Fluttershy shivered as she opened the front door and stepped inside, shaking a bit of snow off of her wings.
Even if lots of animals hibernated or migrated away in the winter, there was still work to be done in the sanctuary—making sure that all of the dens and habitats were holding up, checking up on any awake animals, and fixing any structures that needed improvements or repairs.
Thankfully, though today was cold, with some light snow, she had finished her tasks and came home by mid-morning. "Discord?" she said as she hung her scarf, coat, and hat on a coatrack that bowed to her. "I'm home!"
He appeared next to her in a flash of light, quickly throwing his arms around her. "Welcome home," he said, nuzzling her cheek...before flinching and pulling away. "Goodness, you're cold!"
"I know," she said, smiling a bit at his overreaction. "I think I'll fix myself a cup of cocoa..."
"Or you could let me show you what I've made for you!" he said. He grabbed her hooves and began to lightly tug her towards the kitchen. "It'll warm you up in no time, I promise!"
She smiled and allowed him to guide her. He led her into the kitchen, and she glanced around for whatever new addition he had made. It wasn't hard to spot—in the corner, there was a large, doorless oven, with a small couch and table set in front of it.
Discord guided her to that corner, presenting the oven to her dramatically. "This! Is like a fireplace or a furnace, but with the additional benefit of making tasty treats for us." He smiled and reached behind his back. "Tasty treats liiiike...this!"
With a flourish, he presented a tray of unbaked sugar cookies, each one cut into a different shape—there were many different animals, a few Hearth's Warming and Hearts and Hooves Day-themed ones, and other random shapes.
She gasped and smiled. "Oh, this is such a good idea!" she said. She quickly sat down on the couch, looking at him with a bright and expectant smile.
He chuckled and patted her head, sliding the tray into the large oven. With a snap of his fingers, flames sprang to life inside, starting the bake the cookies and making heat pour over her. She sighed, letting her eyes drift closed as she was hit with a wave of heat.
"Now, can I get you something to drink, sugar?" Discord said in a high-pitched voice. She opened her eyes and smiled—he was wearing a striped dress, apron, and blonde wig, holding a coffee pot in one hand.
"Just...some hot chocolate would be nice," she said with a giggle.
"Coming right up, hun!" Discord chirped, strolling about a foot away to fetch two mugs.
She chuckled and then sighed, relaxing in her seat. The oven radiated a lot of heat...it felt so nice, after spending such a long time in the cold.
"Comfortable, sugar-honey?" Discord asked, pouring her a mug of hot chocolate.
"Very," she said, sipping her hot drink. She turned her attention to the oven, where she could easily watch the cookies rising and hardening. "Not to be rude, but...I'm surprised you decided you bake these by hand."
He laughed and sat next to her, his outfit disappearing. "To be fair, I cheated a bit," he said. "I just made the dough with magic and cut it into the shapes I wanted before sticking them in there." He jabbed his thumb towards the oven.
"Ah," she said, nodding in understanding and clutching her mug, letting its heat flow through her hooves. "Well, I really appreciate having something hot to eat and drink. Thank you!"
"You're welcome," he said, sipping at his own mug of cocoa. "Plus...I kept some of the cookie dough. To snack on while we wait." With a snap of his fingers, a bowl of raw cookie dough appeared on the table in front of them.
"...does it have raw eggs in it?" she asked.
"Well...yes, I believe so," he said. "But c'mon, it's only a little bit of dough! With maybe one egg, or two. I know raw eggs can make you sick, but this is magic-made dough! It won't have...whatever causes the disease in it."
She hesitated, then reached forward to tear off a small piece. "I suppose a little bit doesn't hurt." She popped it into her mouth and chewed. The dough was soft and sweet...not a bad snack.
Discord grinned widely when he caught sight of her smile, and tore off a larger piece of dough to chomp on. She smiled at this, while he already began to take even more dough to snack on.
The two of them snacked on the cookie dough and sipped their hot chocolate until a timer shaped like an egg started ringing. "Oh, cookies are done," Discord said. Fluttershy glanced into the oven, confirming the cookies had been completely baked, as she pressed down on the egg timer to silence it.
Discord reached over her and into the oven, an oven mitt appearing on his hand. He grabbed the tray and pulled it out, showing off the steaming cookies to her.
"Mmm," she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Those smell very good."
"Don't they?" he said, snorting loudly as he inhaled, making her giggle. With a smile, he set the tray in front of them, his oven mitt vanishing.
"Ooh, which one to take..." he said, his fingers wriggling as they hovered over the hot cookies.
"I wouldn't do that," she warned just as he was about to grab a squirrel-shaped one. "They're too hot, you'll end up burning yourself!"
"Phoo," he said, pulling away. "How long until they'll be cool enough to eat?"
"Let's wait...at least two minutes," she said. "And we can bake even more cookies while we wait..."
"True," he said, nodding at this idea and snapping up another tray of unbaked cookies, shoving them into the flaming oven. "But...ugh, waiting." He placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward, glaring at the cookies and radiating his disappointment with them for obeying the laws of thermodynamics.
She giggled a little, then after a few seconds, leaned over and rubbed against his side. "Hey," she said. "After waiting those two minutes, even if they're still hot, you could...put some really cold frosting on them to counter it."
His ears perked up, and he turned to her with a smile. "That's my Fluttershy," he said, rubbing behind her ear. "Thinking of clever solutions."
She giggled and blushed, leaning up and into his touch. She was already comfortably warm thanks to the hot chocolate and the oven...and his own warm, furry body made her feel even more comfortable. She draped a wing over his back and continued to nuzzle into his side.
He continued stroking her mane and caressing her cheek, only pausing every so often to glance at the melted clock on the wall. "It's been two minutes," he said after one of his final glances. She looked up and confirmed this, and shifted so that she could lean against him and be able to eat comfortably at the same time.
Discord snatched the squirrel cookie from the tray. "Not too hot to touch," he said before she could begin to ask if he was okay. A large tub of buttercream frosting appeared, and he slathered his cookie with it. "And what will the lovely lady have?"
She paused to look over the cookies. Finally, she decided on one that may have been a tornado, or a strange, blobby arrow. It was very warm to the touch as she picked it up, but it didn't burn her hooves.
"May I?" Discord said, holding out the blunt knife that held a glob of frosting. She smiled and held the cookie a little closer to him, and he quickly and unevenly smeared the frosting on top.
"A toast! To us," he said, holding his cookie to her as the knife was dropped back into the frosting tub.
She smiled and tapped her cookie against his. "To us."
They both bit into their cookies. Fluttershy's eyes widened, while Discord moaned in delight and quickly ate the rest of his in just a few bites.
She chose to savor hers as he chose another cookie, this time a bird-shaped one. The cookie was delicious, and it helped her feel a little warmer.
After finishing her cookie, she enveloped Discord's torso in a hug. "Thank you," she said, nestling into his fur. "The cookies are sweet...and so are you."
He smiled, stroking his finger through her mane. "You're welcome," he murmured. "Oooh, for the next batch after this, why don't we go crazy and put this buttercream frosting on chocolate cookies!"
She giggled, pulling away to choose her next cookie. "You're silly," she said. "Though that does sound pretty good..."
"I know, right!?" he said, making her smile and giggle again.
The two of them lounged on that couch for a while, lingering and enjoying cookies and company, even long after they had gotten all the warmth they needed.