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Fluttershy always got out of bed before her draconequus boyfriend. She had animals to tend to, food to make, ponies to talk to, packages of animal food to collect at the post office (the post office staff had started leaving it there after Derpy had dropped one too many packages of it in the Everfree Forest, drawing out some of the more hostile creatures who were hungry for the delicious-smelling food), and, of course, tea to brew. So Discord wasn’t surprised at all when he woke up to find the bed empty of his butter-yellow Pegasus. He only sat up, stretched, and yawned widely, several insects and small rodents escaping from his mouth. A spider skittered out from his armpit as he scratched at it.
Smacking his lips, Discord got out of bed, sliding his claw and hoof into a pair of fluffy slippers made of cloudstuff that Fluttershy had got him for his unbirthday. The slippers emitted the sounds of various animals as he walked through the little cottage, descending the stairs from Fluttershy’s loft bedroom. A few of the animals looked around in surprise at the mooing and bleating noises, but Angel Bunny only chittered angrily at him and went back to eating. Discord snorted, rubbing the little rabbit’s fuzzy white head.
“Get used to it, sport, I’m sticking around for the long haul,” said Discord, smirking at the bunny. Angel Bunny stomped his foot, chittering angrily again, but Discord only rolled his eyes and continued on his way to the kitchen, where he could hear his girlfriend singing.
“Good morning, my angel,” said Discord. Fluttershy would have ordinarily been startled by such an intrusion, especially when she was singing, but she only turned around in midair to smile at him.
“Oh, good morning, Discord,” said Fluttershy, putting down the knife that she’d been using to cut up carrots. She flew over to him, giving him a peck on the lips. “Did you sleep well?”
“Curled around my lovely Pegasus pillow? Of course I did,” said Discord, wrapping his arms around her as he returned her good morning peck with a rather large smooch. Angel Bunny gagged in the background, but Discord ignored him. He was no longer allowed to play tricks on the bunny, no matter how much the little brat annoyed him. Fluttershy giggled, a sound which made Discord smile against her lips before he let her go so that she could continue making breakfast for the two of them.
“Are you ready for the march today?” asked Fluttershy as she divided their breakfast salads into two bowls. Discord changed his into fruity pebbles, but Fluttershy didn’t mind. It was far less invasive than the five course meal he’d been known to change his breakfast salad into. She just settled down in the chair opposite him at the table and tucked into her own breakfast salad, enjoying the tang of the dressing and the crunch of the vegetables.
“March? What march?” asked Discord after swallowing his mouthful. Manners were another thing that he’d learned since living with his marefriend.
“The march about zebra rights,” said Fluttershy. “You remember, don’t you? I’ve been talking about it for weeks now.” Her teal blue eyes were a weapon of the highest amount of destruction, but she never used the full force of her Stare on him.
“Oh! Yes, that one, of course I remember,” said Discord, nodding despite the fact that he absolutely could not remember Fluttershy mentioning a zebra rights march. Maybe she’d mentioned it once or twice, but he’d always been too busy imagining what would happen if he turned her hair into cotton candy and her coat to butter. But then it would all melt and he’d lose his girlfriend, so that would be a terrible idea.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” said Fluttershy with a gentle smile. “That’s okay, at least I remembered.”
“You’re the glue that holds us together,” said Discord, smiling fondly at her. Fluttershy blushed and sipped at her tea.
“And at least you don’t take long to get ready,” said Fluttershy, getting up to put her breakfast things in the kitchen sink. “The march starts very soon. Can I trust you to keep it a peaceful protest?” Discord hummed thoughtfully, frowning. Peaceful protests were so boring, and yet ponies always insisted on them. It was all Celestia’s influence, he supposed, this insistence on peace and harmony. But surely, a protest would be more fun with a little chaos thrown in there. Fluttershy, possibly sensing this, raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a stern look. Discord’s ears folded and he whined.
“I’ll be good,” said Discord. Fluttershy smiled.
“Very good,” said Fluttershy. “I told Tree Hugger that you’d be on your best behaviour today, so you’d better-“
“Tree Hugger?” said Discord, interrupting her. A flash of jealousy went through him as he remembered the dread-locked, hippy earth pony from the last gala. Unconsciously, he bared his teeth in a snarl as his eyes flashed green. His body also turned green, just for good measure.
“Discord,” Fluttershy chided. “She’s my friend, you’re my boyfriend. She’s not going to take me away from you.” Discord snorted.
“Yeah, that’s what you think,” said Discord. “And then, the next thing you know, you’re leaving me with our five hundred children for a hippy mare with more air between her ears than common sense.” Sad music began to play as Discord’s arms were suddenly filled with a number of crying babies, who he rocked and shushed. Fluttershy sighed.
“And they call Rarity a drama queen,” said Fluttershy, walking over to him and looking up at him. “Discord, I promise that I’m not going to leave you for Tree Hugger. She is just a friend, nothing more. And I’d like if you could get along with my friend.” She looked up at him with such sincere puppy eyes that Discord could have sworn that he heard a puppy whimpering. But maybe that was just him.
“Oh, alright, fine,” said Discord with a weary sigh. “I’ll play nice for your friend. Just as long as she does the same.” Fluttershy smiled, looking like she hadn’t just used a weapon of mass destruction on him.
“Thank you, Discord,” said Fluttershy, floating up to give him a hug. “Now, let’s get ready for this march. There’s a barbecue afterwards, I know you like those.”
“Will you be doing any of the cooking?” asked Discord. He didn’t usually like pony food, but Fluttershy knew just what herbs and spices to use to make it taste nice. Apparently, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had brought back some good cooking tips from a Cutie Map mission in Canterlot. Discord didn’t even need to use his powers anymore to turn pony food into something good.
“No,” said Fluttershy, shaking her head. “But there will be a gourmet chef there.”
“Is it the pony that Pinkie Pie and Rarity helped in Canterlot, the one with the spices?” asked Discord, the idea making him look forward to the food. But Fluttershy shook her head again, dousing his hopes with literal water over his head. She looked pointedly at the puddle on the floor, which Discord snapped away.
“I’m sorry, we did invite them but they’re busy with their restaurant right now,” said Fluttershy. “But we have a zebra chef instead, and he knows his way around herbs and spices. I’ve heard great things about his food.”
“Fine,” said Discord, spitting the word out. “I’ll try it.” Fluttershy beamed.
“That’s all I ask,” said Fluttershy.
Just as Fluttershy had hoped, it didn’t take long at all for Discord to get ready for the march. He didn’t need to spend long at all in front of the mirror, he just snapped on a strange-looking hat that sat on top of dreadlocks, a pair of purple-tinted glasses, and a rather loud suit with shiny shoes. As he walked out of the cottage, Fluttershy rolled her eyes with a playful giggle at his ensemble.
“Alright, I guess that’s fine,” said Fluttershy, holding her foreleg out so that Discord could link arms with her.
“Let’s be off, then,” said Discord. Rather than walking to the march, though, he simply snapped them there. But, for once, Fluttershy didn’t need to flinch at the sudden change in noise and location. She was surrounded by her friends now, after all. She fluttered away from Discord to speak to a pony who held a placard bearing the words “We all eat the same grass”.
“Hey there, Fluttershy,” the mare, a green earth pony, called as she waved. “Glad you could make it!”
“Yes, it’s wonderful to be here,” said Fluttershy, smiling. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help with making the placards, but you all seemed to do a very good job of it.” She looked around at all of the various placards that ponies held under wings or in mouths or in their magic. Some ponies were still making their own placards as they chattered over at a table, painting on letters with paintbrushes or drawing them on with permanent marker. Discord snapped his fingers and a little flag reading “Yay zebras!” appeared in his hand. He waved it, to the delight of Fluttershy, who smiled at him.
Several minutes later, the last placard was made and the parade set off, walking through the main town square of Ponyville. Ponies waved their placards and shouted slogans while some of the townsfolk came out to look at them. Some ponies looked angry, and Discord considered giving them stripes. But one look from Fluttershy reminded him that he had to behave. And so, with a toothy grin, Discord relaxed his claws and settled for walking along with the rest of the march.
Personally, Discord found the march to be just a bit boring. They were causing some disharmony and disrupting the peace by marching through town and blocking off roads, yes, but… where was the drama? The pizzazz? Surely, this parade could do with some yelling birds or just disembodied mouths shouting slogans along with the ponies who were already shouting. But the sight of Fluttershy enjoying herself made Discord reconsider, and so he behaved himself as they continued walking along.
At last, the group reached a park, where they dispersed to talk to their friends.
“Is it over?” asked Discord, raising an eyebrow as he looked around. He could see the zebra chef setting up over at the barbecue, various jars and bowls of herbs beside him that he sprinkled over different vegetables.
“Yes,” said Fluttershy, nodding. “That went very well, didn’t it?”
“Well, I found it boring, so I guess it was a success,” said Discord. Fluttershy smiled, and then she grinned as she caught sight of someone in the crowd. Discord turned to look, and grimaced when he saw who it was that Fluttershy had spotted.
“Heyy, Shy,” the dreadlocked earth pony said as she shambled over to the Pegasus and draconequus. She lazily looked up, and up, and up at Discord, who frowned at her.
“Discord, play nice,” Fluttershy murmured. Discord sighed.
“Hello, Tree Hugger,” said Discord, feeling as though he was spitting the words out through his teeth. He wasn’t, though, because that would upset his marefriend. He held a hand out for her to shake and, after Fluttershy removed the trick hand buzzer from his paw, Tree Hugger put her hoof there. Discord shook it politely, even as his fur stuck out so that he looked like a rather displeased cat.
“Heyy, noodle dude, I remember you,” said Tree Hugger in her drawling voice. “You showed me quite a trip, man.”
“Tree Hugger, this is Discord, my boyfriend,” said Fluttershy, leaning against Discord. Discord’s fur immediately laid flat again and he began purring. Tree Hugger stared at him, and her eyes may have widened just a smidgen.
“Groovy, dude,” said Tree Hugger. Fluttershy began to talk to her about all manner of things, mostly the protest that had just been and future protests that might be. Discord’s ears perked up at the sound of a protest that involved preventing the local council from clearing land to make way for new apartments. That promised to be interesting, at least. He’d definitely go along to that one.
The scent of barbecue wafted over towards Discord, appearing as actual lines of smell to him. He sniffed it, his mouth watering, and floated up to follow the lines of smell over towards the barbecue. Fluttershy giggled.
“I think lunch is ready,” said Fluttershy to Tree Hugger. The two ponies followed Discord, who plopped down at the end of the queue that was already forming. Once he finally reached the front of the queue, Discord took his delicious carrot dog and even some potato salad (made with all vegan ingredients, of course) before he found a tree to sit in. Fluttershy flew up to sit on the branch beside him with a bowl of delicious-smelling mixed beans.
“Mmm, this is delicious!” Discord cried after eating a few mouthfuls. Fluttershy smiled at him.
“I know,” said Fluttershy. “Are you glad I reminded you to come along?”
“Very glad,” said Discord, wrapping an arm around his marefriend. Fluttershy leaned against him with a smile. She was glad that he’d come along. It was nice to do things together as a couple, even if this wouldn’t ordinarily be his thing.