Discord teleported into a tree nearby, peeking in on her. Fluttershy was laying on the swing out in the garden, looking miserable. He frowned, something was really bothering his wife and it frustrated him that he couldn't figure out what.
His scratches had healed overnight thanks to his magic, yet she had seemed more upset when he showed off his back to her.
Did I do something wrong? Besides that night anyways...
It had been a week since the dinner disaster and his wife was still deeply depressed. She dragged herself around the house, trying to avoid him as much as possible.
He tried everything to make her laugh or smile, but none of his usual tricks had worked.
What hurt most was she hadn't accepted any of his attempts at affection the past week. Always finding a way to duck away from him when he tried to kiss her, mumbling an excuse that she had something to do. Flinching at times when he touched her, she even pulled away from him in their bed. His heart was slowly breaking at the thought that she was falling out of love with him...
He tried to tell himself,
No you're wrong! It isn't that...it couldn't be that...never that...Sweet Celestia, let it not be that!
Calm down Discord. She's just upset about something and it's consuming her every thought...distracting her from you...
Somehow that explanation didn't make him feel better.
Suddenly an idea came to him,
Maybe she's just upset about our fight? Well if it'll put a smile back on her face...no matter how hard it'll be on me…I'll do it for her...I'll do anything to keep her.
Plan in mind he teleported away.
Fluttershy didn't know how long she lay in the garden, gently swinging in the soft breeze. All she knew is that she was feeling heavy with guilt.
Over the past week she was plagued by her thoughts and it had put her in a sorry state.
Poor Discord was lost, constantly asking her what was wrong. Every time she started to tell him the truth, her mind froze with the image of his reaction and she stopped herself. As a result she had gone to great lengths to avoid him, even turning away from him when he tried to kiss her.
She had seen the hurt in his eyes and every time it cut at her heart, however she knew if he kissed her she'd weaken and end up telling him her fears. Every time she thought of telling him about her deepest fear she always saw the worst case scenario.
All she could see in her mind's eye was his face if she ever told him she was afraid of him...well not him just his magic...
But his magic is a part of him, so if I say I'm afraid of it he'll think I'm afraid of him.
She sighed and buried her face in her hooves. She was so confused on what to do.
One side of her mind said
Tell him, if you just explained yourself he'll understand and you'll be able to work it out. You always have in the past.
The other side, the stronger side that was fueled by fear shouted,
No! If you tell him you'll lose him! He won't love you anymore, you'll have broken his heart for good!
"Oh what am I to do?" She whispered.
Suddenly a bright flash alerted her that he was standing in front of her. She didn't raise her head right away, afraid her turmoil would be in her eyes for him to see.
"Fluttershy...honey?" He whispered and rested his paw on her head.
He sounded worried so she slowly lifted her head and faked a yawn. He smiled softly and chuckled.
"Oh darling, I'm sorry...I hadn't realized you were napping."
She blushed and looked away from his stare whispering,
"Oh...it's...it's okay…did...did you need something?"
She looked back up at him and saw a flash of hurt cross his eyes.
"Oh...well um…" He stammered, removing his paw. She instantly missed the contact.
He shook his head and smiled brightly at her,
"Well darling I've been thinking. You know I don't like to see you unhappy so I think I've found something to make it up to you!" He flew behind her and covered her eyes.
"Um Discord?" She asked confused and he hushed her.
"Just one second love, promise it'll be worth it." He whispered in her ear.
She sighed and waited for what felt like an hour, which was really two minutes. Then he removed his hands and flew in front of her again.
"Surprise!" Discord and her friends shouted.
She gasped, completely confused.
In front of her were two mannequins, one pony the other a tall, snake-like body. Both had amazing outfits on them.
The pony had a beautiful dress that was a deep green. Its skirt was layered with a underskirt that was the same shade of teal as her eyes. The two colors crossed each other around the chest. It had one long, flowing sleeve leaving the other arm bare.
Honestly it was the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. She looked at the other outfit, clearly made for Discord.
It had a jacket that matched the green of her dress, a dark blue undershirt and even a green bow tie.
She looked at her husband and her friends, they were waiting in anticipation of her response. None more so than her husband.
She tried to convey a response,
"Discord...what...what are...are these…" She stopped as he flew next to her and wrapped his paw around her shoulder.
"Well darling...you've been so unhappy lately that I decided I would relent." He said indicating the outfits again.
She looked over to him confused even more,
"Relent on what?" She asked.
He seemed shocked that she didn't understand.
"Why...the Gala of course...I know the reason you've been unhappy is because of our fight. Since our fight was about the Gala and all I figured...so I'm changing my mind for you my love."
He placed his claws under her chin and smiled. He continued,
"I've been stubborn and hardheaded...the more I thought about it and watched you this last week, the more I thought...would it really be so bad to let you have what you want if it'll make you happy?"
She tried to interrupt him,
"Discord I don't…"
He didn't hear her and flew over to the outfits again.
"So I went to Rarity and helped her finish these for the two of us! I even helped with the material on your dress so it'll be comfortable…"
She said his name again, but it was so soft he still didn't hear.
"And my outfit turned out quite nice if I do say so myself...what do you think my dear?"
He snapped his fingers and he was wearing his outfit, he had added a large, black fedora which his horn and antler were sticking out of. He also had on two black gloves, the outfit made him look even more handsome and it only brought tears to her eyes.
"Fluttershy?" He asked worried and reached for her, but she jumped off the swing and flew into the house. Surprisingly fast with the extra weight.
She ignored the shouts behind her as she flew into the house and locked herself in the bedroom and began to cry into her pillow.
Discord just stood there stunned with the rest of his friends.
"I...I don't understand…" He whispered, still wearing his outfit.
A horrible thought stabbed him in the heart,
That's it then...I'm losing her...
Rarity ran her hoof over the dress and mumbled,
"Do you think the stitching was off...or maybe the color...perhaps if I…"
Discord sighed and took off his hat, his ears laying flat.
"The dress is beautiful Rarity...and she would look even more beautiful in it. No this has to do with something else…and I don't know how to get her to tell me." He slumped to the ground and laid his head in his hands.
His friends surrounded him all looking just as worried as he felt.
"She hasn't given you any clues about why she's feeling this way?" Twilight asked resting her hoof on his shoulder.
He shook his head miserably,
"No...I'm failing horribly as a husband right now...nothing I do puts a smile on her face."
Applejack stepped forward,
"Ah come on now sugar cube...I'm sure it's just her hormones or something?"
Again he shook his head,
"No...this goes even beyond that. She only started acting this way after the disaster last week. I thought it was the fight but...I'm starting to think it's something deeper than that."
Rainbow Dash looked back at the castle and whispered,
"Could it be that she hurt you then? I mean Flutters takes these kinds of things harder than the rest of us. She's so sweet that if she ever does hurt something it kills her."
She looked back at Discord and he started to perk up, before becoming miserable again.
He answered her,
"I doubt that...I've shown her several times that I'm perfectly alright and that we should just forget what happened. Besides, she's not asking me every five minutes if I'm okay like you would expect if that were the case.
"In fact she hardly say ten words to me at times...I don't know what to do girls and I need your help." He held out his hands in a pleading motion.
"This was my last sane idea! I have nothing! Please…" He made his eyes go wide and they all giggled, despite the serious situation.
Finally Twilight cleared her throat,
"Well…of course we'll try to help Discord. After all we don't like to see her like this either. Hmm maybe one of us should talk to her?"
They all agreed, but no one spoke up so Discord grumbled,
"Oh don't all volunteer at once…"
Again all the friends looked around then they laughed, except Discord who was too miserable to feel any joy.
Rarity was the first to speak,
"I guess none of us are keen on dealing with a hormonal mare that now has the power to…" She cut herself off and a deadly silence fell on the group.
Rarity cleared her throat and glanced at Discord,
"I didn't mean it like that darling."
He nodded and whispered back,
"I know…"
He looked at all of them and quickly tried to think of who would be best to go talk to her. Then he got a great idea.
"None of us should talk to her!" He shouted jumping up suddenly.
The other mares looked at each other confused.
Applejack spoke up,
"Uh beggin yer pardon Discord, but how is it going to help if none of us speak to her?"
He glanced down at her and sighed, he looked away back to his castle...
Can't believe I'm about to owe her a favor...
"Oh no...I meant none of us should talk to her...I have somepony better in mind..."
Fluttershy decided she couldn't hide it from Discord anymore. After running from him she was sure he was really confused and hurt. He deserved to know the truth.
She walked over to him as he lounged on the couch using his magic to make a glass of chocolate milk appear. He brightened when he saw her coming towards him.
"Is there anything you need my dear?" He asked with a big, hopeful smile on his face.
She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she had to say.
"Discord...there's something...something I need...to tell…" She stopped, her heart racing so fast it made the words stick in her throat.
Discord however continued to smile and sat up making room for her next to him. He patted the seat next to him.
She sighed and went over to the couch and sat beside him. She looked up into his eyes and the love shining within the unique orbs.
"Discord...you know how much I love you right?" She whispered and he laughed before nuzzled her behind her ear, making her blush.
He whispered into it as he lightly nipped it,
"Is that all you wanted to tell me my love? I can't say I'm complaining."
She shook her head and pulled away from him, now was the moment of truth.
"Discord...I need...I mean...I have to tell you…" She took a deep breath and told herself to relax…
"Discord...I'm...I'm afraid…" She whispered.
She looked up to see her him looking at her confused.
"I...I don't understand love? Afraid of what? Of the birth?" He whispered.
She shook her head, then thinking about it more, nodded.
"Well yes...but also about something else...you see...I'm afraid...I'm afraid of...of…"
He was obviously growing impatient because he growled,
"Fluttershy, just say it."
She jumped and closing her eyes shouted,
"Of your magic!"
She waited and when he said nothing she peeked up at him, but he wasn't sitting next to her.
She looked around and saw he was now standing a few feet away from her, a look of pure devastation on his face.
"You're...you're afraid...of…me?" He whispered, tears filling his eyes.
She flew up and went to him, only for him to back up from her.
She tried to explain herself.
"No! I could never be afraid of you my love! Just…"
"Just what makes me who I am!" He shouted, glaring at her.
She felt tears filling her own eyes,
"Please my love let me..."
She reached for him and he slapped her hoof away,
"Don't call me that...you don't love me...apparently you never did…was it all a game then?"
He turned from her and she flew to him throwing her arms around his back crying.
"No wait! Please...please Discord...I do love you! I always will just as you love me! I just...I just…let me explain!"
Angry he turned on her and grabbed her by her throat. She whimpered, but his eyes were pure fire. He pulled her so her nose was touching his as he growled at her.
"No you said enough! You don't love me anymore it seems! You want to be afraid...I'll give you a reason to fear me."
He dropped her and she fell to the ground hard, she looked up to see him growing larger.
"You think I'm scary? Fine! Let all ponies run in fear!"
He was as tall as the ceiling and he laughed, his voice shaking the room.
"Let all run in fear! The Lord of Chaos is back!"
He laughed again as she cried and then she heard another voice behind her.
"So that's what this is all about…"
She jumped as a bright, blue flash made Discord disappear leaving just her living room looking the same as it had before.
Fluttershy turned and sighed in relief, running to the alicorn princess.
"Luna…" She whispered, crying against the princess' chest.
"So this is what is plaguing your mind child?" Luna whispered, once Fluttershy had stopped crying.
Fluttershy pulled away and nodded. Luna looked around and sighed,
"Would you like to tell me more about this nightmare? I can only gather from the little I saw that something has caused a deep fear in you. However I can not tell what exactly." Luna met Fluttershy's eyes as she said this.
Fluttershy sighed and whispered,
"Well...I don't know if I can…"
Luna seemed to accept this and chose a different route.
"Then would you like to talk to me about why you are shutting out your husband? Why you so desperately hide your true feelings from him?"
Fluttershy gasped and looked up surprised, before she could ask Luna answered her question.
"Discord came to see me...he asked...begged me actually...to go into your dreams and see if I could help with what was troubling you. Since this was the first time I have ever seen him so distressed I decided to indulge him.
"I never would have guessed the extent of his worries though. So I ask again, would you like to talk to me about it. I promise not a word of our conversation will be shared with another pony."
Fluttershy looked up hopeful and whispered,
"Pinkie Promise?"
Luna looked confused,
"What is this...Pinkie Promise you speak of?"
Fluttershy giggled and shook her head,
"Never mind, I'll just take you word for it. Well...it...it all started last week…"
Fluttershy told her about the dinner where she had lost control and had ended up hurting Discord. Then about her sudden fears of chaos magic and how now she was afraid of what could happen if she lost control again, or if her son ever did.
How she was afraid that if she told Discord about any of it he'd...well her nightmare spoke volumes of what she thought would happen.
"What should I do Princess Luna...I'm so confused." She began to cry again and Luna pulled her into a gentle embrace offering her strength as comfort.
"There, there sweet child...you can't hide the way your feeling from Discord any longer...neither of you can handle that kind of heartache...believe me when I say he won't last much longer like this. " Luna pulled away and placed her hoof under Fluttershy's chin.
"I know for a fact how deep your love for each other runs...it has overcome many obstacles and it can overcome this one as well…"
The room began to shimmer and Luna dropped her hoof,
"You awaken...I must go...think of what I said dear Fluttershy! Believe in your love for one another!"
Fluttershy shot up in bed and gasped. She shook her head and looked next to her. Discord wasn't in bed, but the rumpled sheets meant he had been there earlier.
She slid out of bed and shivered from the cold, she grabbed her robe before continuing to search out her husband.
"Princess Luna's right...I have to tell him…" She whispered to herself, mostly to reassure herself that she could.
She peeked out into the living room and sighed in relief when she saw him. She had almost been afraid he'd left, or gone outside.
He had put a fireplace in the wall and was lying on a rug in front of it, staring into the flames. He didn't seem to notice her so she quietly crept up to him.
She noticed the shaking of his back as he took a breath and it tore at her heart...he was hurting. Then she had to bite her tongue to hold back a gasp when he whispered,
"Why don't you trust me anymore…"
She waited to see if he was talking to her or if he was talking to himself. She noticed neither, yet both were the case. He was holding a picture from their wedding day, and he seemed to be talking to it. He stroked her picture and she heard him take in a shaky breath...
"Oh Fluttershy tell me what I did...so I can fix it...Look at me...forced to turn to another pony to find out what's wrong…reduced to begging for help...but I would do it a hundred times over for you sweetheart...
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong? How did I lose the ability to read you like a book, or for you to trust me completely with your fears…why won't you open up to me...what did I do for you to push me away?"
Fluttershy wanted to cry out, but she also wanted to hear what he had to say. So she stayed quiet, hidden in the shadows.
"Oh darling I love you so much...I love you and...and I feel like...like I'm losing you…like I've already lost you..." His voice broke and his shoulders hunched as his head dipped down and his grip on the picture began to shake.
She heard him let out a soft sob and she couldn't stand to the side any longer. She walked behind him, he still didn't hear her, too caught up in his sorrow. She reached out and lightly stroked his mane, making him jump and turn to look at her. He couldn't hide the tears running down his face,
"Fluttershy…"
She cut him off by wrapping her arms around him, crying softly herself. He hesitated only for a second before wrapping his own arms around her returning her hug, letting go of the picture.
"Discord...I'm so sorry...you're not losing me...you'll never lose me." She whispered as she nuzzled his fur.
"Oh Fluttershy...I've been so worried that you...that maybe I had somehow ruined everything…that you didn't love..."
His voice broke again and she felt his body shake with his silent sobs.
She began to stroke his mane as he had done for her so many times before. She suddenly felt so happy and calm, holding him as he cried silently. His grip on her tightened and she heard him let out a breath.
He pulled out of the hug and holding her face he kissed her. She sighed into his mouth and he purred in response. He buried his claws in her mane holding her in place as he deepened the kiss.
When he finally pulled himself away he kept his claws in her mane.
"Fluttershy...darling...how I've missed your soft touch this past week...I've missed you." He growled and kissed her again. She forgot momentarily why she had searched him out.
When she pulled back to take a deep breath he only pulled her to him again. It was as if he couldn't stop kissing her, afraid once he did she'd withdraw again...but she needed to talk to him.
"Discord...Discord I...I need to…talk to hmm…" She lost her train of thought each time, as he always pulled her back to him recapturing her mouth.
Celestia he is too good at this…
She thought as he somehow managed to bring her under him. He left her lips only to kiss along her neck and nip at her ear. She shivered, but when he pulled back she tried one last time.
"Discord please…we need...to talk…" She gasped, out of breath.
He looked down at her and his eyes reflected the fire next to them,
"Darling...that's the last thing on my mind now…"
He leaned in and captured her lips again before she could argue. She sighed,
He really is hopeless…