The bear growled deeply, and bared its fangs. Sharp, white teeth glinted in the sunlight. The animal lunged forward, roaring savagely as it raised its paw, readying itself to strike full-on with long, knife-like claws. Fluttershy only stared.
"NO! FLUTTERSHY!" Discord cried, red-and-yellow eyes wide with horror. He quickly snapped his fingers, enclosing the creature in a see-through barrier. The bear's blow struck the barrier instead of the intended target, causing the shield to ripple like a stone hitting water.
Fluttershy blinked, then looked back at Discord. "Why did you do that?" she asked the draconequus innocently.
Discord stood there for a moment, his mouth agape.
"WHY DID I DO THAT?!" he shouted suddenly. "Like I'd actually just watch you get torn apart by that...beast!"
Fluttershy frowned. "Harry wasn't going to...'tear me apart'." she replied defensively, looking back at the bear. It now looked rather sad, and was giving Fluttershy a pouty look.
"I was just going to clean the wound that he got on his nose. He got too close to an angry mommy kitty-cat and now he needs some help." the pegasus said softly, gesturing toward the animal with a butter yellow hoof. Indeed, three long, angry red scrapes ran down it's nose.
Discord crossed his arms, grunting stubbornly. "Hmph! Yeah, right. I saw it with my own two eyes, Fluttershy--" at this, he took out his eyes and gestured them towards the bear, before placing them back where they belonged. "That bear was going to seriously injure you--AT THE LEAST! Why in the wide wide world of Equestria are you so calm?!"
Fluttershy looked at her friend for a long time, before smiling softly. "Because I'm not scared. I've dealt with animals for most of my life; it's my calling, and the reason for my cutie mark; for my destiny. Why would I be afraid of that? Even if I was killed in the midst of caretaking, I suppose that it would be my destiny."
She cocked her head, looking nervously at the imprisoned creature. "And, um...could you please let Harry out? He doesn't like it in there..."
Discord was quiet. His gaze drifted again to the bear. It had gotten slightly annoyed at being confined, and was clawing at the prison.
"You're...a lot braver than you get credit for, Flutters," he said finally. "Any other pony would've ran away and hid before I could snap my fingers once--twice, tops."
He decidedly withheld the fact that he was an expert on how much ponies could take before running away screaming.
"Oh, no, I'm not brave at all," Fluttershy replied quickly, her blue eyes widening. "Rainbow Dash is a lot braver than I am! So are Applejack, and Twilight...and, really, all of my friends. Rarity and Pinkie Pie wouldn't back down from fear, either, even if they're not quite as well known for their bravery. Me, um, well...I'm a scaredy-cat."
"I don't know any 'scaredy-cat' who can look at a snarling, bloodthirsty bear face-on. Let alone with a straight face."
The pegasus frowned. "Dissy, I told you; Harry isn't bloodthirsty. He just needs a little help. He's my friend." she replied. "Please, let him out...if you don't mind."
Discord's eyelid twitched as he raised his paw. "Are...are you sure, Fluttershy?" he asked cautiously.
The pegasus nodded. "Positively."
She had no trace of doubt in her voice whatsoever. Discord looked at her for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to listen to her and let the beast out. It would definitely make her unhappy if he didn't, but there was a startlingly large chance that the bear could tear his dear, dear friend apart.
He looked straight into her large, teal eyes. They were calm, and expectant. Also innocent. And so, so much more.
And...looking into her eyes, he knew that he could trust her, no matter what. If she said that she could handle this bear, well, then...she could handle this bear. Trust was part of friendship, wasn't it?
The draconequus gulped, and quickly snapped his fingers before he could change his mind.
As the barrier dissolved, Discord's stomach tied knots within himself. His paw was shaking slightly, and he had half a mind to reconstruct the barrier...but, no...he had to trust Fluttershy...
Fluttershy smiled at him. Her smile was beautiful, and gentle. "Thank you, Dissy." She decided to ignore the fact that there was a noticeable knot tied in Discord's midsection.
Then she turned back to her bear friend, and slowly raised a hoof toward him. "Don't worry, Harry...I'm here to help you..." she whispered soothingly. "Don't be afraid, alright? You know that you can trust me..."
The bear was beginning to calm down. He let Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder, and stayed still, watching her as she gently rubbed his fur. "Good boy."
After a few minutes, the bear looked a great deal more calm. It's eyes were even beginning to droop closed, and it looked sleepy. Fluttershy chuckled softly and withdrew her hoof. Then she reached down beside her, and grabbed a first aid kit of which Discord was surprised he hadn't noticed before.
She opened it, and pulled out a tube of ointment, then turned back to her large patient. "Thith myght sthing a wittle, otay?" she warned the bear, her voice muffled by holding the ointment tube between her teeth. "Juhst truhst me."
The bear gave a slightly nervous look as the pegasus squirted some ointment onto her hoof, then reached forward, and began to spread the ointment over the scrape. "Thith is tho your boo-boo won ghet inthetched."
The bear still looked uneasy, and was grimacing a little from the stinging, but stayed still as she finished applying the ointment. After the pegasus was done, she withdrew, and turned back to the first aid kid, spitting the tube of ointment back into the box. Then she reached down again, pulling out a rather large, bear-sized adhesive bandage.
She grinned, and flapped forward with a soft flutter of her wings, plastering the bandage on the bear's nose. "There. All better." she cooed, and rubbed his shoulder again. "You were such a brave boy. Yes, yes you were..."
The bear gave a rather toothy sort of grin in reply, and made some sort of noise which Discord could only assume meant that it was happy.
"Stay safe now, and be careful of cats. Especially mother ones." Fluttershy warned, pulling back her hoof and giving the bear a stern expression. "You know I don't mind helping you, but I'd just hate to see you get hurt again."
The bear pricked it's ears, and nodded. Then he got up onto his feet, and waved his paw, smiling.
"I hope you have a nice day, too, Harry." Fluttershy replied happily. "Tell your wife that I said 'hello', okay?"
The bear nodded again, and began walking away.
Fluttershy sighed contentedly as she watched the bear disappear into a thicket; leaving to return back to his home in the Everfree.
"You were...you were right, Fluttershy..." Discord admitted softly, a slightly sheepish tone in his voice. "I'm quite sorry I doubted you."
"Oh, that's okay." Fluttershy replied. "I know you were only looking out for my best interest, and I really appreciate that. You can be really sweet, Dissy."
Discord felt his face grow hot at being called 'really sweet' (and 'Dissy'). He turned away so that Fluttershy wouldn't see the redness in his cheeks. "Oh, erm, well...I'm just a sweet little bowl of sugar, aren't I?" he replied, and snapped his fingers, transforming into a bowl of sugar to prove his point.
Fluttershy only blinked, and watched, as with another flash of white light, the draconequus transformed back into his admittedly un-normal self.
At first the transformations and such had startled her, but now she barely batted an eyelash at them. She'd gotten used to Discord's little quirks. She even found them endearing.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
Discord broke the silence, clearing his throat. He hated silence, especially awkward silence. It reminded him too much of his unhappy, imprisoned millennia of unbreakable silence. He blinked, and decided to ask her something that had been on his mind.
"Why aren't you afraid of me, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy gave him a surprised look, her blue eyes widening and pupils shrinking. He stopped for a moment, then continued on.
"I've...I've got teeth sharper than knives! Really!" Discord cried, and snapped his fingers. An x-ray of his jaw appeared, floating, in the air with every sharp tooth clearly visible (and oddly in the shape of knives). Then he snapped it away, giving the pegasus a curious look.
"I should be a great deal more frightening than that teddy bear. Ponies are usually a lot more frightened of me than wild animals. Why don't...why don't I scare you?"
Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow at him, and Discord added quickly, "But it's not like I want you to be scared of me. Not nearly, my dear! But I was just...curious...is all."
"Well, um, you're my best friend!" Fluttershy replied, a smile tugging at her lips. "I trust you, Discord. I know you'd never, ever hurt me like...like that."
Discord suddenly felt an ominous, large sort of guilt gnaw at his heart at her 'like that', though he knew that she probably didn't mean what he had gleaned from it. She must have seen the slight frown on his face, as she quickly added, "You're reformed now, and everything. You'd never hurt me at all! Why should I be afraid of you?"
Discord raised an eyebrow. "But, what about before I was reformed? Weren't you afraid of me then? I don't recall ever seeing you afraid during my reformation, and when Celestia asked you to reform me. If you're truly a scaredy-cat, then why is it that you weren't afraid?"
Fluttershy felt her face grow hot, and she looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable as her thoughts focused to when Discord wasn't reformed. It was a place she didn't let her mind linger, and she didn't like to think about it much. "We-ell, um...um..."
Discord frowned at her obvious discomfort, and felt bad for bringing up the subject. "Uhm, sorry. Just forget that. Forget it, okay?" he said quickly, and went down on all fours, walking up beside her and curling his tail around her. "Don't think about that, really."
Fluttershy shook off the bad thoughts, and looked up into her friend's eyes. She smiled, and sighed a little, rubbing her muzzle against his furry brown chest. "Um, okay. Besides, you're reformed now, and that's all that matters, right?" she replied. "Like I said, you're my best friend, and I love you a lot."
Discord blushed again. "Oh, well, um...thanks." he murmered. "I...I-I suppose that I-I..." he struggled to get the words out. "L-love...l-love you too, Flutters."
Fluttershy chuckled, and Discord spread his pegasus wing, wrapping it around her as his blush fiercened.
"What I was trying to get to, in a roundabout way, was..." Discord said suddenly, pausing before continuing, "I, myself, think that you are among the bravest ponies who have ever lived. And I've lived a pretty long time, so I'd know. I've seen lots and lots of 'brave', and truly brave ponies in my time."
Fluttershy was quiet.
"Stop not taking yourself seriously. You are brave, Fluttershy. You're a lot braver than you know you are," Discord said, and looked down, looking into the pegasus's wide teal eyes. "It doesn't make you any less brave if you have fear, because all ponies do. All ponies have fear. But...you..."
Discord smiled, and said quietly, "You feel the fear. You know the fear. But still, you overcome the fear. And that's..."
"That's what makes you brave, Fluttershy."
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! No coarse language, flaming and/or cursing in the comments, please. 
