Equestria's Ray of Hope

by The_Darker_Fonts

Somepony

Discord didn’t know how he had ended up so lucky. In his almost four thousand years of life, he hadn’t even thought of love or finding a companion until about a thousand years ago, right before he had been turned to stone. Even then, it had been more of a coy plot to have anyone to share his chaotic domain with instead of… romantically. Even when he had been released, there hadn’t been the slightest inclination in his mind at first that he would ever fall for anyone, let alone a pony. Yet, instead of rejection and fear, he found a new Equestria when he awoke from his imprisonment, and a wonderful, beautiful mare to guide him through it.

Now, he found himself staring at her sleeping face just inches from his own. It was strange, knowing that with the slightest movement forward he could kiss her, do the thing he had dreamed of for years before they had… become a couple. They still rarely shared a deep or prolonged kiss, much less did anything physical, even though they literally slept together. Fluttershy’s chastity and Discord’s own… disregard for such things meant the thoughts only ever crossed his mind when others would mention it. Like had been mentioned several times. Last night. By everypony.

They would never ask such questions to Fluttershy’s face for fear of offending her and certainly not around Ray for fear of angering him, but they apparently had no qualms about grilling the draconequus over his emotions, actions, and intentions with the beautiful mare. He couldn’t blame them, yet it was still mildly offensive they would think he would ever do anything uncomfortable to Fluttershy. Having to clarify for the fourth time that they were only living together because they wanted to be each other’s comfort during this trying time had begun to put a strain on Discord. It wasn’t like Applejack and Rainbow were receiving the same intense questioning as he was. Then again, maybe that was because they were quite blatant about the stage of their relationship. Lucky mares.

Truth be told, he was just as shy as his pegasus companion when it came to their relationship. Were they dating? By some definition, they were, given they went on dates often and generally stuck near each other, but not once had he called her his marefriend nor she called him her special somepony. It was unspoken, yet undeniable. They were both just too scared to admit that they had something.

Undoubtedly, Ray played a huge role in this. His relationship with Fluttershy was close, and possibly romantic, though Discord was afraid to ask. He needed to, at some point, but it would be counterintuitive to have Fluttershy lie to him if she did have feelings or tell the truth. Or, if she didn’t have those types of feelings, it might make her uncomfortable and give off the impression that Discord was trying to manipulate her feelings.

Once upon a time, Discord had watched such romantic debacles with glee and amusement, as they often created turbulent, frenzied situations. Some would result in a lifelong marriage; others would catastrophically end in separation. Either way, when he was simply Lord of Chaos, such squabbles were easy sources of entertainment. Now he found himself regretting ever enjoying such things. Experiencing it firsthand, he found it was much more stressful than he ever could have imagined, and the fear of losing somepony he cared so deeply about was nearly paralyzing. He just hoped that all of his bad karma had been paid for by his imprisonment in stone.

On the flip side, having seen so many relationships succeed or crumble, he generally knew what to do and what not to do. Mares were complicated creatures, individuals who were as similar to one another as they were different. With this knowledge, he knew which buttons to certainly not push, what words meant the most, and to never, ever underestimate how badly one could be misunderstood. That last one had been the reason he was even in this situation, knowing that Fluttershy wanted him in her home not for sex or other physical relief, but as an emotional support to keep her fears and paranoia under wraps.

Given the delicate balance of love and respect he was maintaining with her, he feared one wrong move would see him sleeping in caverns or summoned cottages out in the Everfree again. Maybe Fluttershy wanted him to make the next move, maybe she was building up the courage herself to define their relationship, or maybe this limbo was all they could maintain while Ray was a concern. He was perfectly fine with remaining in the balance, so long as it was just that. He had lived his life for four thousand years before finally finding his heartstrings tugged at. He could wait however long she needed to be ready to officialize their love.

Unless, of course, her heart lied with Ray and she was just placating Discord out of the kindness of her heart. Instantly, Discord snapped himself with a firecracker in his brain, sending a searing pain throughout his skull. It had the intended effect though, shaking away that terrible thought about an innocent and kindly pony. It was something she would do… but it wasn’t what she was doing right now, he was sure of it. She and Ray had never done more than hug, and he had even denied her attempts at a romantic relationship early on… but still, she had attempted.

Frustrated at himself for the terrible thoughts, the draconequus prepared another head firecracker when suddenly the mare’s eyes blinked open. He felt his own eyes widen as her eyes focused on him, a little smile forming with the lightest blush as she meekly asked, “How long have you been staring at me?”

“I… uh… I wasn’t staring, I was thinking, and you happened to be in my line of sight,” he tried, his excuse growing weaker the longer he talked.

“Oh, Discord,” the mare simply giggled, before giving him a quick peck on the nose. Giggling once again as the draconequus’ face grew redder than hers, she sat up and stretched with a slight groan, a few joints cracking. “Woof, I didn’t think I was that tensed up.”

“Well, you do only sleep in one position,” Discord idly commented. Smirking slightly, he flexed his fingers, each snapping louder than the last, before reaching up and twisting his head a full three-sixty degrees, eliciting even more cracks. “Although I guess since I sleep like a hurricane I need to crack more.”

“Mhm, that’s why,” Fluttershy agreed sarcastically with an amused smile. “Nothing to do with trying to make me smile?”

“It worked, right,” he pointed out, levitating himself out of the bed, shivering slightly at the cold outside of the blankets. With a snap of his fingers, the house became as warm as a spring noon, prompting Fluttershy to fully leave the bed. In spite of himself, Discord’s smile became much softer as he watched her shake herself into better shape, unmatting some of her fur and getting some hair from her face.

“What should we have for breakfast today,” she asked casually, moving to her nightstand, grabbing a brush and beginning to fix her mane in its mirror.

“I could make you some cinnamon toast, if you wish,” he told her knowingly. “I myself ate myself twice over last night, so I’m not that hungry.”

“I… may have forgotten to eat at all,” Fluttershy reluctantly admitted, refusing to even glance at him in the mirror.

“Flutters,” Discord softly scolded, settling down next to her. Reaching out and resting a claw on her shoulder, careful not to disrupt her self-grooming, he gave her a concerned look. “Ponies need three meals a day, at least. Some days you go entirely without eating. Need I remind you I’m more than willing to force-feed you sweets and treats until you’re back to your normal weight.”

“It’s not that bad, Discord,” she tried weakly.

“I can practically see your ribcage, Flutters,” Discord countered, not holding back his concern. “You’ve grown noticeably more tired, there are circles beginning to form under your eyes, and your flank-”

“You’ve been keeping track of my flank,” the mare questioned, trying to give Discord a wry grin but failing as she blushed.

Though the draconequus also flushed at the implications, he continued regardless, “Well, I haven’t seen a pony so thin since the famines brought about by Sombra’s final conquests! It’s like you’ve completely forgotten to function from time to time. I know we were all worried about Ray, but it can’t be healthy for him to come home once a month and see you thinner than he left you probably just makes him worry.”

“There’s no way he noticed,” Fluttershy denied, continuing to fix up her mane. “He would have mentioned it if he did.”

“Everypony’s noticed, Flutters, even you,” Discord refuted, using her inadvertent admission against her. He watched as the mare flinched in the mirror, her eyes drifting down to the desk. Softening himself, the draconequus landed on the ground and took a few normal steps towards her. “I’m not trying to embarrass you, my dear. I’m worried you’re letting yourself go and disregarding that concern because you think what Ray’s going through is worse than a little hunger.”

The pegasus turned to stare him in the eyes, a little off put by his guess. “Is it really… that obvious?”

“To me it is,” Discord mumbled, reaching out his paw to caress her cheek, but hesitated. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to-

Fluttershy leaned into it, closing her eyes as she stated, “I’ll do better then, I promise. Cinnamon toast it is.”

In short time Fluttershy finished brushing her mane and tail while Discord went downstairs to prepare the meal. It was one of the simpler foods he could make without the assistance of chaos, though he still used it at his leisure to help cooking. He just didn’t need to summon ingredients from far-off lands or steal fire from the mountains to warm it. Fluttershy’s well stocked kitchen was enough for his cooking. Funnily enough, he knew perfectly well how to cook without any chaos at all, given how often he’d come to do it while with ponies. He wasn’t one to be lazy with his powers. In fact, he preferred to think of it as spicing up life whenever he used chaos instead of making life easier.

By the time Fluttershy made her way down the stairs, Angel had given Discord the routine chittering lecture and Otolo had briefly swooped by to say hello. The pegasus gently picked up the bunny and took him to a different part of the house to feed him, though all of them knew it was just to stop the little white rabbit from glaring at the draconequus. It seemed that no matter how innocent, appropriate, or chaste they kept their relationship, Angel would not approve of Discord living with him and Fluttershy. Whatever, he was just a little rabbit anyways. In spite of himself, Discord listened in with a summoned earpiece while continuing to cook, holding it up with an extra arm.

“No Angel, nothing happened,” Fluttershy informed the bunny, sounding… disappointed? There was a series of short squeaks, quickly followed by the pegasus scoldingly telling the bunny, “You shouldn’t say things like that, Angel. Discord’s too nice for such things!”

Smirking a little to himself, a little flustered, he decided the mare would handle the bunny well enough without his listening in. Focusing on the cooking, he let his head remain empty quite literally, making him lose track of time until Fluttershy suddenly tugged on his tail with her mouth.

Looking over his shoulder, resummoning his brain, he quickly asked, “Yes, my dear?”

“You weren’t answering me,” Fluttershy noted. “I was guessing you were doing the empty head thing.”

“Yup,” Discord affirmed, taking the meal off the stove. It was smelling particularly good on second thought. Maybe he would duplicate some for himself…

“Trying not to think about anything,” the mare prodded, raising a brow at him, silently accepting her breakfast.

“Well, that’s kinda the point,” he replied offhandedly, hoping the right twist of zaniness to his voice would convince her there wasn’t anything in particular he was trying to avoid thinking about.

“Discord…” she pressed relentlessly, stepping to be side by side with him, trying to catch his eye. Reluctantly, he looked down into her beautiful teal eyes, pooled with concern. Well… he had grilled her. Only fair that she did the same. With a sigh, he replicated the food in her hoof into his own claw, before slumping into the nearby table chair.

“So long as you’re okay with what’s on my mind,” he warned her, giving her a wary stair.

The mare sat down next to him, placing her hoof in his free paw as she assured him, “I want to know, so long as I can help you with it.”

“Well… what’s going on with us,” Discord hesitantly asked, giving Fluttershy a sad look. “I know we’ve basically become… more than friends could ever be, but we’re both too scared to say anything about it. I know you still have feelings for Ray, or at least, that what it seems like, I just can’t understand what those feelings are. I want to be more than just friends who live together, but I’m afraid I’ll overstep my bounds and offend Ray. It’d be awful if he was trying to maintain a relationship with you through the war and I were to try to drag you away from him. We’ve been friends since day one, even though we butted heads when it came to, well, you. I’m afraid of acting too hastily or waiting too long. I’m used to having more time to sift through these things and let the rivers shape the land before settling it. I… I can’t do that when you only have so much time…”

“Oh… Discord…” Fluttershy muttered softly, her eyes growing even softer and deeper as her hoof drifted up to his face. For a moment it lingered there, pressed against his cheek while her brilliant eyes flitted over his face, before she finally admitted, “I guess I’ve been too busy worrying about how little time we might have left to appreciate the time Ray’s bought for us. Yes, once I thought to pursue Ray, but we were both confused at the time, fate throwing us onto each other's path. I could never see him as anything more than a violent, conflicted soul, and he could never see me as anything but his embodiment of Equestria, to protect and see thrive. We were symbols to each other; Ray said as much to me. There’s nothing romantic between him and I, even though we once thought there might be.

“You, though, Discord… well, I’ve been rather selfish to not say sooner, but you’re one of the few things keeping me calm and bringing me joy during this hard time. Whenever I worry, you ask me what’s wrong. Whenever I’m afraid, you comfort me. Whenever I doubt, you give me the strength to believe. You help me be a better mare because you hate seeing me not live up to what I can be and push me outside my comfort zone because that’s when I finally learn. Nopony else has the courage or care to take on the challenges I present and make me a better pony for the sake of being better. Without you, Discord, I’m not sure where I’d be right now.

“And yet, you seem to hardly notice that you do all that for me. Others would hold it over me or point out that they’ve helped me, but you do it without a second thought because it’s what you do. You love me, Discord, I know that, and for too long now I’ve been scared by that. Scared that I’m not good enough, that I’m too afraid or conflicted to love you back! Yet, it’s clear now, isn’t it? This whole time, the reason it was you I asked to stay with me and comfort me and the reason you accepted. The reason I hug you, talk to you, and kiss you. It’s because I love you. You’re my special somepony!”

Discord stared as the mare softly panted from her confession, staring at him with a strange intensity he couldn’t quite identify. He was numbed by joy, unable to feel the hoof on his cheek or the presence of her other hoof on his knee as she had leaned into him. He was only able to stare at the spectacular mare before him, alive with honesty and alight with her own joy. Dawning a self-confident smile, the mare suddenly lunged forward and pulled him into a deep kiss, snapping the stunned draconequus out of his trance.

He was defenseless against her, simply slipping into the embrace as she climbed onto him to push her advantage. He’d never seen or felt her like this, confident and unabashed as she enfolded him with her wings. There was no telling how long they were like that, only at last being interrupted by a sudden gurgle of Fluttershy’s stomach.

Pulling away, flushed, the mare giggled at the awkward interruption, earning a chuckle from Discord. With a wry grin, he joked, “No wonder you were so ravenous. You must’ve mistaken me as your meal!”

“Oh, sweet Celestia, Discord,” the pegasus scoffed with mock offense, pawing at his chest with a hoof while holding herself with the other. Getting off, she returned the sly smile, replying, “You know I don’t have dessert for breakfast!"

“Aw, that was sweet,” the draconequus cracked, earning a rare, amused eye roll from her. Sitting up in his chair, he looked around at the empty room and muttered, “I’m a bit surprised Angel didn’t come in and interrupt us. It was nice.”

“Are you kidding, Angel’s been mad that this hasn’t happened between us yet,” Fluttershy told him, laughing at his ignorance. “Why, every morning he’s surprised we haven’t-”

Fluttershy abruptly silenced herself, growing beet red in actual embarrassment as her eyes flitted away from Discord and her wings clamped to her sides. Instantly the draconequus’ eyes went wide, finishing the sentence for himself and clamping his own mouth shut to keep anything unwise from slipping out. For a very, very long moment of silence, the pair kept their eyes on anything but each other, waiting for the other to break the silence. They needed to talk about it but…

“I want to wait, Discord,” Fluttershy finally informed him, sounding… surprisingly calm. There wasn’t an air of professionalism, or a stoic act being put up. She was being honest with him, saying what she wished. “At least until everything is over and we can begin a family in peace.”

“I would… like that,” Discord agreed, trying to smile. Ultimately, it died on his face, and he looked away. Was that smile too hopeful? Did it come off wrong?

“Good,” was all the mare next to him could force herself to say before falling into uncomfortable silence again.

Determined not to be saved by Fluttershy again, he quickly asked, “So nothing changes, right? We’re each other’s special somepony but we don’t… change?”

He smacked himself in the face for how illiterate it came out, praying he hadn’t just ruined everything. Four- no, three thousand years of observation and apparently, he hadn’t learned a thing!

“Well…” Fluttershy began before trailing off, this time slowly standing up in her chair and leaning in. Methodically, she brought her lips to his and he was more than happy to accept. After a moment, they parted, and the mare finished, “I would like to do that more often.”

“Yeah, me too,” Discord agreed with an uncontrollable ear-to-ear grin. Sweet Celestia, she was too perfect.

Seating herself once again, Fluttershy thoughtfully told him, “We’ll also have to tell everypony else that we’re official, though I’m guessing they already thought so much. Still, I’ll tell the girls next time I see them.”

As if right on cue, the door suddenly burst open as Apple Bloom rushed into the room, wheezing from a lack of air. She tried to say something, but the words died in her throat as she was forced to take a massive gulp of air.

Concerned, Fluttershy stood up and inquired, “What is it, Apple Boom?”

“Rainbow Dash proposed ta Applejack,” she exclaimed, smiling brighter than the sun. “My sister’s gettin’ apple-buckin’ married!”

Author's Note:

Being completely honest, this was completely an unintentionally coinkydoink, just like my donuts story coming out on International Donut Day. Anyways, as always, questions, comments, and concerns welcome and wanted!