Fluttershy spent her night in the hospital. She wept and wept and wept until the tears simply could not come to her. The hospital was cold and white. And she felt cold in her dress. The space around her began to serve her only as a shroud. Nothing was going to bring her grandmother back to her, but she hoped anyways. The nurses came server all times, asking if she needed anything. Each time she responded the same way: no.

Trenderhoof was not with her that night, or the next. On the third day, when the hospital staff found reason to complain, he was summoned to remove her. The stallion said nothing and removed her from the body. The pegasus fought against him, finding strength within herself yet undiscovered. A hoof reached out, in vain, to touch the body once more. Trend yanked her away harshly, his eyes as cold as the white walls. The yellow one let out a long wail. Nurses flocked in to aid in the effort, but not her effort. That was the last time she saw her grandmother.

Fluttershy was in her new house, with Trenderhoof. He was sensitive to her at first, leaving her alone in the room to weep when necessary. Once he sent a servant up with a cup of tea; that was nice of him. (Though the tea was earl grey, her least favorite. She had mentioned that to him once when they were courting...)

A week passed and Trenderhoof grew weary of his naïve bride. One night he called her to the room. Fluttershy felt compelled to obey him, she was his wife, yet she did not. Instead she flew out the window as fast as her wings could carry her. Garbed in nothing but her nightgown she flew low through the streets until she came upon a park. In the park was a bench where she curled up.

Apparently she had not noticed but there was another figure on the bench. Beside her was the creature she had met the night of the party. Obviously the other noticed her and moved closer.

"It is you! What are you doing way out here, all...alone?"

The pegasus gulped; she had indeed forgotten that by herself on the night streets was not the best situation to be in. She pulled up her silky gown and smiled softly, though it was strained.

"I needed...to get out," she responded, her mind racing.

The creature's golden eyes glimmered; she shuddered. The other mistook this shiver for one due to the cold, and not one due to fear. So he snapped his fingers. A blanket appeared around her shoulders. Regaining bravery the other looked over at the creature, her eyes shadowed behind her pink mane.

He was ugly, to be certain, but his voice was mellow and rich. Fluttershy heard his dark tones in her very core; they shook her to her very bones. (In comparison, Trenderhoof's tenor voice was sweet, but tricky. He could sound very nice and light, but underneath the surface something else was always brewing.)

The creature moved towards her, but did not reach out to touch her.

"You never told me your name, you know," he said.

The little pegasus did not respond at first, she knew it was dangerous just to hand out her name to strangers, and yet something compelled her to do the opposite. In a quaint, little whisper she said:

"Fluttershy, Lady Fluttershy actually."

(She had not quite gotten used to her new title.)

The male creature chuckled lightly and this time he did reach out to touch her. She pulled back, so he retracted his arm.

"My name is Discord."

For some reason, the mare laughed now.

"It fits somehow," she said lightly.

The creature now took offense and retracted from her, snarling slightly. Even in the world of titles and majesty there existed animalistic reactions and emotions. Fluttershy returned him to the world of reason and asked:

"What are you…exactly?"

He sniffed and said:

"A draconequus."

The mare said nothing, but nodded gently. It was growing cold, and the blanket was doing little now to shield her from the frosty weather. The draconequus came closer to her to help her grow warmer. She did not question it but snuggled into his fur, for she was so cold.

"Discord, I am so cold," she told him, shivering.

The male looked down upon her, and she looked so beautiful. In the moonlight her blue eyes were deep and brooding and her mane was shimmery and shiny. He knew he had to help this little mare, for she was so lovely and something about her made him…curious.

In a flash of light they returned to her home. He flew through the window and laid her gently upon her own bed. She felt her own head grace the pillow and sleep came to her. Discord looked down and saw her face peaceful and dreamy in the low light. He stroked a piece of her rosy hair away from her face. Even asleep she was very nice.

For some reason he longed to stay near her, but it would be most unseemly for him to be any more near to her than he already was. Discord turned to leave but, as he was leaving, he heard something. It was a stallion.

At the door was a white mare with a lovely purple mane. She was whispering into the ear of a tan stallion.

"…if I stay, darling, but I must leave. If anyone should see us, why…"

Then the male started to speak.

"Darling, my little wife is asleep. Why, she has not left her room for some time now."

Discord, from the window, hissed again. So this lovely little filly was being cheated on by that stallion! For some reason this made him angrier than he had been in a long time. Suddenly, he saw that the white mare was turning to leave. The stallion did not follow her, but turned to go back inside of the house. Discord flashed out of the room, but not before he gazed at the sleeping mare one last time.

Trenderhoof returned inside and sat down in the parlor, sighing. He then remembered that he had a wife upstairs, so he went up the stairs, levitating a candelabra with his magic. At the top of the stairs he turned to the right, instead of the left, towards his room, and opened the door.

Inside he found the mare sleeping gently. Some part of him wanted to awaken her, and get what he wanted, but the other part was perfectly content to go back to bed. He turned and shut the door. Under his breath he swore he would have her the next night.

Fluttershy had been awake the whole time. She had felt the tenderness of Discord's gestures and the spite of what Trend had said, both to the mare outside and to himself.

Already their marriage was in shambles. She wept for the rest of the night, not for herself, but for the dashed dreams her grandmother had for her once. Now that dream, her living happily with her husband, was nothing more than that, a dream. What could she possibly do now?