Discord waved his paw. With a small dramatic gust in its path, it clung tightly to a pitiful yellow pegasus. She lay curled up on the sofa, whining. She was a sickly yellow, not wearing the buttery coat she had worn before. Discord smiled, the genuine kindness she had shown him reflecting purely in his own face.
"I've always known they'd never seen your kindness, Discord," Fluttershy smiled weakly. Discord snapped his fingers, a third glass of water appearing in his claws. He poured it slowly down Fluttershy's throat.
"Would you like to take the day off, my poor pegasus?" Discord asked.
"Uh...sure...but what about the animals? Angel's very picky..." Angel scowled up to Fluttershy at the mention of his name.
"I've got everything under control," said Discord bravely, appearing in a vet suit among Fluttershy's array of furry friends. His buck tooth glistened, yellow as beeswax. "After all, when your dear friend Twilight cured me of my blue flu, what more do you deserve?" The draconequus whipped out another spoonful of medicine, adding in some sugar for good measure.
"Are you sure? Did I ever tell you how Spike did that one time?" Fluttershy winced just at the mention of Spike being laboured with every pet in Ponyville, then sighed, knowing Discord might put their friendship at stake as usual. He was always like that, thrusting the fact that she and her friends had reformed him right under her nose. She sighed again, for good measure, just to let him know that she'd just made a tough – and who knows, perhaps a bad – decision. She was never sure what to think of him. Perhaps his chaos powers might help keep the pets under control, but one could never be too careful.
With a scream, Fluttershy landed on her bed upstairs, bound tightly in a warm duvet. Discord called up the stairs, and put himself to work. "Now, Angel..." Angel scowled at Discord, stamping his foot in demand. "Oh, what's that you say? A carrot?" The dragonesque creature snapped his fingers, and a carrot appeared. "Think fast," he said, nonchalant. The carrot hit an unamused Angel on the head. "Well...was it really my fault?" Discord smirked to himself, crossing the room with a deft teleport to find a sleeping bear on the other side. "Thank goodness he's down..." He walked over to the other side of the room to hear a growl behind him.
One hoofstep too loud. That was all it took. The colourful chaos lord turned a sheepish red, turning to look at the bear. Disturbed, the bear opened a weary eye. Discord prayed that it was merely a threat, as although he had everything at his disposal to stop the bear, ethics became his mental block. What might Fluttershy say?...what might Fluttershy do? The dazed draconequus held out a friendly paw to the bear, speaking a soft apology, and held his breath tighter than he would any innocent pony during his reign thousands of years ago. The bear's low growl increased in volume a little, perhaps even sounding a little respectful to Discord. It took his paw and gave it a primitive but firm shake, reassuming its position on the floor. Discord let out a huge sigh of relief – only for the peace to be broken by a scream.
The chaos lord literally jumped out of his skin at the sight of Celestia. But something was a little different. "Notice anything, Discord?" The Princess smirked playfully. Discord took a detailed look, eventually catching a change in the insignia on her crown. Now, instead of the swirling, sparkling sun, she wore the moon. "I see you're covering for Fluttershy."
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Your Highness. She's taken ill, poor pegas –" Discord let out a yelp, not noticing the bear pouncing at him from behind. "I said I was sorry!" He raised his voice a little, teleporting out of the way. "Any chance of a hoof?"
Celestia was a little unimpressed, but having closely monitored his actions before, she took pity on him. "I see you have your claws full. Anyway, I'm taking care of the moon for Luna tonight. She rose the sun this morning. I'm teaching her how to cover for me in the event of a disaster..." The Princess thought back to a time not too long ago – a disaster resulting in the capture of herself and her sister – and did her best to hide an inevitable scowl. "Anyway, Discord, it's pleasing to see that everything's alright. Good luck," she smiled, and opened the door.
"Oh, Your Highness...before you go..." Fluttershy called down the stairs, her voice a little croaky. Celestia turned her head, her flowing mane glistening in the sunlight, which today wasn't present of her own action. The butter-coloured pegasus fluttered down the stairs, her own mane looking an apprentice's shot at the beauty of Celestia's. "I'd just like to mention...that Discord's been exceptional lately." She smiled up at the draconequus towering above her.
"Well done, Discord," Celestia replied. "Maybe we can let you out into Ponyville a little more often after this." Discord readied some more medicine for Fluttershy, whose condition seemed to be improving. Her feathers were still ruffled, and her wings drooped as though they were wet. "May I come in?"
Fluttershy stepped back with heavy hooves, wandering into the room. She took a seat on the sofa, curling up pitifully, with a weak whimper. Celestia looked on, deciding, like Discord had before, that Fluttershy was owed her title of kindness. She walked over to the pegasus, hooves quiet, and embraced her warmly, in the hope that her kindness alone might cure Fluttershy of her illness. It was a virus for which there was no spell, somewhat like a common cold. But once again the peace was smashed, by a few light knocks on the door –
– and then it fell.
Shaking her head sullenly, a small tear creeping from her eye, Fluttershy looked up. She ducked, whining, as a swarm of colours entered the room. Celestia and Discord yelped, but whether it was in fear or disgust, she didn't know. Those insectile green eyes glared in their numbers with innocent smiles to accompany them, and Fluttershy knew it was over again for her quaint cottage. The Parasprites were back.
"Here we go again," sighed Fluttershy, with a cough.
