Fluttershy's eyes slowly cracked open as she softly yawned and stretched. As she sat up in bed, she felt a slight pressure—a tug—on her scalp. She carefully turned her head, trying to see what had happened.
A smirk appeared on her face when she saw a skinny, yellow arm reaching up to her head. Reaching up, she carefully untangled Discord's claw from her mane. Her husband twitched, letting out a small huff, but didn't wake up.
As she ran a hoof through her mane, smoothing it out, she watched Discord's sleeping face. He looked so peaceful. For a second, she thought about trying to sneak off and surprise him, but dismissed the idea. He would wake up if she left, and he deserved some rest.
She curled up against his side, nuzzling into his chest. He murmured something unintelligible, and his claw twitched, moving slowly to curl around her, trying to dig into her mane again. She giggled softly.
Time passed by in a comfortable haze, and Discord twitched and began to wake up, yawning loudly and stretching. Fluttershy leaned up towards him, and the two of them shared a quick kiss. "Good morning," she said softly.
"To you as well," he murmured. Fluttershy began to crawl out of bed, but was surprised when Discord gently grabbed onto her hoof, stopping her. When she looked back, he was pouting, his pupils wide and shiny. "Stay just a few more minutes?," he whined.
She sighed and shook her head. "Discord...you know I'm seeing Rarity at the spa today. And before that, I have to eat breakfast and check on the animals." The draconequus huffed, but released her hoof.
The two of them emerged from the covers and headed for the kitchen. Discord began making pancakes, juggling them between pans like it was some kind of game. Fluttershy was busy chopping up fruits and choosing what ingredients to add to the batter.
In the end, they had stacks of pancakes filled with chocolate chips, apple slices, orange juice, and various types of berries. The two of them ate happily, chattering about what they hoped to do today.
"So, my dear, what are you and Rarity planning to do today, exactly?," he asked her, taking a large bite out of ten different pancakes.
She smiled, taking a small, dainty bite. "Oh, not much. Just the normal spa trips we used to take, before she became so busy. Small things, really. Face masks, the sauna, a hooficure..."
"A-a makeover?!," squeaked Fluttershy.
Rarity nodded and smiled, handing her a pamphlet. "It's nothing to worry about, darling," she said confidently. "Sometimes a bit of change is nice. All it is is a mane styling, makeup appliance, and hoof polish!"
Fluttershy gulped, looking at the pamphlet. "That...sounds like a lot."
Rarity sighed. "Sweetie, it's nothing to worry about. The makeup will wash off if you don't like it, and hoof polish is simple to take off if you have the right items for the job."
"...What about the manestyle?"
Rarity paused. "Well, you don't need to do anything too extreme if you don't feel like it." She smiled. "But trying a new style can be fun!"
Fluttershy bit her lip. She glanced back at the pamphlet, showing pictures of different manestyles. "Alright..."
Fluttershy slipped through the shimmering portal that appeared after she and Rarity had left the spa. She quickly spotted Discord outside their house, wrangling with some strange, large, moving flower. Some of the bunnies she recognized from the sanctuary were running away, quickly fleeing into another blue portal.
His head snapped up towards her as he managed to fling the monster flower off of the patch of earth. "Fluttershy! How was you day with—" He stared at her, his eyes widening.
She shuffled her hooves. Rarity had been so insistent that they went all out. Her hooves had been coated with a glossy, glittery pink polish. The same shade was used for her eyeshadow, and her lashes had been coated with black mascara. Her lips were painted lightly with a pink gloss.
But Discord's eyes were focused on her mane—her much shorter mane.
Rarity, Aloe and Lotus had all insisted that bob cuts were very fashionable right now. And that one would look very cute on her. Rarity had even added with a whisper and wink that it could catch Discord by surprise in a good way. Fluttershy had blushed and agreed to the new style.
But Discord's blank expression was making her self-conscious. "Discord? I-is something wrong?," she asked quietly.
Discord blinked and shook his head. "No! No no...you just surprised me, that's all. You look...cute." Fluttershy looked away with a blush, flying up to him and nuzzling him. He reached up with his claw, petting her mane. She leaned into his touch, enjoying the sensation of his fingers brushing against her scalp.
His fingers quickly slipped through her tresses, short as it was cut now. He blinked in surprise, letting out a small chuckle.
"So, did you enjoy your day with Rarity?," he asked, opening the door of their house for her. She nodded in response, smiling when she saw their tea set laid out for the two of them.
She sat down as Discord poured her a cup of tea, telling him about everything that had happened, while he talked about how he kept the garden away from the rabbits. That was how they passed the time until dinner, and before they turned in for an early night.
Fluttershy slowly blinked awake. She took in a deep breath, her chest feeling heavier than normal. She glanced down at her torso. Discord's lion paw was wrapped tightly around her, squeezing her tightly. She pushed at it lightly, moving it so she was able to breathe more easily.
As she rolled to face him and snuggle into his fur, she felt something slip from her mane. A glance back told her it was Discord's eagle talon. He grunted, his eyes twitching, and his claw began to fumble around on the pillows until it manged to bury itself back into her mane.
And as soon as he managed to get it, his fingers slipped right out.
With a groan, he tried again. And again. After the third time his grip slipped away, he finally started to blink awake. She smiled and leaned forward, giving him a soft kiss as he cleared the last bit of sleep from his eyes.
He sat up with a yawn, snapping his fingers. With a flash, they were in the kitchen, Fluttershy nestled into the crook of his arm. He opened the fridge with a flick of his head, fresh fruits suddenly sprouting wings and flying towards the counter. She tried to fly out of his grip, but he only held her closer, nuzzling into the top of her head.
Playfully rolling her eyes at him, she snuggled against his chest with a sigh. He approached the counter, handing her a bowl and placing in ingredients with his tail, while she began to mix. They made less pancakes than usual, though it was still a good amount, and Discord refused to let go of her the entire process.
He finally, reluctantly let her go when it was time for them to eat. "So, what are you doing today?," he asked as a bottle of coconut syrup floated in her direction.
"Oh, not much," she answered. "Just hoping to do some work in the sanctuary. I've been thinking of some new improvements I can make."
He sighed. "You know I can always snap up anything you need, right?"
She smiled. "Yes, I know. But I like doing things with my own hooves." He rolled his eyes with a grumble. She giggled.
For the seventh time that morning, she blew her mane out of her face.
It was so strange. She had thought that with less mane on her head, it would be in her face less often. But no. Instead, it was just harder for her to control it and keep it where she wanted.
She huffed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. When her mane was long, she could easily tuck it behind her ears, or shake her head to move it out of her face. The short mane would easily (and constantly) slide out from behind her ear, and shaking her head only caused more of it to fall in front of her face.
After the tenth time, she sighed and flew towards a shimmering blue portal. She headed into the house, flying towards the bathroom. Discord, relaxing in the living room, perked up as she entered, peering over the newspaper he was reading. He slowly followed Fluttershy, and saw her rummaging through some of the bathroom drawers.
"Fluttershy?," he asked, rapping on the frame of the door. Her ears flicked up, and she turned to him. "Is everything alright, dear?"
She nodded. "Oh, yes. I'm just looking for some mane pins." She turned back to the drawer, and her mane slid in front of her face again. She sighed and brushed it out of her face as she continued her search.
Discord approached her, clutching onto fistfuls of various pins. "May I?"
She paused, then nodded. He approached her, his fingers brushing all of her mane back behind her head. The pins floated in the air with his magic, slipping effortlessly against her scalp before clicking shut, clamping large amounts of hair within. He grumbled a few unkind words under his breath as her mane slipped out of his fingers and the pins, but eventually, everything was heavily pinned back.
She shook her head lightly as he let his fingers slip out, testing the pins. She smiled that none of her mane ended up in the face, though the sensation of her mane being pulled back so tightly wasn't pleasant. "Thank you, Discord."
She flew up to give him a peck on the cheek. He smiled, his face turning pink, gently cupping where her lips had brushed against him as she flew back through one of the portals to the sanctuary.
Fluttershy sighed as she struggled to shove more pins into her mane. How could having less mane make it more difficult to handle?
Discord floated by the bathroom and saw her, her mane sticking out in all directions, pins hanging limply from several strands. He bit his lip, trying not to laugh. She shot him a look between a pout, asking for help, and a glare, warning him against laughing.
He still let out a chuckle as he approached her. "Third day in a row," he commented as he slid the stuck pins out. With a few flicks of his wrists, her mane was smoothed out, the knots untangled. He pulled her mane back and began to insert the pins. "I think I'm improving, at least."
She scowled at him in the mirror, causing him to laugh. She sighed. "Honestly, I...I liked my old manestyle better. I didn't know short manes would be harder to manage."
"It's probably just because you're used to a long one," he replied. "Though...I...kind of liked your old mane better, too. I mean, you look very cute!," he exclaimed. "It's just that your old style was so soft and nice to...not that it isn't soft now! I just liked running my—" he clamped his mouth shut, his face turning bright red.
She smiled. "I...that's one of the reasons I miss my old mane. I...I like it when you—" she blushed and turned her head away. Discord groaned as all of her mane slid out of his grasp, some of the pins coming out and falling to the floor. Fluttershy sighed, "I'm sorry."
Discord grinned, his fingers ready to snap, a gleam shining in his eyes. "Well, we both miss your old mane. Why don't we skip dealing with all this until it grows out and just fix it with a little magic?"
She hesitated, biting her lip in thought. "Okay."
A loud snap echoed, and a bright flash filled the room, before a sound like rushing water filled their ears.
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, her head feeling very heavy. She blinked at the sight she saw.
The entire bathroom was filled with her light pink mane. She lifted her head up with great effort, searching for Discord. She gasped when she spotted his legs on the other side of the bathroom, the rest of him buried under pink mane. She fluttered her wings, wading through the hair.
Discord managed to pull himself up, a shocked expression on his face. "Right. Manes have excess magic in them," he grumbled. "Fortunately, this is an easier fix."
He lifted up his lion paw, a large pair of scissors flashing into them. He dove into the mane, popping up beside Fluttershy. With a quick motion, he slashed at her mane and tail several feet behind her. She yelped in surprise, jumping slightly.
She turned, about to scold him for startling her, when she froze. Her head still felt weighed down, but it was easier to handle now. She tried to wade through the waves of mane on the ground, but still had trouble making progress. Discord floated over to her, scissors placed behind his ear, before scooping her up into his arms and flying out of the bathroom.
They both blinked in surprise when they entered the living room, which was equally full of her mane. Discord turned and headed towards the stairs, half-buried under hair. He brought her to their bedroom, set her gently down on the edge of the bed, and grabbed the scissors from behind his ear.
She turned around, showing him her back. He began to carefully snip away at her long mane and tail, carefully undoing any knots he came across. "Do you want it at about the same length as before?," he asked, brushing his claw through a thick tangle.
"Mmm...I think I'd like to try something new," she mused. Discord raised an eyebrow, stretching his neck out like rubber so she was able to see his expression. She giggled. "Nothing that different! I'd just like to leave it a longer than before, that's all."
He breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief, swiping at his forehead with the back of his paw. With a flick of his tail, a full-length mirror poofed in front of her. "What length would you like? Here? This? Or...this?" He slid his claw up and down her mane, indicating different lengths.
She gestured towards the near ends of the mane. He blinked. "Are you sure? That long, and you might trip over it!"
She smiled. "I can always pin it up and out of the way. Hopefully that'll be easier than dealing with the bob cut."
He nodded and cut her mane and tail to the lengths she had indicated. Before she could get up, he pulled a blue flower from behind his back, and with a little twisting of the stem, pinned up her mane in a loop.
"Thank you, Discord," she said, turning to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I suppose we should clean out the house before I go to the sanctuary..."
"Don't worry about it! You run along, and I'll get the house cleaned up before you know it!" With a flick of his claw, a blue portal appeared in front of her. "Off you go!"
Once she was through, he floated downstairs. A groan escaped him when he saw just how much mane there was in their house. "It'll take forever to clean all this out," he grumbled. His eyes gleamed, and he brought his claws together. "But with just a little magic..."
He snapped his fingers.
Fluttershy flew through one of Discord's portals, eager to have lunch. Working with the animals had gone extremely well, since her mane stayed out of her face now. She was looking forward to thanking him for—
He was fighting her mane.
She froze outside the portal, staring at what was happening. Somehow, the bundles of her mane that were in the bathroom and living room had come to life. It was lashing out at Discord with tentacle-like strands, hissing and roaring. He was backing away, just barely dodging each of its attacks.
He turned to look at her, freezing and giving her a sheepish grin as he fended off another attack. The look in his eyes told her he had tried something that landed him in this mess. She sighed and flew forward, calming down the living mane and ushering it away from the house.
At least now it would all finally stay out of her face.