Fluttershy smiled at Discord, who was sleeping soundly on the living room couch.
He rarely took naps—he always wanted to do something rather than rest—but when he was tired, had used a lot of his magic, or was simply very, very comfortable, he would fall asleep.
Which was exactly what had happened. He had been battling storms left, right, and center all week—first a sandstorm in Saddle Arabia, then a hurricane near the southern coast of Equestria. Finally, a lost tornado that needed to be chased away from Canterlot, and he stumbled home, feeling drained of magic.
Naturally, knowing the week he was having, she offered to give him a massage. He had eagerly agreed and practically fell forward onto the couch.
It couldn't have been more than five minutes before she realized he had fallen asleep in the middle of his massage. She smiled and stroked his neck, making him smile sleepily.
Her brave, wonderful husband...working so hard to help others with his magic. Just thinking about it made her smile and nuzzle his forehead. "Mmm...love you," he muttered in his sleep.
She grinned, placing a kiss on his forehead before backing away. Her stomach grumbled, and she glanced over at the swinging pendulum clock and saw that it was close to dinnertime.
I'll make dinner for both of us, she thought. Something that he really likes...maybe something to energize him a bit.
It only took her a minute to think of a great recipe that fit both things. With a grin, she flew into the kitchen and began grabbing ingredients and preparing the dish.
In just a few minutes, she had prepared a pot of hot soup. She wouldn't call it Discord's absolute favorite—his tastes seemed to change on a whim, and leftover soup was always much more chaotic-tasting—but she was sure that it was one he very much enjoyed.
There was a groan from the doorway, and she turned to see Discord stumbling into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes as his nostrils twitched.
"Did I fall asleep...?" he asked. He sniffed at the air. "And you made a dessert?"
She flew over to greet him, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and kissing him. "Good morning...I mean, um, good...seeing you up, sweetie," she said, stumbling over her words. He chuckled, smiling warmly down at her.
"Did I wake you? I wanted to give you a chance to rest, maybe even bring supper to you on the couch..."
"No, you didn't wake me," he said. "My magic is back up to one-thousand percent, so I was done with napping." He snapped his fingers and created a flock of paper cranes to demonstrate.
She giggled as they circled around her, tousling her mane before flying out the window and disappearing into the purple Chaosville sky. "And...you were going to bring me dinner?" he continued, a grin on his face. "Complete with that amazing dessert that I happen to be smelling?"
She couldn't help but let a smirk, a tiny one, spread on her face. "That dessert is the dinner," she said. She flew over to the cupboards and brought down two bowls, dishing a good amount of soup into each one.
Discord approached, his eyes widening. "Is that...?"
"Chocolate soup," she told him as she grabbed the toppings. Each bowl was filled with a steaming, chocolate brown, chocolate-smelling liquid, with marshmallows floating inside. She topped each with crushed graham crackers, cinnamon, and a dab of marshmallow cream.
She handed one bowl and spoon to Discord, who took it gingerly in his hands, a soft smile on his face. "Thank you," he said. "Shall we eat it on the couch, for old times' sake?"
"Sure," she said with a smile, grabbing her own bowl. They both headed into the living room and sat on the couch, leaning against each other.
Discord began eating his soup right away, while Fluttershy carefully blew on her first spoonful to cool it. "I remember the first time we had this," she said as she finally sipped at her soup. It was very sweet, and filled her with warmth.
"So do I," he said with a chuckle. "I still can't believe how much I underestimated the skill needed to make pudding without magic. When I showed it off to you, I was sure it was going to be delicious, and perfect, and...pudding-y."
"And then, I opened it with a flourish, getting ready to dish it out for a dessert to finish off our dinner date...and it was all liquid!" Even now, he shivered and looked away bashfully, though he didn't seem nearly as embarrassed about it now as he had been that night.
She smiled and leaned against him. "I remember it as you bringing something for us to enjoy after I made us dinner...and that even if it didn't work out the way you intended, it was very delicious."
He looked back at her and smiled, lifting his bowl to sip directly from it. "...I do still appreciate that you tried it," he said. "Instead of laughing too much."
"I'm sorry I started giggling," she said. "But, the shock on your face..." She had to bite her tongue before she started laughing at the memory. His eyes had widened, his jaw had dropped...he was completely blown away by how the pudding had actually turned out. A tiny wheeze escaped her lips.
"Oh, yes," he grunted. "Laugh at poor Cordy. Laugh at the draconequus who couldn't figure out that pudding needs to set after being whisked to have that nice texture and viscosity it's known for."
"S-sorry," she said, quickly stifling any other laughs that threatened to bubble from her throat. She took a quick sip of the sweet soup as Discord kept drinking his.
"And, I have to admit...I was impressed that you made a better, working recipe for chocolate soup," he said. "The marshmallows are a great touch." He slurped down three of them at once. "As are all the additions and tweaks."
"I thought you'd like it," she said. "But at first I was worried, because the evening I first showed it to you, you started laughing..."
"I did!" he said. "Because it was funny! And it was funny because I had finally figured out how to actually make chocolate pudding, and brought it for our dessert!" He laughed, throwing an arm over her shoulders.
She couldn't help but also laugh at the memory. It was a funny one, and a fond one. Eventually, the two of them stopped laughing, though a few chuckles escaped them.
They ate their soup in silence for a bit. "It's delicious, as always," Discord said, standing up. "In fact, I'm going to help myself to another bowl!"
"There's also some chocolate-covered banana slices in there," she said. "On the counter, on some wax paper. Just so that...we had something that's a little healthy."
"You little health nut," he cooed, ruffling her mane and making her giggle. "Fine. Just for you, I will ruin my streak of only eating sweets for the evening by nibbling on some banana slices."
He floated towards the kitchen, but paused in the doorway. "You want some?"
"Yes, please," she said. He smiled and nodded, leaving her with a half-full bowl of soup. She lifted the bowl and began to drink right out of it, as Discord had.
It was delicious, sweet...and it made her think back to those dinners they had shared together. She smiled fondly, savoring both the taste and the memories it brought.