The bell had rung to end the school day. Fluttershy made her way from Gym towards her locker, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, gym strip in hand.

She didn't notice the figure following her.

When Fluttershy opened her locker and put away her gym strip, she started to pack her Math and English homework.

"You know, you shouldn't bother going to gym class," a voice behind her said. Fluttershy recognized it instantly. Gilda.
Fluttershy tried to ignore her but knew that Gilda had a point to make and was waiting for the blow. Fluttershy tried, hurriedly, to pack her bag.

"You look really stupid in your, what you call gym strip, and you practically hide from any game we play like a wimp," Gilda cursed.
Fluttershy was starting to sweat. Come on Fluttershy, just get outta here. Fluttershy stood up, her back still faced towards Gilda, and tried to lock her locker as fast as possible. But it kept slipping.

"You know why?" Gilda asked, though not really waiting for an answer. Fluttershy finally locked it and started to walk away, but was stopped by both of Gilda's hands on either side of her arms. She was now face to face with Gilda.

"Because that's just what you are, and that's what you'll always be! A weak, wimpy, sad and shameful excuse for a human being!" Gilda released the lockers of her hand print and stood up straight. "And another thing-"

"Back off!" a friendly but assertive voice proclaimed. Fluttershy could see Gilda's face drown with worry.

"Oh, uh hey Rainbow Dash, how's it going?" Gilda tried to ask casually.

"Why are you picking on Fluttershy?"

"I umm, wasn't?" she tried.

"If I ever catch you making fun of Fluttershy again, you're gonna get it. We used to be friends, why are you doing this?"

"Oh please, we all know you left me for Fluttershy!" she yelled. Rainbow was taken aback.

"Look, Gilda, people change. I did, now please go, you're gonna miss your bus."
Gilda gave her a glare before going off towards the bus stop in front of the school.

"You alright Flutters?" Rainbow asked, putting her arm around her friend. Fluttershy nodded, trying to put on a brave face.

"I-umm wish we could talk more, but I have soccer practice in five minutes, so uh-see you soon!" Rainbow said before taking down the hallway.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and started walking away from her locker.

She slowly stumbled towards the exit but was caught off guard when she felt herself collide with another human. She and this person both fell on the floor. She tried so hard to keep the tears from falling, not because of the crash but because of her rundown with Gilda.

"Oh I-I'm so sorry, I-I wasn't looking and..." she took a deep sigh and looked up to see who'm she had bumped into. It seemed that he or she had already stood up, for all she saw were two legs in dark blue jeans. She looked up to meet his familiar face.

Discord knelt down and offered Fluttershy his hand. She hesitated but slowly took it. She had missed the look on his face as she did so. She's so soft and warm. He thought, feeling ridiculous. Discord then realized that they were both standing up and he was holding her hand. He hastily took it away and looked away feeling embarrassed.
Fluttershy took this opportunity to make sure there wasn't any tears that had escaped. When she felt none, she turned back towards him.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. I-I just w-wasn't looking w-where-" she stuttered.

"No, no. It's alright, I should've been watching where I was going," he apologized, something he rarely did.

"I umm, have to get on the bus, so umm...bye," she squeaked. Discord waved after her and took a deep breath. Why am I acting so stupid? She's just a girl...A really pretty, cute, adorable...SNAP out of it Discord! he scolded himself before continuing on his way outside.

Trying to shake his head of Fluttershy, he went down the stone stairs outside but could see that very girl sitting, alone, on the bench he was sitting on earlier. He watched as she took out, what looked like, a sketchbook and a pencil. He leaned up against the nearest pillar and eyed every swift movement of her hand. It appeared she was sketching something.

He was about to walk up to her and see what it was that she was drawing but stopped when he saw another guy start walking up to her. He was tall and had a dark brownish, greyish skin tone and white hair. Discord felt a pang of...jealousy? No, probably just discomfort in not being able to see her drawing? Right?

Dumbbell walked up to Fluttershy, which made her super nervous.

"Watcha drawing?" he asked, taking the sketchbook out of her hands and looking at it. Fluttershy put the pencil down on the bench.

"A flower? Wow that's so stupid," he laughed. His insults were terrible but they still hurt Fluttershy. She turned to face him slowly.

"Could I-umm have that back please?" she asked softly. He didn't seem to hear her and started flipping through the pages of her book. Fluttershy was about to ask again but then watched in horror as he started ripping out the pages.

"No!" she yelled in a whisper. She leapt at him and tried to reach for it.

"Hey back off!" he said, throwing her to the ground. Fluttershy fell in a heap, trying her best not to show her weakness, although she could feel her eyes watering. She tried to get up but her arm, holding her up gave way and she crumbled back down. No body seemed to notice Fluttershy's dilemma, nor did she think anyone would care.

"Hey, punk. Back off," a voice said that Fluttershy had heard a lot of today, it seemed. She turned around to see Discord standing over her. He held out his hand towards the guy holding Fluttershy's sketchbook, Dumbbell.

"Give it back," he demanded.

"And if I don't?" he taunted. Discord wasn't one to give second chances so he made sure to give this guy his answer.
Discord threw back his fist and then plunged it in the side of his cheek, making him drop the sketchbook, which Fluttershy quickly reached with her foot and pulling it towards her.
Dumbbell put his right hand to his left cheek and stared at the teenager in front of him.

"Dude, it was just a joke," Dumbbell said defensively.

"Yes, because stealing and pushing people to the ground is sooo funny," Discord said sarcastically. Dumbbell looked mad, but saw his bus pull up.

"I'm watching you, man," Dumbbell said before grabbing his bag off the ground and making his way to the bus.

Discord was still standing protectively over Fluttershy as she lay on the ground. He then took a sigh and turned to face her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Why'd you punch him?" she asked. Discord was conflicted.

"Umm, so he would back off. I mean ,words didn't seem to work."

"I know but..." Fluttershy was confused, why did he stand up for her, for he seemed sincere?

"So, umm, are you alright?" he asked again.

"Umm I think, Ow!" she seethed. She brought up her left arm from under her back, in pain. Discord crouched down and reached for her arm, not expecting her to pull away. For some reason he was disappointed but decided to persist.

"Can I?" he asked, giving a gaze towards her arm. Fluttershy bit her lip and looked deep in his eyes for any sign of any cruel intentions, she found none. She hesitated but slowly brought her arm towards him. He gave her the ghost of a smile and then examined her arm. He tried to be gentle as he ran his hand up and down her arm. He noticed that it was scratched and bruised but didn't have too much blood.

"It's not broken, just bruised," he said reassuringly. Fluttershy was puzzled.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked quietly. Discord looked up, meeting her eyes.

"I umm, I'm actually not sure," he said, which was partially true.
Fluttershy saw her bus pull in and got worried.

"That-that's my bus," she said, before trying to get up. She grunted in pain as she accidentally put pressure on her left arm.
Discord stood up.

"Here," he said, reaching down his hand. This time, Fluttershy took it quicker. Maybe he's actually just being nice.
When she was standing up, her legs felt a bit weak but it was durable.
She walked over to the bench and picked up the pencil that she left. She put it atop her ear and placed her sketchbook inside her back pack.
She then turned to face Discord.

"Thank you," she said, giving a small smile, then turning around and walking towards her bus.

"See ya later," he waved. He watched her get on the bus seat that was close to the front. Discord saw the bus drive away, with a girl that he was feeling content with.

Fluttershy walked inside her room and placed her backpack on top of her bed as she reached in to pull out her sketchbook. She sighed and held it close to her chest, shaking her head. Fluttershy grabbed her bag and dropped it below the foot of her bed.
Kicking her shoes off, she climbed onto her bed and laid back with her sketchbook in hand. She flipped through the pages, being thankful that Dumbbell hadn't seen more than he should have. She found that some of her sketches were a bit...graphic.

Fluttershy's thoughts wandered back to her encounter with Gilda. She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she remembered Gilda's words. Because that's just what you are, and that's what you'll always be! A weak, wimpy, sad and shameful excuse for a human being!

Fluttershy fighted to stop the tears from trailing down her cheek.

"I know," she choked, in a small whisper. She bit her lip back. Fluttershy tossed her sketchbook aside and hugged her legs tightly, letting loose of her tears.

This was her usual routine everyday. Someone would pick on her and the names and words they called her would rot inside her head for the rest of the day.

Fluttershy got out of bed and walked into her private bathroom. It wasn't too big but was a decent size. It contained a shower, toilet, sink and garbage.
She walked over to the cupboard that hung above the sink and pushed a few bottles around until she found something sharp.
She hadn't used this for a while but this wasn't the first time. Fluttershy closed the bathroom door and sat on the toilet lid.

She slowly lowered the blade down to her wrists and choked back her sobs.

Author's Note

Sorry I didn't update sooner but I went on a camping trip. I hope you like this chapter! Comments are always appreciated, as well as criticism to help me improve on my story and/or writing abilities.