Fluttershy waved goodbye to her friends, closing the door behind her. Sometimes, she mused, one of the best parts of their adventures was coming back home afterward and finally feeling safe and sound. Especially when their adventure was a particularly…stressful one, as this one had been.
No one had expected the gems to be fallen stars. Or that they had formed a constellation that imprisoned the Spirit of Malice. Or that said Spirit was able to possess others through the gems. Least of all that she was Discord's crazy and possessive ex.
Speaking of Discord…Fluttershy walked into her living room. Discord was sprawled across the couch on his stomach, chin propped on a pillow and one of his arms limply dangling towards the floor. The teacake on the end table in front of him still appeared untouched, and he just looked so…glum.
Cosmos's return had scared Discord more than anyone else. And really, Fluttershy couldn't blame him. But it was still sad to see her joyful, playful draconequus down in the dumps like this.
…since when is he ‘my' draconequus? she thought. Of course, she knew exactly why thoughts like that popped into her head. Her affection for him had been growing for a while now. But now was the worst time to even think about mentioning it to Discord! A romantic relationship was probably the last thing he wanted after seeing Cosmos again.
She approached the couch, still leaving plenty of space between the two of them. His ear twitched, but that was the only sign that he noticed her presence.
“…how are you feeling?” she asked quietly.
“Peachy keen,” he said with a small huff. He didn't even look at her.
Her ears flattened, and she swallowed a sigh. She knew it was hard for Discord to open up. She just needed to be patient, give him time, and respect his boundaries.
She glanced up and through the window above the couch. The full moon sat there, gleaming…rude messages occasionally being halfway written before being suddenly erased. A shiver traveled down her spine. “What…made you choose the moon?” she asked.
“Far away from me,” he said. “And she hates space. Luna can…” His eyes slowly drifted over towards the window…only for him to freeze in place once they locked onto the moon. Every muscle in his body seemed tense.
Discord quickly reached up and yanked the curtains closed. His eyes darted around, and after a few moments of taking in his surroundings, he snapped his fingers, creating iron shutters to fall over all of the nearest windows.
"...ah," Fluttershy said as he flopped back onto the couch, limbs limp. "You don't want to see the moon, because...that's where she is...?"
He sighed heavily. "I'm more worried about her seeing me," he admitted. "I mean, she...she had just revealed that she had taken every opportunity during her imprisonment to just watch me..." He warily eyed the sealed window, as though Cosmos could see even through iron.
"Well...I'm sure that Princess Luna is going to keep a very close eye on her," Fluttershy tried to reassure him. He grunted, still as limp and despondent as ever, and her ears flattened. It hurt to see him like this...was there something, anything she could do to help?
She stepped forward, almost draping a wing over his back, but paused and withdrew before actually touching him. "If you want," she said. "You can stay here."
His eyes flicked over towards her. "For the night?"
"For as long as you want," she said. "A night, a week...as long as you want, until you feel safe."
He lifted his head slightly, turned towards her...and gave her a weak smile. She saw that mischievous glitter of mirth return to his eyes, if only for a brief moment. "Careful," he warned with a weak chuckle. "You extend an offer like that, and you might never be able to get rid of me."
She smiled fondly, and she extended a wing to him. "That actually doesn't sound so bad," she said softly. Her wing froze inches above him, and she mentally chastised herself. She shouldn't push him. Even if he wanted to feel safe, he probably wanted his own space.
Before she could pull her wing back, Discord arched his back up to meet it. She froze for a second, the skin-on-skin contact sending tingles all through her wing. A shiver traveled down her spine, and she felt the feathers of her wings fluff up. Discord's back and ears twitched in response.
“So, you don't mind…a bit of touching?” she asked to confirm.
“Not from you,” he said with a sigh. He dropped back onto the couch, and she followed him with her wing, spreading her feathers across his back. “You're good, so don't worry.”
She smiled, and her hoof twitched. She hesitated for several moments, but then reached up and gently rubbed right behind his ear, one of his most sensitive spots. She could feel the shiver travel down his spine as his fur puffed up, and he made a soft cooing sound from the back of his throat.
They spent the next several minutes like that, Fluttershy giving him small forms of affection while Discord made encouraging noises. To her relief, spending time like this seemed to be helping him relax.
Soon, though, she heard a quiet gurgle coming from Discord's stomach. He glanced between her and his torso…then looked away, not saying anything, seemingly content to pretend it hadn't happened. She slowly drew back her wing and hoof. "I know it's a bit late, but why don't we have some dinner?" she said. "You must be hungry. And...maybe a hot meal will help you feel a bit better?"
He pursed his lips together, mulling it over for a bit before he finally nodded. "Could we have noodles?" he asked. "Really savory, greasy, messy noodles. Please?"
She smiled. "Would noodles in garlic sauce be enough?" she said. "Maybe with some parmesan cheese?"
He licked his lips. "That sounds...really good, actually.”
“I'll start boiling the water,” she said, heading towards the kitchen. “Is there anything else you want with your noodles?”
He rolled off the couch and started strolling towards the kitchen. Fluttershy quickly flew around and covered all the windows before setting the pot of water on the stove. “Maybe a prime selection of cheese to sample?” he said, smiling. “After all, we didn't get to have our picnic earlier.”
“That sounds lovely,” she said, hovering to her cabinets and gathering all the ingredients she needed. Discord snapped his fingers and summoned a picnic basket, which he hung from thin air before lounging in one of the kitchen chairs.
Fluttershy prepped her ingredients while she waited for the water to boil. She saw Discord snap his fingers, and heard the pot sizzle and bubble behind her. A quick glance confirmed that it was boiling. “Oh, thank you,” she said, adding the noodles.
“It's no trouble, really,” he said with a lazy salute. “Just helping out a little.” He snapped again, and slices of cheese started to dance their way out of the basket and onto a large plate he set on the table.
The two of them continued to work together. Fluttershy took care of most of the work, such as stirring the cooking noodles and mixing everything together, while Discord occasionally lent a hand by snapping his fingers and using magic to speed things along.
Finally, a steaming pot of noodles sat in front of her, smelling strongly of garlic. She used oven mitts to hold it in her hooves and flew over to the table, where Discord had already summoned plates, cups, and cutlery. “Help yourself,” she said cheerfully, setting the pot in front of him. “And I can grab a drink for you, too!”
She rushed back to the fridge and dug around for a bit before she pulled out her last bottle of Sweet Apple Acres Cider. Discord licked his lips when he caught sight of it, and she poured him a generous amount while he piled plenty of noodles onto his plate.
While she poured her own glass, she snuck a look at his plate. Fortunately, his appetite didn't seem dulled at all. The pasta towered on half of his plate, and he was already arranging what seemed to be every kind of cheese on the other half, popping some gouda into his mouth. She smiled as, with a wave of his claw, a flowering vine took the bottle and placed it back in the fridge while she took her seat.
“So,” she said as she nibbled on a piece of cheese. Discord looked up, a large clump of noodles dangling from his mouth. “Is there anything you feel like doing after supper?”
He hummed in thought, quickly slurping up and swallowing the noodles. “Is blocking all the windows an option?” he said. “Just to…be on the safe side. You know?”
“Of course,” she said with a nod. He smiled, seeming a bit less tense. They ate without speaking for a minute or so, though Discord's loud slurping was more than enough noise to fill the room.
“…Discord?” she said. “Would you…like to tell me about any of your recent adventures? Happy ones?”
He took a large swing of cider, then slammed his cup down. “Oh, I would love to,” he said. “Where should I start? Perhaps with my trek through Candyland. Which, despite being made of sweets, is not a sweet place to visit. So much politics and backstabbing…”
She smiled and listened intently. She loved hearing Discord tell her about his experiences, and he seemed to look more like himself as he rambled about licorice.
“…so now that Baron is banished, but still lying in wait for a moment of weakness in the king,” Discord said, finishing his tale.
“Wow,” Fluttershy said, gathering up all their dishes. Both of them had eaten their fill during his story, and even snacked on candy he summoned to show her pieces of what the land had been like. “You really do a lot of amazing things, Discord.”
He puffed out his chest, and filled her sink with soapy water in a snap. “Of course I do! I am an amazing specimen, aren't I?”
“I'd say you are.” When she slid the dishes into the water, her dishrags began moving by themselves to scrub them clean. “Oh, thank you!”
“Not a problem,” he said, standing up. “Now…shall we make this cottage moon-free and…ex-free?”
The tension his body had released during his story seemed to return, even if just a fraction, once Cosmos was back on his mind. “What if…we tried to make it a game?” she said. He looked at her, and she immediately felt silly for making the suggestion. “You know, like…seeing which of us can block more windows…?”
A grin slowly spread on his face. “Challenge accepted!” With a cackle, he dropped to all fours and scurried out of the room, sniffing out windows.
Fluttershy smiled. That seemed to do the trick. She unfurled her wings and began to fly around the house, tightly closing every set of curtains she saw.
Minutes later, when the house was dark and she was sure they must have gotten all the windows, she flew back into the living room. Discord was lounging on the couch, angling a hand mirror about to try and catch stray moonbeams. “Looks like the game's over,” he said as she entered.
“Alright,” Fluttershy said, landing on the carpet. “How many windows did you block?”
“One hundred and fifty billion,” Discord said casually. She blinked, staring at him for a few moments…and then he started to chuckle.
She couldn't help but giggle along. “I-I think that's a few too many than what I have here!” she said between laughs.
His chuckling turned into laughing. “I know, but you should have seen your face…!” He covered his mouth to stifle his laugh, while she just flopped into her chair, waiting out her fit of giggles.
They soon managed to catch their breath, and Discord said, “Honestly, I got three. But I did it very stealthily, and there's no way anyone's going to see through them.” He tapped his knuckles against the metal that blocked the living room window.
“I got five,” she said. “Feel better with all the windows blocked?”
“Much, much better,” he said with a nod. His tail twirled into a knot. “…still a bit anxious, though. Even though I know she can't see me.”
“That's understandable,” she said, reaching out to him. She paused for him to give a small nod of confirmation, then laid her hoof on his shoulder. “Maybe there's something I could do to help you shed off some of that anxiety?”
His ears perked up. “Got any ideas?”
She pursed her lips and thought. “Let's see…there's meditation, reading, coloring, hot baths…”
“I like the sound of the last one,” he said. “I might, none sound bad, but that one feels especially appealing.”
“I'll run one for you, then,” she said, already heading upstairs. She turned on the bathroom lights and quickly assembled everything for a comfortable bath, ears twitching when she heard Discord's footsteps behind her.
She dolloped some bubblegum-scented bubble bath into the tub, then started filling it with hot water. Discord watched from the doorway. "Thank you for doing this," he said.
"It's no problem, really," she said, slowly turning down the water temperature as the tub filled with hot water and frothy, sweet-smelling bubbles. "You should have the chance to relax a bit before bed."
"Right...bed," he mumbled. The tone of his voice threw her off for a second, but the tub was already full of warm, steaming water, so she didn't think much about it.
She stepped back and gestured towards it invitingly, lighting a small scented candle right next to her sink. Discord finally floated into the bathroom, hovering just above the tub. He slowly reached down with his dragon foot and tapped his toes to the water. Then, with a shrug, he snapped his fingers, creating a mud mask on his face and two cucumber slices over his eyes, before finally sinking into the water.
Once all the way in, he lounged back in the bathtub, sighing so soft and long that it sounded like he was deflating. “Oh, this is wonderful,” he complimented, pointing in Fluttershy's general direction. “You could put Aloe and Lotus out of their money, you know.”
“That's kind of you to say,” she said. He swung his arm around to point right at where she was before it slid back into the water. She walked back towards the door. “So, I put out all the shampoos and soaps I have next to the tub, and there's a towel hanging on the wall for when you're done. Just let me know if you need anything else.”
“I think you’ve thought of everything,” he assured with a thumbs-up.
She smiled and stepped out, closing the door behind her. She unfurled her wings and hovered downstairs, back to the living room, where she began to set blankets and pillows on the couch.
It was perhaps half an hour later that she heard the bathroom door open, water gurgling loudly as it poured down the drain. “Ah, that was lovely!” Discord announced as he emerged with a cloud of steam. A towel was wrapped around his shoulders like a shawl. “I haven't felt this clean and relaxed in…weeks, perhaps.”
Fluttershy smiled, setting aside the scarf she had been knitting and standing up. “Feeling better, then?”
“Quite a bit,” he said, casting off the towel and letting it float its own way back to the bathroom. “Oh, you…you set up the couch. As a bed. Just for me…”
“Yes…oh, would you have rather rested on the ceiling for the night?” she said. Maybe if she grabbed some rope, she could help him put it up there. “Or maybe the underground knitting room?”
“No, I mean…I really do appreciate that you did this for me,” he said, taking a seat on the couch and fiddling with the corner of the blanket. “But…”
She took a seat on the cushion next to him, ready to hear him out. He glanced at her and wrung his tail in between his hands. "Well...this is embarrassing," he said with a chuckle. "But, ah...I'm worried about having a nightmare and sleep-chaosing. I mean, all our friends already had to deal with one reality-warping villain today, so..."
"...you don't want to go to bed?" she guessed, ears flattening. He bit his lip and nodded.
"I know you probably want to rest," he said. "And that's fine! I can handle myself down here. Besides, I've been meaning to catch up on my reading." He whipped out a generic book to prove his point.
She frowned sadly. Discord didn't need sleep as badly as ponies did. If he wanted, he probably could avoid it for the next few days without too many ill effects. But leaving him alone with just his thoughts for company…it seemed wrong.
“Before you decide to…pull an all-nighter down here,” she said. “Could I show you something in my room?”
Discord's ears perked up, and his eyes gleamed with curiosity. “Do you have a surprise waiting for me?” he asked, a wide grin on his face.
“Sort of?” she said with a shrug. “It's more like…something I use to get through Nightmare Night. That I'd like to share with you right now, if you're interested.”
“I am, very much so!” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Lead the way.”
She nodded and headed upstairs, Discord floating right behind her. He paused in the doorway of her bedroom when she went in, but she smiled and waved him inside. He tentatively entered, while she approached her bed.
She pulled back the bedsheets, revealing to him exactly why she owned a bed with slightly higher legs—the small comfort cavern she held underneath.
Even when it wasn't Nightmare Night, she still kept it stocked with a few things. She might not have used it often, but sometimes just the thought of having it there was a comfort. A tiny electric lantern sat in the corner, as did a small pile of some of her favorite books.
"We can spend the night in here together, if you'd like," she said, grabbing a pillow from the head of her bed and crawling inside. "I know it's not much, but..."
"But it's helped you in the past, hasn't it?" he said, crawling in after her on all fours. "Besides, you'll be here, won't you?" He flopped on his belly, curling his tail close to himself so all of him could fit in the space.
“If you want me to stay,” she said, reaching over and turning on the lantern, which glowed softly.
“I'd like that,” he said, summoning up a pillow and a large weighted blanket. He placed the pillow under his chin and slithered over to her, offering her a part of the weighted blanket.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting and draping it over herself. She sighed and closed her eyes, laying her head on her pillow. She'd have to remember to add a weighted blanket of her own to the comfort cavern sometime…this felt extremely relaxing.
She felt her nose being booped, and her eyes slowly opened. Discord was looking at her innocently. “So, what do you do here?” he asked. “Besides catch a few Zs. Which I don't feel…quite ready for yet.”
“Right, of course,” she said, feeling sheepish. She grabbed some books from her stack and showed them off to him. A few of her childhood favorites, mostly fables about animals and how they might help ponies, a couple of Saddlemon manga, and some stories of romance and drama that she knew ended happily. “Mostly I read in here to pass the time. Or some of my animal friends join me, and we talk for a bit.”
“Well, now you have a draconequus friend with you to talk to,” he said with a chuckle. “…could you read me something we'd both like? I seem to have…forgotten my glasses at home.”
She opened her mouth, about to ask why he suddenly needed glasses to read, or why he couldn't just summon them…but closed her mouth. It wouldn't be Discord if he wasn't a little nonsensical sometimes. “Well, let's see,” she said, sifting through the pile. She immediately put aside any romances—those would either bring up bad memories, or just make him laugh. That included most of her Disneigh things.
“Saddlemon or fables?” she asked, holding up an example of each.
His eyes flicked back and forth between the two options. “…fables, please,” he decided. “I'm rather curious what lessons ponies have slid into those.”
She nodded and leaned back against her pillow, opening the book of fables and beginning to read its contents aloud. Discord shifted, making himself comfortable with his ears swiveled in her direction.
“…and so, Posey vowed to always listen to her friends,” Fluttershy finished reading the last fable. She closed the book and set it aside, turning to ask Discord what he thought…only to see that his eyes were closed and he was breathing evenly.
She smiled softly, flicking the lantern off. Discord's eyelids twitched, and he shifted a bit, the weighted blanket sliding down on his body before he relaxed. She couldn't help but smile—even in sleep, some part of him was always in motion. It was fascinating to see.
…surely she could say what was weighing on her chest, couldn't she? He wouldn't hear. And once the idea popped into her head, she knew rest wouldn't find her if she didn't let it into the open.
“…I think I might love you,” she whispered to the sleeping draconequus. “But I don't want to spring that on you yet because of…well, what happened with your last…’romance'.”
She pulled the weighted blanket up to his chest, tucking him in and making sure he was comfortable before making herself cozy, laying her head on her pillow and closing her eyes, the weighted blanket nearly pulled up over her head.
“…you're not like Cosmos,” Discord said quietly. Fluttershy froze, her face going pale before turning bright red. “You're a good pony.” He reached under the blanket and laid his paw on top of her hoof. “Which is why I feel the same about you as…what you just said.”
“I…I…” She turned to look at him, seeing him very much awake, but there were too many words in her throat. An apology for being too sudden. An exclamation of joy that he felt the same. A question of what this meant they were to each other, now.
“…goodness, this day is just full of bombshells and revelations, isn't it?” he said, smiling wryly. “But, ah…the tiredness of the day is catching up to me, and probably to you, so…do you want to just accept for now that we love each other and…work out the finer details over breakfast?”
She paused, considering it. She was awfully tired, and both of their confessions had taken a weight off her chest…with the knowledge that they would talk in the morning, she felt like she really could rest.
“That sounds like a good plan,” she said, shifting forward until she was pressed against his chest. She snuggled into his fur, while he wrapped his arms around her. She could almost feel his whole body relaxing, the tension leaving his muscles.
She listened as his breathing slowly relaxed and slowed, arms going limp as he slipped into sleep (for real, this time). Seeing him relaxed, and hearing his slow, unworried heartbeat…knowing that he cared for her as much as she cared for him…it was enough to make a smile spread across her muzzle.
That smile stayed there even as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep herself. Neither of them needed to worry about restlessness or nightmares—sleeping right next to the creature they loved, they had one of the best nights of sleep they'd both had in quite some time.