Petals

by GeekCat

Rating: teen
Tags: Death, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Fluttershy, Discord
Length: 5526

Fluttershy doesn't worry too much about the strange things happening to her. Coughing up a few petals can't hurt anypony, can it? Hiding an unrequited love won't kill you...will it?

Fluttershy doesn't worry too much about the strange things happening to her. Coughing up a few petals can't hurt anypony, can it? Hiding an unrequited love won't kill you...will it?

Published 2019-11-19 23:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-11-19 23:20:01 UTC

Tip of the Tongue

Fluttershy remembered that it had started off small at first. As students left the school for summer vacation, she and Discord had talked over tea about how he could come visit more often, since her schedule was free. As he gave her a wide, fanged grin, she turned away with a light blush, and noted that her chest felt heavy, and that it took a little more effort to breathe. She told herself it was just a chest cold, and took some medicine after Discord had left.

The cold persisted as the week passed. That didn't stop her from spending time with Discord next Tuesday, giggling at the stories he never seemed to run out of. During the tea party, she felt butterflies in her stomach. But afterwards, her chest became tighter, and she had developed a small cough. She didn't think much of it, and just kept taking medicine and getting more rest.

The petals started appearing after their next tea party.

Of course, she didn't think much of the small pink petals she would find in her hoof. She always thought that she had just gotten it stuck to her while she was outside. She wasn't sure which tree or flower they were coming from, but really, a few petals weren't a problem!

Soon, she would find two or three petals stuck on her hoof, then four or five. Her coughing grew worse, and she only noticed after several more tea parties that the petals were coming out of her throat.

It was unusual, but she didn't want to worry any of her friends about it. Especially not Discord, who she—another cough, with another cloud of petals, escaped her as she thought about the draconequus. She swept them up and threw them away, like she did every other time it happened.

For the next moon, she swallowed the petals during their tea parties, and discretely threw them away all other times. Anypony who noticed thought they came from outside, like she had in the beginning. Her animals, though, quickly figured it out, and urged her to get help.

Which was why she was standing outside the doors to Twilight's library, trying to convince herself to go in and talk to her. School would restart next week, and she had been coughing up petals every day since last Tuesday. Today's tea party was the hardest to get through—the petals were thick in her throat the whole time Discord was there.

She coughed as she recalled the memory, catching the flurry of petals in her hooves. With a sigh, she entered the library. Whatever was happening to her was getting worse, and with school close to starting, it would be harder for her to hide. Twilight could help her with this. She had spent years studying magic, and reading about nearly every known subject—if anypony know what this was, it would be her.

The purple alicorn looked up from her book as she heard the doors open. “Oh, Fluttershy!,” she said, “What brings you here? Is something wrong?”

Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded. “Twilight, I…I need your help.” Twilight, worry in her eyes, rushed to Fluttershy's side, raising an eyebrow at the petals Fluttershy was holding. “You see, I…I've been coughing up these for a while,” she said meekly.

Twilight took the petals in her aura, examining them closely. She asked Fluttershy, “How long, exactly?”

“T…two moons.”

Twilight dropped the petals in shock. “Fluttershy, why didn't you tell me sooner?! This could be serious!”

“I didn't want to worry anypony. Besides, it doesn't hurt at all. It's just…unusual,” Fluttershy said. I should have come sooner, she thought ashamedly.

Twilight sighed and picked the petals back up, setting them in a summoned petri dish. “I think I might have heard about this somewhere,” she said as she started pulling books from the shelves, “But I'll have to research into this. I'll tell you as soon as I find anything. Maybe until then, you should take sick days off from the school.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don't want to make anypony work more because of me, and I don't want to worry the students,” she said. “I can keep working while hiding the petals while you look into this. It'll be fine!”

Twilight paused, then sighed. “If you insist. But if anything happens—there's more petals appearing, or you feel any kind of pain—you tell me, and you'll take time off from working.” Fluttershy nodded, smiling.

Twilight continued, “And I'll have Spike and Starlight help me with the research—but I won't tell them what's happening to you!,” she said quickly when she saw Fluttershy's worried expression. “I'll just tell them it's for a paper or something. I just need some help to figure this out as soon as possible.”

Fluttershy slowly nodded. “I can help out, too,” she offered. “If you don't tell…anypony else about this.”

Twilight nodded. “So long as whatever this is stays harmless, I'll keep it to myself.”

Fluttershy bid her goodbye and left, heading towards the sanctuary to finish her chores. Knowing that Twilight could help her…it made her feel lighter as she went on her way.

The rest of the moon went along fine. Fluttershy would swallow or hide the petals that appeared in class, and threw away any that showed up during her breaks. Some of her students would notice the many petals in her trash can, but shrugged it off. A few heard her coughing and asked if she was alright, and she cheerfully assured them she was healthy.

The hardest time to hide it was during Tuesday Tea. Discord would tell a story that would make her laugh, and a petal would try to bubble up with it. He would laugh at a story she told, and her chest would grow tight. The smallest things he did—simple magic tricks, or the way his hands brushed against her hooves as they both reached for the same thing—would almost make her burst into a petal-filled coughing fit.

But everything was going well, she reflected as her class left for lunch. It was the last day of the moon—she had gone for a full moon without the symptoms getting any worse. And Twilight had told her a few days ago that she may have found a lead in some writings from an Eastern unicorn.

Suddenly, a flash of magenta blinded her, interrupting her thoughts. The last few students in the room jumped when Headmare Twilight suddenly appeared in front of them. She pushed past them, flying towards Fluttershy, worry written on her face.

“Twilight, what's—” before Fluttershy could finish, Twilight had reached her and teleported the two of them away. Fluttershy blinked the spots out of her eyes, and realized that Twilight had brought her to the throne room, where the rest of their friends were already sitting.

Fluttershy took a seat on her own throne, the others watching her carefully. “Twilight…what's going on?”

Twilight bit her lip. “Fluttershy, I…I found a lead. I know what it is.”

Applejack tilted her head. “Um…if this is a thing about Fluttershy, why did you bring all of us here? And why are you acting like a kitten without its momma?” The others chimed in, wondering the same thing.

Fluttershy whimpered, “Twilight, you promised you wouldn't tell anyone…”

Twilight sighed. “But Fluttershy…I found out what it is. We need to tell them, because we need to figure this out as quickly as possible.” She lifted an old tome up in her aura, a page dog-eared, which she flipped to.

She must have gotten us right when she found it. She never does that to books, Fluttershy thought. Twilight started to read, her voice wavering,

“The healers I spoke to call it “Hanahaki Disease", meaning, “to throw up flowers". It is a magical disease that appears in those who have fallen into a love that is unrequited—or, a love they believe is unrequited. This disease can last moons or years, depending on the case.

The victim will first feel a tightness in their chest—the flowers growing there as they fall in love. Then, they will cough up petals, especially when near to or thinking about their love, in increasingly large numbers. In the final weeks or moons, the victim will begin to throw up whole flowers.

Eventually, unless the victim's feelings are returned, the flowers will bloom larger in their chest, eventually blocking their throat and filling their lungs, until they are unable to breathe, and they choke to death. There is no known way to prevent or cure this disease, outside of the return of the victim's feelings.

Twilight set the book down, blinking quickly. Fluttershy was deep in thought. Love… Her mind drifted to Discord, and it was like her eyes were finally open. She had known deep down that she'd loved him, from the first tightness she felt in her chest, but had never used that word until now to describe what she was feeling—but she still knew it was true. For a moment, her mind was clear, and the butterflies in her stomach were welcome as she thought of all the time she'd spent with Discord, the creature she loved.

The moment ended when she had another coughing fit, a large cloud of petals spewing from her mouth and onto the table. The others gasped.

Twilight sniffed and said, “We all have to look for a cure. Or else…or else…” She broke off with a sob.

Rarity, after a few calming breaths, spoke up. “Well, the book did mention that if her feelings are returned, the flowers will be gone.” She smiled. “All Fluttershy needs to do is tell that pony how she feels, and then everything is solved.”

Fluttershy twiddled with her hooves. “But what if…he doesn't feel the same way?” Discord was smart, funny, charming, and could change reality at will—if he would ever even be interested in romance, why would it be with her? She softly coughed up another petal. “I…I can't do it.”

Twilight pulled out a sheet of paper. “Which is why we're going to look for a cure.” She pulled out a quill and began to rapidly jot things down. “Applejack, I want you to see if any member of your family has heard of the Hanahaki Disease. Rainbow Dash, I want you to ask the Wonderbolts, and if they don't know anything, fly East as quickly as you can and see if you can find anything. Rarity, if you can, ask your clients if they know anything. Pinkie Pie, ask everypony you know.”

Pinkie gasped. “Everypony? That's a loooot of ponies! And yaks, and some griffons, and a chicken…”

Twilight nodded. “The more people we ask, the more likely we are to find something. I'm going to search my books for any mention of this disease. I'll send Starlight to study with Sunburst in the Crystal Empire, and Spike can ask the dragons.”

Fluttershy fiddled with her hooves. “You guys…you don't need to go to this much trouble. What about your jobs? And the school?”

Twilight set her items down and approached Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, don't worry. We'll find a cure. You just need to rest, and maybe consider confessing to the pony you love?”

Fluttershy coughed up some more pink petals, and everyone jumped. “Or maybe you should just rest,” Twilight said quickly. “Just stay at home, and we can take care of your classes and sanctuary.”

And that was what she did for the next moon. She would come to her class on her good days, to assure them she was fine, and though Twilight tried to dissuade her at first, she had accepted that she would just need to keep a close eye on Fluttershy at the school.

She still went to the animal sanctuary, though Dr. Fauna and Zecora volunteered to do most of the work. The two of them also found out about the disease, and had started their own research. But everypony had respected her wishes, and nopony else, not even the students, were told about the disease.

Twilight would request books from several different libraries, locking herself in her room for hours pouring over pages. Rainbow hadn't learned anything from the Wonderbolts, so she made constant trips to where the Eastern unicorns lived, often bringing material for Twilight to pour over. Applejack wrote letters to every member of her family, then started writing to business partners and clients. Rarity had posted bulletins asking for information on the disease in every one of her stores, and even asked some of the Canterlot nobility what they knew. Pinkie would ask everypony she met what they knew, making some ponies around her nervous. Spike had talked to Ember, to see if dragons ever caught or cured the disease, and Starlight studied diligently with Sunburst.

But still, nothing more was found. Apparently, the only known cure was to confess your feelings to your loved one. But Fluttershy couldn't do it. She managed to keep the petals hidden from Discord for a full moon, even as it became colder, and harder to simply say they came from outside.

But then, at the beginning of the sixth moon, on the first Tuesday, he found out.

It was near the end of their tea party. Discord was turning to the door, ready to leave. Fluttershy was sad to see him go, but relieved at the same time. She leaned to the side, ready to discreetly open her mouth and release the petals that had been building up in it.

But just as she opened her mouth, petals spilling out onto the floor behind her couch, Discord turned, perhaps about to say one last thing before he left. The both of them froze as he watched the last few petals drift out from between her lips.

The corners of his lips turned downwards, his eyes filled with worry. “Fluttershy?,” he asked quietly.

The concern he was showing for her…a violent coughing fit came over her, petals bursting out with each one. Discord rushed back to her side, rubbing at her back and pulling her closer to him. More petals came. He still held her, waiting for her coughing to die down.

Once she had managed to calm her thoughts and her coughing, Discord held her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Fluttershy,” he said quietly, “What's happening? Coughing up petals is odd, even in my opinion.”

She glanced away. He held her chin and turned her head back to look her in the eyes. She flinched as she stifled another coughing fit. The petals tickled the back of her throat as she told him about the Hanahaki Disease—its symptoms, its consequences, and how she and her friends were looking for a cure.

Discord was upset. “How long have you been hiding this? How did this even happen?”

Fluttershy looked away. “This is the sixth moon since it started.” Discord stood up and began pacing, his expression angry. With a wave of his hand, books flew in front of him, and he skimmed through them for a few seconds before they disappeared into puffs of blue smoke.

“There. Now I'm caught up with Twilight on the subject.” He plopped down next to her again. “So…you fell in love, and they don't feel the same? Or do you not know?”

Fluttershy said quietly, “I…I don't know. But I don't want to push…him away.”

He was quiet for a second. “You really care about them, huh?” Fluttershy nodded. Discord rubbed at his eyes for a second, then leap into the air.

“Don't worry, Flutterbuddy,” he said. “I have access to resources even Princess Celestia couldn't dream of. I'll go out looking, and I'll find a way to cure you. That's a promise.”

He pressed a claw to her chest. “Meanwhile, you're going to rest, and get help if it gets worse. Comprendé?”

Fluttershy gulped down the thick petals in her throat and nodded. Discord smiled, tipped a feathered hat to her, and vanished in a flash a white light. She got to her hooves, ready to sweep up the petals again, but was surprised when the broom moved on its own, diligently cleaning her floor.

Discord can be so sweet. Another coughing fit broke her smile. The broom collected the petals before they even touched the floor.

Fluttershy was quarantined inside her cottage, now. Discord had placed a spell on the doors and windows that alerted him and whichever of her friends was closest when she left. Somepony would either encourage her to go back inside, or stay with her to keep an eye on her. But she stopped coming to the school and sanctuary, trusting them in the hooves of her friends. Food and supplies were delivered to her regularly.

Over the next moon, Discord would pop in randomly, whenever he found what he thought was a lead. The leads ranged from drinking different kinds of potions, chanting words in strange languages, or sitting for hours in a specific place at a specific time. Nothing worked, and Discord would sigh, shrug, and send the failed idea to Twilight to look at.

She knew Twilight appreciated anything to look into. She had read every book on this disease, and on several others, in her library and the Canterlot and Manehatten libraries. The others were starting to lose leads, too. Rainbow had scoured every corner of the land of Eastern unicorns, gotten a copy of every book and spell. Applejack’s letters received only confused and unknowing replies, and she was running out of ponies to write to. Rarity hadn't heard anything yet, and had already asked almost every pony in Canterlot, Manehatten, and Ponyville. Pinkie, knowing so many ponies, seemed to be the only one with chances at finding a lead, though she wasn't having any luck finding the cure, either. Everypony else who knew about the disease did what they could, but couldn't find anything.

The one best at finding things was Discord, though she didn't know where he'd find them. He was dedicated to spending his time searching for the cure, and ponies only saw him studying in some odd place, or suddenly visiting Fluttershy with a new idea. Of course, he still came on Tuesdays, though their tea party only took up part of their time. The other part was Discord examining her, feeling at her chest and throat, using his magic to figure out how it was progressing. Today was one such day.

“It's progressing slowly,” he said as he pulled away. “But it's still getting worse.” He felt at her forehead for a fever, his talon cupped under her chin, his lips so close to her own—!

She turned away and coughed violently, a large volume of petals coming out. Discord held up a bucket to catch them. “It's definitely getting worse,” he said, cringing.

Fluttershy managed to stop coughing, and he handed her a glass of ice water, smiling kindly. She quickly gulped it down, pushing back the petals about to come up.

“I think you're close to throwing up whole flowers,” Discord said. “And when you get to that stage…there's only a few weeks before…” he trailed off and shook his head.

“Which is why I'm going to find a cure as fast as possible!,” he declared. He pulled out a stack of old books. “I normally leave this kind of boring book research stuff I find to Twilight, but I have a hunch about these books—and I want you to be better as soon as possible.”

He grabbed the first one from the pile and thumbed through it, pages flickering too fast for pony eyes to read. He snapped the book shut, groaned, and tossed it over his shoulder. “Nothing. Just dull, dry words.” Still, he started flipping through the next book.

Fluttershy picked up a book herself, thumbing through the pages, squinting her eyes as she tried to read the odd letters. She had picked out a word that might have been “Hanahaki", when suddenly Discord cried out in triumph. She jumped, dropping her book.

Discord grinned and shoved the book he was reading in front of her. “I found it! A cure! I told you I had a hunch!” She carefully took the books from his hands while he shifted so he was behind her. As she skimmed over the words silently, he read them aloud happily.

“Although the flowers dissipate when the victim's feelings are returned, there is a more unconventional, yet more guaranteed, method to cure this dreaded Hanahaki disease. The flowers can be manually removed through surgery, and will not regrow! Victims who opt for this method report an easing of tension in their chest, and that only a few more petals came, and only in mild sneezes, as opposed to violent coughing and vomiting.

Though there is one side-effect: The victim will lose the love they held for the other person when the flowers are removed. In some rare cases, the victims never fall in love with another again, and some even lose all feeling and emotion.

And several refuse to have the surgery at all. In A great many cases, their feelings are sadly unreturned, and their lives are claimed by the mysterious disease.”

He clapped his hands together. “I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!,” he crowed. “And you don't even need to get a surgeon—a little magic, and I could pull those flowers out myself! Now, just lie down on your back, and I can—”

“No.”

Fluttershy surprised herself when she spoke up. Discord looked stunned and confused. “N-No?,” he repeated, cleaning his ear out with a toothbrush. She nodded. His confused expression changed into a hurt one. “What do you mean ‘no'?”

“I…it said that if you do…I'll lose my feelings,” she said quietly. "My love for..."

He held the book up, smacking it with his paw. “And underneath that, it says that those who refuse the surgery die.” He frowned. “Is your love worth that much? You're going to die holding onto your feelings?”

Fluttershy became quiet. She thought about Discord, and the way he made her feel. She was too scared to tell him how she felt, true…but thinking about seeing him without feeling the flutter in her chest, or the warmth deep in her body—it hurt. She was sure if she lost her love for him, she'd surely lose her other emotions as well.

She slowly nodded. Discord reeled back, almost comically. He turned away from her, scooping up the books in his arms. “Fine!,” he said. “But I'm not going to let you die. I'll see you when I find another lead.” With that, he vanished in a flash of light.

Discord's visits were shorter now, and he skipped their Tuesday teas more often. Every time he came, he'd bring some odd cure that didn't work, he'd plead with her to just let him take out the flowers, and she would refuse. Sometimes she saw his claw twitch forward, becoming insubstantial for just a second…but he always held himself back, then quickly left.

She missed spending time with him. And the more she missed him, the worse her coughing became, thick piles of petals coming with each hoarse bark. The amount was increasing, but she didn't think much of it—it was just because she was missing Discord. That was all.

Or at least that's what she thought, until two weeks after Discord had found out about the surgery. She was in the kitchen, preparing some evening tea. As she looked through her tea boxes, her eyes glanced over some of the unusual, novelty flavors she had gotten for Discord. When she thought of him, her chest became tighter than it ever had, and she prepared for violently coughing.

Instead, she gagged and retched, hunching over the sink. She coughed once, which led to a slew of pink flowers pouring up her throat and out of her mouth. She wiped stray petals off of her lips, and stared down at the flowers in the sink.

And when you get to that stage…there's only a few weeks before…, Discord's worried voice echoed in the back of her mind. Her chest tightened, and more flowers were added to the pile.

Once she had stopped, she turned on the sink, washing the flowers down the drain, her thoughts drifting. No pony but Discord—she harshly swallowed—had found anything that looked like a cure. And everypony was growing more worried, more tense. If they heard about this…they'd go into a panic. Especially Discord.

As she threw up more flowers into the flowing water, she thought of how adamant he had been about the surgery. If he knew it had gotten worse…he might not be able to hold himself back anymore. It seemed to be a struggle for him to do so now.

And so she decided to not tell the others. If it gets any worse than this, she thought, If this continues…then I'll tell them. But not now. I don't want to worry them, when they've already worried so much over me.

She managed to keep her worsening symptoms from the others. She would swallow down flowers if someone was near, often drinking water or tea to push them down. When she was alone, she allowed them to come up, but quickly got rid of the evidence.

It was hardest when Discord stopped by. Though his visits were shorter and less frequent, he still came by with potential cures. Every time he came by, she would feel the flowers filling up her throat. She wouldn't talk, and would drink large glasses of water until he left. She would wait several minutes before letting the flowers come up, in case he would swing back again.

It was a struggle, but it worked. No pony knew that the symptoms had gotten worse. At most, they noticed that she was much more pale than normal, and that beads of sweat would gather on her forehead. They would insist that she rest and would go get her some cold medicine, but didn't question her.

But still, it was becoming almost too much for her to handle. Her chest was tight all the time now, and sharp bursts of pain would accompany each cough or gag. Her throat always tickled, like there were soft petals brushing against it. She couldn't sleep because of the pain, and she was starting to lose her appetite.

She sighed as she forced down a sip of tea. Even if he didn't show up, she still set everything up for their Tuesday Teas. Nowadays, thinking about him would cause her pain to peak, and yet…somewhere, deep down, buried beneath all those flowers, the thoughts of him made her feel happy. The thought that he might show up was comforting, in some way.

I can't keep doing this, she thought, I have to tell them. I shouldn't have tried to hide it was getting worse. For a second, another idea flashed in her mind…of telling Discord how she felt about him.

She actually considered it. If he returns my feelings, the thought made her feel lighter than air, Then everything will be fine. But if he doesn't… she frowned as a sharp pain stabbed through her chest. I could lose our friendship…I could lose him.

But if I don't do anything…he'd lose me. And I wouldn't ever be able to know if he… She sighed and set down her teacup. I'll tell my friends…and write Discord, to ask him to come see me, she decided.

She got up from her seat, placing her hooves on the ground. But the second she moved, pain blossomed in her chest and throat, making her vision blurry. Her legs wobbled and crumpled underneath her, and she fell harshly to the floor. She gagged, and felt the flowers start to come up, but they were so thick, they barely moved in her throat. Her lungs were burning.

“…help…,” she squeaked, before her voice was stopped by involuntary gagging. Her lungs burned even more. She wanted to scream, but didn't have enough energy or breath to do so. Her vision was becoming even blurrier as the pain twisted inside her chest.

Tears began to stream down her face. Why? Why? Why didn't I tell my friends earlier? Why didn't I tell Discord earlier? Why didn't I tell him I loved him? And now, when I wanted to, I'm going to… Silent sobs wracked her body. She slowly buried her face in her forehooves with the little scraps of strength she had left.

But then, her ears flicked up at the familiar sound of someone teleporting in. Even if the edges of her vision were too blurry to see the white flash as he appeared, she would always recognize that sound. She lifted her head up weakly, and saw Discord floating, holding several bottles of multicolored liquids.

“Fluttershy, I found some potions—” he saw her lying on her floor, tears still fresh on her cheeks. He dropped everything and rushed to her side, lifting her up into his lap. “Fluttershy?!”

“Discord,” she mouthed, unable to speak. “I—”

Discord's claw turned transparent and rushed towards her chest. Fluttershy gasped and, with great effort, threw a forehoof over her chest. He froze inches from it, looking her in the eyes. “You don't want me to…” She shook her head, and he growled.

“Why? You're at the end! You can't breath, can't talk, you can barely move, and you still won't let me fix it!,” he yelled. His hands balled up into fists. “Who do you care about so much? Who's so important that you'd…”

To her surprise, tears started streaming down his face. “Please,” he said, “Please let me help you. Even if you lose your feelings for them…don't I matter to you?” His hands fell to his sides. “Don't leave me. Please.”

Fluttershy blinked back tears of her own. She weakly lifted up a hoof, and tapped at Discord's chest. “You,” she mouthed. “It's always been you.”

Discord stared in shock blankly, then pressed his face into his paw, making a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “You…you…” He shook his head. “I thought you'd never…when you said the disease was caused by love, I never thought…” He gently held her closer to his chest. “I thought it was somepony else. I wanted to remove the flowers to save you, but…selfishly, I had wanted you to forget whoever it was. To forget whatever fool wouldn't care for you.”

He sighed. “Guess I'm the fool for not noticing…” He looked Fluttershy in the eyes. “I love you, Shy. Maybe I was selfish, but all along, all I wanted was for you to get better. To be happy.” He leaned down, and Fluttershy weakly leaned upwards. Their noses touched, with no intent to kiss, but still filled with all the feelings they each held.

Fluttershy felt her chest loosen suddenly. She placed a hoof to her mouth, turning away. An entire bouquet of flowers poured out of her mouth in an endless stream—stems and roots included. After a few seconds, she stopped, and was able to take a deep breath, the first she had been able to take without feelings any pain in moons. She turned to Discord, eager to tell him. But before she could say anything…

“I made it worse!?,” he cried. He grabbed her muzzle, inspecting her face. “I told the truth, Flutters! You have to believe me!”

She shook her head, laughing. “I do believe you. I'm alright now. This is…the best I've felt in moons,” she explained.

He sighed in relief, falling onto his back against the floor. Fluttershy lay next to him, curling up against his side. His arms wrapped around her. “I don't think I've slept for moons,” he groaned. “I couldn't. Each time I tried, I started worrying about you. Then I would start on a new lead…”

“You should probably get some sleep,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“So should you. You need to get your energy back. Why don't you get to bed?”

“I'm comfortable here.”

Discord grinned. “So am I, actually.” A blanket and two pillows materialized above and under them, respectively. They both curled closer to each other, feeling safe and loved.

Tomorrow, they would tell their friends about their new relationship, and everypony would be happy that she was cured, though most would wonder what she saw in him, exactly. They would all be happy for the couple, though, especially Pinkie. Fluttershy would tell her students what exactly had happened, and would see a doctor, at her friends’ request. Just to be safe. Discord would gather up everything he had found and take it all to its original dimension.

But that would be tomorrow. Today, as the sun went from its peak to the western horizon, the two lovers dozed next to each other, breathing softly. Petals lay crumpled around and under them…but why would they worry about that when the creature they loved was right next to them?