//------------------------------// // Update // Story: Reconnection // by GeekCat //------------------------------// “I hate this,” Discord grumbled as Starlight gently probed at his head with her magic. “I know,” Fluttershy tried to console him. Starlight went about her work as usual—unless Thorax noted genuine pain or distress from Discord, she tended to block out the draconequus's whining. “But Chrysalis and Twilight both just tried to control you…I just want to be sure that you're okay.” About two days had passed since the incident—one to help clean up any and all loose ends and receive recognition as heroes again, and another simply spent resting after the ordeal. And though Discord seemed perfectly fine, Fluttershy still worried, and convinced him to go through an examination from Starlight. Starlight herself rose an eyebrow every so often at the results she was getting, mumbling to herself as she took notes. It wasn't long before she pulled her magic away from Discord, and was just examining her written results with a frown. “Give it to me straight, Doc,” Discord said. “How bad is it?” “It's…unexpected,” Starlight said. “I couldn't have predicted…” Oh, no. “Did…did Chrysalis strengthen the spell?” Fluttershy asked, worriedly wringing her mane. “Actually…I think the spell is weaker after Queen Chrysalis's attempt,” Starlight said, narrowing her eyes at the notes in front of her. Fluttershy, Discord, and Thorax all looked at her with wide eyes. “Wait…wait wait wait,” Discord said, closing his eyes and holding up his hands. “…how?” “Weeell…” Starlight said, waving a hoof in the air. “It doesn't look like she was careful when trying to take over it. She really just used an amped-up hypnosis spell and hoped that would do the trick. But her magic broke some of Twilight's more…fine-tuned components of the spell.” “So…she broke parts of it when trying to hijack it?” Fluttershy asked for confirmation. Starlight nodded. “Mostly it was the pieces without bridge components connecting them, or those that were already being worn down,” she said. “And she might have disabled a hoofful of the defense spells, too…though that could have been intentional on her part, actually…” She mumbled to herself, grabbing a notebook and jotting a few quick notes. “So, Discord’s…free?” Fluttershy said hopefully. Starlight looked up, a sheepish look on her face. “Well…the spell is still there,” she said. “But it is a lot more broken. Plus, Discord's resistance to her attempt to control him has strained the spell components that didn't break.” “Huh,” Fluttershy said, looking up at Discord. He still seemed shell-shocked by this news, staring ahead with his mouth open. But his eyes weren't as glazed over, and they were so vibrantly colorful and alive… “…how much of the spell is left?” “Not much, but it's some of the oldest stuff. The most entwined of it,” Starlight said. “Parts that will take quite a bit of magic to unravel them…” She scowled. “It could take a lifetime to clean it up. But if things keep progressing this way, we might be able to get rid of all of it. Even so, I'd say…Discord is pretty much out of the woods. His actions should be his own, he should be able to think clearly, he might even be able to refuse orders…” “I'm free?” Discord said breathlessly. “Relatively?” “That's amazing!” Thorax cheered, beaming widely. His smile was only rivaled by Fluttershy's, who felt lighter than air from the relief flooding her chest. “Don't get too excited,” Starlight warned them. “He still has a long way to go.” But even with that reminder, their mood couldn't be dampened. Even Starlight had to smile, though she sighed and shook her head. “I think this deserves a celebration,” Fluttershy said. “What if we went to Sugarcube Corner? All four of us?” Discord immediately agreed, as did Thorax after a moment of thought. Starlight hesitated for a moment before they all convinced her to tag along, and they left the library as a group. Pinkie was waiting for them with their favorite cupcakes already. “My Pinkie Sense told me there would be very good news soon, so I made the favorite desserts of everyone in town to be ready!” she explained as she slid the platter onto their table. “And you all have some pretty happy smiles. So, what happened?” Discord smirked, grabbing everyone's cupcakes and juggling them before letting go and allowing them to float on a cloud of purple, sparkling mist. “I am relatively free of the spell Twilight put on me,” he boasted with a hand on his chest. Pinkie blinked, staring at him blankly…before squeeing, her smile stretching all the way to her eyes. “That's fantastic!” she cheered, bouncing up into the air with a burst of confetti. “And you know what this calls for?” “A party?” Fluttershy guessed. “Yep! I'm going to start planning right away!” With that, Pinkie dove behind the counter, into a trapdoor, and disappeared. “…she's an…interesting pony,” Starlight said, biting into her dessert. Her eyes widened, and she smiled. “And a good baker.” The others made noises of agreement, and they all dug into their cupcakes. When they had finished, they left the shop and parted ways, Starlight and Thorax heading to the library while Fluttershy and Discord went to her cottage. As soon as they were inside, Fluttershy tapped a hoof against the ground. “So.” Discord's attention snapped over to her. “With the spell wearing off, you…you can have your life back. Go wherever you want, do whatever you want…” She swallowed, raising her gaze to look him in the eye. “I just…I suppose I'm asking what it is you want to do.” She had expected him to mull over it, to think for a bit before he could say. She wasn't expecting his immediate response. “I want to stay here, with you.” Fluttershy felt her face start to heat up, and she brushed her mane in front of her face to hide her growing blush. “You…you're sure?” she asked. “There must be plenty of exciting places you can live. You don't have to feel tied down here…” “I'm not!” He took a deep breath. “Fluttershy…there's something important I want to tell you. Something I've been waiting to say until the spell was gone, so you know that it's my own words. Not the spell's, and not Twilight's.” Fluttershy's breath caught in her throat, her heart skipping a beat as her eyes widened. Discord swallowed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “Shy, I…I love you,” he said, jaw and voice trembling. Tiny shivers traveled along his shoulders and spine. “I can't tell you how long, but I know that I do. I've known for a while. I j-just…c-couldn't tell you. N-Not with her spell on me.” Fluttershy quickly blinked away the tears in the corners of her eyes. “Oh, Discord…” He reached up to brush his shaking thumb against her cheek, brow creased with worry. She leaned forward, wrapping both of her forelegs and wings around him, burrowing her muzzle into his chest. “I love you, too, Discord,” she confessed, blood rushing in her ears. “I have for a while. I just…I couldn't tell you, because I was scared I might hurt you.” “You? Hurt? Me?” Discord laughed, and he slowly tilted her head to peer up at him. “Fluttershy, you're too good of a pony to hurt anyone.” She smiled up at him. “…thank you,” she said. “But, I really was worried. That I might…change you, or control you. Even just by accident…” “Ah.” He began to stroke his claws through her mane. “…is that why you tried to get Starlight to foalsit me a while back?” She pursed her lips and sheepishly nodded. His shaking fingers wormed deeper into her mane, patting the top of her head, right between her ears. “…I'm glad I convinced you to take me back.” “…I'm glad, too,” she admitted. “And I'm…I'm so, so happy that you're healing, Discord. I'm happier than words can describe.” He beamed down at her, his eyes and smile so bright and clear that she suddenly felt lighter than air. “May…may I kiss you?” she asked shyly. He blinked, then nodded, grin twitching a little wider. She planted her forehooves against his chest, leaning upwards with puckered lips…but hesitated a hair's breadth away from him. A small part of her, a disbelieving part, insisted that she not push Discord to do things like this. Discord seemed to notice her hesitation, and he gave her a soft, warm look. He closed the distance between them, gently pressing his lips against hers. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before they slowly slid closed, and she pressed back, smiling as she returned the pressure of the kiss. After only a few seconds, she felt something like lightning pass between them. They both jolted and pulled back, eyes wide, and Fluttershy saw the tail end of pink lightning flicker between Discord's horns. “Was…was that magic?” she said in amazement. “…I think so,” Discord said, blinking slowly. “Wow, that's…that's a real rush.” He shook his head, then tilted it. “A good rush, though…it feels like my head's been unfogged.” “It does!?” Fluttershy asked, eyes sparkling. “Does that mean the spell is wearing off a bit? I wonder why…” He blinked a few times, grimacing. “Fog’s not gone for long…but I felt pretty clear for a moment.” He wrapped his tail around her, pulling her close. “Starlight could probably give us the exact details, probably involving something sappy like the magic of love. But honestly, I'm just going to use that as an excuse to pepper you with kisses even more.” He bent his neck, brushing his lips against her cheek. She smiled, pecking his nose before he could pull away. She wrapped her wings around him, and they continued to exchange soft kisses. “You're sure you want to be with me?” she asked, kissing his eyelid. “The kisses aren't answer enough?” he teased. “Yes, I want to be with you, Fluttershy. I love you, you, you…silly pegasus.” His wrist twitched, and he booped her nose, a few spasms traveling along his arm. “…better question—are you sure you want to be with me?” He frowned, and she paused in her kissing. “I'm…broken.” “No, you're not,” she said sternly, cupping his face in her hooves. “You were hurt by Twilight and held back, but you are not broken. You are a whole draconequus, and you are healing. Even if progress is slow, it's still progress. “I love you, Discord. And I won't leave your side.” Discord stared at her for several moments before sniffing loudly, tears gushing from his eyes. “Shhyyyyy…” he whined. Fluttershy gave him a tight hug, which he shakily returned. He sniffed loudly every few seconds, and she decided to politely ignore the tears that were spilling into her mane. After a few minutes of letting it all out, he pulled back, blinking away tears. She reached up to wipe them away, and he grinned at her as though he were very suave and charming and hadn't just soaked her in tears and snot because she had touched his heart. “So,” he said, a flicker of magic getting rid of the puffiness of his eyes. “On the subject of…healing. Is there anything you wanted to do that you, or we, couldn't before?” “Other than kissing?” she giggled, making his smile even wider. “I…well, maybe going on dates would be nice. Public, romantic ones, where we can just go and have fun together?” “…that sounds fantastic,” he said, tail twitching in a small wag. “Say, isn't there something big coming up…?” “Oh, the Grand Galloping Gala!” she exclaimed, eyes lighting up as she remembered. “Yes, that's in a few weeks…and I believe they're sending out invitations soon.” Her smile became a little sad. “I…hope it'll go better than last time…” “It will,” he assured her, a hand on her shoulder. “We'll…dance until we can't breathe, steal away to corners to steal kisses, and…I'll steal all of their snacks.” She giggled. “You make it all sound very fun.” “And…I already have the perfect formalwear,” he continued with a grin, snapping his fingers to summon the suit-dress combo Rarity had made for him. “So, then… is it a date?” She beamed at him, placing her hoof in his hand. “It is,” she said. She slowly leaned up to tap her nose against his. A purr rumbled through his throat, and he shifted his muzzle to brush his lips against hers. Fluttershy felt another spark between the two of them, and she saw how Discord's eyes seemed to glow at that moment. She slowly let her eyes slide closed, returning the kiss's pressure. Right now, their future looked so bright, and it was hard to imagine being any happier than this.