//------------------------------//
// Shot Through the Heart 
// Story: Domestic Drabbles of Discord's Dimension 
// by GeekCat 
//------------------------------//

"Thanks, Dr. Fauna," Fluttershy said. "I really can't thank you enough for giving all the sanctuary animals their shots."

The earth pony smiled. "Oh, it's really no trouble at all, Fluttershy," she said. "I'd hate for any of the creatures here to get sick."

"Still, I appreciate all you've done," Fluttershy said, rubbing one of Angel's children between her ears. Cherub squeaked and nuzzled into her hoof before hopping away to join her siblings.

"Speaking of shots, Fluttershy...have you gotten your flu shot yet this year?"

Fluttershy bit her lip. "I...don't think I've gotten any shots since I moved in with Discord. I've just been so busy, and I always forget about it."

Dr. Fauna nodded. "Well, if there's ever a year to get it, it's this year. The flu strain this year is just awful...a few ponies have even..." She paused and gulped. "But that's only a few cases. The symptoms are still very nasty, though."

Fluttershy nodded. "I'll think about it. Discord should probably get his shots, too."

They chatted for a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes and going their separate ways. Before going through one of the nearby portals, Fluttershy paused and flew towards town instead, in the direction of the Ponyville Hospital.





Everything had gone smoothly. An appointment was set for both of them, tomorrow in the middle of the morning. They would both get the flu shot and then go out for lunch and ice cream afterward.

Discord decided that things going smoothly was not a good thing.

"No!" he said for the tenth time that morning, and the fifteenth since she had told him last evening. "I am not going to let somepony stick a needle in me!"

She sighed and began to fly towards one of the nearby portals. "Discord...it's to make sure you don't get sick. You don't want to get sick, do you?"

He growled. "I think I'll take my chances. I don't get sick that often."

She sighed. "Fine. If you want to stay here, I'll just get my shot, and go eat lunch in town by myself." She saw his ears perk up a little, a frown growing on his face.

She turned away to hide a smirk. "And I hoped we could go to Sugar Cube Corner for dessert...I guess I'll just have to go by myself."

"Ugh!" Discord floated to her side. "Fine, I'll do it. You're not nearly as subtle as you think you are, my dear."

She held his paw, and they flew towards the portal. "Thank you, sweetie," she said. "You know I'm doing this because I love you and want you to be healthy, right?"

He muttered and grumbled to himself, before finally saying aloud, "Yeah...I know. I just don't like it."





Discord tapped his foot on the ground. She reached over and patted his upper arm.

They had signed in early and were waiting to be called back. Discord had started fidgeting impatiently after the first minute.

She leaned against his shoulder. "It shouldn't be too much longer," she said quietly.

He grumbled, "If they're going to do awful things to me, do they need to bore me to death, too?"

She pointed to a stack of magazines on the table next to him. He sighed and shook his head. "No, I sampled some of them when you were signing us in. Too glossy and vapid for my taste."

She narrowed her eyes. There was a small piece of colored paper on his snaggletooth. "Discord...what have we discussed about eating things that don't belong to you?"

He grinned and reached up, pulling out his snaggletooth. Inside was a tightly rolled up magazine, a tiny corner poked up and over the edge of his tooth. "I was wondering how long it'd take for you to realize something was off." He pulled the magazine out of his tooth, which unfolded itself without any creases, and tossed it back onto the stack.

"I'd never eat these, anyway. I've tried it before, they're disgusting," he said. With a sigh, he slumped in his chair. "But there goes my source of entertainment. None of these," he flipped through the magazine pages, "appeal to me."

His leg bounced up and down. She leaned against his side, wrapping a foreleg around his arm. "It won't be too long," she said, nuzzling against him. Slowly, his leg stopped bouncing.

"Mr. and Mrs. Chaos?" a young nurse said. She felt Discord tense up, and gave his paw a reassuring squeeze before standing up and walking to the nurse. With a great sigh, he lifted himself from the chair and followed, dragging his feet on the ground.

The nurse guided them through the maze of hallways inside, before finally stopping and opening a small wooden door, gesturing for them to enter. It was a small room, with sterile white walls and a plain blue carpet, with a long, uncomfortable-looking medical bed.

She fluttered into the air and sat down on the bed. Discord followed suit, laying on his stomach and curling next to her. The bed expanded to comfortably hold both of them. The nurse blinked in surprise, but quickly shook it off and approached the counter and cabinets.

"I see the both of you are here for the flu shot," she said as she grabbed items with her magic. "That's good. The influenza strain this year seems particularly nasty." There was a clinking of glass as she did something on the counter, outside their view. "Well, this won't take long at all, don't worry."

She smiled and turned to face them, a syringe filled with clear liquid held in her magic.

Discord yelped and pressed himself against Fluttershy's side. "T-that thing's huge!" he said. "Y-you're not going to stick that in me!"

He buried his face into her shoulder, tucking his limbs behind her. Googly eyes sprouted on his horn and antler, focused on and glaring at the needle. He was trembling violently, shaking his head.

"Discord," she said, brushing the tip of her wing against his back. "It's okay. It's okay. It's not that big."

The eyes on his horns gazed at her skeptically, and he lifted his head, showing an identical expression. The nurse stepped a little closer, holding the needle casually for him to examine.

He flinched, ducking back behind her shoulder. "Looks pretty big to me! And sharp! And definitely painful!" Trembling, he slowly shrank down in size, until he was completely hidden under her wing.

"Oh, Discord..." She lifted up her wing, brushing him with her feathers before folding it back against her side. He crawled closer to her side and pressed against her, still trembling. She sighed and began to stroke his back softly.

After some petting, soft kisses, and whispered assurances, he grew back to his normal size. He still had his arms wrapped around her, though, and was eyeing the needle warily.

"Sir, if you just close your eyes and relax, it'll be fine," the nurse said with a smile. He sighed heavily, but complied as Fluttershy stroked his cheek.

"Alright. I'm going to do this on the count of three. One..." She came closer. His fingers curled into fists.

"Two..." She poised the needle just above his skin. Before she could do anything else, though, Discord's eyes suddenly snapped open. He reeled backward, trying to bat at the needle without coming close to it.

"I know that trick!" he said. "You're going to stick me with that right before you say three, aren't you!" He jumped off of the bed and huddled behind it, glaring at her. "You can't trick me like that! What do you take me for, a fool?!" With a growl, he slinked off into the corner, hackles raised. He huddled in the corner, glaring at the nurse.

Fluttershy sighed, placing a hoof against her forehead. "Oh, Discord..." She turned to the nurse. "We should give him some time to calm down. Can you give me my shot?"

The nurse nodded, swabbing the syringe with a sterilized cotton ball. Fluttershy took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as she approached, letting her muscles relax.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. "Um, Mrs. Fluttershy?" the nurse said. "I'm having a slight problem."

She opened her eyes. The nurse was trying to give her the shot, but a shimmering blue aura had appeared a few inches above her skin and was repelling the syringe. The nurse tried to push the syringe closer, but the aura pushed back harder, even creating a tiny blue hoof to slap the needle away.

Fluttershy turned and glared at Discord. His ears lowered and his shoulders drooped. "Discord," she said. "I know you don't want to get your shot. But I do! Just let her give me the shot!"

He whined, "But...but I don't want to see you get hurt." The nurse tried to push through the aura, failing again.

She sighed and shook her head. "Then just...don't watch. Cover your eyes, and take down the shield." He frowned, biting his lip. "I promise I'll be fine. Please?"

He let out a whine, but slowly turned around to face the corner, shutting his eyes and covering his ears with his hands. He snapped his tail feathers, and the aura slowly faded away.

Both she and the nurse let out a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and relaxed, flinching as the nurse stuck the needle in her arm. A few seconds later, she pulled out the syringe, and Fluttershy opened her eyes.

"That wasn't so bad," she said as the nurse swabbed her foreleg with a wet cloth that smelled strongly of alcohol. She glanced over at Discord, and saw that he hadn't reacted in the slightest—he was as still as a statue, pressing his ears to his head.

She sighed and shook her head as the nurse placed a yellow band-aid on her foreleg. "He's being very stubborn about this," she said quietly. "I'm not sure how long it will take me to convince him..."

Suddenly, her ears perked up, her eyes lighting up with an idea. She glanced over at Discord, biting her lip, her eyes filling with guilt. "I'm sorry," she said under her breath. To the nurse, she said, "If I talk to him, and reassure him, can you...give him the shot while he's distracted?"

Her gaze whipped back to him. He hadn't reacted. The nurse bit her lip. "I'm not sure, ma'am. I don't feel comfortable tricking patients."

Fluttershy sighed. "If we don't do this, I'm not sure how long it'll take to talk him into accepting it." She shivered. "I once spent a whole day just trying to get him to go to a dentist appointment. At least then I could tell him it wouldn't be painful."

The nurse frowned, but still grabbed another syringe with her magic and nodded. Fluttershy took a deep breath and flew over to Discord, tapping him on the shoulder.

He flinched, head swiveling to face her. She smiled reassuringly, turning to show the band-aid on her foreleg. "See?" she said. "It wasn't that bad."

The rest of his body rotated with a clicking sound until it and his head were properly aligned. He lowered his head until his muzzle was just inches from the band-aid, his eyes narrowed. "I still think it was a rather large needle," he said, hands hovering over her foreleg. "I'm glad I didn't see it..." He shivered.

She clasped his hands between her hooves. "It really wasn't that bad, Discord. Do you think you'd be willing to..."

He shook his head quickly. "Nope. No way. Not happening. Get a refund for whatever you paid, and—" He yelped, his fur standing on edge.

Both he and Fluttershy glanced down at his upper arm. A syringe was injected there, and just now being pulled out by the nurse's magic. Discord shivered as she swabbed his skin, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. A tiny whimper came from his throat.

Fluttershy pressed her face into his hands, kissing his knuckles. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she muttered in between kisses. "I'm sorry. I just want you to be healthy." She kissed his knuckles a few more times as the nurse placed a band-aid on his arm. As soon as she was done, Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around his torso, leaning down to kiss him where he had gotten his shot.

He wrapped his arms around her as she nuzzled against his arm, planting kisses on his skin. The nurse coughed, making the two of them glance up. "You're, um, free to leave whenever you want," she said. "And since you've already paid, you can just...go out the door."

She backed away towards the door. "I'll just...leave you two alone." She backed out and quickly closed the door behind her.

Fluttershy turned her attention back to Discord, trailing kisses down his arm. "Flutters..." he sighed. "It's not that bad. Come on. Just look up, would you?"

She did so. Tiny tears were still in the corners of his eyes, but he was smiling. With a swipe of his claw, his eyes were dry. "I'm fine, see? I was just surprised." He kissed her forehead. "You don't need to fuss over me."

She whimpered, pressing closer against his chest. "But...I tricked you."

He patted her on the head. "Yes, but only because I was being my stubborn old self. The shot wasn't fun, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected." He nuzzled her behind her ear. "Thank you for looking out for me. I don't know what I'd do without you." His grip around her tightened.

She shifted in his hold until she could comfortably lean against his chest. "So...you're not mad?" she said quietly.

He scratched her behind the ear, making her coo softly. "No, of course not," he said. "How can I be? If anything, you should be mad at me for being such a stubborn old spirit."

She brushed a hoof against his upper arm, where the band-aid was. "Well...no one likes pain," she said. "I can understand why you didn't want the shot..."

He shuddered as her hoof crossed his wound. "Well, at least I know it's not as bad as I feared. I suppose if I have to get more in the future, I'd do it..."

She shook her head. "That's probably not going to happen. I only got mine this year because of how bad this year's flu is. And I wanted to make sure you got one, too, because I want you to be safe." She leaned up and kissed his cheek.

He suddenly stood up, still holding her in his arms. "Well, I'm hungry!" he declared. "If our 'I-understand-you-and-love-you' moment is out of the way, why don't we grab lunch?"

She giggled and nodded. "Alright. Sugar Cube Corner? Oh, and we should let them know we've left." He nodded and snapped his fingers, and they disappeared in a flash of white light. A paper airplane with the message 'hey we left --Discord and Flutters' written in pink crayon appeared and sailed through the door and down the hallway, towards the desk.