//------------------------------// // Heart-Shaped Sweets // Story: Domestic Drabbles of Discord's Dimension // by GeekCat //------------------------------// Fluttershy entered their house carefully, glancing around to see if Discord was in the living room. She saw it was empty, and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Carefully tucking a certain object deeper into her saddlebag, she flew though the kitchen, heading for the pantry. The kitchen was equally empty, to her relief. She flew past the door that led to their personal pantry, and instead opened the one where she kept extra food and medical supplies for her animals. Unlike the pantry they used, where Discord shoved in random foods he found or created until there was a large, unorganized mess—"It doesn't have to be organized. I use it for browsing," he had said. "For when I'm not sure what I want. If you or I want a certain food so badly, I'll make it myself!"—the animal pantry was carefully stocked and organized. Discord expressed some distaste over having such an organized room in the house, but she had assured him that she would take care of everything to do with the room, and wasn't an infinite space for finite supplies, unchanged by time, unusual enough? He had sighed and nodded, and would oftentimes help her stock the shelves, though he usually avoided the room like the plague otherwise. Which was why it was the perfect place to leave her certain item. She carefully unpacked her saddlebags, placing each item in its proper place. Her saddlebags contained more items then they should have be able to logically hold, but she soon reached the bottom. With yet another careful glance around, she assured herself that Discord wasn't near. She pulled out a large, heart-shaped box, tied shut with a golden ribbon. Quickly, she placed it behind a large bag of carrots until she was sure that it couldn't be easily spotted from any angle. With a smile, she closed her saddlebags and left the pantry. She spotted the calendar floating around like a jellyfish in the hallway. Hearts and Hooves Day was less than a week away, marked with a pink, glittery heart. A grin spread on her face. Discord was never a big fan of the holiday, but he would use any excuse to give her a gift. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she surprised him his present. It had taken some collaboration with Pinkie Pie during trips into town or the sanctuary, and plenty of thinking about where to hide it, but she believed she had gotten him a perfect gift. White, dark, and milk chocolate, each poured into a mold of a segment of a heart. The white segment contained mint, the milk segment had peanut butter, and the dark chocolate segment was left alone—just pure chocolate. Tucked into the box was a simple card she had made herself while the chocolate was settling in the mold—a simple, but heartfelt declaration of love. She shook the thoughts away as she placed her saddlebags into a drawer in their bedroom. If he sees me smiling, he'll think something's going on, she thought, and he might start searching around for the gift. She recalled their first Hearth's Warming together, where she had simply hidden his presents in a closet...and woke up the a week before the holiday to find opened presents and a guilty husband. "I couldn't help myself," he had admitted with a hung head. "...Can I give you your presents, since I've gotten mine?" She hadn't been angry, so much as disappointed (mostly in herself). After declining the early presents—Discord had been on the edge of his seat the whole week, a wide grin on his face and bounce in his step when he was near her—she had thought carefully about how to hide presents in the future. She always hid them in a different place each time, only repeating locations if they proved very effective. Sometimes, she had her friends hold onto gifts until whatever celebration was coming up. As she closed the drawer, she felt the air shift as she heard Discord teleport behind her. "Fluttershy!" he said. "I didn't hear you come in!" He grabbed her and crushed her against his chest. His fur was soaking wet, water pooling on the floor under him, and she laughed and recoiled slightly. "Discord!" she said, squirming. "You're getting me wet!" He chuckled, nuzzling the top of her head and letting water drip from his mane onto hers. "Well, I was at the bottom of the swimming lake," he said. "Why do you think I didn't hear you?" She laughed, playfully pushing his muzzle away. With a little more squirming, she slipped out of his damp hold and flew into the bathroom. He floated behind her, only to have a towel thrown over him. He squawked in surprise, and she flew up and began to furiously rub him dry, making sure to "accidentally" tickle him with her feathers as she did so. He laughed and struggled, his head popping out of the towel to shook her hurt look. It lost its effectiveness, coupled with the toothy grin on his face. She giggled and nuzzled his cheek, planting a kiss there before she finally pulled away. After a few more minutes of messing around, they finally pulled away from each other, laughing. Fluttershy tossed the towel back onto its rack, and Discord snapped his fingers to create several sponges that mopped up the puddles he had left in his wake. While Fluttershy did her best to causally select a book from her bookshelf, and to not look at Discord without appearing to be actively avoiding his gaze, eventually she gave in and looked over. He was rooting through his games chest, but his attention was solely on her. He was grinning widely, a spark in his eyes. "What is it?" she asked. "Oh...nothing," he said quickly, his grin still not fading. He quickly grabbed a deck of cards and settled himself on the bed, playing Solitaire on the air in front of him, glancing at her every few seconds. He must have gotten me a present, she thought as she finally grabbed a journal of somepony who had created a device to breathe underwater, sliding onto the bed and leaning against his side as she began to read. She curled closer to his side, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, burying his fingers into her mane. Every so often, he would glance at her with a grin, before turning back to his game. She nestled into his fur and continued to read her book. Days passed by, Discord growing more and more excited with each passing day. But now, it was Hearts and Hooves Day. When Fluttershy woke up, the calendar was floating right in front of her. The glittery heart sprang out at her, a small, happy tune playing just to make sure she knew what day it was. She yelped and jumped into a sitting position. The calendar floated away and out of the room, its job done. Discord grunted from beside her, his brow furrowing as he shifted closer to her side. She smiled and snuggled into his chest. He sighed and flopped his arms around her. She kissed his forehead. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Discord," she whispered. "I love you." "Mmm...love you..." he mumbled. "Happy...Hooves..." He grumbled the rest, burying his muzzle into her mane. Just a minute later, he shifted, blinking awake. "Wait...Heart and Hooves Day?" he said under his breath. She sighed, closed her eyes and wrapping her forehooves around his torso, cuddling against his chest. He shot up into a sitting position, and she let him slide out of her grip. With a plastic fishing rod, he snagged the calendar from the other room, whipping it in front of him. The glittery heart popped out at him, and he released the calendar, which quickly floated away. He quickly wrapped an arm behind her shoulders, lifting her up into a passionate kiss. She moaned, closing her eyes in bliss as he pressed her against his chest, deepening the kiss as much as he could. Their lips pulled apart with a soft click as they gasped for breath. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day," he said, kissing her cheek. "I love you." He kissed her forehead. She giggled and pecked him on the lips. "I love you, too." He grinned, pulling her even closer against his chest. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Now, I know we normally make breakfast together, but since today is a holiday about romance and loving each other, I'd like to spoil you." He snapped his fingers, and a golden platter appeared, floating in the air. It held a plate of heart-shaped pancakes, filled with chocolate chips, a glass of chocolate milk, and a thin glass vase with a single pink tulip. He slowly, reluctantly detached himself from Fluttershy. The platter slowly lowered itself onto her lap. "Oh, Discord," she said. "You didn't have to..." He waved it off. "As always, my dear, I wanted to! Go on, dig in, dig in!" She smiled and began taking large bites out of the pancakes. Discord summoned an orange and began fiddling around with it, turning it over and over it his hands, occasionally poking at it. Finally, he lightly pulled it into two halves—each of them falling into a careful, beautiful sculpture of a blooming flower, the peel folding itself into leaves. He placed one half next to her pancakes, and summoned up his own silver platter with the same contents as hers (minus the flower, and with square pancakes). They ate in silence for the next few minutes, Fluttershy leaning against Discord's side as he let one of his arms drape over her shoulders. When they were finished, the platters inflated into heart-shaped balloons, which floated up to the ceiling, their strings tangling together. Fluttershy quickly grabbed the vase and set it carefully on her nightstand. She kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Discord." He blushed, rubbing at the back of his neck, before grinning toothily at her. "I assure you, I have more prepared than that!" he said. From behind his back, he pulled out a large, rectangular box, covered in red, pink, and silver glitter. He beamed and shoved it into her hooves. "Open it, open it!" he said, his tail wagging as his hands clasped together. She giggled and shook her head at his antics, carefully lifting the lid off. The box was filled to the brim with bite-sized, heart-shaped chocolates, threatening to spill over the side as she lifted off the top. Some of the chocolates were perfectly shaped, while others were misshaped lumps. Most were coated with milk chocolate, some with dark chocolate, and even a few white chocolate. "I promise you, they are all edible this year!" he said. "No habanero filling. No paper clips or toothpaste." She giggled, popping one of the candies into her mouth. Peppermint and vanilla. "It's good," she told him, causing him to beam widely, a tiny 'squee' escaping his throat. He tapped at the lid she had placed to the side. There was elegant, cursive writing on the inside. She picked it up and began to read. My dear, sweet, amazing Fluttershy, You know I dislike this holiday at times, what with it being thrust on us by the greeting cards and chocolates industry. But I have to say that you, Spike, and Big Mac have made me come around to what this day is supposed to be about. It's about telling the creatures you love how much you love them. And I know I say this every day, and will continue to do so—and it's never going to be enough times—I love you. I love you more than chaos. I will love you for the rest of my life, even if every star in the sky fades away, even if the ground crumbles beneath my feet Oh, sweet chaos, I've made this terribly cheesy. Good thing this is a rough draft, and you won't see this version! Still, huggies and kisses, Your hubby Discord She glanced over at him. He had buried his face into his hands, though he was looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. "...I forgot to rewrite that," he moaned, his entire body turning a lovely shade of light pink. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I think it's sweet," she cooed. He pouted. "It's cheesy and sappy." She smiled and nuzzled his cheek. "Oh!" she said. "I actually need to get something. Can you wait here just a minute for me?" He nodded, holding the chocolates box as she flew off of the bed and out of the room. With just a few minutes of searching behind the bags of carrots, she had the present in her grasp. She flew back to the bedroom, hiding it behind her back as she entered. Discord was tying the strings of the balloons to the bedpost, but turned his attention to her, a confused expression on his face. She smiled and placed the box in his hands, curling next to his side. He carefully removed the ribbon and let the top of the box hover up, smirking when he saw the uneven mixture of chocolate types. He gingerly grabbed the paper card inside and opened it. The cover was simply a heart, messily drawn in crayon. Inside was just the simple message, Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Discord. I know you're not a fan of the holiday, but I just wanted to show how much I love you, written in ink. A smile spread on his face as he read the message, and he set the chocolate and card aside to draw her into a tight hug, burying his muzzle into her mane. "You're too sweet," he mumbled into her mane. She smiled and shifted so that she could snuggle closer to his chest. His arms tightened around her as he did this. "I love you," she murmured back, rubbing at the back of his neck. He purred softly, nuzzling his cheek against the top of her head. She smiled, letting him pull her even closer to his chest. After a long cuddling session, Discord had pulled out a set of blueprints, and was scribbling on them with a white pen, mumbling to himself about optimal temperatures and perfect drinks. She sighed, eating another one of the chocolates he'd given her. Orange and strawberry. "Discord...you'd better not be making a separate room just to eat that chocolate." He froze, his eyes glazing over as he glanced over at her. "...I might not be?" he said with a sheepish grin. She shook her head. "Really, Discord. Please, you don't have to do it right away, but...don't make such a huge production of eating it." "But it's a gift from you! How can I eat it without giving it the proper respect it deserves, without—" She grabbed the chocolate and shoved it into his open mouth. His eyes widened, but he took a large bite out of the chocolate, pouting. "That's cheating," he grumbled with his mouth full. She simply smirked at him. He smirked back. "I guess I am a bad influence on you," he said, ruffling her mane. She whined in protest, playfully pushing him away. He took another bite out of the chocolate. "This is really good," he said, again with his mouth full. She beamed and kissed his cheek. He grinned, tossing his chocolate onto the nightstand. He snapped his fingers, and the curtains suddenly drew closed, candles appeared in midair and lighting the room with their soft glow. He placed a hand at the back of her neck and drew her into a deep kiss, tossing the bedsheets aside as he curled closer to her. She placed her box of chocolates on the nightstand, then wrapped both of her forelegs around his torso and began to trail kisses down his cheek, until she reached his lips. He groaned as she kissed him passionately, curling his tail around her waist and kissing the nape of her neck lightly. She sighed, pressing closer against him. They were soon deep in the throws of passion, where they remained for the rest of the morning.