Discord pursed his lips, rifling through the album collection in front of him. Most of the covers had some very...graphic art, but it was a bit hard to remember what he had seen before and what he hadn't. He bit his lip, pulling a notepad out from under his arm and consulting it.
"Hey Discord!" said a voice that made him flinch and drop the notepad. He looked up and saw Rainbow Dash standing at the end of the aisle, grinning at him. "I'm surprised to see you here. Can't you make your own records?"
He huffed. "It's kind of pointless to make one if I don't know what music to put on it." He sighed. "And Fluttershy says if I'm going to use the music on a store record to make my own, I should at least buy it to support the creators."
Rainbow grinned. "And, uh...how am I not surprised that you're in the heavy metal section?" She looked worried. "Is Fluttershy okay if you play that music?"
"What do you mean?" he asked with a tilt of his head. "She's the one who..." His eyes widened. "Oh! Um, she's fine. We both have our own tastes, and we each take turns playing our records."
"Ah, I get it," Rainbow said. "I guess that's a good system...probably better than arguing over whether to play country or rock for the evening." She sheepishly grinned, while Discord teasingly rolled his eyes at her, turning his attention back to the records.
Rainbow leaned forward and skimmed through the albums, eventually deciding that there was nothing in the section that she wanted. She headed towards the counter with the punk rock album she had, but paused and looked back at him.
"Oh hey, if you're looking for some good metal, I hear Skullcrushers just released a new album," she said. "Uh...I forgot the title, though." She shrugged and paid for her record before flying out the door.
Discord flew up to the cashier. "New Skullcrushers album?" he said, a wide grin forming on his face.
She blinked. "Uh...yeah. Should be back in the Heavy Metal section. 'Broken Bones Bleeding', I think it's called."
Discord had already darted back to the section, and tore through the shelves until he found the album. The title was made up of white letters with cracks spread through them, red color dripping off of them. On the front were two skeleton ponies, one smashing the other's skull into the ground.
He wrinkled his nose at the image and flipped it over to look at the songs. There were twelve on the record, and most sounded unfamiliar. "Perfect," he said to himself. He showed it to the cashier, snapping up a pile of bits in front of her as he walked out. After a moment's thought, he also snapped up a ruby with 'Tip' written on it in black marker.
He hummed a tune to himself—one he remembered from another Skullcrushers record—and covered the goriest parts of the cover art with stickers of himself. Once the worst of it was covered, he nodded in satisfaction and snapped his tail feathers, disappearing in a flash of light.
He reappeared at their front door, holding the record behind his back. He grabbed a rope next to the door and pulled down on it, causing at least ten bells inside to start ringing.
A second later, after a few more tugs, Fluttershy opened the door. "Discord!" she said cheerfully. "Great timing. I just finished setting up the table for tea." She opened the door a little wider and stepped aside. Indeed, the table held a teapot with a worn elephant tea cozy covering it, and two white cups next to it.
"I made something chaotic today," she said. "I tried mixing the ginseng and jasmine together...and I added a little cinnamon."
"It sounds lovely," he said, his grin stretching to his ears. "It's such a lovely thing you did for me." His tail wagged slightly behind him.
She blinked and stared at him. "Discord...is there something you want to say? And does it have anything to do with what's behind your back?" She stepped forward, and he pivoted on his feet to keep the record hidden.
He grinned and nodded. "Well...what is it, then?" she asked. Her smile and eyes were wide. She even did a small dance on her hooves, coming a little closer to him. Discord smiled softly and cleared his throat, then lifted his head and grinned widely.
"Oh Fluttershy~," Discord said in a singsong voice. "I got something for you~. Can you guess what it is?"
She frowned, furrowing her brow. "Is it...something chaotic?" He shrugged. "Something cute?" He paused, then quickly shook his head. "Is it alive?" He shook his head, and she sighed. "I'm afraid I'm stumped. What is it?"
He pulled the record out from behind his back with a flourish. Fluttershy gasped and flew up, snatching it away from him and stroking her hoof along the cover. "The Skullcrushers' newest album!" she said. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She planted a big kiss on his cheek, then flew away and started to slide the record onto the player.
He flashed beside her and gently grabbed her hoof. "I don't think we should play that and drink tea at the same time," he said. "Remember last time? I had to make a new table and tea set. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
She sighed and set the record down gently. "I suppose you're right," she said. "Let's have some tea, shall we?" He smiled and nodded, offering her his arm and escorting her to the table she had set up.
They chatted as they sipped their tea, though he noticed Fluttershy kept eyeing the new record longingly. He made sure to compliment her on the tea, and she thanked him for the record, and for covering the more gruesome parts of the cover.
"Rainbow was in the record store," he said casually, topping off his cup. Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she dropped her teacup, flying forward and placing her hooves on his shoulders.
"Did she see you?" she said. "What am I saying, of course she did. But...did you tell her about..."
He sighed and shook his head, stroking her mane. "Relax, Flutterbuddy. I let her think the record was for me." He kissed her forehead. "Although...I really think you should tell her. Wouldn't it make a great bonding experience for the two of you to share a love of music?"
"I...can't," she said. "What if she thinks it's weird? What if...what if she won't see me as the same pony?"
He gave her a deadpan look. "Fluttershy, you married me. If Rainbow Dash was going to think you're weird, it would be for that, not for liking a certain genre of music."
She fidgeted. "Oh...but I just don't have the confidence to tell her. I'm scared. Isn't it...easier to keep it a secret?"
He sighed. "Not for me. One of these days, I might slip up. Besides...don't you want to share this passion of yours with your friends?"
"...a little," she said. "If you can think of any ideas to help me say it...please tell me. Don't just do it by yourself."
"Alright," he said, snapping his fingers and floating the teacup back into her hooves, making a mental note to come up with a plan.
They continued to enjoy their tea, telling stories and laughing, as they typically did. Soon, the pot was finished, and it clumsily floated its way into the kitchen, where the sink waited, full of soapy water.
"Now," he said, standing up and stretching as the teacups bobbed after their larger cousin. "Without you or our furniture in immediate danger, I'd say we can 'rock out'."
Fluttershy smiled and slipped the record onto the player, setting the needle onto the vinyl. She jumped back as the needle tried to find purchase, and Discord snapped his fingers to teleport all other furniture in the living room away.
A blast of loud music came from the player—some sort of guitar, followed by drums. A pony began screaming as the guitar sound was distorted, a scream that Fluttershy mimicked surprisingly loudly. She began bobbing her head and jumping up and down as the music continued, screaming along with the singer and playing an air guitar.
Discord held back for a few seconds and watched. Seeing Fluttershy act like this was so unusual—she was loud, active, and destructive (what happened to their last table proved that). But at the same time...she was being so bold and confident, even if it was only in the privacy of their home. He loved seeing that confident nature of hers come out in the open...if heavy metal music was the way to bring it out, he would buy every record in the world for her.
After a few seconds of just watching her enjoy herself, he jumped next to her and joined in with her shouting and dancing. He was tone-deaf and could barely hold a tune to save his life, but Fluttershy didn't seem to mind. He even snapped his tail feathers to summon guitars for both of them, and they jammed along to the music on the record, creating beautiful dissonance and chaos.
Half an hour later, they laid next to each other on the floor, panting. Their guitars had both been smashed to pieces at one point or another, and their throats were sore. With a groan, Discord rolled onto his stomach and offered Fluttershy a glass of water and a peppermint, before floating limping over to the player and carefully removing the record.
"That was fun," she said hoarsely as Discord slumped to the floor, sliding the record back into its sleeve. He began guzzling a gallon of water mixed with peppermints, while she sipped at her own drink. "Though very tiring..."
He nodded and gave a thumbs-up in agreement, slithering back over to her. They leaned against each other for the next few minutes, drinking their water and breathing heavily.
Eventually, Fluttershy popped the mint in her mouth and sighed, getting back to her hooves. Discord immediately shot up, holding his hands near her just in case. She smiled softly at him and walked to where the couch used to be. He snapped his tail feathers and got rid of the broken guitars, bringing back the furniture.
She spread out on the couch, groaning as she stretched all of her limbs. He couldn't help but stare. She was so...elegant. Graceful in every movement. She seemed to notice his gaze and blushed, giving one last, long stretch before sighing and settling onto the couch. He stretched his arms and hung from the ceiling above her by his tail.
"Listening to Skullcrushers is fun," she said. "I wonder what a concert in-person would be like." He nodded and made a noise in agreement...and something seemed to click in his mind. His ears perked up, and a lightbulb appeared between his horns.
"Discord?" she asked. He smiled and unraveled his tail, landing and kneeling beside the couch.
"I think I might have an idea on how you can tell Rainbow Dash about you liking heavy metal," he said. "Picture this..."
Discord leaned against the wall outside of the stadium. He slicked back his greased mane and adjusted his (faux) leather jacket. He glanced down at the spiked collars he had put on his wrists and neck, then glanced up and compared his choice of fashion to everyone else's.
He blended in (as much as a draconequus among ponies could, anyway), but Fluttershy had said this was what ponies wore to metal concerts. He had to admit that it wasn't a bad outfit...he wondered if he could get away with wearing it to some formal event, just to see ponies' reactions.
He pulled a packet of dragonfruit-flavored gum out of his jacket and began chewing on it. Every so often, he blew a bubble that floated off into the sky...hopefully, to surprise some pegasi. Maybe it'd even end up stuck in somepony's mane...he chuckled a bit at the thought.
After a minute or so, a familiar cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane hovered overhead. She was wearing a faux leather jacket with a Skullcrushers logo on the back, spiked bands on all four of her hooves, and a fake silver piercing on her lip. Her mane was mussed up into spikes.
"Hey Rainbow," Discord said, waving to her. "Glad you could make it."
"Heck yeah!" she said. "I'm never going to turn down free tickets to a concert! Unless it's a piano recital or something." She landed in front of him. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go in!"
"Not just yet," he said. "We're waiting for the third member of our little troupe to get ready."
"What do you...?" Rainbow's eyes suddenly widened, and her jaw dropped. Discord turned around and grinned.
Fluttershy had just come out of the bathroom, and her own attire nearly put Rainbow's to shame. Her mane, normally silky smooth, was done up in a curl and looked frizzy, a skull clip holding part of it out of her face. She wore dark blue eyeshadow, her lashes dark with mascara, and her lips black and glossy. Her hooves were painted black, she wore a black collar with spikes around her neck and hooves, and she was wearing a black faux leather jacket with a bright white, cracked skull on the back.
What Discord found most impressive was the fake piercings she had clipped onto her nose, lips, ears, and the tips of her wings, each one a gleaming gold and silver skull. As she stepped out, she placed the last item around her neck—a necklace of three pony skulls, each with glowing green eye sockets.
She glanced up, then glanced away when she saw Rainbow. "H-hi," she said, slowly approaching. "Um...are you excited about the concert, too?"
"I...yeah," Rainbow said, her jaw still dropped. "You, um...did Discord drag you here, or..."
"I bought the tickets," Discord said, waving said scraps of paper. "But Fluttershy is the one who wanted to come." Fluttershy blushed and nodded, looking almost abashed.
Rainbow stared at Fluttershy for a few seconds...and then gasped, her hooves flying to her cheeks as her eyes lit up. "You like Skullcrushers!?" she said. "This is amazing! We can go to concerts together, and have jam sessions, and, and...why didn't you tell me!?"
"I...I was nervous," Fluttershy said. "I thought if you knew, you'd think differently of me..."
"Are you kidding me? You married this guy," Rainbow said, pointing at Discord. "If my opinion of you would change, it would be because of that."
"That's what I said!" Discord exclaimed.
Fluttershy looked down for a second...and then looked back up with a bright smile, though there was a blush on her face. "I guess I should have known better, huh?" she said, giggling at herself. "You wouldn't have judged me for something like this at all."
"Well...it is a bit of a shock," Rainbow admitted. "But—nothing like this would ever make me think of you as less than a friend." She started moving towards the concert area, chatting with Fluttershy about their favorite respective songs and albums from the band.
The three of them found seats in the back. Discord and Rainbow each sat on one side of Fluttershy, keeping her separated from the pressing crowd as much as possible. "Oh, there's someone selling cider over there!" Rainbow declared. "Be back in a sec." She disappeared in a rainbow blur, off to sate her addiction to apple-based drinks.
As soon as she was gone, Discord turned to Fluttershy with a wide grin on his face. "Sooo? Who was right?"
She sighed, but smiled. "You were right, sweetheart."
"And you're right that I was right!" he said smugly, patting her head. "Doesn't it feel good, to have gotten that off your chest?"
"...it does," she admitted, leaning into his touch. "It really does." She beamed at him. "Are you ready for this concert? Oh, it's going to be so exciting! I wonder which of their songs they'll play..."
Her wings fluttered in excitement. He chuckled at her enthusiasm, draping an arm over her withers. They theorized about what songs would play as they watched the stage be set up, waiting for Rainbow to return and the show to begin.