Fluttershy woke up with a gasp. She quickly sat up, kicking the covers off of her, and took deep, heaving breaths as her head whipped around the room. It was dark, and the shadows made her want to shrink back and hide, but she kept searching the room.
Finally, she saw him at her side. Discord, who was fast asleep, his ears twitching as he smacked his lips. His lion arm wormed under the pillow, and he turned in her direction, snuggling into it with a few soft mumbles.
As soon as she saw him, she let out a deep breath, tears flowing along with it. She lunged forward and wrapped her hooves around his neck, squeezing tightly as she buried her face in his fur. "Thank goodness..." she said in a whisper. "It was a dream. Just a dream..." Still, she clung tightly to him, tears pouring down her face and soaking into his fur.
She whimpered a little, nestling deeper into his fur. He shivered when more tears landed on him, and she froze, covering her mouth with her hooves to keep herself quiet. With a groan, Discord suddenly sat up, and she squeaked and held on to him tightly before she could be knocked off.
He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, tiny Z's flung from them and out the window, and stretched, wrapping his arms around her. He looked down at her and frowned, his grip becoming tighter. "Why are you crying in the middle of the night?" he asked. "Did something happen?"
She glanced away as he used his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I...just had a bad dream," she said. "I didn't mean to wake you up...you can go back to sleep."
"Oh no," he said. "I'm not just going to lie down and do nothing when you're so upset by whatever happened in your dream." He placed his hands on her shoulders, adjusting her so that she was sitting comfortably on his lap, leaning against his stomach. "Now. Tell me what upset you so much in your dream."
She frowned, looking down and playing with her mane. He placed a hand on top of her head, stroking his fingers slowly through her mane. She took a deep, shaky breath, and said, "I-It was about you." His stroking stopped for a second. "You...you were a statue again."
She sniffled and snuggled into his fur. "I...I don't know why you were a statue, but you were. And you were crying...I tried to convince everyone to help you, but no one would listen to me. They all just walked away."
She sobbed. "And...and then someone was taking you away, and I tried to follow, to beg them to let me help you, but they wouldn't listen, and you just got further and further away, and—!" She let out a choked sob. "I woke up, and I was scared I lost you!"
She wept into her hooves, still shaking from the memory of the dark dream. Slowly, Discord wrapped his arms around her and began to sway, rocking her. "Shhh," he said. "I'm here. I'm here. Don't be scared, I'm not going to leave you."
She sniffed, her tears stopping, but her shaking continuing. With a sigh, Discord wrapped his fingers around her right hoof. "I'm right here," he said. She nodded, but still kept her eyes down, not really wanting to look him in the eye. With another sigh, he placed his paw under her chin and gave it a tiny nudge up.
"Please look at me," he said. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and he brought her hoof up to his cheek. "Fluttershy, do you remember what you used to tell me when I was scared about being turned back to stone?" He blinked, and his pupils were wider, and instead of her in their reflection, it was a scene of the two of them, back in her old cottage—Discord's head drooping, as she tried to hold it up in her hooves.
"You're here, in the flesh," she said from memory. He nodded, and the Discord in his eyes perked his ears up. "This is real. You're not a statue."
"And?" he said. His reflection seemed just as interested in what her reflection was saying.
"And...I'm going to do my best to make sure that never happens to you again," she said. "As long as you're my friend, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you from that." He smiled and nuzzled her hoof, and his eyes showed how he clung desperately to her after that. He blinked, and the image vanished.
He wrapped his body around hers, placing his hands on her shoulders and nuzzling her cheek. "Dear sweet Fluttershy...the fate you dreamt about me is not going to happen. We're both going to make sure of that...and our friends wouldn't let that happen to me, either." He bent his neck and kissed the corners of her eyes, soaking up her tears and making her giggle. "And you know that I'm much too stubborn to ever willingly leave your side."
She sniffed, then gave a soft smile. "I...suppose you're right." She nuzzled his neck, and he kissed her cheek. "But I...that nightmare scared me. I don't know why I had it."
"Maybe it's because you've been sleeping less," he said, tangling his fingers in her mane, brushing his wingtip against her spine. "I mean, the last few days...you've been waking up early to take care of more tasks, and you've been going to bed late because of..." He looked guilty. "Me keeping you up, wanting you all to myself..."
"Or maybe...I missed being with you," she said. "Because I've been so busy, and only able to spend time with you in the evenings..." She nuzzled his cheek. "I'm always glad to spend time with you, even if it keeps me up late," she said. "But...maybe you're right. Tomorrow, I can figure out how to cut down on my tasks so I can sleep in a little more...and have more time in the day to be with you."
"Oooh, I'll help with that," he said with a grin. "Now...why don't we lie down and go to sleep together?"
She bit her lip and was about to say she didn't feel tired, but he tightened his arms around her and uncurled himself, laying back down. He wrapped his tail around her waist, pressing them close together, still keeping his arms wrapped around her.
She wrapped her forehooves around his neck and snuggled in, yawning slightly. "This is nice," she said. "But...I'm still a little too scared to go back to sleep."
"Do you want me to tell you a story?" he asked. She gave a small nod, and he grinned, snapping his fingers and making stars and constellations appear on their bedroom ceiling.
He launched into a tale of Old Equestria, before even Celestia and Luna were born, animating the stars as he did so. She watched in fascination as he described his travels, and how he caused minor and major chaos wherever he went. As he began talking about filling an ocean with giant goldfish and an island with strange birds, she felt her eyelids drooping, and found herself slowly nodding off, using his neck as a pillow.
Just as she was between being asleep and awake, she felt him kiss her forehead. "Goodnight, Flutters," he said. "I'll stay here, always. I hope this time you have pleasant dreams." She gave a soft smile and closed her eyes, snuggling into his fur and placing a light kiss there.
The stars faded away, and she heard Discord fluffing his pillow and laying down. He began stroking her mane slowly, still with his arms and tail wrapped around her, until she nodded off into peaceful dreams, filled with happy memories of her and Discord spending time together.