Less Than Chaotic

Chapters

Less Than Powerful
Less Than Loyal
Less Than Reality
Less Than Safe
Less Than You
Less Than Discord
Less Than Hurt
Less Than Awake

Less Than Powerful

Fluttershy trotted along the path in Ponyville, Discord walking alongside her while holding a large scroll and quill.

"Basket?" the draconequus asked.

Fluttershy nodded her head, a picnic basket draped awkwardly around her neck. However, nothing was currently in it, so she wasn't overly concerned about it. "Check."

Discord checked the basket off the list, his eyes lowering to view the next item on it. "...Flower?"

He grew confused, wondering what they'd need a single flower for, then turned to Fluttershy, instantly taking notice of the slightly-wilted white rose on her head, which was placed delicately in between her mane and ear. "Is that...?"

Fluttershy looked downwards, her cheeks turning a tinge of pink. "Check!"

Discord cleared his throat, forcing his gaze away from Fluttershy as he marked off the flower from their list. He directed his attention to the next item, which had a small color-coded list under it, detailing different flavors. "Cupcakes?"

"We're heading to Sugarcube Corner to get them now," she replied, her wings flapping a bit with cheerfulness.

"Sooo... half a check?" Discord asked, a teasing grin on his face.

Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, as if thinking about it, then nodded. "Half a check."

He smirked, placing a tiny line in the check box before gazing further down the list. "Alright, so the next item on this list iiiiis... Discord."

Fluttershy blinked, looking over at him. "Discord? You Discord? You shouldn't be on the list."

He placed a hand to his chest, pretending to be insulted. "Isn't the point of this list to mark down all the important things we should have for the picnic? Am I no longer important to you, darling Fluttershy?"

She tried to hold back a giggle, waving a hoof to him. "O-of course you are, Discord! These are just material things that we need," she replied.

Discord pouted. "That basket can hear you, y'know. I think you've hurt its feelings."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes, though giggling and focusing on the path.

"I told Mister Cake and Missis Cake what flavors we'll need in advance, so hopefully, they'll be done by the time we get there."

He nodded to her. "And pray tell; what flavor did you get for me? I don't see it on your little list."

She smiled. "It's—"

Fluttershy paused abruptly, her ear twitching as she heard ponies shouting behind her.

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

"Watch where you're going!"

The yellow pegasus tilted her head back in curiosity, watching a pink pony push their way through the crowd, now heading straight for Discord and her.

"...Pinkie Pie?" she asked, squinting as the mare drew closer to them.

"TWITCHA TWITCH! TWITCHA TWITCH!"

Discord backed up at first, then was suddenly bowled over as Pinkie Pie jumped and tackled him to the ground.

"Auugh!" he groaned, feeling her hooves pressing on his chest. "Pinkie Pie, what is—"

The draconequus stopped at the sound of something breaking, his eyes locking onto a broken pot that had crash-landed in the exact spot he'd been standing in just a moment ago.

Instantly, his gaze was drawn upwards to the source: a pony who had her hooves held out somewhat and was now staring down at him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said. "I was just opening my shutters and 'woosh'; my pot goes tumbling down!"

Discord raised a brow, intrigued.

My my~ How fascinating that you had it in just the right place and opened your shutters in just the right time for that pot to nearly come in contact with my woefully-unprepared head.

Pinkie Pie gave a stern, but gentle, glare at the pony. "Okey-dokey-lokey, but be more careful next time, 'kay? You almost hurt somedracowhatsit."

"Draconequus," Discord corrected.

"Yeah, that. Somedraconequus".

The pony nodded, giving a soft wave before going back inside her house once she closed the shutters.

Almost angrily so...

Pinkie Pie pouted, then looked back down at Discord as she got off of him. "You okay~?"

He rolled over, pushing himself back up to his feet and dusting himself off. "Just lovely, I suppose," he said with slight sarcasm, though having no intention of upsetting Pinkie Pie with it.

The party pony smiled happily, bouncing up and down. "Great! Wouldn't want cha to miss out on the picnic just 'cause you would've been all injured and stuff!"

Fluttershy walked up to her, gesturing a hoof towards Sugarcube Corner, which was only a few meters away. "We're almost getting to be on our way there actually. We just need to pick up our share for the picnic first."

"Ohhhhhhh~" Pinkie Pie said, nodding in understanding. "I already got my stuff ready in our cute little picnic spot, so I'll meet cha guys there, mkay?" she asked as she rocked back and forth on her hooves, her tail swishing in excitement.

Discord and Fluttershy nodded, but couldn't get a single word out before Pinkie Pie took off towards the edge of Ponyville; going to their picnic location, most likely.

"...Whose idea was it to put that pony in a bakery filled with sweets?" Discord asked curiously.

Fluttershy gave him a small smile, then shrugged and headed towards Sugarcube Corner. Discord followed, though his eyes were slightly 'blinded' by the overpowering array of colors that the building gave off. They slowly walked inside, the sound of a bell going off and alerting Missis Cake, who stood politely at the counter.

"Ah! Fluttershy, Discord! Welcome!" she greeted, waving a hoof.

"Hello, Missis Cake," Fluttershy said in return, waving back. "Are those cupcakes we ordered finished?"

The blue mare smiled. "Just finished them! Here you go!"

Fluttershy's face instantly brightened as a small box was placed on the table. She set her basket down, opening it and placing the box inside. "Perfect fit!" she cheered softly.

Discord chuckled at her excitement, then picked up the basket with his eagle claw. Fluttershy didn't argue, as carrying the basket in her mouth would've been a difficult task given that she enjoyed talking to Discord while they walked.

"Thank you, Missis Cake!" the pegasus exclaimed.

"Oh, you're very welcome! Take care of Pinkie Pie at your little picnic get-together, alright?"

Discord almost rolled his eyes. "I think she's well beyond our care."

Fluttershy giggled, pressing her head to Discord to inform him that they were leaving. He obliged, waving to Missis Cake before heading out the door.

...Perhaps he shouldn't have gone first.

As Discord got outside, the side of his head was instantly met by a sudden pain, briefly stunning him. Fluttershy gasped, flying up to his face with a concerned expression.

"D-Discord, are you alright?" she asked.

The draconequus nodded with a small grunt, promptly looking downwards to see the cause of his sudden headache. A baseball sat near his feet, and a young colt walked up to it and picked it right back up. Soon after, a stallion trotted up to them, shaking his head.

"Sorry. My son and I were practicing a bit of baseball," he said, though rather nonchalantly.

Discord gave them a small wave, just wanting to forget what happened. The two males nodded to him, then walked off.

The draconequus couldn't help the frown on his face. The stallion, along with the mare earlier, were clearly lying to him. He wasn't an idiot; there were obviously still ponies around who hadn't forgiven him, unlike his friends. He wasn't really angry with them, but he just wished that they would tell him they had a problem with him instead of trying to mess with him. After all, he couldn't do much about it with the lack of his powers; granted, it's not like he would do so normally, as the last thing he wanted to do was cause even more trouble. Chaos was fine, but getting more ponies angry wasn't an idea he was fond of.

"Nnn..."

Discord blinked, glancing over at Fluttershy, who stared at where the two male ponies formerly stood. Was she... angry?

"Fluttershy?" he asked cautiously.

The pegasus flinched, quickly turning back to Discord. "O-oh! Y-yes! I'm alright!"

She smiled politely, then gave him a gentle kiss where he had been hit. He was slightly embarrassed at the show of affection, but accepted it anyway, making sure the basket was securely on his arm before continuing down the path with her.

"...Don't pay much attention to them," Fluttershy then muttered, almost out of nowhere.

"Hm~?" he questioned.

She frowned at him. "They've been rough-housing a lot lately; particularly when I come by with my animals."

Discord shook his head. "Ah, think nothing of it, darling Fluttershy! I'm taken far worse blows to the head!" he said with a small laugh.

She nodded, but slowly came to a stop as something drew her attention. Discord raised a brow, looking off in the direction that her gaze was pointing at. A stand laid there, with a rather gruff-looking pony standing behind the counter.

"Something catch your eye?" he asked, staring at the contents on the stand and wondering what she could be so interested in.

Fluttershy trotted up to the stand, staring at the pony behind the counter as she directed a hoof towards the bunch of carrots that laid in front of him.

"I have this little bunny named Angel at home who would just love those carrots right there!" she exclaimed. "How much are they?"

The stallion tapped the counter. "Three bits."

Fluttershy smiled, reaching into the bag on her waist and pulling out three bits, promptly setting them on the counter. "Thank you!"

He nodded, reaching out and taking the bits, placing them in a bag sitting next to him. "Enjoy your carrots."

Discord tilted his head curiously as he watched the scene, slowly walking up to Fluttershy and smirking. "More carrots for that rabbit? I suppose he needs it to fuel that attitude of his."

She giggled at him, reaching out to grab the small bundle of carrots. "Oh, Angel's not that bad. I—"

She gasped slightly as the stallion suddenly placed a hoof over the carrots, almost glaring at her.

"U-um..." she murmured. "E-excuse me, but—"

"—Is he with you?" the stallion asked, tilting his head towards Discord.

Fluttershy averted her gaze to the draconequus, then nodded to the gruff stallion. "Yes. He is."

He stared at her for a moment, then slammed a hoof on the table. "That'll be ten bits then."

"T-ten bits?" she asked, her wings ruffling up in surprise. "B-but, I already—"

She jumped as Discord's lion paw suddenly hit the table. "She already paid, buddy. Three bits; you said so yourself," he said with a low growl.

"I changed my mind," the stallion shot back. "Are you gonna do somethin' about it?"

Discord's gaze sharpened. Oh, how he would've loved to. Honestly, even without his powers, he could probably beat this pony to a pulp if he really wanted to.

"D-Discord?" Fluttershy squeaked, lightly tugging on his tail. "It's okay... forget about it. It's only three bits."

But no. He was better than this stallion.

Averting his gaze back to Fluttershy, Discord followed her away from the stand. Her head was directed downwards, and she was clearly upset about the little incident.

He frowned. "...About your carrots..."

Fluttershy smiled sadly at him. "It's not your fault..."

She paused, then gazed back at the ground as she began to walk more slowly. "Ponies can be so mean sometimes though."

Discord let out an awkward murmur, feeling somewhat responsible for Fluttershy's mood-drop.

She continued. "I know what happened, but that doesn't give them the right to treat you that way! It's...it's not right!"

She stopped walking, pounding the ground once with her hoof. Discord stared at her, a little speechless at her louder voice. She seemed to notice though, calming down and looking back at him.

"Don't you worry, okay? I at least know how amazing you are," she said, though her cheeks were tinted pink.

Discord chuckled somewhat at her sudden compliment, then nodded his head. "Of course you do. Now, shall we continue on our—"

"You can never trust those ponies. You saw what they did to you, and even what they tried to do. They're all the same. They don't care about you at all. Why care about them?"

"...D-Discord?" Fluttershy called softly.

The draconequus blinked, popping out of his trance as he shook his head. Now he was sure; this voice wasn't nothing.

He cleared his throat though, waving a hand dismissively.

"I'm just fine, Fluttershy. Let's continue, hm?"

Less Than Loyal

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Fluttershy greeted as she and Discord approached the usual meet up place. A picnic blanket was laid out in the middle of said place, with Twilight and Rarity sitting down on it while sorting plates.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Fluttershy. Hello, Discord," Twilight said, looking up from the plates for a moment to smile at them. Rarity was quiet a bit longer, looking over Twilight's "work" before glancing at the two as well. "Yes, good afternoon to the both of you!" she exclaimed.

Pinkie Pie waved to them from a patch of grass nearby, grinning wide. "Hi, guys!"

Applejack was relaxing against the only tree in the area, though she tilted her hat up to make eye contact with them. "Howdy~"

Discord took a moment to cherish how they were welcoming him, then smirked and leaned into the side. "Ah, for a second, I thought we were late, but Rainbow Dash isn't here. She's such a punctual pony, after all."

"Oh, do not remind me," Rarity said with a slightly groan. "For such an athletic pegasus, she can be quite lazy and tardy, if I do say so myself."

"Hey! I heard that!"

The group blinked confusedly, looking up as a blur of light blue, obviously Rainbow Dash, flew down from the sky. She slowed as she neared the ground, flying over to one of the branches of the tree and laying down, relaxing on it.

Rarity snickered. "Beg your pardon? I didn't hear you over the sound of my timer going off."

She focused, her horn glowing as a watch suddenly appeared in front of her. She squinted, as if to check the time, then teleported the watch away. "Yep. Five minutes and twenty-six seconds late~"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "What's five minutes—"

"—and twenty-six—"

"—Yeah, yeah, whatever~" The cyan pegasus shrugged again. "You guys haven't even started yet, right? So it's cool, I'm not really late!"

Twilight chuckled. "It's alright, Rainbow; it's not like we're mad or anything."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Exaka-tacka-ly! So come on down here and join us, silly!" she exclaimed.

Discord watched as Rainbow Dash scanned the ground below. If the other ponies showed any signs that they noticed her locking eyes with him for a split second, he didn't see them.

"No thanks. I'm cool up here," she said, relaxing further. "I'll come down when it's time to eat though!"

Fluttershy frowned a bit, then flew up to the branch that Rainbow Dash was on, perching herself onto it and staring at the cyan pegasus. "You shouldn't be up here all alone though Rainbow Dash."

Discord would've happily agreed if that would've meant that he didn't have to give up Fluttershy being next to him.

Rainbow Dash shrugged slightly, then stared over at Fluttershy and chuckled. "You perch yourself like a bird."

"H-huh?" Fluttershy asked, confused about the sudden conversation change.

Twilight raised a hoof. "It's not much of a surprise really. Fluttershy's around so many animals; she's probably picked up their habits."

"I think it's rather charming myself, personally," Rarity added. She paused, then gave a small wink to Discord. "I bet that you agree with me, don't you, Discord?"

Don't drag me into this...

Discord shrugged sheepishly, causing Pinkie Pie to giggle. "Oh, don't be like that, Discoooord! You're all sweet and stuff to Fluttershy and you know it!"

The draconequus couldn't help being slightly embarrassed that the conversation was suddenly directed back to his affection towards Fluttershy. He looked up to the mentioned-pony, who flew back down from the tree and sat next to him.

"Speaking of sweet, we brought some cupcakes with us," she said, taking hold of the basket around Discord's arm and setting it down. The rest of the ponies let out a soft "oooo~" while Discord managed a sigh of relief; he certainly hadn't wanted to be in that conversation. Not that he didn't like Fluttershy - he obviously did - but he still took a bit of pride in being the more firm of the two. Fluttershy was the more openly affectionate one.

Rarity smiled, levitating the box out of the basket and setting it on the blanket. She opened it up, then gazed at the six cupcakes inside. "They're all so darling, Fluttershy! Which one is mine?" she asked.

Fluttershy tilted her head at first, as if taking a moment to remember, then directed her hoof towards the box. "The purple one's for you, Rarity. The pink one's for Pinkie Pie, yellow for Applejack, rainbow for Rainbow Dash, and red for Twilight."

Twilight handed out the cupcakes accordingly, then gazed at the remaining cupcake. "I'm surprised. I thought that this white one would be for Rarity."

Fluttershy shook her head. "That one's for Discord."

The draconequus raised a brow as he was handed said cupcake, staring at it quizzically before gazing back at Fluttershy. "So the box is yours then?" he asked with a small smirk.

Fluttershy blinked, not understanding him at first, then looked down at her empty hooves, a blush coming to her cheeks. "A-ah... I guess I forgot to order one for myself..."

Discord chuckled, then simply broke his cupcake in half. "That won't do, you know," he said, handing her one half while ignoring the small "awww"s that were coming from Rarity.

Fluttershy nodded, taking the half politely and giggling. "It's a surprise."

"Hm?" Discord asked.

"The flavor. It's a surprise," she told him. "You like surprises, so I asked Missis Cake to surprise me by making the cupcake a random flavor."

Pinkie Pie grinned wide. "Ohhh yeah! I made that one!" she exclaimed, bouncing somewhat as she gazed at the two cupcake halves.

Discord suddenly gazed at the cupcake with a bit of pretend fear, as if dreading whatever strange flavor she came up with. "And, what flavor would this be then?" he asked, acting as though he was extremely cautious.

Pinkie Pie lifted her front hooves, waving them slowly. "All of theeeeem~"

Fluttershy deadpanned, then stared at the cupcake with a curious expression. "A-all of them?"

She paused, then bit into her half, her eyes going a bit wide. "How... um... interesting?" she said questionably, not sure if she should like it or not.

Discord chuckled, eating his own half in one large gulp. "It's a surprise, isn't it?"

Fluttershy smiled at him and nodded. "I suppose!"

Rarity giggled. "You two really do make such an adorable couple, you know?" she asked. "I apologize for being harsh on you before this all happened, Discord, but don't worry; I trust you now for certain!"

Twilight nodded her head in agreement, but frowned as Rainbow Dash let out a small groan. "Oh, don't be that way, Rainbow," she said. "You're not jealous, are you?"

Rainbow Dash quickly sat up with a start. "W-what!? No, of course not!" she yelled, giving Twilight a glare that only made the alicorn giggle in amusement. "I'm awesome enough all by myself!"

The pegasus huffed, her wings ruffling in annoyance and her gaze drew back to Discord and Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie tilted her head. "Then what cha all pouty for?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash paused, soaking up the brief silence, then sighed. "I just don't like how he's got his hand all around her and stuff..."

Discord looked down, noticing that his hand had involuntarily wrapped itself around Fluttershy, who leaned against him affectionately.

Twilight nodded knowingly. "Makes sense. You've known Fluttershy the longest, so naturally you'd be concerned that Discord would hurt her feelings."

Her gaze slowly shifted to Applejack. "And you, Applejack? You've been extremely quiet this whole time. You don't mind them, do you?"

Applejack looked over to Twilight, frowning a bit. "Ah never said that."

"So you do mind them then?" Rarity questioned.

"Ah never said that either," Applejack said, shaking her head. She glanced over at Discord and Fluttershy, then shrugged. "Ah'll admit, Ah don't completely approve, but that doesn't mean Ah don't support ya. Ya'll are mah friends, after all."

Twilight nodded understandingly. "Yeah, you're pretty traditional; I can see you thinking that it's a bit odd," she mused.

Applejack grew very serious. "Ah do, but Ah do support mah friends, no matter what. Ya got that?" she asked, wanting to stress the fact.

Fluttershy nodded. "And I appreciate that."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted, as if feeling left out. "I support ya too, you know!" she said. "Just... stop with all the cute stuff already!"

Discord smirked, pulling Fluttershy onto his lap just to let Rainbow Dash know that he wasn't changing his attitude for anypony. The cyan pegasus pouted slightly, but seemed to accept it anyway; just very begrudgingly.

Twilight giggled, looking back over to Applejack. "At least you're honest right from the get-go."

"A'course," Applejack said with a grin, ignoring the shouts of "Hey! I can be honest from the get-go too!" from Rainbow Dash. "It's mah element, after all."

"Absolutely," Rarity agreed. "It shows. Though..." She took a glance at Discord and smiled sheepishly. "...admittedly, it's almost funny having you here, Discord. Not that I mind you, but our picnics usually involve just the six of us; the Elements of Harmony. Not that you feel out of place, but—"

"—OHHHH, I know!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, raising a hoof. "Let's give Discord an element!"

Twilight stifled a laugh. "Pinkie Pie, you can just go around and give someone an element; there's only six, and we can't give him one of ours!"

"I know that, silly! But let's just pretend!"

Rarity tilted her head, intrigued. "Pretend, huh?"

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were locked on Discord, making the draconequus shift uncomfortably at first.

"Can't we just call 'im the "Element of Chaos"?" Applejack asked.

"Chaos isn't a value," Twilight argued.

"Says the "Element of Magic"," Applejack said with a chuckle.

Twilight pouted. "M-magic is totally a value!" she shouted, though scrunching her snout a bit as she actually thought about it.

"The "Element of Reformal" perhaps?" Rarity suggested.

"I believe you mean "reformation", Rarity," Twilight interjected. "And even then, that depends on the definition you use."

Pinkie Pie wagged her tail, becoming excited from the little "game" that was going on. "Oh! Oh! What about the "Element of Selflessness"?" she asked. "That's a value-magig, right?"

Twilight blinked, taking a moment to consider that. "That's... actually not a bad suggestion," she muttered, sounding surprised.

Pinkie Pie's grin grew wider, while Discord watched the ponies debate about it in their head. "You can't call one act of good intentions "selfless" and then label me with it, can you?" he asked. "Might I remind you of all the selfish acts I've done before?"

"True, but that was before now," Twilight said. "Before you gave up your powers for Fluttershy. You were so concerned about proving yourself to her that you were willing to do anything. I'd say that's pretty selfless, don't you?" she questioned.

Discord took a pause, but was cut off before he could start talking.

"Either way, it ain't like you're an actual element of anything," Applejack said. "So we can call ya whatever we want, Ah reckon."

Discord couldn't help chuckling at that. "Very well. I'd prefer that I not be an element anyway; I rather like the size of my beard," he told them.

Twilight snickered as she remembered her "Rainbow Power" form, waving her hoof dismissively. "Of course, of course."

The draconequus nodded, though suddenly began to stare at her, as if wondering about something.

He only broke out of his brief stupor when Fluttershy nudged him with a hoof, looking up at him with a concerned expression.

"You okay?" she whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear. "You've been distracted lately."

Discord debated with himself a bit, then nodded. "Okay enough."

Fluttershy scrunched her snout, unsure if she should believe him or not, but reluctantly accepted. "If you say so..."

Rarity looked over to the two, grinning. "Now, enough element talk. Let's get on with our little picnic, alright?"

Discord and Fluttershy nodded approvingly. "Alright!"

Less Than Reality

Fluttershy opened her eyes slowly, seeing a blank area of white ahead of her. She blinked confusedly, then slowly stood up, trying to gauge her surrounding. Around her was nothing but a gigantic white room, with no furniture or anything. She could tell where the floor met the wall, but walking towards it didn't seem to take her anywhere.

She rubbed her head, trying to remember how she could've gotten there. She was at the picnic with Discord... then they walked home, took care of the animals... and then went to bed.

Ah, so I'm dreaming... right?

Fluttershy sat down, glancing around as her tail shifted uncomfortably. Dreams were supposed to be vivid and vibrant, so why was she seeing nothing but white? She considered the fact that she might've been having a nightmare, but nothing was inherently scary about a large white room. She traced the shape of a circle on the floor with her hoof, then began to feel cautious. What if something intended to jump out at her?

She swallowed nervously, glancing up at the ceiling and only feeling slightly relieved when she saw nothing there.

"H-hello?" she called out in mild desperation. Her voice echoed, but there was no response.

"...Discord?" she tried, placing a hoof to her forehead and hoping to dream him up. She waited, then gasped as she felt a presence behind her, instantly turning around to see who it was.

"You called?"

She smiled wide, despite knowing that it wasn't really him standing there. "Discord!"

Discord smirked in amusement. "You act like you haven't seen me in a while. I assure you that I've been around."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No no! I'm just... happy to see you here, you know?"

He grinned in response. "What a surprise; rare for somepony to say that."

"Ah... that's not true, Discord. All of your friends... _we're_ always happy to see you."

"Is that a fact?" Discord mused, placing a hand to his chin. "Huh..."

"You alright?" Fluttershy asked cautiously. Though knowing that this wasn't Discord, she couldn't help feeling a nagging concern.

"Lovely!" he replied, twirling around a bit. "Though this place _is_ admittedly very cramped and constricting."

"Cramped and constricting?" she repeated, looking around the white room. "It seems a lot more spacious to me..."

"Perhaps we don't meet eye-to-eye in that way, Fluttershy," Discord said with a shrug.

Fluttershy frowned somewhat, but nodded anyway. "I suppose so."

A silence followed, only being filled by the gentle sound of her heartbeat. Discord paused to take one more look at the room, then locked eyes with her. "Would you like to walk alongside me?"

"W-walk?" she asked, tilting her head at the sudden question. "Um... okay, but I don't think we'll get anywhere. I already tried, and the room moves with me," she explained.

"Perhaps it's a metaphor," Discord suggested, smiling slightly as he began to walk. Fluttershy raised a brow, following him.

"A metaphor for what?" she inquired.

"Could be anything," he said. "Do you feel like you're getting anywhere in life? You're not exactly the richest or most productive mare in Equestria."

Fluttershy frowned, her ears flopping down. "That doesn't matter to me. I have great friends, a great job, and a special someone who's indeed very special to me."

"You think far too small, Fluttershy," Discord argued. He snapped his fingers, and a tree suddenly appeared above them, which he hung himself upside-down from using his tail. "Your world is upside-down and you don't even know it."

"What do you mean?" she questioned, sitting down and staring at him. Discord rolled his eyes, then shrugged.

"It's quite simple, really. Your job involving animals takes up nearly half your day. Don't you ever want to do more with your life? Do you have a dream?" he asked in reply.

Fluttershy shook her head. "Not really. I'm happy with what I'm doing. Besides, I have you and my friends. What else could I need?"

"Ugh!" Discord groaned, pulling himself up onto the branch and sitting on it. "You can be so boring sometimes, Fluttershy. I could think of a thousand things that would be more fun than that."

"Like... what?" she asked cautiously.

Discord grinned slightly. "If I decided to return to my chaotic roots, would you join me?"

Fluttershy blinked, shocked at the question. She didn't need to remind herself that this wasn't really Discord, but it still concerned her as to why she'd dream him up this way.

"You told me that you'd never go back..." she muttered.

"That's not an answer~" Discord chimed. "Yes, or no?"

She gazed at him uneasily, almost as if... debating?

"...No, I wouldn't," she told him.

"Oh?" he asked, his gaze sharpening slightly, as though he was insulted. He knelt down to her, then gestured out with his hands.

"So our little relationship means nothing? A simple shift from good to evil would deter you that easily? I thought you held affection for me, Fluttershy. Do your little friends mean more than me? If so, wouldn't that negate all signs that we should be together? Honestly, that seems a bit shallow."

Fluttershy's ears lowered as she absorbed his words. Was it fair to question her like this?

"That's... not what I mean at all. You mean everything to me, Discord," she argued, a strange bit of confidence rising with her tone. "I'm saying that you wouldn't do that; you wouldn't turn bad again. You told me that you wouldn't, and I believe you. You got rid of your powers for me, after all. Besides, even if you did somehow turn bad again, I still wouldn't go with you. The good Discord is the one that I admire... that I fell for. I probably wouldn't have the heart to try and stop your evil deeds, but that doesn't meant that I'd go with you..."

She flinched slightly as she spoke the last word, feeling an aura of aggression appear around Discord.

"I could very well have been lying to you. How can you be so certain? You were so sure of my reformation before Tirek, and all of a sudden, you're willing to take my word for it again? What about my powers, if I got them back? They're cramped shut in a little jar at Twilight's castle; all I'd have to do is open it again and absorb the energy inside. Would you stop me? Would you be hurt?"

Fluttershy stared at the draconequus, trying to make sense of why he'd be saying such things to her. However, she eventually stood firm and gazed at him seriously.

"...That's a trick question," she stated simply.

"Is it now?" Discord shot back. "And why is that?"

"Because my Discord wouldn't do that," Fluttershy said. She paused for a moment, then swallowed nervously as she looked downwards. She had never called Discord "hers" before. He had certainly called her "his", but she had never done the same for him. Saying it though... felt right somehow.

She took a breath to absorb what she had just said, then glared back at the draconequus.

"He'll never go back to his former roots. He still loves chaos - I know that - but he'll never go back. He'd never do that to me because he wants me more than his powers; he never would've given them up if he didn't. He chose me over chaos..."

She brought a hoof to her face, shyly wiping a stray tear from her eyes. She had never really thought about this before; how much Discord really cared for her.

"I-I never thought that someone would ever like me that way. I have friends, and I appreciate every one of them, but I never thought that someone would think of me in such a way. You remember... I told you that I was weak and helpless. Sometimes, I try and help my friends and I just feel like I don't do enough for them. As much as I want to, I end up becoming cowardly and..."

Her voice trailed off as she gazed at him, sitting down as she let out a sigh.

"...That's why this is making me upset..." she said.

"Hm?" Discord grunted slightly.

Fluttershy frowned, rising back to her hooves as she pounded the ground below her.

"What makes me upset is that I don't know who you are! You're not my Discord, so what are you?" she asked. Honestly, she had been holding it back for a while.

How dare this... this imposter... disguise themself as the one she cares for most, then expect to talk to her and just get away with it? Fluttershy was aware that she wasn't as smart as some of her other friends, but for this dream-Discord to think that she'd fall for such a fallacy was almost insulting.

The draconequus stared at her with a partially intrigued expression. "I'm Discord, obviously."

Fluttershy's gaze sharpened. "Not mine..."

A long silence followed, with "Discord" staring at her inquisitively. His stance shifted slightly, his tail swishing back and forth in a rhythmic motion, occasionally hitting the ground despite not making a sound.

Fluttershy waited for him to speak, her eyes locked with his as the nervousness in her heart grew more intense.

Finally, he craned his neck to the side, the noise it made echoing in her ears.

"...Well, Fluttershy."

Suddenly, he glared at her, twisting his body around and causing his tail to viciously slam into her.

She gasped, then flew back a few meters, tumbling for a while before managing to regain her ground. It didn't hurt, but it still shocked her. Instantly, she turned around and started running towards the other direction, the room no longer moving with her.

However, a large wall suddenly bolted up from the ground, stopping her in her tracks. She turned, biting her bottom lip as the room slowly turned into a large labyrinth of sorts. She jerked her head to the figure behind her, then ran down a random passageway, hoping that she hadn't made the wrong choice.

The imitation gave chase, though she failed to see the somewhat sadistic grin on his face as she didn't dare to look back at him.

"Why run, Fluttershy? I'm bound to catch you after all~"

She ignored him, her hooves slamming against the floor as she continued to gallop away, turning corner after corner in hopes of getting away. She didn't even have any course of action; she just wanted to find a way to leave this nightmare.

"Trying to get ahead, hm? We certainly can't have that, now can we?"

The sinister voice rang in Fluttershy's ears, causing her to yelp in sudden pain as her head began to throb. How was this happening? This wasn't real. Was the fake causing this? How could it?

She shook her head, reminding herself that it didn't matter; perhaps she fell off the bed and landed on her head.

But no. That wouldn't be possible. She was certain; Discord would've caught her if that was the case. He wouldn't have let her fall, asleep or not.

She swallowed, trying to make sense of it all. Maybe... maybe—

"KYA!!"

Fluttershy flinched as she slammed against one of the walls, having not been paying attention to her surroundings.

A dead end...

She cowered, curling up as she brought her hooves to her head, the throbbing only increasing in severity.

The Discord fake walked closer, eyeing Fluttershy with a wide smirk. She whimpered, not understanding the situation. This had to be a dream. Otherwise, he'd be here to help her.

"Discord..." she murmured softly. "...DISCORD!!"

She sobbed slightly, then gasped as she felt two arms circle around her, pulling her into the owner's chest. She looked up, her face instantly brightening.

"D-Discord?" she asked, even turning her head to the copy to ensure that he was still walking towards her. The imposter had stopped, now glaring at the two.

"It's alright, Fluttershy," Discord assured, holding her gently in the hopes that it'd calm her down.

She sniffled. "M-my head hurts... he's hurting my head..."

He looked at her confusedly, then slowly brought his hands up to delicately massage the sides of her forehead.

"I've got you. Now wake up, Fluttershy."

"D-Discord..."

"Wake up, Fluttershy. Wake up."

Fluttershy let out a weak moan, cautiously opening her eyes as she suddenly found herself back in her room.

Her and Discord's room.

Her eyes drifted upwards, seeing Discord looking down at her worriedly as he held her.

She let out a small murmur of contentedness, then brought her hooves around him in an embrace.

"I'm sorry. I was dreaming... of you, but not you. I knew it was a dream, but... but it hurt my head. That... that fake, he..."

Discord pulled her closer in an attempt to get her to stop talking. "It's alright now, darling Fluttershy. You're awake now, aren't you?"

She shuddered slightly at the utter tenderness in his tone. "M-mmhmm. I am..."

"Then it's nothing to worry about, right?" Discord asked, gently running his eagle claw through her mane. She nodded, and he slowly sat her back down, despite not wanting to.

She breathed slowly, rubbing her eyes until she was fully awake, at which point she tensed up, seeing the sunlight outside.

"O-oh! I-I should be up! I-I need to—"

"-Fluttershy."

The pegasus stiffened, already off the bed, then turned her head to Discord. "Y-yes?"

The draconequus shifted uncomfortably, making it clear that he didn't want to say whatever it is he planned to, but eventually sighed and said it anyway. "Do you... need me today?"

Fluttershy thought about it at first; with what had just happened, she was still frazzled, but Discord must've known that. He wouldn't ask if whatever this was wasn't important.

"I suppose not. Do you have an errand to run?"

Discord slid off the bed and stood up, gazing at her with a nod. "It's rather important, yes."

She smiled softly, the small shivers in her forelegs quickly dying down. "That's alright. You go off and do whatever it is you need to. I'll be fine," she assured.

Discord hesitated, then slowly made his way to the door.

He needed answers now, and he knew just where to go.

Less Than Safe

He knocked at the door patiently; the door to Twilight's castle.

Somehow, someway, here he was again; wanting to talk to the alicorn about a problem that involved himself and Fluttershy.

It felt all too familiar.

Even as the door opened, there was Spike, just like before, gazing up at him with a confused look.

"Uh, hey, Discord," he greeted, locking eyes with the draconequus as if he was trying to discern what the problem was beforehand.

Discord got straight to the point. "Is Twilight here? It's of the utmost important that I talk to her, you know."

Spike blinked, somewhat surprised at the seriousness he was seeing. "Why? Did something happen to Fluttershy?" he guessed.

Discord's gaze sharpened. "I don't know yet."

The dragon tilted his head, a claw on his hip. "Urr... well, I guess you can see her if it's super important like you're sayin'. She's probably in the library section again. I can lead you there if you--"

Discord was already moving past him. "I remember the way."

"Wha--hey!"

Spike's shouts were ignored as the draconequus moved down the hallways, replaying the path he had taken with Spike only days ago in his head.

He was suspicious, and he had a right to be. First the voices in his head, and then Fluttershy having a nightmare like that specifically on the same day; one about 'him' no less? She had nightmares before, but they were never about him. He knew there was the obvious chance that he was wrong, but he wouldn't allow any suspicions go unchecked.

Especially not now; not when Fluttershy had become involved.

Lucky for him, he remembered the path perfected, arriving in the library section in only a few minutes.

Twilight sat there as usual, absorbed in a book. Discord tilted his head, somewhat amused, then walked up to her.

The sound of his footsteps seemed to get her attention, and she looked up at him with a puzzled expression. Slowly though, her frown twisted into a smile.

"Well. Doesn't this feel familiar?"

She chuckled, her book slowly floating to the floor as the magic aura around her horn dissipated, letting Discord know that he had her full attention.

"So? What cha need?" she asked.

Discord gazed around the room, as if searching for something. He pat his chest, then looked back to Twilight.

"Do you still have it?" he questioned.

"It?" she asked in reply, tilting her head.

He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "My chaotic powers."

Twilight's eyes lit up in acknowledgement. "Oh!" She nodded her head, then gazed at a table nearby. "It's over there, in the right drawer."

Discord glanced over to the table, eyeing the drawer as Twilight directed a hoof towards it. He paused at first, almost glaring at it, then walked over and opened the drawer, pulling out the jar.

"D-Discord, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, standing up and walking towards him.

The draconequus shook the jar uncaringly, watching the energy swirl around, then turned to Twilight and pointed at the container with his free hand.

"If I release this energy, can you contain it for a few minutes?" he questioned.

Twilight blinked, not understanding him. "So, you're not trying to get your powers back? Then--"

"--I have a sneaking suspicion that simply must be quelled," he explained with a shrug.

Twilight raised a brow. "Um... I mean, if you really think so, I don't see why not..."

The alicorn stepped back, focusing her magic on the energy as Discord pulled the lid off.

Before it could cause any damage, Twilight quickly shot it with a beam of light, keeping it in place as the draconequus stared at it intensely.

Suddenly, the room around him faded, and he found himself in an area made up of only white. The energy in front of him slowly transformed until it was a perfect likeness of himself.

"I was dreaming... of you, but not you."

Discord didn't hesitate to glare at the figure in front of him.

"So, it was you then, hm?"

The imposter tilted his head, pouting.

"She's quite the difficult one; had so much faith in you. It was rather annoying really. It's no wonder we couldn't corrupt her with mere words," he said, lazily leaning to his side.

Discord growled. "So you grew a personality and decided to go after her?"

"Grew a personality, huh?" The fake shrugged. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Maybe I've been a part of you all along and you just tore me out of you along with your powers. Maybe I was just a big ball of energy before we separated, and I grew my own mind. That doesn't really matter though, does it?"

Discord crossed his arms, not even bothering to answer the question. "So you don't have a body and want me back, hm? You decided to go after Fluttershy's mind while she was asleep."

He gestured his arms out to the whiteness around him.

"This is some sort of mind dimension, isn't it? The only way you can interact besides poking at me with negative emotions?"

The imitation put on a wide smirk. "Why, yes. And you went through the trouble of coming here to get me! Isn't that just the sweetest thing?"

"I'm not here to take you back," Discord said with a huff, insulted at the idea.

The fake gasped audibly and immediately pouted, though Discord didn't take it very seriously.

"You've become so boring, my physically-stable-pal," the phony-draconequus stated, turning around and throwing his hands into the air.

"You have no idea what you have, do you?"

Discord didn't respond, slightly irking the fake, who continued anyway.

"You've got a body perfect enough to contain all this power. So much chaos! We could go back to the way that things were before; back to when we ruled the world with a chaotic-fist! We could reclaim our role as the spirit of chaos and create masterpieces of nonsensicalness!"

"That's not a word," Discord interjected with a glare.

"Oh, you've been hanging around that library-pony far too often! Why do you insist on making friends with such creatures? You even got rid of me... ME; Your best pal for thousands of years! We flipped buildings, bent space, and distorted reality in all kinds of ways! Turn your back on those dumb ponies and we can return to that! We can enslave every pony in the world and enjoy every wonderful moment of it!"

Discord's eyes widened slightly at his last line. How he said it; his tone when he spoke him.

This...this wasn't him. This wasn't Discord. This had never been him. There was a malicious gaze in his energy's eyes; one that he had never owned himself. It was sadistic in a way, and it made the draconequus uneasy.

Taking what the fake had said into account, he could only assume that, when they separated, Discord had taken away every last bit of his sanity, leaving none for his chaotic energy to hold onto.

"You've become cruel and unfeeling from our time away," he said, placing a hand to his heart. "I'd never take you back, knowing what you'd do to the world with my body. You'd only try to burn me out and leave yourself remaining as the dominant personality."

The imitation faked a frown, walking in a circle around Discord as his tail swished back and forth.

"Ahh, that's too bad, you know," he said. "...But thanks for leaving the door open for me."

Discord instantly flinched, the meaning clicking with him as he reached out towards his double in a panic. Instantly, he was knocked to the ground, the whiteness fading as he suddenly found himself back in the library.

He grunted, looking next to him to see Twilight laying there, barely conscious as her horn flickered with magic.

"Twilight!" he shouted, rushing over to her and shaking her body in hopes that it'd stir her.

She groaned, slowly opening her eyes and gazing at him. "D-Discord, what happened? I was just focusing on containing it, and suddenly..." Her voice faded, her mind not seeming to comprehend the events that occurred afterwards.

Discord looked over to the door next, being just in time to see a fleeing ball of energy.

"I...I need to go," he told Twilight, standing up and rushing towards the door as fast as he could.

"Discord! Discord, wait! What's going on!?"

Fluttershy... be safe, Fluttershy!

Less Than You

Discord stood outside the door to Fluttershy's cottage, his chest heaving viciously as he tried to catch his breath. He was gasping for air, his legs sore and his throat dry. The run had made him completely exhausted, and he hadn't seen a trace of his chaotic energy the entire way there.

He grabbed the fence to stabilize himself, panting loudly and sweating profusely. He was strong, for sure, but speed and sprinting weren't his specialty.

He pushed off that concern for later though.

Looking over at the door, his eyes widened slightly as he noticed that it was cracked open. Usually, he would put this off as the work of one of Fluttershy's animals, but the earlier events had made him tense and uneasy at the sight.

He wasted no time, putting aside his exhaustion as he pushed the door open. Instantly, his eyes locked onto the yellow pegasus lying on the floor, her eyes closed and her mane sprawled out amongst the wooden floorboards.

He rushed over to her side as quickly as he could, lightly shaking her in hopes of getting a reaction of some kind.

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy, wake up!" he said, his words demanding, but his tone betraying it by sounding desperate.

At first, she did nothing, almost as if she was a lifeless corpse. Discord felt his breath hitch in his throat, his hands quickly reaching towards her heart to search for any sign of a pulse.

Tell me... tell me he didn't—!

Instantly, relief sunk into his tense bones as he felt the beat of Fluttershy's pulse. Upon pulling away, the pegasus began to stir, shaking her head tiredly before opening her eyes.

"Mmm?"

She blinked, as though her vision was blurred. Discord sighed in relief that she was awake, and she turned her head to him.

"Discord? ...You're back?" she asked.

The draconequus nodded, smiling weakly.

"Of course I am!" he said in his usual cheery voice. Suddenly though, his tone dropped to one filled with concern. "What happened?"

Fluttershy stared down at the floor, then slowly stood up. "I... don't remember. I was looking for Angel, then I heard the door open and—"

She flinched slightly, but didn't seem to acknowledge it. "...then, nothing."

Discord gazed at her sympathetically, looking back towards the door warily.

She glanced at him, tilting her head. "So, where were you?"

He jerked his head to her, having not expected the question. "Why do you ask?"

Fluttershy's gaze became a little more tense. "I was just curious. Can't I ask?"

"No, no, that's not it," Discord replied, waving a hand dismissively. "I needed to go see Twilight at her castle."

"Oh..."

The pegasus glanced downwards, lightly moving a corner of a nearby rug with her hoof. "...For what?"

He raised a brow. "It was just a matter that needed to be dealt with; a suspicion that needed to be satisfied."

Fluttershy nodded slowly, her teeth becoming visible as she bit her bottom lip uncomfortably. "...Something important?"

He tilted his head. "You're asking a lot of questions, darling Fluttershy."

"Is that a bad thing or something?" she asked, her tone becoming somewhat aggressive.

Discord's mouth dropped slightly. "No, no! It was important, alright? Yes, it was important!" he replied.

Truthfully, he had been suspicious of her actions the moment she had gotten up. However, he decided to play along for now. She wasn't harmed at very least; he was sure. His earlier fears had been alleviated, so he remained calm.

For now.

"So what were you doing then?" Fluttershy questioned, tilting her head.

"I was... checking on something," Discord responded hesitantly.

"I thought you said it was important. Is it too important to tell me?" she asked, pouting slightly as she gazed at him.

He shook his head. "That's not it at all! I just—"

"—You don't trust me..."

"No!" Discord interjected, his tone going sour almost instantly. This clearly wasn't Fluttershy - he was certain of that - but just the sheer fact that his own chaotic energy (he assumed that's what it was) was taking control of her and trying to convince him that she didn't think he trusted her...

...and expected him to believe it!?

Why couldn't you take over one of the ponies in Ponyville who tried to knock me unconscious?

"I trust you more than anyone, Fluttershy," he told her, having discarded the usual 'darling' for the moment.

"How can I believe that?" she asked, lowering her gaze. "Twilight's such a better pony than I am. I bet you—"

"—NEVER."

Discord stood up abruptly, almost glaring at the pegasus. If only chaotic energy had a neck to strangle...

"Fluttershy, are you alright?" he then asked, swallowing slightly as he tried to keep his cool, not wanting to seem aggressive.

"...Yes. I'm fine," Fluttershy replied, nodding her head. Discord didn't buy it for a second, but casually shrugged anyway.

"If you say so."

He paused, then looked downwards as he noticed two animals - a squirrel and a chipmunk - fighting beside Fluttershy's hind leg, probably wanting attention. Fluttershy had a lot of animals, so they naturally fought for her love at times.

The yellow pegasus blinked, noticing Discord's gaze. Slowly, she turned her head and eyed the two animals, her eyes flashing a foreign emotion that Discord couldn't quite recognize.

"Sally. Ray. You two are always fighting for my attention, aren't you?" she asked, watching the two continue to squabble.

Discord crossed him arms, watching as Fluttershy made very minimal effort to break the two up. She mostly just stared at them.

"Oh! Ray! Sally! Please don't fight over me like this! I'll spend time with both of you, I promise! Just stop fighting!"

Those words never came like they usually did. Discord huffed, earning Fluttershy's attention.

"Are you going to stop them or not?" he asked, his Discord-y tone gone completely.

She tilted her head, frowning, then looked back at the animals. She slowly reached out to touch them, but stopped at the last second.

"...hehe...heh..."

Discord sharpened his gaze immediately, watching the yellow pegasus suddenly begin to roar with laughter.

"Come on now! It's too much fun to watch them at work! Place your bets, why don't you?" she asked, trying to hold back small fits of giggling.

He frowned, shrugging. "I'm willing to bet that you're terrible at holding up this act," he replied.

Instantly, the pegasus went back to pouting, her tone changing into a much darker and sinister one. "I won't deny that; not the best idea to possess the pony that you know so well."

She brought her hooves up, slamming them into the floorboards, which broke under her strength. Slowly, the room became distorted, all of the animals fading from sight as Discord found himself on rocky ground; he recognized it as the place where Tirek and Twilight had fought.

'Fluttershy' looked at him, her eyes slowly turning a strange yellow. The cheerfulness left them completely, and her irises turned red. The only other place that Discord had seen anything similar was in a mirror.

"I guess you realize that I want you out then," Discord said, pointing at the yellow pegasus with an aggressive expression.

"Oh, I do want out, believe me," the fake told him. "However, I can still use this mare's body for my chaotic feats. Only a few before it becomes too much for her, but she'll get the job done nicely. If you had just agreed, this wouldn't be a—"

"—Don't pin this on me," Discord interjected. "Besides, if you want me so bad, then come get me."

He held out his hand, giving a taunting gesture to the imitation.

The pegasus glared at him, clearly insulted. "Fine then! Have it your way!"

Discord prepared himself as he was charged at, watching Fluttershy's wings flare out in frustration. However, he smiled, holding out his arms as the pegasus jumped at him.

He caught her, and she squirmed in confusion.

"W-what!? Wait, you were supposed to—!"

"I'm here to reclaim my Fluttershy."

"I can't change that, but I can assure you that it won't happen again."

"Silly Fluttershy. You know as well as I do that roses have thorns."

The pegasus squirmed as a sudden memory rang in her head, her forelegs going to her head as she groaned.

"T-this doesn't make sense! You should've been knocked unconscious the moment I touched you! How!?"

Discord smirked. "You said it yourself; it was a bad idea to take over my Fluttershy's body. She'd never be able to hurt me, and thus... you can't either."

She glared at him, though quickly smirked back. "Alright then. Be that way! I'll just have to deal with you elsewhere."

Discord blinked, looking around as he watched his surroundings fade to white.

The mind-verse. Of course. The only place his chaotic energy could have a physical form.

He glanced back at Fluttershy, then gasped as she fell limp in his arms.

"Fluttershy? Fluttershy!"

A voice called out from behind him.

"She'll be just fine for now; merely out of it."

Discord turned, glaring at the ball of chaotic energy behind him, which slowly copied the draconequus' form, just like before.

It grinned wide.

"You stay right there. We're going to have another talk. And I think you're going to listen to me quite closely this time."

Less Than Discord

Author's Note

Precautionary warning: You may hate this chapter.

Less Than Discord

Discord sat quietly in the mind-verse (as he so chose to call it), staring across at his supposed double.

No. Not double. He couldn't call it that. This wasn't Discord; wasn't him. This was some sort of psychotic version of something that wanted nothing more than to cause pain.

Was he... ever like that? He knew that he never wanted to kill, but...

That attitude. The way that this nutcase carried itself. Did he used to act like that? Taking so much joy in the suffering of others and caring about no one but himself?

He looked down to Fluttershy, who was still unconscious in his arms. He felt a twinge of guilt rise within his heart, remembering the day he had turned her against her friends. It felt like forever ago...

She became the opposite of who she was, and while it made him laugh a thousand times over all those weeks ago... he just felt sorry now. He didn't want to admit it, but the copy standing in front of him now was what he used to be, at least in a sense.

However, unlike himself, who merely shut out the emotions that made him more passionate and loving, this... thing, didn't have anything to shut out. It was a lesser form of himself; that's all he could call it.

With that in mind, he couldn't help but wonder. If he had never been reformed... never turned to stone...

Was this what his fate would've been? To become like that?

It was odd for the thought to suddenly come to mind, but he assumed that it was the fault of the mind-verse. His body probably wasn't even there; it was all in some sort of mental existence where his mental body just happened to look like his physical body because that's what he identified with. Obviously, he could be wrong, but he figured that the mind-verse tested the boundaries of one's mind. No repressed memories were allowed; he saw everything he ever did at once. Every corner of his mind was being peered into at once.

Curiously, he examined Fluttershy, wondering if she looked any different to confirm his suspicion of a mental body. Instantly, he noticed the white rose in between her mane and ear, which was completely unwilted.

A small smile tugged at his lips, his claw reaching up to gently stroke the side of her head. She moaned slightly in response, nuzzling against his body affectionately.

"D-Discord..."

He held her closer, shaking his head. "Shh, Fluttershy. Stay asleep for now."

Discord heard a chuckle in front of him, then glared at his imitation.

It smirked. "Isn't that just adorable?"

He huffed. "If you think you're going to make me let go of her and come back to you, then you're going to find yourself rather disappointed."

The fake raised a brow. "Oh? Is that a fact? You know full-well that this is my specialty."

Discord tilted his head, jabbing a thumb at himself. "I'm well-aware; because it's mine too."

"Is it now?"

The imposter walked over, and Discord gripped Fluttershy protectively.

"Because, if you ask me, I'd say that you're losing your touch," it said, shrugging casually. "After all, without me, you have no power visually. The only thing that snapping your fingers does anymore is make a sound."

It snapped its fingers and grinned, the word 'sound' appearing in front of it. It grabbed it, then crushed it in its hands. "And I don't mean like that~"

Discord rolled his eyes. "And? You say that as if it's a big deal."

The copy grew closer, its gaze sharpening. "So it's not? Are you saying that you never once thought of getting your powers back?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but quickly shut it.

"Hmmm~? Is that a 'no'?" it asked, tilting its head with an amused gaze.

Discord shook his head. "I could say that, but it'd make me a liar. Admittedly, I've had moments where I wanted my powers back. But..."

He pulled Fluttershy closer for emphasis. "I never thought about going back for them. It was never a need, and the life I have now—"

"—Is BORING," it argued, throwing its hands up in the air. "You haven't caused a single chaotic explosion in what seems like forever!"

Discord glared harshly. "Chaos isn't the only thing that's ever made me happy. It used to be, but not anymore."

His double rolled its eyes, facepalming as it frowned. "You idiot! Chaos was our life! Our goal was to bring it everywhere we went! Ugh, I'm ashamed to have been a part of you."

Discord smirked. "Feel free to never come back."

"Ohhh no. Don't think you can get away like that," it told him. "I still need your body for chaotic conquest; it's just a matter of wearing you down until I can reclaim it."

"You act as if its yours," he said, raising a brow doubtfully.

"That's because it is! That body wasn't made for normality and harmony! It was made for destruction! Desecration! Disorder! Your name is Discord for crying out loud! You allowed yourself to sink to the low level of these ponies, and now look at you! You're disgraceful!"

Discord wagged a finger. "Hey now, you just said my name is Discord. It's not 'Disgraceful'! If you're going to insult me, you might as well get my name right for this whole conversation."

The fake's gaze sharpened, its ears flopping down in anger at the realization that Discord was merely toying with it.

"Do not mess around with me. You will hand over my body, and I'll be certain to burn your remaining personality as painfully as possible."

Discord faked a yawn. "Sorry! I can't hear you over your obvious lack of friends."

The copy growled somewhat, rushing at Discord and getting right in his face.

"Do you honestly think that I won't hurt you in here? You're putting on this act just to spite me until I give up on you. Do you recall the glorious chaotic acts we used to perform together?"

Discord raised an open hand to his ear. "Is there an echo? I feel like I've just heard this before."

At first, the imitation said nothing, gazing at Discord with an emotionless face. A few minutes seemed to pass, at which point it stepped backwards, tightening its hands into fists.

"You are going to take me seriously. You don't deserve to have that body!" he said with a raised voice, pointing an accusing finger at Discord.

The draconequus rolled his eyes, but mentally admitted that there was a sudden shift in the copy's tone.

But, as long as he kept his cool, things should be fine... right?

"I may not, but I think it's safe to say that I deserve it much more than you."

It huffed in response, but slowly began to smirk. "Is that right?"

"Ye—!"

Discord winced suddenly, feeling a sharp pain shoot across his lion arm. He bit back a yell, glancing over to see a large cut across his shoulder, the fur around it slowly turning red.

Instantly, his tone shifted. His doppelganger wasn't going to mess around with words anymore.

Discord turned his head back, taking a small breath before speaking.

"Alright then. Let's talk."

The fake chuckled darkly. "Yes. Let's."

It gestured its hands out, flexing its fingers as a small ball of energy appeared in its hands. "Now that I have your undivided attention, perhaps I should give you one last chance? Let me remind you of the power you possessed."

The copy snapped its fingers, and the ball flew up, then behind him. It merged into the ground, promptly turning into a large fire. The fire slowly expanded, forming eyes and a mouth as it stared at Discord.

It opened its mouth, shooting small dragons at the draconequus, though they did nothing more than bounce off his face before disappearing in puffs of smoke.

His copy laughed wildly. "A dragon-breathing fire. How's that?" it asked, rubbing its hands together as sparks of electricity formed between them.

Discord turned his head away slightly, refusing to respond.

The fake gritted its teeth, snapping its fingers again to banish the fire. "Do you realize my power? Our power?" it questioned.

It waited for Discord to respond, but when he didn't, it clapped its hands. The white room began to collapse somewhat, revealing cracks of black everywhere. The cracks extended outwards, turning into a dark array of chaotic colors.

"I can distort everything to my will, Discord. Would you rather die here than surrender your body to me?"

Discord blinked, acting unphased by the threats despite the distorting world around him.

The imposter smirked. "Or perhaps you'd give in if I can eliminate the yellow symbol in this equa—"

Suddenly, it was Discord's turn to get in someone's face. He stood in front of his copy, his squinting visage almost laughable had it not been for the rage he was letting off.

"You will not - I repeat - you will not, touch, Fluttershy."

The imitation stared speechless for a moment, mostly stunned by the speed at which Discord had gotten up.

Fluttershy was still cradled in his arms, but this time, she actually moved, shifting about as one of her front hooves reached up to his shoulder.

Discord's angry gaze faded as he looked down at her. She was only partially conscious, but he didn't want her in the middle of this in the slightest. "Fluttershy, shh. Everything's fine."

The yellow pegasus swallowed, as if trying to cure a dry throat. "Mmm... Discord..."

The draconequus' mouth twisted, as he wasn't sure how to feel; he was glad that she was awake, but was worried that she had become conscious at a bad time.

"...Yes?" he asked cautiously.

"Pinkie...Pinkie Pie and Twilight... were wrong, mmf..." she murmured.

Discord raised a brow; she didn't seem to be aware of what was going on.

"You're...you're not the... ngh... Element of Selflessness. Not to... me..."

The fake standing in front of Discord chuckled slightly. "Ah, seems she's turning on you~"

Discord wasn't listening to it at that point, all of his attention locked to Fluttershy.

She nuzzled her head into his fur, breathing softly as she continued.

"You're... you're more than that. You're so... important to me. I think... I think..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, but quickly came back.

"I think you're... the Element of... Emotion."

Discord blinked confusedly, but Fluttershy continued before he could say anything.

"You've stirred up... so many emotions in everypony. Good, bad... so many emotions. I know that ponies get... mad at you, but that's... just because they don't know you yet. Your friends... all forgave you... despite all the things you've done. Doesn't that... doesn't that tell you something?"

She curled up, lovingly cuddling against him.

"I don't know if it... helps you feel better, but..."

The pegasus went quiet, and Discord shook her lightly in response, at least wanting her to finish.

"...you made me a better pony... because of it. You...you stir a lot of emotions in me too..."

Discord gazed down at her as her mouth closed, informing him after a few seconds that she was done talking.

The fake looked at him, chuckling again. "How sickeningly sweet. It appears that we've come at an impasse then. Unless I pry that mare away from you, you won't cooperate with me, right?"

The draconequus was silent at first, then glanced back at the copy and smirked. "Oh, I'd very much like to see you try."

It blinked confusedly at the sudden taunt, then returned the smirk. "Very well then."

It backed away, snapping its fingers as the fire reformed itself, charging at Discord.

However, it suddenly stopped as it reached him, as if frozen in place.

"W-what!?" the imitation questioned, its mouth agape as it stared at the sight.

Discord grinned. "You would do well not to play with my darling Fluttershy. She just caused me to realize something."

The fire flew back into action, but hit the ground harshly as the room began to fade back to normal.

"This little world you've placed us in; it's powered by the mind, is it not? You led Fluttershy and I here because you believed with no doubt that you had the ability to overpower me on mind alone; any magical powers are nonexistent here."

The fake shot him a quick glare, but went back to a neutral expression right afterwards.

Discord smirked, holding Fluttershy with one arm and snapping his fingers. A small ball of energy appeared in his hand, which he swiftly threw at his double.

The doppelganger chuckled. "Ha! So you've figured it out then. But really, there's no way you can—!"

Its voice cut off abruptly as its arm was blown clean off, disintegrating into nothingness.

"W-what!? I-I—"

"—It's like I said," Discord told it, summoning another ball of magic with the snap of his fingers. "This place is powered by the mind, and with Fluttershy and I here, you have no power."

The fake glared at him, its form changing back to a floating ball of chaotic energy.

"Ha! As if you would ever actually try to defeat me! Fool! I am your chaotic powers! If you destroy me, you'll never get them back, ever!"

Discord paused, his hold on Fluttershy tightening. "...Then you better start writing your will, hm?"

The draconequus held out his hand and fired, a beam of light breaking through the copy, which cringed from the contact.

"N-no! I won't allow this!" it yelled, trying to fight against the light. "You're the spirit of chaos, and yet you allow this pony to drive you? That's not chaotic in the slightest; it's just stupid!"

Discord glared back, the light intensifying with every second as he watched his chaotic powers slowly disintegrate.

"Chaos doesn't define me. I define chaos."

The energy flinched, pushing back against the light. "Rrr! If I... if I'm going to die, then I'm taking you with me!"

Discord's eyes widened as he watched it rebel against his light, charging towards him despite its continuous dissipation.

The draconequus gripped Fluttershy in a brief embrace, then threw her to the side before feeling a sudden pressure on his body that almost instantly faded.

However, pain then struck his entire being, and he fell to the ground as the world began to fade around him.

"...Nnn...?"

Fluttershy stirred slowly, feeling somewhat sore as she slowly opened her eyes.

"W-wha...what happened?"

She brought a foreleg to her head, rubbing it gently as she looked around. Almost instantly, she recognized the area as the place were Tirek had fought Twilight all those weeks ago.

But... what am I doing here?

She winced, her head throbbing as she tried to recall. She remembered Discord leaving, then feeding her animals...

And then nothing.

She blinked, recalling her nightmare last night, where she had similar thoughts. Did this mean something? Did—

Immediately, Fluttershy stopped thinking as she heard a groan from behind her. She jerked her head around, recognizing the voice as Discord's.

"D-Discord?"

He was just laying there, barely moving and looking badly cut up, most of his wounds bleeding and seeping into his fur.

"DISCORD!"

Fluttershy rushed to his side, gently shaking him and trying to get him to grow conscious again.

"Discord? Discord, please say something!"

Despite her pleas, the draconequus remained quiet, his breathing being very soft and weak.

Now panicking, Fluttershy looked around, hoping to find someone who could help. She couldn't very well leave him on the edge of the Everfree Forest; not like this.

"S-somepony! Anypony!" she cried out in desperation.

"HELP!"

She waited, but got no response, gazing back at Discord tearfully.

When did this happen? Had she just been asleep? She remembered speaking to him, but he wasn't responding to her. Was that a dream? She couldn't remember...

"Dis...Discord..."

She sobbed, not knowing what to do. If he remained out here for too long, his cuts were bound to get infected, but leaving him to go get help would allow the Everfree animals to attack him. She couldn't carry him or drag him in a safe manner either, so she was at a loss for what she could do.

"I-it's okay," she muttered, her hoof reaching up to lightly stroke his face. "T-Twilight'll come looking for us. We can t-take you to a hospital, and everything w-will be alright..."

She paused, staring back down at his wounds.

"Everything will be alright..." she repeated, as if to convince herself.

Her foreleg went back to the ground, though her gaze remained locked on her love.

Love...

When had that all happened? Long ago, she never considered that she'd ever find somepony.

Well, technically, that still held water; Discord wasn't a pony at all.

She hadn't even realized that she was in love with him at first. She had just treated him like a friend.

Then, one day, she was walking along the floor, pausing as she saw Discord asleep on the couch, which had been chaotically transformed into a bed. All of her plans and errands were forgotten suddenly, and she just found herself staring at the draconequus for a few seconds. A few seconds turned into a few minutes, and he then began to wake up, causing Fluttershy to jump and instantly look away.

He yawned, rubbing an eye before looking over at her as the bed returned to its normal couch-y state.

"Good morning, dear Fluttershy."

Dear. Dear Fluttershy. Now, he called her 'darling' as opposed to 'dear', but she still couldn't forget the original.

Mostly because, the moment he had called her that on that morning, her heart leapt up like never before.

"G-good morning, D-Discord," she had said in response, swallowing nervously with shaky forelegs. She didn't know why she was suddenly stuttering, but Discord went to her side and felt her forehead.

"Something wrong, hm~? The animals will rebel if I've let you get sick~" He chuckled, and the combination of that along with his close contact made her cheeks burn up like a thousand of Celestia's suns.

"Y-yeah, I'm alright!" she replied, nodding her head slowly.

Discord raised a skeptical brow, but accepted it anyway, shrugging and moving around the room.

"If you say so~" he sing-songed.

Fluttershy hadn't even shifted her hooves anywhere for a few seconds after that, her mouth dropped slightly as she stared at the draconequus.

Slowly though, she regained use of her mouth, mumbling quietly under her breath.

"Discord, I think I'm in love with you."

Fluttershy blinked the memory away, sighing softly. Discord hadn't heard her then, but would it had made a difference if he had? Maybe he would've never betrayed them for Tirek, or even considered it!

She paused, then shook her head. That didn't matter now.

She drew her gaze back to Discord's wounds, frowning.

However, she abruptly blinked at the sight.

Then blinked again.

Most of his cuts were cleaned suddenly. She couldn't even explain how; she had zoned out at her memory, and then... this.

She raised a brow and twitched an ear, trying to make sense of it.

...And that's when she noticed.

That's when she realized that she was closer to Discord than before.

That's when she caught herself mid-lick.

...No...

No. Tell me I didn't just...

Fluttershy withdrew her tongue, only now taking note of the metallic taste in her mouth. Her hoof rose to her snout, lightly touching it as the realization dawned on her.

For the past five or so minutes, she had just sat there.

And she had licked most of Discord's wounds clean.

Instantly, her mind raced as she questioned why. Her mind became disgusted by her own actions.

Yet... she found that it had been effective. The wounds she had licked were clean and no longer bleeding.

Slowly, she thought back to her animals; they would do this all the time, but ponies? She had never seen it before.

Perhaps she had spent so much time with her critters. Maybe that was why.

She learned their language. Learned their mannerisms. Had they... rubbed off on her?

Inside, she feared Discord's reaction to such an act. Ponies didn't do this. They didn't lick each other's cuts clean; they got bandages and first-aid kits, or rushed the injured pony to the hospital.

However, Fluttershy didn't have those luxuries right now. She only had the determination to help Discord in anyway she could.

And no amount of fear from the possible disgust she'd receive would stop that.

Without hesitance, she crawled next to Discord, huddling against his side in hopes that he would sense it. Almost instinctively, her tongue touched another cut.

Everything will be okay, Discord.

I promise...

Less Than Hurt

She didn't even remember hearing the sound of ponies shouting.

She didn't remember the sound of them galloping up to her.

She didn't remember the sound of ponies asking if she was alright.

However.

She remembered becoming alert as they took him away from her.

She remembered them putting him on a stretcher and taking him away.

She even remembered following, as if by instinct, despite Twilight's constant assurance that he'd be fine.

And now, she sat in the hospital room, having just gotten the opportunity to sit in there and see him, though he was sound asleep with most of his arms and legs being wrapped in bandages.

Fluttershy gazed at him, her eyes never moving away as she sat firmly on a chair.

Everything had just been one big blur. She barely recalled anything; just basic events that led up to this. Her mind had finally clicked back to normal as the doctors and nurses tore her aware from Discord and forced her to sit outside of his room. She had paced back and forth until they had finished, then practically pushed through them the second the door opened. Once she noticed that Discord was asleep, she had just pulled up a chair and sat there.

Now, swallowing nervously, she continued to watch. Every nurse and doctor had assured her that he'd be fine, and that Discord had even been awake when they were bandaging him.

But still. She had to see it for herself. She wanted to be there the second he opened his eyes; no doctor or nurse could change that.

The sound of the door behind her opening made her ear twitch, but she still didn't avert her gaze.

"Uh... Fluttershy?"

The yellow mare shifted slightly in her chair, not looking away, but acknowledging the visitor's presence.

"Hello, Rainbow..." she muttered, promptly hearing the cyan pegasus take a seat on the floor beside her.

"Hey..." she murmured, sounding uncomfortable.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, but Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off.

"You alright? I mean, Discord..." Her voice trailed off.

Fluttershy nodded her head. "He's gonna be okay. They told me that he was already awake and everything earlier, but that doesn't mean that I don't wanna be here for him. That wouldn't be fair..."

Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I get that..."

An awkward silence came after that, the only sound in the room coming from the cyan pegasus tapping her hooves against the floor.

"Ur..."

Rainbow Dash gulped somewhat, then rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"L-look, Fluttershy. I...I'm sorry about... y'know..."

Fluttershy smiled softly. "Yeah, I know. It's okay."

"It's just... it's Discord, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash told her. "I trust him - I guess - but I didn't expect you two to... and then this... and..." She trailed off, nervously rubbing a foreleg. "Augh, I'm no good at this."

Fluttershy giggled. "It's alright. I understood, and I'm sure that Discord did too," she assured.

Rainbow Dash nodded, then paused before staring back at the draconequus. "Eheh... so, what happened?"

The yellow pegasus shrugged in reply. "I don't know; I think I was unconscious for most of it," she said, her tone lowering slightly.

"I just... know that he was protecting me..."

Rainbow Dash raised a brow, intrigued. "Yeah? How do ya know?"

Fluttershy put a hoof to her snout, unable to come up with a solid answer. "I...I'm not sure how I know, but..."

She directed her hoof towards Discord's bandages. "I just... know. We were out at the edge of the Everfree Forest. I wasn't injured at all. I don't know if he got attacked by the animals, but somehow, we got out there. Somehow, something was trying to attack me; and I just... think..."

Rainbow Dash finished for her. "Y'think he took a blow for ya?"

Fluttershy nodded firmly. "Exactly; the nurses and doctors even checked me over to make sure I wasn't injured. There wasn't a scratch on me..."

There was another silence as Rainbow Dash carefully eyed Discord, her face looking unusually serious.

"...Well..."

The cyan pegasus stood up, gazing over at Fluttershy with a chuckle. "I know ya aren't leavin' until he wakes up, so I guess I better fly outta here, huh?"

Fluttershy giggled in reply, at which point Rainbow Dash smiled at her, promptly leaving.

However, though Fluttershy felt somewhat relieved that it was just her and Discord now, the sound of Rainbow Dash slamming the door shut made her jump.

She blinked, surprised, then watched as Discord slowly began to awaken from the sound, groaning softly before opening his eyes.

"D-Discord?" Fluttershy asked, nearly squeaking at his name.

He looked over to her, just taking in her appearance, then chuckled. "Did someone get the number of the magic that hit me?"

"Discord!"

Fluttershy instantly brightened up, her wings fluttering a few times in excitement. "You're okay?"

The draconequus grinned at her. "Seems so. Those ponies told me that I shouldn't be doing any hard labor for the next week or so, but feh; what do they know?"

The yellow pegasus nodded her head, though barely able to take in his words from how suddenly cheerful she was.

"I'm just so glad that you're alright! I-I mean, I knew you'd be okay, and they even said so, but—"

Discord waved a hand dismissively, giggling. "It's alright, darling Fluttershy."

She smiled wider, becoming overwhelmingly happy just from hearing him say her name.

He smirked in amusement, noticing her excitement, then tilted his head and mused, "Although..."

Fluttershy's ears perked at his sudden shift in tone. "Y-yes?"

Discord glanced at her, then shrugged. "The strangest thing happened when I woke up earlier."

"O-oh yeah?" she questioned, feeling her forelegs stiffen suddenly.

"Yes. I noticed that all the wounds I had were cleaned already. I asked the doctors about it, but they told me that they were clean before I even got here..."

Fluttershy swallowed nervously. "I-is that right?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

Discord frowned, watching her direct her head downwards.

"...Fluttershy."

The pegasus glanced at him briefly, then returned her gaze to the floor.

His mouth twisted as he lightly tapped his blanket. "It was you, wasn't it?" A light chuckle came from his throat. "Somepony had to do it, and..."

He paused, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "...I believe that, for just a moment, I was conscious enough to know how."

Instantly, Fluttershy's wings and forelegs came up to cover her face. "I-I didn't mean to! Honest! I-it just—"

"—Fluttershy."

The yellow pegasus didn't respond at first, then slowly moved her wings and hooves away. Discord shifted to the side of the bed, patting the other side before holding his arm out to her. "Come here."

She gulped, her cheeks red, then slowly got off of her chair and climbed onto the bed. Immediately, she was pulled to his side, causing her to blush terribly.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Discord said, smiling at her.

Fluttershy looked downwards. "W-well, it's just... not polite, to lick someone's wounds like that."

"So you regret it then?" he asked.

"W-wha? No, never! I had to stop the bleeding somehow!" she replied, locking eyes with him.

Discord laughed. "Then that's all there is to it."

He paused, then pulled the pegasus closer, earning a light squeak in response.

"You're... brilliant, Fluttershy..."

She gulped loudly at that statement, flushing at the absolute tenderness in Discord's tone.

The draconequus even seemed slightly embarrassed, bringing his free hand up to his chin to rub it.

"I wasn't fully awake when the doctors and nurses were all around me, but I do remember what they were saying... somewhat," he explained. "That I was lucky. The Everfree Forest was a dangerous place. Something about the bloodstream, infections, blah~"

He stopped there, knowing that anything else would've just been him gushing about how amazing she was.

...Not that it would've been a bad thing, but what was the fun of it if there wasn't anyone around to brag to?

Discord chuckled, entertaining that thought for a while before glancing back at Fluttershy, who remained curled up against him. He reached over, ignoring the pain in his arms as he pulled her onto his chest.

"Does this feel familiar?" he asked, smirking slightly.

Fluttershy paused, not understanding at first, then flushed as she realized his meaning.

"Y-yeah... it does," she said, relaxing against him and sighing contently.

He gazed at her, his eagle claw reaching up to slowly stroke her back. Fluttershy let out a small sound of surprise, then giggled, nuzzling her head into Discord's chest.

He smiled, continuing to caress her until he began to hear a continuous rumbling sound come from her throat.

He stopped stroking, causing Fluttershy to look at him confusedly.

"Something wrong...?" she asked, her tone sounding slightly worried.

"Oh, no. Nothing," Discord said. "Just..."

He brought a hand up to his chin and smirked.

"I didn't know ponies could purr."

Fluttershy swallowed abruptly, her face heating up. "W-we can't! I-I mean, we shouldn't be able to... um..."

Discord brought her closer to his face, chuckling. "It's perfectly alright; just another thing that makes my Fluttershy special from the other ponies, I suppose," he mused.

She let out another squeak. "U-um! N-not really, I'm—"

She stopped speaking as Discord gingerly kissed her forehead. At first, she was frozen, but she then tilted her head up, allowing her lips to come in contact with his. They both shuddered, savoring the sensation before slowly pulling away.

"Ah..." For once, Discord was strangely silent, a small smile on his lips.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "I-if I didn't kiss well enough or was too forward, I could—!"

She gasped slightly as Discord embraced her, the draconequus chuckling quietly to himself.

"It's not, darling Fluttershy, I'm just..." He paused, trying to think of the right words. "...trying to gauge my luck."

The yellow pegasus blushed, allowing him to cuddle her affectionately.

Then, for the first time in his life, though only for a moment, Discord cried happily.

THE END

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!"