After a well-deserved and earned shower, Ash fell asleep on the couch in Pinkie’s home, to which the pink-haired teen had provided a blanket and a pillow. The one-handed man fell asleep almost instantly, only to be woken up by a scream.

His eyes snapped open as he rolled out of the couch and snatched up his boomstick. Ash vaulted over the couch and rushed to the source of the scream. Bursting into the room Twilight was staying in, he found only her, thrashing about in her sleep.

Ash lowered his weapon. His princess was just having another nightmare.

“Twilight!” Ash shook the princess awake. She snatched his shirt, clinging to him for security as she calmed down.

At the same time, Twilight’s friends surrounded the doorway. Ash glared at them. “How long?”

“The past six months she’s woken up screaming her lungs off,” Sunset admitted.

“She refuses to tell us what causes such night terrors,” Rarity added.

“Well she has a tendency to keep things to herself,” Ash shrugged as the sleep and nightmares cleared from Twilight’s eyes.

“A-Ashley?” Twilight gazed up at him, only to pause before she could speak.

“You’re not going to tell me are you?” Ash asked.

Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. Ash sighed.

“Fine” Ash got up and strode to the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Rainbow asked.

“I’m going to order a pizza and a 2 liter.”

“How’s that gonna help, Twi?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It was something my mother did when I was young and had a nightmare,” Ash replied, finding the home phone and a menu for a pizza place.

“Griffinstone Pizzaria, how can I help you?” asked the cashier on the other end.

“I’d like to place a delivery order for a plain cheese, a meat lover, and a 2 liter of Pepsi,” Ash said into the phone.

“Okay, that’ll be twenty dollars even. Can I get an address for your order?”

Ash turned to the pink-haired teen. “Pinkie Pie, what’s your address?”

“Did you say Pinkie Pie?” the cashier asked. Ash could hear the grin in her voice. “We’ll send your pizza sent out in fifteen minutes or less or your meal will be fifty percent off.”

“Huh. Alright then.” Ash hung up the phone and turn to the others who were sitting at the large round table. “Pizza on its way.” Ash sat down and eyed the princess. “You wanna tell me now or after the pizza?”

Twilight remained silent. Ash nodded in understanding before grabbing a red popsicle from Pinkie’s fridge.

Time passed; the room remained silent. Ash kept sparing glances at Pinkie’s watch, a grin spreading on his face as he chewed on the popsicle stick.

“Pizza dudes got thirty seconds,” Ash noted.

“Do you honestly think this is the best course of action we can take?” Sunset asked. “With Twilight and her night terrors?”

Ash didn’t reply, his eyes remaining on Pinkie’s watch before he grinned again. “Times up! Fifty percent off!” Ash laughed, getting up from his seat and moving behind Twilight. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Besides being there for her, this is the only way I can think to get her to tell me.”

Before the others could ask for more details, the doorbell rang. Pinkie shot up.

“Pizza time!” she cheered.

Ash strode to the door and opened it, revealing a young teen with brown hair wearing a red and black uniform and a black wristband with a grey Dpad.

“Plain cheese, meat lovers, and a 2 liter,” the teen said with a smile. “That’ll be twenty dollars.”

Ash smirked, but before he could pay, Pinkie shot past Ash and snagged both pizzas and the soda from the teen. Blinking but shaking off the oddity, Ash reached into his wallet and pulled out a ten. “Here you go kid.”

The pizza boy stared blankly at the bill. “Um…the total is twenty.”

“You’re two minutes late.”

The pizza boy groaned. “Come on! It’s my first day and I had trouble finding this place.”

“That sucks,” Ash replied, though his tone wasn’t very sympathetic.

The teen looked like he was ready to get on his knees and beg. “Please! I need to collect the full tab!”

“Wise men say forgiveness is divine,” Ash said placing a hand on the door. “But never pay full price for late pizza.” With that Ash closed the door on the flabbergasted teen.

Ash sat down at the table again. His gaze shifted from the food to Twilight, who still kept her head down as her friends -mostly Pinkie- enjoyed themselves.

“Twilight.” Ash prompted the princess. “Please… tell me what happened?”

“It….” Twilight began only to stop. “It was the same nightmare as before.” Twilight slowly got up from her seat and walked back to her room.

Foregoing pizza, Ash followed after her, stopping her just before she could escape back into her room. “Twi,” he insisted. “Tell me what’s bugging you.”

“Ashley do you…?” Twilight stopped herself, looking away.

“Do I what?” Ash prompted.

Sighing, Twilight looked back at him. “My nightmares have gotten worse. But I’d rather not talk about them.”

“It’s not healthy to keep something like that bottled up.” Ash sighed. “However, I won’t force you to tell me.”

“Thank you,” Twilight bowed before brushing past Ash to her room. “Goodnight, Ashley.” With that, she shut the door.

“Goodnight Princess.” Ash placed his left hand on the door and rested his forehead against the wooden surface. “Just remember I’ll always be here for you. All you need to do is call and I’ll be there.”

Unknown to the bodyguard, Twilight remained standing at her door.

“I know you will,” Twilight said as the nightmare replayed in her head:

Frightening memories of the deadites and changelings haunted her sleep. However, a good number of them she was unfamiliar with.

The first was placed in her Castle of Friendship. In the middle of the castle’s library was Spike, Twilight’s partner in her youth. However, he looked like he was in the beginning stages of his Greed Growth. The purple dragon was surrounded by Changelings as he stood in front of a white unicorn in a protective manner.

Another showed her brother being held by Queen Chrysalis in an unknown location, and Shining’s sword was held by the queen. The blade's edge pressed against his neck, while Ash stood mere feet away with his grip on his trusty boomstick.

And yet another showed Celestia’s and Luna’s throne room. Standing before the throne was an alicorn that Twilight has never seen before.

Her coat was a pale white color. Her teeth sharpened like vampire fangs. Her mane and tail were made of orange ethereal flames and her eyes were bright orange. The pupils slitted like a dragon or cat.

On the ground in the middle of the room were Ash and Shining Armor, however, for some reason Shining had Jacob’s chainsaw over his right hand.

The final – and worst - of the unfamiliar images were still in Celestia and Luna’s throne room. However, it only showed Ash; grimacing in pain as the blade of a sword pierced his gut.

“Oh Ashley,” Twilight lamented. “That’s what I’m afraid of most.” Unable to reveal such a fate to her love, she forced herself to go to bed

The following morning, after breakfast and an intense arm wrestling match between Ash and Rainbow – Ash pretended to lose, but stole the win when Rainbow started gloating - Twilight and Ash stood before the mirror to Equestria. Ash rolled his eyes at the looks he was getting for carrying his bloodied chainsaw. But thanks to his case getting wrecked at the Apple Family Farm, there wasn’t anywhere else he could store it.

Twilight finished her goodbyes with her friends and stood next to her bodyguard. Holding hands, the pair entered the mirror and were blinded by a bright light before appearing in the library of the princess’s castle.

“Home Sweet Home,” Ash mused, setting his chainsaw on the nearest table. “Good to be back.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Twilight admitted with a heavy sigh. “I’m going to find Spike so he can catch me up on what has happened in the last six months.”

“Hold up,” Ash said. He pulled out the handgun he took from the Asylum Guard. “There will be a time when I won’t be there to protect you.” He placed the gun in the alicorn's hand. “Only put your finger on the trigger when you plan to shoot it.” He backed away from the princess. “I’ll teach you more later.”

“Ashley….” Twilight gently placed the gun next to Jacob’s chainsaw. “Do you…”

“Do I what?” Ash asked. “Twilight, just talk to me!”

The Alicorn's thoughts went to all the times Ash had planted a kiss on her. The first was at the Apple Family farm, and the most recent was at the asylum.

“Do you love me, Ashley?” Twilight asked.

Ash froze. “I…” He scratched the back of his head. “I….”

Fortunately for the human, a knock came from the castle doors.

“I’ll get that,” Ash said, quickly moving to answer the door. Though he noticed Twilight look down in sadness at the quick dismissal of her question.

Ash sighed, moving to answer the door… only for the carpet to get yanked out from under him. He crashed to the ground as a laugh echoed all around him.

“I must say,” whoever was laughing noted. “After risking your life on Little Miss Sparkle on several occasions, I would have thought you’d grow at least a few feelings for her.”

Ash glared as the voice gave shape to a creature with mismatched body parts. “Judging from the bizarre appearance and the mocking tone,” Ash noted. “You must be Discord: The Lord of Chaos.”

The draconequus gave a slight bow. “My reputation precedes me.” He chortled before snapping his fingers. A springboard formed under Ash and propelled him to his feet as Discord floated around the human. “So? Why didn’t you answer the princess’s question?”

“Does it matter?” Ash asked.

Discord thought for a split second before grinning. “No, not really!” The draconequus laughed as he erupted in a puff of pink smoke.

Sighing, Ash brushed off the bizarre encounter and opened the door.

Waiting for him was Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle. The younger unicorn was wearing a pair of periwinkle tight-fit jeans along with high-heeled boots. A matching shirt that left her mid-riff and cleavage exposed. A ruby jeweled bracelet on her left wrist, and mild makeup covering her face.

“You look like a cheap whore?” Ash spoke bluntly to the filly.

She gasped. “Wha…?”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Spent too long in an asylum, my filter’s been tossed to the dogs.” He sighed. “What are you doing here, Belle?”

“When...When did you get back” Sweetie asked, blushing with slight fear and embarrassment

“Just got back,” Ash crossed his arms. “What do you want?”

“I-Is Spike here?” Sweetie asked with hope in her voice.

“My Fucking God,” Ash groaned before walking past the filly. “It’s official; you both need Jesus!” The human stopped to give the filly a side glare. “Start walking. We’re going to talk with your sister.”

“My sister?! Wait!” Sweetie tried to follow after Ash, but with every step, she gave off a small ‘ow’.

Eventually, Ash stopped in his tracks, glaring at the filly. Unaware of his stopping, she bumped into him and fell to the ground.

“Take those off!” Ash growled, forcibly removing the heeled boots from the filly’s feet. He then yanked her back up. “Start walking!”

“Yes sir,” Sweetie whimpered as she walked ahead of the human.

Ash took a breath and forced himself to calm down. Once he was certain he could talk without shouting, he looked down at the filly.

“Look kid,” he began. “I know you have a crush on that dragon. But you’re going about it all wrong?”

Sweetie looked back at the human. “What do you mean?”

“Well for starters, you’re trying to win over someone who has eyes for your older sister. You need to change your tactics.”

Sweetie’s gaze turned to a glare. “You don’t think I’ve tried?” she nearly shouted. “For six months, I’ve tried changing clothes, using makeup, and even bumping into him on several occasions.”

“Bumping into your crush?” Ash said with a raised eyebrow. “That cliché never works. Believe me.”

“Well, if you know so much, can’t you help me?”

“Kinda have no choice in the matter,” Jacob said as they approached Carousel Boutique. “Otherwise I’m going to be plagued with the constant headaches brought on by your failed attempts.”

“Can you stop being crass and just give me some advice,” Sweetie Belle begged.

The human paused before he could go into the boutique. He looked back at the filly. “For starters?” He gestured at her attire. “Don’t dress like a whore. Dressing like that means that you’re either a horn dog who doesn’t care about her life or desperate.” The human then leaned down. “And desperate is definitely not attractive,” he added in a whisper.

Sweetie sighed. “Duly noted.”

“Next, you need to stop trying too hard,” Ash said to the filly as he entered the store. But before he could explain ‘trying too hard,’ he was greeted by Rarity.

“Welcome to Carousel… oh! Jacob. When did you get back?”

“A few moments ago,” Ash said with a small smile. “I actually need your input on something.”

“What can I help you with?” Rarity asked, grimacing as she spotted her sister and her current attire. “Spike?”

“Hit the nail right on the head,” Ash praised.

Sighing, Rarity’s magic flared as several large spools of fabric were pulled towards her. Sweetie tried to back up, but Rarity’s magic snagged her as well.

“Wait, sis, WAIT!” Sweetie protested, before the fabric formed a little twister around the siblings.

In a few seconds, the fabric pulled away, revealing Sweetie now wearing a white old-fashioned hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Rarity grinned in relief as she pulled up a stool for Sweetie to sit on.

“Sweetie dear, you shouldn’t change how you look just to impress somepony,” Rarity said to her sibling. “You shouldn’t try so hard.”

“Mr. Jacob already told me that,” Sweetie replied. “He said he’d help me.”

“Him?” Rarity questioned, glancing at the human. “How do you know if he’s had any experience with dating.”

“Wow,” Ash noted. “Rude much? I might need ice for that.”

“I’m sorry, Jacob, but seriously,” Rarity insisted. “Have you?”

“I’ll have you know I’ve been in ten relationships with some of the best-looking girls in my world,” Ash said with pride. “What about you?”

Rarity, however, raised an eyebrow. “And how long did these relationships last?”

“Hey this isn’t about me!” Ash protested, pointing at Sweetie. “This is about your sister! She came to Twilight’s castle dressed like a hooker.”

Rarity blushed at his language, but then a familiar voice got their attention. “Oh-no-no, by all means. Let's continue talking about your love life. It was about to get good!”

Rarity groaned as she and Ash spotted the Lord of Chaos perched in the reflection of the store’s window. “Discord,” Rarity bemoaned. “My second to least favorite person.”

“Second least?” Discord asked with a raised eyebrow. He scoffed. “I’ve never been so insulted. Pray tell; who holds the number one spot?”

“The princess’s nephew,” Rarity admitted with a roll of her eyes. “Prince Blueblood.”

“Honestly, I don’t blame you” Ash commented, ignoring Discord entirely as he returned his gaze to the filly. “Alright kid. I’mma try and set you and Spike up.”

Rarity grimaced. “Are you sure that’s a good idea.”

“It’s either that, or I slap him so hard he finally gets a clue,” Ash answered with a shrug. “While I do like the first option, I am definitely more on board with the second.”

“Okay, so don’t be desperate, quit trying so hard and I need to change my tactics,” Sweetie Belle listed off the advice given. “Anything else?”

“Well your sister will give some more advice from a woman's perspective,” Ash replied, kneeling to meet the teen’s eyes. “However, I will give you the best advice you’ll ever receive: be ‘valuable,’ not just ‘available.’ Make him see you for you and not just another carbon copy of another.”

Sweetie tilted her head. “And that means?”

“Be yourself,” Rarity replied, sitting next to her sister. “Sweetie, nothing is more attractive than showing who you are to the one you love.”

Ash paused. His thoughts went to the Princess he was should’ve been protecting. “I… think I’ll leave the rest for you,” Ash said excusing himself from the fashionista home. He made his way back towards the Castle of Friendship. Unfortunately, halfway there, he was intercepted once again by Discord.

“Mr. Williams,” Discord called out. “Could I bother you for a moment of your time.”

Ash glared behind him… but no one was there. He frantically looked around, trying to find the draconequus until…

“Over here genius.” Ash found a miniature Discord sitting cross-legged on his left shoulder. “Why didn’t you answer her question?”

“Are we still on that?” Ash asked the mini-creature.

“You never gave me an answer.”

“I thought you didn’t care?” Ash replied, flicking the creature off his shoulder.

“I’m bored,” Discord replied, flipping and returning to his normal size. “And as it turns out, I’m still interested in your potential answer.” He flew closer. “So… do you love her?”

Ash turned away. “So what if I did? She’s a pony, and I’m a human.”

“I’m a draconequus and my true love is a pony as well,” Discord replied. “You’ll need a far better excuse than that.”

“How about because she’s a princess,” Ash replied.

Discord tsked. “I’m the Lord of Chaos,” he pointed out. “My love doesn’t need a title. Try again.”

Ash rolled his eyes and kept walking. “I don’t belong in this world.”

“Neither do I; my home is the Realm of Chaos.”

Ash growled, but Discord only seemed to delight in his irritation.

“Oh come-come-come, Williams, just answer the question,” Discord insisted. “Do you love her?”

Ash shook his head. “It’s not that simple.”

“Then simplify it,” Discord rose his voice. “Do you love her?”

“I can’t simplify it,” Ash shouted back. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then explain it. Do you love her?”

“Why are so irritating!?” Ash screamed.

“It’s what I do!” Discord matched the human’s volume. “Do you love her?!”

“OH MY GOD, FINE YOU WIN, YES!” Ash screamed. He glared at the smiling draconequus as he collected himself. “Yes, I love her! She’s smart, has an incredible sense of humor, and might as well be considered a goddess with how beautiful she looks.” Ash sighed. “But it’s not like I can tell her tha…” He paused, seeing how wide Discord’s smile had gotten. “Why are you smiling? What did you do?”

“Turn around.” Discord recommended, before vanishing from sight with a laugh.

Ash seethed, but reluctantly turned. He found Twilight staring at him, blushing like crazy and her jaw on the ground.

“I am going to kill him.” Ash whispered through gritted teeth.

“Ashley,” Twilight stammered. “D-Did you mean what you said?”

Ash sighed in defeat. “Yeah.” Jacob gingerly took the princess’s hands. “You are hands down the most beautiful woman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.” He shrugged. “Though that might be the Stockholm syndrome from when you guys kept me prisoner.”

Twilight failed to hold back a laugh. “That’s not funny,” she tried to insist, even as she still held her smile. “But… why couldn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because when this is all over…” Ash grimaced. “I have no idea if I have to go back to my world,” Ash gazed into her eyes. “I don’t want to break your heart if I’m forced to go home.”

“Ashley,” Twilight said softly. “Even if you do leave, nothing would change.” The alicorn leaned in close. “My heart would belong to you and you alone.” She pulled the human into a kiss. “And I’d never feel sadness if you were to return to your world.”

It's here, it's here, it's here. I hope you guys enjoyed the recent chapter as well as the old movie reference I put in here, And as you can see I got stuck on Kung-Fu Equestria 3 Again.

I hope you guys are excited cause I've already got the first 5 pages of the next chapter done on Google Docs, so I give it......2 weeks 3 tops.