Discord and Fluttershy appeared next to a lake, where a large group of pegasi was waiting. Rainbow Dash was pacing in front of them, wearing her Wonderbolts uniform and a whistle. She jumped a little and flew over to them, giving Fluttershy a quick hug.
"I really appreciate you coming," she said, handing her a pair of goggles. "I know you're not a Ponyville pegasus anymore, but it doesn't hurt to get all the wings we can." She frowned and scraped her hoof on the ground. "Especially since I'm only allowed to observe, not participate."
Fluttershy put on the goggles. "Oh, it's no trouble at all. I just hope I can be helpful."
Discord waved his paw in the air. "Yes, excuse me, Captain Rainbow?" Rainbow rolled her eyes and gestured for him to continue. "Why can't I just lift up this water," he pulled a small orb of it up with his magic, "and carry it to Cloudsdale? I'm sure there's a lot of good unicorn mages in town who could also do the same thing."
Rainbow hovered in the air, smirking. "Because creating the tornado is something pegasi in each town and city are proud of! It's a part of our civic duty, a way to show who's best at flying!" She landed on the ground and mumbled, "Plus I've learned there's some bureaucracy that makes it hard to legally get non-pegasi to volunteer for Cloudsdale. I heard Twilight is looking through some of those laws and seeing what makes sense and what doesn't."
Discord nodded. "Ah, bureaucracy. The bane of all things." He flung the orb of water away, where it splashed onto a pegasus who was dozing off, causing her to jolt awake. "Well, I'll still be here...as Fluttershy's moral support." He scratched her behind the ear, making her coo in appreciation.
"Whatever you want, Discord. Just don't get sucked in." Rainbow turned away and blew into her whistle. Each pegasus jolted to attention. "Alright, ponies! Get lined up, just like we practiced, and wait for my signal!"
The pegasi rushed to form lines. Fluttershy flew up to give Discord a quick kiss on the cheek before flying into her own place in line. Rainbow stood between the group and the lake, though not in anypony's way. Discord snapped his fingers and created himself a cheerleader's uniform with a pink skirt, yellow shirt with a glittery pink "F" on the chest, and two pink pom-poms.
He waved the pom-poms in the air, cheering Fluttershy's name, causing her to blush and giggle. Rainbow raised a hoof in the air, and his cheering quieted down, though he kept his pom-poms trembling in front of him.
"Ready...Go!" shouted Rainbow, bringing her hoof down. The pegasi rushed past her and began to fly in a practiced formation as fast as they could. Discord resumed his cheering as Fluttershy entered the forming vortex.
"Shy! Shy! She's our mare! If she can't do it, I don't care!" He blinked, freezing halfway through a cartwheel. "Wait, that doesn't sound quite right..."
"Discord!" Rainbow shouted from behind him. "Get away from there! You're right in prime vortex wind zone!"
"What's that? Speak Ponish, for goodness sake!" he shouted back after finishing his cartwheel. Before he could begin his next cheer, the wind grabbed the pom-poms out of his hands and lifted up his skirt.
"EEK!" he cried, desperately trying to hold his skirt down with his hands. While he did this, his pom-poms faded into a pink mist that smelled faintly of strawberries, and his feet adhered to the ground with magic.
Rainbow rolled her eyes at him, then turned her attention back to the tornado. Discord wailed about his skirt and dignity for a few more seconds, but once he realized no one was listening, he stopped and turned his attention to Fluttershy, eyes glowing as he looked at her through the strong winds.
She was panting heavily, beads of sweat forming on her forehead as her wings pumped up and down. His eyes widened with worry when he saw her wingbeats slow, and she needed to strain harder to push her wings. He fought the urge to fly in by her side and help her...and sighed in relief when he saw the water begin to rise from the lake.
In a matter of minutes, the water in the lake was funneled up through the tornado to Cloudsdale. Rainbow blew her whistle, and the pegasi inside began to slow to a halt and land on the shore...except for Fluttershy, who was still flying circles overhead, eyes closed and teeth grit.
Discord teleported in front of her. She collided with his chest, the air knocked out of her, and he wrapped his arms around her. She opened her eyes and looked around, a small blush forming on her face. "It's over already, isn't it?" He nodded, and she huddled in his arms, burying her face into his chest.
He chuckled and stroked her mane, floating down gently to the group. "You were wonderful, my dear," he said, kissing the top of her forehead. "Goodness, seeing your determination..." A paper fan appeared next to them, blowing a gentle breeze over both of them, and he offered her a bottle of water.
As he landed towards the back of the crowd, Rainbow was clapping her hooves. "Excellent work, everypony! No records set this year for speed, but we got the job done, and done well!" The pegasi cheered.
"Now, the Ponyville Day Spa is offering free wing massages today for everypony who volunteered, and Sugarcube Corner is giving a discount on desserts!" The crowd oohed and ahhed. "Yeah, it's pretty sweet. You just have to see me and get a hoofband as proof you were here."
The crowd rushed towards her, all clamoring for hoofbands. Fluttershy shifted in his hold, biting her lip. "Penny for your thoughts?" Discord said, flipping a copper coin in front of her muzzle.
She sighed. "Well, it's just...a massage does sound nice, but I don't need it. And if there's going to be so many ponies there..."
"You'd rather not go," he finished. She nodded, taking a drink of water. "Well, what if we got you your hoofband, went home to relax, and popped by Sugarcube Corner later once you're rested up?"
"That sounds nice," she said. He grinned and used his tail as a spring to bounce over to Rainbow Dash. His antics made the few pegasi left back up a bit—Oh goody, no lines! he thought to himself—but Rainbow didn't react at all, aside from a chuckle and an eye roll.
Fluttershy handed her goggles back to Rainbow, who tied a blue paper wristband that read "Proud Weather Volunteer" on Fluttershy's hoof. "You take it easy, okay?" she said, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Don't let Discord drag you off on some crazy adventure. Your wings need a break."
Discord huffed and placed a hand to his chest, a halo appearing above his head. "Why, Rainbow Dash, you wound me. I am nothing but the picture of a doting, loving husband, and I would never fling us willy-nilly into chaos."
Rainbow laughed, while Fluttershy giggled and said, "Dear, just living with you ends up flinging our lives into chaos." He pouted, his halo shattering above his head. She leaned up, trailing her lips against his cheek, and whispered in his ear, "You aren't wrong about being a loving and doting husband, though..."
His face turned red, the tips of his horns opening to release steam with the shriek of a tea kettle. Rainbow laughed even harder, clutching her stomach with a hoof. Fluttershy giggled, a pink blush forming on her own face as she relaxed into Discord's arms.
He huffed. "Well, if you two are going to besmirch my good name, I shall just make my exit." He reached to the side and threw the air aside like a curtain, opening a portal to their living room with a neon exit sign hovering above it.
He glanced down at Fluttershy, who nodded and waved to Rainbow. "Goodbye! Thank you for the wristband!"
"No trouble, Flutters," Rainbow said. "Discord, are we still good for O&O with Spike this Wednesday?"
"Of course, Miss Shadow Streak," he said. "See you then!" With that, he stepped through the portal, letting the air shift back into place behind him.
As soon as he was inside and had placed Fluttershy in a nearby chair, he began ripping off parts of his costume and flinging them onto nearby coat hangers. He sighed and fell onto the couch, fanning himself. "I think I made that shirt too tight and thick," he panted. "Oh, how wonderful it feels for my fur to breathe again!"
She giggled. "Thank you for being my moral support. I saw some of your cheering before flying became difficult," she said. "I know it's fairly early in the morning, but would you like some tea?"
Discord nodded eagerly, already setting some plates of pastries on the table between them. Fluttershy smiled and got out of her chair, opening her wings...and then flinching, closing them, and walking into the kitchen.
It was only a small action, but it made Discord freeze and drop the plate of bagels he had made. After a few seconds of mulling over what he'd seen, he floated after her into the kitchen. There, she was just finishing setting the kettle on the stove and glancing up at the tea cabinet—which was high enough that she would need to fly up to reach it.
As he approached, her wings twitched against her back. Just as she was about to open them, he placed a paw gently on her back and opened the cabinet with his claw. "What tea would you like today, dearest?"
She jumped slightly, feathers ruffling. "Discord, don't scare me like that!"
"Oooh, we're out of that kind. Would mint be good?" he said, pulling out the small green box. She pouted at him, but nodded. He handed her one of the teabags, and she placed it in the kettle.
"Sorry for startling you like that, Fluttershy. But I couldn't help but notice something." She tilted her head. "You seem wary to use your wings. Do they feel sore?"
After a moment of pause, she nodded. "A little. I still don't want to go to the spa, with all the others, but...maybe a cup of tea will help." She smiled reassuringly, but that smiled wavered as his expression remained neutral, aside from him raising an eyebrow.
She sighed, shifting her wings. "Really, though, a few days of relaxing and some good nights of sleep is all I need to feel better."
"A few days!?" he squawked. "No. No. Unacceptable. I will not let you feel sore for days and not do anything about it."
He snapped his fingers, and a white bottle with blue-and-orange labeling appeared in his hand. "This is a sort of medicine, but it's...Oh, what's the word? Tropical? No, topical! It's supposed to numb muscle pain." He looked at her, eyes wide and pleading. "Can...can you use it, please?"
The tea kettle whistled, making her ears perk up. "Well...if you can put it on my wings while I get the tea..." He whooped and teleported above her, already squirting copious amounts of the white goo into his paw. He noted to himself that it was first cold, then hot, but not too much of either. His skin felt numbed underneath it.
As she lifted the kettle off of the stove, he started to rub the goo onto her wings. She shivered a bit from the cold, but held onto the kettle and turned around, walking back towards the living room. Discord twisted in the air and followed her, still adding the stuff to her wings.
She froze for a second and hissed. The cold feeling must have given way to the hot one. Discord also froze. She paused for a few seconds, her wings shifting, as though wondering what to make of this new sensation. She continued walking, and Discord let out a loud sigh of relief and followed.
She set the kettle on the table as Discord slipped some of the goo under her wings. She sat down, letting her wings fold comfortably against her back, and poured two cups of tea for them. Discord pulled away, shaking the medicine off of his hands and picking up his cup, taking a dainty sip with his pinky out. She smiled and took a sip of her own tea, relaxing in the armchair, though not leaning back.
As they sipped at their tea, Fluttershy seemed to relax more, even stretching her wings without flinching a few times. Upon him asking, she admitted that yes, the medicine had worked wonderfully in numbing her soreness.
"Although I'm sure my wings will still feel sore the next few days," she said, nibbling at the corner of some buttered toast. "They just need some time to heal."
He grunted, dipping a small plate into his tea before taking a bite out of it. "Why can't I just snap my fingers to heal you?" he grumbled, already holding his fingers in a snapping position.
"Discord, it's not that bad," she said. "All pegasi have to deal with sore wings every once in a while. There's no cure for it, except for time and massages...and this medicine, I suppose."
"Chaos magic could cure you," he mumbled into his cup. "Chaos magic could fix a lot of things."
Fluttershy sighed. "Discord, do you know a lot about pegasus wings?"
He nodded and began to eagerly list things off. "Of course I do! I know that you have to preen your feathers on occasion, just like you'd get a mane cut. I know that they can conduct magic for flight. I know that some parts of them are more sensitive than others, like the very edges..."
She held up a hoof to stop him, her face bright red. "I-I meant, do you know a lot about the anatomy of pegasus wings?"
He hemmed and hahhed, gesturing in the air and miming the shape of her wings before he deflated like a balloon. "No," he mumbled. "And let me guess: I'm not supposed to just throw magic at what I don't understand?"
She nodded. "I know you don't like that I'm sore. But it's only going to be for a few days." She reached up and rubbed behind his ear. "I wish you wouldn't worry so much."
He leaned closer to her touch, sighing as his eyes slid closed and he reinflated. Though he felt a bit more relaxed, part of his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to help Fluttershy. The tiny Discord in his head ran on a hamster wheel, panting and reading papers that flew by.
He snagged one, then jumped off of the wheel, tumbling to the ground. "That's it!" he cried, waving his captured paper in the air.
Discord's eyes popped open as he reinflated himself. "You said massages are another cure for sore wings, correct?"
Fluttershy nodded. "Well, 'cure' might not be the right word, but it helps pegasi feel better faster. That's why the spa was offering free massages."
He tapped his fingers together. "And what if I suggested that you receive one of said massages from the creature who knows your wings best?" He beamed, batting long eyelashes at her as neon arrows pointed at his face.
She hummed, staring down at the table as she sipped her tea. She shifted her wings a little, ruffling her feathers and stretching them experimentally. Finally, she said, "That...that sounds nice. Can we finish our tea first?"
He nodded, resisting the urge to drink the entire kettle in one gulp. They continued to sip at their tea and eat snacks for the next half hour. Before Fluttershy could grab the empty kettle and plates, Discord had already thrown them and the table through the window with a great crash. He snapped his fingers and made new kettles and plates in the kitchen, and another table right in front of them.
Discord walked over to the broken window he had thrown the items out of, closed the curtains, and reopened them. The broken window was now replaced by an unbroken, sealed porthole. While Fluttershy marveled at his magic, he had gone back to her and began working his magic on a small couch nearby.
He grabbed the sofa and began to mold it like clay, squeezing and pulling it into odd proportions. He only stopped when he created a sunken, cushioned seat, with two cushioned platforms raised slightly above it. A quick tug flattened the back, and after circling the seat once, he deemed it satisfactory.
Fluttershy walked back over to him, and he patted the lower platform with his paw. She crawled onto it and laid down, tucking her legs underneath her. He set a pillow under her chin, while she fully spread her wings over the upper platforms.
"Comfortable?" he asked. She nodded, letting her head fall into the pillow. He floated over her and stood behind her, cracking his knuckles, colored sparks firing behind him with each crack.
He started by gently caressing the edges of her wings, making her shiver. She glared at him over her shoulder. "Discord..."
He grinned, chuckling. "What, not helping?" She kept glaring, and his grin fell. "Sorry. For real, this time."
This time, he started right in the center of her wings, digging into her muscles and kneading. "Tell me if I'm too rough," he said.
"You're good," she murmured, snuggling into her pillow.
He continued to knead her wings, ignoring the slightly-dried white goo that was getting on his fingers. The action and the white stuff reminded him of something...he chuckled as he remembered what.
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, lifting her head up to look back at him.
"Oh," he said. "It's just that the color and texture of the medicine made me think of that time I tried making bread dough."
She froze, her wings stiffening. "I...don't want to think about that while you're massaging my wings," she said.
"What? Why not?" He froze, trying to remember what was so bad about kneading bread—oh. "Oh. Right. It exploded when I was kneading it," he said. She flinched and buried her face in the pillow, mumbling to herself to not think about it.
He continued the kneading motion, stroking the edges of her wings every so often before returning to his task. More and more of the medicine ended up flaking off as he continued, which made for a good indicator of where her wings still needed attention.
He lost track of time as he massaged her wings, even making sure to rub at their undersides. He looked over her wings, massaging at a few spots covered in medicine that he wasn't sure he had gotten or not.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her, running a wet, warm cloth along her wings to wipe up the dried medicine.
"Hmm?" she said, lifting her head off of the pillow. "Oh! That was...really nice. Thank you, Discord."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all," he said, using a comb to brush her feathers back into place. "More importantly, are your wings feeling any better?"
She nodded, sitting up and stretching her wings out, flapping them experimentally. "They feel great," she said, hopping off of the sofa. It shuddered and reverted back to its original form with a loud fwomp.
She flew up and wrapped her forehooves around his neck, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "You're so sweet for thinking of me." She nuzzled into the crook of his neck.
He wrapped an arm around her, holding her up, and kissed her on the forehead. "All that matters is that you're feeling better," he whispered in her ear. "Now, why don't we pick something up from Sugarcube Corner? I hear they have some kind of new lemon dessert I've been dying to try!"
She nodded, leaning against his chest and looking up at him. He smiled down at her and snapped his fingers, and they both vanished in a flash of light.