It was Tuesday, and Discord was not satisfied. Not satisfied at all.
The entire house shook as he slammed the door closed, making Discord’s golden eagle jump from his perch in surprise with a squawk.
“I take it things didn’t go well?” Majesty asked. “Again?”
“Oh, rub it in, why don’t you?” Discord scoffed, flinging his jacket and hat over a floating coat rack. “Please, it would really brighten my day, seeing your smug little eagle face in reaction to my constant turmoil!” He raised a hand to his forehead and posed dramatically.
Majesty rolled his eyes. “Knowing you, pet, you probably pushed her too hard.”
The Draconequus scowled. “First of all, you arrogant little feather-for-brains, I’m not your pet. You are my pet. Though it’s times like this that I’m very tempted to take you back!”
If birds could smirk, Majesty would have done so at that moment. “Oh, please. You would never do such a thing, for Fluttershy would be so disappointed in you if you did... And that wouldn’t go in your favor now, would it?"
Discord groaned and slapped his palm against his face. “Ugh, no.” He dragged himself across the room to flop himself down on the couch. “But being patient is so difficult. I’ve tried pushing her in the right direction without being too obvious. But it’s been…” He stroked his beard, thinking for a bit. “...How long has it been again?”
“You mean since adoption day? It’s been…” Majesty gestured with his left wing, rotating its feathery tip as he calculated the days together. “About two months, give or take. Which isn’t so bad once you consider that you’re immortal, my pet.”
“I’m still not your pet, all right? I chose you, not the other way around!”
“I beg to differ, Discord. I chose you.”
“Well, you’re wrong, and you’re deluding yourself.”
“And you’re deluding yourself, if you think your charm is all it will take to get Fluttershy to confess.”
Another sigh. “Obviously not. Two months.Two. Months. Immortal I may be, but it’s felt like ages since Fluttershy held adoption day. I thought it would have happened by now.” He laid down on his back and stared up at the ceiling, his arms crossed. “I haven’t done anything wrong. The worst I’ve done is mess around with Demon Bunny a little, but that’s a common occurrence by now! And I hug her, and I listen...I even put my arm around her today. But what did she do, you ask?”
He sat back up with a look at Majesty. “She jumped! And afterwards, she made an excuse to go to the kitchen! For sugar! There was a full bowl of sugar right there on the table!”
Majesty shook his head. “Discord, I don’t think you realize that you’ve been laying it on a bit too thick with her lately. I was with you last week, and you made every excuse you could to touch her. Yet when we first met, you hardly put ‘the moves’ on her at all. And now you’re doing it all the time. Miss Fluttershy is a shy, delicate pony, Discord. You and I know this well. So it is not surprising to me that, when you flirt with her, you overwhelm her. She isn’t used to that kind of attention, pet. You think you’re being subtle, but I assure you that you are not.”
“And you think that turning all this charm off,” he gestured to himself, “will help move things along? Why do you think I do those things?”
“But if you try to rush her, you may end up ruining things completely.”
He waved him off. “Oh, what do you know? You’re just a bird.”
Majesty’s feathers ruffled in irritation. “Oh hush. All I’m saying is that it’s best to let things happen naturally than to force it. Be patient with her, Discord. You’ve gone this long, surely you can wait a bit longer. And I’m sure that I’m not the first one to tell you this.”
Discord huffed. Majesty was right; Cadance had told him the very same thing, back when he had visited her just a week before adoption day.
But Cadance told me I could flirt a little, did she not? And now I’m being told it’s too much. What am I supposed to—
His thoughts were cut off by a sudden ringing in his ears, a loud, flat sound that made his ears perk and his right eye wince. His initial surprise vanished within seconds as he realized what the ringing meant.
“Wait a minute, that’s…” His face turned dark for a moment as he looked back at Majesty.
“So sorry about this, but I’m afraid we’ll have to continue this argument later. See ya, birdo.”
“Wait, what? Discord, what do you--”
But Discord poofed away, and Majesty shook his head. Oh well. At least he could get a little peace and quiet before he returned from...whatever it was.
He settled down on the branch to nap.
All she had wanted to do was borrow a nice book from Twilight to help get her mind off of things. It was just what she needed after such a confusing Tuesday spent with Discord.
He had been so touchy-feely with her lately, and it was getting worse and worse with each passing week. He had always been a very tactile creature, always poking and touching and petting ponies without a care for how they felt about it, but now it was getting a little out of hoof. It was as if he made any excuse he could to touch her, going so far as to physically reach for his cup just to brush against her.
Fluttershy had always thought he was touchy because he had been lonely most of his life, and had spent a thousand years in stone. She had grown accustomed to it in the early stages of their friendship, letting him occasionally stroke her chin or hold her withers or wrap around her like a feather boa.
But now he always sat right next to her on the couch, making their legs and sides bump together or lean slightly against each other. He put his arms around her or propped his elbow against her withers as he told jokes. He did all he could to close the distance between them, and he wasn’t stopping.
(Then again, she never asked him to, either.)
But there was something else, too. Something that told her that something between them had definitely changed, a change she wasn’t yet aware of.
That something was the way he looked at her.
Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. His eyes still had a mischievous, jovial look to them, a look that was charming when coupled with his long toothy grin.
But now there was something new within his gaze, something bright and intense, with a focus that was always on her and only her. Sometimes his eyes looked so heated that it made her blush without realizing it. She wasn’t sure what any of it meant.
What she did know was that despite the heated look, she wasn’t afraid of him. Not like she used to be, back when they weren’t friends. In fact, this new way he gazed at her both excited and scared the living daylights out of her.
It wasn’t often that somepony looked at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered, and that’s what his gaze seemed to say to her lately. Along with something desperate, something he seemed to want to tell her but couldn’t.
It was like he was gazing at her with the intent of setting her on fire without making her burn, and it seemed to be working. It certainly seemed to set her nervous system aflame. And she knew exactly when things had started changing, too.
Pet adoption day.
She remembered that day all too well, remembered the mean ponies who had looked at Discord with utter disgust as they had whispered about how ‘ugly’ and ‘undesirable’ he was. It had put Fluttershy in a rare sort of anger that had made her lash out against them, lecturing them for acting so shameful against someone they didn’t even know.
And then telling everypony there that she thought Discord was handsome.
Remembering that scene always made her face feel hot. Thinking about him at all made her face feel hot. She thought about him far more often than she ever did before, and the anxiety that came with it gave her stomachaches. Just having him around made her insides flip. It made her both excited and uncomfortable at the same time. It was the most confusing thing in the world for her.
Earlier that morning she had both dreaded and anticipated his arrival. She had paced the floor in an effort to stay calm before he came, and when he did, she had rushed to the door with a racing pulse to fling it open for him and hug him around the neck. When he had made his attempts to touch her on the couch, she had wanted him to stop, but also had wanted him to keep going because she had liked the way it made her skin tingle afterwards.
It seemed she didn’t know how to properly function around him anymore, and it scared her and thrilled her at the same time.
Deep down, she knew what was happening to her. She knew what was going on, but she was too afraid to fully acknowledge it. She’d never fallen in love with anypony before. She’d had the occasional crush or two, yes, but she had never acted like this before with anypony. How was she to know?
When he had left that evening, she’d taken a few minutes to do some deep breathing before deciding to get a book to help her relax. A book was always an excellent way to leave the real world for a moment and escape to somewhere else, and Twilight always had a good recommendation for her when she asked. It was a perfect idea.
So she had set out with that in mind, only for her to run into a rat the moment she stepped onto the cobblestones of Ponyville. It had waved his arms frantically at her, capturing her attention immediately. According to him, his friends were in trouble and needed her help. There was a cider tavern just outside of Ponyville that a family of rats had been crashing at for a while, and the barkeeper was planning on hiring an exterminator to get rid of them.
So of course, without a second thought, Fluttershy had set out for the tavern to save them.
And now she was there, and all her worries vanished at that moment as she stared at the double doors of a tavern called ‘The Twisted Stem’. She could think about her situation with Discord later. Now, she had animals to save.
She didn’t stop to survey the tavern’s atmosphere. She raced to the bar and spoke urgently with the barkeeper, telling him that he didn’t need to exterminate the poor, defenseless rats when they were only just trying to survive.
It didn’t work until she told the barkeep that she wasn’t looking for payment. “Oh, no, I don’t want any money. I just want to help my friends, I promise!” she begged.
“Really?” the barkeeper asked, surprised. When he realized she meant it, he grinned. “Well then, what the hay? Go for it, mare. You get them out and you’ll be saving me a whole load ‘o bits. I won’t stop ya.”
“Oh thank you, thank you so much!”
It took only a few minutes for her to get the deed done after convincing the rats to move out and relocate to her cottage. The barkeeper gaped at her as she opened the door to let the giant colony of rats out.
Satisfied with her work and relieved that the rats would be safe, she did a quick look-around to make sure that no rat was left behind.
Which was also the moment she realized just what kind of place she’d walked into.
Immediately, a blue stallion approached her, his yellow smile as greasy as the floor. His eyes gleamed in a way that scared her.
“Ya know, it’s not very often we get a mare in here.”
His breath was rancid as it entered Fluttershy’s nose, and she tried not to wrinkle her nose in disgust. She backed up a step, instinctually hiding behind her long pink hair. “Um, hello…”
He surveyed her face as he walked towards her, forcing her to keep backing up. “You’re a little plain, but you’ll do. So how’s about it?”
“H-How’s about what?”
“Oh, right, you wouldn’t know, would ya?” He still didn’t stop. “My pals over there, the ones by the dartboard on the wall? We saw ya come in and we had ourselves a contest over who’d be the one to talk to ya. Like I said, not many mares come in here, so we had to take advantage of the situation, right?”
“U-Um… Ooph!” She tried taking another step backward only to find her flank pressed against the wall. Her eyes grew wide as she realized she was trapped.
The stallion’s grin only grew wider. “So we drew straws, and the one who got the big one got to go.”
He stepped closer until she had her back against the wall.
“Guess who got the big straw, sweetheart?” He pointed at himself. “Me. I did. And ya know what I’d like now?”
She gulped, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to leap out of her ribcage. “W-What?”
“A kiss.”
She had been expecting it, but she surprised herself with her own response. “N-No!”
“‘Scuse me?”
She took a deep breath and gathered all the courage she had to look him in the eyes. “No. I don’t know you, and because of that, I will not kiss you.”
He growled, and poked her in the chest. “I don’t think you get it, mare. I got the straw, see? Look, I’ll even show ya.” He pulled out a straw from the fold where his ear met his head and held it in his hoof for her to see. “And the straw means I get to kiss ya. So that’s what you’re gonna do. It’s fate, see? And mares like you should like that kind of stuff, you know. It’s romantic.”
She shook her head, a trickle of sweat running down her forehead. “I-I don’t care. I don’t… I like somepony else.”
“Then pretend I’m him,” he said, stamping his hoof in frustration against the ground. “‘Cause I’m gonna kiss ya whether ya like it or not, ya hear me?!?” He was getting embarrassed at her refusal. Ponies were noticing and he was a regular there. They were going to mock him forever if he didn’t get his kiss.
“N-No!” She tried pushing him away. “No! You’re not like him! L-Leave me alone! Please!”
But he pushed her back. “That’s it! I tried being nice!” His hoof remained on her chest. “Pucker up, buttercup!”
He was strong, and she was so paralyzed with fear that she found she couldn’t move. She watched helplessly as the stallion pursed his greasy lips together and moved closer to her, closer…
“Like, gyaaaaah!”
The stallion’s eyes popped open in time to look in the direction of the noise, with Fluttershy doing the same. But the stallion didn’t have much time to look before something red crashed into him and sent him sprawling to the floor.
A red unicorn laid across his chest, her irises rolling like pinballs until she shook her head and stood back up. She had bright white mane and a cutie mark of a hot pink crazy straw decorating her flank.
“Ohmygosh! Like, I’m sooooooooo sorry!” she said, a hoof over her mouth as the stallion stood up and rubbed his head with a moan. She flipped her hair. “But it’s really not my fault. Like, does anypony actually clean the floors in here? I’m pretty sure I slipped on some old cider, but I totally didn’t do it, and…” Her eyes found Fluttershy’s and she gasped.
“O-M-G, My BFF Jill!”
Fluttershy seemed confused as the unicorn rushed to her side with a wide, excited grin on her face. “Jill! Ohmygosh, like, how crazy is this, right? It’s been ages!”
The pegasus blinked. “Wait, but, I’m not…”
“Girl, please, you remember me, right?” she asked. “We used to be, like, the bestest of friends back in school, when we were fillies! You remember that, right? It’s me!” She pointed to herself. “Crazy Straw! Remember?”
Crazy Straw winked at her, and Fluttershy finally seemed to get the message as her eyes widened.
“Crazy Straw! Yes, of course I remember you.”
“You’d better, girl, because we were so totally tight back then!” Crazy Straw said. She glanced at the blue stallion, who rose back on his hooves and stood nearby. She gasped and looked at Fluttershy with horrified eyes.
“Like, ohmygosh, I’m so sorry, Jill! I didn’t realize you were here with your dad! Though, um…” She raised a brow at her inquisitively. “A tavern’s kind of a super weird place to hang out with your dad, amIright?”
“What?” the stallion said, insulted by the implication. “Her dad? What the hay? I’m not that old!”
“Oh, pffft. No need to hide it, Mr. Jill’s Dad. You can’t fool me. I, like, totally recognize those crow’s feet of yours!” She leaned in and whispered not-so-quietly, “You might wanna, like, think about getting Bitox or something for that.”
“I have crow’s feet?” He touched his face, feeling for any wrinkles around his eyes.
“Well, yeah, obviously,” Crazy Straw said, sneaking a grin at Fluttershy and making her giggle. “But you don’t have to have a total freakout over it, Jill’s Dad. Just get some surgery and they might just go away!”
“I’m not her dad!” he screamed again. He pointed to Fluttershy. “Tell her!”
Fluttershy couldn’t stop giggling despite herself, blushing from laughing and trying to hide it. “He isn’t my dad.”
“Oh, ew!” Crazy stuck her tongue out. “You’re not telling me he’s your coltfriend, are you?! Ohmygosh, Jill, you could do so much better. I mean, look at that old crony! He’s a loser!”
The stallion growled.
“Like, seriously dude, where do I even begin?” She walked up to him. “ What’s with the mane?” She leaned forward and poked at his scruffy mane, ignoring how his teeth started to grind against each other. “Like, where’s Edward Scissorhooves when you need him, amIright? You’d look better bald!” she laughed. Fluttershy tried not to laugh along with her, but failed, giggling behind her hoof.
“And your teeth! Like for realsies, you look like you have yellow squares of gum for teeth. You ever hear of a toothbrush? And um, FYI?” She waved her hoof in front of her muzzle. “Your breath? It stanks, yo!”
Now everypony in the bar was roaring in laughter at the stallion. Angry and humiliated, he growled once more, making Fluttershy go stiff again and slowly inched herself closer to Crazy.
“Why I oughta…” he threatened, but the unicorn shot him a lethal look that stopped him in his tracks. Satisfied with that, she lazily smiled at Fluttershy and raised her hoof.
“Aaaaaaanyways, Jilly-girl, why don’t we get outta here and find a place where you and I can—” She slammed her hoof back down and felt something squishy flatten beneath her, sending a red squirt of something into the air and straight into the stallion’s eye.
“Ketchup!” Crazy Straw shrieked.
He neighed as his left eye grew red from flying tomato-based condiments. “Ahhhhhh! It burns! Water, I need water!”
Fluttershy moved to help him, but found herself unable to as a foreleg blocked her. Instead, the other mare moved forward, turned around, and lashed her tail against his face. It cracked like a whip as it hit its target.
“Ow! What the hay was that for?!” he screamed, his face now in so much pain that tears ran down his face.
“Because…” she looked over her withers, and shot him a look that froze his blood and nearly stopped his heart.
“I do believe she said ‘no’.”
She kicked him in the face with her back legs, grinning as she felt a tooth break off as he shrieked in pain, and grabbed Fluttershy before heading for the door at full gallop.
Fluttershy hardly needed the excuse to get out and gladly followed her new friend’s lead. They ran until the tavern was well out of sight before they finally slowed, panting from the exertion. Crazy Straw approached Fluttershy and looked at her, her eyes soft with concern. She lifted a hoof towards her face before she remembered what the stallion had done, and put it back down.
“Hey, are you all right? He… He hadn’t touched you before I arrived there, I hope?”
Fluttershy brushed her hair away and tucked it behind her ear as she looked up at her with a wide smile, her eyes slightly watery.
“Um, is that a yes or a no? Because if he did, I fully plan on making him pay–”
Fluttershy pressed a hoof against her lips, muffling her silent. “You came just in time, Discord.”
Ripping her mouth away from Fluttershy’s hoof, the mare stared at her in shock. “How did you…?”
“Your fang is showing.”
“Ugh.” Crazy Straw’s horn ignited and his body glowed until he morphed back into his true form. Discord popped his fang off and glared at it. “It always poofs itself back when I keep it off for too long. I gave it one job, but noooooo, it just had to blow my cover.”
Suddenly he felt something small and warm crash into him and latch on to his chest. Fluttershy began to sob and as she laid her face against his fur.
Out of habit, Discord moved his arms so he could wrap them around her, but hesitated before completing the action. Wait. Some jerkwad had just tried to kiss her, hadn’t he? That’s why she was crying in the first place.
Maybe touching her wasn’t a good idea, even if she had touched him first.
Then again, when has it ever been a good idea? It’s not like it’s gotten me anywhere.
He immediately felt guilty for such a thought. Discord knew he was far from being a total gentlecolt, but he wasn’t a brute either. Even he had a few morals, and he knew that Fluttershy didn’t owe him anything.
So he stood there, unsure of what to do with his arms. Thankfully, she cried herself out quickly enough, and let him go before he could make a final decision. His skin tingled from where she had touched him.
“I-I’m sorry,” she whimpered, wiping her eyes. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I just… That stallion…” Her lips quivered and she hugged herself. “He scared me.”
“Well, you don’t need to be anymore. Because luckily for you...” He snapped his fingers and a familiar pink hennin appeared on his head. “You’ve got yourself a gorgeous princess that’s not afraid to come and save her knight!”
She giggled and the sound calmed Discord’s nerves a bit.
“So I guess we’re even then,” she said, still laughing. “I saved you and you saved me.”
“Well, not to keep a record or anything, but yes, basically.”
She shuffled the dirt with her hoof. “Do you… go to that place often? The tavern?”
“What? Nah,” Discord said, shaking his head. “I’m not nearly as enamored with apple products as you mini horses are. I like cider well enough, but I don’t drink it on a regular basis like a lot of ponies do. Even if I did, I’m not sure I’d pick that particular establishment as my daily watering hole.”
Fluttershy’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Then how did you find me? I didn’t call for you. Though…” She blushed. “I should have.”
“How do you think I did it? Through a spell, of course. Now, don’t get mad,” he warned, putting his hands up in mercy, “I know that it’s considered impolite to cast spells on ponies without their permission, I know, I know! But in my defense, I cast it before Twilight told me about that particular little piece of etiquette. But I couldn’t just get rid of it after learning that, now, could I? It was too important.”
Fluttershy didn’t seem mad. Just confused. “But what kind of spell, Discord? I don’t understand.”
“It’s a sort of reverse echolocation spell,” he said, steepling his fingers together as he explained. “It activates when it detects that you’re both alone and in need of help, particularly if it’s due to a threat. It sends a signal that radiates out from you to reach my ears, and I follow its direction to find you. And because I can travel rather quickly through magical means, it doesn’t take me long to get to you, no matter where it is. Even if you were somehow thrown into another dimension, I’d be able to hear the alert and find you.”
He could tell by her face that his answer gave her even more questions, but she didn’t ask anything. She seemed to get the gist of what he was saying. “So...it’s a spell you put on me so you could…” She looked away and hid under her hair again, but Discord could see her blushing. “... protect me?”
Discord nodded. “Yes. So… you’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because I cast a spell on you without permission?”
Fluttershy smiled. “It would have been nice to know beforehand, but Discord, you just saved me. I can’t be mad at you for that, for you to have such good intentions. I had no idea that you…” Her eyes watered again but she didn’t cry, and she didn’t seem unhappy either. “... that you cared so much.”
Discord sighed. Of course she didn’t know. Even though she should. Why has she not figured that out by now? And even if I hadn’t, am I really such a bad friend that she’d be surprised I’d want to help her without being asked?
Fluttershy immediately realized what she said and took it back. “N-Not that I didn’t think you didn’t care at all!” she said, waving her forelegs around frantically. “I didn’t mean it that way! I just… Discord, that’s one of the sweetest things anypony has ever done for me.”
His eyebrow shot upward. “It is?”
She nodded, too bashful to say anything.
He grinned. “Good. Because I wasn’t planning on getting rid of the spell. Especially since you have a new interest in seedy taverns that lie just outside of town. Honestly, Fluttershy, that was the last place I expected to find you. What were you doing there?”
She told him what happened, carefully leaving out the reason as to why she left to get a book from Twilight. By the time she finished, Discord was laughing.
“So you mean to tell me that you actually went inside a tavern full of thugs just to save rats? Ohoho, Fluttershy, you really are a knight!” A plumed helmet appeared on her head. “Only you would be chivalrous enough to save rodents, no matter where they were! Oho!” He caught a tear from his eyes. “You’re quite an adventure, Flutterbuddy.”
She blinked. “Um, thank you?”
“Gesundheit. Now, shall we get going? You said you needed to get to the library, right?”
“Actually, I think I just want to go home now. And, well, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I… really don’t want to go alone…” Her eyes flickered back in the direction to the tavern.
Discord moved his hand again to pat her head and stopped again. This time, Fluttershy caught him in the act, her eyes now on his hand. He cursed himself. Now not only did he have to stop his flirting, but she was probably afraid of anyone touching her now. He was already finding it extremely difficult to restrain himself.
But he had to, for her sake. That was important enough for him to at least try to keep his hands to himself. Once this whole thing blew over, maybe she’d be comfortable with it again.
Then again, she hasn’t seemed comfortable the last few weeks with me eith–
He felt something warm against his palm and found that Fluttershy had put her head there for him. Her ears were folded gently against her head, and her blush from earlier only grew deeper.
Hesitantly, he moved his fingers slightly to scratch her head.
Scritch scritch.
So soft and silky. It felt so good against his fingers, hands that had to go a thousand years without sensory input. This was just as relaxing to him as it was for her.
And this time, it wasn’t making her nervous. That was a plus.
Perhaps Bird Brain was right after all...I came on too strong. He bit back an annoyed sigh. But if that’s true, then how in the world can I get through to her without overwhelming her with my natural charms?
He shook his head, forcing those thoughts away. After what had happened, Fluttershy probably didn’t want to think about things like romantic relationships anyway. He just had to focus on making her feel better.
“Soooooo…” he drawled, still scratching her head softly. Scritch scritch. “You want me to take you home?”
She didn’t answer, and he noticed her eyes were closed and she was smiling slightly.
Smirking, he curled his fingers inward to make a knuckle and gently knocked it against her head. “Yoohoo, anypony there?”
She jumped slightly and opened her eyes. “Huh? Oh, I’m sorry, Discord. That just felt so nice.” She chuckled weakly, embarrassed. “What is it?”
“You implied earlier that you want me to take you home, right?”
“Oh! Oh, yes, please, if you don’t mind.” She glanced away and her hair fell over her face. “I feel safer when I’m with you.”
He faked a gasp and put a palm over his heart. “No! But you’re Sir Fluttershy, bravest knight in all the kingdom! Are you not?”
She raised a hoof to her lips as she laughed. “Well, even knights need help from their princesses sometimes, right?”
Discord nodded in agreement. “True. And you know what they always say.”
“What’s that?”
He smirked, thumb and middle finger poised for snapping.
“Tartarus hath no fury like a princess scorned!”
There was more laughter as they vanished.
“Seriously though, I’m not joking. You make any one of the princesses mad, and they will never let you live it down.”
Grabbing the key for her cottage from the inside of a flower pot, she unlocked the door. “Well, maybe if you stopped purposefully trying to make them mad at you, they wouldn’t?”
Discord rolled his eyes. “Pffft, please. You and I both know it’s my third favorite hobby.”
She was about to ask him what the first two were when he spoke up again. “Anywho, you’re home safe and sound now. My work here for today is done. So do me a favor and not go into any more suspicious looking places out of town for the rest of the day, hmmm?”
“You’re not staying?” She seemed surprised at herself for saying it, but didn’t take it back.
He blinked. “Did you want me to? Even though I was just here?”
He watched as she seemed to do her best to make herself smaller, hunching her shoulders together and looking at the ground.
“Y-Yes. And maybe, if you could, you could stay over here for the night? I just...I think I’ll sleep so much better, knowing you’re around to be there if something happens.”
Discord smiled, feeling warmth rush through his body at her innocent request. What happened earlier must have really shaken her, more so than he had realized.
It wasn’t as if this would be the first time he stayed over, either. They’d had plenty of sleepovers before, sometimes even waking up next to each other on the couch in the morning after a night of talking. It was odd that now she seemed nervous to ask him to stay over.
But the thought of spending more time with her and possibly coming up with a new strategy made him even more compliant than usual. He smiled toothily at her. “Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” He strode through the open door and heard Fluttershy sigh in relief.
“Thank you.” She closed the door. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Why, of course you can!” he said, making his way over to the couch and plopping down upon it. “Thank me all you want. Ponies never show their appreciation for me often enough. You might as well make up for all of it. Go on, praise me!” He put his right leg over his left and batted long lashes at her. “There’s no need to hold back.”
She shook her head at him, but her giggles ruined the effect. “Would you like something to drink? I know we just had tea, but…”
“But that’s our drink. And since it’s pretty much the only tradition that I hold dear, then we might as well uphold to that said tradition, don’t you think?”
“I’ll go make some then.” She trotted to the kitchen, leaving Discord to think for a few moments.
What to do now…?
He had no idea.
Fluttershy was relieved that Discord had agreed to stay with her. She had been so terrified of that tavern stallion’s touch. If Discord hadn’t come to her aid, she was certain that the stallion would have gotten his kiss. He hadn’t cared about what Fluttershy wanted, hadn’t even cared that he didn’t know her name. His touch would have scarred her and have made her feel like an object rather than a pony. He would have stolen her first kiss and she would have never been able to forget it.
But Discord was different. He had been concerned for her, so much that he had stopped himself from petting her head after they had escaped from the tavern. And Discord wasn’t usually capable of stopping his own impulses. So when he did, he showed her just how much he cared.
He hadn’t wanted to touch her because he didn’t want to treat her like that stallion had, and that made all the difference. She suddenly felt silly for the way she’d been acting the past few weeks, acting so afraid every time he touched her. He would never hurt her, so what did she have to fear?
Her mind answered the question for her. Rejection, since you like him more than you’re willing to admit. You like it when he touches you.
She did. So much that when she had encouraged him to pet her, she had lost herself in the sensation of his fingers rubbing her scalp. It had felt so nice that she’d only paid attention to how it felt, both inside and out. Having him with her had made things so much better.
He made most things better, actually. To her, anyway. He always knew how to cheer her up and make her smile, how to make her feel like she was more than what she believed she was. And while he was growing to be more touchy-feely with her, he had shown earlier that he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He wouldn’t push her to do what he wanted if she ever said no.
But now she just wanted to forget that stallion, forget the way he had looked at her and the way he had demanded a kiss from her. She wanted Discord to distract her from the memory of him.
She was thinking about all of this while heating up some water until a loud squeak interrupted her.
“Hey, darlin’. Ya took awhile gettin’ back. Everything go okay?”
Turning her head, she met eyes with one of the rats she had saved from the tavern. Quickly looking her over, she remembered that this particular black rat was a female named Fabiana, the daughter of the lead rat.
“Oh! Hello Fabiana. And, well…” She glanced at the water as she watched it boil. “I, um, had some trouble.”
“I can’t say that I’m surprised, sweetheart. That place was always full of greaseballs. But I gotta ask ya, who’s Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome sittin’ over there in your livin’ room?” She grinned. “You couldn’t’ve had that much trouble if you brought a big lug like that home.”
Fluttershy’s face turned so red that she wondered what was hotter: her face or the boiling water. “W-What? No!” She shook her head. “It’s not like that! He’s just, he’s, he’s just a friend! A-And he helped me out when a…” She swallowed at the memory. “When a stallion tried to kiss me.”
Fabiana gasped. “No!”
“Um, yes?”
Putting her tiny claws on Fluttershy’s foreleg and patting it consolingly, she said, “Tell me everything, dollface. I gotta know.”
Fluttershy told her the story, and Fabiana listened with disgust towards the stallion, her tiny little nose twitching in distaste as she described him and his actions.
But when she finished the story, the little rat was absolutely swooning over Discord’s rescue. “That has got to be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard! Ohhhh, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him!”
“You can’t!” Fluttershy said, surprising the both of them. She covered her hoof with her mouth. “I-I mean...It’s not like that. He’s my friend. He wasn’t trying to be romantic.”
Fabiana offered her a gentle smile. “Maybe not, but you gotta wonder why a guy like him would put a spell on ya to protect ya without even tellin’ you about it, and then disguise himself to fight off a stallion comin’ on to ya. Think about it. He disguises himself as a mare, ‘cause he don’t want that stallion around you no mores. What bettah way to scare him’ offa mares for good by makin’ him afraid of one? And now he’s comin’ into your house to protect ya? If that ain’t the sweetest thing, then my name isn’t Fabiana Rizzoli! And if he ain’t in love with ya, then that’s a shame, ‘cause if I had a guy like that, I’d nevah let him go.” She sighed. “Though even if I did, Dig Daddy would just chase ‘im off.”
Fluttershy absorbed in her words, and something seemed to click.
Could he have feelings for me?
She bent down to get closer to Fabiana. “Do you really think he might like me as...more than a friend?”
Fabiana smiled and patted Fluttershy’s cheek. “Do ya want him to? Ask yourself that first.”
Yes.
“I think so. I mean...He’s been very touchy with me lately, and it’s been making me nervous, because it makes me confused. I like it, but I don’t too, and so after he leaves I always feel so anxious and exhausted.” She put her hooves on her face. “Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing! I think I might be...falling for him. But if that were true, then why did it trouble me before when he was touching me so much? Shouldn’t you like it when someone touches you, if you like them?”
Fabiana’s smile didn’t falter as she continued to pat her on the head. “D’awww, darlin’, you’re worryin’ a lot over nuttin’, but that’s natural. Ya wanna know what my stepmother told me when she married Big Daddy?”
“What was that?”
“If you ain’t confused, then it ain’t love. At least, that’s how it starts. Ya didn’t like it when he touched ya because you didn’t know how ya felt about it yet. That, and he’s your friend, right? You don’t wanna go messin’ that up. And you’re probably not used to havin’ a guy show you affection like that, right?”
Fluttershy nodded.
“Well then of course you didn’t know how to take it at first. That’s how it always is when it first happens. So, how do ya feel about it now? If he tries to hold ya or hug ya or wrap his arms around ya, are you gonna be okay with it? I know I would be. He’s a hunk!”
Fluttershy giggled at her bluntness, and smiled. “You know, I think you’re right. And after what happened, I actually…” She turned her head away bashfully. “I wouldn’t mind if he held me…”
“Then go for it, sweetheart, and don’t you worry about a thing. From what you’ve said, it sounds like he probably likes you, too. So you shouldn’t waste any more time, or else I might try to steal him from ya!”
Fluttershy laughed again and nuzzled Fabiana lightly against her head. “Thank you so much, Fabiana. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Dawww, me too, dollface. And it’s the least I could do, since you saved our lives and gave us a much more stylish place to live. That bar was a dump. But don’t let me keep ya, we can talk more later.” She pointed back towards the living room. “You got yourself a fish to catch, hehe.”
Fluttershy gulped, suddenly nervous about the situation again. “So...Is it okay to hope that he loves me back…? Do you think he does?”
Fabiana shook her head with a grin. “Still not gonna answer that for ya. What do you think?”
That was a good question. What did she think? She took a moment to think over it.
Whenever he touched her, it wasn’t forceful or painful. It was always gentle and light and soothing. Warm. He was always extremely excited to see her, even when all they did every Tuesday was sit together and drink tea and talk about their lives. He listened to everything she said with more attention than she ever remembered him showing anyone else. And the way he looked at her sometimes, his eyes soft as he spoke to her in a voice that was almost tender…
Suddenly, a memory came to the forefront of her mind.
Fluttershy and Discord had been walking back to Ponyville after she had run away in embarrassment for telling everypony that she found Discord handsome. Discord had come back for her and had managed to calm her down, praising her for her boldness and her sense of good taste. She remembered how happy she had been once Discord told her that he didn’t care what anypony else thought of him, because he adored himself, and that was all that mattered.
But then he had said something else, right under his breath. Fluttershy had remembered the way he had said it, in a soft warm whisper that made her legs weak and her heart race.
“And I adore you as well, Fluttershy.
“W-What did you say?”
“Too late! It’s already been said!”
“B-But I’m not sure I heard you right!”
“Oh, I doubt that Fluttershy. I very much doubt that.”
And now, she doubted that she had misheard him, too.
He adored her. He’d said so outright, and then purposefully took it back to protect himself. That had to be it.
And he had also told her that she had something she needed to figure out. Something he said he already knew.
Was this what he meant? And if so, what was she supposed to do about it? Was she even ready?
She didn’t know, and neither did the tea kettle as it whistled for her. The tea was ready.
Fluttershy carefully walked to the living room, the tray of tea things on her back. “The tea’s done,” she said softly. “Is lavender okay?”
Snapping his fingers, he levitated a cup over to him and took a sip. “Even if it wasn’t, I can always change it myself. Oh Fluttershy, when will you ever learn?” he teased.
She gave him a small smile as she took her own cup and sat at the opposite end of the couch.
Silence took over as they sipped their tea. Discord snuck a glance at her and found she was doing the same. She looked away immediately, her cheeks bright.
Discord floated his cup to the table with a concerned frown on his face. “You’re sure you’re all right with me staying here, Flutters? After all, I’m not the mare I once was.”
It took Fluttershy a moment to understand the joke before she remembered his earlier disguise. She rewarded him with a laugh before slowly and nervously moving an inch closer to him. “You’re fine, Discord. Like I said, I want you here with me.”
Discord noticed her move closer, and just that one inch was enough to get his pulse up. Was the other cushion suddenly lumpy or something? Certainly she wasn’t trying to cozy up to him. He’d been trying to get her to do such things for weeks now, and had never made any progress. There was no way she was just starting to want his attention now, was it?
He scooted back towards the arm of the couch. If she got closer, he’d want to flirt, and he just couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to scare her away. Not when they were so close. Granted, they hadn’t gotten any closer since adoption day, but he didn’t want to make things worse, either.
Stupid bird. Stupid stallion. This is their fault.
He kept his eyes on her and noticed something change. She bit her lip. Was it him, or did she almost look...disappointed?
“D-Discord?”
He reminded himself to breathe. “Yes?”
She didn’t say anything, staring at the buttons of the cushions as if they were the most beautiful ornaments ever bestowed on a piece of furniture.
“What is it, Fluttershy?” he asked again, keeping his voice calm. “Go on now. No secrets between friends now, right?”
That didn’t seem to help. In fact, it only seemed to make it worse as she bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly before speaking.
“Will you hold me?”
Discord’s heart seemed to jump into his throat, but his reply came so quickly that it was embarrassing. “You want me to? Are you sure? I’m actually trying to be courteous to you here. Is this a test? Is Twilight Sparkle watching this?” He glanced around in search of their friend before he realized that he didn’t sense any Alicorn magic in the room.
He met Fluttershy’s eyes again. “I just don’t want for you to worry, you know. I know I can make you...vuncomfortable sometimes.”
Even if it is for a reason. But that’s no excuse now, is it? Hoo boy. Of course I’d realize that AFTER some strange stallion tried sucking her face off.
She shook her head and boldly met his gaze. “No, Discord. You don’t make me uncomfortable. Strange stallions who try to kiss me when I say no make me uncomfortable. But princesses don’t do that kind of thing, and aren’t you supposed to, um…” Her boldness disappeared faster than it came, and she blushed and hid under her hair again. “... be my princess?”
Discord’s ears rose at that and his tail gave a single wag. Ooh, he liked hearing that. My princess. He liked feeling like he belonged to her. It was an odd desire coming from a creature like him, but it was true. He liked that feeling of being owned by somepony who wanted him there. My princess. It made him feel beautiful.
Without speaking, he reached forward and brought Fluttershy into his arms, hugging her against his chest. He heard her sigh and she nuzzled her face against his fur, and he felt himself burn where she touched him.
“Is this preferable?” Discord asked, poking her head with his muzzle to get her to look back up at him.
Fluttershy tilted her head. “This is the only way to hold somepony, isn’t it?”
He snorted. “Not for me. I could easily make myself a hammock, or a lawnchair, or even a pelican should you wish it. Just think! As a pelican, I could give myself a beak so large that you could just hang out in my throat sac.”
She widened her eyes at the possibilities but didn’t seem excited by them. “Um, then yes, this is preferable.”
“Oh, fine, have it your way,” he grumbled, poking her side to get her to giggle. It worked. “I really liked the pelican idea, though. I’ll bet Pinkie would let me do it.”
Fluttershy laughed and tried pushing his fingers away so he couldn’t poke her. “She’d love that.” He stopped tickling her and she settled back onto his chest. “But I can’t help but like this more. You’re so soft and warm.”
“Aren’t I though?” Discord bragged. “My soft fur is courtesy of Rarity’s shampoo. She has such a nice shower.”
She looked back up at him, her mouth slightly agape. “Please tell me you used it with her permission.”
He grinned toothily. “Then I won’t.”
“Discord!” She softly batted him on the chest and he burst out in laughter, especially since Fluttershy herself was doing a terrible job of trying to look mad. “You’re not supposed to just barge into ponies’ houses and use their things!”
“Oh, I only did it once,” Discord said, waving it off. “No biggie. She didn’t even notice.”
She sighed in relief. “Well, at least—”
“And by once, I mean just once this week.”
“Discord!” She smacked his beard as his stomach bounced in laughter, and she had trouble hiding her smile. This was just like it was before everything got weird between them. It was nice and it made it hard for her to stay mad at him. “If you need a shower, use mine or your own. Or ask Rarity! Don’t you want her to trust you?”
Discord exaggerated a sigh. “I suppose. Oh fine, Fluttershy.” He ruffled her hair. “I’ll just use all of your shampoo then.”
“That’s fine, I don’t mind sharing.” She smiled and her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. “You’re welcome here whenever you want. You know that.”
Without thinking, his voice came out deep and throaty as he sharpened his gaze at her. “Is that so…? I just may have to take advantage of that, my dear,” he purred.
Then he stopped. Oh no, he was flirting with her again. He wanted to smack himself. She just got harassed by a stallion, turn off that roguish charm of yours before you scare her off!
He felt something soft and warm on his cheek and his eyes widened. He looked back at her in wonder as she hid herself in his arms again.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I-I’d like that.”
He felt his hopes rising and he couldn’t stuff them down. He was the spirit of chaos and disharmony and he couldn’t help his impulse to poke and prod her further in the direction he wanted her to go. His fingers twitched as he fought the urge to lift her chin to get her to look at him. “And just how much would you like that?” he asked her silkily.
She grew stiff and he suddenly grew afraid that he had pushed it too far again. Darn it to Tartarus! Why wasn’t this going the way he wanted it to? Why didn’t this ever go the way he wanted it to? He was hopeless. He was charming and funny and handsome, but this romance stuff was never his forte. Celestia hadn’t fallen for it when he was younger, and that had only been a crush. Now he actually loved a pony, but it still wasn’t working out. Oh sure, she kissed him on the cheek, but what did that really mean in the overall scheme of things? She kissed all her animals on the cheek too, and she saw her animals as her friends.
His panicked thoughts were interrupted as the pony in his arms spoke up. “I’d like it a lot. I’’d love to see you more often.”
His worries stopped immediately, and by habit he brought the charming side of himself back out. “Oh. Well of course you do! You have good taste in company, you always have.”
This time it was a hoof she raised against his cheek. He found himself spellbound as she sat up and met his eyes.
“We both have good taste, remember?”
His smirk reached his eyes. “Heh. Of course I do. I’m the one that told you that. Since you think I’m so handsome and whatnot.”
Her face was crimson and he thought she looked lovely that way. “D-Discord…” Her lips trembled.
“Yes, my dear? What is it?”
“Th-That stallion, from earlier…”
Uh oh. Uh oh uh oh uhohuhohuhoh. “Do you want me to put you down?” He moved his hands towards her torso to lift her away but she pressed her hooves down against his chest, hard.
“No!” she squeaked. “Because if you’re holding me, then, then, then nopony else can hold me, and I only want you to hold me. Please don’t let me go. I’m okay. Really, I want you to. That’s not what I was going to say.”
Wow. He even managed to mess things up by trying to fix something he thought he messed up. But he felt incredibly happy by those words, so he wrapped his arms tightly around her once more, and he felt her let out a huge sigh of relief at his grasp.
“Then what do you want to say, Fluttershy?” he asked. “What about that scumbag makes you bring him up again? Did you want me to go back there and turn his lips to wax? Ooh, no, better yet, how about I turn into a pelican and throw him into an ocean of Listeroan? No, no, wait, I’ll disguise myself as a dentist—”
“I love you, Discord.”
“--and pull all of his teeth out until he has nothing but gums, and give him to Granny Smith as a birthday present. I’m sure she’d like him well enough, and that old gal deserves a little amore, don’t you think?”
Oh, he really liked that idea. He needed to write that one down.
...Wait a minute.
In his head, he rewinded the scene and played it over again like a VHS tape. There he was, sharing his brilliant ideas of revenge with Fluttershy, and then her sweet little mouth opened and said the thing he’d been waiting to hear for all this time.
“Wait! I wasn’t ready.” He trembled in anticipation, so much he wondered if he was actually nervous. “S-Say it again.” His voice was dry, and he cursed himself for how pathetic he must have sounded to her. Did he really just stutter? Him? But but it didn’t keep him from meeting her eyes to let her know how serious he was.
She bit her lip but stopped so she could smile bashfully. “T-Too late. It’s already been said.”
He raised an eyebrow at her choice of words, and he had a strange feeling of déjà vu. “What? But I need to hear it! Fluttershy, you said it at the worst possible moment, you know how I am when I’m scheming! It’s very hard for me to pay attention to others when I’m doing that! I need to hear it again.”
She leaned forward and nuzzled his face, and he just froze there, stunned. What in the world was happening? For a moment it seemed as if they had switched personalities, with her making all the moves and him unable to process what was going on.
“I doubt that Discord. I doubt that very much.” She pulled away and turned her gaze towards his paw. Using both hooves, she lifted it up and held it against her chest, over her heart. He could feel it pound hard against his palm.
He suddenly remembered why it was déjà vu. “Wait a minute. You’re copying me! You’re copying my lines!”
She just smiled, her eyes closed as she held his paw. “Mmm-hmm.”
“I said the exact same thing to you just two months ago!”
She opened a single eye. “You’ve kept track?”
“Of course I have! I’ve been waiting Fluttershy, I’ve been waiting longer than you even know. Waiting for you to tell me, to piece it together to figure out what I already have. Do you even know what that is yet?” He gently pulled his paw away and placed it and his claw on her withers. “And what does any of this have to do with you mentioning Loose Lips?”
“Loose Lips?”
“The stallion! The one that needs Bitox and a face full of mouthwash. That’s what I’ve named him. I think it fits, don’t you?”
She nodded, but didn’t say anything. She just stared for a moment, before taking a breath. This was it. This was the moment. The one beforehand was a practice run, yes, that’s what Discord would call it. A practice run. Not this time though. This time, it was official.
“That...That IS a good name for him, because he wanted to kiss me. Do you know, Discord that I’ve…” She gulped and closed her eyes. “That I’ve never kissed anypony before?”
He didn’t, but he wasn’t surprised. He had a feeling she hadn’t before. But even if she had, he wouldn’t have minded, as long as he had his turn.
Just glancing at her mouth made his throat close up, and it hurt but he loved it. He had never felt this excited before, like his insides were turning into a swirling vortex of feelings and colors and warmth. It felt delicious and he was grateful to her for giving him such exciting feelings. Did ponies find this feeling unpleasant because it was chaotic? That was stupid. This felt amazing. This felt right. This was what he wanted.
“That’s too bad,” he said. He dared to brush his claw through her hair. “I hope you’re not too broken up over that.”
“No, but Discord, don’t you understand?” Fluttershy said, her eyes big and bright as she leaned her head against his touch. “If he had kissed me, then that would have been it. My first kiss. That would be the memory I’d have to live with for the rest of my life and it would have been terrifying. If you hadn’t been there…” Her lips quivered and her eyes grew watery. “If...If you hadn’t…”
Discord moved quickly and pulled her closer to him, squeezing her in his arms. “Now, now, Flutterbuddy. Hush, my little bird horse, hush. I was there, remember? I wasn’t going to let anypony smooch you without your say-so. Why, he had gotten any closer, he would have blinded you with the power of his halitosis. Celestia might want to ask him to save Equestria next time, hmm? He could burn any baddie to the ground with just a whiff of his breath.”
She snorted from the absurdity of his words and burst into laughter, making his ears swivel towards her in order to hear it better. She leaned against his chest with her hooves against him, and laughed until her face grew red as she struggled to breathe. Discord laughed along with her until they both managed to calm down.
She was glowing by the time their eyes met again and Discord wondered how she managed to do that. Was that an effect of his magic, or did he look shiny and sparkly to her too?
“Discord.” She stroked his face, and this time it was his turn to lean against it.
“Yeeeeeeeeeees?”
“Thank you for saving my first kiss. I’m glad I still get to choose who I’ll share it with. Someone who I’ll want to remember sharing it with.”
“As am I, Fluttershy,” he said. “Or at least…” He wiggled his brows at her. “I think I am.”
She giggled again and he brought his forehead against hers. “Please, Fluttershy,” he murmured. “Please. Say it again.” He met her eyes. “I need—”
She leaned forward and interrupted his plea, shyly placing her lips over his in the lightest of touches.
His eyes slowly drifted closed as he pressed his mouth back against hers. “—Mmph.”
Her lips were so soft and warm and pillowy, a perfect compliment to his own rough and textured mouth. He placed his hands across her back and held her tight while her forelegs looped around his neck. He deepened the kiss slowly and she returned the pressure each time, sealing their mouths together.
He felt her wings underneath his palms try to tug out from under his hands, and he slid them away so they could unfurl. She extended them and he felt her soft feathers wrap around him. Copying her, he did the same with his tail and lightly wrapped it around both of their torsos, binding them together.
The quiet atmosphere was broken by the smallest click of their lips parting, followed by a whisper.
“I figured it out, Discord. I put two and two together.”
He smiled, intrigued that she remembered so much of what he said two months ago. Clearly that day had been on her mind just as much as it had been on his. “Is that so? Then what’s the answer, my little pony?”
Her eyes sparkled, but her lips curved upward in a way that made it look like she was smirking. “Two. The answer is still two.”
Discord lifted an eyebrow. “You do realize the two’s are just a metaphor, don’t you?”
“But you and I make two, and that’s what we are. We’re a…” She blushed. “We’re a couple. Because I love you. A-And I’m guessing that…” It took all her courage to keep eye contact with him instead of pulling away from it. “That you love me too?”
Discord reared his head back. “Finally! Oh good god, it’s finally over. I mean, sweet Tartarus, Fluttershy. I thought you’d never get the message! Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for you to get that?” He poked her in the chest. “Too long, that’s how long! I have no idea how you didn’t catch on faster than this. Honestly, the romantic tension was getting incredibly thick. And look, lift up your wing.”
Her wings were still around him and she lifted them, and gasped as she saw tiny sparks of static buzz between their bodies. Yet, she didn’t feel a thing.
“Is that your magic at work?”
He wagged his finger at her. “Ah ah ah! Correction: that’s our magic at work.” Sunglasses magically appeared on him and he clicked his tongue at her. “You and I burn electric, girlfriend. And don’t you forget it.”
She was still watching the tiny bolts of static dance between them. “I think it would be a little hard to.”
He laughed. “What can I say? I’m an unforgettable kind of creature, and my effects on you are strong. Because you’re so incredibly into me. You’ve always been into me, Fluttershy. You just didn’t know it until…” He paused. “Actually, when did you realize it?”
She rubbed her left foreleg with her right one and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I think I started to after pet adoption day, but I wasn’t sure until today.”
“Really? Before or after what happened?”
“After.” Her smile grew and she put her hoof on his chest. “I mean, it’s not every day that my princess comes and saves me. And I’m the kind of knight that loves a handsome, brave, funny princess like you.”
My princess. It still sounded so good to his ears. His chest puffed at the praise. “Don’t forget beautiful and charming.”
She laughed at how much he resembled a puffed up bird with his chest like that, and nodded in agreement. “Yes, of course.”
He swelled even more at her agreement and grabbed her, floating upwards as he gave her the biggest and tightest hug he could possibly give her, his smile so big and genuine that it hurt his face. She happily returned the hug with a sigh.
But he knew that she was waiting for something from him too, and he didn’t want to make her wait any longer. He could say it now, now that she had gone first.
He wasn’t sure if he had ever told anyone he loved them, but if he had, he didn’t remember. So this was to be the first time it actually counted. He felt nervous even though he knew for sure that she’d return the sentiment.
Loosening his grip on her, he traced her jawline. “I do believe it’s my turn now,” he whispered. He leaned in and kissed her again, getting an immediate response from her. He took her breath away by sucking lightly on her lips, making a tight seal between their mouths. It was a hard sort of kiss, and he pulled away slowly after a few seconds, and he could tell the kiss had thrilled her. He pulled her in once more and kissed her three more times in succession, each one longer than the one before. By the time he pulled back, her face was rosy and her hair was slightly messy from his fingers.
He cupped her face. “I love you too, Fluttershy. I’m just glad I didn’t have to be the one to say it first. I’ve...never been told that before, so I wanted to hear it from you before I tried to. So…” He was the blushing one now, and he rubbed the back of his head bashfully. “Thank you.”
Fluttershy nuzzled his face and smiled as she felt his muzzle rub against her cheek. “Of course. After all, that’s what knights are for.”
“Ohoho, Fluttershy, you smooth operator, you,” he purred. “It’s just the two of us in here, correct?”
“Yes,” she whispered, her forelegs already around his neck again.
“Good...” He put one arm around her as the other pulled on the chain to the curtains, closing the window behind them.
Outside, a golden eagle flew off towards the moon as two silhouettes showed against the curtains, creating one shadow as they leaned towards one another in an embrace.
The lights flickered off.
Author's Note
Pony Puns Defined:
Bitox = Botox
Listeroan = Listerine (Roan is a color often used to describe a horse or pony with a reddish brown coat.)
So. I finally wrote this. The sequel to my most popular story written so far, The Two with Good Taste.
First, I would like to say something very important, and that is that I tried writing this story as innocently as possible. The other stories were rated E and I wanted this one to be too, and I hope it can stay that way, though if anyone disagrees with me, please, feel free to say so with your reasoning why, because I don't want any readers to encounter content they shouldn't be reading. So with the situation between 'Loose Lips' and Fluttershy, I just want to state, it is just as it reads. He wanted a kiss, that was his goal. HOWEVER, the situation is very, very serious, and it will always be serious because anyone who says no to unwanted touches should be respected and listened to, no matter what the touch is. I only state this to explaining why I still rated it E for everyone.
Second, I do not expect this to get as popular as its predecessor, but I do hope all of you deem it worthy of its predecessor. I tried making this more from Discord's point of view, since the first was more about Fluttershy, and The Two Who Know revolved more around Cadance's POV. Therefore, he's a bit more vulnerable in this one and not quite as sassy or comedic as he's been in the others. But I do hope it still shows through, because that stuff is fun to write and I fit it in as much as I could
Also, I seem to have an obsession with using animals as a way to get the plot going. I do not know why. But I really, really, really hope that you guys imagined Majesty's voice as sort of like a noble's or butler's, and I TOTALLY used Fru-Fru from the film Zootopia as an inspiration for Fabiana. Her family is like a rat mobster family with good intentions. Though I'm sure Fru-Fru didn't say things like "dollface" and whatnot, but whatevahs.
The tavern scene was inspired by a roleplay I wrote with an RP buddy of mine on tumblr. It was her idea to have Fluttershy go to the tavern to save rats from being exterminated, all hers! Not mine. She gets full credit for that. Her Fluttershy blog can be found here. She's also known as olookabee on this site. Check her out, she's an awesome writer and just a great person to talk to. A big reason I managed to get this written is her influence and I am forever thankful to her. If you're reading this, thank you so much for this. I couldn't have done it without you, and I promise to continue our rp soon! (I haven't been on my blog for a coupla days...)
I wanted to get something done before my first day of grad school started, and I wanted a little break from MLD: WiC, and now I can officially call all three of my little oneshots a trilogy. I'll make a section for it on my fimfiction page. I'll call it "A Series of Two's." WHOOOO.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for all of your support as I wrote these, and once again, I hope this one does its predecessors proud. Thank you for reading, and as always, reviews and constructive criticism are always encouraged and welcome! I hope it won't be too long before I can write other things too, be it a chapter of MLD: WiC or anything else. I have no idea how grad school will go, so...But I'm not gone, don't you worry! I just have to find time.
Thanks again, especially if you actually read this whole entire author's note. You're all wonderful and I'm glad you're here. Power to the Ponies! 
(And Discord. I hope you think of him whenever you see a pelican.)
Your friend, Tater.
