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Less Than Awake2,275 words
Less Than Powerful2,302 words
Less Than Loyal2,310 words
Less Than Reality2,632 words
Less Than Safe1,539 words
Less Than You1,722 words
Less Than Discord3,764 words
Less Than Hurt1,882 words

Less Than Awake

Discord stirred somewhat, lying on his bed as he stretched his limbs.

Well, at least, he could call it his bed, but that would only be half of the truth. The bed belonged to Fluttershy technically, but he had been sleeping on it with her ever since they confessed to each other. In other words, their bed would be the most accurate.

He yawned, taking in a deep breath of air, then turned to a lamp that was sitting on a small table next to him, promptly shutting it off. It was far too dark last night, so Fluttershy had turned it on out of a little nyctophobia. The lampshade itself was bent and crooked, but Fluttershy rather enjoyed the look of it after Discord had "fixed" it for her a few nights ago, saying that it added Discord's own personal touch to the room.

Being over a thousand years old, he wasn't very good with time, but he guessed that it had been a few days since the two had "officially" become a couple. Not much had changed, but it was enough to make Discord content with his life. Besides sharing a bed with her, the two had become a lot more affectionate, which was much better than what he had gotten during the weeks after Tirek.

Discord frowned, reminiscing over the events; back when Fluttershy had become distant with him. He hadn't realized what was wrong, so it had worried him endlessly when she wouldn't respond to his somewhat-flirtatious words. Nowadays, he still felt bad that she became like that just to keep it a secret from him, but at the same time, they probably wouldn't be where they were if she hadn't. Fluttershy was really an odd case.

Fluttershy...

Discord glanced over to his side as he felt pressure against it, though promptly smiled at the mass of yellow fur that had rolled against him. Her mane messy and sprawling out all over the bed, Fluttershy remained asleep, despite the bright sun outside shining its rays through the window, though rather oddly considering that the curtains were somewhat uneven (another "personal touch" from Discord, no doubt). Discord hesitated to move her, not quite wanting to wake her up. He reached over to her, but just ended up stroking her back, causing the pegasus' throat to rumble in appreciation.

He smiled, stifling a giggle before glancing outside at Celestia's handiwork. He put his free hand to his chin, figuring out a rough estimate of the time, then turned back to Fluttershy as he wrapped his arms around her. She groaned slightly, but Discord just chuckled in response.

"Ah, ah, ah~ None of that, darling Fluttershy," he murmured, pulling her to his chest as he ran his eagle claw through her mane, hoping to comb it out somewhat; the last thing he'd want was for the animals to jump into her mane and get lost in a hair forest. That would be bad for them and her.

Fluttershy then flushed as she began to awaken, feeling Discord brushing her out.

"Mmm... nooo, it's alriiight. I caaan... nnn..." she mumbled in her half-asleep state, her hooves reaching up as she tried to smooth out her own mane. Obviously, it wasn't nearly as effective, making Discord chuckle at her attempts.

"No arguing. You know as well as I do - if not more - that your hair needs to be straight and lovely if you want your animals to take you seriously," he told her.

Fluttershy pressed her head against him, grumbling over the fact that he was right. That wasn't to say that she wasn't thankful for him and what he did for her; just that she was a little shy about their relationship still.

"But that's not fair to yooou," she retorted, a hoof reaching up to Discord's face. The draconequus smirked slightly, feeling Fluttershy's hoof stroke his milky-white beard. She pouted, her tail jerking back and forth. "Your fur and hair's always so nice..."

Discord tapped her forehead in amusement. "That's the difference between us, Fluttershy; I don't have to work for my good looks," he told her, re-messing up her mane as he ran his lion paw through it. "However... that's not to say that I don't think you're worth the effort."

Fluttershy blushed at his words, hiding her face behind her forelegs.

Discord glanced down at the bed. "Perhaps you wouldn't have such a hard time though if you didn't roll around the majority of our bed."

The pegasus blinked, gazing downwards as she realized how close to the edge of the bed Discord was. The blanket was twisted and mangled, while the pillow was hanging halfway off the bed. She frowned at him. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

Discord put a finger to her mouth, stopping her. "I'm well aware. I never said that I minded you constantly curling up against me."

Her face went red. "W-what? Y-you mean, all night? D-did I really—"

"—Like a kitten with its mother."

He couldn't help letting out a roaring laugh as Fluttershy's embarrassment grew. He finished fixing her mane, then gripped her with one arm and got off the bed. She squeaked at first, but eventually cuddled against him and accepted being carried.

Discord then exited the bedroom, walking down the stairs while being particularly careful; Fluttershy's animals tended to 'attack' him in the excitement of seeing their owner, and he'd be lying if he said that he hadn't fallen once or twice. Admittedly though, a few times were his fault. Once his magic had vanished, he could no longer fly around like he normally did. He had walked on occasion before that, sure, but most of his weight was supported by his chaotic powers when he did so. Now, he had none of that, but that didn't mean he was entirely out of shape either. He got exhausted fairly quickly, but carrying Fluttershy was an easy task for him, so he didn't feel like he had much of a right to complain. She was a little stubborn about it, but he knew that she enjoyed it.

"Fluttershy?" he called, glancing down at her as he headed for the kitchen.

"Mm?" she murmured, bringing her eyes up to meet his. Though it took her a moment, she realized that they were downstairs and lazily rolled out of Discord's hold, trotting over to the stove and placing a pan on one of the burners. She then shook her head, rubbing an eye to make sure that she was awake enough to cook. Afterwards, she glanced over at Discord, her ears perking as she smiled.

"Can you get the tea kettle? I think it'll pair nicely with breakfast," she said.

Discord leaned to the side, slightly entertained by her wording. "Don't I always?" he asked, moving to stand beside her as he reached into a cupboard, pulling out a small brown kettle.

Fluttershy giggled. "I know. It's just that, it's so much harder to deal with when you don't have hands or a horn," she replied.

Discord patted his chest with one hand, using the other to handle the kettle. "I wouldn't allow you to do this anyway. I take my job very seriously, I'll have you know."

Fluttershy snickered. "What an honor."

"Precisely. Now, what meager meal could you possibly make that will pale in comparison to my exquisite tea skills?" he asked, bringing a hand up to stroke his beard.

She looked over at him, a small smile on her face. "Pinkie Pie gave me a batter for... mmm... how did she put it? "Oat-Cookie-Crazy-Pancake-Madness"?"

Discord raised a brow. "...I'd suggest leaving clever names to me."

Fluttershy stifled a giggle, nodding her head before leaving the stove to head back out to the living room. Discord stared skeptically at first, but figured that she stored batter in somewhere other than the kitchen and shrugged it off, turning his attention back to the tea kettle.

"What a troublesome mare; needing to be cared for upon awakening and then expecting you to work that kettle."

Discord paused, his hand remaining gripped on the kettle's lid as he stiffened. Where had that thought come from? That wasn't his own voice.

Well, actually, it was. Sounded just like him, but that...

That wasn't him. That was a foreign thought that didn't belong to his own heart.

He swallowed slightly, his eyes darting left and right to make sure that no one was around but himself.

He didn't need to though. He knew, that it had been a thought, echoing in his own mind; it couldn't have come from anywhere else.

So what—

"RAH!"

Discord jerked backwards as he felt a weight on his shoulders. He staggered, shocked by the sudden presence, then finally managed to regain proper balance and turn his head to the source of the shout.

"...Fluttershy? What ever are you doing?"

The yellow pegasus drew her gaze to him, her eyes filled with innocence.

"...Gotcha?" she said shyly.

Discord blinked, not quite understanding her meaning. After seeing the tiny smile on her face though, his expression turned to one of intrigue.

"...Was that... your idea of a... prank?"

Fluttershy blushed, looking downwards with a small nod. Discord paused at first, then grinned excitedly and twirled around, bringing her into his arms and raising her up into the air.

"Ah, my darling Fluttershy, you're brilliant!"

She squeaked loudy as she was pressed against Discord's chest in an embrace, becoming embarrassed from the sudden show of affection.

"Hm~ How did could I not know? The simplest trick, but you got me! You sneak you!"

He laughed wildly, promptly placing her down and trying to compose himself. "I don't know if that qualifies as a prank, but I'm certainly impressed!" he said. "You managed to surprise me!"

Fluttershy swayed back and forth, which only intrigued Discord further.

"Ahh, did you intend to do that just for ol' Discord here?" he asked.

A shy nod was her response. "I know you like pranks, so I thought... that I could try something..."

Discord flushed somewhat as he continued to grin, but he swiftly turned his back to her to focus on the kettle in order to hide the pink blush forming on his face.

Fluttershy smiled at the sight, then went to the fridge and pulled out a bag of batter, setting it on the counter.

Discord couldn't help but glance over every now and again, watching how careful she was not to harm the bag as she tipped it into the hot pan. The batter poured out, and Fluttershy smiled in satisfaction as she moved the bag back to its original place, pleased with the size of the "Oat-Cookie-Whatever-Something-Whatever" thing. She seemed happier than usual, but that didn't surprise Discord. Obviously, his excitement from just a minute ago was having an effect on her. He wasn't sure if she had legitimately surprised him, or if he was just too distracted by that sudden voice, but he put it off for the moment, being aware that, if it was truly a problem, it'd return.

Then he could be concerned...

"So, Fluttershy, what will we be doing today?" he asked rather suddenly, drawing his focus away from any voices that may or may not have been his imagination.

Fluttershy looked over at him casually; she was generally the planner of the two, and he'd just go along with whatever it was. Not that he minded, as he still wasn't quite used to making plans himself unless they involved chaos.

"Twilight and the others planned a little picnic this afternoon. After we take care of the animals, we could probably pick up something sweet at Sugarcube Corner for everypony, then head down to where they'll be."

Discord frowned, glancing up at the ceiling as he thought about the idea.

"...I-is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly, worried that he wasn't pleased with the arrangements.

He shrugged, his expression turning to one of confusion. "I just question why we have to sidetrack to get "something sweet" when we already have you here," he said, his frown slowly turning into a smirk.

Fluttershy's face instantly turned red, and she sat down to hide her face once again. "D-Discooooord..."

He snickered, despite knowing that he had somewhat done that just to see her blush; he'd be lying if he said that he didn't find it rather adorable, though one would be wrong if they expected him to do that around his friends. He much rather preferred that her blush be for him only.

"Ah, we can worry about washing that red paint from your face later, darling Fluttershy. For now, let's return to my astounding tea-making skills!"

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