//------------------------------// // 'Friends' // Story: Distorted Departure // by fluttercord45 //------------------------------// “28...29...30! “Ready or not, here I come!” Fluttershy’s shout rang through the air as she started her search. Every week at noon, her friend would come and visit her to play games; after all, he needed a break from the usual. Pranking the princesses quickly grew old after the first hundred thousand times. Discord loved to go visit the shy pegasus. He felt like she always listened to him, always understood him, just like a friend. A friend that he had never had for the past millions of years. Today, the duo were playing hide and seek. Discord already knew the perfect place to hide: a location so simple yet so unexpected that Fluttershy could not hope to find him. The mare searched around the trees, behind the bushes, inside all the holes, beside the plants and even within the clouds. Sadly, he was nowhere to be found. She knew he was good at hiding, but she hadn’t thought he was that good. She sat down and sighed. “Where can he be? I hope he’s not cheating and using his magic.” That was when the mare started to hear a laugh nearby, a stifled chuckle. She could recognize that laugh anywhere. “Discord!” She turned her head towards the sound as the chuckling continued, her head rotating this way and that. This sound will lead me to Discord’s hiding place… If I can ever figure out where it’s coming from! She could still hear it, but no matter where she turned: no draconequus. “Discord, where are you? I know you’re here somewhere,” she commented in a curious tone. All of a sudden, she felt something tickling her mane, almost as if a small creature had decided to make itself comfortable. She looked up to see what it was, and she was soon face to face with a miniature Discord, all curled up in her mane. She carefully grabbed him in her hoof and brought him down. “Discord, were you hiding in my mane the whole time?” She laughed just a bit as a grin spread across her mouth. Discord quickly teleported behind her, back to his normal size as he put his claw and paw on her shoulder. “Of course! It was the perfect place to hide. You never told me where I could hide, so I thought: ‘Hmm, I’ll just hide in your nice, smooth, soft mane.’” He started to chuckle. “Oh… Um, you’re right, I didn’t say where you could hide.” She cleared her throat as she began to blush ever so slightly. “So, now it’s my turn to hide and your turn to find me.” “Absolutely. Get ready, now!” He closed his eyes and began the count. Fluttershy started to look around, searching for a place to hide, a place where he would never find her. She then noticed a small meadow full of flowers, with colors exactly matching her coat: a perfect place to conceal herself. She galloped towards them and carefully lay down, taking care not to crush any of the delicate plants. “28...29...30. Ready or not Fluttershy, here I come!” Discord shouted and started the search for her friend, and he didn’t have to look far. A short distance away, he noticed something pink and fluffy among the yellow daffodils. He couldn’t help but smile as he snapped his talons and disappeared. In her hiding spot, Fluttershy giggled quietly. “He’ll never be able to find me here.” Instantly, Discord reappeared beside her and tackled her by surprise, wrapping his arms around her. “I found you!” “EEP!” After the initial shock, the pegasus mare began to laugh alongside her friend as they lay on the ground. “How did you find me? Did you cheat again by using your magic?” “No, when do I ever cheat?” Fluttershy simply stared quizzically at the draconequus. “I-I mean, of course I didn’t cheat! I just knew where to find you. Also, I saw your pink mane sticking out in the flowers.” He gently squeezed her in his arms as he spoke. “Oh… Well, what counts is that you found me.” She smiled at him and prepared to get up, but he was still holding her in his arms. “Um, excuse me, Discord, you can… um… let me go now, if you don’t mind,” she remarked calmly. Discord began to think as he started to stroke her mane, Fluttershy starting to blush. Something’s different about him…He’s acting much more… friendly… And he thought of letting go of her… But why should he? He was holding her in his arms, laying on the ground surrounded by flowers, the mare atop his chest as they both watched the clouds in the sky float by. For some reason, this felt right, like it was meant to be. “I would, but I have a better idea, my dear. Why don’t we just relax and enjoy the moment?” Fluttershy didn’t know where he was going with this, but he was right: it was so peaceful, birds fluttering by as puffs of white floated by on top of them. In these past weeks, she hadn’t had much time to just… well, relax. “Well, okay, but only five minutes. I have to go and feed my animals.” A snap of a claw later, and the critters were fed in a flash. “There. Now, you don’t have to worry about them.” “Um… Okay, I suppose.” Fluttershy could feel a slight burning sensation in her cheeks, but she countered it by looking up once again at the puffy clouds, the scene so peaceful, so tranquil. She enjoyed the small talk that followed, the way Discord would use his magic to paint beautiful landscapes in the sky with only a flick of his claw… She never wanted the moment to end. At Fluttershy’s place, it was already nighttime, and the two friends had already gone inside for a bite to eat. Fluttershy had just finished her bowl of salad, with lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and some dressing on top. As for Discord, well… it seemed that for some time, he hadn’t gotten over the craving for paper. “Thank you, Discord, for making dinner,” Fluttershy said, giving him a soft smile. “That was very nice of you.” He reciprocated the gesture as he spoke. “Not at all, my dear, it was my pleasure to make it. I thought to myself, ‘You’ve worked so hard in getting all the new animals fed and cleaned,’ so I decided you needed a break.” “That’s really thoughtful of you, Discord.” She blushed lightly and started to pick up the dishes, but as she did so, Discord suddenly appeared behind her. “Let me help you.” He quickly levitated the silverware and porcelain towards the kitchen, but after thinking twice, he snapped his talons, and the items disappeared. “Okay, now that the dishes are ‘done,’ I wanted to ask you something.” In less than a second, he was dressed in a suit, and before Fluttershy could even react, she found herself wearing her magnificent gala outfit. “I w-was wondering, would you like to dance with me?” He summoned a small violin, which soon started playing a slow song by itself. “Um… sure, I-I’d love to.” Is this really happening?Maybe there was something in the food? She hesitantly placed her hoof on his shoulder, gently raising her other hoof to meet the lion paw. With the fluidity of a ripple in a pond, he led her through the music, and soon Fluttershy began to loosen up. She began to match each movement, slowly enjoying herself more and more as the sweet melody continued. “I can’t remember the last time I danced like this, not even at the gala. It feels so…” “Exhilarating? Like your heart’s racing a mile a minute?” “Yes, but also… peaceful, as if this is how it should be.” As soon as she recognized what she had said, she began to blush profusely, attempting to clear her mind when Discord spoke again. “Fluttershy, I was wondering…Do you like me?" “Of course I like you, Discord.” “No, I mean something else.” “L-like what?” Fluttershy could already see where this was going, attempting to control the redness she could feel emanating from her face. Discord carefully spun her around and proceeded into a dip. “I mean that I… I l-like you not just as a friend. I mean that I like like you, like in love with you. When you started to reform me, I found something I had never had before… a friend. But then, that grew even more as I’ve been close to you, when I visit you… You’re the only pony that understands me and listens to me. I can’t stop thinking about you… Fluttershy, I‒” He suddenly found himself with hoof on his lips, and all he could see was a hint of surprise in the mare’s expression… at least, before she responded. “Discord, I know what you mean, and, well… that’s how I feel about you, too.” She no longer made an effort to hide her blush. “I always enjoy your visits. You made my life a little more fun, and the things you do for me, whether I need help or not, it’s really sweet of you to do that for me… “This feeling… I haven’t felt it with any other pony… “The truth is, Discord… “I love you.” When he heard those words, his entire body froze, but only for a second. His smile grew ever wider as he picked her up, staring into her sparkling eyes, slowly leaning closer to her face as he whispered. “I love you too, Fluttershy.” The kiss was unexpected, the contact unknown to the mare. Fluttershy was stunned at first, but she began to enjoy it, her first kiss with a draconequus. How long it lasted, nopony knew, but after what seemed like an eternity, Discord drew back and looked at her, slowly frowning as she kept quiet. She didn’t like it. It was horrible, and she doesn’t want to see or speak to me again! “You didn’t like it… did you?” “Discord, I liked it… I’m just surprised, is all.” “Surprised?" “You see… you’re the first one to kiss me.” The redness around her cheeks complemented her smile as she continued. “Could we… keep dancing? If you don’t mind…” Discord smiled back and obliged, Fluttershy nuzzle his chest softly, still unsure whether this whole thing was a dream… But she didn’t care. She was enjoying this tender moment. Discord couldn’t help but lightly brush and stroke her mane, the remarkable softness of his touch prompting Fluttershy to give out a little yawn and close her eyes. The draconequus stopped dancing and looked down as he noticed her starting to fall asleep on his chest. “Already tired my dear?” She nodded her head slowly. “Do you want me to take you to your room?” “Yes… please,” she replied sleepily. Discord carefully scooped her up and snapped his talons, both reappearing in Fluttershy’s room. He carefully tucked her in, running his paw through her mane one last time before kissing her on the forehead. “Good night, my dear Fluttershy,” he whispered. “Good night, Discord,” she muttered. “I love you.” He smiled back at her before his exit. “I love you too, Fluttershy.” He snapped his claws and disappeared from the room.