Equestria's Ray of Hope

by The_Darker_Fonts

A Long Night

Waking up warm wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling, in fact, with large quilts and heavy blankets, it was common for Fluttershy to wake up as such, but the strange thing was waking up to a heartbeat. She hadn’t ever woken up in such a manner before, against somepony else’s chest, feeling, hearing the sound of their beating heart, but now that she had, she felt an appreciation for it. She didn’t exactly forget that she was sleeping in her bed, with Discord in her bed, but it was certainly still a shocking fact. The heartbeat of her love was heavy and slow, relaxed as he still slept, and she hoped with everything she had that he was in one of his sleep entrapments, stuck with her like this for a bit longer.

She had never quite appreciated the heartbeat of anypony before, hadn’t closely been involved with or studied it, but the thumping against her ear was now an undeniably amazing sound. How rare it was that she had the time to appreciate somepony else’s life, to really care about who they were, to be thankful that their heart beat so steadily. She smiled softly as she nuzzled into Discord’s furry chest, getting even closer to that heartbeat. She didn’t ever want to leave this, to think of or hear anything besides that soft thumping in Discord’s chest.

But heartbeats weren’t forever. They would one day fade, and as the inescapable thought plagued her, so did the thought of Ray. Celestia knows why she always had to think of him when she was having a good moment; maybe because she cared about him too much as well or maybe it was because she felt guilty. Either way, the sad thought of Ray filled her head as she tried to continue enjoying the moment she had with Discord. The moment seemed to be fleeing now, the terrible thought of reality, of life itself permeating her every aspect of life now.

She whimpered softly against Discord, feeling tears in her eyes. Why couldn’t life be happy like it used to be? Before she could begin crying again, she felt a claw gently wrap around the back of her head, making her freeze as she was gently pushed back, away from the pulsing heartbeat and warm fur. She stared paralyzed up at Discord as he began to gently stroke her hair, his eyes scanning her face with love and concern. Her lips parted slightly to try to say something, but she stopped herself, instead waiting for Discord to make a move.

“You shouldn’t worry about him right now, you know,” Discord softly told her. “You don’t need to feel bad for not being him, for not having to go through what he has to for us. The whole reason he decided to do the right thing is because he knows he can handle it, whether he admits it or not. He’s the best of his world and what our world needs, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a struggle for him, either. You know what it’s like to be a hero for everypony. Sweet Celestia, you are still the Element of Kindness, and ponies all across Equestria look up to you, and I daresay wish they were you.”

“That’s the thing though, Discord,” Fluttershy mournfully began, holding back tears as she shoved herself back into his chest. “I know what it’s like to be in his situation, to be the one risking themselves for others. It’s terrifying, and you always have to worry about whether or not you’re going to fail both yourself and everypony else. It’s so hard to be that pony because nopony else gets it except those that shared your trauma, and even then, it’s scary to think about. The worse thing, though, is that he can’t even use friendship to win this one, can he? This is… this is killing, strength versus strength, not friendship versus fiendship. He has to… to… do something that nopony else can, and that means that all of it lands singularly on his shoulders.”

“And what better shoulders to land on then his own,” Discord asked almost proudly. “We both know what Ray must go through, but have you thought about what he’s already gone through, the way he’s survived the trials and tumultuous times of the past month? He took it all with an incredibly strong stride, all things considered. He stumbled but always somehow remained firmly -no, stubbornly- with his choice to actually help us. That is something that will forever be proof that he is stronger than whatever the world throws at him.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly. Of course she knew how strong he was. He was stronger than any stallion in Equestria, and easily one of the bravest. He had a heart of gold, but he kept that hidden so well that sometimes he came across as heartless. She just had to remember that this was his fight and that she was a bystander, and would only be that, no matter how far things went or how bad it got. It was just hard to see somepony she found herself caring so much about struggling, suffering under all of that pressure.

Discord’s paw suddenly, solidly wrapped around her hoof and began to pull it up, dragging her gaze along with it until their eyes met again. She nearly gasped when she looked into them, seeing them for the first time as they actually were. They were bright, shimmering with a strange sheen that never seemed to fade or disappear. It was almost beautiful, if they could be described with such a word, but then again, any word she thought of at that moment skipped her mind. But more than their physical appearance, they were soft, both hopeful and loving, marking his words and complimentary statements about Ray almost brotherly. She had never really seen a full interaction between the two, and she guessed that was mostly because of the true way they acted around each other, but they obviously had some close friendship.

Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her. They kept their lips together for several seconds before he pulled away, a sudden smile of amusement spreading across his face. Recognizing the mischievous look on his face, she quirked an eyebrow and asked, “What is it?”

“Oh nothing,” he dismissively waved, his smile showing teeth. “Just that I can say that you and I slept together!”

A feeling of shock and absolute horror that the statement was technically true rushed over her as her mouth gaped. “Y-y-y-you can’t just say that though,” she protested loudly. She sat upright instantly, practically falling out of her bed as she got up and away from the draconequus.

“I mean, it’s true though,” he countered playfully. “We did sleep together!”

“Only in the most literal, technical way,” she yelled back, her blush deepening as she left the room. She wasn’t sure if she was furious about the statement, or simply flustered, but it had been almost a year since she’d ran away from an embarrassing situation. Whatever the case, she knew that Discord would forever reference their nap together as the time they “slept together”.

“Oh come on, Fluttershy, that would be hilarious to say in front of the others,” he argued as he suddenly poofed into existence in front of her. She ducked around him as he suddenly gasped in realization, snickering as he whispered impishly, “Imagine Rarity’s face if you said, ‘Yeah, I slept with Discord.’”

Fluttershy paused as she did indeed imagine Rarity’s face, completely abashed with the statement and couldn’t help but giggle at the imagery. “See, see,” Discord exclaimed, “You know this has an infinite amount of comedic potential!” Another gasp, this one drawn out, escaped Discord as he raised his claw and a sudden paper and pen appeared. “I’m going to have to make a list of ponies and not ponies to tell!”

“Don’t,” she protested loudly, though it came across weaker than she meant it because she too was smiling at the ridiculousness of her draconequus…

A slow solemnity overtook her as she realized that they hadn’t quite figured out who they were to each other now. They had been friends before, or maybe they had only been friends in their mind and had actually been something else in truth. Whatever they were now, they weren’t before, and that was all she actually knew. A frightening thought overcame her, or perhaps frightening wasn’t the word, but shocking, and she couldn’t help but look Discord in the eyes, searching them for a reciprocating thought.

And indeed there was.

Who were they? Were they merely friends experimenting with love on each other? Were they simply having a fun time, a short fling before they remembered themselves and returned to being simply friends? Or were they meant to be together, like this, alone in her house together? Were they really supposed to be like this, were they special someponies?

Discord’s eyes softened, and in that instant she knew that they didn’t have an answer, but they knew that they didn’t want to wait for one yet. Slowly, they leaned against each other in a soft embrace, holding each other for a minute as they tried to process what was going to happen between them. They both didn’t know what to do other than that they needed to stay together, through love or friendship, or even both. With the complication stacking in both of their lives, the greatest strength that they could find would be in each other and in their friends.

After several minutes, Discord began to push Fluttershy off him gently, standing up straightly as he said, “I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I can’t stay for long. Twilight requested me for a meeting tonight, and I have to comply, considering the urgency.”

“Well, what is it about,” she asked curiously.

With a slight wince, he responded meekly, “That’s also why I can’t miss it. Completely confidential information and procedure, as well as some sort of restricted knowledge of what can or can't come. Something along those lines, she wouldn’t say exactly what because she needed to see my exact reaction to whatever she wanted to tell me. Whatever it is, it’s incredibly important, so it without a doubt has something to do with Ray.”

“Oh… okay,” she muttered, looking down. Things were becoming worse and worse, or maybe they were just becoming more real as the days passed. She felt her old life and this new one becoming more and more distant, felt it becoming harder to remember, to return to and live in as this new human stormed through and brought such vast changes with him. She was so deep in her lonesome thoughts that she barely registered the sudden, silent disappearance of Discord until he was gone.

Sighing, she slumped back against the nearest stable structure, and though she felt worn emotionally, she needed to do something about all of this information. Her first thought was to go to Ray’s, but she reminded herself forcefully that she was supposed to console Ray, not be consoled by him. Her thoughts flickered immediately to Rarity then, and before she’d even thought it, her legs began moving as she left her house, heading straight away to Rarity’s.

As soon as she closed the door behind her, she was running. The emotions of sadness and dismay, the confusion of the past few hours were all becoming dispelled as the reality of what had happened during that time. She began smiling to herself, realizing fully what she and Discord had done that evening, right before falling asleep together. They had shared not only their first kiss together, but she had been kissed for the first time. She was giddy from that realization, the realization that she had, for the first time ever, moved beyond simply hugging and holding hooves.

And with Discord nonetheless! It was all so much to take in now that she could move on from the stress of having to think. Now she could simply remember those moments, the soft nuzzling, the gentle hugs and draping of his unique arms, and most especially the graze of their lips against each other. It was everything fanciful that Rarity had discussed, the “true” beauty in romance, as she emphasized. It was the importance of these little, small moments to build those amazing first moments into a lifetime of loving memories and happy moments. Yet for all that discussion they’d had on romance, for all of the preparation Rarity had tried to give her for when it came, she still was far from ready for the abruptness of the emotions.

That was to be expected though, wasn’t it. Life was a long, drawn out event, but within it were spontaneous moments that created the way you lived. It was blatant now, but before today, before all of this, even with Ray’s sudden appearance, it had never truly come across to her. She’d known life could change in an instant, but she hadn’t realized that those moments, the ones that were supposed to be planned and prepared for, simply happened. Sometimes you meant for them to happen, sometimes they just came and went, and all you could do was watch. It was haunting, exhilarating information, and she committed it to memory so she wouldn’t be caught unaware next time.

She giggled again for some reason, and even though the realization of life should have been overwhelmingly despairing, she didn’t feel anything but enlightenment and childish joy. She felt like a little filly all over again, rediscovering everything and liking it no matter how truly terrifying it should have been. It was a strange culmination of joy, enlightenment, and even a touch of acceptance as she decided with a light heart that she just shouldn’t be so fearful. Maybe it was a momentary declaration, driven on by this overbearing giddiness and joyful naivety, or maybe it was really something she was committed to, but either way, it was something she felt she could do.

She was in the middle of a sleeping Ponyville in mere minutes thanks to her running, and realizing that the few ponies who were on the street would certainly find it strange to see her bolting through town, she slowed to a fast trot. She recognized a few and gave them each short greetings and bright smiles, which all felt so serenely genuine that by the time she reached Rarity’s, she couldn’t pull her lips back into a neutral position. She tapped lightly on the door to the boutique, taking the lights that were shining within as a sign that somepony was home. The sound of light clopping behind the door, followed quickly by the sounds of hushed voices and scuffling, confirmed that there were ponies in the shop, and more than just Rarity.

The door swung open and a very disheveled Rarity poked her head out, smiling instantly when she saw her friend. “Ah, Fluttershy, how good to see you,” she exclaimed. She glanced behind her, biting her lip and hesitantly stammering, “Uh, c-come in. Just, uh, please don’t mind the mess.” After a brief pause where Fluttershy began to enter, she added wearily, “Oh, and don’t mind the three little fillies either.”

“We ain’t so little anymore, though,” Apple Bloom protested as Fluttershy entered the boutique. “Oh, hIya Fluttershy!”

“Hey Flutters,” Scootaloo called as she attempted to wrestle Sweetie Belle to the ground.

“You don’t have the privileges of calling her ‘Flutters’ yet,” Sweetie grunted as she tried to resist the grip of Scootaloo.

“Yeah, that’s right, Scoots,” Apple Bloom added before jumping onto her pegasus friend from behind. All three began to chaotically wrestle each other for some unknown reason, and for whatever reason, Fluttershy found herself giggling at the sight.

“What in the world is going on here, girls,” she questioned.

Rarity sighed and said, “Well, I was going to tell you not to ask, but I guess I’ll explain it as we leave these three to their barbaric shenanigans.”

“We aren’t barbarians,” Scootaloo called back as the two older mares began to ascend the stairs to the second story.

“Yeah, we’re pirates,” Apple Bloom once again interjected, pouncing on Scootaloo after having somehow come from the bottom of the filly pile.

Rarity seemed to deduce that the best way to move on was through a silent treatment as she failed to respond to either of their quips, instead finishing her ascent up the stairs and pointedly opening the door to her room for Fluttershy. She nodded in thanks as the sounds of the young ponies’ scuffle subsided and were muffled as she entered the room. As soon as the door was shut, Rarity sighed in relief, or perhaps it was resignation, as she simply sat on the soft carpet of the floor turning to Fluttershy.

“Well, dear, what is the problem that brought you here tonight,” she asked concernedly, her face drawn in worry.

“Oh! Um, well, actually, uh… I don’t have a problem- not exactly- um, more of… a, uh… something I want to talk about,” Fluttershy finally managed to produce, her tongue suddenly feeling heavy and tied together. “In fact, um, today quite possibly was, or um, well, it was the best day of my life.”

“Really,” Rarity squealed excitedly, straightening her posture as her eyes suddenly shined with interest. “Do tell.”

“Well, it started with some, uh, well, let’s just say I was attempting to spy on Ray,” Fluttershy confessed with a soft blush.

“Oh how scandalous,” Rarity whispered teasingly.

“Yes, well, I wanted to see Ray in his… natural habitat? I don’t know how to put it, but I wanted to see him without all of his defenses up, but I really just couldn’t. He seems to just… never stop pretending he’s somebody else, and you can tell if you really look. The way his shoulders are so stiff and drawn up even when he was simply running from his house to the Acres, well, it looked like he was preparing for something. Oh, and then he spotted me, or at least, it looked like he saw me while I was in the clouds, and I had to practically bury myself in a cloud.”

“I’m not sure what the definition of ‘the best day of your life’ means to you, but this certainly doesn’t sound like a particularly enjoyable day,” Rarity noted with a light tilt to her voice.

“Well, you’ll see why if you just wait,” Fluttershy responded, feeling not at all flustered by her friend’s statement. “Anyway, I said something to myself- I don’t exactly remember what -but it summoned Discord for some reason. Wait, I remember now! I’d called myself a stupid mare, and he had come because he had promised he would never let me say something that ‘lowered myself’ without responding with something in kind. He saw that I was feeling down and invited me to go to the spa to freshen up. And before you ask, he said it in all seriousness, and indeed we went to the spa. I… don’t actually remember much of what happened there, only that I fell asleep only a few minutes in. I haven’t been sleeping that well, but I’m sure you know why, so I guess the relaxation and heat of the sauna made me a little woozy, oh, and that blessed massage, well, and I guess I just… you know, passed out.”

Fluttershy paused, feeling that pulsing in her heart quicken as she mentally recalled what occurred next, those blissful seconds that she had barely been awake for, waking in Discords arms. Their first kiss. Sleeping together. Her blush deepened at that thought as she giggled at the joke. She was going to have to use it, now that she was actually here, talking to her best friend.

“Well, that certainly does sound lovely, but- and I mean no animosity or offense to either of you -but you get that same experience with me,” Rarity once again added, taking Fluttershy’s brief pause as a sign that she could have a word. “Though I’m guessing from that typical bright red that is all over your face that there’s more to this day than a spa with Discord. What happened next? Did you wake up to Ray walking in, or perhaps you left and Ray was there.”

“Well, actually not,” Fluttershy admitted. “I woke up in my bedroom, with Discord having just tucked me in for some sleep. I don’t really know what happened, but we ended up staring at each other for far too long, then one thing led to the next and we kissed.” Fluttershy found herself smiling softly at the memory, and briefly she felt herself lick her own lips as if to try and recall the feeling. She stopped, knowing that the touch of Discord’s lips on hers was a unique one, something that could never be replicated or replaced. A beautiful touch that gave her such happiness that nothing else ever had.

“I-I-I… What,” Rarity asked in complete disbelief, her jaw dropped several inches, her eyes bulging out of her head.

“And then we slept together,” Fluttershy proclaimed loudly, almost yelling the statement proudly. Immediately her hooves came to her mouth as she hoped that none of the fillies below had heard the embarrassing joke. In the meantime, Rarity had gone completely stiff, her shocked expression somehow only becoming more shocked until she suddenly fell sideways with a soft sigh.

“Rarity,” Fluttershy exclaimed as she reached for her friend. Luckily she was still breathing perfectly normal, but it seemed the news had been so much that she had passed out. Letting out a short, relieved laugh, she realized she had no clue what to do while she waited for her friend to come to.

The door suddenly burst inward with three fillies standing in the center. Almost in unison, all three asked furiously, “You did what?”

Author's Note:

Yep, this took a month to produce. Sorry for the long wait, but between the other chapters for the other stories and school restarting, it took a bit. Oh, and it doesn't help that I realized that I was accidentally writing the first 1k words for the next chapter, but hey that comes sooner. Anyways, as always, comments welcome and wanted.

Oh, and these past three chapters happen on the same day, just for clarification.

Comments

[Even Evil Has Standards]

10969895
Brought back into the fold.

[Anti Simp Trooper]

Yeet