much like Discord's. But why was the thought of Discord even invading her mind in the first place. She and her friends had defeated him many months ago, placing him back into stone, where he was now back in the Canterlot gardens, under much tighter control.
But...why did he have to be encased in stone in the first place. Wasn't there at least a better option instead. Perhaps the Elements could have taken away his powers or somehow saw the light in him and spared him the fate of being a lawn decoration. But no. He was in stone and there was nothing that Twilight could do about it. The other element bearers would never come together with her and break him out of his stone casing. They would have all thought that she had gone and lost it completely.
But still...there couldn't have been a way to at least reform him. The Elements of Harmony could have simply drained him of his powers. Maybe then Twilight could have taught him to be good and slowly find a way to return his powers to him. Oh, the things she could have taught him about order. Order doesn't always mean organization and rules, it could also be about great friendships and loving one another. Going on great adventures and even having tons and tons of fun!
But alas, Discord would never be ever to know the joy of order. Twilight let out a sigh and looked at herself in the mirror. Why was she even feeling this way for a creature who tried to plunge her home into chaos. Perhaps she secretly enjoyed a little bit, something different from the usual norm of her life in Ponyville. It certainly was unexpected the way he had turned Ponyville into the Chaos Capital of the world.
Even if she had enjoyed it, it ended months ago and was no longer an issue. The past was in the past and it was time to move forward and forget what fate fell upon Discord.
Downstairs, the library door swung open as the voice of Rarity rang through the building. “Twilight! Twilight, darling! Are you awake, dear?”
“I'm coming. I'm coming.” said Twilight as she trotted down the stairs to see both Rarity and Fluttershy inside of the library. “Hello there, girls. What can I help you with?”
“It's not you who can help us, it's us who can help you! You've been stuck with all of these boring books lately and haven't come outside much. You absolutely must come with us to the spa. It's Fluttershy and my weekly get together and we would love for you to join us!”
“That's an great idea, Rarity, but I would rather be here and study my books.” Twilight said.
“You've been in here far too long with all of these books! You need to come with us to the spa. It's only for a few hours, Twilight. A little change of scenery would be good for you and who knows how many knots you have in your back from constantly reading! Are you honestly saying that you would give a few hours of relaxation for your own books?”
“Well...yes. Books are my form of relaxation, Rarity.” Twilight informed her.
“Oh please, come with us, darling! You'll like it! You liked it the last time you were there.” Rarity reminded Twilight.
Well, the hot water both was nice and so was the massages the spa ponies had provided. A few hours away from studying would be a good thing in this case. Twilight let out a sigh before looking back at Rarity. “Alright, you win. I'll come to the spa with you both.”
Rarity's eyes lit up excitedly. “Most excellent!” she said as she placed a hoof over Twilight's shoulders. “Come on now! We mustn't be late! Aloe and Lotus don't like it when ponies are late!”
Walking out of the library, the three mares strolled across Ponyville until they all come upon the local spa. Rarity was first in the door when she announced that she had an extra guest with her today, not counting Fluttershy. Aloe and Lotus both smiled at her pleasantly before all giving the mares both robes to put on themselves to prepare for the first thing, a hooficure.
Twilight laid herself on an available chair and placed her hooves on the edge of the chair of Lotus came around holding a hooficure instrument in her mouth. She quickly began to work, using her magic on Twilight by buffing out her hooves.
“So Twilight, dear, why have you been all cooped up in that library for so long? What have you been studying?” asked Rarity.
“Oh, just some new magic spells. I'm learning about aging spells currently and also some singing ones.” replied Twilight.
“Singing? You like to sing, Twilight? I mean, that's alright if you do...” spoke Fluttershy timidly.
“No, but the book I can across reveals that a singing spell can be more powerful then speaking a mere incantation. I find it quite fascinating actually. I read through my history books that a mare once used her voice to break her lover from his prison by breaking the material that the prison was made from.” Twilight spoke before it registered a second later in her brain. “Huh...”
“I've heard that tale before. A personal favorite of mine, if I do say so myself...” smiled Rarity when she caught Twilight's sudden look. “Twilight, is something the matter?”
“Oh, nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking about this dream I had this morning. It was quite a strange one.” spoke Twilight as she placed a front hoof on her mouth as she kept on thinking.
“What did you dream about, darling? A knight in shining armor?” Rarity suggested.
“Well, no. I actually dream about...Discord.” said Twilight.
“Discord? Why on earth were you dreaming about him for? If you're worried about something involving him, my dear, rest assured that he is locked away in his stone prison.” Rarity reassured Twilight. “If he broke out, Celestia would have told us immediately.”
“I know, but in my dream, I saw him as a statue, but it crumbled suddenly. And there was this pony who bore a resemblance to him and even sounded like him...” said Twilight.
“Oh, don't worry about it too much, my dear. It was simply a dream and it will fade away and you'll forget about it.” said Rarity as Aloe finished giving her a hooficure. “Come along ladies, the sauna awaits us. We really must open up our pores.”
All three of them were done with their hooficures and walked into the sauna where Aloe carried a ladle filled with water and splashed it onto some hot rocks in the middle of the sauna, making it give off plenty of steam. Aloe quickly walked away from the area, giving the mares their space.
“I'm starting to feel more and more relaxed by the second. Don't you agree, Fluttershy, dear?” asked Rarity as she stretched out her body.
“Mhm.” Fluttershy simply answered.
Twilight herself was indeed feeling more and more relaxed as the steam opened up her pores. Perhaps Rarity was right and her dream was simply just a regular dream that her mind dreamed up. It probably was nothing to worry herself about. After all, ponies can have the strangest dreams sometimes.
Twilight shifted her body weight around so now that she was facing the rocks the steam was coming off of. Aloe came back in with another ladle of water, splashing it onto the rocks before she left again. Twilight watched the steam come off the rocks and smiled as the steam unwillingly created different shapes in the air. Twilight spotted a heart, a star, and some circles. It was rather interesting to her how steam could form such shapes and her mind put it together that they were actually shapes. As different shapes came off of the steam, a shape suddenly formed that caused her to drop her jaw in surprise.
The shape that had formed was actually two, one was the shape of a mare and the other was long and tall, eerily resembling Discord. The shapes suddenly began to look like as if they were moving, running around each other, playing about, as if they were happy. The mare shape suddenly sprouted wings, turning the mare into an alicorn, and fly over to the Discord shape and making it look as if she were hugging him.
The steam shapes suddenly disappeared as Rarity moved her hooves through it, re-catching Twilight's attention. Twilight shook her head as Rarity looked at her, concerned. “Are you alright, Twilight? You were staring at the rocks as if you saw something surprising.”
“Oh, I'm alright, Rarity. Really.” Twilight smiled nervously. “The steam was making some rather unusual shapes is all. It just really amazed me is all. That's why my jaw was hung open like it was.”
“What did you see, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.
“It's was nothing, really. Let's just go on with our little spa date.” Twilight smiled at her two best friends.
After the spa date with Rarity and Fluttershy, Twilight returned back to the library, feeling pampered and relaxed. Spike was upstairs asleep, as Twilight could hear his snores from downstairs. Twilight giggled slightly as she heard the baby dragons snores before going into the kitchen to make herself a daisy sandwich.
As she put her sandwich together, she couldn't get the shapes she had seen out of her mind. How in Equestria could steam create shapes like that, and even make them move, no less? But what the shapes were doing were much more interesting. The mare shape was much smaller then the Discord shape, as if the mare were about her size as the shape compared to the Discord one had to have been to small to either been Celestia and Luna.
But, the mare shape was also an alicorn. Only the princesses were alicorns and they were all much taller then Twilight was. Did the shape mean that some mare would be turning into an alicorn of some kind? But, how could a mare turn into an alicorn in the first place? It would take some very powerful magic, something like Discord's magic.
Perhaps the two shapes she had seen was foreshadowing something. It could mean that a mare would break Discord out of his stone prison again and he would be free. That would make sense of the mare and Discord shapes running around happily. What about the alicorn and that hug at the end? That had to mean something else entirely. Hugging didn't sound like something that Discord would do, even if somepony had broken him free.
Twilight finished up her sandwich and climbed upstairs with the sandwich following suit behind her. Twilight climbed onto her bed as she took a bite of her sandwich. Why was she suddenly seeing all of these unusual signs. It just didn't make any sense that she was seeing all of this. It just didn't.
Being lost in her own thoughts, Twilight didn't realize how quickly she had finished her sandwich. When she realized that she had eaten the thing so quickly, she shrugged it off and decided that after that spa date with her two best friends, that she was feeling rather tried again since a trip to the spa can relax you.
Twilight got herself under the covers and looked around the room to make sure nothing was out of place. Seeing nothing odd and hearing Spike snoring happily away, Twilight snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes to the real world.
Twilight opened her eyes almost instantly again, this time being back in her dream world, the same exact forest that she had been in before, the same candle sitting next to her, wearing the same white dress. She found herself next to the crumbled stone mess that she had been in the very first dream.
“Uggh! Why is this happening to me every single time I lay down to sleep today?!” Twilight screamed out in annoyance.
“Because that is exactly how I want it.” came a voice that eerily sounded like Discord's.
“I've had it with these tricks! Show yourself, now!” Twilight screamed out, using the candle to look all around herself, trying to find the source of the voice.
“But why, my dear? You've surely had quite a trip the last two times you've visited here.” taunted the voice. “I'm sure you don't want to ruin the mysteriousness that is already present here.”
“I said show yourself!” Twilight yelled again. “This is my dream, so show yourself! Now!” Twilight screamed as her horn lit up, suddenly making the whole forest disappear, leaving only barren ground, mist still hanging low, and moon hanging full in the sky.
When the forest had disappeared, Twilight could see a pony not to far away from where she had been standing. She immediately knew him as the driver pony that had taken her to Discord's statue in the first place. “You!” Twilight shouted as she pointed a hoof in the direction of the driver pony. “You're the one who is causing all of these odd occurrences! Who are you?”
Twilight walked up to the driver pony, not fearing him as she knew he was simply a dream. “Why are you plaguing my dreams today, why?”
“You haven't figured it out yet, my dear? I thought my voice would have been enough for you to figure it out, but it seems I was wrong about your smarts...” the driver pony smirked at her, flashing his snaggletooth at her.
“W-Wait...” Twilight started when a look of horror slowly started to form on her face. “N-No...that's impossible...it can't be you...you're still trapped in stone back in Canterlot...”
“It can't be who, my dear?” the driver pony asked.
“Discord.” Twilight said as what appeared to have been a rogue rain cloud suddenly made a blot of lightening fill the sky for a second.
“I guess you are smarter than I thought!” the driver pony laughed before suddenly being engulfed in puff a smoke. When it faded, there stood the god of chaos, Discord. Twilight looked up at him in horror. “Surprised to see me again, my dear?”
“Yes. But this is only a dream, so you're just simply a figment of my imagination.” Twilight laughed to herself. “I almost forgot that for a second. So, why are you in my dream, Discord? It must have been after Spike reminded me of you, that's probably why.”
“Laugh all you'd like,Twilight Sparkle, but I assure you that I am not apart of your vivid imagination.” Discord smirked. “I'm just as real as you are in here, in your head.”
“That's funny, my mind is trying to convince me that you're really here.” Twilight laughed. “Alright me, stop it now.”
“You really think that I am simply just your imagination?” Discord laughed. “That's priceless! How can your mind even create this?”
“Very funny, Discord.” Twilight said. “You are a dream because the real you in encased in stone, unable to use his magic for anything. So you are simply an illusion. With one blink of my eyes, you'll be gone and no longer my problem.” Twilight quickly blunk her eyes and no saw Discord in front of her. “That's much better.”
“Oh, you think your mind can get rid of me that quickly now?” Discord laughed from behind her.
Twilight immediately looked behind her and gave Discord a look of panic. “N-No, you aren't real! You are just my imagination! You can't actually be here! Go away! Leave me alone!”
“Poor Twilight Sparkle, perhaps I am simply a part of your active imagination.” Discord laughed as he conjured a chocolate milk for himself. “Or I'm really here with you, in your dreams.”
“B-But how can you possibly be in my head? You're entrapped in stone, in stone!” Twilight screamed at him.
“Oh Twilight Sparkle, just because I cannot use my magic in reality, doesn't mean I can't transport my mind into other minds. It's really quite useful when you can't move or do anything.” he smirked as he took a sip of the actual glass.
“That means, you're actually here...with me. B-But why are you here, tormenting me?” Twilight asked in panic.
“I simply wanted to see my favorite little purple mare of mine. Your friends are ok, but you have something of interest. You hold the most illusive element and you have a uncanny similarities to Princess Celestia.”
“Why me? Why me?” Twilight panicked.
“I also want something that Princess Celestia failed to give me over a thousand years ago and you are the perfect mare to pick up the pieces that she dropped.” Discord smirked.
“What? Pick up what?” Twilight asked.
“It may come as a surprise to you, Twilight Sparkle, but your precious mentor used to love me, but thanks to her father, she turn to hate me and encased me in stone!” Discord yelled. “But, you have something that she had. That special 'spark' if you will. I see many of the same qualities that she had in you.”
“You think I would love you as if you were my special somepony? You must be insane! I would never love you!” Twilight shouted in anger. “She may have saw something in you, but I will never love you like she may once have!”
Discord simply smirked at her outburst. “I am not surprised by your outburst, Twilight Sparkle. Fine, I'll leave your little dreams for now, but I will get you to feel the same way Celestia felt. Until then, Twilight Sparkle, au revior!” Discord said as he suddenly disappeared in a bright flash of light.
“Wake up, Twilight!” Twilight shouted when back in the real world, her eyes opened up suddenly and she bolted up, looking around. “W-What a dream. But was it true what he said to me, that he wants me to, Celestia forbid, love him?” Twilight gulped. “N-No. That won't happen.”
Twilight let out a sigh before she turned her head to look at her nightstand. Twilight's pupils suddenly shrunk down to invisible size at what she saw on her nightstand. A bouquet of what looked to be Poison Joke.
Perhaps he hadn't been kidding about loving her. But how does he expect her to love him like Celestia did? It would never happen, not in ten thousand years.
Twilight picked up the Poison Joke bouquet with her magic and stared it over. She would not even dare to bring the bouquet to her horn lest she want a floppy horn once more. She turned it over to see that there was a small card inside. Carefully pulling the tiny card out with her magic, Twilight read it over.
To Twilight, I'm sorry for my...chaotic actions the first time we met.
Twilight only shrugged as she placed the bouquet in an empty vase and wrote a small message for Spike so he wouldn't dare touch it. Twilight hopped out of bed and looked at the clock. It was late in the afternoon and she needed to eat something soon.
Twilight climbed down her staircase to find that Spike was awake now and looked to be preparing dinner. “Oh, they you are Twilight!” Spike smiled. “I thought you would never wake up!”
“I had the weirdest dream...” Twilight mumbled out.
“You were talking all funny in your sleep. Oh, did you see the bouquet of Poison Joke? I woke up and there it was.” Spike said as he drained some hay fries that he had been making.
“Wait...do you know how the flowers got there, Spike?” Twilight asked curiously.
“I think I saw something sparkle...and then the flowers were there.” Spike said. “I hope you're hungry because I made homemade hay burgers and hay fries!”
Twilight licked her lips at what Spike said. It had been such a long time since they had homemade burgers and fries. Twilight sat at their table and picked up a nearby book that was sitting there. Picking it up with her magic, she read the title of the book. Love and Its Many Joys. Twilight's eyes opened in surprise as she opened the book to its first page.
When starting to fall in love with another, its possible for one of the ponies to deny that there is something evolving between the two.
Twilight only stared at the first sentence. Had she always had this book in her library? It didn't seem familiar to her and she had practically memorized Golden Oak Library. She looked at the book's author. Unknown. Great. Now she didn't have a clue who wrote this love guide. Twilight wondered why this certain book was sitting on her table in the first place. Stranger and stranger. First the flowers and now the book. Is this connected to something? Twilight simply shook her head. No, it probably was just a weird coincidence.
Spike brought out the hay burgers and fries and Twilight took a bite. It tasted delicious. It had been such a long time since she had this. It was too delicious.
The night went on by and Twilight was studying to her heart's content, though it was on a particular subject. Could magic still be used even when imprisoned and can one enter dreams while their real body was trapped? Twilight read through various dream books and found not much to her interest, except for the fact that she discovered that Princess Luna could enter dreams. Perhaps she should inquire from the Princess? Maybe later.
Twilight also looked through various magic journals, but nothing really popped up. Twilight closed the last book and let out a sigh. There was just nothing in these journals. Why was all of this happening and why now? Why a month before the Summer Sun Celebration?
She was going to have to overlook it again like the first time she came to Ponyville. If that wasn't gonna be stressful enough for her, her dreams was also on the fritz for bringing Discord into them! Twilight's ears pressed against her head as she let out a yawn. She glanced up at the time and saw it was ten PM. Time had really flown by her while she was doing all this research. The unicorn closed her last book and headed back up the stairs to get some well deserved sleep.
She snuggled down under the blankets and closed her eyes. As if a magic spell were cast over her, Twilight's eyes drooped and sent her off to dreamland.
Opening her eyes once more, back in the dream forest, wearing the same white linen dress as before, Twilight only sighed. She really didn't care anymore that she was coming back here. It was an inconvenience, but she had to make do.
“There you are!” a voice called out as Twilight produced a bored expression on her face, ears pressed against her head. “I thought you'd never go back to sleep.”
“Hi Discord.” Twilight spoke bored. “What do you want now? To tell me that I'm supposed to fall in love with you like Celestia once did? News flash, I'm not Celestia.”
“Obviously you're not Sun-butt. You're a Sparkle-Butt, no?” Discord spoke as he clicked his fingers and made Twilight's cutie mark shine and spin of its own accord.
Twilight only looked at her cutie mark, and up at Discord, not really caring. “Can you just do me a favor and leave me kindly alone?” she asked.
“Why would I do such a thing like that?” he asked as he floated above Twilight's head, lying on his back as his wings flapped.
“Because all you have done is make me sleep more and wake up every time in this stupid dream forest!” Twilight growled, walking into the forest to try to get away from Discord.
Discord poofed in front of her and picked her up as if she were simply a stuffed animal. Twilight began to kick and buck, trying to get out of the chaos god's grip. “Let me go this instant!” Twilight lit up her horn and teleported out of Discord's arms, only to be poofed back between them. Twilight's ears pressed against her head in annoyance as she tried again, only to be poofed back into place. The more she tried, the more she got poofed back between his arms.
“Why isn't this working?!” Twilight yelled.
“My magic is still stronger, oh pupil.” Discord spoke as he clicked his unoccupied hand and wore what a typical teacher would. “You have much to learn, my student.”
“I am NOT your student! Now, let me go!” Twilight barked again.
“Fine, but you'll miss the show.” Discord said as he snapped his fingers again, teleporting them on top of a cloud.
“What show?” Twilight questioned as she finally decided to stop kicking and becoming more limp. Discord pulled her out from under his arms and placed her firmly on the cloud. “Well, what show?”
Discord didn't say a word as a star flew past the two of them. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw the star zoom by. Another star fell right after that one, and then another after that. Before she knew it, Twilight was sitting on a cloud in the middle of many shooting stars. Twilight loved the stars and loved to map them accordingly.
Twilight's eyes glowed as the stars fell past the two of them. She had never seen such stars in her life. This must have been one of the best dreams she had ever had. So many stars zoomed on by her and she was simply amazed.
“I've never seen so many stars in my life!” Twilight exclaimed as she watched more of the stars simply fall and zoom by.
“You are coming with me.” Discord stated as he picked up the purple unicorn and placed her on his back. Before she could protest, Discord flew off the cloud and right into the star storm. Twilight flinched automatically, fearing that the stars would harm her.
But she was proven wrong as a single star fell right through her, no harm at all. “T-This is simply beautiful.” Twilight smiled as she looked at all the beautiful falling stars.
“I knew you'd like it, my dear.” Discord smirked as he smiled himself, hiding it from the purple unicorn.
Twilight's eyes and ears perked up in surprise. “Wait, you did this?”
“Well, I didn't make the stars fall, but I thought I formally apologize to you, Twilight Sparkle, for the way I acted when we first met by letting you see the falling stars.”
“I don't understand, you're Discord, lord of chaos! Why in Equestria are you even apologizing to me?!” Twilight asked in disbelief.
“Simple. You have that same fire that Celestia has, admittedly. Who am I to treat a mare with such a fire inside of her like that.” Discord said simply.
“Its only because I have the same sort of fire that Celestia had?” Twilight said as one eyebrow lowered in confusion.
“That, and there is something simply special about you, Twilight Sparkle. I've lived for thousands of years and can see you possess something that even I haven't seen in thousands of years...”
“And what is that?” Twilight asked.
“That would be telling now, wouldn't it?” Discord laughed, as he literally zipped up his own mouth. Twilight only sighed in annoyance. “Do you accept an apology from this bad chaos maker for making such a bad impression on Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight simply nodded her head. “Fine. I'll forgive you for trying to take over Equestria, but don't think I'm going to be releasing you from stone now!” she warned him.
“Of course not!” Discord faked innocently, complete with a halo above his head and an angelic choir. Twilight only rolled her eyes at this innocent display.
“You are ridiculous.” Twilight giggled lightly. Maybe he wasn't too bad. After all, no one had ever brought a falling star show to her dreams before, not even Princess Luna.
“Why thank you.” Discord laughed as he finally got the unicorn to giggle, even if it was a small one.
“Twilight! Twilight! Wake up! You gotta see this!” called the voice of Spike, which awoke Twilight in the regular world. As the unicorn opened her sleeply eyes, the first thing she noticed was falling stars outside of her window. She simply stared at the stars in amazement. Had she just been up there in her dreams?
“I can't believe Luna is sending off so many falling stars! Aren't they awesome?” Spike asked excitedly as he watched with Twilight through the window.
“They are.” Twilight said as she yawned. As she came down from her yawn, a sight in the falling stars made her eyes open wide. Outside the window, a brief shape of what looked like her cutie mark and the symbol of chaos appeared together, before fading away again. Had that been...? No. Twilight decided. It was just her imagination.
The more the stars fell, some of the light came in and shone on something, making it sparkle. Twilight turned her attention to what the shining object could be. On her dresser, next to the vase of Poison Joke, was a bright pink star-shaped gem attached to a golden necklace. Twilight levitated the gem to her, eyes opened wide. Did Discord send this to her? As she looked over it, she noticed a small inscription on the back of the pendent.
Such a fire I haven't seen in eons. Hoping that it burns bright through the cosmos.
Twilight's face turned red almost instantly. She didn't know that Discord was capable of such kind words, let alone letting her see such a star show. Twilight looked up at the sky, wondering what else was in store for her, and Discord.
~~**~~
Twilight awoke the next day and immediately had Spike pen a letter to Princess Celestia to ask her for books about magic and dreams. Her books were transported almost immediately, and Twilight began to pour herself into them, trying to learn all that she can, trying to find an answer to how Discord could reach her in her own dreams. He was encased in stone, how could he use magic if he couldn't even move?
