//------------------------------// // Midnight Snacking // Story: Domestic Drabbles of Discord's Dimension // by GeekCat //------------------------------// Discord grunted quietly, rolling over and fluffing his pillows. It had been hours since he and Fluttershy had laid down in bed, yet he didn't even feel close to falling asleep. I didn't even drink anything with caffeine! he thought, a bit irritated. In fact...he wasn't completely energized, either. He felt tired from the day he had had, but it wasn't enough to coax him into sleep, apparently. He grunted again, rolling over in order to face Fluttershy. Her eyes were closed, her breathing even, and she was snuggled into her pillow. She shifted every few seconds, her wings giving small flutters. But still, she looked so...peaceful. He found himself a bit envious, and reached out to caress her cheek. As soon as he touched her, she twitched, her eyes opening. She didn't look sleepy, but still peered at him curiously. He yanked his claw away, clutching it to his chest. "Sorry..." he said quietly. "Did I wake you?" "No...not really," she said. "I just can't quite seem to fall asleep..." He sighed heavily. "Me neither," he grunted, sitting up. "What do you normally do when you can't sleep?" She stretched and sat up. "Well...usually, I like to either do a few small chores, or...curl close to you," she said with a small blush. "I feel so comfortable around you..." "I feel the same way," he said, caressing her cheek. "But...I was hoping to get some sleep. Do you have any quick cures for insomnia, by chance?" "Well...sometimes, a cup of warm milk with honey before bed helps me relax," she said. "But I've never had it in the middle of the night before..." "Still, it's worth a try!" he said, hopping out of bed. He stretched and yawned, and his stomach gave a small grumble. "Ooh, while we're in the kitchen, maybe I can fix us some midnight snacks!" She smiled and crawled out of bed. "That does sound nice..." She flew towards the door, but before she could get far, Discord snapped his fingers and teleported them both to the kitchen. She blinked a few times in surprise, while he floated over to the fridge and threw it open. He had to stop and blink spots out of his eyes thanks to the sudden brightness, and felt Fluttershy stand closer to him as his vision quickly returned to normal. "Hmm," he said, stroking his beard as he stared into the fridge. "What makes for a good midnight snack?" "I'm not sure," she admitted, reaching past him and grabbing a carton of milk. "But it should probably be something light...enough to satisfy us..." "But not a full meal," he said. She nodded. "Okay...I think I can do that." He grabbed a few fruits and vegetables from the shelves, then closed the door behind him and headed to the counter. The only light came from the dim glow of the Chaosville sky, and the light of the microwave as Fluttershy opened it. Still, it was better than the sudden, blinding light of the fridge, and he could see well enough in the dark. He spread his gathered goods on the counter, then tapped his fingers on it as Fluttershy poured two mugs of milk. "Light meal, light meal," he muttered to himself. After a few moments of thought, his ears perked up, and he snapped his fingers to summon a loaf of bread. With a few flicks of his fingers, it had been split into several slices. He began shuffling the slices like playing cards. "Alright," he said to himself. "Not too filling...So I'll just make one platter of sandwiches." With that settled, he flicked five slices of bread onto the counter, then dropped the loaf and reached for the ingredients. He spread, dabbed, and tossed all manner of ingredients on the pieces of bread. Once he had finished, he flicked slices of bread on top of them, then tossed the sandwiches into the air. With a flick of his claw, they all split into triangular halves, landing neatly on the plate he had set out. He heard clapping, and turned to see Fluttershy watching and smiling. "Thank you, thank you," he said with a bow. "I'll be here all night, try a sandwich!" He tossed one of the sandwich halves to her, already getting the next five slices of bread ready. She smiled and accepted it, taking a bite and smiling. "Peanut butter and pickle?" she said. "Added some extra pickles for you," he said cheerfully, slapping more ingredients onto the slices of bread. "Any requests from the lovely lady?" "Cucumber sandwiches might be nice..." she said, smiling. He grinned and prepared three sandwiches with cucumbers, making new concoctions for the other two. She smiled, then turned her attention back to the mugs she was preparing. Discord began humming a joyful yet disjointed tune as he continued to throw together the chaotic sandwiches. It wasn't long before he and Fluttershy had both finished with their tasks. She beamed, complimenting him at his flourish at making the sandwiches, and flew towards the living room with a mug in each hoof. She took a seat on the couch, setting the two mugs on the table in front of her. He plopped down next to her, placing the large platter of sandwiches within grabbing distance. "You're sure that's not too much?" she asked, leaning against his side. "I don't think so," he said, wrapping an arm around her and grabbing his steaming mug of milk. "Besides, it's not like they'll go bad anytime soon. If we don't eat them now, we could have them as snacks tomorrow." He tossed a Swiss and cheddar cheese sandwich with butter into his open jaws, quickly decimating it. She smiled and took the other half of said sandwich, nibbling on the corner of it. Her lips twitched up into a smile. He slurped at his milk loudly, humming in satisfaction as its heat flowed through him. "Not bad," he said. "Though...it could use a little more honey..." "Feel free to add more," she said, passing him the honey jar. "It's been a while since I've made this...I've forgotten how much should be added." "Well, it's probably a good amount for most," he said, pouring in more honey. "But you and I both know that my sweet tooth is unrivaled...except maybe by Pinkie." She giggled, and he grinned and took another drink, curling his tail around her waist. They ate and drank quietly for a few minutes, Discord occasionally passing Fluttershy a sandwich he felt she would particularly like. She thanked him each time and eagerly bit into the sandwich. After some time, he realized his mug was about half-full, and stalled himself to make the sweet treat Fluttershy made last a bit longer. While he slowly nibbled on a peanut butter and gooseberry jam sandwich, Fluttershy selected one of the sandwiches on top of the slowly-dwindling pile. She took a bite...and her nose wrinkled. "This is...interesting..." she said. She peeled back the slices of bread, showing that between them was a smear of tomato sauce, covered in chocolate syrup and marshmallows. "Um..." "Oh, that's one of the stranger ones," he said. "I'll finish it off if you don't like it. I won't be offended." She breathed a sigh of relief and slid the sandwich over to him. He ate it in a few bites, licking his lips at the chaotic taste. He then selected another sandwich and passed it to her. "Here. This one is chaotic, but probably suits your tastes better." She took a bite...and smiled, humming in appreciation. "Zap apple jam and...strawberry jam?" she said, taking another bite. "With a few thin apple slices tossed in for texture," he said, snatching up another sandwich and taking a bite. Honey and marshmallow. "Mmm, this one is sweet." He held it out to her, and she sniffed at it curiously. His heart fluttered as her nose cutely twitched. Carefully, and looking at him for permission, she took a small bite out of it. She chewed, her face contorting into a confused expression. "Honey and marshmallow?" she said after swallowing. "It's...not bad." She licked her lips. "But if I hadn't known that it was going to be sweet..." "I know," he said. "You ponies don't like to be shocked when a food doesn't taste how it should." He paused, stroking his beard. "Maybe swapping real peppers for candy ones would be just as effective of a prank as putting peppers in sweet things..." She snickered a bit, and he felt his heart flutter again. Sweet chaos, she was too precious for words. Slowly, he bent his neck down and nuzzled the top of her head, right behind her ear. She smiled and leaned up into the touch. "Don't...don't actually do that," she managed to say. "It's not nice to mess with creatures' food." He sighed overdramatically. "Not even if it's one of our friends, I know they can handle it, and I make their food normal after the first shocking bite?" She hummed in thought, her brow furrowing as she took a long drink of her milk. "I suppose...it's better than doing it to a stranger," she said. "And as long as you apologize if they don't find it funny." "Got it!" he said, giving her a thumbs-up and taking a large bite of the sandwich in his hand. She smiled a bit, then nestled into his side and sipped her milk. He reached up and buried his claws into her mane. They didn't say much else, aside from her complimenting his sandwiches, and him thanking her a few times for the milk. Eventually, the platter was full of nothing but crumbs, and their mugs were sadly empty. Discord yawned loudly, stretching out his whole body as he teleported the dishes into the sink. "Let's...take care of those in the morning," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Fluttershy and burying his snout in her soft tresses. "Sleep now." "I guess that milk...worked, huh?" she said with a yawn of her own. He could feel her body drooping in his arms. "Mmm...could you take us to bed, please? Cordy?" "Mhmm," he grunted, his eyes already closed. He raised his fingers and snapped, teleporting them right underneath their warm sheets. With a contented sigh, he tightened his grip around her and burrowed his snout even deeper into her mane. He heard her give a contented sigh of her own, shifting around in his hold. He loosened his arms slightly, and she turned to face him, nestling into his chest fur. With a smile, he held her closer to him, and was able to drift off to sleep.