Emotion
For the first time in what felt like centuries…things were right.
Discord moaned as he felt something soft run across his leg. Without opening his eyes, he moved his paw to touch the object, and a content smile spread across his face as his paw wrapped around a shapely smooth thigh.
He moved his head, and found waves tickling his nose. He moaned again as he felt sweet lips kiss the muscles on his chest, before feeling her soft smooth cheek rest once more against him. His other claw rose to tangle in her hair, and his lips found her brow, brushing a gentle kiss across the skin.
Yes, for the first time in far too long, things were right.
"I've missed this," Fluttershy murmured, purring contentedly as she felt Discord's paw caress her arm, which lay across his chest.
"So have I," he whispered, his paw finding her hoof, and bringing it to his lips. "It has been far too long."
Fluttershy smiled and turned her head, so that her chin rested on his chest and she could look into his eyes. "Let's make a promise, here and now, to never let our own foolishness part us again…ever."
Discord smiled down at her and squeezed her hoof tenderly. "Agreed."
Fluttershy grinned and snuggled her head once more against him, her mass of pink waves blanketing his chest. "I must thank my father for his wisdom in telling me to come here."
Discord's paw stilled momentarily by her announcement. "Your father told you to come here?" Had he heard her correctly? The very stallion who had a right to despise him…encouraged his beautiful daughter to return to her beast? "You told your father about us?"
"Well…not everything," Fluttershy giggled with a slight blush. "But I did tell him how it was you who found him, who gave me the money to release him, and…" she smiled and reached up to run her hoof across his disfigured flesh, "…how you are the stallion I love with my whole heart."
Discord held his breath as Fluttershy revealed everything that had transpired between her and her father. "And…how did he react to this news?"
Fluttershy's smile was radiant, and she leaned up to brush her lips across his. "Very well, actually," she grinned. "My father was fooled by the Prince; he believed Blueblood to be an absolute gentlecolt, and that we owed our lives to him. But I have been able to make him see reason, as well as the truth, and today, when I told him about you…he could see how deeply my love was…and he believed me when I told him that you loved me," Fluttershy nestled her head over his chest so that she could hear his heart beating. "My father is a good stallion, Discord, and as any good father, he wants the best for me…and he knows that the best for me is to be with somepony whom I love and respect," she smiled as she looked up at him. "So he gave me his blessing, and encouraged me to come to you, and to not leave until you heard my feelings."
Discord couldn't help but smile down at her, his paw now tracing her cheek. "Now I understand where your power of amazement comes from," he murmured. "And in all honesty, it's still hard for me to fathom. Your father has a right to hate me, revile me, and distrust me, especially now that I have seduced his one and only daughter."
"My father believes me when I tell him that you are not the same stallion as you were that day you took me prisoner," Fluttershy soothed. "And he can see that for himself, especially after I explained that it was through you that I knew where to find you. He is thankful to you for reuniting us…but he said so himself, he could not bear the thought of keeping you and I apart. He has accepted my choice, Discord," Fluttershy whispered, bringing Discord's hoof to her lips. "He has accepted us."
Discord found himself wondering if this was all some elaborate dream; for the first time in his life, everything that was happening to him was good. After a childhood spent in a cage, and twenty years spent in the cold dark bowels of the Maris Opera House…he was finally receiving everything he could have ever hoped and dreamed for…but had been too cynical to try. He did not deserve God's mercy…but he would forever be thankful for it.
"I never truly doubted, you know," she murmured, her head once again settling on his chest. "There was always a part of me that believed that you were lying, when you sent me away…"
A frown shadowed Discord's face. "Fluttershy, I'm so sorry for that night, I don't deserve your forgiv–"
Her lips stopped him from apologizing further. Discord could not help but welcome the kiss, his paw and claw holding her lovely face to his, until his lungs burned for air. She smiled down at him, and let her lips trail across his scars. "It is forgotten," she whispered. "I know that you did it all because you wanted me to be with my father…and you thought you were doing the right thing, letting me return above–"
Discord's claw and paw lifted her face away so he could look directly into her eyes. "It does not change the fact that I hurt you, Fluttershy," he softly said, his eyes filled with shame and sadness. "And for that, I will never forgive myself. You have a right to hate me–"
"But I don't," Fluttershy reassured, her eyes shimmering with love for him. "We have hurt each other in ways we're not proud of…but despite all that, our love has never lessoned. It has led us back to this place, it has led us back to each other!" she smiled and bent her lips to kiss his once more. "Let us learn from our mistakes, but not let them rule us."
Discord knew that no matter how many years he lived, there would never be a day where Fluttershy wouldn't amaze him in some way. "I thought God had abandoned me," he whispered in awe as his paw traced the soft contours of her face. "But here you are, my angel...with me, here, now…"
"And my heart too," Fluttershy whispered back, feeling fresh tears of joy brim in her eyes. "But it has never left this place…it has always been with you."
Discord's paw tangled in her hair once more and he brought her lips down to his, drinking in her essence, her sweetness, yearning for his taste of heaven. Fluttershy giggled against his mouth as she felt him role her over onto her back, his body moving over hers once more. "Why, Monsieur Phantom," she whispered coyly, "I did not realize you were…up…to three performances a night."
"Amazing what the right audience will do to increase one's stamina, don't you think, mademoiselle?" he growled.
Emotion was welling up deep in his chest. "No…for the first time in my life…everything is so right." He had found love, and even more extraordinary, his angel loved him in return, despite the scars of his face and past. "Fluttershy…do you remember the night I came to you?"
Fluttershy blushed furiously at the memory. "That song was so haunting…so beautiful…I thought I must be dreaming," she whispered. It had perhaps been one of the most sensual and erotic experiences of her life. "But I wasn't," she murmured, gazing into his eyes, before looking down at the bracelet on her hoof. "You left me this, so that I would know of your presence."
Discord shook his head. "I left you that so you would know of my intentions," his large paw and claw enfolded both of hers. "Fluttershy, the song you heard…was a gift of mine, to you."
"A gift?"
"Yes, a song that I had been writing for…months really, a tune that would not leave my head," he explained. "A song that you inspired shortly after we began our lessons…and it continued to grow, until I could not hold it inside me any longer, and I had to write it down." He paused and looked down at her hoof, his paw, large and calloused, delicately tracing her much smaller and softer hooves. "On the night I sent you away…I had intended to sing you that song…" he looked into her eyes and almost lost his breath as he saw her love and understanding reflected back. "And I had also intended to give you this…" he whispered, his thumb running across the ring. "Even after you left…the song wouldn't die. I burned it, even destroyed the piano where I had composed it…and yet the music, the lyrics, everything…it refused to be forgotten."
Fluttershy thought she might choke on the emotion that was bubbling up in her throat. She was trembling, not from cold or fear, but from pure emotion…and anticipation.
"During those dark days that past, when my world of music had become a sarcophagus, I truly wanted to die," his gaze caught hers, and Fluttershy bit her lip to keep herself from protesting. She understood that he needed to finish this first. "And then, on that day when I heard your voice on stage, singing my music, I felt my strength return…and I realized that I did not want to die, I did not want to disappear…I wanted you, I needed you. And the song blazed through me, like wildfire," he lifted her hooves to his lips and gently kissed them. "I had to share my song with you. I could not wait another moment…I came to you that night, and when I held you, when I felt your kiss…my doubts, my fears, were squashed in that moment, and I felt hope come alive within me."
Fluttershy felt the tears trickle down her cheeks as his gaze captured hers once more, his paw and claw bringing her hooves to rest against his chest. She could feel his heart; it was beating rapidly, just as hers was.
"All my life, I have been called many things: murderer, monster, madcolt…and I all my life, I have believed I was nothing more. Until you trespassed into my world, showed me the depths of your love, of your passion, and awakened what little good I possessed with the beauty of your voice…Fluttershy, I would be lost without you. You are my angel, my muse, my savior, and my equal in so many ways." Fluttershy held her breath as his next words slipped past his lips. "Now I am asking you…will you also be my wife?"
She couldn't speak. Her voice had literally been robbed from her! And she couldn't move! It was as if the world around her had frozen and time itself had stopped.
Discord was holding his breath, awaiting his beloved's answer. It had not been the most romantic of proposals; he knew he should have gone down on one knee, despite the fact that he was naked–
"YES!"
The sudden outburst from the mare before him shocked Discord to the core, and before he could respond, Fluttershy had launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and knocking him backwards on the bed. "Yes! Oh yes! If you wish to have me, a silly country mare practically twenty years younger, who is often stubborn, and–"
All other words were lost as Discord rolled her over onto her back and was kissing her deeply. "A simple 'yes' will suffice," he teased, laughing as she purposely pushed him off her, so that she could pin him down and tower over him.
Fluttershy couldn't help but share in his loving laughter. "I can't believe it," she giggled. "I had come here hoping that you would hear me out, hoping that you would believe me when I told you that my leaving with the Prince meant nothing…and now I find myself engaged!"
Discord smiled up at her and ran his paw along her cheek. "Oh my sweet angel…I promise to take care of you, to give you everything I have, so that you will want for nothing." He took her hooves in his once more. "My wealth does not match the Prince's by any capacity, but I do have enough to afford us a comfortable and some-what stylish house here in Maris."
Fluttershy's eyes widened at his words. "A…a house?"
"Of course," Discord chuckled. "I can't have my bride, and the new star of the Maris Opera House, living in a cave for the rest of her life now, can I?"
"But Discord," Fluttershy's eyes were filled with genuine concern. "What of the others?"
Discord's brow furrowed at her question. "They will come with us, of course," he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "After all…they are the closest thing I have in this world to a family. And your father too, if you think he will not mind?"
Fluttershy's eyes were alight with hope. "Oh no, I do not think Papa will object, but Discord, you…you think the others will be alright with this idea?"
Discord sighed, foreseeing the hardships ahead. "It will take much convincing for Rainbow Dash…and we will not be able to keep a staff I'm afraid–"
"I don't mind," Fluttershy cut in. "My father and I have a maid, and while she is very sweet, I am not used to being waited on."
"Well you'll just have to get used to that," Discord growled seductively. "I intend to serve my mare in any way that I see fit…"
Fluttershy giggled and purred happily as Discord's arms wrapped around her back, pulling her down onto the bed, and rolling over until he was on top once more. He kissed her deeply, his tongue teasing hers, and his paw and claw already working their sensual spell on her flesh. "Oh Discord…" Fluttershy whimpered. "I'm so happy…I…I have never been more happy."
Discord paused his kisses and gazed into her tear filled eyes, enchanted by their innocence and beauty. One paw lay flat on her stomach, and he imagined the babe that was already growing inside. His babe he had created with Fluttershy. It frightened him, the responsibility and the expectation of such an event in his life…and yet he meant what he had said earlier when he held Fluttershy in his arms. It was truly, the most wonderful news he had ever been given.
"I know," Fluttershy whispered, her hoof coming to rest over his. "I'm scared too. But we shall have each other."
Discord felt his own tears sting the corners of his eyes. "Do…do you think that…that he or she will…" he couldn't finish the words. He only prayed that the babe would not look anything like him.
Fluttershy's hoof brushed over his scars, and her gaze caught and held Discord's tenderly. "He, or she, will be beautiful, no matter how they look. They will have their father's passion for music, and their mother's talent with needle and pin."
Discord found himself chuckling to Fluttershy's joke. "They will have their mother's beautiful voice," he corrected, "as well as her talent with needle and pin."
Fluttershy shared in his laughter. "And Lord help us, both our temperaments."
Both of them laughed together, before giving way at last to the passions they held inside. The candlelight flickered and washed their bodies in a warm orange glow as they made love once more. If this were a dream, they both prayed that their slumber would never end.
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Blueblood sipped the brandy from his glass, his eyes focused on the flames that flickered in his fireplace. At the other end of the library, the clock chimed the late hour. It was nearly dawn.
He had not been awake this whole time, only for a few hours, really. His tired butler roused him out of bed, announcing that there were two police officers at the door demanding that they speak with the Prince at once. Blueblood said nothing to explain the late night interruption; he pulled on his dressing gown and went into the library where he awaited the two officers.
As he poured himself a glass of brandy, he listened to their tale of how they had followed Fluttershy and the mysterious hunchbacked monster all the way to the Maris Opera House. Blueblood's suspicions were heightened further as the officers told him that both Fluttershy and the beast disappeared down a sewer tunnel that ran directly beneath the opera house. They continued their pursuit, discovering a pair of muddy hoofprints that led to a secret underground passage, which fed into a large hollowed-out cavern.
"Four of them?" Blueblood asked in bewilderment, after one of the officers described everything he had seen and heard.
"Yes, monsieur, four of the ugliest, most hideous monsters you can imagine! A dwarf mare with a baggy face, a pony who moved by dragging his body by his hooves, the hunchback that we followed, and a mare with piercings–"
"–Don't forget the hook!"
"I was getting to that!" the officer growled at his partner. "And where one of her hooves should be, instead has a rusty hook!"
Blueblood's brow furrowed at this. "Did any of them wear a mask?"
The first officer shook his head. "No mask in all the world could help any of them."
They didn't see the Phantom, Blueblood concluded. None of those creatures sounded anything like the Phantom–freaks and monsters, yes, but not the Phantom. Yet somehow, he knew they were connected to that masked fiend.
"And Mademoiselle Fluttershy?" he inquired. "Where was she?"
The officers glanced at one another and the first one looked down at his boots nervously. "We…that is, I…did not see her with them, monsieur."
Something cold and dangerous flashed in Blueblood's eyes at the officer's revelation. "I see," he murmured, tapping his hoof along the arm of his chair. "And what were the instructions that I left for you, when I asked you to do this for me?"
The two officers glanced at one another. "You…you asked us to keep watch–"
"TO KEEP WATCH ON BOTH OF THEM!" Blueblood roared, throwing his brandy glass into the fireplace, the flames bursting to new life as the alcohol made contact. The two officers jumped at the Prince's actions, and began blubbering apologies.
"She disappeared, monsieur! We tried to keep watch on both of them, honest we tried, but–"
"Save me your excuses," Blueblood muttered with disgust, rising to pour himself a new glass of brandy. "It's obvious that these creatures are minions of some kind to that fiend," he growled. "And Fluttershy knew that one monster all too well."
"W-w-what do you think it means, monsieur?" one of the officers tentatively asked.
Blueblood downed his brandy in one swift gulp. "I don't know," he rasped, "but I'm beginning to form a picture…and it's not one I like." He turned to the two officers, who were slightly trembling under his menacing gaze. "Go and inform your chief inspector about everything you witnessed. Explain that the creature that was causing havoc at Notre Mane lives below the opera house with others like him. And tell Inspector Silverstar that these monsters are a danger to society…but, do not do anything until I give the word."
The two officers glanced at one another before looking back at Blueblood with hopes for more clarification to his plan. "What do you intend to do, monsieur?"
Blueblood turned his back on the officers and gazed into the fire. "Whatever it takes…" he growled, low and menacingly. A few minutes later, Blueblood was alone once more in the library. It would have been impossible to go back to bed; he couldn't sleep now, not with such thoughts running through his head.
She knew that monster; she had called it by name. And the monster knew her.
His pretty Fluttershy was keeping secrets from him, and Blueblood detested secrets.
Thoughts began to flash through his mind. Fluttershy's appearance at the masquerade ball, the lies she spun while in his presence, and how willingly she went into the arms of Red Death. And then her sudden reappearance at the police station only a few weeks ago; how did she know that her father was being kept there? Madame Luna didn't even know that Time Turner was being kept there, so how on earth did she learn the truth? And now this…her desperateness to free a monster, and her mysterious midnight stroll with the creature, which led all the way back to the Maris Opera House, revealing a hidden world that lay beneath the mighty structure.
Indeed, Blueblood recalled the stories that the stagehooves spun, as well as the inquiries of his private investigator; the Phantom lived somewhere beneath the opera house. And based on the information that he had received that evening, there was a way inside the madstallion's world that contained no booby traps to stop them.
Blueblood knew he should be ecstatic at the thought of finally knowing a way to infiltrate and capture the villain, but there was still something that bothered him, something that caused his stomach to twist, something that caused his face to burn…
Where had Fluttershy gone after delivering the monster to its home?
She couldn't have left, at least not the same way that she had gone. Perhaps she gone out a different way, a way through the opera house? That still didn't bring him comfort; it meant that she had–his blood chilled at this thought–it meant that she had been lying to him this whole time.
She never escaped the Phantom, because the Phantom had never been a danger to her!
What had gone on down there, beneath the Maris Opera House, during all those months she had been missing?
Blueblood stomach tightened at the sickening thought. He gripped the mantle above the fireplace and fought the bile that was rising in his throat.
"Monsieur?"
Blueblood turned at the sound of the feminine voice from behind him. A mare stood in the doorway of the library, a hooded cape covering her head.
"Ah, come in Cherry Jubilee," Blueblood greeted, as the maid removed her cape, her fiery red hair spilling over her shoulders. "Have a seat my dear, and tell me all the news that you bring from the Time Turner residence…"