//------------------------------// // 2/2: Unlikely Love // Story: A Mighty Roar // by eemoo1o //------------------------------// Fluttershy opened her eyes with a groggy expression. Despite having just woken up, she felt more tired than she had ever been before. The second she roused, Discord twisted his head around with a relieved expression. “Fluttershy! You’re awake!” He held his hands together in front of his chest. “I thought you’d never wake up.” He set both hoof and foot on the ground and placed the back of his hands on his sides with a roll of his mismatched eyes. “Waiting is so boring, you know. Usually, I just-” The Draconequus found himself cut off by a small sneeze on Fluttershy’s behalf. She didn’t seem to have been paying attention to him, with her dilated eyes staring in the direction of the floorboards. “Hm, yes,” said Discord, taking hold of the bruising lump on her head with the lightest of touches after twisting her head around to face him. Fluttershy never even felt it hurt. “I was worried about that.” The next thing the yellow mare knew, she felt much better, and managed to catch the Draconequus from the top of her vision pulling out the lump from her head like a stray eyelash. When he was done, he threw and caught the spherical lump in his hand as if it was a rubber ball. After doing so a few times, he threw it out of the only ajar window, one the other side of the room, and turned back to Fluttershy with a growl. “Now that you’re no longer concussed, would you be so kind as to tell me why you were in the Everfree Forest on your own?” With every word that Discord placed emphasis on, the louder and angrier he got. He curled his hands into half-fists, and his feet left the ground again. His face was extremely close to Fluttershy’s, and she squealed because of it. Discord backed up. “Well?” He asked, crossing his arms. “I’m waiting.” “I-” the pony swallowed the massive lump in her throat. “I was looking for Angel Bunny. He went missing, and I-” “He was with Zecora,” Discord said, bluntly. “He’s upstairs sleeping.” Suddenly, his expression eased, just like it had when he saw her fear back when he had handled the timberwolves. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have helped you look for him, Fluttershy. I would have found him. And, instead, you went and put yourself in danger! What if I hadn’t found you in time? You could have died, you silly pony!” Unable to hold back his own emotions, Discord clutched onto Fluttershy’s shoulders and shook her violently. When he stopped, it was to sit next to her on the fern-coloured sofa. “Maybe if I was strong and brave like Rainbow, o-or like Applejack, I could-” “Nonsense, Fluttershy!” exclaimed the Draconequus, throwing his hands up in the air before resting himself, on his back, in her front hooves. “See? Look how strong you are!” This didn’t seem to brighten the doe-eyed mare’s spirits, however, as it was blatantly obvious that Discord was using his powers to make himself feel lighter. “Discord...” said Fluttershy dubiously, and he appeared back beside her in a sitting position after a speedy white flash summoned by the snap of his fingers. “I-” a sharp breath was taken, preparing for a hearty sob to follow, “I’m sorry you had to drop everything you were doing to come and save me. It’s all my fault.” “It wasn’t like I was doing anything important.” He flatly retorted with yet another roll of his eyes. He seemed to have a bit of a habit of doing that. “But you should be sorry.” He pointed an accusing finger at her from his eagle claw. “You know how dangerous the Everfree Forest is, Fluttershy! Especially at night. If I wasn’t around to hear you I...” Discord covered his eyes with his hands at the very thought. Fluttershy took Discord’s paw from his face and into her own two forehooves. “But you did, Discord.” She tried, before sniffing, and sneezing into the crook of her front right knee. Then, she sniffed again. “Bless you, Fluttershy,” said Discord. It was a procedure of politeness that she had taught him when she gave him a second chance long ago. Well, not the longest time. It was just breaching the one year anniversary, and Discord was more than willing to celebrate, even if he was the only one to remember it. It simply felt long ago, as Discord couldn’t bear to, if at all, imagine his life without his dear Fluttershy. “Could you… get me a blanket? It’s getting a little, uh-” another sneeze came, just as sweet and small as the last, “c-cold.” “Oh, dear, you might be getting a cold.” The Draconequus claimed. He manually grabbed a blanket and wrapped it loosely around Fluttershy for her to hold closed at the front. His thumb and snapping finger tingled. They yearned to be snapped, to be used to summon magic. It was like a pony attempting to stop a twitch they had their entire lives, and suddenly stopping was fuelled by an immense willpower that Discord never knew that he had. He was struggling. The nerves on the tips of his thumb and snapping finger were addicted to making noise together. But the argument that he and Fluttershy had previously had that morning kept repeating - no, sustaining - itself in his mind, and it kept his crumbling willpower from turning completely into gravel. The sustain was much more annoying than repetition. It just continued with no breaks, an endless, almost white, obnoxious noise, melting into itself. Instead of a bearable “maybe you should, maybe you should, maybe you should, maybe”, Discord was receiving a grotesque “maybeyoushoulmaybeyoushmay...”, each syllable building up onto each other until incoherent, like an inedible, over-decorated cake. Discord simply wanted to please Fluttershy. Which had led to him drawing her a bath by hand, with bath salts, bath oils, flower petals, bubbles, and incense. He had never seen the point in such things, but if Fluttershy enjoyed it, it was okay enough for him. “You think so?” Fluttershy inquired, as Discord walked over to the ajar window and closed it. After making sure it was locked, he sat back beside her again. “It was a bit chilly outside.” “Chilly? Fluttershy, it was freezing!” “Oh,” she muttered, averting her gaze, “I guess I didn’t notice. Sorry.” Discord, not knowing why the mare was apologising, chose to ignore the apology all together. “You didn’t notice because you were concussed. How did you manage to do that, anyway?” “I...” Fluttershy scrunched her eyes closed in an effort to recollect. When she managed to pick out a fuzzy memory, she looked back up at Discord. “I think I ran into a tree.” Discord threw his head back and laughed, his claw in the air and his paw on his stomach. It was a roar of a laugh. When he finally calmed down, he wiped his eye with the back of his claw’s first finger. “And I thought you wanted to be a tree! In fact, I very well remember you saying it!” “Well,” again, Fluttershy averted her gaze for a moment, “maybe not an Everfree tree.” “What are we going to do with you, my dear little pony?” asked Discord with a smile. He picked her up so their faces were level. He made sure to keep her bundled up in her green, fleece blanket, so that she didn’t catch feeling of the cold in the room. The room was slowly warming, with the radiator on the wall just under the window that he had just closed - and the matching one in the bathroom - doing most of the work. “I don’t know,” said Fluttershy quietly, before the Draconequus pulled her in for a tight and secure hug. “Perhaps not letting you back into the Everfree Forest would be a start.” That said, Discord rested his cheek atop Fluttershy’s head. “Thank you, Discord,” the pegasus was more than eager to reciprocate the embrace. She snuggled in tightly with a small, rosy tint to her cheeks. “For everything.” Fluttershy’s head shot up to the sound of rushing water. Both she and Discord turned to where the noise came from: the bathroom. Soapy water poured out from under the closed door, with a few pink tulip petals floating around amongst the suds. Fluttershy’s eyes were wide. “Discord! What- What’s happening?” The Draconequus shot up onto his feet, which caused Fluttershy to drop back onto the sofa. She flapped her wings beside him, keeping a firm hold on her blanket. Discord had furrowed his brows in great apprehension. “Discord...” The mare used a similar look and tone to what she had that morning. The two vowels were stretched out again, and she put emphasis on both syllables, Dis- and -cord, and broke the word up, yet somehow managed to keep it seamlessly intact. It was an odd tone, a confusing tone, even for Discord. It made him want to drop to his stomach at her hooves and tell her every little detail about himself and his life. His entire life. Every truth he had spoken, every lie, even the white ones. It made him want to spill the beans on his Grogar facade that he was currently playing out with three of the most dangerous villains Equestria had ever known. Aside from himself, of course. He had been the most powerful and the most dangerous. It was a tone that should have been sold to detectives for millions upon millions of bits. It was a tone that Discord both loved and detested hearing. Hated, because it meant he had done something wrong. Adored, because it meant that Fluttershy was either right next to him - like she was now - or in front of him. It meant that she still cared about him. The tone. If she didn’t, that tone would be much, much more harsh, and screamed at him. Or, Fluttershy would have feared him and ran away, or cowered behind one of her friends - commonly Rainbow Dash, or Applejack. Discord could bear even the thought of hurting Fluttershy - mentally, physically, or emotionally - and if he did, he wouldn’t know how to cope with himself. He would finally, and truly, be what some still saw him as: an unredeemable monster. He still had nightmares about turning the Mane Six into the opposites of themselves. His dreams mostly centred around Fluttershy, however, as she was by far his favourite. It had been their first one-on-one interaction. He still remembered what he had said to her after failing to toy with her sweet, innocent mind: “Oh, for goodness sake! You've been kind for far too long, my dear. Time to be cruel.”. Discord had brought it up, once. Not the nightmares, per se, but the whole interaction. Fluttershy had smiled and said it was fine, and that he didn’t know any better. Discord had hummed in response, acknowledging her words, and the two left it at that. Mostly because he had left for Chaosville in case questions rose, and out of fear of Fluttershy suddenly realising that she was better off without him. Discord feared the day when that epiphany would inevitably happen. But he had known better. He could have chosen to simply have his fun, without playing a game of puppeteer and marionette. But he had done that, because he was good at that. He had found it fun, but now he didn’t know what to call it. If he was to do it now, he might enjoy it. He might not. Discord just didn’t know. And, if he did decide - or, rather, manage - to resurrect his passion for that game, he wouldn’t be able to look Fluttershy in the eye once she found out. Ogres and Oubliettes was a much better game, anyway. Sometimes, his nightmares morphed into something twice as callous; he had turned all of the friends, but had left Fluttershy to watch in pure horror. That was the worst scenario in his subconscious self-torments. Perhaps he should ask Princess Luna for the recipe to create his own Tantubus... although, something told him that after the whole ordeal with it attempting an exit into the real world, she would refuse. “Discord!” Fluttershy exclaimed. Discord blinked. He must have not answered her. “Huh? Oh,” he rubbed the back of his neck with his eagle claw, “I tried making you a bath.” “Without magic?” Fluttershy sat back on the sofa after dipping a back hoof into the water. “Discord! It’s freezing!” “It doesn’t work itself out?” His question came out louder than expected, and twice as panicked as needed. “No!” exclaimed the yellow pony, with wide eyes. “Why would you think that? You have to do it yourself.” “I’m sorry! I just wanted to prove to you that I could do something without magic.” He sighed in defeat, bowing his head sorrowfully. He snapped his fingers, his nerves suddenly soothed, and the water disappeared. Everything was dry, and the bath was no longer running. “You and I both know that’s not what I meant.” This addled Discord greatly. That was exactly what he thought she meant. “It wasn’t?” “Discord,” the tone was only half used, this time, “they all asked for me personally. Because they wanted me to help. They wanted to spend time with me while we did it together. If they asked for you, it would mean they wanted you to help. But they asked for somepony who can’t just fix everything without even lifting a single hoof. Er, paw.” “Oh.” was all Discord could muster. He turned his gaze away from her. “It’s like...” Fluttershy thought for a moment or so, “asking you to play Ogres and Oubliettes. They want the full experience, which is why they never asked anypony else!” Discord remained silent, but nodded nonetheless. He had messed up not only taking her words into consideration, but carrying out a task so simple as drawing her a bath that was a bearable enough temperature. Never had the Lord of Chaos felt more incompetent. “Besides,” leaving the blanket behind her after an unsuccessful sniff through her blocked nose, “your magic makes you... you. And I like you.” As she said this, Fluttershy’s cheeks blushed a bright pink. Discord’s eyes widened so much that they popped out of his head, and his jaw detached and fell on the floor, next to his eyeballs. He reframed by clearing his throat and bending over to blindly search for them with both hands. Once his face was whole again, the Draconequus tried to divert attention away from his previous reaction. “You’re just saying that. You might like me without the chaos, the confusing riddles, the whole Tirek fiasco, the insane jealousy, and the insulting comedy!” As he listed these things off, every word he accented came with different arm-positions: his hands placed on the sides of his head; his arms held out vertically; and his arms crossed with his paw holding his chin, and then the cycle in reverse. Fluttershy smiled again. She took his hands in her hooves. “You also saved Equestria with one of those riddles; you saved me, the girls, and the princesses from the unreformed Changelings with Trixie, Starlight and Thorax, with no magic! And, the four of you got a Pink Heart each because of it! Not to mention your heartfelt speech to give the six of us the confidence to defeat Sombra! You knew that we were the ones who needed to defeat him!” Discord could only swallow half of his guilt when looking Fluttershy in the eyes, and noticing her sweet and sincere tone and pretty smile. “Your chaos is what makes you you. Without it, you’ll fade away... just like that time you hosted your first tea party. You make me laugh, Discord. And you’re there when I need you. Maybe not all the time when others need you,” she added quietly, “but not everypony’s perfect.” “So, what you’re saying is...” Discord trailed off doubtfully. “I-I love you.” Fluttershy admitted. “Just as you are.” A duplicate of Discord sat on a duplicate of the green sofa, which was rested on the ceiling. The other Discord wore grey and white horned glasses. After sipping his tea as Fluttershy spoke, and once she finished he spat it out with wide eyes. “She said what?” asked the clone. “She said she loves us,” Discord scoffed and tutted at him, “ugh, weren’t you listening?” “Yes, in fact I was.” The bespectacled version of the Draconequus rolled his eyes. “But just as we are? The poor dear must be blind!” Discord clenched his fists and growled. “She likes animals, doofus.” “But aren’t you imm-” “You know what? I’ve just about had enough of you. Arrivederci.” Discord’s tone was bitter and impatient. Using a nail from his paw’s first finger, the Draconequus poked his double, and he popped like a balloon. Instead of the usual bang!, a gentle pop! sounded, and a few bubbles were left in his place. Discord snapped his fingers, and the upside-down couch disappeared in a small white flash. “Ugh,” Discord groaned, rolling his eyes, “that guy.” He turned back to Fluttershy with his arms crossed. Fluttershy chuckled into her hoof and hugged Discord. Taken aback for a split second, he soon wrapped his arms around her. “For what it’s worth,” the pegasus said with a smile, kissing his nose. “I find you very handsome.” Perhaps that compliment was a bit of a stretch, but as long as the two believed it, who was he - or anypony - to correct her judgement? “Really?” Now it was Discord’s turn to blush. He had always put up the charade of thinking so highly of his appearance, but since recognising his feelings for Fluttershy, he couldn’t help but doubt himself. “Of course. And even if I didn’t, I would still love you, silly.” This earnt Fluttershy a kiss on the head. “I love you, too, Fluttershy.”