Archive of Our Own

When Discord first offered to take Fluttershy to a new dimension, she'd been more than a little hesitant. Stories of the strange places he'd traveled to were a frequent topic during their weekly tea parties. There was, however, a very big difference between hearing about a reality where everything was perpetually melting and actually visiting to such a place. The idea of going to a completely different world had been quite intimidating — reasonably so, in Fluttershy's opinion.

Quick to reassure Fluttershy that the place he had in mind was perfectly safe, Discord had opened a small window into it for her to look through. Seeing only a wide stretch of prairie and a sky of an unusual color, Fluttershy couldn't find any reason to object.

She knew better, of course. Just because things looked familiar and safe in the limited view Discord had afforded her, that didn't mean anything would be like it was at home.

High above Fluttershy's head, a twirling object caught the light and shimmered green-orange-yellow. She turned to it like a flower to the sun and watched with curious eyes. The creature — if it could be classified as such — was shaped like a pinwheel, stained-glass wings sailing on the breeze. Each of the eight semi-translucent blades sparkled in a prismatic display.

"Hello there," Fluttershy tried, addressing it with the same soft, coaxing voice she used when meeting an animal for the first time. "Your wings are very pretty. What sort of creature are you? Do you have a name?"

The pegasus received no meaningful response, watching as the pinwheel silently settled upon a tall blade of cerulean grass. It tucked in its wings, which folded over each other like origami.

Beyond the pinwheel, against a cloudless sky the color of strawberry lemonade, Fluttershy spotted a fluid warping of light in the distance. It appeared to be a flock of pinwheels, their bilateral forms weaving between each other in the air like sheets of paper. The sight of them called to mind a murmuration: hundreds of birds moving in sync, feathers dappled with ambient light as many bodies became a singular entity. Fluttershy had always believed murmurations to be one of the most beautiful sights of the natural world; to think she might see something similar here, in a world so unlike her own.

Wishing to share such a uniquely wondrous sight, Fluttershy turned in search of her companion.

Though quite a ways away, Discord's large, dark body was easy to spot in an endless sea of pastel blue. He was running through the grassy field chasing after something. More pinwheels, Fluttershy suspected, if the winking lights that flashed above his head like lightening bugs were a hint.

Fluttershy's full attention honed in on that distant speck of Discord. It was impossible to distinguish any concrete details from where she lay on her belly, but Fluttershy could imagine how he looked in perfect clarity: the wicked, joyful gleam of his crooked fang, the sharpness of attentive red eyes, how his muscles moved beneath fur and scale and feather. The sound of mismatched wings flapping as he playfully pounced into the air, swiping at the fragile pinwheels with both talon and claw.

Such luscious musings made Fluttershy blush. Her first instinct was two banish it all from her mind as if worried somepony — or creature — might catch a glimpse of her thoughts. But she stopped herself. It occurred to Fluttershy that, for the first time since she'd caught herself thinking about Discord in such a manner, there wasn't actually sense of threat in dwelling on it. She'd been so quick to suppress or ignore these feelings when they came up the last few months, but now… Here, in such a fantastically strange place so utterly detached from her regular life, where was the harm?

Fluttershy considered it as she silently observed Discord from afar. Discord, Lord of Chaos, who had somehow become one of her dearest friends. To express shock or disbelief at these developments would be redundant at this point, they'd known each other for so long. There were days where it felt like forever to Fluttershy — as if Discord had always been sewn into the fabric of her life. Yet such a sentiment made no sense, considering how radically her life changed once he'd become a part of it, how stark the difference between Before Discord and After Discord really was.

In Fluttershy's life, there have been three great moments; tectonic shifts which altered the course of her life and being. The first had been falling from Cloudsdale into the wilderness and discovering the truth of herself; the joy of nature and animals; a refuge from the frightening, confusing life of a wallflower in a world without soil. Then there had been the Summer Sun Celebration and her journey into the Everfree with ponies who would become her most important, closest friends.

The third great moment had been when Discord chose Fluttershy's friendship over his own resentment toward pony-kind.

It hadn't been all butterflies and birdsong after that, of course. In the years since than, she and Discord had been faced with many more moments — some great, and some not at all. Yet still, through all of it, Discord proved himself again and again to be a creature of no comparison, one who could always be counted upon to defy anypony's expectations. Including Fluttershy's.

Certainly, she never would have expected to become just as close as they were. Never would have thought there would come a day where being with Discord felt the most like being herself — even more than being alone.

Maybe it wasn't so unusual, then, for Fluttershy to begin seeing Discord differently. To begin wanting…

Fluttershy wanted to be closer to Discord; she wanted to know him in new ways. But knowing the truth of her heart wasn't the problem — Fluttershy understood very well how her feelings about Discord have been changing. The difficult part was deciding what to do about it.

The small flock of pinwheels apparently had enough of Discord, spinning rapidly to ascend into the blushing sky. Discord, who could easily float after them, opted to let them go beyond his reach, fumbling at the apex of his latest jump and falling onto the ground like a limp noodle. The word SPLAT! sprung into the air above him, the bold text large enough for Fluttershy to read. She giggled; affection and yearning swelled in her chest.

Surely, if Discord was involved, anything was possible, right? Even this?

With a strength of conviction Fluttershy rarely felt, she decided right then and there to say something — no, do something. Fluttershy had no idea how to word her feelings anyway; it was all too confusing and hard to define, like a ball of tangled string. However, it was safe to assume the very last thing Discord would be interested in was a long, emotional conversation about feelings. In her experience, Discord responded best to blunt honesty and spontaneity, so Fluttershy had to avoid the pitfall of getting too in her head about it.

As Discord righted himself, head swiveling in search of some other poor creature to harass, the spark of an idea came to Fluttershy.

"Discord?" She spoke his name softly. The wind had died and he was so far away — hearing her should have been impossible.

Discord immediately stopped moving, but he did not turn to look at her. Instead, he picked up something long and red from the grass and brought it up to his ear.

Riiiiiing!

Fluttershy gave a full-body flinch, startled at the sound erupting directly behind her, and the pinwheel nearby inverted its folded wings and shot into the air, spinning away. Fluttershy twisted to see a red telephone lying across the dip of her back. Its corkscrew cord trailed off into the grass. Picking up the telephone, Fluttershy carefully held the receiver to her ear. "Hello…?"

"You rang?" Discord's voice was a perfectly audible, if a bit tinny. It sounded much better than the standing telephone Fluttershy had used at Rarity's once.

Fluttershy looked out toward him, smiling. "Oh, it's nothing really. I just wanted to, um… ask you something, if you don't mind coming back over here?"

"In a jiff!"

There was a clunky sound as Discord ended the call, and Fluttershy's telephone poofed into smoke. She saw her friend's distant form dive into the grass and disappear like a serpent sinking into the ocean.

After a breath, Discord's horns slowly rose into view nearby, followed by his bold yellow eyes. He peered at Fluttershy like a crocodile. "Any luck with the whirligigs?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I couldn't communicate with them; they might not be animals after all. Although, it may be possible they speak in a different way… Like a language barrier?"

"Let's just say they're not animals," Discord decided. "Then you don't have to tell me to stop chasing them."

"Well, you still probably shouldn't do that."

"You insist on ruining my innocent fun? I knew bringing you here was a bad idea."

Fluttershy giggled. "I'm glad you did. It's a very interesting place."

"I haven't even shown you what the water is like here!" Discord told her, grinning. "I was quite tickled when I discovered its properties upon my initial perusal of this dimension."

"How did you even find a world like this?" Fluttershy asked, observing another murmuration sparkling against the open skyline. There wasn't much to see beyond the never-ending fields of blue — no buildings, no mountains, not even any clouds. Things were slightly more interesting in the opposite direction, a small forest of strange-looking trees adding a bit of variety. However, based on Discord's reports, interesting landmarks were few and far between beyond these few acres of land he'd scouted.

The unnaturally empty landscape possessed an eerie, melancholic atmosphere, yet one that wasn't altogether unpleasant. If anypony back home asked Fluttershy to explain why being in such a place made her feel the way it did, she wasn't sure she'd be able to put it into words.

Discord waved a paw. "The usual way! I just open a little rift in space-time and poke my head in to see what's on the other side."

"That sounds… reckless."

"You'll note I said that I stick my head in first — I'd call that reckfull! A draconequus as wise as me only needs to make the mistake of jumping blindly into the unknown a couple dozen times before he refines his methodology!"

Fluttershy couldn't help smiling. "I see. Well, I'm very glad you suggested we visit. It's such a pretty world, and oddly peaceful."

Discord's belly cut a line through the grass as he settled into a lounge, propping himself up on his forearms. He let out a burst of a sigh that made his lips flap, blowing bubbles through his teeth to float and pop in the air. "That's how I knew you'd like it. The place is fine, I suppose — has a few fun surprises. A bit too mellow for my liking, and you'll understand if I say I've had my fill of bright, pastel-colored places. At the very least, there could stand to be a few more incomprehensible non-animals around to look at. I have haven't spotted more than a pawful."

One of the bubbles stubbornly held its shape, lingering long enough that it started floating back down. Fluttershy stretched her neck out, catching it atop her nose. It popped soundlessly a second later. After a second of consideration, Fluttershy said, "It makes me happy, that such a nice place made you think of me…"

To this, Discord said nothing, but Fluttershy felt the side of his thick tail move through the grass to brush against her. As he let the end of it rest across her flank, Fluttershy felt a warm shiver run up her spine. It was times like these that made her wonder: was it possible that Discord felt the same way she did? He was a very tactile creature, never hesitating to grab or hold somepony, but that sort of touching was very different from moments like these, when the gestures seemed purposeful yet casual, and always left unaddressed; cautiously wanting.

The desire to confront this ambiguous thing brewing between them became an urgent impulse. The vague idea that had come to Fluttershy earlier was crystallizing, and she realized that despite her own nerves and lingering doubts, she wanted to take the chance.

If putting her feelings into words was too difficult, then perhaps she could reach Discord this way.

"Um, Discord, do you want to…"

"Hm?" Her companion tilted his head backward, looking at her upside-down.

"Do you want to play a game with me?"

Discord immediately perked up, his entire body popping upright so he was standing on all fours. "A game? Oh, yes, let's! What were you thinking?"

Fluttershy chuckled at his enthusiasm, which was encouraging despite her mounting nervousness. "It's a made-up game, if that's okay?"

"Why Fluttershy, those are the best kinds of games!"

"There's an important rule, but only one."

"Only one? This just keeps getting better." Discord smirked, red eyes bright and intent. "Lay it on me."

"You're not allowed to use any of your magic."

The smirk immediately morphed into a frown of harsh displeasure. "No magic? None at all?"

Fluttershy slowly got to her fours as well, stretching her wings as she gave Discord a sympathetic look. "No… Is that okay?"

The draconequus huffed a little cloud of black smoke though his nostrils, but didn't look too put out overall. "Seems a tad one-sided as a rule… What about flying? Technically, you use magic to fly, and I can't get off the ground without mine."

Fluttershy looked at her outstretched wings. Given what she had in mind, it wasn't very likely either of them would need to fly… But perhaps it was better to have it as an option. "Hm… I think flying is okay. You can use magic to do that if you want."

"Then I suppose I'm willing to follow your silly one-rule." Discord shifted stance to his hind legs and stretched his arms and wings, tail curling. "No magic other than what it takes to fly? Simple enough! I got plenty out of my system bringing us over here…" The draconequus chuckled darkly. "And beforehand as well."

Fluttershy quirked a brow at his tone. "What is that supposed to mean? …Discord?"

"Oh, nothing! Spike and Big Mac just annoyed me the other day is all."

He bowed his neck to whisper conspiratorially in her ear, "If anypony asks you who turned Spike red and Big Mac purple, make sure you tell them it couldn't have been me because the two of us were together all day!"

The implication that his purpose in bringing her here was at least in part a way to disguise his shenanigans back home should have ruined the mood and made Fluttershy reconsider her confession. She found herself suppressing laughter instead. "Discord, that's not very nice."

"A bit of color never hurt anyone!"

Fluttershy walked in a circle around him, warming up her legs. She teased, "It does seem a little tame for you."

"They didn't annoy me that much. Just enough for me to want to make a point." Discord sniffed. "And you'd be surprised how dramatic others get over a simple change in their appearance! Spike especially; our fair Rarity has been a horrible influence on him. Purple pipsqueak cares much too deeply about scale polish and claw care for a dragon his age! It was my understanding that vanity doesn't supersede a dragon's personality until after they've established a modest hoard for themselves."

"Well, you should probably change them back when we get home."

"Maybe if you win this game, I will!" Discord told her snootily. "Hey, that's a good point, me! How do I go about winning, anyway? You haven't exactly told me what it is we'll be doing."

Fluttershy bit her lip, inspecting the space around them. Not too far off was the thicket of trees, their canopies thick and glittering with pinwheels. What lay within and beyond was unknown to Fluttershy, but surely Discord wouldn't have brought her somewhere that had any serious dangers to be concerned over…

…Well, if she did accidentally run head-first into trouble, she believed he'd help keep her safe.

"The game is over when either of us says we don't want to play anymore," Fluttershy explained.

Then she looked up at Discord and waited.

After a few seconds of staring at each other, Discord clapped his paw and talon together. "…Right! So… I'll be named the victor if I can compel you to throw in the towel? Odd win condition, but I think I like it! Are you making all this up on the fly?"

Fluttershy offered a sheepish look and shrug of her shoulders.

Discord chuckled, his deep register bold and distinct in this odd, private world they've found themselves in. The hairs of Fluttershy's coat stood on end as anticipation began to grab hold of her, and she forced herself to take long, even breaths.

Not noticing her growing agitation, Discord said, "This keeps getting more and more interesting! Alright, so how do we actually play?"

Fluttershy smiled brightly. She took a few steps toward Discord, then moved away.

Discord's amused grin faltered a bit. "Ah, Fluttershy? I know you said there's only one rule, but surely there are instructions for how to play?"

The pegasus stayed silent, waiting.

Now Discord was frowning outright. "Fluttershy, this isn't the Quiet Game, is it? I don't want to play the Quiet Game!"

His genuine whining pulled a breathy laugh from Fluttershy. Shaking her head, she took another couple steps away from him. She even dared to lift and flick her tail at Discord — a move so blatantly solicitous, Fluttershy had to fight the urge to immediately hide her face after doing it. Luckily, if Discord's blank expression was any indication, the subtleties of pony courtship were lost on him.

"…You want me… to follow you?"

As Discord took a few steps forward, Fluttershy took an equal number back, side-stepping so she could keep him in her line of sight. When Discord paused, visibly confused, Fluttershy also paused.

Discord's brows furrowed. He tilted his head.

Suddenly, the draconequus jumped at her; Fluttershy squeaked and bounced away, flapping her wings for a bit of extra lift. When her hooves met the ground again, she found Discord looking at her with a new intensity that made her feathers fluff up.

"Oh? Are we playing some form of tag?" Discord asked slowly, curiosity piqued by his friend's odd behavior. He approached Fluttershy once more, this time listing the right, as if trying to walk around her; Fluttershy moved back and away, drifting in the opposite direction, never turning her back to him. "Tag isn't really a tango for two. Perhaps something more akin to… Keep-Away?"

Discord pounced high into the air, body an elegant curve aimed directly at Fluttershy, like a fox hunting in the snow. The pegasus darted away, finally turning from Discord as she ran for the nearby thicket.

"Hah! The game is afoot! Get back here, you flighty thing!"

Something most ponies didn't know about Fluttershy — a fact often overshadowed by her unreliable and underwhelming flying ability — was that she was one of the fastest mares living in Ponyville. It was a skill borne of her many, many fears, as nothing got her moving more quickly than a perceived threat. Running away was more than just speed, though; if somepony wanted to perfect the art of fleeing, they couldn't just be fast — they had to be agile.

Behind her, Discord let out a chuckle. Fluttershy's left ear twitched; when her hind hooves hit the ground, she twisted her body and launched herself sharply to the right. Discord landed face-first on the ground with an exaggerated, "Oof!"

As a being who could teleport or otherwise displace himself on a whim, Discord's incongruent body structure usually wasn't an issue. Sans magic, however, he was a rather clumsy creature.

Fluttershy briefly halted to watch Discord and make sure his fall wasn't as serious as it had sounded. He came up with a large mouthful of colorful dirt. It reminded Fluttershy of the soft, dyed clay she'd seen children play with in school. Rather than spit it out, Discord swallowed it, a bulge traveling down his long neck before disappearing into his stomach with a cartoonishly loud splash. He licked his lips. "Mm! Not bad!"

Wrinkling her nose, Fluttershy resisted the urge to discourage Discord from eating things in unknown dimensions.

Their chase resumed. This time, Discord shifted onto all fours, cutting through the grass with only his horns and erect tail visible when Fluttershy chanced a look over her shoulder. She knew from past observation that he was at least slightly faster like this than if he was bipedal, so she picked up the pace as she dove into the trees.

The world became a smear of rainbows. Behind her, Fluttershy could hear Discord scrambling. It was harder to navigate the rather dense foliage with such a long body. "Slow down a little! I— ow! Blast all this eye-searing shrubbery!"

Spotting a large stone up ahead — the first rock she had seen in this world — Fluttershy carefully leapt atop it and paused for a moment to check Discord's progress. He was in the middle of kicking a bright orange bush off his scaly leg, leaves and twigs decorating his mane.

Fluttershy giggled and took the opportunity to recover a bit of stamina. She couldn't remember the last time she'd run like this — possibly not since that whole horrifying incident with the Storm King. Fluttershy been chased by so many awful things in her life… She didn't like running from things that scared her, so it pleased her to realize running from Discord felt entirely different. In fact, it felt—

Something underhoof moved, disturbing Fluttershy's balance. She let loose a squeak and immediately bolted off her stone perch. Something was squirming beneath it, unsettling cerulean grass.

"Got you!"

Fluttershy yelped — she'd gotten so distracted, she hadn't notice Discord scampering towards her. He wore a triumphant grin, arms outstretched. Fluttershy froze up as Discord took a running leap over the stone—

—and then tripped in midair, hoof caught on the stone as it abruptly lifted itself several inches. Fluttershy had to scramble backwards to avoid Discord's long body crashing onto her like a felled tree.

Emerging from the base of the stone — or was it actually a shell? — was what looked like the pale blue body of a snail. Its foot ended in a ring of nubby tentacles that slowly pulled it across the ground. Where it had been resting, the shortened grass was completely white.

Fluttershy came back to herself as Discord snorted, twisting his neck to glare at the rock-snail and its glacial pace. "Do you mind!? Nobody asked for your help with a slapstick routine!"

"Sorry for stepping on you!" Fluttershy offered before turning tail — just in case the creature was, indeed, an animal capable of appreciating her apology.

"Oh, so you'll talk to that thing, but not to me?"

They continued to thread their way through the trees. It was tricky work, as all the unusual colors of the environment made it difficult for Fluttershy to know where was safe ground. She now found herself getting distracted by conspicuous splotches of white in the corners of her vision, which had previously gone unnoticed.

"I'm beginning to feel quite handicapped back here!" Discord complained. He sounded like he was running on his hind legs again; Fluttershy hopped over a root and resisted the urge to check. "I'm not able to convince weird rocks to trip you."

Ignoring her pursuer's pestering, Fluttershy concentrated on her breathing, her hoofsteps, the feeling of her heart racing in her chest. For longer than she expected, Discord was quiet — much too quiet for him. It made the hairs on Fluttershy's neck prickle in a sickly-pleasant manner she'd never experienced before.

Up ahead, a drizzle of pinkish light revealed a break in the trees. Fluttershy veered left and sped for it, paranoid at how difficult it had gotten to hear Discord's progress behind her.

That paranoia catapulted her right past shock and into heart-stopping fear when Discord suddenly burst from the light straight ahead, claws glinting as he lunged for her. "Surprise!"

Fluttershy screamed and instinctively leapt into the air with no finesse, her body finding the quickest way to put distance between herself and her attacker. Discord's claws missed her by a hair. Now careening through the thin lower branches of the trees, Fluttershy attempted to use her wings to right herself, but the disorientation of her panic and the world flying by made it impossible.

"Fluttershy!"

Discord's worried voice was nearly drowned out by the sound of crashing leaves as Fluttershy broke past the boundary of the thicket — and directly off the edge of a cliff.

Fluttershy was so stunned she couldn't even voice her terror. The multi-story drop ended in what looked to be a huge lake. The water below was the color of gold and shined in a similar way, making it appear far too solid.

"Uh oh!" Discord's voice rang out from above. His words had a sing-song quality nearly lost to Fluttershy over the roar of wind and blood in her ears. To another, he would sound mocking and cruel, as if Discord was abandoning the poor pony to a deadly fate. However, his tone did a lot to banish some of Fluttershy's distress — if she was in any serious danger, he'd already have snapped her to safety.

Still, there was enough fear and confusion in her system to leave Fluttershy's wings glued to her sides, a lifelong bad habit which continued to plague her. As Discord apparently saw no reason to intervene, Fluttershy covered her face with her forelegs and screwed her eyes shut, preparing for the shock of plunging into cold water.

It surprised her to find that instead, her body fell upon a very forgiving, only semi-solid surface — and kept going. Down and down until all of her momentum had slowed and Fluttershy was several feet into the lake, yet not submerged.

Then she was abruptly several dozen feet above it as she was thrown back into the air.

Fluttershy's shocked cry overlapped with Discord's boisterous laughter. "Weren't expecting that, were you?" he called out.

With flailing legs, Fluttershy shot her companion a wide-eyed, baffled look, which prompted an even worse laughing fit. As Fluttershy began to fall again, she saw Discord take a running leap off the cliff, curling his body into a tight swirl and pinching his nose with a paw. "Cannon ball!"

It was like falling into a very dense cloud, but even clouds could only allow so much give before a pegasus would break through them. Once the lake had absorbed all her momentum, the water — was it truly water? — seemed to firm-up. It felt as if Fluttershy was being cradled in cold jelly. Then she was thrust back into the air, and she realized it was just like bouncing on one of Pinkie Pie's trampolines.

Discord was sinking into the lake as Fluttershy came up again. Only a moment later, he was shot into the air as well, laughing all the while. It was impossible for Fluttershy not to join him, all her previous fear dissipating like bubbles.

They bounced and laughed for a while — until Discord remembered what they'd been up to. With a devious grin, he coiled his body into a spring. The next time he bounced off the lake, he launched himself in Fluttershy's direction.

Caught at the apex of her latest jump, Fluttershy squeaked at his sudden, rapid approach. Luckily, their trajectories were misaligned, and Fluttershy began to fall just in time for Discord's body to sail over and past her.

As she fell, Fluttershy finally tried opening her wings again. Usually a nosedive like this would stress Fluttershy too much for her to manage proper control, but knowing there was no real danger waiting below made it easier for her to spread her wings. In a smooth arc, she realigned herself to sail parallel to the lake, setting a course away from Discord.

"Wait for me!" sang the draconequus. Fluttershy banked left so she could watch her friend bounce back into the air, this time spreading his wings. Discord's body began to move in a way that made no sense, looping and curving unnaturally as he came her way.

Fluttershy quickly realized she was now at a plain disadvantage. Though she didn't think Discord would cheat and make himself fly faster than he ought to, Fluttershy already wasn't the fastest pegasus around — at least, not when her life or that of another wasn't being threatened. If they stayed in the air too long, Discord would easily catch her.

…Wasn't that what she wanted, though? What exactly was Fluttershy expecting to happen when Discord finally caught up with her? What did she hope would happen? A flurry of hazy, half-formed mental images flickered in Fluttershy's mind, making her body tingle with embarrassment. Not— not that— or, not exactly anything like that; it was unrealistic to expect, anyway, and even if it did happen, Fluttershy knew deep down she wouldn't want it. This wasn't something for the two of them to tumble blindly into, some spur-of-the-moment fling with a stranger. The vague fantasy of being caught, perhaps even claimed as a prize… Yes, it held unexpected appeal, but only as a fantasy.

Which meant that despite her reluctance, they really did have to actually talk about it, even when Fluttershy still felt so uncertain. When the time came, would Fluttershy be able to speak her mind properly? Either way, the game had to end eventually.

Thoroughly distracted by her thoughts, Fluttershy nearly missed the shadow cast by Discord's body falling across her own. She looked up to see his sharp grin pointed squarely at her. "Lost your head in the clouds, Fluttershy?"

Actually, there weren't any clouds — no cover for Fluttershy to duck into, nothing to obscure Discord's line of sight, nowhere to hide. As Discord overtook Fluttershy and twisted his body to intercept her path, Fluttershy's mind raced, trying to think of the best way to avoid him.

The pegasus dared to close her eyes, envisioning sights she'd seen of pigeons cutting through the air to avoid predators like falcons. Tucking in her wings, she bowed her head and let her body drop. The change in direction was abrupt enough to earn a baffled, "Bwhuh?" from Discord, who sailed right past where Fluttershy should have been just a second ago.

It took a moment for Discord to process what had happened and fly after her. "I thought Rainbow was the fancy flier!" he called out, tone a mix of accusation and admiration. "Are you sure your special talent hasn't been 'escape artist' this whole time?"

With a smile, Fluttershy opened her wings and glided towards a swath of tall, flowering grasses. It wasn't an advantageous spot to land, but she hoped the length of the grass would be useful for hiding in. Unlike a majority of the land around it, here the blades grew thick and healthy, their stalks striped in a range of blue to green to yellow to orange and back again, making for a vibrant — and disorienting — sight when the wind made it sway. The effect reminded Fluttershy of zebra stripes.

From behind, she heard Discord growling with frustration. "I begin to tire of this tedious chase! Be a pal and let me catch you already!"

Fluttershy dared to toss a smirk over her wing before disappearing into the overgrown field.

"You smug little pony!"

It was a good thing she hit the ground running, because Fluttershy was certain if her legs weren't mechanically carrying her away from Discord as quickly as possible, she would have been overwhelmed by the sensory assault of this new environment. There was a fragrance wafting from the grasses so eclectic and dense, it felt like crashing into an invisible wall, one that threatened to baffle Fluttershy's senses into stupidity. It smelled like ozone, like soil, like salt and lemon tarts.

She heard Discord splash into the field behind her. He immediately tittered, "Goodness! That's strong, isn't it?" He sounded delighted.

Fighting to keep her head on straight, Fluttershy pushed forward, wondering how long it'd take her to run beyond the tall grass. As she panted for air, she swore she could taste things — strange things, flavors impossible to describe that evoked odd visions and memories. She thought of decorating birthday cakes with her mother; tasted the feeling of realizing she'd become part of a group, making several new friends in only a single day; in the very back of her palate, the cold, shivery sensation of stepping into the Everfree Forest sat, horribly bitter.

"Fluttershy…" His taunting voice came from somewhere far to her right. Fluttershy veered away, blinking as the stripes of the grass stalks made her vision swim.

Suspicious noises bounced around her, and Fluttershy trembled, feeling herself begin to slow as Discord's voice drifted to her from the left. "Oh, Fluttershy…"

She should try flying away, but her wings already felt overworked, unused to all the maneuvering she'd done today. Taking off from here would be an uphill battle too, if not impossible for as weak a flier as Fluttershy. She stumbled and hoped the last of her adrenaline was enough to carry her out of the field.

Fluttershy kept herself going steady right up until she stepped into a large patch of grasses that were mostly orange. The bright color was overwhelming and for some reason made a wave of nausea slosh in Fluttershy's stomach. Shutting her eyes against its perplexing influence, she immediately retreated, moving blindly but caring only to escape the offensive color.

Completely discombobulated, there was no saving Fluttershy as Discord swiftly slipped through the grass and assailed her. Fluttershy loudly gasped as she felt his arms wrap around her upper torso, his lower body quickly coiling around the rest of her like a snake.

"I win!" Discord boasted. A band of small Discords poofed into existence, playing a triumphant tune on tiny instruments as they flew around his head, which bobbed along to their song.

Then all the Discords paused as he asked, "At least I think I did. Catching you was the point of this ridiculous game, wasn't it?"

Fluttershy was too busy catching her breath to answer him. She couldn't move anything from her barrel down, body completely secured by Discord; only the end of her tail slipped out from between his red coils. Though his arms were no longer restraining her, every claw was pointed at her, gently menacing Fluttershy into admitting his victory.

Fluttershy, trapped in the shadow of his long neck and faced with his self-satisfied grin, found she remained unable to voice what she truly wanted. Her body was too wired, heart racing from exertion, skin tingling from adrenaline. She felt worn out and electrified, and all of it only made the yearning worse — made speaking her mind more difficult.

How could she admit to the strange wanting of her heart? How she'd delighted in their game, but the thought of it being over already was so dreadful? How she'd wanted him to chase her — had wanted to be chased. The dizzying shock of his inevitable win clouded her already frantic mind; Fluttershy could find no words worth saying.

In the end, all Fluttershy could manage was a slow shake of her head as she stared up at him.

Discord tilted his head dramatically, squinting suspicious eyes at her. His band of miniatures shared curious looks before disappearing in puffs of smoke. Sparing a talon to twirl his tiny beard, Discord mused, "Still with the silent treatment? Then perhaps that is the true goal… Am I supposed to make you speak?"

He smiled wickedly, and Fluttershy trembled. Those claws drew dangerously close. "In that case, I'm sure I can pull some noise out of you very easily…"

Fluttershy's heart leapt into her throat—

Retracting his claws, Discord began to ruthlessly tickle her with fuzzy fingers. Fluttershy was helpless, giggling and snorting uncontrollably as his paw went for the spot under her chin while end of his tail tickled the hock of her hind leg. No attempted squirming could get her out of it. Forelegs weakly flailing, Fluttershy gasped for air, tears shining in the corners of her eyes; seeing this, Discord momentarily halted his torture.

"Are you ready to give in yet?" he asked, sounding a little breathless himself, as if tickling her had been taxing.

Fluttershy didn't answer, too distracted by her body. Every nerve was suffused with giddiness; her muscles twitched involuntarily, anticipating a second wave of torment. Out of pure instinct, her hind legs feebly tried bucking out of her captor's grasp to no avail, and that inability made heat pulse at her core.

"Come on, Fluttershy! Give in already!" Discord whined. He very lightly grazed a talon across her heaving ribs. He playfully snapped at her; a second later, his tongue slipped out, the forked end tickling her ear and making it twitch. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

His voice was coaxing, its timbre deep and rumbling. Fluttershy's ear twitched again. She had no doubt she was blushing — her body felt so, so hot.

"Just admit that I've won and I'll let you go," Discord promised.

I don't want you to let me go, Fluttershy couldn't say. When Discord pulled away to scrutinize her, she could only look back with half-lidded, hoping beyond hope he might somehow understand her.

A long moment passed. Discord's playful smirk slowly disappeared until he took on an uncharacteristically subdued expression. Bright red pupils scanned Fluttershy's face, searching.

Fluttershy could feel the moment something changed as every part of Discord that connected with hers suddenly tensed. She saw him narrow his eyes near-imperceptibly. His mouth ever-so-slightly parted. Then he asked, "Fluttershy? Is the game over yet?"

Shaking her head, Fluttershy reached out. She rested her hooves against his neck, right where coarse grey fur transitioned into short brown feathers. Slowly, watching is expression, Fluttershy slid her hoof up and up until she couldn't reach any further.

Discord bent his neck into her hoof, staring back, a look of wary curiosity in his eyes.

His silent acquiescence emboldened her, and when her hoof had traced a line all the way to his jaw, Fluttershy very slowly and gently guided him closer. Closer, closer, until their breathing started to mix. Discord's eyes were wide open as he watched and waited with more patience than Fluttershy could have ever imagined he possessed.

Pushing herself upward as much as she could while coiled in his grasp, Fluttershy grazed his cheek with her own as she leaned forward. She nosed at the spot where her hoof had just been, finding his indescribable scent there; her only frame of reference for such a smell was him. In the midst of such a dazzlingly aromatic space, it was a reprieve for her overstimulated senses — as familiar and comforting as the smell of home.

Before she lost her nerve, Fluttershy nuzzled his neck, then parted her lips and gently bit him. She thought she could feel Discord make a sound beneath her teeth, but nothing reached her ears.

When she pulled back, Discord's thick eyebrows were furrowed. "Fluttershy, do you…?" She felt his talons twitch against her ribs, each sharp point the ghost of a promise of pain. "Why won't you speak? I— I wish you'd talk to me!" There was a fragility to his voice Fluttershy had only ever heard once before, and concern began to cool her mood. "If I tell you I don't want to play anymore, will you say something?"

Fluttershy took a deep breath, determined to find her voice again. Finally she managed to tell him, "You don't have to do that…"

The sound of her voice settled something in him, and Fluttershy felt that tension in his body ease. When she felt his grip on her lower half slacken, Fluttershy briefly worried Discord might pull away completely. Luckily, he was merely relaxing and adjusting their positions. Fluttershy ended up sitting on the base of his tail, his body looped around her once so that Fluttershy's back was supported and part of his stomach lay across her lap.

After a beat of silence, Fluttershy said, "I'm very sorry if I worried you." Blushing again, she couldn't help glancing away. "Or… made you feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry. I didn't know how to say what I wanted; I was worried about saying the wrong thing…"

Discord listened pensively. When Fluttershy's voice faded into uncertainty, he asked, "I want to be sure I'm interpreting things correctly. Are you implying you want to…" For a second, Discord quirked a brow and looked up toward the sky. "Am I allowed to say it?" he whispered to himself.

Fluttershy rested her forelegs atop his torso, near his folded wings. "Pardon?"

"Are you saying you want to do decidedly less platonic things? As in sexual things? With me?" He spoke so awkwardly, as if each word was one he'd only just learned. "You do? With me?"

Fluttershy didn't know how to take his reaction — should she feel discouraged? Something about his disposition was horribly endearing though, and more than a little amusing. Offering him a smile, Fluttershy petted his feathers with a hoof and told him, "Um… yes. I'm interested in… well, in doing more with you. If that's okay."

Her brain circled back to a moment ago, the look of vague distress and confusion on his face after she'd bitten him. Wincing, Fluttershy hunched slightly, bangs swinging to cover one eye. "And I… I'm sorry if I put you in an uncomfortable position. I couldn't… I was having so much trouble saying it. I've wanted to, um, suggest… to ask you if maybe, you might want to… to b-be physical, w-with me, for a while. I'm sorry for not telling you. I… I thought it might be better, if it was…"

If it was what? Fluttershy still had a difficult time parsing her own thoughts there. "Fun?" she offered. "Because I don't… I don't want you to feel pressured, or worried that…" She tilted her head back up, determined to look him in the eye for this. "I don't want you to think I'm expecting anything that isn't what we already have."

Discord tilted his head, ears flopping. "What do you mean?"

"It's like, um…" Fluttershy fidgeted. "I just… want to have more fun with you?" Saying it like that made her blush again, but she pushed through it. "Nothing else about our friendship needs to change—" Which was its own strange can of worms Fluttershy currently had no interest in examining. "I just want to be closer to you. D-does that makes sense?"

"Not a lick of it," Discord told her brightly. At last, his smile returned. "So I think I actually understand what you're trying to say. I'm just surprised."

"Y-you are?"

"Of course I am! Look, Fluttershy, I know that I'm an excellent specimen," Discord said. He waved both hands, shining spotlights on himself as a ring of mirrors rotated behind his head like a reflective silver halo. A formless crowd faintly cheered. "Any creature in our dimension or any other would be lucky to share a— what is that colloquialism you ponies love to use? 'Roll in the hay'? To share a hay bale with me."

The grandiose display of ego pulled a giggle out of Fluttershy, which appeared to be Discord's goal. He grinned down at her, propping his forearms on his own tail so that they were side-by-side, his neck bowed so their eyes were level. "My point is that I understand a fellow as uniquely good-looking as me doesn't tend to be the sort a pony might be interested in, despite my naturally insane charisma stat. Or so I assumed."

Flustered, Fluttershy couldn't help but avoid his gaze, mumbling, "W-well, I… um… I've never…"

"Hm? Never what?"

"…Never really been interested in anypony else," Fluttershy admitted. Then, summoning her courage, she looked back up at him. "I've never felt anything like this towards any stallion or mare. Y-you… Um. Honestly, the fact that you're not a pony… is what I like, actually…"

"Oh?" Discord looked impossibly pleased with himself, his entire continence one of pure delight. "Oh? Really?"

"Uh-huh…"

Suddenly, Discord's head was right above Fluttershy's, making her squeak as his eyes eclipsed her vision.

"Can I tell you something, Fluttershy?"

"Y-yes?"

"You are a truly fascinating, incomparable pony. No— creature. You are the most…"

He seemed abruptly at a loss for words. Discord turned his face towards the sky, a paw to his chin. After a moment, he said boldly, "Fluttershy."

"Yes?"

"I am… interested. In this. What you suggest. I think it may, indeed, be an enjoyable arrangement."

Fluttershy smiled, relief and joy making her body feel completely weightless. "Oh. Yay."

Discord snorted. "You silly pony. Now, listen: I've never done this sort of thing with a pony before, so I'm warning you now that I'm likely to mess something up. Considering the topic at hand… You'll promise to tell me if I misstep?"

"Of course," Fluttershy said.

Discord narrowed his eyes at her. "Really? I'm being quite serious, Shutterfly!"

The nickname made her huff a laugh. "I can tell."

"Really, I am! You have to promise to tell me if I make a mess of things." After a pause, he amended, "Actually, no, before I make a mess."

"O-okay. I promise."

"Really really?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Really really."

"Good!"

They enjoyed each other's quiet company for a while, Discord musing at the darkening pink of the sky while Fluttershy let herself get a little hypnotized by the patterns in the grass. They'd rolled around and flatted a good chunk of it together, but beyond their tiny clearing, the blades continued to sway. They were still a bit disorienting to look at, their colors sparking her taste-buds, but at least they weren't making her nauseous again.

"What was the point of this whole 'game', then?" Discord suddenly asked. Fluttershy turned to him. "I still don't understand that part."

"Oh, um. T-that was just… building up my courage, I guess," Fluttershy confessed. Then she bit her lip and added, "A-and, I… I might have enjoyed the idea of, um, you chasing me a-and… catching me."

Discord's chuckle made Fluttershy shiver. "Ah, is that so? That's very interesting to learn, Fluttershy."

"D-don't tease me…!" Fluttershy squeaked, defenseless and without recourse.

Discord laughed. "If that's the case, then I suppose you were the ultimate winner in all this."

"W-well, maybe we could both be winners?" Fluttershy timidly offered. "Considering?"

Unimpressed, the draconequus scoffed. "I see your play! You're the actual winner, and you're just saying I am as well in order to make me feel better."

"…Do you feel better?"

"Yes, but that isn't the point!"

Fluttershy squirmed a little, smiling up at him. "You know… technically, we're still playing."

"Hm?"

"The game only ends if one of us says we want to stop."

Discord thought for a moment, then gave a cautious nod. "That's… true, yes."

"So… do you want to play some more?"

He did, in fact — though Discord insisted on being chased next.

Together, they fled from the overgrown field, running after each other across rolling hills of shifting cyan, teal, and aqua. They ran and flew about and nipped at each other's necks whenever one caught the other.

Eventually, boneless from exhaustion, Fluttershy fell onto her side and simply enjoyed the feeling of Discord resting next to her. He was physically fine, of course, but pretending for her sake, sipping a tall glass of lemonade with a tiny paper umbrella in it and fanning himself with his tail.

"We should probably go home soon…" Fluttershy pondered aloud. With tired eyes, she watched as a small flock of pinwheels fell upon a copse of trees further down the hill. Their little wings sparkled pink and silver, red and violet. "How long have we even been here?"

"Long enough," Discord said, "for a new day to fall."

Fluttershy took a moment to absorb that. She rolled onto her stomach and sent a confused look Discord's way, but he merely pointed up at the sky. He'd transformed his empty lemonade glass into a pair of opera glasses, resting them atop his snout as he told her, "Just watch."

So watch she did. It took a while for anything to happen, and longer still for Fluttershy to notice it. Her eyes caught onto a discrepancy in the sky: there was a spot in its soft pink canvas that was discolored. Or rather, where a new color had been… revealed? Fluttershy couldn't make sense of it.

Something touched her flank, causing Fluttershy to jump and make a noise of alarm.

Discord chuckled; Fluttershy swung her tail at him, frowning. "Please don't startle me like that!"

"It wasn't me!" Discord claimed. He let his arm slide down his body, plucking whatever had fallen on Fluttershy. "It was this."

He brought the arm back up, presenting her with… What was that? A scrap of tissue paper? Fluttershy leaned forward, sniffing at it in an attempt to identify it. Her brain was flooded with visions of Pinkie Pie's bouncing curls, Angle Bunny's tiny nose, the taste of strawberry candies. Nose tingling, Fluttershy let out a tiny sneeze.

"What was that?" Discord teased. "A sneeze for ants?"

"W-what is it?" Fluttershy asked only for understanding to dawn as her gaze returned to what was happening above them. With no clouds to obscure it, they had a clear view of the sky falling.

Perhaps 'falling' wasn't the best word to describe the phenomenon. The sky was flaking, chips of pink — bubblegum, salmon, cotton candy, orchid — raining like cherry blossoms from a tree. It was the first snow of the year, the running of the leaves, a shower of confetti. Pink twirled and fluttered into the blanket of blue waiting below, decorating it — then staining it, painting it. Fluttershy felt more flakes of pink land on her coat, but she was too amazed by the sight of the peeling sky to care.

Beyond the rosette blush of the evening was a new day dressed in vivid purple. Swirls of lilac-amethyst-lavender-violet were slowly revealed as the minutes passed. When huge swaths of the sky had chipped away, Fluttershy noticed something else: in this new sky, there were stars. They twinkled starkly in the colors of an Equestrian sunrise.

"Discord, this is beautiful…"

"That's not even the best part," Discord told her. He offered her a scrap of old sky — one she hadn't sneezed on. "Try it."

"…D-do you mean eat it?"

"Yes!"

Completely disregarding her own sound advice, Fluttershy opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue a little, waiting. It took a second for Discord to understand, though he was quick to deposit the pink onto her tongue once he caught on. Turning away to peer upward, he asked, "So? What does it taste like?"

The scrap of sky dissolved into her mouth like cotton candy, leaving behind a spark of a memory of its flavor. "It tastes like… a Pinkie party," Fluttershy mused. She licked her lips, trying to chase any remnants of it. "Um, and the way sugary drinks feel when they make your coat sticky."

Discord looked back at her. "How intriguing! I've found the pink mostly tastes like being being upside-down and pretending to be asleep."

"Have you tried other colors of the sky?" Fluttershy asked, reaching out a curious hoof to catch another falling petal. This one tasted like a memory of Cloudsdale at sunset, how the fading rays of Celestia's light would break apart on the bow of the city and scatter into a dusting of rainbows.

"I've been around to try green and yellow and orange," Discord said. "They all taste very different! For example, the green…"

Discord talked and Fluttershy listened, watching the sky fall. Many thoughts passed idly by: How long had they been here? Did time pass the same in this place as it did back home? They should probably go back soon either way — Discord needed to put Spike and Big Mac back to normal, and Angel Bunny was probably expecting dinner by now…

"Fluttershy?" Discord only had to lean ever so slightly to press his shoulder against hers. "You look like you're thinking too hard. What's up?"

Fluttershy smiled up at him and said, "It's nothing."

Discord pursed his lips. "I hope that you know you're not a very good liar. Hm…" He pulled a watch with a long chain from a pocket suddenly present on his feathered torso. The face of it showed at least seven hands of various sizes, colors, and levels of straightness. "We have been here for quite a while in either time-zone."

Feeling bold, Fluttershy crossed the last bit of space between them, pressing her side entirely against his. Gently resting her head against his neck, she said, "No, it's okay… Let's stay just a little bit longer. If you want to?"

Fluttershy could feel the way Discord hummed deep in his chest, the sensation making her feel cozy and warm. He tucked the watch away and said, "Sounds like a plan to me."