//------------------------------//
// Less Than Hurt 
// Story: Less Than Chaotic 
// by TheTalentlessPony 
//------------------------------//

	She didn't even remember hearing the sound of ponies shouting.

She didn't remember the sound of them galloping up to her.

She didn't remember the sound of ponies asking if she was alright.

However.

She remembered becoming alert as they took him away from her.

She remembered them putting him on a stretcher and taking him away.

She even remembered following, as if by instinct, despite Twilight's constant assurance that he'd be fine.

And now, she sat in the hospital room, having just gotten the opportunity to sit in there and see him, though he was sound asleep with most of his arms and legs being wrapped in bandages.

Fluttershy gazed at him, her eyes never moving away as she sat firmly on a chair.

Everything had just been one big blur. She barely recalled anything; just basic events that led up to this. Her mind had finally clicked back to normal as the doctors and nurses tore her aware from Discord and forced her to sit outside of his room. She had paced back and forth until they had finished, then practically pushed through them the second the door opened. Once she noticed that Discord was asleep, she had just pulled up a chair and sat there.

Now, swallowing nervously, she continued to watch. Every nurse and doctor had assured her that he'd be fine, and that Discord had even been awake when they were bandaging him.

But still. She had to see it for herself. She wanted to be there the second he opened his eyes; no doctor or nurse could change that.

The sound of the door behind her opening made her ear twitch, but she still didn't avert her gaze.

"Uh... Fluttershy?"

The yellow mare shifted slightly in her chair, not looking away, but acknowledging the visitor's presence.

"Hello, Rainbow..." she muttered, promptly hearing the cyan pegasus take a seat on the floor beside her.

"Hey..." she murmured, sounding uncomfortable.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, but Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off.

"You alright? I mean, Discord..." Her voice trailed off.

Fluttershy nodded her head. "He's gonna be okay. They told me that he was already awake and everything earlier, but that doesn't mean that I don't wanna be here for him. That wouldn't be fair..."

Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I get that..."

An awkward silence came after that, the only sound in the room coming from the cyan pegasus tapping her hooves against the floor.

"Ur..."

Rainbow Dash gulped somewhat, then rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"L-look, Fluttershy. I...I'm sorry about... y'know..."

Fluttershy smiled softly. "Yeah, I know. It's okay."

"It's just... it's Discord, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash told her. "I trust him - I guess - but I didn't expect you two to... and then this... and..." She trailed off, nervously rubbing a foreleg. "Augh, I'm no good at this."

Fluttershy giggled. "It's alright. I understood, and I'm sure that Discord did too," she assured.

Rainbow Dash nodded, then paused before staring back at the draconequus. "Eheh... so, what happened?"

The yellow pegasus shrugged in reply. "I don't know; I think I was unconscious for most of it," she said, her tone lowering slightly.

"I just... know that he was protecting me..."

Rainbow Dash raised a brow, intrigued. "Yeah? How do ya know?"

Fluttershy put a hoof to her snout, unable to come up with a solid answer. "I...I'm not sure how I know, but..."

She directed her hoof towards Discord's bandages. "I just... know. We were out at the edge of the Everfree Forest. I wasn't injured at all. I don't know if he got attacked by the animals, but somehow, we got out there. Somehow, something was trying to attack me; and I just... think..."

Rainbow Dash finished for her. "Y'think he took a blow for ya?"

Fluttershy nodded firmly. "Exactly; the nurses and doctors even checked me over to make sure I wasn't injured. There wasn't a scratch on me..."

There was another silence as Rainbow Dash carefully eyed Discord, her face looking unusually serious.

"...Well..."

The cyan pegasus stood up, gazing over at Fluttershy with a chuckle. "I know ya aren't leavin' until he wakes up, so I guess I better fly outta here, huh?"

Fluttershy giggled in reply, at which point Rainbow Dash smiled at her, promptly leaving.

However, though Fluttershy felt somewhat relieved that it was just her and Discord now, the sound of Rainbow Dash slamming the door shut made her jump.

She blinked, surprised, then watched as Discord slowly began to awaken from the sound, groaning softly before opening his eyes.

"D-Discord?" Fluttershy asked, nearly squeaking at his name.

He looked over to her, just taking in her appearance, then chuckled. "Did someone get the number of the magic that hit me?"

"Discord!"

Fluttershy instantly brightened up, her wings fluttering a few times in excitement. "You're okay?"

The draconequus grinned at her. "Seems so. Those ponies told me that I shouldn't be doing any hard labor for the next week or so, but feh; what do they know?"

The yellow pegasus nodded her head, though barely able to take in his words from how suddenly cheerful she was.

"I'm just so glad that you're alright! I-I mean, I knew you'd be okay, and they even said so, but—"

Discord waved a hand dismissively, giggling. "It's alright, darling Fluttershy."

She smiled wider, becoming overwhelmingly happy just from hearing him say her name.

He smirked in amusement, noticing her excitement, then tilted his head and mused, "Although..."

Fluttershy's ears perked at his sudden shift in tone. "Y-yes?"

Discord glanced at her, then shrugged. "The strangest thing happened when I woke up earlier."

"O-oh yeah?" she questioned, feeling her forelegs stiffen suddenly.

"Yes. I noticed that all the wounds I had were cleaned already. I asked the doctors about it, but they told me that they were clean before I even got here..."

Fluttershy swallowed nervously. "I-is that right?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

Discord frowned, watching her direct her head downwards.

"...Fluttershy."

The pegasus glanced at him briefly, then returned her gaze to the floor.

His mouth twisted as he lightly tapped his blanket. "It was you, wasn't it?" A light chuckle came from his throat. "Somepony had to do it, and..."

He paused, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "...I believe that, for just a moment, I was conscious enough to know how."

Instantly, Fluttershy's wings and forelegs came up to cover her face. "I-I didn't mean to! Honest! I-it just—"

"—Fluttershy."

The yellow pegasus didn't respond at first, then slowly moved her wings and hooves away. Discord shifted to the side of the bed, patting the other side before holding his arm out to her. "Come here."

She gulped, her cheeks red, then slowly got off of her chair and climbed onto the bed. Immediately, she was pulled to his side, causing her to blush terribly.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Discord said, smiling at her.

Fluttershy looked downwards. "W-well, it's just... not polite, to lick someone's wounds like that."

"So you regret it then?" he asked.

"W-wha? No, never! I had to stop the bleeding somehow!" she replied, locking eyes with him.

Discord laughed. "Then that's all there is to it."

He paused, then pulled the pegasus closer, earning a light squeak in response.

"You're... brilliant, Fluttershy..."

She gulped loudly at that statement, flushing at the absolute tenderness in Discord's tone.

The draconequus even seemed slightly embarrassed, bringing his free hand up to his chin to rub it.

"I wasn't fully awake when the doctors and nurses were all around me, but I do remember what they were saying... somewhat," he explained. "That I was lucky. The Everfree Forest was a dangerous place. Something about the bloodstream, infections, blah~"

He stopped there, knowing that anything else would've just been him gushing about how amazing she was.

...Not that it would've been a bad thing, but what was the fun of it if there wasn't anyone around to brag to?

Discord chuckled, entertaining that thought for a while before glancing back at Fluttershy, who remained curled up against him. He reached over, ignoring the pain in his arms as he pulled her onto his chest.

"Does this feel familiar?" he asked, smirking slightly.

Fluttershy paused, not understanding at first, then flushed as she realized his meaning.

"Y-yeah... it does," she said, relaxing against him and sighing contently.

He gazed at her, his eagle claw reaching up to slowly stroke her back. Fluttershy let out a small sound of surprise, then giggled, nuzzling her head into Discord's chest.

He smiled, continuing to caress her until he began to hear a continuous rumbling sound come from her throat.

He stopped stroking, causing Fluttershy to look at him confusedly.

"Something wrong...?" she asked, her tone sounding slightly worried.

"Oh, no. Nothing," Discord said. "Just..."

He brought a hand up to his chin and smirked.

"I didn't know ponies could purr."

Fluttershy swallowed abruptly, her face heating up. "W-we can't! I-I mean, we shouldn't be able to... um..."

Discord brought her closer to his face, chuckling. "It's perfectly alright; just another thing that makes my Fluttershy special from the other ponies, I suppose," he mused.

She let out another squeak. "U-um! N-not really, I'm—"

She stopped speaking as Discord gingerly kissed her forehead. At first, she was frozen, but she then tilted her head up, allowing her lips to come in contact with his. They both shuddered, savoring the sensation before slowly pulling away.

"Ah..." For once, Discord was strangely silent, a small smile on his lips.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "I-if I didn't kiss well enough or was too forward, I could—!"

She gasped slightly as Discord embraced her, the draconequus chuckling quietly to himself.

"It's not, darling Fluttershy, I'm just..." He paused, trying to think of the right words. "...trying to gauge my luck."

The yellow pegasus blushed, allowing him to cuddle her affectionately.

Then, for the first time in his life, though only for a moment, Discord cried happily.


THE END