What About Fluttercord?

The Council of Peace and Harmony

Sorry for the wait. Spring break is coming, and I plan to have updated this chapter by then and at least another during that week. Warning: next couple chapters may be emotional! Also sorry this chapter was so long!

Having slept many a night together, Discord had grown used to the feeling of a mare waking up beside him. She'd often be the one to rise first, but there were occasions Discord would look forward to when he would wake to see the beauteous Fluttershy lost in sleep. It had become a favorite past time of his: to simply lie there overseeing her rest, her eyelids fluttering with dream, her light rising and falling of breath, her intermittent sighs and turns. 

This morning in particular, however, the draconequus found himself watching her so closely, he'd fear turning away, even for a moment, might cause her to slip away completely. He watched her face quiver at the strand of pink falling loosely over hers cheek: he took his paw and brushed it away. He saw her smile appear and leave: he smiled briskly and stroked her cheek. He heard the inhale of deep air and exhale of sleep: his eyes softened and his cheeks blushed. When he finally felt the need to wake her, he sat up in the covers and took a single finger to softly tap her cheek. She smiled and moved, but kept her eyes shut. He chuckled under his breath, and repeated the motion. She giggled and took a hoof to her cheek. 

"That tickles," she said, eyes still closed. 

"Well perhaps I should do more." He said in a mischievous tone.

Hey eyes flashed open to find him gone. All that remained was an imprint of his form in the sheets and ruffled blankets. She sat up quickly and examined the room carefully. She heard a floorboard creak by the dresser. Her eyes darted in the diretion. Nothing. Paper ruffled on the desk by the window. She whipped around. A single loose-leaf fell from the desktop. A shadow strecthed aross the wall that emanated a dark chuckle. Her eyes narrowed as she followed the shape to a portrait on the wall above the bed. She looked it over. Just a simple drawing of the Canterlot palace. She stood in bed to cautiously approach the frame. She stared hard. Just as she took a hoof and extended it to touch the piece, she saw the picture change. Right before her wonderous eyes, the scene melted away in a blur of dripping colors. 

"Wha..." she started, as she began pacing backward. 

The colors and textures seemed to reform themselves to create an entirely different scene. She tilted her head and tried to piece the blur together. Eventually a clear image came into focus as if the previous one hadn't even been there at all. It was a familiar sight. It was her cottage. 

Fluttershy gasped, then smiled warmly at the painting. It was her home she had missed so much. She reached out to the scene only to have the glass frame block her. It was so realistic, it almost came as a surprise she could not simpy reach through nd find her way back home. She retracted her hoof and jumped off the bed. She made her way to the bathroom. 

"Okay, Discord," she said as she walked. "You can come out now." 

She entered the bathroom and shut the door. Looking in the mirror, she saw how ruffled her mane was and how her eyes filled with sleep over the night. 

"Oh!" she laughed to herself. 

She reached for her pink comb, only to have it turn to a fish on the counter, flopping and jumping across the white marble sink. 

She screamed and jumped back. It was a large silver trout widely thrashing about before being turnd back into a comb. "Discord!" she yelled. 

Approaching the sink again she mumbled under her breath, "Not funny." 

She looked into the mirror, expectant to find her crazy mane flying in every direction as it had a moment before, when she found herself in an overly-fashionable gown and fancy hairstyle. She widened her eyes then smiled into the mirror.