A calm, peaceful morning was just beginning in Ponyville. The sun was slowly rising in the sky, and ponies were beginning to wake up and go about their day. Yes, today was looking like a peaceful day for all the creatures in town.
But in another town, or rather dimension, things weren't so peaceful.
Discord and Fluttershy had woken up that morning to soaking wet bedsheets. After a few seconds of staring blankly at each other, it seemed to finally hit them that Fluttershy's water had broken.
Discord's hands flew up to the side of his head, while Fluttershy grimanced and placed a hoof against her swollen abdomen. "But-but it's supposed to come next week!" he babbled. "Not today! Why is it coming today!?"
Fluttershy winced, then placed her hooves on the side of his head. "Discord, calm down," she managed to hiss through grit teeth, shuddering slightly. "It's okay. We just need to get to the hospital."
He took a deep breath, slowly nodding. Carefully, he scooped his wife into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest before snapping his tail feathers and teleporting the two of them in a flash of white light.
They appeared in the lobby of the Ponyville hospital, startling a few early patients. He rushed up to the reception desk while Fluttershy held her hooves against her stomach, eyes squeezing shut as she grimanced. "The baby's coming!" he snapped at the receptionist, who reeled back a bit.
"I'll call the doctors. We'll get you back there as soon as we can!" she said, scribbling something down before rushing into the back.
"Can't you go faster? This is an emergency!" he shouted after her.
Fluttershy winced, but still managed to brush his cheek with her hoof. "Discord, it really isn't," she sighed. "Labor can take a long time. And nothing bad is happening to me." She flinched and shuddered again. "Even if this..." She shook her head.
He cradled her against his chest as he sat down in one of the tiny chairs in the waiting area. He dabbed at her forehead with a wet cloth as sweat started to form, and she gave him a small, grateful smile.
"Mrs. Fluttershy Chaos?" somepony said, causing Discord to glance up. A unicorn in a white lab coat stood there with a clipboard, with a gurney next to him. "We're ready to take you to the birthing ward."
"Finally!" Discord said, hurrying forward and placing Fluttershy on the gurney. The doctor began to push it along with his magic, while Discord hovered along beside his wife, squeezing her hoof with one hand and stroking her mane with the other.
Soon, they were in a sterile white room, deep on the hospital. Fluttershy was tranfered from the gurney to an uncomfortable-looking bed, where they attached machines to her that Discord didn't understand. All he knew was that one squiggly line on the monitor was constant, and that was good, and another was only generating a few spikes, and would make more as time went on.
The medical staff slowly filtered out, once they made sure she was in good condition. "We'll check on you in a bit," the doctor said. "And fetch the midwife when your cervix is wider. For now, just do the breathing exercises you practiced."
Fluttershy started to do as he said, breathing in and out deeply. Discord used to snicker when she did the exercises at home—to which she responded by shoving him out of the room, trying not to laugh herself—but now, he was too concerned for her. After sending a quick message to their friends that she was in labor, he sat down beside her bed, summoning a wooden chair for himself and clapping his hands over her hoof, keeping his gaze focused on her face, murmuring encouragements to her.
An hour passed by, with doctors and nurses coming in more frequently. During one of these visits, Fluttershy flinched and gave a soft cry. The doctor examined her and the machine, and announced, "You'll need to start pushing soon. I'll fetch the midwife!"
Discord grabbed his hoof before he could leave. "Can't you give her some painkillers or something first?" he begged.
The doctor sighed. "I'm afraid not. She needs to be as clear-minded as possible when she needs to push. We can give her something after the birth is over, though." He rushed out the door.
Discord came back to his wife's side, letting her squeeze his paw. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I tried." She smiled at him before another contraction hit, making her give another, slightly louder cry.
Several minutes later, she was sweating and panting heavily, crying out at every contraction. He whimpered and clasped her hoof, wishing there was some way to ease, or preferablly stop, her pain.
Then, an idea struck him. He grinned, and without a second thought, snapped his fingers.
Fluttershy relaxed slightly, breathing a sigh of relief. She glanced over at him. "What did you do?" she asked, a soft smile on her face.
He grinned, about to answer, when he saw her abdomen twitch, another contraction coming over her.
He was struck with the worst pain in his life.
Howling, he dropped to the ground, clutching at his lower abdomen. "Discord!?" Fluttershy cried, starting to sit up. He winced as she moved, whimpering a little.
"I...I switched our feelings of pain," he gasped from the floor. "Don't move, please. That...that hurts." Another wave of pain hit him, and he screamed. He heard the sound of hoofsteps from down the hall.
The doctor and midwife both rushed in. "We heard screaming!" the doctor said. "Miss, are you alright?"
She pointed down at her husband. "I'm fine. Could you bring in a bed for him?" The staff watched as she unblinkingly had another contraction, while Discord let out another keen howl, curling into a ball on the floor.
A few minutes and some more screaming later, he had been lifted up onto a small bed, pressed flush up again Fluttershy's. She reached out and patted his paw. "You're too sweet," she said as the nurses examined her. "Do you want me to hold your paw?"
Another contraction came. He shouted, "I NEED YOU TO GET THAT THING OUT OF YOU!" before curling into a smaller ball, trembling. "Can't somepony please get me some painkillers?" he snapped.
"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "But if you're feeling her pain, giving you painkillers won't do anything but make you woozy."
He whined, then shrieked as another contraction came.
The midwife had left, saying there was still some time before she needed to start pushing. She checked back every ten minutes, and every time she said they just needed a bit more time. Discord and Fluttershy were both drenched in sweat, but he was trembling a lot more.
To their surprise, during the midwife's fourth visit, she was accompanied by somepony very regal.
"Twilight?" Fluttershy gasped. "What are you...?"
"I got Discord's message, and came as soon as I could," Princess Twilight said, gently grasping Fluttershy's hoof [the one Discord wasn't clinging to). "The others are all in the waiting room. They let me come back when I asked how you were doing because...well..." She shuffled, opening her impressive wings before quickly closing them.
"I have to say, you look very calm for being in labor," Twilight said.
Fluttershy smiled and stroked Discord's cheek. "That's all thanks to him," she sighed, a soft smile on her face.
Her abdomen shuddered with a contraction. Discord shouted several foul words, before screaming, "GET THIS MONSTER OUT OF HER! MY GUTS ARE ON FIRE!" He winced amd whimpered, "This is so much worse than I thought it was!"
Fluttershy stroked at his mane, shushing him gently. "At least you know how I felt, sweetie. And it's not a monster. Our baby's going to be beautiful, just like you," she cooed at him. He whimpered and curled into a tighter ball, still squeezing her hoof.
Twilight stepped back. "I'll...leave you two alone for now. Good luck, Fluttershy."
As she quickly walked out, Discord sobbed, "What about me?" Fluttershy kissed the top of his head. He winced. "STOP MOVING! Please, for chaos' sake! That makes it worse!"
The next time the midwife came, she told Fluttershy to push. Discord found himself alternating between whimpering and screaming as he felt sharp, stabbing pain in his lower abdomen. Fluttershy sent him a worried look, but he growled, "Keep going. Don't worry about me."
He wasn't sure how much time passed in his haze of pain after that. All he knew was that suddenly, the stabbing pains had stopped, though there was still a throbbing, raw soreness, his throat was dry and sore, and a baby was crying.
He panted, lifting his head wearily. A tiny baby had just been cleaned up, and was being placed in Fluttershy's forehooves. She sighed, nuzzling the little one's forehead.
It was a female draconequus pup, with a grey head and dark gray body. Her mane was jet black, with a streak of pale pink. Her back hooves her similiar to a pony's, and were a darker version of her mother's yellow ones. Her wings matched tgat of a pegasus, and were the same color as her back hooves. Her front hooves were actually a paw and claw, just like her father's, though her lion's paw was a darker brown. Her tail was covered in ebony scales, and ended in a tuft of pink fur.
"She's beautiful," he whispered, reaching out to her. A twang of soreness in his guts made him stop and clutch his stomach again.
Fluttershy glanced at him. "You can reverse the spell now," she said. "It's over."
With a deep sigh, he snapped his fingers, and fell back onto the bed as he felt the pain leave him. Fluttershy shivered, grimacing, but shook it off and continued to smile down at their child.
Discord slowly sat up, reaching out and twirling a strand of the infant's mane with a finger. "She's perfect," he whispered. Fluttershy nodded, nuzzling the top of her newborn's head again.
The pup yawned cutely, blinking her eyes open. She stared curiously at the two being looking down at her. Her left eye was teal, perfectly matching her mother's, while her right was golden, like her father's sclera. She tilted her head, opening her mouth slightly, revealing a tiny fang poking out the right side of her mouth.
"What should we name her?" Fluttershy asked. He hummed in thought, tickling lightly at their daughter's belly. She giggled and thrashed lightly, trying to escape.
Suddenly, she stopped laughing, her eyes focusing on Discord and gleaming. She made a tiny shoving motion with her hands, and he was pushed off of his tiny bed by a strong gust of wind.
"Discord!?" Fluttershy cried while their daughter laughed maniacally. Discord propped his arms up on the bed, peering at the newborn with a grin.
"Looks like she has magic," he croaked with a grin. "Knowing that, and her fur color...how about Tornado Twister?" He slid back onto his bed, sitting on the edge next to Fluttershy. "It has an element of chaos, but sounds like one of your pony names."
Fluttershy smiled. "Tornado Twister...it sounds nice." She kissed her daughter's forehead, which she reacted to by sticking her equine tongue out. "Welcome to the world, my little Twisty."
Discord curled himself around his wife, peering over her shoulder. "And welcome to our family, crazy as it is," he whispered, caressing Tornado's cheek. She smiled up at him, while he sighed and leaned against his wife's neck.
For a few moments, they leaned against each other, smiling down at their little Tornado. Soon, the doctors would check on Fluttershy and Tornado's health, and their friends would flood into the room to fawn over the child.
For right now, for a few brief seconds, the three of them were in their own, perfect world.
Author's Note
I'd like to say thank you to the Fluttercord Discord server for inspiring this idea for a story.