Like all good things in this world, it was time for the Grand Galloping Gala to draw to a close. Princesses Celestia and Twilight stood at the palace doors, saying farewell to all the guests and bidding them a safe journey to their respective homes. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had left earlier that night when the three younger fillies they had escorted grew too tired to do anything but sleep. Pinkie Pie bounced herself alongside her sister, Maud, out the door, cheerily thanking Celestia for the fun as they headed for the train to take them back to Ponyville.
Tree Hugger, Fluttershy's friend that she had taken along as her 'plus one', was also going home, but she lived in a different part of Equestria so she was boarding a different train. The yellow pegasus hugged her nature-loving friend goodbye, tearing up through her smile. Discord hung back, his claws and talons interlocked in front of him as he patiently waited for a good time to approach. He had done enough interfering with Fluttershy's friendship with Tree Hugger for one night. His own guest, the Smooze, had already been teleported home with a quick snap of Discord's claws.
"I'll write you soon, okay?" Fluttershy smiled sweetly as the two ponies separated from their hug. "And thank you so much for coming, I do hope you had fun!"
"Yeah, it was pretty groovy," Tree Hugger said in her drawn-out way of speaking. "Totally rad pals ya got, Flutters. Keep 'em close. Though I don't think that Discord guy would allow the alternative, ya know?" She gave Fluttershy a slow wink before she moseyed onto the train platform, waving her hoof as it took off down the tracks.
Fluttershy giggled lightly and waved back, waiting until Tree Hugger was gone completely from sight. Discord cleared his throat and carefully approached now that they were alone, his claws tucked behind his back.
"I take it you're about to leave for home as well, Fluttershy?" he asked her with a sad smile, not wanting to say goodbye to her just yet.
The pegasus looked back at the train that would be leaving for Ponyville, the conductor announcing the last call for passengers. "I-I suppose I should," she replied to Discord, giving him a sad smile in return."It would take a while for me to fly myself, and I don't want to pester Princess Celestia with boarding me overnight," she added with an unsure glance back towards the palace gates, the top of Celestia's flowing hair barely visible from there.
Discord beamed a smile at her, cracking his knuckles as he stretched his arms out above his head. "Good thing you happen to be friends with the Spirit of Chaos!" he laughed as he snapped two of his claws together towards the sky.
Before Fluttershy could brace herself in preparation for whatever he was up to, she gasped audibly as she witnessed the stars aligning themselves to form what appeared to be a bridge. Her teal eyes beheld the marvelous structure which extended up and over the land and trees, the end of it assumingly placed where her cottage would be. The millions of gently twinkling stars confined together illuminated the dark night much like how candles dimly lit up a dark room.
"Oh my," she said in a state of soft awe as she reached a hoof out to test the stability.
"Come now, Fluttershy," Discord chided her playfully, popping up in front of her unexpectedly. "You actually think I would have you walk on something that would collapse from under you?"
"Oh n-no, of course not," the pegasus smiled bashfully, hoping she hadn't offended him. Though she did feel a bit silly in retrospect; even if it weren't stable, she could easily fly above it. "Sorry...it's quite lovely, Discord."
Pleased to hear this, he grinned wide enough to show all his teeth, his ears perked up to their full height on either side of the orange top hat he still wore. "You're too kind," he said, offering his paw out to her. "Shall I escort you home via midnight stroll, my dear?"
Fluttershy blinked her long lashes at him, glancing into his yellow-and-red eyes; the light from the star bridge made them glow more than usual, but the twinkle she saw in them wasn't from any star. She swallowed, suddenly feeling more shy than she should have been around someone she considered one of her best friends. Discord flapped his mismatched wings as he hovered in place, his smile turning more nervous the longer she left his offer standing.
"Of course," Fluttershy answered him with one of her sweet smiles, gently placing her hoof in his paw as she stepped forward onto the star bridge.
Discord sighed inaudibly in relief, his paw carefully wrapping around her hoof for a moment before allowing her to put all four hooves down. Fluttershy looked down between her legs, amazed that the stars were holding her up so well. It was like walking on a cloud, only firmer.
"See? Told you that you wouldn't fall," Discord boasted as he glided beside the pegasus on his back, his arms behind his head and his wings pushing him along through the air. "Never thought I'd have such an eye for detail, did you? Must be Rarity's persuasion," he added, his hat briefly turning into a mess of luscious purple curls that mimicked the fashion pony's.
Fluttershy giggled behind her hoof, sighing lightly as she admired the view. "This is most gorgeous thing I've ever seen!" the pegasus had to agree as she became more comfortable walking on literal starlight.
The lights were reflected in her teal eyes, softly giving her yellow fur a warm glow. Discord sighed, gazing at her in adoration. It wasn't that Fluttershy wasn't pretty all the time, but seeing her all fancied up in her dress with her mane up and with the romantic glow of the stars washing over her, it was enough to take his breath away. "Yes, it is," he responded quietly.
"I hope Princess Luna doesn't mind us borrowing the night stars," Fluttershy suddenly worried out loud, oblivious to her friend's subtle compliment.
Discord blew a raspberry, waving a dismissive paw before wrinkling his nose. "Oh please, MoonButt doesn't own everything that comes out in the dark," he fussed a bit.
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at his disrespectful tone. "Discord..."
"But I suppose we can ask her," he quickly added, throwing a forced chuckle in as he tugged at his bowtie; the last thing he wanted to do was upset Fluttershy even more. Discord reached out and grabbed at the night sky, tugging down and making it snap up and roll a few times as if it were a curtain. Fluttershy blinked and stood in place as she stared at the sight of Luna's face staring back at them.
"What is the meaning of this!" the alicorn princess of the night unintentionally screamed in Discord's face in her "royal voice", making his ears and horns fly off his head humorously.
"Quiet down, don't you know most ponies sleep at night?" Discord griped at her as he popped his missing ears and horns back on. He ignored the irritated glare Luna was giving him, though it made Fluttershy grow anxious. "Anywho, my dear friend Fluttershy here wanted to know if it was all right to borrow the stars for a short while. I promise to put them all back where I found them later."
Luna blew out her breath and put her hoof to her forehead as if to relieve a headache. "Very well," she finally answered him, though she still looked a bit peeved at having been dropped in on like this. She glanced at Fluttershy, who smiled nervously back at her and waved shyly. "But only because I know what you dream about at night."
Discord blinked before snapping his fingers quickly, making Luna disappear. "Heh, feel better? She doesn't mind at all!" he said to his pegasus friend with a nervous smile, floating right-side up now as they continued their stroll.
"What did she mean by that?" Fluttershy asked him curiously, her head tilted to the side so she could look up at him.
"Oh nothing, nothing, she's just, uh, talking crazy!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his lion paw while doing the twirly motion beside his ear with one of his talons. "Living on the moon for a thousand years tends to have that effect on you!"
"I see," Fluttershy answered slowly, not convinced that was the case. She gasped when Discord materialized above her, his head craned downwards to peer in her face so she wouldn't have to look up while walking.
"I really am sorry about tonight," he said in a solemn tone, frowning as he slowly flapped his wings, rolling sideways to fly beside her. The tips of his claws and talons tapped together in an distraught way, worried that she was still angry with him even now. "It was rude and childish and selfish of me. I should've had more faith in how strong our friendship is."
"That was...embarrassing," Fluttershy admitted quietly with a small sigh, her head down as she pretended to observe the stars under her hooves. "Making such a fuss about me in front of everypony like that. I'd thought you'd be okay with my having other friends...you never got upset when I spent time with Rarity or -"
"I know, I know!" Discord cried, putting his paw over his face. "I don't know what I was thinking, I just...I wasn't thinking. I just got so jealous that you invited some friend that I'd never heard about to the biggest event of the year, and I had this silly idea that you would maybe ask me to go and it made me feel like you forgot about me, and-" He realized he was rambling, and that Fluttershy was staring up at him with huge eyes. "Sorry, I didn't ask you to go on a midnight walk on a bridge of stars to hear me whine about...stupid stuff," he mumbled.
"Nono, it's not stupid," Fluttershy insisted with a frown, putting her hoof on his shoulder in a comforting way. "I suppose I should apologize too..."
Discord jerked his head towards her with a surprised expression. "For what?" he wanted to know, flying out a short ways in front of her to where he'd be flying backwards as she walked. "I'm the one who ruined the evening, acting like possessive -"
"I-I don't mean the part where I got upset at you," she emphasized, her eyes still focused down. "I meant what I said about us having different friends with different interests. What I'm sorry for is that I didn't notice that you were upset...I was so excited about seeing Tree Hugger again, that I failed to notice anything else and ignored you and everypony else the whole time." She raised her head up again, Discord able to see her eyes getting dewy with tears. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have treated you like that and left you out. I would've asked you to the Gala, b-but I thought for sure Celestia had sent you a-"
Fluttershy let out a gasp when she found herself walking right into Discord's open arms, the draconequus wrapping himself around her carefully as not to crush her evening dress. She blinked a couple times, a tear falling down and landing on the orange fabric of Discord's tuxedo. "Di...Dis-"
"Please don't cry," Discord told her in the most gentlest of tones, his claw caressing one of the curls in her mane. "You've already cried once because of me, and I promised myself I'd never do it again."
He shut his eyes, gritting his teeth together as he remembered the way she'd cried when he betrayed her to Tirek not too long ago, throwing their friendship to the wind in exchange for power. Like he'd had any right to get angry with her for making new friends and accusing her of ditching him, when he was the one who had done that very thing.
"Don't apologize for having fun with your friend. I can't expect to be in the spotlight all the time," he continued on with a heavy sigh. "You're the best friend I've ever had, and all I ever do is make life miserable for you. You don't deserve somepony like me in your life..."
"Dissy," Fluttershy murmured as she choked back a sob, her front hooves trying to find an open space to where she could hug him back. "That's not true. I...I look forward to our tea times on Tuesday. It's one of my favorite days because I know I get to see you," she said with a tiny smile. "I always feel like I can talk to you about anything, and you make me laugh when I don't feel well, and...and every time the mail comes, I always hope there's something from you."
"Do you really?" the Lord of Chaos asked, releasing his much smaller friend from his tangled hug and looking down on her with a surprised look on his face.
"Of course I do!" Fluttershy smiled through her tears. "I know you don't have a lot of other friends yet, and maybe that's why you're feeling like this...but-"
Discord chuckled a bit, snapping his claws together to make a handkerchief appear there. "Oh my dear, I could have tens upon thousands of friends across Equestria, but none of them would matter as much to me as you do." He dabbed at her cheeks and under her eyes with the fabric to clear them of her tears before making the handkerchief vanish again.
Fluttershy blushed, biting her bottom lip as she looked down and to the side shyly. She felt as though the butterflies that composed her cutie mark had come to life in her belly. They had ascended to the highest point of the star bridge at this time, soft wisps of clouds dusting against them as the wind softly stirred them. Luna's moon hung directly over them, looking quite lonely without the stars to keep it company.
"You mean a lot to me too," Fluttershy told him in a tiny voice with her head down, her styled mane starting to fall a bit from the clouds' humidity.
Discord grinned happily, trying his best not to audibly squeal. "Can I have a dance with you?"
Not expecting such a random request, Fluttershy flew her head back up too meet his eyes. "A...a dance...?"
"W-well, I didn't get a chance to at the Gala, you see," he explained, his claws clasped together almost as if to beg her. "And it's such a nice night, and we're all dressed up and by ourselves out here, so..."
"I'd love to," the yellow pegasus smiled at him before he could finish. "Though you're so much taller, I don't know how we would-"
"You keep forgetting who exactly you're talking to," Discord smirked proudly with a wink, adjusting his height enough to where it'd be more comfortable for Fluttershy to stand on her back hooves and rest her head on his shoulder like normal couples.
Fluttershy gasped when she heard faint orchestral music coming from an unseen origin, a piano, a violin, and a cello being ones that she could pick out right away. She easily glanced into Discord's eyes as he was much shorter than he usually was now, his paw extended towards her much like he had earlier when she first stepped foot onto the star bridge.
"Shall we?" he asked her through half-closed eyes, trying to not seem too eager and scare her. Everything from here on out depended on him playing his cards right; he couldn't afford to mess up with her again.
She felt that fluttering feeling in her stomach again, swallowing and trying to calm her nerves; there was no sense being nervous around Discord, she kept telling herself. Besides, it would break his heart if she were acting skittish around him, as if he'd done something wrong.
Instead of answering, she nodded, balancing herself on her back hooves. One of her front hooves went over Discord's shoulder, the other one placed in his paw where he gently squeezed it. She felt his claws go around her lower back over her dress, her spine feeling tingly. The wind gently rustled her mane, making her shiver a bit and unintentionally leaning forward more against the draconequus.
Discord inhaled the sweet flowery smell that Fluttershy naturally possessed, sighing quietly when she rested her chin on his shoulder. Without even thinking about it, they started to move with the music in a slow waltz atop the stars. Fluttershy relaxed after a few moments, snuggling her face into the crook of Discord's neck. He rested his head against hers, a smile of pure glee plastered to his face.
"I've never done this before," Fluttershy admitted sheepishly, wondering if she was doing this right.
"Good," Discord quipped back before clearing his throat. "I-I mean I'm glad that I get to be your first, that is."
"Yeah," the pegasus smiled with a little sigh, hugging herself closer to him. "Me too."
Discord didn't think he could get much happier. In his excitement, he accidentally strongly pumped his wings enough to make them rise up above the bridge, the two hovering at least two feet.
Being a pegasus, Fluttershy had no reason to fear falling once she realized there was nothing under her hooves. Her own wings expanded to aid in holding herself up, giggling into Discord's shoulder when they started to lazily spin in small circles. Even though this was a completely new experience, she felt surprisingly at ease in the arms of one of her closest friends, dancing along the tops of stars in the middle of the the night.
It was the most romantic thing she'd ever done.
"Romantic," the word echoed in her mind, making her blush a little more. Was it possible that-
Discord dipped her unexpectedly, the pegasus letting out a surprised squeak and then a giggle when he righted her again. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself," he admitted with a low chuckle, never taking his eyes off his pretty friend. He may have been the embodiment of Chaos, but the way he felt around her was a completely different type of chaos all together, one that he wanted desperately to cling to and never let go.
"It's okay, it was fun," Fluttershy continued to giggle as Discord lightly planted their feet onto the star bridge once more. Her eyes blinked in surprise as she realized they had already made it to the end of the path, her cottage only a few yards in front of them. "Oh my, we're already here."
"So it seems," the draconequus stated almost sadly.
The music gradually grew more faint until it drifted away all together, the pegasus sad that the moment was over. "Thank you for the dance," she blushed as she self-consciously smoothed part of her gown with a hoof.
"Any time," Discord smiled gently at her. He inhaled deeply and blew air into his thumb, popping himself back into his original size. "Hopefully that made up for the chaos I plagued the earlier part of the evening with."
She giggled lightly at his joke politely behind a hoof. "I think that more than made up for it."
Discord lingered a bit, wanting to visit longer but he didn't want to overstay his welcome either. He didn't want Fluttershy thinking he was too clingy. "Well, I suppose I should really head for home too," he blurted out with an exaggerated yawn. "More dishes to dirty and dust bunnies to shove under the couch, you know."
Fluttershy shook her head with a smile; she never fully understood everything he said. "Oh, well, if you have to," she said, a little disappointed that her night was already over.
Discord performed a little bow, lifting his hat a bit. "Til we meet again, dear Fluttershy," he smiled at her as he lowered his hat back down. "Thank you for a most marvelous evening."
She smiled and curtseyed at him with a light giggle, her right leg tucking under her as she lowered her front half to the ground partway. "Same to you." She paused briefly, her cheeks a tad flush. "Um, Discord?"
He perked his ears up expectantly. "Yes?"
Fluttershy shyly pawed at the ground in front of her. "I-Is it okay if I...give you something?"
Grinning ear to ear, Discord hovered above the ground horizontally so he would be at Fluttershy's eye level. "Oooh, something for moi?" he beamed excitedly though he tried his best reign in his enthusiasm. "You really shouldn't have, but I do love surprises! Do I get to close my eyes first?"
"If you want to," Fluttershy squeaked out, her eyes shutting partially as she glanced into his.
The Chaos Spirit shut his eyes, figuring that was the best way to calm her nerves. "All right, I'm ready for my-"
When he felt the warm peck from Fluttershy's lips on his cheek, he lost the ability to talk for a moment, his whole body growing stiff as a board. His eyes popped open again in shock just in time to see Fluttershy step away from him with an endearing shade of pink spread over her cheeks. Discord put his paw to his cheek as he registered what just happened, the warmth from that spot seeming to spread over him like wildfire.
"I...I got..k-kiss from...Fuh..Flutter..." He couldn't help letting out a little squeal of joy, his tail curling up in a spiral underneath him as he hugged himself. Letting out a gleeful laugh, Discord suddenly disappeared in a blink of magic.
Fluttershy giggled at his reaction before gasping as she watched the star bridge dissipate into its individual stars, rising up to meet the night sky and return to their rightful place. It was like being amidst a field composed of millions of fireflies, lightly flickering as they floated up and around the small pegasus. She let out a bubbly laugh, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful sight of the wind carrying the stars away, much like cherry blossoms on a warm spring day.
When the last star found its rightful place in Luna's night sky, Fluttershy exhaled gently and turned to head towards her cottage. When she reached the door, she saw a bouquet of purple flowers there waiting for her, much like the one that Discord had tried to give her earlier in the night when he was apologizing for his actions. The pegasus smiled, taking the bouquet carefully with her mouth as she opened her door.
She wasn't sure how to explain the chaos of emotions she'd experienced tonight when it came to Discord, but she did know that she hoped it didn't fade away like stars in the Celestia's sun.
