Trust in Me
By Godzillawolf
WARNING! SPOILERS FOR 'THREE'S A CROWD!'
“Thank you again, Fluttershy,” said Discord, the now genuinely sick Draconequus laying in the the quarantine bubble Cadence had helped make him. He groaned. What had that worm spat on him anyway? He wasn't used to something he couldn't just snap his fingers and make go away, except for the now gone Elements of Harmony.
“Yes, you're quite welcome,” said Fluttershy, though her tone seemed a tad sharper than he was used to hearing from the Pegasus...most of the time. It wasn't like when she'd reigned him in before, but it was there. Maybe it was just the illness talking.
“Alright, we'll be headin' off, Fluttershy...” said Applejack, she and Rarity having lingered after Twilight left. “Yah sure yah can handle things?” she asked, her distrusting look more directed at the sick Draconequus than her friend.
“Yes, but thank you for your concern,” the kind pegasus replied simply.
“Alright, if yah need meh, Ah'll be busy makin' up a day of missed work Ah spent sick as a dog,” she said, leveling another glare at Discord. True, she did offer to take care of him for Twilight's sake, but there was a difference between inconveniencing yourself for a friend and being made sick just for a jerk's games.
“And I shall be busy doing likewise, I'll be lucky if I make my deadline,” Rarity muttered, the fashionista sharing her orange friend's obvious opinion of the Chaos Spirit.
As the two left, Discord gave a smirk and a chuckle to himself.
“And what are you laughing at, Discord?”
Discord turned his head to find something that wiped the smug smirk off his face even faster than the illness he was presently suffering. A disapproving look from his only real friend.
The Spirit of Chaos found it quite strange. He'd shrugged off the Stare without a second thought once before, but now? Just one look into her 'disapproving eyeballs' was enough to make his three hearts (or was it one heart beating three times at once? He had trouble remembering) skip a beat. He wasn't quite sure why.
“Nothing, Fluttershy. Just thought of a funny joke.”
The pegasus' expression remained stern. “Discord, you know I'm not that gullible,” she reminded.
Discord sighed. “Yes...”
“...You enjoyed making them sick, didn't you?”
“Fluttershy! How could you think such a thing?” Discord accused, turning his nose up in a huff...then sneezing and knocking his head back onto his pillow.
“Bless you.”
“Thank you...But how could you accuse your friend of doing something so despicable?”
“...How could you betray your friend's trust like that?”
The former Spirit of Disharmony blinked, slowly turning back to Fluttershy, and seeing the hurt look in her eyes. “Fluttershy...I...well...”
I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm Discord, the master of chaos! You think you can boss Discord around? You think I'm just going to turn all this back because you say so? Because if I don't, I'll lose the one friend I ever had?...Well played, Fluttershy. Well played.
The Draconequus would've quite literally shrunk down, but his illness seemed to be messing with his control over his powers.
“...Fluttershy, you know I'd never hurt you.”
“...But apparently you would hurt my friends,” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes. “I'm very disappointed in you.”
“Fluttershy, come on now, we're friends-”
“Yes, we are, and that's why I'm disappointed,” replied the pegasus, looking away sadly. “...Because I trusted you...and now I don't think I can.”
Discord's eyes went wide. “Fluttershy...” Why did he just feel like she'd stabbed him in the heart.
“I thought I could trust you not to hurt my friends, instead you went behind my back, made two of my friends sick on purpose, and made two others fight a Tatzlwurm. They're lucky they're not as sick as you are, or worse.”
Discord sheepishly raised his lion paw with a slide-whistle sound effect. 'Oh, good, my random sound effects are still working.'
“In my defense, I had no idea the Tatzlwurm was there...or that there was such a thing as a Tatzlwurm for that matter. I didn't think there'd be any real danger.”
“That's just it. Did you even think about them?” Fluttershy asked, tone unchanging. “About the danger you might be putting them in? Or what important things Applejack and Rarity were doing you made them too sick to do?”
“Uh...no. I'm chaos.”
“You think your plans out well enough, don't you? Enough to come when you knew I wouldn't be here.”
Discord had forgotten how Fluttershy had been far smarter concerning him than anyone had thought she was. She might have been a trusting, kindhearted pony who gave him a lot of leeway, but she still knew when he was trying to manipulate her. And that was when she hadn't spent several months as his friend, getting to know him even better.
“Well, that's different...”
“Why?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes and voice reminding him of a mother disapproving of a child's actions. Well, not his mother, considering she was the embodiment of Nothingness and just didn't care...about anything.
Discord raised his eagle claw, this time with the sound of hooves going up steps accompanying the motion. “I was teaching Twilight another lesson.”
“Celestia taught her lessons all the time, and never hurt anypony to do it. You didn't have to hurt Applejack and Rarity to teach Twilight a lesson. So why did you?” she asked, in the same tone she used to tell the dragon he should have known better than to pick on creatures much smaller than him.
“Well, if I hadn't made them sick they'd have stopped me from teaching the lesson.”
“Then why did you go to them first instead of straight to Twilight and Princess Cadence?”
“Well...You see...I...” Discord wasn't used to arguing with Fluttershy, or with somepony who actually had him pegged. What made it that much harder was that this wasn't like Rainbow Dash, accusing him of doing something out of, admittedly justified, distrust. It was the sheer disappointment in how she spoke that made it hit home.
“...Because it got you what you want?!” snapped the little pegasus, clear anger finally showing on her face. “A chance to 'play' with ponies without me there to stop you?!”
”I liked it better my way, but...I guess when you're friends, you can't always have things exactly your way all the time, eh?”
'Hey! Ironic dialog and imagery that hits where it hurts is only funny when it's not me!' Discord shouted to his own mind.
'Sorry, Discord, this is how having a conscience works,' replied Discord's conscience, which was strangely represented by a colt version of him in a tutu drinking tea, at least as far as his mind's eye seemed concerned.
'Since when do consciences talk?!'
'They don't normally, but you're Discord.'
'Oh...'
'Want to talk to your feminine side?'
'Uh...not right now...' Sometimes even Discord was perplexed by himself.
“...” The personification of Chaos wasn't sure how to respond to Fluttershy's accusation. He'd normally shrug things off without a pause, but it just felt...wrong to see her so upset. Especially at a him.
“When you were still a big meanie, I expected that from you...but I thought my friend would know better...”
“Fluttershy...I...I'm your friend, you know that...”
“Yes, and you're still my friend, you haven't lost that...but you have lost my trust...” The Pegasus pinned her ears and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Fluttershy...”
Discord put his claw in the 'glove' that covered the hole in the bubble and tried to put it on her shoulder.
Fluttershy jerked away like his claw was on fire. She looked...afraid...Like if she let him touch her...
“Oh, for goodness sake! You've been kind for far too long, my dear. Time to be cruel. Arrivederci!”
Discord was certain the same memory was going through the Pegasus' mind from the look on her face.
“Fluttershy...you...you don't think I'd...”
“If I can't trust you not to hurt my friends, how can I trust you not to hurt me? How do I know you won't just make me like what you did? Make me...make me Fluttercruel again?”
For once, Discord saw nothing but pain in his friend's face. He'd never given much thought into what exactly the group had gone through at his claws, except connecting his game with Twilight to his own experience when it came to almost losing your friends...now the pain on her face made it hit home...
“B-Because...w-we're friends?”
“And losing a friend's trust is the easiest way to lose a friend-”
“FOREVER!”
The two jumped as Pinkie suddenly popped up behind the couch to perform her yell. She then gave Discord an 'I have my eyes on you' look and sunk back, disappearing.
“...I have the strange feeling that I'm somehow related to her...”
“...She's right...”
Discord pinned his ears and to his surprise, actually did involuntarily shrink down at the pain in her face despite his illness. He was chaos, he didn't question how his own powers worked.
“...Why would you do that to my friends, Discord?”
“...I guess I was thinking because they weren't you, I could have a little fun with them...I didn't think I'd hurt you...”
“...How would you feel if you trusted them with my safety and they hurt me on purpose behind your back?”
The Draconequus thought about it. How would he have reacted? If he'd come back from a trip to find out one of the girls had hurt her?
He sighed sadly. “...Probably the same way you are now...Except with more chaos...”
“What do you have to say for yourself?”
Discord lowered his head. Fluttershy was probably the only pony on the planet that could make him feel like an utter heel with words alone. He had to admit, he was impressed. “...I'm sorry, Fluttershy...”
“You're sorry, why?”
“...Because I went behind your back and hurt your friends trying to have my cake and eat it tpo...and hurt you doing so.”
“Pinkie Promise me you'll never do it again.”
“I Pinkie Promise I won't hurt your friends behind your back again. Cross my hearts, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“Hearts?”
“I have three...or one heart that beats three times at once...”
Discord hadn't kept his eyes on Fluttershy...until he felt a covered hoof pat him on the back, so gingerly it didn't knock the now tiny Draconequus out of his sitting position. “I forgive you.”
He blinked, looking up at her, a kind smile now on her face. “...I-I thought you didn't trust me...”
“I don't, and you'll need to earn my trust back...but you can't do that if I don't give you a little bit back to start with.”
Discord was at a loss for words. “...Fluttershy...I...I...”
“Giving friends another chance is part of being a friend...But from now on, I'm not telling you about any trips I'll be taking.”
“...F-Fair enough...Thank you, Fluttershy...”
Discord didn't know what else to say as his only friend was back to the pony who earned the Element of Kindness, even after giving it back to the Tree of Harmony. In fact he swore he saw some shred of the rainbow that had once left him a statue nearly come to the surface of her eyes, like it was on the verge of a threshold it'd yet to cross.
“You're welcome...but one thing?”
“Yes?”
“You still need to make things up to Rarity and Applejack when you're feeling better. And an apology to Princess Cadence and Twilight wouldn't hurt.”
Chaos looked at Fluttershy's serious expression. “...Fine...I suppose I can once I feel up to it.”
Kindness gave a friendly smile. “Thank you...”
“...Fluttershy...One thing I simply must ask...why did you try to befriend me? Why give me a second and third chance? After everything I'd done to you? That's...something I've never been able to figure out, yes 'haha, the King of Nonsense wants to figure something out,' but...I know you did it to help reform me, but...why did you even think I could be reformed?”
Fluttershy simply smiled. “I won't lie...being made to be cruel...it was like an awful nightmare...but...I thought you could be a better Draconequus because I don't believe there's such a thing as somecreature with no good in them...just creatures who refuse to let it show. Some like King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis bury it so deep you can't tell it's there...some just make it a buried treasure that takes effort to dig up.”
"So if Celestia had asked you to reform Sombra or Chrysalis?"
"I still would have. I wouldn't have done it the same as with you, but I still would have done my hardest. Nopony thought there was any good in Nightmare Moon, and we're now friends with Luna."
Discord blinked for a moment. “...That's why Kindness chose you Fluttershy, you are literally the kindest being I have ever met in my eons long life...”
Fluttershy blushed rose red. “T-Thank you...um...”
'Aww! That was nice of you,' said Discord's conscience.
'Don't rub it in, conscience.'
“...S-So...H-How about I get you that glass of water you wanted then?” Fluttershy added, hiding behind her mane at the high praise and preferring to change the topic.
“That sounds lovely...However, I do have a tini tiny problem...”
“What is it?”
The tiny draconequus climbed up on the covered hoof with a sickly groan and tried snapping his fingers several times to no effect other than making him sneeze and blow himself across the bubble. “...It would appear I'm stuck...” he explained, giving an embarrassed blush.
“Oh my...I'll go get Zecora...”
Author's Note
Note, I made this some time ago, I just took awhile to post it here. Sorry :(
