Not long after he and Fluttershy became friends, Discord decided that Tuesday was the best day of the week. Not only was it the day he was literally not allowed to receive chores or tasks from anypony, but it was also the day he could spend time with his best friend without needing to think up an excuse, as visiting her without a valid reason had gotten increasingly harder over the past months.
Which is why, as he politely knocked on Fluttershy's door and she failed to answer he felt nothing short of disappointed.
He knocked again and listened intently. He had promised himself that he wouldn't enter her house without her permission, so that also meant he didn't use magic to enhance his hearing and potentially invade her privacy. He didn't really think she'd mind all that much, but he was trying his hardest to stay on her good side at the moment.
She didn't answer, though. He knew that the door was unlocked; it was always that way. He deliberately made noise while turning the doorknob, opening the door and closing it behind him, just in case she somehow hadn't heard his intermittent rapping-on-the-wood-of-her-door.
He made a purposefully exaggerated exasperated noise when he saw that she wasn't in her living room. He absent-mindedly wondered if she was out, but why would she be? He knew for a fact that she looked forward to their Tuesday Teas nearly half as much as he did, so she wouldn't dare miss it. Perhaps she wanted to make the tea herself this time but didn't have what she needed? Maybe --
His train of thought abruptly ended as he heard the sound of somepony -- clearly Fluttershy -- laughing really slowly.
It was coming from upstairs, so he began to make his way up the staircase and as he did, he realised that she wasn't laughing;
She was crying.
You don't need to know Fluttershy very well to guess that she's an emotional pony. Discord knew it from the moment he saw her.
Poke her in the wrong place, and she'd bawl he eyes out. Or stand up to you in that adorable and admirable way only she can. Or quiver and cower as her fears and paranoia kick in. The vast majority of the things you do to her will get a reaction.
And of course that could be a good thing, because she didn't need much to be joyful or giggly -- just so long as you're working up from a base of nonchalance.
But most will work this out within seconds of meeting her, and if she bursts into tears or giggles gleefully, you won't really care as much as you'd like to believe you would.
But Discord cared. Sweet sherbet lemons, he cared so much; he loved her. And at that moment, as he creaked up the final steps and open her door, that fact hit him so hard he might as well have been feeling the pain she was.
"Fluttershy...?"
She screamed and leapt up to hooves, struggling to balance as her shifting weight caused her mattress to move. She drew breath as if she hadn't cared to do so for far too long.
"D-Discord!"
She sounded afraid of the draconequus. He know she wasn't; she was just surprised and probably quite ashamed of herself. He spotted a look of realisation on her face as she remembered why he was there in the first place.
He didn't move. He couldn't move. He knew how delicate and vulnerable she was at times like these, so he didn't know what to do. This wasn't something he could fix.
He walked forwards, even though every inch of his body was yelling go back! Go back! Go back! And he would have, but he didn't. Because he hated feeling this way, he hated caring about her when it didn't benefit him on an emotional level.
Her eyes followed him as he sat down on her bed and hesitantly pulled her into a hug. "Do you want some tea?" he offered. She nodded and sat up. They both carefully watched a teacup float down to her hooves. For a brief second, Discord wondered if changing the tea to chocolate milk would lighten the mood -- and he came within a millimetre of doing so.
But her wing brushed his fur as she adjusted her position to one that was more stable, and the draconequus had to stifle a laugh; it tickled. And thus he was reminded that hysteria wasn't what she needed at that moment.
Nine excruciating, silent minutes passed as he mentally debated over what to say. Finally, he decided upon something that was so painfully generic he was embarrassed even before it was vocalised. "What happened?"
As she looked at him, he handed her a handkerchief, into which she blew her nose. She folded it delicately, then dabbed at her cheeks as she replied, "On my way into town this morning, I overheard two of the pegasi on the weather team, Flitter and Cloudchaser, mocking my voice and," she gulped, "laughing at me. They've never really liked me and I've never really liked them, so I didn't really mind. And then I went to buy more teabags, because I wanted to make the tea to this afternoon and I had run out, so --"
"Ha! So I was kinda right," he realised aloud.
"Pardon?"
"Nevermind."
Fluttershy gave him a tired look, but continued, "So I got in line for a stall selling teabags and coffee beans and such..."
Fluttershy stretched her neck to look over the ponies in front of her, checking the price of the tea. Then, she opened her saddlebag with her wing to count how many bits she had brought -- exactly enough, as it turned out, to buy two boxes of regular tea.
The mare stiffened as two dreadfully familiar voices came into earshot and grew louder and louder until she was certain the pegasi the voices belonged to were standing directly behind her.
She waited for them to make whatever taunting joke they had planned and then leave, but they didn't. The two wanted to buy something from this stand as well, it seemed.
She blocked out their conversation as best she could; they were rather loud.
When there was only one pony in front of Fluttershy, the pegasus found that she had accidentally tuned in to Flitter and Cloudchaser's chat and was having trouble distracting herself -- and not just because they were obnoxiously noisy.
Flitter was planning on buying Earl Grey tea, but was slightly worried that somepony else would purchase the last box before her. She had emphasised just how much she wanted that specific type of tea and guilty though Fluttershy was to admit it, she wished to prevent that.
She was now at the front of the line. Her eyes fixed on the boxes of regular tea, but she couldn't help but glance at the Earl Grey as well. It cost a little more than the regular.
She remembered how many times Flitter had tormented and teased her, called her names, shoved her over. It was only tea, so it was hardly a necessity. Surely, it would be fair for her to buy the last one?
"Umm, ma'am, would you mind hurrying up a little? I ain't got all day."
Fluttershy handed the required bits over to the unicorn running the stall and put her chosen tea into her saddlebags.
Fluttershy hung her head as tear began to fall from her eyes again.
"You...you took the Earl Grey, didn't you?" Discord said softly, stroking her mane as she nodded shamefully.
The pegasus sniffed. "But the thing is, I...I don't even like Earl Grey, so I wasted my bits on doing something selfish!" she mewled, wrapping her hooves around the draconequus.
Silence.
Then, "Was her reaction satisfying, at least?"
"Discord!"
"I'm just saying! Did you even get a little reward from stupidly buying the last stupid box of some stupid tea that you don't even like?"
"I...no, I don't think she noticed who bought it. She only saw that it was gone and stormed off."
"Huzzah!"
"I immediately felt absolutely terrible."
"Oh. Okay. Not huzzah."
"No."
Discord paused to contemplate a thought that had wandered into his mind. "Do you want her to know it was you?"
"No!" she exclaimed, horrified. However, once she thought about it, she changed her mind.
"...Okay."
Fluttershy jumped as someone knocked sharply on her door for the second time that day -- only this time she heard it.
Gulping, she walked on shaky legs to open it. The pegasus standing on her doormat looked bore out of her mind. "H-hi, Flitter. C-come in."
Flitter pushed past the pegasus and sat down -- no, lay down on Fluttershy's couch, spreading out to ensure the mare could not sit next to her.
Fluttershy inwardly sighed; she was regretting this decision already. "Tea?" she offered, already making her way into the kitchen.
"Yeah, thanks. One sugar. Lots of milk," came her reply.
Two minutes later, Fluttershy handed the pegasus a mug of tea. After she sipped it somewhat cautiously, she set it aside and remarked, "This is Earl Grey."
Fluttershy took a deep breath. "It is."
A second's hesitation. "You bought the last one, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"You little rat."
Fluttershy sighed, again. "Look, your probably wondering why you're here. I know you don't like me and I'd be lying if I said the feeling wasn't mutual."
Flitter picked up the mug of tea again. "Okay then. So what the hay am I doing here? You didn't seriously invite me over just so you could tell me you bought the last Earl Grey, did you?"
"No, I didn't," Fluttershy stated, finding it strangely difficult to keep a calm tone. "I also wanted to apologise for that. It was rude and selfish of me, and...I'm sorry. You're welcome to take the remaining teabags home, if you want."
"Yeah." Fluttershy glared at her until she added a sarcastic, "Uh, thanks for returning the tea I wanted to me."
The mares stayed silent, the only sound in the room being a clock on the wall and Flitter's seemingly deafening sips. "Look, I'm not going to apologise for picking on you just because you said sorry to me, if that's what you're --"
"That isn't what I was thinking," Fluttershy interrupted. "You know what? Just take the tea and go. Please."
Flitter zipped into the kitchen, grabbed the box and flew out the door without a word -- and without closing the door behind her.
The pegasus sighed a third time as she shut the door herself.
"So, I'm confused: did you want her to apologise or not?"
Fluttershy jumped; she had forgotten Discord was still there. The draconequus walked in and sat down on her couch, motioning for her to join him.
"You know, I don't even know myself. I guess I kinda was expecting some sort of apology or explanation, but I already figured out she just did it because she disliked me, so I dunno."
"Some ponies are just mean," Discord clarified, earning a giggle from the small mare. "But you feel alright about it now, don't you?"
"Yes. Well, I hate the feeling of not liking someone, but oh well. That can't really be remedied."
"Good. Now: Tuesday Teacake?"
"I'd love one."
Author's Note
Because I was recently introduced to Earl Grey tea and Fluttercord Friendship is awesome.