Restlessness and Relaxation
"Tea?" Discord said, holding a steaming kettle on a tray out to Fluttershy.
She had just polished off the molten chocolate cake that had been the final course of their dinner. "No thank you," she said. "I might go to bed soon, and if I have tea, I might not be able to sleep."
He poured himself a cup of tea, adding in a dollop of honey. "You say that...but I can remember a time or two when you've fallen asleep right after drinking a kettle of tea," he said, taking a sip. He frowned and dropped five sugar cubes in.
She smiled. "Well, most of those times were after some very long and exciting days. Like that chaotic day after you filed all that paperwork for me. And I prefer low caffeine or herbal tea even then." She watched as he took another sip. "But today has been slow, and I'm...a little tired, but not exhausted. That tea will wake me right up." She grinned. "I wouldn't mind one of your cucumber sandwiches, though."
He smiled and snapped his fingers, creating a whole platter of cucumber sandwiches. She began to nibble on them, while he took another long sip of his tea. "Discord, I wouldn't drink too much tea if I were you," she cautioned. "I'd hate for you to be up all night, not able to sleep."
He scoffed. "Dearest Fluttershy, a little bit of tea and sugar will not be enough to keep me from having a good night's rest." He topped off his cup, then swallowed the whole thing, tilting his head back and gulping loudly.
"If you're sure," she said, taking another sandwich from the platter.
"Sure as sure can be," he said, dipping a sandwich in tea before tossing it down his gullet.
Discord found himself staring up at the ceiling, wide-eyed.
Curse your foresight, Fluttershy, he thought, glaring at the pegasus who was sleeping peacefully beside him. He glanced over at the clock. It was just a few minutes past ten. He groaned, and rolled onto his other side, turning away from Fluttershy.
After a few moments in that position, he fidgeted and turned back towards his wife. Something inside him—probably the tea—was making his skin crawl whenever he tried to get comfortable and stay still, making his heart and mind beat furiously, making his muscles twitch with the desire to do something, anything other than lay down and sleep!
He curled a little closer to his sleeping wife. Normally listening to her breathing, or even placing his ear to her chest to hear her heart beating, was the best way to calm him down, like a soothing lullaby. He glanced down at his hands. They were twitching slightly, glitchy wind-up toys powered by tea and chaos. He only ever dared to lay close to Fluttershy if he could remain perfectly, totally still—he didn't want his random twitching to wake her up.
He tapped his fingers together. If he didn't sleep now, he'd be tired the next day. And if he was tired the next day, he would be miserable, and unable to fully enjoy any time spend with Fluttershy.
He rolled onto his back to face the ceiling, dragging his fingers along his muzzle. What to do? What to do? he thought. He summoned a piece of yarn and began making a cat's cradle between his fingers.
Suddenly, a lava lamp appeared above his head. "I can do stuff to tire myself out!" he declared in a hushed whisper. Fluttershy mumbled sleepily, making him flinch and freeze up, eyes wide and trained on her.
She shifted a little closer to his side of the bed, mumbling, "Cordy..." He grabbed his chest with his paw, willing his heart not to give out from the sweet act. She eventually stopped her shifting, but a slight frown was on her face.
Sighing, he snapped his fingers and created a body-length pillow, with a picture of him sleeping soundly on it. He grabbed it and plopped it in front of her so that it was lightly brushing against her front hooves. She shifted again, snuggling into the pillow with a soft smile on her face. He leaned down and brushed his lips ever so lightly against her forehead—a ghost of a kiss. Her smile widened, and she snuggled deeper into the pillow.
He sighed and threw off his blankets, floating quickly out of bed and making himself insubstantial to float through the door. Once in the hall, he floated past all the doors, opening each one and closing them as he decided it wouldn't do.
Soon, he came to a wooden door splattered with paint. He opened it and scanned the craft room, wondering if anything would satisfy him. The kiln, surrounded by large lumps of clay, caught his eye.
He teleported over and grabbed one of the lumps, stretching it between his hands. "Maybe I can make a nice sculpture," he said, "And that could tire me out enough to fall asleep." The thought of that was enough to make him throw the clay onto the nearest table and start molding it with his bare hands.
Half an hour later, the glazed sculpture of himself holding out a realistic heart was in the kiln. He sat in front of it, letting the heat waft over his coat, wondering if it was worth the effort to make another sculpture. Making the first one didn't seem to tire him out at all.
He tossed the ball of clay he had been playing with back on top of its original lump, and considered speeding up the kiln to finish his sculpture and paint it. The idea didn't appeal much, though, so with a sigh, he conjured up a few fire extinguishers, ordering them very clearly when a fire counted as dangerous (outside the kiln) and how they were to react (spray it immediately, not find him and ask him what to do).
With that, he left the room, remembering to shut the door and fireproof it and the walls with a snap of his fingers, just to be safe. And once again, he began to wander down the hall.
He tried his hand at a few more activities. One-player ping pong, where he raced from one side of the table to the other, swimming laps in the pool, frosting and decorating a giant six-tier cake...eventually, he grew bored of all of these and left to search for something else to do.
He rubbed his eyes and checked the closest clock. After staring at it for a few seconds, trying to read its melting face, he realized it was an hour past midnight. "Sweet chaos, I've been up that long?" He bounced on his heels. He still didn't feel tired or sluggish. "Ugh, what will it take!?"
He pressed his hands against his eyes in frustration, grumbling curses towards caffeine under his breath. But something about his hands made him pause. He held them away from his face, doing his best to hold them perfectly still. They didn't twitch, not even an inch.
"Ah-ha!" he said. "If I'm not twitching, I won't wake up Fluttershy! And that means...!" He snapped his fingers and appeared in the bedroom, floating above the bed. Fluttershy was fast asleep, her hooves loosely wrapped around the body pillow he had made.
He carefully pulled it out of her hooves and slithered in to replace it. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his head against her chest, shifting until his ear was right above her heart.
Its beating was soft and sluggish, her breathing slow and even. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind of everything but the sound of her heartbeat and breathing. He reached up with his claw and began to slowly stroke her mane as gently as possible, letting her silk tresses slide between his fingers.
The urge to move, to do anything but relax slowly died down, washed away by her presence. The energy buzzing through him still remained, but there wasn't as much left as at the beginning of the night. And slowly, so slowly, it faded away too.
His mind felt fuzzy, his head heavy. After a time he struggled not to count, he drifted into the deep darkness of sleep.
Discord woke up mid-snore, jolting awake with a loud snort. His first reaction was to recoil from the wet spot of drool on his pillow. The next was to check and make sure he hadn't accidentally woken up Fluttershy.
She wasn't there. His initial reaction was to panic, but a glance at the clock on the wall told him that it was nine in the morning: hours later than when he and Fluttershy would normally wake up. With a groan and flap of his wings, he got out of bed, planning to go to the kitchen and grab something to eat.
Before he could make it to the door, though, it creaked open. Fluttershy walked in, carrying a tray on her back. "Oh good, you're awake!" she said. "I was worried you might sleep in until noon." She grabbed the tray and held it out to him. "I thought I'd make you breakfast."
A loud growl from his stomach prompted him to sit back down on the bed and grab the tray from her hooves. It was a simple breakfast: pancakes, a bowl of strawberries, and two hardboiled eggs, with a glass of milk to wash it down. He immediately began digging into the pancakes, summoning a jar of peanut butter and slathering it onto the pile as he went.
As he switched from devouring pancakes to polishing off the eggs in two bites each, Fluttershy sat down next to him. "So...you didn't sleep well last night, did you?" she asked.
He glanced down at her as strawberry juice ran into his beard. Any other pony might have a smug look, one they wore right before they said 'I told you so.' But not his Fluttershy. Her expression was worried, concerned, just a breath away from laying a gentle hoof on his arm.
He took another bite out of the pancakes, chewing them slowly as he thought about how to respond. Finally, he swallowed and said, "No...I didn't. That tea really did keep me up most of the night. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry."
"Discord, you don't have to apologize to me," she said. "I just want you to remember this in the future. I don't like the thought of you being up all night, unable to sleep."
"I wasn't up all night," he said, pouring some chocolate syrup on what was left of the pancakes. "Just most of it. And I even did a few productive things last night, like make a clay sculpture and frost a cake."
"How late were you up?" she asked.
"...about one in the morning," he said. She gasped, a hoof flying to her mouth. Her eyes were big and sorrowful. "Oh, don't look at me like that," he said. "I still got some sleep, didn't I? And it was all thanks to you, anyway."
She tilted her head. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything..."
"Au contraie," he said. "Your presence alone helped me. After I worked off some energy and twitchiness, your heartbeat was what eventually helped me to sleep. Being next to you as you slept was like hearing a soothing lullaby while wrapped up in a thick blanket, laying in a warm sunbeam."
She blushed, brushing a strand of her mane in front of her face. "Well, I'm...glad I could help you," she said quietly. "I'm just sorry that you've gotten so little sleep."
He yawned. "I just don't understand why I'm so tired. I've gone whole nights without sleeping before and been mostly fine. Like that time I took care of all that horrid paperwork for you."
"Well, you were up late the night before with Spike and Big Mac, too," she said. "And the night before that, you stayed up late to finish the novel you were reading—though I don't know why you used a flashlight under the covers."
She shook her head. "Anyway, all of that adds up. Plus, it sounds like you did a lot of different things that consumed your energy last night. Even if you did sleep in, I'm not surprised you're so tired."
He dumped the bowl of strawberries down his throat, then stretched with a loud yawn. "Well, it'll all work out," he said. "I just need to spend a lazy day using little energy, maybe get in a few naps." He stretched again and laid his head down on his pillow, using a straw to drink up the rest of his pancakes and milk.
Before he could roll onto his side, snuggle into the pillow, or even close his eyes, Fluttershy laid a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Discord, but napping now is a bad idea," she said. "If you get some sleep now, you'll be rested and awake this evening. Then you'll spend another night not able to sleep, and—!" She frowned, her eyes wide and shiny. "I don't want to be in a cycle where we're sleeping at different times!"
He groaned. Can't argue when she looks like that...and when she makes a good point. "I can try," he said, sitting up and snapping his fingers. A steaming teacup appeared in his paw. "I just need a little boost..."
She placed a hoof on his wrist, shaking her head. "I don't think that's a good idea, either," she said. "It might help for a little, but what about once it wears off?"
Discord stroked his beard, a thought bubble forming about his head. An image of himself appeared, happily going about his day, with a meter that read 'Caffeine' right next to him. The meter slowly began to disappear inch by inch...and when it did, the image of himself suddenly froze, then crashed dramatically to the ground, half-asleep.
He cringed and waved the bubble away. "Well, what if I keep using tea to boost my energy?" he said. The thought bubble returned, showing himself lying in bed, eyes wide with dark circles under them, as he shivered from the caffeine running through him. "Ugh, isn't there something between crashing and being too awake?"
"...I think the only way to have that in-between is to not drink anything with caffeine," she said. Another thought bubble appeared, showing him as he was right now—a tired, yawning draconequus with dark shadows under his eyes, going about his day at a slow rate. But he kept moving forward and didn't crash through the day.
"Hmm," Discord said, holding up a remote and pressing the fast forward button. The image in the thought bubble zoomed by, and he hit play once the scene became dark. It showed him in bed, sleeping soundly and curled around Fluttershy.
"But today's going to be rough, isn't it?" he said. Fluttershy nodded. With a sigh, he set down his teacup and rolled out of bed. "Well...do you need any help with your animals? I think I need something to keep me busy so I don't accidentally doze off."
"Yes, of course," she said as he brushed his mane and teeth. "I can think of a few things you can do." He hummed, eyes blinking slowly closed. He managed to catch himself and snap awake just in time.
Fluttershy shook Discord's shoulder, and he jolted awake with a snort. "You're so close," she said. "Just finish your supper, please. Or at least eat most of it."
He lifted his head out of the bowl of shredded paper and paper clips and began to tiredly spoon the concoction into his mouth. He yawned, leaning his cheek against his fist.
The day had just dragged on for him. Thankfully Fluttershy was there to shake him awake, and to assign him to tasks he could put his energy into, like searching the lakes and ponds for anything that didn't belong or herding the rabbits around to ensure they didn't overgraze their favorite meadow.
He felt his eyelids drooping and quickly jolted awake before he fell asleep in his dinner again. He looked over the table at Fluttershy, who had prepared herself a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich for supper.
"I can make you something better," he said. "If you want..." He lifted his fingers into a snapping position.
She shook her head. "No, this is fine. Please don't strain yourself for me." He let his hand drop back down, and he leaned against it again as he kept eating.
He managed to polish off his bowl. As soon as he was done, Fluttershy placed their dishes next to the sink and wrapped her forehooves around him as he stood up. He leaned against her as they went to their bedroom, his mind already growing fuzzy.
He must have nodded off, because the next thing he knew, he was tucked under the covers and Fluttershy was snuggling into his chest. "I love you, Discord. Sleep well."
"Love you..." he murmured, wrapping an arm around her just before he drifted back to sleep.
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I really love this story!
OMG dakimakura discord. Great now I want one.
Beutiful chapter really love it!!!
Are you sure bout that? and i ate 3 cups of ice cream and I slept at my norml time at 11pm
Called it
Shhhhhh the flutters is sleeping
Aww i want one not gay at all i swear atleast a plushie
Oo I bet 50000 bits for it
Pff thats normal
Aww
Even in weekend, holidays, even summer i wake up at 8, 7, 6, 9, even sometimes at 5, or 4 in the morning and i sleep at 11, 10, 12, even sometimes at 1 or 2 and i dont drink tea or coffee.
Pff thats nothing i woke up at 7 when that happens
aww
You cant fight it trust me