More time passed. Fluttershy went with Rarity to Manehattan for a week, leaving Discord bored at home. He kept himself occupied re-re-re-decorating his haven. After that and an adventure where it was determined that Pinkie had a 50/50 chance of being related to Applejack, Fluttershy went off for the Equestria games. Overall, Discord was finding himself craving Fluttershy’s company. Celestia was catching him daydreaming more and more often, despite how he tried to stop himself, and at random moments he’d find himself wishing she was there to smile or laugh with him. But, unfortunately, she spent lots of time with her other friends, who still weren’t supposed to know he lived there. Finally tired of it, he decided to try harder to become closer friends with the others. How hard could it be, really?
After some scheming, he came up with the perfect plan- while Fluttershy was gone studying the Breezies and Cadence was in town to spend time with Twilight, he’d sabotage their get-together. Then, he’d suddenly ‘realize’ what he’d done and fix everything, giving them the best get-together they’d ever had. Then Twilight would see that he could be a good friend, when he wanted to be.
His plan was implemented perfectly- right up until the end.
“You didn’t put a damper on our visit at all!” Cadence said cheerfully.
“He didn’t!?”
“I didn’t!?”
“Spending the day at the Star Swirl the Bearded exhibit would have been more… relaxing, but, to be honest, relaxation is the last thing I need.”
“It is?” Twilight asked happily.
“Don’t get me wrong, life in the Crystal Empire is wonderful, but it’s become a little… predictable,” Cadence explained. “I enjoy a little excitement now and then. Getting to face all these challenges today was just what I needed. And facing them with you just made me realize even more how lucky I am to have somepony like you as a friend.” They hugged and Discord glowered. Leave it to the princess of love to go and ruin his plans. Now Twilight was just going to dislike him even more! “We may not see each other very often, but I know you’ll always be there when I need you. Just like she was there for you, Discord.”
“Yes, she’s a real sweetheart. We’re all so lucky to have her in our lives,” Discord grumbled. ‘Now if only she would actually enjoy being in my life on occasion!’
A rumbling sound from behind halted all further conversation as the giant worm beast came up menacingly and roared.
“What in the world!?” Discord exclaimed. The best reared its head and… sneezed on Discord. ‘Karma hates me.’ He almost immediately went green and developed spots, and this time he wasn’t faking.
Another long trip later, Discord was sequestered miserably inside a plastic bubble in Fluttershy’s front room.
“I think it’s pretty clear that my visit with Cadence didn’t go quite how I expected,” Twilight dictated to Spike as he wrote. “But in the end I realized that when you’re with a good friend, even the most chaotic day can end up being a great experience that brings you closer. Wouldn’t you agree, Discord?” she asked smugly. ‘Of course I would, but for some reason that never seems to apply when I’m that ‘good friend’. Then chaotic is always bad. Talk about double standard.’
“Yes, Twilight,” he huffed, sniffling.
“I don’t wanna go saying you got what you deserved,” Applejack started.
“Well, I have no trouble saying it,” Rarity interrupted. “You got what you deserved!”
“Now, now, he’s learned his lesson,” Fluttershy said calmly. ‘No more coming up with plans to make friends without running them by me first.’ “Isn’t that right, my little patient?” He nodded obediently.
“I’m so glad that you’re back from your trip, Fluttershy,” he said meaningfully. “Just your presence here is making me feel so much better.” Twilight rolled her eyes. Discord could imagine Celestia smirking at him. “I was just wondering, could I trouble you for just one more thing?”
“No!” Twilight shouted.
“What?” he asked defensively. “I was simply going to ask for a teeny-tiny glass of water.” After all, all this coughing and wheezing was drying out his throat, and it was never a good idea to use any chaos magic when he was sick, because something always went wrong, so he couldn’t summon it himself. Twilight left the hut with a disgusted huff, followed by the other four irritated ponies.
“You really thought ruining Twilight’s visit with Cadence would let you make friends with her more easily?” Fluttershy asked, shaking her head.
“Well, in hindsight it may not have been the best plan, but I’ve been getting so bored here alone all the time while you’re out with your friends. I just wanted to become a part of it.”
“If I promise to spend more time at home with you will you promise not to try any more silly schemes?” Fluttershy asked. Discord nodded enthusiastically. “Alright, then. Now get some rest. You need it if you’re going to get better.” She left and returned with the water he’d asked for.
“You truly are an angel, Fluttershy. I simply don’t know what I’d do without you,” he said with a content smile, closing his eyes and drifting off. Fluttershy smiled gently. It was nice to see how much he truly valued their friendship. It hurt her to see him like this, though. He looked very fragile when he was sick, and it was an unpleasant contrast to the care-free chaos spirit she knew and loved.
‘Wait, what?’ Fluttershy thought, shocked with herself. She of course loved him as a friend, but when she’d thought that, that wasn’t what she’d meant by it at all. ‘Am I… falling for him? Oh goodness… I don’t know what to do! I’ve never liked anypony like that before, and Discord isn’t even really a pony. Oh, but I don’t judge by appearances- but still, there’s no way it can ever come to anything, right? So I should just forget about it right? Oh, I think I’m feeling light-headed.’
Fluttershy collapsed onto the couch across the room from Discord’s nest on the floor and closed her eyes, trying to rub away a headache. In the end, she ended up falling asleep on the couch. It was the middle of the night when the draconequus woke up again, feeling well-rested and, best of all, much better. It appeared to be only a 24-hour bug, and his 24 hours were up. He made his quarantine bubble disappear with a snap of his fingers and was about to return to his haven for the rest of the night when he noticed Fluttershy dozing peacefully on the couch. He watched her for awhile, her frame rising and falling gently with every deep breath. She looked so… innocent.
He didn’t want to leave her on the couch, since that would undoubtedly leave her with a crick in her neck in the morning, so he ever so carefully picked her up. She curled into his warmth and Discord felt his heart flutter. ‘Celestia, if you’re in here, go away,’ he thought as a precaution. Luckily for him, she only invaded his daydreams when she knew for a fact he was daydreaming, so he was talking to a pony who wasn’t listening. He floated up the stairs cautiously, trying not to jostle her, before laying her gently on her bed and putting her blankets over her. After a moment’s hesitation, he kissed her on the forehead before leaving, not noticing the small smile on her sleepy face as she opened her eyes slightly and shut them again tiredly.
After that, Fluttershy made sure to spend more time at home with Discord, to the point where his ever-changing chaotic haven, where they spent much of their time, was actually starting feel like a part of her home rather than just Discord’s territory. They’d filled their first scrapbook, a tradition that had taken off, and even went back over all the experiences they’d had before they’d started it, starting with Discord’s reformation. Fluttershy tried not to think too much about her startling discovery of her budding feelings for Discord of all ponies, hoping that ignoring them would make them go away, but like anypony who’s ever tried not to think about something, she accomplished the exact opposite, and her feelings only deepened with every passing day.
On occasion, Discord would skip work and tag along in Fluttershy’s mane, hoping to catch onto the action. The first exciting thing to happen on one of these days was when a certain pony named Cheese Sandwich came to town.
“Who knew? There’s another pony just like her! And here I thought that was impossible!” Discord joked to Fluttershy when he knew nopony else would hear. The end result of that visit was, of course, a massive party, which was more impressive and elaborate than Pinkie ever had time or resources to pull off on her own. It definitely went down in the ‘Scrapbook of Harmony’, as Discord had taken to calling it when it started getting annoying trying to differentiate between the one he kept with Fluttershy and the one Fluttershy kept with her friends.
After an amusing incident where Rarity put on a poor imitation of Applejack during the Ponyville Days festival, Fluttershy started getting excited about a fundraiser she was putting together for the Ponyville Pet Center. She’d even convinced Rarity to have her quartet perform, and as Fluttershy was an avid fan, she was particularly enthusiastic. She was so distracted that Discord had to grab her and remind her to eat an apple before she left the house a few times.
The day before the fundraiser, Discord slept in late, but when he woke up he heard Fluttershy singing outside his window. He peeked out and listened with rapt attention. ‘So beautiful… The song, I mean. Yeah, the music.’ He noticed her singing to the pet jackalope he’d given her for her birthday.
He was just about to go out and compliment her when her other friends showed up and triggered her stage fright. He watched as they tried to convince her to perform before giving up and all heading off to set up and prepare for the event. She came back happily anticipating the event, so Discord assumed that everything was going according to plan. He half-listened to her excited talk of the event over dinner, focusing more on the glow around her when she was happy. He was still trying to decide whether it was just his imagination or not when the meal ended and they parted ways for the night.
“You are coming tonight, right?” Fluttershy asked over breakfast the next morning.
“My dear Fluttershy, I wouldn’t miss it. What kind of friend would I be if I wasn’t there to support you? I’ll blend in with the crowd or something,” Discord assured her.
“Ok then,” she said with a smile. “Now I should probably go. There’s still some last-minute things to go over. I’ll see you tonight!” She left happily, and Discord watched dreamily. He made the mistake of reporting to Celestia before he’d snapped out of it, though.
“My my,” Celestia teased. The longer Discord spent with Fluttershy, the more Celestia noticed that he was being tolerable, and they’d formed a friendship of sorts, though it was based mostly on poking fun at each other. “With as often as you seem to think about her, I’d say you’re developing quite the crush on Fluttershy.”
“What?” Discord asked, shocked. “No! Don’t be ridiculous! I just-” He stopped and made a face when he realized with a jolt that Celestia was right. She didn’t notice his reaction, however, because she’d meant it as a joke and simply thought he’d caught on that she was teasing.
“Calm down, I’m only teasing,” she said. “Now let’s get to work. A terrible storm hit Fillydelphia, and I was hoping you could help with repairs…” Discord half listened to her and went off to do as he was told, mind still racing. Had he really… developed feelings for Fluttershy? That certainly explained a lot. He’d never imagined that friendship was as deep as what he had with the timid pegasus, and maybe that was because there was more to it than friendship, at least on his side. The revelation was devastating, in a way. He knew that a pony like Fluttershy would never feel the same way about him- he doubted anypony ever would. I mean, look at him! He sighed. Well, no reason to let the discovery change anything about his interactions with the beautiful little mare. He wanted things to stay the way they were.
When the job was done and it was time to go, he reappeared in Ponyville disguised as a squirrel, again, and scampered to the park where the fundraiser was happening. He looked for Fluttershy in the crowd, hoping he could ride around in her mane again, but he couldn’t see her, so he just settled in to observe, keeping an eye out for her. She’d undoubtedly be thrilled with how things were going, and he wanted to see her smile. When the performance was over, he still hadn’t found her, so he decided that she must be busy with other things and headed home to wait for her.