//------------------------------// // Refreshing River // Story: Domestic Drabbles of Discord's Dimension // by GeekCat //------------------------------// Discord dusted off his hands. "Well, that should be the last bit of trash in this river," he said, chucking a plastic bottle through a basketball net and into a recycling bin. Fluttershy smiled. "That's good. This river is so beautiful...I can't believe ponies would let their trash fall in here!" She flew up and hugged him. "I really appreciate that you came to help me. I don't know if I could have done this without you." He smiled and patted her head, wrapping one arm around her. "It's no problem, really. Though I must say, Fluttershy—you're the only pony I know who would spend their weekend pulling trash out of a river." "O-oh, I'm sure there are others who would do the same," she said, blushing. "I just...saw a plastic bottle floating down the river on a nature walk, and it bothered me, that there could be so many of them in here..." "Well, now there's less...I'd say none, if I was very confident in my powers," he said. "Oh wait, I am!" He snapped his fingers, and the river water glowed blue for just a second. "There is no trash in this river, and that spell should keep plastic out for, oh...a few more centuries." She smiled. "Oh, thank you!" She kissed his cheek, then looked up at the sky. "That didn't take too long," she remarked. "Is there anything that you want to do today?" He hummed, stroking his beard. "Well...you've done a lot of work recently," he said. "Why don't we just spend some time relaxing, having a little fun?" "That sounds lovely!" she said, clapping her hooves together. "What's your idea? A spa day, maybe just a lazy day at home?" "I was thinking more along the lines of swimming," he said, snapping his fingers and creating a thick vine in his paw. "I mean, we helped the river. Why not enjoy the fruits of our labor?" He backed up a few steps, then jumped off of the ground, whooping as he swung forward on the vine. As he swung above the river, he let go, flying into the air before splashing down into the water. He lifted his head up and shook water out of his mane, laughing. A soft cry that sounded like it was trying to match his own cheering made his ears perk up. He lifted his head, and saw Fluttershy swinging forward on the vine, clinging tightly to it as her own cry petered out. The vine swung back, with her still clinging to it. "You have to let go!" he shouted to her. She squeaked and shook her head, clinging tighter to the vine as it started to swing back to the river. "Don't worry! I'm right here!" As she came back over the river, he saw her squeeze her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. She let go of the vine, and flew forward with a scream before splashing into the water in front of him. He swam forward, counting the seconds as he waited for her to resurface. Just as he was about to dive under, she burst out of the water, laughing. "That was...that was fun!" she said with a laugh. He laughed, reaching forward and ruffling her mane. "Wasn't it?" he said. "Do you want to do it again?" "Maybe...yes," she said. "Actually, could we go on it together?" "Of course!" he said, stretching his paw up. With a little magic, the vine started swinging their way again, and he grabbed it as it passed by, wrapping his other arm around Fluttershy. He snapped his tail feathers under the water, and the vine swung back, pulling the two of them out of the water and back to shore. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded, reaching forward and grabbing onto the vine. He shifted so that she was sandwiched between him and the vine. With a smile, he kicked off of the ground, and the two swung forward. At the peak of their swing, just above the water, Discord let go. He had wrapped his tail loosely around Fluttershy's waist...but it wasn't needed, as she let go at the same time as him, a large grin on her face. They splashed into the water, then burst out of the surface, laughing. Fluttershy splashed Discord with a spray of water, a favor he quickly returned with a laugh. They continued their splashing fight for a few minutes, Discord whipping up small typhoons and whirlpools with his magic, while Fluttershy did her best to splash him (admittedly, he moved a bit more slowly when dodging so she'd get in a few extra hits). Just as he had pulled out a water gun, Fluttershy's stomach growled, and she stopped mid-splash. Discord laughed, putting the water gun away. His stomach then growled, much louder than hers had. He blushed, while Fluttershy giggled. "Well, I suppose it is close to noon," he said, peering up at the sun between the trees. "How does a nice picnic on the shore sound?" "Wonderful," she said, already paddling to the shore. He was following close behind her. She laid out on the grass, speading her wings and limbs, while he stopped and shook himself like a dog to expel the water. With that done, he fell in a soggy heap next to her and snapped his fingers. A picnic basket appeared between them, which he opened up to pull out a large pile of vegetarian sushi rolls. Fluttershy lifted her head and rolled onto her stomach, grabbing several rolls and shoving them into her mouth. Discord pulled out baby carrots for her and spiced pickles for him, along with bubble tea, and then joined her in digging into the food. Once the food was all eaten (including the watermelon-flavored popsicles he made), they laid on their backs and stared up at the sky. Then, Fluttershy rolled onto her hooves. "Let's go swimming again!" she said cheerfully. She walked towards the vine, then jumped up and grabbed onto it. Discord leaned forward, holding his breath as she reached the peak of her swing. But she let go in time, and landed in the water with a great splash, laughing as she emerged. He laughed along, jumping up to grab onto the vine and splashing next to her in the water. They continued their splash fight, Discord whipping out his water gun to soak her several times. After several minutes of this, though, Fluttershy sighed and stretched, spreading her wings out to float easily in the water. "This is nice," she said. "Just...relaxing in the river like this." He paused, watching her for a few moments as she bobbed peacefully on the river. He swam a few laps around the river, even trying to float the same way she did, but found himself rather bored. That, and the opportunity to cause a bit of mischief was hard to ignore. He grinned deviously, rubbing his hands together as he watched his unsuspecting Fluttershy. Discord sank under the water until only his eyes, horns, and nostrils were visible. He narrowed his eyes and carefully observed his prey. She was several feet away, and had spread her wings to easily float on her stomach. She sighed as she bobbed in the water, and he could picture her closing her eyes, feeling peaceful. He grinned and dove underwater, his back and tail arcing above the surface and then silently slipping beneath it. He wriggled his body to swim forward, humming the Jaws theme to himself. He paused right underneath Fluttershy, peering up at her. She looked so calm and peaceful. He grinned evilly, then used a surge of magic to shoot towards her. He burst out of the water with a roar, making Fluttershy squeal. He paddled his legs to keep them above the water, while Fluttershy sat on top of his head, clinging to his horns. He could feel her heart racing. Once her heart rate had calmed, she hugged his neck and nuzzled the top of his head. "You silly draconequus," she cooed. He felt his heart flutter as a wide grin spread on his face, and his pupils grew wide and shiny as he peered up at her. She planted a kiss on his forehead before slipping off and swimming out into deeper water. She paddled around for a bit, keeping an eye on him, before resuming her floating position. He swam a few more laps, then headed to the middle of the river and performed jumps and leaps, diving in and out of the water like a dolphin. He caused a few splashes, but a little bit of magic meant that they wouldn't be large or loud enough to disturb Fluttershy's meditation. He paused in between his tricks, shaking water droplets out of his mane and wondering what to do next. He spared a glance at where his wife was—only to see she had disappeared. His head twisted in all directions, and he found himself panicking when he couldn't see her anywhere in the river. He rose his fingers into a snapping position, prepared to teleport her right to him. Suddenly, before he could snap, Fluttershy lunged out of the water in front of him, wrapping her hooves around his neck. She attempted to fall back into the water, but only succeeded in dangling limply off him. He tilted his head and grinned. "What was that?" She blushed and looked away. "I'm...Fluttershark," she said. "And I'm trying to drag my prey down with me." "Prey, huh?" he said with a grin, as she tugged at his neck and attempted to move him. "Oh, no!" he said, placing his claw to his forehead dramatically. "I've been caught by the dreaded Fluttershark! Oceans, have mercy!" He let himself go limp, which let Fluttershy successfully pull him under the surface. She paused for a second, stunned by her sudden success, then pulled him deeper under the water, holding him to her chest and nuzzling her face against his. He smiled and gave a small nuzzle in return. After a few moments of this, she booped his nose and let go of him, using her back hooves to paddle away and to the surface. He gave one strong kick, shooting up to the surface and taking a deep breath. Some distance away, Fluttershy was floating on the surface, panting. He swam over to her, and she smiled softly. "I'm...a bit out of practice," she admitted. "Especially without my snorkel." He smiled and ruffled her mane, kissing her on the nose. "You made for a very good shark," he said, patting her head. "Though I wonder...are these waters terribly infested with Fluttersharks?" She tilted her head. "Can we expect more attacks?" he added with a wink. She blinked. "Well...I suppose we'll just have to see," she said. "And I suppose that depends on if there will be any more...Discoshark attacks." She blushed a little, playing with her mane. He grinned. "Well, the day is still young! I suppose we'll just have to see!" He snapped his fingers and made goggles appear on her eyes. "Now, would you like to say hello to those fishy friends of yours?" She gasped with joy and dove underwater. He playfully rolled his eyes and dove after her, snapping his fingers again to make breath mints appear in both of their mouths. Fluttershy paused for a second, a little surprised, but kept swimming towards a small group of brown fish with whiskers. Hours later, with the sun much lower in the sky, Fluttershy and Discord laid on the grassy bank, catching their breath and resting their sore muscles. Fluttershy had had a conversation with the fish that she described as 'pleasant...and they have such good humor, too!'. Discord found himself once again in awe of her ability to understand animals, even ones she couldn't technically hear. After that, they had resumed swimming and playing, and there were several more Discoshark and Fluttershark attacks. But as pleasant as it all was, it left them feeling very sore as they stared at the puffy clouds through the foliage, licking on the ice cream cones Discord had made for them. "Discord," Fluttershy said. "I had a lot of fun today, but I'm kind of tired. Can we go home in a bit?" "Of course, my dear," he said. "I'm a bit worn out, too. Curling up with you and reading a book sounds very pleasant right now." She made a noise of agreement. "But...after we finish our ice cream. The breeze here is just lovely." She nodded, shifting closer so that she could lean against his side. He wrapped an arm around her, leaning his head against hers, both of them closing their eyes and sighing as a cool breeze ruffled their fur.