A helping paw? Or was it claw?

by CookieFalls

Rating: everyone
Tags: Romance, Fluttershy, Comedy, Discord, Slice of Life, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5881

Discord be helping Fluttershy take care of her animals and then misunderstandings happen. There be fluff here mates.

UPDATED SYNOPSIS:
Fluttershy's day is usually taken up with her attention to her animals. One day, Discord decides to lend her a helping paw (or claw) with her animals. Will his chaotic abilities help his dear friend, or would it spell Chaos for Fluttershy and her animals? Or will a misunderstanding cause more problems than chaos itself?

You know there's a happy ending here.

Inspired by DisneyFanatic123's Popular Series 'Bride of Discord'! I really recommend you check it out :3

BLOG CONCERNING UPDATE TIMES: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/801612/considering-upload-times

Cover image by ruthietammy on DeviantArt!

Published 2018-03-21 18:30:11 UTC
Last updated 2018-05-02 07:07:07 UTC

Chapter 1

Fluttershy loves her animals dearly. Most of her day was spent looking after her beloved animals, or watching over someone's pet, or treated a sick or injured pet. Everypony wondered what she would do if she wasn't hanging around her friends or if she wasn't tending to her animals, and if she had the time to answer those questions, she would say that she's spending time with her dear friend Discord.

Many would find themselves questioning her sanity, wondering why she would choose to willingly spend time with the Lord of Chaos himself, a Draconequus devoid of kindness and friendship. If she were to answer those questions, she would say that everypony and creature great and small have the ability to be kind and have the ability to make friends. However, Fluttershy began developing feelings for Discord stronger than a simple friendship, and she would often be unintentionally blushing or stuttering around the Drraconequus sometimes, something that confused Discord.

Discord loved everything chaotic, and had his own domain where he can make it rain Chocolate Milk and turn any place upside down. Once a creature devoid of kindness and friendship, Discord sought to rule Equestria in Chaos after his years of being in a statue, frozen in time like an accessory. Upon redeeming himself to Twilight and her friends, he had gotten close to Fluttershy and adored her kind nature and unconditional kindness towards him. This had developed a small crush on her over time, adoring her soft voice, her love for animals and her kindness that had made him see that there was more to life than Chaos and misconduct.

One day, however, a few days before the date of their weekly Tea Party, Fluttershy had become too overwhelmed with her animals ever since Angel contracted a cold that infected the other animals in her house. Because of this, to her own regret, she had to cancel the tea party in order to tend to her animals properly. A disappointed Discord, who had planned to tell her how he truly felt about her, moped about for a day or two before he contracted a rather splendid idea in his opinion. It had all been more simple than he had made it out to be, what with all the cloudy, chocolate rainy days and making himself look worse-for-wear because he wanted to feel dramatic about it.

This plan of his?

Help Fluttershy take care of her Animals!

It was a foolproof plan of his, or so he was thinking of at that very moment. On the day of the Tea Party, he had up until that point read (or at least attempted) books on how to cater to an animals sickness, and with determination and a sense of chaos in his smile, he clicked his fingers and went straight to Fluttershy's cottage. After all, how hard could looking after a bunch of woodland animals be for the Lord of Chaos?

Author's Note

Howdy everypony, Cookie here, and I present you all with Part 1. This is going to be a relatively short story with no real serious plot to it :)

As in the description: Fluttercord. Enough said xD

Chapter 2

It was the day of the Tea Party, but for Fluttershy it was a day she had regrettably cancelled because she wanted to take care of her beloved animals more properly, since Angel brought home a cold that most of her creatures got infected with.

For the first part of the morning, she was flying around as fast as she could, giving medicine, feeding them warm food, making sure their temperature wasn't too high, and making sure their beds were warm and comfortable. If she were to go mad, she would have lost her mind hours ago! There wasn't a moment to herself, and if she had set out some tea for herself, it would still be in the pot untouched and rather cold by the time she would properly get to it.

With the sound of something poofing into existence in her living room, the stressed mare turned around and to her surprise saw a certain Draconequus in her cottage, dressed as a doctor...?

"Everypony can stay calm! Doctor Draconequus is here to help~"

"Discord? What are you doing here?"

"Why, I came to help you Flutters! Aren't you happy to see me?"

'He's trying to make me laugh again, isn't he? I guess I need something to help calm me down right about now...'

"Discord, I am happy to see you, and if I have the energy to laugh I would laugh. I thought you had plans today."

"I do have a plan for today by dear Fluttershy: To help you with the animals."

"Y-you'd help me take care of my animals?"

'She likes the idea Discord~
Keep going, she might appreciate you more!'

"Discord, I can hear your thoughts."

"No you can't! How anyway?"

"Your talking to him."

Discord turned to another version of him standing next to him. Laughing his usual laugh, he mustered up a 'how silly of me' face and with the click of his claws his costume AND his clone vanished.

"Oopsie, he wasn't needed then. I do really want to help you though."

"I'll be fine on my own-"

"Fine?! You look as if you haven't had time to look after yourself at all today!"

And indeed the Draconequus was correct. Fluttershy's long pink mane was left unbrushed and tied in a high ponytail that had since been getting more loose by the hour. She looked tired and she had no time to sort herself out properly, and she probably didn't have any breakfast either. Discord had been right to come along to help, it looked as if she REALLY needed the help desperately.

"I don't want to be a bother to you if you DO have plans Discord."

"Dear Fluttershy, to the Lord of Chaos, you are never a bother to me. Besides, I'm usually quite free anyway, and all I was planning to do was bother Twilight and Celestia today, which wouldn't be as fun as spending time with you my little pegasus~"

"I-I don't know what to say....I'm..flattered."

"No need to be that way Fluttershy, I would, however, recommend you sort yourself out."

"But I don't want to leave the animals unattended."

"Easy fix!"

The click of his claws made Fluttershy tidy once again. Her mane was now neater and looked brushed, and she wasn't looking as tired as she had been just 5 seconds ago, and when she turned around to get something from the kitchen, it allowed Discord to lose some of his composure.

To Discord, the beauty that was presented to him was rather angelic, and it made his heart flutter, which it had literally been doing right next to him. Before Fluttershy could turn around and see his heart, he practically swallowed it whole and struggled to keep it down his throat. In her hooves, perfectly balanced, was a tray filled with warm soup for some of her more omnivorous animals, and as gently and balanced as she could, she placed the tray in Discord's uneven hands.

"If it's not too much trouble, could you please give these to the omnivorous animals? They should all be in bed in the room to the left."

"Not a problem for the Lord of Chaos! I'll be back in a jiffy."

Discord, choosing not to click his fingers in case the tray were to fall from his odd fingers, walked himself over to a room filled with different animals. He, however, had only read about the basic information of each animal Fluttershy had in her home, but he had absolutely no idea which animal was 'omnivorous' at all.

Spending about 5 minutes (and having to turn his paw into an inductor of heat to keep the soup warm), he gave up and with the click of his claw he gave random animals the bowls of soup. Satisfied, he clicked himself back to the living room and left the animals with the bowls of soup. Fluttershy had just taken care of another group of sick animals, giving them their medicine and checking their temperatures, and she had been surprised to see Discord already done with the assignment she had given him only 5 minutes ago.

"You already fed the animals?"

"I was supposed to feed them? I thought they could feed themselves!"

"They're sick, and it's not exactly something easily done without a helping hoof."
"I'll make light of this quickly. I'll give them all spoons that can feed them. There, done. Now what's next?"

"Um..I haven't checked up on the bunnies and the deers for a bit, and they might be uncomfortable, so-"

"Roomservice coming right up!"

Discord was already gone in the click of a claw. Fluttershy could only sigh as she put her trust in him, hoping he wouldn't create too much Chaos. Too much chaos?

Who was she kidding, she was alright with the Chaos, so long as it's easy to fix if it went beyond the limit of which she can handle. After all, it was a defining feature of his that stole her heart, and she was sure he could make that literal in the click of a paw or claw. Shaking her head, she set to fix them both up some tea, not wanting to imagine a scenario where he would actually hold her heart.

Sometimes the magic of Chaos doesn't frighten her, it just grosses her out!

Author's Note

Part 2 of this short story, this time Discord being rather helpful in his chaotic ways, probably not going to be helpful for long though. This is going to be as good as I can make it, so voila.

Hope everypony enjoys :)

Catch you all later ^w^

Chapter 3

Discord had been doing more of what Fluttershy had asked of him, and each time he used his chaotic magic to get the job done faster. It had worked and made light work for Flutters and Discord, and it wasn't until Fluttershy finished setting up a dining table with a tea pot and 2 tea cups when Discord came clicking his way into her living room, swiping a paw over his forehead.

"There, my work here is all done."

"I have to say Discord, I think it was a wonderful idea for you to come and help me with my animals. I don't know if I could've done this work on my own."

"No need to thank me just yet my dear, now let's relax with that lovely tea of yours. I do also have to add, you look rather lovely if you're not galloping around everywhere."

Fluttershy giggled and poured the both of them a cup of warm herbal tea. Fluttershy and Discord soon began engaging with each other in conversation and were enjoying themselves in the discussions they had. After a few minutes of conversation, Fluttershy began to grow rather curious as to what Discord did to finish his tasks faster than she did with her own 2 hooves, or rather she was curious to see what kind of Chaos Discord made to make his job a lot easier.

"Um, Discord, I'm kind of curious as to what you did to finish each task faster than I ever could."

"You are referring to my Chaotic powers, right?"

"I am."

"Hm, well when you said to keep the creatures in the corner left room warm and/or cool, I installed a cooling and heating system in their beds that balances their temperatures just nicely, I think the room on the right are getting washed by the tubs, brushes, soaps and towels, if I remember correctly I made the medicine give the birds some crushed pills, I wasn't entirely sure if you wanted me to clean up the room with the rabbits and squirrels in it, so I poofed the rabbits and squirrels into an enclosed area of the room while some living cleaning materials clean up whatever mess they made."

"So long as it has a time limit to set everything back to normal-"

"Don't worry your pretty little head Fluttershy, I have it all under Chaotic control, trust me my dear."

"I do have to admit, I have a bad feeling about it, but I don't think I should worry."

Discord gave the pegasus a smile and both continued on with their tea. After a short while of conversations, there was a crash coming from the room Discord said he focused on cleaning and tidying up. Concerned for her animals, Fluttershy got up from her spot of the couch and trotted to see what had been happening, gasping when she saw the sight of a vacuum cleaner trying to blow away what remained of a group of squirrels and rabbits. Discord peered his head into the living room and gave a rather confused look.

"Strange, that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Discord, do something to help them."

"I'll click them out of their misery. Don't look at me like that, I meant the misery of being IN the vacuum cleaner, not death itself!"

One click of his claw, and he managed to get the creatures out of the vacuum, though it still went after them, sending each of the animals into a scatter, the various cleaning objects chasing after them. Another room became loud with distress as the animals that had originally been fed soup were scattered to avoid anymore forceful feeding from the spoons and bowls that gave chase. The same thing can be said for the animals that were racing to get away from the various bathing objects that continuously spayed water at them. If Fluttershy was able to faint multiple times, she would have gone unconscious more times that she could count!

Discord, on the other hand, got really confused with all that had been happening. Sure, the chaos that was erupting spontaneously around him wasn't very unusual for him, seeing that things like this always happened around him a couple of times, so he didn't really see any need to panic at all. What he did do was pour himself another cup of tea and sipped it rather loudly to himself.

"Well, this was slightly unexpected."

"Slightly unexpected? Discord, they could get hurt!"

"They'll be fine my dear! The objects are just having their bit of fun."

"Objects can think for themselves?!"

"I gave them a small mind of their own so they could focus on the task at hand, of course I didn't think they'd find that loophole where they can do more than their set task."

"So something like this had happened before?"

"Now that you're curious about it, I did do this to Rarity's dresses last week. OH! I also did it to Twilight's books just a month ago! Now, that was fun!"

"Discord, what's so funny about this? Somepony could get hurt!"

"Just relax my dear, these things will be removed of their powers after they're done with them."

"When would that be?"

"Give it about 5 minutes, it should be over about then."

Fluttershy wasn't able to relax, and she frantically began to help her animal friends as much as she could. She even had to buck a brush or two away from her sick creatures. Discord on the other hand, still remained calm and collected, laughing every now and then when an object didn't understand the concept of either a wall or a door. The Draconequus thought it had been the perfect time to tell the mare how he truely felt about her, of course his timing couldn't have been worse for Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy~ I have something to tell you."

"It can possibly wait, can it?"

"Not really, but-"

"Can you tell me later please? I need to fix this mess."

"Mess? Dear Fluttershy, this isn't exactly what I would call a mess."

"Discord, it may not be a mess for you, but for a Pegasus who doesn't possess the same powers as you, this IS a mess! What if somepony gets hurt?"

"Nopony will get hurt. Didn't we have this conversation about 5 minutes ago."

"Discord, just undo what you've done."

"Why?!"

"Because I don't want the animals to get hurt."

"So I wasn't any help to you at all?"

"Of course you were! Things are just getting out of hand."

"Then let it pass!"

"I won't! I don't want them to get hurt. Please Discord, I'm asking you as a friend."

"I wish it had been more.."

"More?"

"Forget it. What's the love of a Draconequus to a pony? Nothing."

"Love?"

Discord couldn't form anymore words, and with the click of his claw, he undid the chaotic magic on the objects as they fell lifelessly to the ground. The Draconequus then poofed away from her living room, leaving the mare to process what he had said to her. Fluttershy in the past days previous after discussing her crush situation to AppleJack had promised herself to read any possible sign that Discord may have liked her back. If she could, she would have bucked herself in the head for it, blaming herself for not noticing the possible signs sooner.

-Discord dropping by unexpectedly
-Discord CARING about creatures other than ponies
-Discord attempting to read up on Animals to help her out
-Discord offering to lend her a hoof
-Discord's compliments
He DID love her...

Author's Note

Quality may or may not have dropped down in this chapter. Oh boy, let me know if the pacing is off, so I can fix it. Any help is better than none :)

Chapter 3 everypony! I should wrap things up next chapter unless I can't, in which case another chapter will do that for me xD

Have a wonderful day mares, colts and foals!
Trotting away~

SweetCookie

Chapter 4

He DID love her...
And she had been oblivious enough to ignore him.

Fluttershy stood still in her living room, processing the actions Discord, the Lord of Chaos himself, did in order to show his affections towards her. After thinking about it, not even Discord would do something like this on a good day, even for Fluttershy. He was the Draconequus who only cared about creatures that were ponies, but didn't pay heed to any of the creatures from the EverFree Forest, nor did he go out of his way to care for them. For Discord, showing his kindness, or whatever was there of his kindness for animals, was one of the biggest factors of affection he could show. Fluttershy mentally bucked herself for not looking deeply into the situation.

The pegasus got to work to send all her panicked animals back into their specified sleeping quarters, calming them down and cleaning up the mess caused by Discord's magic in the living room. At that point in time, Flutters looked just as she did when Discord poofed into her living room earlier that day, if not in just a bit better of a condition than she was earlier. Brushing her mane as best as possible to make it neater and a bit more presentable, she flew outside to try and find the Draconaquus who was hopefully lingering around Ponyville or in the EverFree Forest.

Looking around in the afternoon, Fluttershy was able to think clearly about the events that have happened today, and how she could talk to Discord upon finding him. She kept reminding herself that Discord vanished on the account of misunderstood words. She asked a few ponies lingering around town if they had seen him anywhere with no success of a definite answer. Lost for what to do, the pegasus trotted off to Sweet Apples Acres to find AppleJack for some information and advice.

AppleJack had been bucking an apple tree for its apples, whistling a small tune to keep her from growing bored of her work. It came as a surprise when she saw a messier-than-usual Fluttershy trot into the Apple Fields. Giving her a warm smile, AJ stood up straight and greeted the pegasus as she normally would previously but with a bit more exhaustion because of what she was doing earlier.

"Afternoon sugarcube! What brings ya 'ere? I thought you were back home taking care of your animals?"

"Good Afternoon AppleJack. They're resting. I came looking for Discord, have you seen him?"

"I haven't seen him since last week Fluttershy. Everything go well with your confession?"

"That's the problem I'm facing at the moment. Discord was going to confess to me."

"Discord confessing? Doesn't sound like him."

"He came by to help me look after my animals, but something bad happened and now I can't seem to find him."

"Let's not go into a panic sugarcube. What happened?"

"Um...Discord used his magic to make the work easy for the both of us, but things got out of hand. I told Discord to cut the magic off, but he must have decided to try and tell me how he felt, and me telling him to stop the magic might have made him believe I didn't like the help."

"...I really don't see how that could end up as a misunderstanding, nor why Discord didn't try to stay and understand the situation..."

"Jackie, he is one of the last of his kind, and he is rather new to this like me. I know he didn't mean any harm, but with how he's trying so hard to be good, he can misunderstand scenarios."

"Draconequus' aren't really known for timing as seen by Discord, if he is anything but a representation of an almost forgotten species."

"I'm certain that he isn't the last of his species."

"I know, but let's not get side-tracked from your problem sugarcube. So if Discord was going to try and show you his affection, why not go find him and show him your affection?"

"That's another problem: I can't find him. I looked all over Ponyville AND the EverFree Forest, but I haven't even seen a trace of his magic anywhere."

"Did ya ask Twilight?"

"Yes..."

"Well, this might be more serious for him than I once thought. If anything, did you look over Sweet Apple Acres yet?"

"No, not yet. I was hoping to look after asking you for advice."

"Advice? I'm guessing advice on how to fix this, huh?"

"Yes..."

"Just fix everything up and tell him how ya feel. If anything, now that you know his intention, maybe you should tell him yours, ya know, to make it balanced for the both of ya."

"You think so?"

"Positive. And while I enjoy talking to ya, I need to finish harvesting, so unfortunately I may need to cut this conversation short."

"Ok, I'll try to talk to him when I find him. Thanks AppleJack, you've been very helpful."

"You're welcome Flutters. Good luck sugarcube!"

Fluttershy looked around the orchard and Sweet Apple Acres for the rest of the afternoon. It had been around dusk when she began to lose hope of finding him at all, standing beside a big Apple Tree to think about what she should do next. Should she go home and wait for him? Should she continue to look? Should she travel to other areas of Equestria? She really couldn't decide on what to do, and she continued to think until she felt something soft and light fall onto her coat. Looking behind her, she realised she was covered in multiple flower petals. Looking up, she saw more flower petals falling from the tree, and it took her some time to realise that the tree wasn't its usual colour, something that wasn't easy to do because of the shifting light of the setting sun.

Flying upwards, Fluttershy avoided as many petals as possible, a few red and white petals falling into her mane as she flew up to the top of the tree. What she saw gave her relief beyond compare, seeing the sight of Discord plucking petals from summoned flowers. Discord with flowers? It baffled her even more, but she shook that thought out of her head as she flew close to the Draconequus, hoping to not startle him. Unknowingly to the pegasus, Discord was able to sense something looking at him, and turned his head to directly see the one pony he was not expecting to see.

"Fluttershy...?"

Author's Note

Sorry for the long update, but that's me! xD

Yeah the pacing is more or less History at this point, as well as the sense of the story, but I'm not a professional so you'll have to forgive me for it! xD

Yeah, things will be wrapped up in the next chapter (hopefully) since this is a lengthy chapter already. I won't take this short story on a long ride for much longer. If I had gotten Discord, Fluttershy or AppleJack out of character here, please let me know :)

Also, as a reminder for mainly myself, this was inspired by DisneyFanatic's Fanfiction and Audio Drama 'Bride of Discord'!

Have a wonderful day mares, colts and foals!
Trotting away~

SweetCookie

Chapter 5

"Fluttershy...?"

Discord looked at the pegasus from where he sat about to pluck petals from a rose he had poofed up. His confusion and surprised expression went monotone and slightly sad. He turned his attention towards the rose instead of the mare beside him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you Discord. I was worried about you all afternoon, and I-"

"Save your breath, I should be the one concerned with you."

"But Discord-"

"Let me talk first Fluttershy. I left your cottage out of sadness and frustration since you know how long I've spent on patience, what with patiently waiting to be set free from stone. I was just so tired of not being heard out and having to wait for a lot longer than I would have hoped, and I'm sorry if that frightened you in any way."

"It didn't, and I've forgiven you hours ago too. Discord-"\

"In fact, I'm sorry about misinterpreting what you were trying to tell me! I didn't mean to leave you confused and concerned, I just-"

"Discord. You don't need to worry yourself with a big apology. But, I have to ask: Discord, do you Love Me?"

"W-what kind of a question is that? What made you come up with-"

"Discord, you left after saying what the Love of a Draconequus is to a pony."

Discord's attempt to not know what the young mare was telling him was plain as night is different from day. Sighing, Discord's uncomfortable face turned to that of a calm but serious face plastered with worry. He knew that she had pieced together everything, if not with the help of the orange farm pony. Discord shifted from his spot to make room for Fluttershy, concerned she may have been tired from flying for too long. Fluttershy took the offer by the hoof and sat close beside him, giving him a gentle pat on his shoulder out of comfort.

"T-the truth is Fluttershy, and I have no idea how to say this: I've developed some feelings for you. I don't know how and I don't know why, but somehow I love hearing your sweet singing voice, feeling your pink fluffy mane when you allow me to touch it, seeing you smile at your animals, hearing your contagious laughter, and getting lost in those lovely blue eyes of yours. I'm already new to the whole concept of Friendship, and this sort of feeling is so...foreign for me. My years of isolation had never taught me to love another as my equal, let alone how to properly love a pony with all the kindness and patience she deserves, but now I know I may have screwed up any of my chances."

"I don't think you did..."

"But, my dear, now you know what I was trying to tell you. Evidently you might have figured it out on your own, but I understand if-"

"Don't say anything else. I don't want you to hurt yourself with your own words."

"But-but I cause nothing but chaos..."

"And that's what I love about you."

"You always say that."

"But that's not the only thing I love about you."

"You...love other...aspects of me?"

Fluttershy nodded, sighing and taking a deep breath as she mustered up the courage she needed to speak what she really wanted to tell him for a while.

"Discord, I haven't been honest myself. I don't want to be your friend because I don't see you that way entirely anymore...Don't say anything, just let me explain. You see, I don't want to be your friend, because I see you as something more. I love the way you make me laugh, I love the way you try to show kindness and friendship to others, I really love your compliments, I love everything about you."

"Fluttershy..."

"Discord, this is why I should be apologising. I was blind to all the signs you've given me about your affections for me. I should apologise for causing the misunderstanding despite that being rather petty for the both of us, and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner and let you grow impatient with love."

Fluttershy got closer to Discord, the young mare hearing her heartbeat in her ears. She was plastered with a bright pink blush over her bright yellow coat and if one would see her eyes, they would be shining with love and kindness and hope. Discord was granted the benefit of looking into her eyes, eyes that he has fallen in love with. Discord himself seemed to be blushing, and he had a sort of glow you'd see a love-struck pony have, if not he was actually glowing. Fluttershy looked into Discord's hopeful and love-struck eyes, and after a moments silence she mustered up the courage to say something that is so simple yet so important and so magical to hear and say.

"Discord?"

"Yes?"

"I-I-I lo-"

"Fluttershy, you don't need to say it."

"I-I don't?"

"Because I want to say it for you my dear. I Love You."

Fluttershy's blush increased and her heart seemed to flutter in her chest. Discord gave the pegasus a warm and loving smile, any form of worry and fear of rejection disappearing from his unbalanced face.

"I love every aspect of your kindness, I love hearing your laughter, I love everything about you my dear."

Fluttershy gave Discord a loving and warm smile, all her usual insecurities disappearing from her mind as it was replaced with love and happiness and warmth.

"Discord, I love how you help make me more confident, I love the chaos, I love everything about you just as much."

Both were stripped away of their fears, insecurities, uncertainty and concerns, love seemingly replacing every uncertain emotion with a content one. Discord brought both his paw and claw up towards the mare and enveloped her into a warm and loving embrace, Fluttershy returning his more than welcomed hug by wrapping her hooves and wings around him in a gentle and loving manner. They stayed that way for a while, Discord resting his chin on her head, and with as much courage as he himself could muster, he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Fluttershy looked up at Discord with a heavy blush and a face that contained a welcoming surprised expression, Discord chuckled and soon afterwards Fluttershy giggled with him. To Discord's equally welcomed surprise, Fluttershy mustered up courage to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek, both never seeming to stop smiling.

Both turned their attention towards the setting sun, the sun giving a warm and gentle glow across the Orchard as it made way for the moon and the deep blue night sky that sparkled with stars. The yellow, pink and purple glow seemed to have given the now new lovers the perfect atmosphere to not only apologise but confess their hidden affections for one another. Discord and Fluttershy continued to hold each other in a warm embrace while they watched the sun set over the Orchard. After a moment of watching the sunset in all of its grace and beauty, Discord chucked a bit and turned his head towards Fluttershy.

"My dear, shouldn't we get back to looking after your animals?"

"I think we should Discord. You can stay the night on the couch if you would like."

"My dear, that would be wonderful. Can I cook up some pancakes for dinner tonight? Multiple stacks on me!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt one little bit."

"My dear Fluttershy the only thing that will be hurting us will be our stomachs stuffed with breakfast!"

For the entirety of the night, Discord and Fluttershy worked around the clock on different shifts to take care of Fluttershy's animals, and true to Discord's word he did cook up a lot of pancakes, possibly around 5 stacks of 10 pancakes. They ate most of it and continued to eat throughout the night until Fluttershy was content with leaving the animals for the rest of the night so she herself can sleep. Handing Discord a pillow and a blanket, both greeted the other a warm and wonderful evening before going to bed.

Turns out, the day wasn't so bad for Fluttershy and Discord, and both were graced with pleasant dreams, something that made Discord plan to visit Princess Luna before she fell asleep for the morning. For Fluttershy, she was glad Discord came around today at all, he ended up giving the biggest helping paw with her animals she could ask for. Or was it claw? Honestly, it was a question with an answer she wouldn't be able to get 100% of the time, whispering something before she drifted off to sleep.

"I love you Discord. Always."

The End~

Author's Note

And so we say The End to my first story here on FimFiction!

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this, and I will share a fun fact with you lot about this specific chapter! Cause why not! xD

In the paragraph where Discord kisses Fluttershy on the forehead and Fluttershy kisses Discord on the cheek, it was actually based on an actual event that happened to me the day after Valentines Day this year. I remember it as clear as diamonds and I thought it would be really cute to incorporate it into the story.

For anyone who noticed, there was no kiss on the lips! I did that intentionally since I believe not every written love confession should have to end in a kiss on the lips, no matter how sweeter it would make the moment. I dunno, that's just me but feel free to let any couple kiss after a confession however you like! xD

That's it for 'A Helping Paw? Or Was It Claw?'! Thank you everypony for enjoying this short story and I hope you love it just as much as I do :3
If you'd like to check out my other story 'An Apple And Pear Through And Through', you can do so by following this link here: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/404260/a-pear-and-apple-through-and-through

Have a wonderful day mares, colts and foals
Trotting Away~

SweetCookie