Discord yawned and sat up, popping the kinks out of his back. He and Fluttershy had hosted a party last night with their friends, which had gone on long through the night. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he curled closer to the snoozing Fluttershy next to him.
Though he tried to relax, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't cleaned the living room yet. He tried to pull away from Fluttershy, but couldn't muster up the energy to do so. With a sigh, he snapped his fingers, and three other Discords popped into existence beside the bed.
"Go clean up the living room, please," he told them, waving them away with a paw before turning away and curling closer to Fluttershy. He heard the door open and close as the three clones left. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and buried his muzzle into his wife's mane, letting sleep take over him again.
He woke up again as Fluttershy stirred awake. He slowly pulled away from her, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. She quickly leaned forward to kiss him on the lips, an action he happily returned.
He scooped her up into his arms and floated into the hallway, heading towards the kitchen.
Discord's first clone sighed as he lazily swept crumbs on the floor. The first moments of his individual sapience, and he was cleaning up popcorn. And as soon as he was done, he'd just go back to being one part of a whole Discord.
He glanced at the other two clones. One was throwing scattered objects that didn't belong into some swirling purple portal, while the other had summoned up a maid outfit and was dusting the furniture. Both looked a bit tired, as they had just been forced out of bed and into work.
His ears perked up when he heard the soft sound of wingbeats. He watched as the original Discord flew in, holding Fluttershy in his arms. She looked around the room, raising an eyebrow at the multiple Discords.
"I decided to get a head start on the cleaning," the original explained, seeing her confusion. "Nice work, guys!"
The three clones grumbled. The first one huffed and harshly swept at the floor. The sound of wingbeats, much softer this time, made him lift his head again. Fluttershy flew towards him, placing a hoof on his paw. "Thank you very much," she said sweetly, a small smile on her face.
He gulped and blushed. "You're...welcome," he stammered. She smiled and flew other to the others, who merely grunted at her thanks, before flying back over to the original, who offered her his arm as he led her to the kitchen. The first clone propped up his broomstick and leaned against it, watching Fluttershy until she was out of sight.
He sighed longingly and swept at the ceiling. The other clones gave him strange looks, but he ignored them, too busy with his own thoughts. Perhaps I could go mop in the kitchen, He mused, Or see if Fluttershy needs any chores done...maybe I could do the dishes...
His ears perked up when he heard the two coming back into the living room. He kept sweeping at the ceiling, though his eyes were now focused on Fluttershy. "Have a lovely day!" the original chirped, tearing a blue portal open with his hands. "I'll see you later, dearest," he cooed, nuzzling the top of her head.
The clone ground his teeth. Why can't I be that Discord?. Fluttershy giggled, and gently pushed his muzzle away. "Discord, aren't you supposed to be visiting Celestia? I know the two of you have fun on your visits." Discord mumbled something in her ear—probably something about how he'd rather be with her, or that he loved her—to which she blushed and pushed him away again. "I-I'll see you later! Have a nice day!"
She flew through the portal, which disappeared behind her. The original glanced at the three clones. "You guys won't burn down the house again if I leave you here, right?" They all mumbled half-heartedly, to which the original shrugged. "Eh, good enough. Merge into one entity with you later!" He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light.
The clone who was throwing stuff into the portal was now fighting the woven rug in a boxing ring, dust flying with every punch. "Show-off," he grumbled. "Teleporting and portaling everywhere, and all we can do is some gags."
The maid clone, vacuuming the wall, laughed in a high-pitched voice. "Oh, but who can blame him? So powerful, so stunning!" The other clone threw the abandoned feather duster at his head.
The first clone dropped his broom. "I'm...going to go mop up the kitchen. Who knows how much of a mess the original made in there," he said. The others waved, smiling, before turning back to each other and bickering. He quickly shot into the kitchen, throwing open cupboards.
He took a deep breath before going through the portal. He switched the picnic basket he held from arm to arm. Maybe it's too early, he thought as he strolled through the sanctuary. But if I wait too long, the original will come back.
"Discord?" He jumped, quickly turning around in midair. Fluttershy was holding a sloth in her hooves, a look of concern in her eyes. "Is everything alright? What happened to visiting Celestia?"
He smiled. "She and Lulu were busy today. Perhaps I can swing by tomorrow." He held out the picnic basket. "But it seemed a shame to stay inside on such a lovely day. So why shouldn't I spend some time with my lovely wife?"
She smiled sweetly, and his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. "Thank you, Discord. But...I need to find this little lady a place to rest." She fluttered her wings, heading for a small grove of trees. "I'll be back in a second."
He watched her go, a sigh escaping his lips. He quickly closed his eyes and shook his head, placing the basket on the ground and bringing out the pink and blue blanket he had stored inside.
"Weren't there three of us?," the second clone asked.
The two of them had finished cleaning, and so discarded whatever crazy outfits or tools they had conjured. They had taken a seat on the ceiling table and started playing a card game. They hadn't figured out which one yet, but that didn't stop them from tossing cards at each other and slapping them down on the table.
The other clone jabbed a thumb towards the door. "Yeah, he's cleaning the kitchen."
"Let's go get him. I wanna play Hucklebuck. Can't do that with two players," the second said, throwing his cards down on the table and floating off. The other groaned and followed him.
They opened the kitchen doors and peered inside. Nopony was inside. They floated about, checking the ceiling, walls, and under the floor tiles, but there was no sign of the first clone anywhere.
"Is that normally open?," the third clone asked, pointing at the ajar window. The second clone shook his head, and they peered closer to inspect it. There was a scattering of crumbs on the windowsill and the ground below it, leading to the edge of the floating island...where a shimmering blue portal was.
"You don't think he went to Equestria Prime, do you?," the second asked. The third shrugged.
"Who knows? But it's the only lead we have." He floated out of the window, zipping towards the portal. The other followed him, grumbling about just wanting a simple card game.
As soon as they entered the sanctuary, the sound of soft laughter caught their attention. Close by, Fluttershy and the first Discord clone were laying on a blanket, a basket placed off to the side. The two were holding sandwiches, and he seemed to be telling her a story that made her burst into a fit of giggles.
The clone shifted closer to her, the tip of his wing brushing against her own. While he smiled softly at her, his eyes flicked up for just a second...and he froze, seeing the other clones watching the two of them intently.
Fluttershy looked at him, concerned, then followed his gaze to the two of them. "Discord...is something wrong? Why are there three of you?," she asked softly.
The second clone cleared his throat. "Nothing's wrong. We're just...looking for a third player for our card game." The third clone nodded.
The first clone draped his arm over Fluttershy. "Sorry...I'm busy." He leaned over and nuzzled the top of her head. The other two glared at him while she giggled.
"Oh, you can play cards if you want. I don't mind," she assured him, nuzzling his cheek.
"But I want to stay with you!" he whined, leaning against her. The other two watched as she sighed with a small smile, snuggling against him as he came closer. The second clone grabbed onto his chest, feeling his heart race as her teal eyes gazed into the first clone's.
The third clone suddenly shot past him, shoving himself between Fluttershy and the first clone. The pair blinked in shock as the newcomer wrapped his arms around her, burying his muzzle into her mane.
The first clone grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, I was here first! Back off!"
The third simply shrugged him off. "You've had her for long enough. I want to cuddle her, too!" He started to coil himself around Fluttershy, who looked confused.
The first growled and snapped his fingers, summoning a lasso around the third clone. With a swift yank, he was pulled away from Fluttershy and off of the picnic blanket. He sighed and approached her, but a giant red spring appeared underneath him, sending him flying away.
The third clone laughed and flew back towards the picnic blanket. The first leapt up and grabbed him around the torso, dragging him back towards the ground. The two wrestled about, creating a large dust cloud, magic sent flying in all directions as they cast and dodged spells.
"Discord? What's going on? I don't understand!" said Fluttershy, hovering near the fight.
One clone poked his head out, grinning. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll take care of this fellow, and we can just relax together..." The other clone cried angrily, and his head was pulled back in.
She hovered around the fight, watching the scene with clear worry. The second clone, who had been watching from a theater chair, stood up and calmly approached her from behind. She was so busy fretting over the other two that she didn't notice until he was right behind her.
He glanced between her and the two fighting clones. They were so busy that they hadn't noticed his approach...which was exactly what he was hoping for.
He grabbed Fluttershy, threw her over his shoulder, and took off running towards a thick grove of trees in a corner of the sanctuary. As soon as he was deep in its shade, he pulled a very confused Fluttershy back down into his arms, sat down, and held her against his chest.
"I...don't understand what's going on..." She said quietly. He smiled sweetly and nuzzled the top of her head.
Discord whistled a jumbled tune as he strolled in through the door. "I'm home, sweetheart!" He flung a suddenly-appearing coat onto the rack on the ceiling. "You wouldn't believe the day I've just had. Celestia saying she's retired...hah!"
Only silence greeted him. "Odd," he mumbled. "It's fairly late in the afternoon. She's usually done in the sanctuary by now."
With a snap of his fingers, he teleported into a battlefield. He blinked and snapped again, picturing the sanctuary. He teleported a few feet away. "What in the world?"
The sanctuary was indistinguishable from a battlefield. The ground was torn to shreds all around him. The air was heavily tinged with magic, and signs of chaos were scattered about. He noticed all of the untouched plant life nearby was being used as a hiding place by Fluttershy's animals.
"Fluttershy!" he cried, immediately shooting into the air, his head turning at impossible angles to peer at every part of the area.
He spotted her several feet away, over a hill. She was in the arms of one of his clones, who was dressed up in a black cape, complete with villainous moustache. He was currently swordfighting with another clone, Fluttershy tucked carefully under his arm.
Suddenly, another clone flew from behind him, snatching Fluttershy right out of his grasp. The others turned and hissed as he flew off, heading towards another hill. The others gave chase.
"ENOUGH!" Discord shouted. His three clones looked up at him with worried expressions, while Fluttershy looked up with a slightly more confused one. "I don't know what's happened here. But it's time for whatever this is to end!"
He snapped his fingers, and his three clones disappeared in flashes of light. He closed his eyes as a wave of memories hit him, barely remembering to summon a pillow beneath Fluttershy.
After a few seconds of quiet floating, and a few snaps to restore everything to normal, he flew down to Fluttershy. "Are you alright, my dear?" He didn't remember being rough, but all of him had definitely gotten carried away.
She slowly nodded. "Discord...what was that about? Is something wrong?"
He grinned sheepishly. "Well...this was probably my fault. Not just that several versions of myself caused you trouble, but...I left the three of them alone, at home. I should have learned last time that was a bad idea."
"But why were they—you—fighting?" she asked, her face slowly turning pink. "I know they wanted to, um, cuddle with me. B-But why did they start fighting about it?"
He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well...we both already know I can be a little...protective." Her face turned a brighter shade of pink, and he sighed, "I guess that...protective jealousy can be directed towards other versions of myself."
She nuzzled his cheek, her face still warm. "Well...I thought it was sweet when you came with a picnic lunch. And I wouldn't have minded cuddling. It was just...all the fighting that made me so confused."
He smirked. "So if I could share, you'd be willing to...?" Her blush went from pink to red, and she nodded.
With a snap of his fingers, he and Fluttershy were back home, in their living room. Three other Discords appeared as Fluttershy lay down on the couch. The original lay beside her and wrapped his arms around her. A clone laid on her side and did the same thing, while one draped himself on top of her, careful of her wings. The last clone fluttered about, looking at every angle, before finally slithering under her until she was laying on his belly.
"I hope this can make up for the trouble I caused you," the original murmured in her ear.
"Yes," she sighed. "This is nice..." She yawned, the heat from four warm, furry bodies causing her eyelids to slowly droop closed.