Fluttershy eagerly waited as her breakfast floated towards her. A large plate of pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream landed gently in front of her. She jumped as a plate of pancakes covered in peppers and chocolate syrup crashed at the other end of the table.
Discord shrugged, unfazed by the mess his breakfast was now in, and flopped into his chair. The two of them dug into their meals. "So, my dear, have any big plans today?," he asked, shifting a pancake back onto his plate before swallowing it whole.
"Oh, not really," she said, swallowing a bite. "Just checking up on all the animals in the—the—achoo!"
She sniffed and wiped her nose with her hoof. Before she could continue, Discord's head snapped up, his eyes wide and his ears perked up in surprise. "What was that?"
She sneezed again, and he flinched. With a flash, he was right beside her, feeling at her forehead with his paw. "Are you feeling okay? How's your stomach? I'll get you some water." He snapped his fingers, and a glass of ice water appeared in her hooves. She took a sip, and he scooped her up into his arms.
"Discord, what are you doing?," she asked while he grabbed her plate with his tail.
He huffed. "Well, you're sick, so you need to get some rest! Off to bed with you!" He teleported to their room, and started to lay her on the bed.
"But...I'm not sick. It was just a sneeze."
He froze. "But...you're sure? Absolutely? You're certain that it's not going to get any worse?"
She sighed and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure. Winter's coming soon, and at most, I've just caught a small cold." He frowned and brought her closer to his chest. "I promise I'll be fine. And the furthest I'm going is to the sanctuary."
He stood back up, frowning in thought. He sighed, and the two of them were back in the kitchen. He placed her back down in her seat and her meal back in front of her. As she dug in, she noticed that his eyes stayed completely focused on her. He stared at her up until when she went through the portal, after he insisted she wear a hat, scarf, and boots.
The sun was still low in the sky when she was halfway through her feeding rounds. After that, she'd check up on the any of the animals who felt unwell, before breaking for lunch. After that, she hoped to check on all the structures, and plan for a new expansion, then wait to see if any creature needed to speak with her.
A soft sneeze escaped from her, jolting her out of her thoughts. She sniffed and wrapped the scarf more tightly around her neck. The air today was not unpleasant, but it was cold and dry, a sign of the approaching winter weather. She'd need to make sure all of her animals were prepared for the harsh months ahead.
She sneezed again as the air tickled her nose, causing the weasels she was feeding to leap and scurry off, only to scurry back and grab their food. A small brown-and-white bunny hopped up to her, tapping her foreleg and pointing behind her.
"Oh, Coco," she sighed, patting the bunny's head. "What is it with you today? I've already fed you and the bunnies—" She turned her head and froze. Discord was perched on a tree branch, watching her. He froze at the same time she did.
She sighed. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention," she said to the small bunny, before turning and marching towards Discord, who was still frozen in place. She stood at the base of the tree and gave him a stern look, waiting for him to come down.
With a loud, long sigh, he slithered backwards down the trunk. He lay on the ground, curled around the tree, giving her a sheepish grin. She raised an eyebrow. His grin faltered. He twisted his neck to hide his face from her, pressed against his side.
He turned again to face her, pouting, his pupils wide and shiny. He clasped his hands together in front of him in a pleading motion.
She sighed and rubbed at the top of his head. He leaned upwards into her touch, a low purring coming from his throat. "Discord, please, go home. I told you I'm fine."
He huffed. "And what's wrong with me wanting to check on my wife?" He nuzzled into her hoof.
"Of course there's nothing wrong with that. But checking up on me does not meaning spying on me." She leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead. "Sweetie, either go home and relax, or stay and help with the animals. I could find something for you to do..."
He grumbled and frowned, his left eye staring at her while his right drifted towards the closest portal. They stayed like that for a few seconds, Fluttershy cradling his head in her hooves. He closed his eyes and pulled away from her with a sigh.
Before he went through the portal, he said, "If you feel any worse, you'll come home straight away so I can take care of you, right?" She nodded, waving him along. "I'm holding you to that!," he said as he flew into their dimension.
She shook her head and continued feeding the animals.
Fluttershy wondered if she should have listened to Discord and stayed home.
Over the last hour, her sneezes had become more frequent, and her throat felt more sore. When she finished with the last of the animals, those sneezes turned into small coughs. Those small coughs turned into large, barking ones that came from deep in her chest.
She finished just such as coughing fit before turning back to her current patient, a snake with doubts about eating vegan. She was just assuring him that he would be given plenty of protein supplements and vitamins when she had broken out coughing. The snake slithered over to her, hissing in concern.
"Oh, I'm fine, really," she assured. "Just a small cold."
After witnessing the rare sight of a snake raising an eyebrow, she was lightly pushed by the snake's head. "Oh? Where do you want me to go?"
The snake slithered over to the area where a small family of bears lived. With a hiss, he pointed his tail to a jar of honey that had been placed out for them. "You...want some honey?"
The snake rolled his eyes, then pointed his tail at her. "Oh...you want me to eat some honey?" The snake nodded, and she put a hoof to her chin in thought. "That would help my throat...But I can't take that honey, Mr. Snake. It belongs to the bears."
Mr. Snake sighed, but accepted this and slithered away. "At least try the vegan treats!," she called after him, before being overtaken by another coughing fit. When she was done, she stared longingly at the jar of honey.
It would be nice...but it's not mine. Suddenly, she remembered there was some honey that belonged to her—back at home.
She paced back and forth. On the one hoof, she wasn't feeling well, and that honey would definitely help her. On the other hoof, if Discord saw her, he wouldn't let her go back to working in the sanctuary. Maybe she was sick, but surely it wasn't bad enough to keep her bedridden! She glanced over the different animals in the sanctuary, all looking happy, healthy, and fed.
A small white bunny hopped past her. "Vanilla?," she called. "I'm going to head home for a little bit. Can you and the other bunnies keep everything under control here?" The small bunny swiftly nodded, hopping towards a group of her siblings.
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was go through the portal, sneak into the pantry, grab the honey, and sneak back out. With a deep breath, she fluttered over to the portal, poking her head in.
Discord wasn't anywhere in sight. Either he was inside, or he wasn't home. She flew through the portal, swooping towards the door. She opened it slowly, just enough to look through with one eye.
The living room was empty. Well, stuffed with furniture and other things Discord thought looked interesting, but empty of any draconequui. She slowly crept inside and across the carpet, letting the door slowly close behind her.
She was halfway to the door of the hallway when she heard a click. Her head quickly snapped in that direction, and she saw that the Discord-shaped lamp had just turned on. The floating armchair next to it slowly turned in her direction. Discord sat there, hands folded in his lap, a stern expression on his face.
"Mrs. Chaos, how good to see you again," he said. "Now, what can I do for you?" He started folding origami with the blanket in his lap, keeping his eyes focused on her.
Fluttershy gulped, hiding the wince at the soreness it produced in her throat. She cleared her throat and tried to say clearly, "I-I just came to get some honey. For the—" She broke out coughing again.
In an instant, Discord was by her side, throwing the blanket over her, her winter garb flung into a corner with his magic. In the next second, she was lying on her back, wrapped up like a burrito, and he was gently lifting her up. "Discord, put me down," she softly demanded.
"Oh, I fully intend to...on our bed," he responded, floating up through a door and down the hallway.
"Discord, the sanctuary...I—" another coughing fit interrupted her.
He snorted. "You need to rest. How would you feel if some animal caught that cold of yours?" He snapped his tail, and their bedroom door opened.
"Oh," was all she could say. He gently laid her on the bed, tucking her in under the covers and placing a kiss on her forehead. She shuffled, trying to lean forward and kiss him back, whining when she realized she couldn't reach. He gently shushed her.
"Just rest, my dear," he murmured. "If you need anything, I'm right here." He fluffed her pillow a positioned it directly under her head. She smiled at him, yawning softly, as her eyes drifted closed.
She opened her eyes, shifting uncomfortably. It was too hot. She turned to where Discord had been just a few seconds ago. He was gone. She twisted to look at the other side of the bed. He wasn't there, either.
She began frantically thrashing. Discord's missing, have to find him!, she thought. All her thrashing did was get her more tangled up in her blankets, causing her damp fur to stick up uncomfortably. She wriggled and thrashed, but only seemed to make everything worse.
The door opened. Her head swiveled in that direction, partially wrapped in blanket. Discord stepped through, carrying a tray in his paw. Her thrashing became more frantic, trying to get to him.
His eyes widened and her rushed to her side, leaving the tray floating in midair. "It's okay," he assured, "I'm here." He held the bundle she was in against his chest, stroking her back until she stopped moving.
He started to untangle her from the blankets. "You...you said you'd be right there," she croaked. "Why'd you leave?"
She sighed in relief when the blankets were pulled away from her sweat-covered fur. He answered, "I went to make you soup. You've been asleep for the whole morning, my dear." He nuzzled the top of her head, but quickly pulled away. "Sweet chaos, you're burning up!"
She moaned and tried to lean into his touch. She shuddered when her head came in contact with something cold. Looking up, she saw that Discord had placed a wet towel on top of her head. He placed his hands under her, adjusting her until she was reclining against the pillows.
The tray floated forward, settling on her lap. There was a bowl of tomato soup, a slice of buttered bread, and a cup of tea. It smelled heavenly. She reached forward, but Discord gently grabbed her hoof, setting it back down on the bed. He lifted the spoon towards her mouth.
She greedily ate the soup he fed her, scarfing down the bread and gulping down the honey-filled tea. When she was done, Discord wiped at her mouth with a napkin, and placed a new wet towel on her forehead, gently moving her back into a lying position.
"Promise you'll stay?," she whispered. Her throat was still sore. He smiled, stroking her mane.
"I promise." This brought a smile to her face, and she slowly closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers against her scalp.
She woke up as Discord gently shook her shoulder, telling her that she had slept through the afternoon. He summoned a tray with his magic, this time with potato soup, crackers, and milk. He fed her the soup and crackers, and helped her hold onto her glass of milk.
Once she was done, he surprised her by lifting her up and carrying her to their bathroom. "What...?"
"You have a high fever, and you're soaked with sweat," he explained. "Surely that can't be comfortable."
She shifted in his arms, realized how her fur seemed to stick to her uncomfortably. She slowly nodded, confirming his suspicions. With a nod of his head, the tub was full of water. He gently laid her into it, and she relaxed, finding the lukewarm temperature comforting.
He worked slowly and gently, taking his time as he slathered shampoo into her coat and mane. She cooed softly as his fingers scratched against her scalp, leaning into his touch. She squeaked as she was doused in water, and Discord became immediately apologetic for scaring her.
The water disappeared from the tub, and he gently picked her up with a large, fluffy green towel. His hands gently rubbed at her body as he carried her back to bed, and she sighed in contentment, leaning her head against his chest.
He placed her back in bed, after fluffing her pillow. Once she was tucked in, he grabbed the towel and pulled it out from underneath her effortlessly. As it floated towards the bathroom, he took a seat in a wooden chair by the bed. "I'll stay here until you fall asleep," he assured, patting her hoof.
"You're...not staying?"
"Well, surely you'd feel better if you didn't have a draconequus draped over you," he said with a chuckle. "I'll only be a room away if you need anything."
"But...I always sleep better when you're next to me," she said, blushing. A blush formed on Discord's face, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. Slowly, he went over to the other side of the bed, and crawled under the sheets. He carefully placed his arm over her, watching her face carefully.
She moved over to him and curled against his chest with a soft sigh. He froze for a minute, before gently wrapping his arms around her. She smiled and nuzzled against his chest with a yawn, her eyes sliding closed.
She woke up the next morning with a yawn, stretching her forelimbs. She breathed the morning air deeply, her throat feeling much less sore than it was yesterday, and her brain seemed less clouded. She felt at the forehead with a hoof, sighing in relief when it seemed to be a normal temperature.
Discord's arms were still wrapped around her, keeping her close to his chest. She turned and started to snuggle against him, vowing to thank him as soon as he woke up.
A few minutes later, he blinked awake groggily. He was quickly awoken as she started to pepper his face with kisses. He laughed, eventually pushing her away playfully. "Seems somepony's much more energetic today," he said with a chuckle before drawing her into a passionate kiss.
When they broke away, he got out of bed, summoned a doctor's lab coat for himself and started examining her, feeling her forehead and looking at her throat. He took a second to tickle her belly with his tail, prompting her to giggle, before pulling away and magicking up a clipboard.
"You seem to be recovered..." he hummed. "But we'd really prefer to keep you here an extra day. Just to be sure."
She sighed. "But Discord, there's so much I need to do at the sanctuary." His expression remained blank as he rose an eyebrow at her. "...Alright. If I stay for the morning, will you let me work in the afternoon? You can come with me if you want."
He smiled. "I'd say that is a most acceptable arrangement!" He dove back under the bed sheets, quickly wrapping himself around her. She smiled and nuzzled his cheek, wrapping her front hooves around his midsection.
The moment was interrupted as Discord let out a loud, "ACHOO!"
As he sniffed and shooed away the flying book he had accidentally created, he glanced at her, looking worried. Her own eyes widened in surprise. "I...don't suppose you'd go to the sanctuary right now, would you?," he asked. She shook her head and climbed out of bed, coming around to tuck him under the covers, gently pushing his head down towards the pillow.
"Just rest," she said. "I'll be right here if you need me." He huffed and sniffed, but made no effort to get up. And she could see a small smile on his face.