I'm...Fine

by BrilliantCreativity

Rating: teen
Tags: Main 6, Slice of Life, Sad, Fluttershy (EqG), Other, Romance, Drama, Equestria Girls, Discord
Length: 14471

At Canterlot High, Fluttershy suffers from, what seems to be, depression. Can Discord help her?

Fluttershy has always been a shy girl, but during her senior years in High School the bullying just gets worse, causing her to have a severe case of depression.
After being kicked out of the last school, Discord, a new student to Canterlot High finds interest in Fluttershy, but every time he tries to get closer to her she just seems to pull away. Persistent, he keeps trying to figure out why she acts the way she does.
Can Discord help Fluttershy overcome the horrid thoughts that ponder her mind every day and night, or is it too late?

Published 2017-07-26 14:20:11 UTC
Last updated 2017-12-28 21:00:14 UTC

Chapter 1: Where it all Started

6th Grade. That's when it all began for Fluttershy.

She was an eleven year old girl with buttercream skin, long pink hair and beautiful teal eyes. Fluttershy's name suited her, for as her name depicted, she was very shy. She didn't like to draw too much attention and tried to keep to herself. She didn't have many friends, her only friend that was actually human was Rainbow Dash while the others were animals. Rainbow Dash was a popular and sporty girl who had rainbow coloured hair and light blue skin. She loved to play sports and was very outgoing, unlike Fluttershy. Somehow, though, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stayed friends throughout their fights and differences.

One day in the middle of the school year at recess, waiting for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy had been sitting on a bench while she tossed bits of her bread towards three birds.
It was a cloudy day but you could still see parts of the blue sky, although sometimes it would appear as if it would rain. The ground below her was plain dirt with a few rocks here and there. The bench she sat on was made of wood but the part holding it up was metal. There was a cool breeze but the temperature was durable enough to wear a T-Shirt.
Fluttershy's hair was hanging loose with a small butterfly clip holding up the strands that got in her face.
She wore a white T-Shirt, going down to her belly button, that revealed her shoulders but had sleeves that went down to her elbows along with lime green leggings.

"Here you go little Chickadees," she cooed softly.
She then laid some bread crumbs atop the bench and watched as the white and black birds happily but cautiously fluttered towards the bread that was given to them. They stared up at her and started chirping.

"I'm sorry but I don't want you to get sick, besides I need to have something to eat too," she spoke calmly. The birds chirped some more.

"No, I'm sorry but I can't, it's not good for birds to eat human food."

More chirps.

"Crows are really sneaky and aren't satisfied with worms," she replied. The birds gave up but flew onto Fluttershy's lap and hopped around.
Fluttershy smiled sweetly at the display before her, but plastered a frown on her face as a shadow towered over her, making the birds scatter. She slowly raised her head to see whom that shadow belonged to.
Fluttershy realized with dread that this shadow belonged to none other than Gilda, a girl desperate for attention in the same class as Fluttershy.
Gilda had light brown skin, short white hair with purple tipped bangs that shaded her face, sun yellow eyes and wore a dark brown jacket with lighter brown leggings.

"Hey guys, come here!" Gilda spoke outwards. Suddenly, a group of students came rushing to see what Gilda had promised them. When they all gathered around Gilda, she pointed towards a pale faced Fluttershy.

"What is it?" asked Trixie.

"Fluttershy over here, was actually talking to the birds!" she cackled. Fluttershy hid herself in her hair.

"Seriously? That is so pathetic," Trixie gawked.

"That is so lame," a guy named Hoops laughed.

"I can't believe it," another voice that belonged to a peer named Score said.

"It's a mystery why Rainbow Dash would be friends with such a wimpy-" the words just kept coming and coming.

"Hopless-"

"Pathetic-"

"Useless-"

"Stupid-"

"Short-"

"Fat-"

"Ugly-"

"Dumb-"

...

Fluttershy couldn't take it anymore as she burst out into tears. She tried to run away but was surrounded by the large crowd of people that just kept throwing horrible words at her.

"Hey, guys look, we should call her Fluttercry now!" she laughed. Fluttershy fell on her knees and cried until a louder and more powerful voice echoed throughout everyones ears.

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash yelled over the crowd. All heads turned towards her as she walked past them and towards Fluttershy. She stood protectively over her friend and faced the mob. "What are you all still doing here...GO, now!" she said with an angry tone in her voice. The group of people quickly scattered, Gilda was the last to leave. When they were all gone, Rainbow took a deep breath and leaned down towards Fluttershy, holding out her hand. "You ok?" she asked calmly.
Fluttershy softly shook her head and continued to sit on the ground, holding her knees close to her chest and burying her head in her legs.

"Do you want me to leave you alone or stay?" Rainbow asked with care in her voice.

"W...what...whatever y...you w...want," she replied while choking on her sobs. Rainbow didn't know what to do but she wanted to comfort her friend. She slowly sat down on the ground next to Fluttershy. They stayed that way for about five minutes until the bell rang, ending recess.
Fluttershy slowly looked up and then at Rainbow, who started to get up.

"You," she coughed, "coming?" she asked.

"I'll, umm...meet you there," she said softly. Rainbow hesitated but nodded and rushed towards the school, making sure to give one last glance towards her dreary friend.
Once Rainbow Dash had fully entered the building, Fluttershy sighed and looked up at the clouds, filled with sorrow.
She slowly stood up and walked towards the school while hugging herself tight.

The second bell, that meant to start classes, had not rung yet. When she entered the classroom, most eyes were on her which made her look down at her shoes uncomfortably. She slowly made her way over to her desk and sat down, hoping everyone would just start their casual conversations with their friends.
Eventually all eyes were off her, except Rainbow Dash, but their conversations were not about the usual topic. Because this time it was about her. Everywhere around her, she could hear their words that would snake their way into her small ears.
She just stared at her knuckles that were neatly placed in her lap as she hoped for her teacher to appear.
RING*
Fluttershy took a deep, but unnoticeable, breath and sigh of relief. She slowly raised her head as her Science teacher, Mr. Neigh, walked across the front of the classroom and stood in the middle of the chalkboard.

"Please turn your textbooks to page 148."

Chapter 2: The New Student

Ever since Grade 6, Fluttershy had been bullied and made fun of, and it still continues on now in High School.

People made fun of her name and called her the nastiest things, but each year it seemed their vocabulary would just get worse. They would find and point out her hidden insecurities and make them public, they would take advantage of her vulnerability and just keep pushing and pushing until...she broke into tears.

Rainbow Dash tried her best to protect her friend from the cruelty of the world but no matter what she did, it seemed that Fluttershy would continue to be victimized.

Said girl, was sitting at her desk in Math Class writing down the math equations that her teacher, Ms. Cheerilee, had written down on the whiteboard. She sighed as her teacher started writing down the answers for some of the equations, some of which Fluttershy had gotten wrong.

She slowly moved her head up to look at the clock. It was only nearing the end of first block which meant she still had 5 hrs left of school. She lowered her head back down, towards her paper.

Trixie sat at the the desk to Fluttershy's right but, said buttercream girl, couldn't notice the light violet eyes peering at her. Trixie turned to the girl on her right and whispered something in her ear. Soon enough, a small rumour, that Trixie had started as if it were a game of telephone, spread throughout the entire class.

The bell rang and the students started to stand up and collect their binders, pencil cases and loose sheets of paper.

"Now, everyone remember that the homework assigned is due on Thursday," Ms. Cheerilee exclaimed.

Fluttershy started to head towards the door at the back of the classroom, but felt a small prick on her back. She turned around but only found a bunch of students trying to exit the room. She slowly turned around and tried to shrug it off.

As she walked out the door and into the hall, she noticed that the most of the eyes in the hallway were following her. She tried not to look back into their eyes and tried to hide her face in her binder.

When she got to her locker, she completed her lock combination and opened it open to shove the contents, that were in her arms, inside. She had a mirror inside her locker that hung on the swinging door.

As she reached down to put her binder away, her eyes caught something in the mirror. She put her hand to her back and felt something big but light. She bit her lip as she realized that it was a piece of paper. She cautiously ripped it off her back and looked at the words that had been written on it.

Flutterdumb that had an arrow above it pointing to her head.

Fluttershy slowly crumpled the piece of paper into a ball as she leaned her head against another locker. She bit her bottom lip as she held back tears.

"Stupid," she whispered. She solemnly turned around and put the piece of paper in a recycling bin. Fluttershy sighed strongly and then walked back over to her locker. She took out her binder for Science class and her white pencil case with pink butterflies. She placed the lock back on her locker and made her way towards her classroom as the first bell rang to tell students to get going.

While classes were in session, a teenage boy sat on the outskirts of the school, talking to Vice Principal Luna on a bench.
The principal gently straightened out some files in her lap as she turned towards the young student.

He had a light grey complexion, was very tall and slim, had jet black hair, skinny cheek bones, red eyes with yellow sclera surrounding them and a small tooth that stuck out of his mouth.
He was wearing leather jacket with a red T-Shirt, along with dark blue jeans and different coloured shoes. Green and red.

"Everything seems in order, but have you yet to take a tour of the school?" she asked sweetly.

"Umm, no...but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually," he said, plastering a smile on his face. The last thing he wanted was to be given a tour that would take longer than it should by some boring person that would probably ramble on about their love life or how they feel about the cafeteria food.

"No, it's quite alright. I'm sure I could get one of the students to give you a tour," she smiled. He put on a fake smile.

"No, it's no trouble at all...I'm sure I can manage," he protested.

"Nonsense, besides, it'll give you an opportunity to make new friends."

"No, really it's-" he was cut off.

"It's decided, I will find a student to give you the grand tour of our High School," she grinned sweetly.

"Wonderful," he gritted through his teeth. Luna seemed very oblivious to his attitude.

"Well, Discord, I shall be right back. Stay here," she said standing up and waving to him. He pretended to smile back while he waved. Once she was through the doors, he slumped down on the bunch and groaned.

"This is so stupid," Discord complained.

The first classroom Luna went into was Mr. Hooves Science class. She slowly peeked her head through the door and waved towards him. He pulled his attention away from the whiteboard and towards the Vice Principal.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Umm, yes. Sorry to bother you but I was just wondering if any of your students would be interested in giving a tour to a new student?"

The room was silent until a young male teenager, named Score, that sat beside Fluttershy, took the latters hand and raised it high.

"Fluttershy would!" he called out. He immediately dropped her hand as Luna's attention turned towards the pink haired student.

"Oh umm, I really don't thin-" she was cut off.

"Thank you so much for volunteering," she exclaimed. Luna just seemed to be totally out of it today and seemed desperate for a tour guide, despite her agreeability.
Fluttershy hung her head in defeat but then raised her head to look at the Vice Principal. Fluttershy slowly stood up and made her way towards the door.
Well at least I get to skip class. She thought, though it didn't quite cheer her up. Fluttershy followed Luna towards the outside front of the building. She stopped when she saw the back of a head leaning against the bench, facing his back towards her. She just looked at her feet nervously while her hair blocked her face.

Luna walked towards the student.

"Thank you for waiting Discord...I've found a student to give you a tour of the school," she said. She moved her fingers up and down, gesturing for him to stand up. He gave an inside groan as he lifted himself off the bench.

Looking down he walked towards the unknown girl as Luna walked along side him. He could tell that this student was only a few feet in front of him, for he could...smell her?

She smelt like flowers and honey? She's probably wearing perfume. He thought.

"Discord, this is Fluttershy. Now you two be careful and don't get into any trouble." Can't make any promises. Discord smiled. "I hate to leave you so shortly but my sister and I have a meeting with the school board. I'll see you after the tour at my office," she said before walking off.

Discord slowly turned his gaze to the girl in front of him. She was staring at the ground and then took a deep sigh. She turned around before he could glimpse her face. She made a gesture with her hand to tell him to follow her. She went to the right of the building, showing him the outside first.

"Umm, th...this is the soccer field," she said softly as she made a small hand wave towards the field. He was surprised to hear how soft her voice was. No wonder her name is Fluttershy.

He walked faster so that he was walking side by side with the girl, wanting to get a glimpse of her face. But when he tried, she seemed to turn away. He was puzzled. She was very quiet, something Discord hadn't expected. His view on teenage girls was that they were all chatty and gossipy about pretty much everything. This girl, however, seemed to be the exact opposite.

"This is the...umm, er these are the tennis courts," she said nervously, feeling stupid for messing up. The only words that came out of her mouth were to show him her school. He was...disappointed? Why? Perhaps he was just bored, yes that was it.

"So umm, how long have you gone here?" he asked feeling dumb afterwards. Fluttershy started sweating. She hadn't expected him to to talk to her, or ask any questions.

"Oh, umm. Since I left Elementary," she said quietly. Once again there was an awkward silence. Discord tried once again to look at her face but she just looked the other way. Was she doing it on purpose?

"Umm why do you do that?" he asked bluntly. Fluttershy paled.

"D...do what?" she asked softly.

"Turn away...I mean, I'd like to know what the person's face I'm talking to looks like," he said. Fluttershy looked down. No one had ever wanted to look at her, except Rainbow Dash (I guess), unless they were making fun of her. What if that's what this new guy wanted to do. What if someone from her school told him about her, and he just wanted to laugh at her?

Discord noticed she was taking a while to answer. He was confused. He decided to leave it for now, but he knew eventually he would see her face. He had the rest of the school year to do so. What was she so worried about anyway?

The rest of the tour was just Fluttershy telling him the names of different locations, rather quietly. She would never show her face towards him, worried about what he might think. She didn't want another student poking at her insecurities.

They didn't talk much but that only made Discord's curiosity increase. Who was she?

Nearing the end of the tour, Discord tried once more to look at her face but she pulled away.

"God dammit woman, just let me see your face for crying out loud!" he turned in front of her quickly and grabbed the bottom of her chin, with his right hand, and lifted her head up. His grip softened as he slowly examined her worried face, although her eyes were closed. He slowly took his hand off as he stared at her face, trying hard to commit every detail to memory.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw that he was staring deeply into them. Fluttershy was scared and started brushing her left arm with her right hand. She realized she hadn't gotten quite a good look at the new student either.
She found it strange, yet interesting, that his sclera was yellow, and she hadn't ever seen blood red eyes like this. Nor had she seen someone with a tooth sticking out of their mouth.

"You...you're..." Discord started. Fluttershy was ready for the insult. Ugly? Weird? Stupid? Fat?

"Beautiful," he said, instantly regretting his words. Ugh, now she's gonna think I'm a sappy romantic or something. He brain slapped himself.

Fluttershy's eyes shrank. What? No, he's just playing me. He's just trying to get my attention. He just wants me to tell him everything so that he can use it against me. She thought. She turned away like nothing had happened and led him to Luna's office.

"She's inside waiting for you," she whispered. Fluttershy turned and started walking away.

"Bye," he said. Fluttershy gave no response, although she felt bad about it. He was just trying to be friendly, unless it was just another trick.

Discord wanted to slap himself.

"Ugh," he said, leaning up against a wall. He kept repeating stupid as he banged his head against the wall next to the door. He was so confused, and not in a good way. He never minded some chaos but this was, for some reason, really bothering him.

What was her deal? Did she think he was being too forward? Was was she so skittish? I mean I know her name is Flutter-shy but there was more to it than that.
Of all the people who could've given him the tour, it had to be the one who was beau...er pretty, but shy?

"Agh, stupid, stupid, stu-" he was cut off from the sound of the door opening.

"Hello Discord, I hope you enjoyed the tour. Let's discuss your student schedule," she said before shutting the door on both of them.

Chapter 3: Typical Day

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. :derpytongue2:

Chapter 4: Dreams

Fluttershy was by her locker. As she opened it, she didn't notice the many silhouettes that circled her. She turned around and all of a sudden the world around her sped up and turned white. All she could see were the tall and dark silhouettes that blocked any exit.
They started yelling insults that began to plague her mind. She sat down and curled up in a ball, trying to protect herself from the pain that they were causing.

"Stop!" a strong and defiant voice called out. Fluttershy looked up and realized she was standing suddenly and that she was just a bit shorter than everyone else, being naturally short. She saw a figure cut through the crowd. He was coloured and looked normal. It was Discord.
For a moment Fluttershy felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

He walked towards her, but she was surprised when he grabbed her chin and pulled her closer. He was rough, and his grip hurt. The scenery around her changed and it was just the two of them in a black room, yet she could see him clearly.

Suddenly, a hand made its way down to her ass and started to squeeze it. Fluttershy was taken aback and tried to push away, but he kept persisting.

"No," she said. It didn't matter; he didn't care whether or not she protested. She didn't give up though.

"No!" she said stronger. This time, she felt something long touch her lips. It was his pointer finger. Discord made a long "shh" sound. Fluttershy stared up at him but then was greeted by a slap to the face. His grip on her released as she stumbled backwards. She put her hand to her cheek and could feel it burning.

"I-I-I don't understand," she choked. Discord slowly walked up to her and stood still like a statue.

"You really are stupid, not to mention gullible," he laughed. "You actually thought that I would like you? You were just an easy target. No man in his right mind would ever actually care about a pathetic girl like you," he scoffed sinisterly. Fluttershy took a step back, still clutching her cheek.
He was right, how could she have been so foolish.

The scenery changed again and she was surrounded by the same group of silhouettes, with Discord being in front. She was small again, like an ant waiting to be crushed.

She stared up and felt the ground underneath her start to shake. Discord bent down to look at her.

"Goodbye," he smirked as the ground underneath her seemed to give way. She was falling and staring up at Discord's smug face.

"No, no please! Discord! Disc-Agh!" Fluttershy woke up with a start, as she sat up in bed. She looked around the room, relieved to find she was in her own bedroom. She could feel the sweat on her face as well as the tears that had stained her cheeks. She stared down at her lap and sighed as she wiped her oncoming tears away.

"I really am a fool," she whispered. Of course Discord didn't actually care for her. How gullible she had been, after all, she had just met him.

Fluttershy slowly placed her bruised arm on her lap and examined the slits in her wrists, running her right hand over them.
She silently cursed herself for putting herself in such a vulnerable position.

*BEEP *BEEP *BEEP

Her alarm went off, causing her to slowly clamber out of her bed. She stalked off towards her dresser and pulled out a white soft, long sleeved shirt that revealed her shoulders, to cover the cuts and the bruises on her arm, along with a classic green skirt that she usually wore. She slipped on some high pink socks with white polka dots and put on her high green shoes that were tipped with white at the end.

She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair, placing a butterfly clip in her pink locks. She gave one last solemn glance at herself in the mirror before she walked out and closed the door.

Fluttershy walked over to her backpack that was still leaned up against the wall. She picked it up and went over to the floor beside her bed to pick up her sketchbook and place it, carefully, inside.

She gave one last look at her dark room before exiting and heading downstairs for breakfast.

When she reached view of the kitchen she could see her younger brother, Zephyr, eating, what appeared to be peanut butter, toast. He looked up from his food towards his sister.

"Morning big sis, how are you doing this jazzy morning?" he asked. Zephyr was far more outgoing and rambunctious than Fluttershy and usually talked loud and a bit obnoxiously.

"I'm fine," she replied softly giving a small smile. That was the response Fluttershy usually gave him, in fact that was usually the response she gave everyone. I'm fine. Even though that was definitely not the case.

Fluttershy made her way over to the cupboard and scanned through the cereals that were displayed before her. Her mind wavered at the options, so she decided to settle on toast. She knew they had jam somewhere in the fridge.

When she finished her breakfast, she placed her dishes next to the sink and then headed towards the door. Looking outside to find it was a bit chilly, she grabbed her green hoodie off the coat rack and put it on.
Fluttershy waved to her younger brother and left through the door. Zephyr went to a different school than Fluttershy because he thought that he needed...special attention for his "talented" abilities.

Fluttershy waited by the bus stop as she let the cool breeze flow through her hair. She took in deep breath and exhaled slowly. By the look of the clouds, it seemed that it might rain, which made her smile. Fluttershy like the rain. She felt that it was nature's way of relaxing and giving off stress, which is also what rain did for Fluttershy. She loved the feel of raindrops on her cheeks, for she knew that when it rained...no one would see her crying.

The bus came up towards her and opened its doors. Fluttershy went up the steps and sat in an empty seat, two rows from the front. She took off her backpack and placed it next to her right.

Fluttershy just stared out the window the whole ride there. Nobody sat next to her, but that didn't bother her too much. She wasn't one for socializing anyway.

The bus pulled up to the school and Fluttershy got off, heading towards her locker. She had Gym first, which she wasn't looking forward to. She would have to wear her jacket the whole time to hide the cuts on her arm.

At the front of the school, Dumbbell had just gotten off of his bus and spotted Gilda near a bench. He grinned mischievously and walked over to her.
Gilda looked up to face Dumbbell.

"Uh, can I help you?" she asked, irritated.

"Well, I thought you might want to know some juicy gossip, or whatever it is you girls call it cause seriously you guys need more interesting things to talk about-"

"Just get on with it," Gilda said, annoyed. She flicked her hand to signal him to just spit it out.

"Anyway, yesterday after school..."

Fluttershy heard the first bell ring to get to classes and headed towards the gym. She had her gym strip and runners in hand.

She entered the large gymnasium and went to the Girl's Change room. There was no one in there yet, thankfully. Fluttershy never enjoyed changing in front of her classmates.

She had just finished pulling up her shorts when she heard the door open. Her head bolted up but her mind was put at ease when she realized that it was just Rainbow Dash.
She was thank full to have Gym with Rainbow, otherwise she might never survive.

"Hey Flutters!" Rainbow smiled. Fluttershy gave a small smile back.

"Hey," she replied quietly. She finished tying up her shoe laces and headed for the door.

"Uh, Flutters?" the Rainbow haired teenager asked. Fluttershy turned around.

"Hmm?"

"Aren't you going to be hot in that?" she wondered aloud. Fluttershy just shook her head.

"N-no, I'll be fine," she grinned weakly.

"Ok, suit yourself," Rainbow said before returning to changing. Fluttershy was relieved that Rainbow wasn't the poky type of person.

Fluttershy was the only one in the gym so far, except for the coach who was just in the small staff room that was in between the Boy's and Girl's Change rooms.

Fluttershy just swung her arms back and forth as she looked at the over bearing space the she occupied. She eyed the basketball hoops that hung from each end of the gym and frowned at the thought that she sucked at basketball. She was a bit short for her age but if that wasn't enough, she was terrified of fast objects coming towards her.

Her parents loved her very much but they wished that she would be a bit more outgoing like her brother. That thought stung her. Fluttershy always felt disappointed in herself whenever she failed to meet her parents expectations.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the gym doors opening. A bunch of her classmates came in and headed for the change rooms. Once they all filed in, Fluttershy heard, yet another, door open except this time it was from the Boy's Change room.
She turned around and went pale as she realized that Discord was in her Gym Class. She quickly turned around and tried to pretend to be doing...something. After her earlier dream, Fluttershy believed that he was only in it for her body and to find out her secrets and then expose her.

She prayed that he wouldn't notice her but it was too late.

Discord examined the large space but stopped when he realized the pink haired girl in the middle of it. He walked up towards her.

"Uh, hi," he said. Fluttershy slowly turned around to face him, after all, she couldn't be rude.

"Umm, hi," she replied nervously. She looked down as she twiddled her fingers. Discord felt hot...why? He did not know, but what he did know was that he was fine earlier.

"Not to be rude or anything but-umm, why are you wearing a hoodie? Aren't you hot-er warm," he said, mentally kicking himself. Fluttershy looked up at him. What was he talking about?

"I umm, just w-wanted to...I guess," she said softly. Discord wasn't quite satisfied with the answer but decided to leave it alone.
Then Rainbow Dash came out of the Change Room and walked up to Fluttershy.

"So what's n...who's this?" Rainbow asked, pointing to Discord.

"Oh, umm he's a..." what would she call him? "...a new student."

"My name's Discord," he said bluntly. Rainbow eyed him suspiciously.

"I see...well Discord how do you like our school?" Rainbow said, putting a well known tension between the two.

"It's...charming," he said through gritted teeth. He wasn't stupid. He could sense the very obvious vibe that Rainbow was putting out.

The second bell rang to begin Gym class. Fluttershy's classmates were Rainbow Dash, Discord, Lyra Heartstrings, Hoops, Flash Sentry, a girl named Sunset Shimmer who joined the school a few months ago, Derpy, Trixie and a few other students.

Fluttershy had noticed a few times that Trixie kept giving her strange glances, stranger than usual anyway.

During all of gym class, Discord tried to make conversation with Fluttershy but she just seemed to pull away. He was confused, yesterday he thought that things had cooled down a bit between them but now, all of a sudden, she seemed so distant. Did he do something wrong? Should he confront her? Was it just that time of the month or something? All these thoughts, even the weird ones, kept running around his head.

The coach dismissed the class to get dressed before the bell rang. The bell rang to end class and Discord tried to change faster to run back out into the gym to see if Fluttershy was still there but he was disappointed to see that she was not there. She must've left. He thought.

Fluttershy was back at her locker with Rainbow Dash.

"Who's the new kid, Discord?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm not too sure. I did give him a tour of the school but I don't know much about him," Fluttershy replied, unknowingly. Rainbow gave a small "mhh, hmm" while nodding her head.

"He hasn't been giving you any trouble right?" Rainbow inquire, concern etched across her face. Fluttershy turned away and thought about everything. Discord hadn't actually done anything that she didn't like, right? But then she remembered her dream and gave a slight shudder. She also recalled how he kept trying to pursue her in gym class. He may have not done anything but she felt that it was clear what he really wanted...and it was not good. Even with her head clouded she was able to reply with a simple and quiet, "No."

Rainbow noticed the hesitance and quiet tone, even though quiet wasn't exactly a rare term with Fluttershy, in her voice she decided to leave the subject alone.

"Well...if he does give you any trouble, give me a heads up," Rainbow added playfully while giving Fluttershy a light punch in the shoulder. The pink haired teenager gave her Rainbow haired friend a smile.

"Well, I'll see you at lunch Flutters, laters," Rainbow said before dashing off towards her locker. Fluttershy gave a last glance at her friend before turning back towards her locker.

She saw Trixie, holding her math supplies, come her way and tried to get her Math binder faster. Trixie leaned up against the locker to Fluttershy's left.

"Hey Flutterdumb," Trixie spat her meaningless insult. Fluttershy wasn't effected very harshly, as she was simply set on getting to Math class. Trixie could see that her words hadn't done anything towards Fluttershy, and she grew a bit irritated that she was being ignored.

Fluttershy fumbled with her lock but quickly managed to lock up her cabinet. She turned towards Trixie's direction but looked right past her and started to take a step.

"How's your boyfriend?" Trixie inquired. Fluttershy stopped n her tracks. What did she mean? She didn't have a boyfriend...right? At least not that she knew of anyway. Besides how could you have a boyfriend without knowing.
Trixie was pleased with herself for getting Fluttershy's attention. Trixie moved in front of Fluttershy so that she could look in her eyes.

"Although, I never thought you a girl to go after a new student...or any student for that matter," she muttered the last part.
New student? Fluttershy thought. No...

"I believe his name was Discord," she said evilly. Fluttershy paled.

"N-n-no, w-w-we er h-him and I we aren't-"

"A bit embarrassed I see," she mocked. "Don't worry I won't tell...anyone else at least," she grinned maliciously. Fluttershy stared at her as her pupils shrank. People were coupling her and Discord together?
This was the last thing she needed...she had been trying so hard to avoid him, although feeling bad. Every time she made an excuse or ignored him he always looked hurt. But it was all an act...right? Yes, of course it was.

The second bell rang, signalling for classes to begin. Fluttershy shook away her thoughts and headed towards Math Class, feeling nervous knowing that Trixie shared the same class with her.

It was going to be a long class.

Chapter 5: Friends

It had been a long Math class for Fluttershy, as predicted. Trixie, who unfortunately sat next to Fluttershy, wouldn't get off her back about Discord. Luckily, though, Discord was not in Fluttershy's Math class.

Fluttershy walked towards the table that she usually sat at with Rainbow Dash but was surprised when she saw another figure sitting there. Her hair was poofy and a magenta pink, she had clear blue eyes, a light pink complexion and seemed to wear a bright smile on her face as she talked to Rainbow Dash. She looked familiar-Fluttershy probably had some classes with her.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Rainbow exclaimed, waving her friend over. Fluttershy gave a small smile and sat down to Rainbow's left, as this new girl was on her right.

"Fluttershy this is-" Pinkie Pie burst out of her seat and went over to Fluttershy.

"Hi I'm Pinkie Pie, oh my gosh I've heard so much about you! You must be Fluttershy, I mean I already knew who you were because you and me have English class together, but it's so cool to meet you in person! Want a cupcake?" she offered after she finished her speedy conversation. Pinkie held out a cupcake that she pulled out of...somewhere. Fluttershy shook her head. "Now thank you," she replied politely.

"Okey dokey lokey," Pinkie said, shoving the cupcake in her mouth. Fluttershy now recognized the girl. Like she said, they both had English class, although she also recalled that Pinkie wasn't exactly the best listener or good at paying attention. Pinkie Pie was a teenager who had a lot of energy and didn't do very well in a tight classroom, sitting at a desk all day.

"Pinkie Pie here is a huge party planner and is going to set up the Halloween Dance!" Rainbow beamed as if it were the coolest thing in the world.

"Oh, umm that's exciting," Fluttershy said, although she didn't sound very enthusiastic. A dance? Fluttershy had forgotten about the dances at the school. She had never been to one, because she always felt too nervous. Rainbow Dash had always urged her to go because of how much fun it was but Fluttershy always declined. Rainbow Dash wasn't usually the type for fancy getups but she always enjoyed having fun nights with her friends and criticizing the cheesy music. And the Halloween Dance was her favorite of all the school dances. She always had fun dressing up as something scary and sneaking up and scaring people.

"You should go Fluttershy, it'll be fun!" Rainbow encouraged.

"Oh umm, I don't know," she said.

"Yeah, besides I'm gonna make sure this party knocks your socks off, but not literally because I mean come on, who wants their socks flying off their feet and Gasp* what if someone stole them after they'd been knocked off I mean that would just be terrible!...But I know that this party is going to be awesome!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. Rainbow chuckled at her new friend's antics.

"Come on Fluttershy, what do you say? I promise you'll have a good time, and you can just stay by us the whole time," Rainbow reassured, placing a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Well, umm, I don't know. Besides, I don't even know what I'd wear," Fluttershy expressed.

Rainbow Dash took her other hand and held it under her chin, pondering Fluttershy's concerns. But her thoughts were interrupted by her new and excited friend.

"Ooh, you could talk to my friend Rarity! She's sick today though, poor Rare got the flu...But when she's better I'm sure she'd be ecstatic to help you with costumes! She's like a fashion designer person thing," Pinkie said with a sense of pride.

Rainbow smiled and then turned back to face Fluttershy.

"Well?" Rainbow asked, eagerly awaiting an answer. Fluttershy could see the hope in her friend's eyes and would hate to crush it...but what if going to this Dance was just another opportunity for her classmates to poke fun at her? But she would have her friend(s) with her. Funny, she thought. She had just gained a new friend.
Perhaps it'll be fun. She thought.

"Well, umm...*sigh, ok," she finally agreed, giving a longing sigh.

"YES!" Rainbow cheered, wrapping her friend in an embrace. Fluttershy smiled at her friend's affection.

"Eeee, this is gonna be SO much fun!" Pinkie exclaimed. Fluttershy grinned, and whispered under her breath, "I hope so."

When Fluttershy had finished her lunch, she got up and said goodbye to her friends. She had a question for her Science teacher about their next assignment and wanted to ask before he got too busy.

As she walked down the hall she thought about what she'd just agreed to. What if people judged her? What if she embarrassed herself? What is she couldn't find Pinkie and Rainbow? What if-
Her thoughts were interrupted as she bumped into some unseen force. She paled realizing who it was.

"Oh, umm s-s-sorry G-G-Gilda...I wasn't l-looking where-"

"Where you were going? Figures," she scoffed. Fluttershy looked down and dusted her skirt off, planning on continuing on her route, but Gilda's next words stabbed her like knives.

"You're a bit of a whore, you know that?" Gilda smirked. She had gotten recent news from Dumbbell that Discord and Fluttershy had been "hanging out" and Gilda did what the most rational idea was...assume that they were "intensely dating" and that Fluttershy was just a slut pretending to be an innocent...Obviously.

Fluttershy started sweating, had Trixie spread news to Gilda...or had Gilda been the one to tell Trixie? Arg, this was so confusing and demolishing.

"W-what?" Fluttershy stuttered, as usual. Gilda grinned, knowing she had received attention.

"Dumbbell told me about your little...relationship with the new kid," Gilda said with a mischievous look on her face as she walked closer to Fluttershy. Dumbbell, of course...but Discord and I aren't dating. Fluttershy thought.

"I-I," she gulped, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh really?" Gilda said, putting both hands on either side of Fluttershy, forcing her to press against the lockers. Fluttershy tried to say something, but fear seemed to cloud over.

"I never thought you interested in boys Fluttershy but...I guess the whole shy girl thing is just an act too, right?"

Fluttershy tried to shake her head, but her muscles wouldn't respond.

"Just admit it! You're just a little slut who walks around, pretending to play the innocent card!" Gilda accused. Fluttershy gaped at the words that came out of her opponents mouth.

"N-n-no," Fluttershy spoke, finally.

"Pfft, you can't fool me Flutterslut, I already kn-"

"Back off Gilda!" a strong voice spoke. Gilda turned her head and smirked at the one who stood before her.

"Well look who it is, the knight in shining armour, come to save the prostitute who wants to play princess!" Gilda laughed. Discord clenched his jaw and took a step closer.

"I said, BACK OFF!" Discord repeated, standing defiantly. Gilda grabbed Fluttershy's left wrist and jerked her backwards.
What was Discord doing? Gilda was very persistent and was fully capable of harm towards others.

"Make me!" Gilda mocked. Discord threw back his fists, fully ready to throw a punch.

"Discord don't!" Fluttershy yelled in somewhat of a whisper, wondering why she had said that. Discord looked to Fluttershy, his gaze softening as he looked into her deep teal eyes. Although his trance was broken when he saw her wrists that seemed to deepen in red.
He looked back to Gilda.

"It's ok Fluttershy, I got this," he reassured.

"You sure about that?" Gilda mocked.

"Discord, you'll get hurt!" Fluttershy warned. Discord could see the concern in her written in her eyes that was, unusually, directed at him.

"Aww how cute. Flutterslut is trying to protect her b-" That had done it, although instead of punching Gilda in the face, he lunged forward and pushed her with great force, watching as she collapsed to the floor. Fluttershy gasped with both shock and relief as she was freed from Gilda's grasp. Discord stepped in between Gilda and Fluttershy, standing protectively.

"You know, the kind of chaos that you're creating is, for once, something that I take deep displeasure in," he growled. Gilda just glared at him from the ground. Discord slowly turned around to face the shy girl standing behind him.

"You al-"

"Look out!" Fluttershy shouted, grabbing the front of Discord's jacket and pulling him against her. Discord whipped his head around to see that Gilda was standing and had tried to throw a punch his way. She gave him a disgusted look, passing him and Fluttershy, sashaying her way to the Cafeteria.
Discord looked down at Fluttershy, realizing that she came up to his chin. But what Discord had just realized was that, in fact, in the heat of the moment he had instinctively wrapped his arms around Fluttershy...and she did too. He started blushing and was thankful that her head was against his chest so she couldn't his face. He was also happy, for some unknown reason, that her head was against his chest. But why would she react that way? Why hadn't she just pushed him to the side, or was that the only way?

What had happened in the time period of a few hours? She seemed to have avoided him all class in gym and now she was embracing him in a hug?
These questions puzzled both him and Fluttershy, herself.

Fluttershy's eyes were closed shut and gently but, tightly, she gripped Discord further. Why did she...like this feeling? Why did she find his embrace so comforting? He seemed to hold her so carefully and protectively. But...why? All thoughts of her dream gone, she took a deep breath and gave a small smile. She felt a shiver go up her spine as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair. He was so mesmerized, not even caring that they were hugging in the hallway. If anyone saw, who cares? He would defend her at all costs and make sure that she was safe from their hurtful words. Their words didn't matter to him though, no, he learned to deal with that a long time ago.

"Fluttershy?" Discord asked calmly without moving from position. Fluttershy had a smile on her face and replied a quiet "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" he expressed giving a small chuckle, which she returned.

"Mhh hmm," she nodded against his chest, wanting to nuzzle him and hold him there forever. It had been so long since she felt this way...safe. She felt protected and that so long as she stayed in his arms, nothing bad could happen.

Discord was so content and happy...maybe even a bit giddy, which was unusual, especially for him. Then he heard something, it sounded like a raindrop falling to the ground. It was so strange that he had detected the small noise, for it was so faint. He decided to brush the event aside and continued to hold Fluttershy.

Said girl, had let a tear escape her eyes...but it was a tear of happiness which was a rare occasion. She gripped him tighter, not wanting to let go. Discord could feel her tightened grip, but it was so slight and gentle.
Then he remembered her red wrists and frowned.

"Fluttershy?" he asked again. She replied with the same "Yes?"

"May I look at your wrist?" he asked quietly. Fluttershy took in a deep breath and whispered a quiet, "Yes."

Discord slowly and regretfully pulled away from her, but kept the void between them small. Fluttershy slowly reached out her left wrist to him and watched as he gently took it. At first glance he thought it was fine, but then..

"What are these scars from?" he asked, confusingly and concerned. Fluttershy looked at the ground and paled. She couldn't tell him, she hadn't even told Rainbow. Two years ago, Rainbow had visited Fluttershy at her house and caught her trying to cut herself, but ever since then Rainbow had had no idea that she had continued to do it.

"Umm, I-I was in the forest and accidentally cut myself on some thorns," she lied, trying to sound convincing. Discord looked questioningly down at her.

"Do you go in the woods often?" he asked, examining the scars...there were just...so many. Fluttershy gave a slow nod. It was true in fact, she did visit the forest a lot, she would often take her camera and take pictures of wildlife.
Discord seemed to nod in understanding but was still hesitant towards her words. He couldn't feel like there was more to this, more to her than she was letting on...and he planned on figuring it out.

"These past two days haven't exactly been the best, huh?" Discord asked Fluttershy with a bit of a chuckle. Fluttershy looked up at him so they shared a gaze. What did he mean? He probably didn't know that this was her usual routine and that being bullied was nothing new to her.

"Umm yeah...I guess," she whispered softly. To her though, these past two days have been better than most days in her life. Ever since Discord came to the school, which was just yesterday her life seemed to have gotten better.

"Hey Fluttershy!" a cheerful voice spoke from behind her. Fluttershy turned around to see Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, umm hey Pinkie," Fluttershy said back.

"Who are you?" Pinkie asked bluntly, pointing towards Discord.

"Oh umm, my name's Discord, I'm-"

"A friend...he's a friend," Fluttershy interrupted, smiling at Discord.

"Friend," Discord whispered, not leaving Fluttershy's eyes. Pinkie felt kinda awkward but just skipped away.

"Okey dokey lokey!"

Chapter 6: A Butterfly

The school day had ended and Fluttershy was walking alongside Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They were all heading in the direction of the boutique that Rarity worked and lived at.

"Ooh I can't wait to see the look on Rarity's face!" Pinkie exclaimed. Fluttershy gave a smile, it seemed that smiling had become slightly easier since her encounter with Discord. She felt like skipping and twirling around forever. She had never felt this way before, nor had she ever been friends with a guy either. It seemed, to Fluttershy, that her life had slightly changed for the better in the past two days.

"You know Flutters, you need to start thinking of costume ideas, hmm...ooh what about a vampire?" Rainbow asked, joyfully. Fluttershy gave a slight shake.

"No, Vampires are too..."

"Scary?" Rainbow laughed playfully. Fluttershy blushed a gave a small nod.

"That's alright...what about a mummy?" Pinkie asked. Fluttershy bit back her lip and gave another shake of her head.

"No."

"Hmm, what about a headless person?" Rainbow inquired. Fluttershy cringed.

"Umm I think I'm good."
Rainbow and Pinkie exchanged a glance. Fluttershy frowned and looked at the dirt.

"Sorry, I'm just not so sure I wanna be something scary," Fluttershy explained.

"Oh, it's alright Fluttershy, I'm sure Rarity will know exactly what you should be," Pinkie beamed, wrapping her arm around her new friend. Fluttershy smiled and hoped that Rarity wasn't into super scary stuff.

The three girls arrived at Carousel Boutique, the home of Rarity.

"I hope she isn't too sick to help," Fluttershy said.

"Pfft, please, nothing could keep Rarity from helping people with what to wear," Pinkie scoffed. Rarity was one to put others before herself and loved to help people with fashion advice. It was what she lived for.

Pinkie skipped over to the door and gave it a knock that seemed to have a musical beat to it.

"Rarity!" Pinkie sang. They waited a while until the watched the shiny door handle turn. Rarity stood in front of them with a white robe around herself while she held a cup of tea.

"What c-can I *ACHOO, do for you darling?" she asked.

"I hope you're not too busy or too sick Rare, but Fluttershy over here," Pinkie said pointing to the shy buttercream teenager behind her, "needs help deciding on what to wear to the Halloween Dance an-"

"Say no more my dear!" Rarity exclaimed, smiling with joy. She threw off her robe and set down her tea, suddenly seemingly like she was all better. Fluttershy was slightly confused but Pinkie just looked at Rarity as if this was a common thing to happen. She decided to just shrug it off.

"Come in come in," Rarity said joyously, moving her hands in an inward position. They all started to walk in, although Fluttershy showed a bit of hesitance.

"Come on darling," Rarity encouraged. Fluttershy gave a gulp and cautiously took a step towards the door. Rarity gave a sigh and went behind Fluttershy, pushing her in. Fluttershy was surprised but didn't pay too much attention to it.

She looked and examined her surroundings. The floor was a light pink and the walls were a blue and yellow and pink mix of vibrant colours. Mirrors hung on every corner of the walls that cushioned benches leaned against. There were clothing racks that carried beautiful dresses and shirts. Shelved shoes aligned the walls that were all sorts of different colours and types. She saw change rooms made of a soft magenta pink.

Fluttershy stared in awe at the beautiful display. If Rarity couldn't help her, she thought, no one could. Said girl, came up to Fluttershy with her red glasses.

"So...Fluttershy, what kind of costume were you looking for?" she asked. Fluttershy thought about it.

"Umm...I don't want to be anything scary, or something that is super complicated...just simple and...nice," she softly explained. Rarity hand a hand on her chin and seemed to stare off into space.

"I see, and what about colour?" Rarity inquired.

"I like bright colours...n-not like neon but colours like pink, yellow, green and light blue," Fluttershy added.

"Light blue like your eyes?" Rarity pointed to Fluttershy's teal eyes. Fluttershy blushed and slowly nodded.

"Ah huh, and is there any type of character er...what do you want to be?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy didn't really know.

"Well, umm...I-I like animals like bunnies and squirrels and oh, I really like butterflies," Fluttershy exclaimed recalling her love of butterflies. Rarity gasped.

"Wait right there!" the pale teenager said, rushing off to who knows where. Fluttershy was slightly confused but was happy that Rarity had an idea.

But Rarity came rushing back right away holding up a measuring tape. She pulled it out and tried to measure Fluttershy, who was a bit taken aback at the situation but soon relaxed.

"Mhh hmm, I see. OK, I'll be right back, wait here darling!" Rarity said before, once again, rushing off.

Fluttershy just stood there, not really knowing what to do. It seemed that Pinkie and Rainbow were talking about something but she didn't care enough to pay much attention. Fluttershy's thoughts swiftly drifted to that of earlier that day. Discord was an unusual character, at first glance he looked like a bad boy who caused trouble but he didn't really act that way. It was so weird that she had thought badly about him in the morning, all because of a dream that wasn't even real. She sighed, feeling bad for judging someone for something that they hadn't even done.

But then her attention was turned to a gasp heard from Rainbow Dash, who then shot Fluttershy a surprised glare.

"You a-and him!" she expressed with her mouth hanging open. Pinkie was standing next to the pale faced Rainbow. Pinkie Pie was squealing and trying to grab her friend.

"I told you not to freak out!" Pinkie whisper yelled, although Fluttershy could still hear her. Her ears had grown highly sensitive to small noises.

Soon enough Rainbow broke out of Pinkie's grasp and rushed over to Fluttershy.

"You were hanging out with Discord?!" Rainbow shook Fluttershy. The pink haired teenager slowly tried to hide behind her hair. She was paled and didn't really know what to do...why was this such a big deal? Rainbow hangs out with guys all the time, why can't she?

"W-well umm...you see," she tried to explain.

"Fluttershy he's bad news! I heard he's gotten kicked out of other schools for violence and vandalism!" Rainbow exasperated. Fluttershy hadn't heard about that, nor did she really give any thought as to why he was joining the school. But for some reason, a fear didn't grow inside her, she didn't feel afraid or worried.

"B-but Rainbow, p-people can ch-change," she stuttered in defense, "and we-we're just friends."
Rainbow's pupils shrank.

"You CAN'T be friends with someone like that! I know you're a good hearted person and you ant to see the best in everyone but HE is not someone with GOOD intentions!" Rainbow screamed. Fluttershy looked away from her friend, she knew that Dash was just trying to look out for her but Discord didn't seem like such a bad guy. Sure, he may have been a bit violent with Dumbbell and Gilda but that was only in self defense...sorta.

"Please Fluttershy just-"

"I've got it!" Rarity sang as she came skipping back into the room. All heads turned to Rarity and she could feel the tension, although she was confused as to why.

"Umm did I miss something?" she asked. Rainbow loosened her grip on her friend and then let go. Dash sighed.

"No, we're just...getting some points across," Rainbow said gently and gave a soft glance at Fluttershy. She felt bad for yelling at her.

"Well, umm alright then...anyway, I have the perfect costume for you Fluttershy!" Rarity exclaimed. She held up a long white dress bag that, probably, held the costume.

"Go try it on!" Rarity encourage excitedly. Fluttershy gave a smile and then headed for a change room.

Fluttershy slowly pulled the costume and its accessories out of the bag and stared in awe at the outfit before her.
It was a teal, somewhat longer, knee length dress that grew lighter in colour as it neared the bottom of the dress. It had no sleeves and would come up to her chest; the bottom had green stitched vines that came up to her knees. There was a transparent white over coat that was as light as a feather. She pulled out a teal coloured antenna headband and a small pair of pink, attach on, wings. The last thing inside the bag were a pair of golden ballet flats.

The outfit was beautiful and Fluttershy could only guess that it was a butterfly costume. She beamed as she changed into the ensemble. It fit perfectly and Fluttershy slowly twirled in it as she looked in a mirror. It was perfect and matched her complexion perfectly.

"It's on!" she squeaked softly.

"Come out come out!" Rarity cheered, while clapping her hands. As Fluttershy emerged, Rarity's jaw dropped in a smile and started squealing.

"Oh, you look gorgeous darling!" Rarity said. Fluttershy blushed and stole a glance at Rainbow, hoping that there wasn't too much tension between them.
Dash coughed.

"Yeah, umm, yo-you look great Flutters," Rainbow sighed, rubbing the back of her head.

"Thanks," Fluttershy said, though was barely audible. She could tell that Rainbow felt bad and knew that it was only cause she was trying to protect her but...Fluttershy knew she couldn't live with a body guard forever and she felt that maybe...Rainbow knew it too.

"How much?" Fluttershy asked Rarity, returning from her thoughts.

"Oh darling, no charge necessary. That gown was made for you and besides, anything for a friend," she smiled, as did Fluttershy. It felt weird to have gained two new friends in the same day, but it also made her happy.

"A-are you sure?" Fluttershy checked. Rarity nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, I am 100% positive...oooh, you're going to have such a good time at the dance," Rarity said.

"We're all going to go together right?" Pinkie asked hopefully. Rainbow seemed to have gained her spirit once more.

"Heck yeah we are! You in Rarity?" Dash inquired.

"Oh, I'd be delighted," Rarity exclaimed. Rainbow gave her a nod.

"I'll just get changed into my normal clothes now," Fluttershy said, feeling awkward for some reason. Rarity nodded and waved her off.

Fluttershy changed back into her regular attire and exited the change room. All the eyes went to her and she showed the bag in her hands, signalling that she was ready.

"Well umm, thank you so much Rarity, I really appreciate it," Fluttershy thanked.

"No problem Fluttershy, it was nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Fluttershy replied.

"I guess I'll see you girls around," Rarity gestured to the group of three before her, who each gave a confident nod.

"See you later Rare!" Pinkie waved.

"Bye!"

The three girls walked out of the boutique, feeling, still, a bit of tension between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"Flutters, I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news here...but Discord is a bad guy. He isn't known for good reasons and doesn't seem to have many morals. Even yesterday, his first day here, I heard he beat up Dumbbell, who is pretty tough and-"

"But it wasn't his fault, it was mine. Dumbbell was..picking on me and Discord was just defending me," Fluttershy interjected.

"B-but what if he had lost control and ended up hurting you?" Rainbow added.

"But he didn't," Fluttershy said.

"I-I just want you to be careful...I know I'm not the boss of you but I want you to keep your distance with him," Dash explained. Fluttershy didn't say a word and just kept her head down.
Dash decided not to push it any further and the group of girls continued their walk in silence.

Fluttershy parted ways with them and headed home. It appeared that the sun was just beginning to set, but Fluttershy didn't quicken her pace. She still had around 45 minutes before dark and was too busy thinking to give too much notice to her surroundings.

There was a cool autumn breeze and shrivelled leaves would come flying down to her feet. She would step on some creating a crunching sound beneath her. She was glad that she had her jacket with her, bringing it closer for comfort.

There were streetlights above her, illuminating her path. She looked into the windows of shops and would, now and then, glance at the few people on the street doing some last minute shopping.

She gave some thought to what her friend had said. Did Discord really get kicked out of school? Rainbow said it was for vandalism and violence...Fluttershy could understand where the latter was coming from but why would he need to vandalize? She felt the need to ask him these questions but didn't want to bring up unfriendly conversation.

She sighed and made her way home.

When she walked in the door she was greeted by her mother.

"Hey sweetheart, how was school?" she asked lovingly.

"It was good," Fluttershy said softly.

"That's good, got any homework?" her mom asked.

"I think I have some Math to do but I believe that's all," Fluttershy shrugged.

"Well, then, I'll just have to let you get on that then," her mother said, smiling and giving her daughter a hug, kissing her forehead.

"I'll call you when dinner is ready."

"Ok," Fluttershy replied, heading up the stairs to finish her homework.

"Such a good girl," her mom whispered, although Fluttershy could hear it. She sighed.

"If only she knew."

Chapter 7: Too Deep

Fluttershy laid in her bedroom. She had finished her math homework and had eaten dinner. She was spread across her bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark room, thinking about what Rainbow had said. She kept pondering how Discord could seem so nice when the reality might be that he was actually a bad guy.

But Fluttershy didn't want to believe that...she wanted to ignore the facts and the reason. Why? She didn't really know. Why did Discord have this grip on her that she couldn't shake? Why was it that despite his flaws and what she's been told, she doesn't choose to believe it? These questions keep plaguing her mind and she just wished they'd go away.

He's bad news. HE is not someone with GOOD intentions. Vandalism. Violence. Rainbow's words echoed throughout her head but her heart wanted to defend.

"Get out," Fluttershy whispered, holding back tears, talking to the thoughts in her head. Discord is a bad guy. What if he had lost control and ended up hurting you?
No he wouldn't do that...he wouldn't...right?

Fluttershy was now choking back sobs. Why did this hurt so much? Fluttershy felt so much stress and fear begin to rise inside her.
She slowly turned her head to face the bathroom door and wiped away her tears. She was going to deal with stress and depression the way she usually did...

Fluttershy clutched her wrist as she stumbled out of the bathroom and headed towards her bed. She felt like she had cut too deep this time and it hurt...a lot. She quietly cried, so that no one would hear her. If her parents ever knew, she would never hear the end of it.
They would probably get her into therapy with a therapist that would only pretend to know what Fluttershy had gone through. She didn't like when people did that; try to pretend like they know exactly what she's gone or is going through. Because, to her, the reality was that the ones who tried didn't have a clue.

She ran her hand down the bedsheets and felt the cool air brush against her hair through an open, but screened, window.
Fluttershy cautiously walked over to her window and looked out at the streets. They were dimly lit and she couldn't even get a very good view of them because of an oak tree in their front yard that blocked her view.

Fluttershy slowly turned away from her window, not caring if it wasn't closed. She fell back on her bed and fell asleep.

Discord quietly paced down the dark streets and sighed, staring at his visible breath. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened during school.
Why had she stayed in his arms? She was probably just scared...but even after Gilda left, she didn't move.
Did she...could she? No, it was impossible. No one could feel that way about him; he was...HIM after all.

He shook his head and took a deep breath. He was walking home from school, after having detention because someone told the Principal that he punched Dumbbell.

Discord chuckled at the name, Dumbbell, it explained so much about the teenagers personality; he wasn't exactly what you would call the brightest of people.

Although his smile soon diminished as he thought back to Fluttershy's face. She had looked frightened and yet, expecting. As if she knew this were to happen.

Did she get "bullied" on a regular basis? He put a hand to his chest and gulped, hoping that that wasn't the case.

Discord continued his long walk home and wondered what she was doing right now.

The next day, Fluttershy was sitting in Science class, watching the bell as it ticked towards the last minute of the period before Lunch.

When the bell rang, every student sprang from their seats and bolted for the door...although Fluttershy did move rather slowly.

She walked towards the cafeteria after she had put away her binder and pencil case. Fluttershy did her best to avoid contact with the students in the hall.

"Flutters!" Pinkie called from the Lunch room. Fluttershy smiled and walked over to her friend(s). Rarity and Dash were also there.

"Hey," Fluttershy said as she sat down, pulling on her sleeves so that no one could see he bruises.

"Hey Flutters, I'm really sorry about yesterday...i-it wasn't my place to-"

"It's ok," Fluttershy reassured. Rainbow seemed to relax a bit and leaned back in her chair.

There was a sudden loud clatter that came from the kitchen and all heads turned in the direction of the noise. There, stood a tall orange skinned country looking girl. She wore a brown cowgirl hat and had white freckles on her cheeks, she also wore a dark blue skirt and a white shirt with green at the top. Her hair was blonde and almost looked like straw.

"I'm mighty sorry everybody," the country girl apologized. It appeared that she had dropped a tray of Apple juice boxes. Rainbow eyed the cowgirl and held a hand under her chin, trying to place where she'd seen her from.

"Hey, isn't that Applejuice...Applecore...AppleJam..."

"HI APPLEJACK!" shouted Pinkie, which surprised Rainbow Dash (not the screaming part). Applejack turned around to face the ecstatic teenager, embarrassed but also somewhat flattered that someone knew her name. She gave a casual wave and tip of the hat.

"Pinkie, you know her?" asked Dash. Pinkie just vibrated her lips and took a sip of her juice box, "Pleeaase Dash, I know everybody," Pinkie smiled. Rainbow squinted her eyes at Pinkie but eventually gave up.

After Applejack had finished picking up the juice boxes, she walked over to the group.

"Hey Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, R-r-r...Rarity," she stumbled, trying to remember her name, "and umm, I'm sorry, I don't seem to recall hearing your name," she apologized.

"It's fine, my name's... umm Fluttershy..." Fluttershy whispered.

"Pardon?" Applejack asked again.

"Her name's Fluttershy, she's kinda, ya know...shy," Rainbow said matter-of-factly. Applejack gave an understanding nod and asked if she could sit with them, which they all obliged... well Fluttershy didn't really say much. She kept worrying about wrists; last night she might have gone too far. She kept tugging at her sleeves and feeling the scars on her skin as discreetly as possible.

Fluttershy paid little to no attention to her friend's conversation. Instead she looked out of the window in the cafeteria and watched the squirrels chase each other around.

"Hey Flutterslut, how are things with your boy-toy?" asked a, sadly, all too familiar voice. Boy toy?
Rainbow stood up and turned around to face Trixie.

"HEY, back off Trixie, what the hell are you even talking about?!" Rainbow defended, as Fluttershy sat behind her.

"Oh, you don't know? Word is, your friend here is having a little bit too much fun with the new kid," Trixie leaned in a little closer to Dash's ear, "If you catch my drift, *snicker, but not the way that he caught hers."
Rainbow gave a powerful shove and knocked Trixie into Snips and Snails who stood behind her.

"How dare you even touch the great and powerful Trixie? I'm not the one slumming it with the bad kid next door," she laughed.

"Discord's not bad," Fluttershy said quietly. Rainbow looked to face her friend but Fluttershy didn't return her gaze.

"What did the slut say?" came a new voice, belonging to Gilda with Dumbbell behind her.

"Hey back o-"

"No Rainbow...it's ok," Fluttershy said softly, standing up.

"Discord isn't a bad guy, he's actually very sweet an-"

"Which part of him?" Gilda snickered. Fluttershy frowned at their immaturity. Picking on her was one thing, but Fluttershy would never let it stand if one of her friend's was being targeted.

"Please just go...if you have nothing intelligent or worth our time to say th-then you should just leave," Fluttershy spoke defiantly and tried to show more courage than she had.

"Wow, looks like someone grew a pair of balls...unlike Dis-," Gilda snorted.
That was it. Fluttershy took a step and tried to hit Gilda but found that her opponent seized Fluttershy's arm and dug her nails into Fluttershy's wrist and right directly on-top of her already scarred skin.

Fluttershy let out a painful shriek and tried to break free but to no avail. Rainbow was about to step in but was too late.

"Hey bitch face!" spoke a loud voice. Gilda was about to turn around and face the speaker but was only met with a punch to the face. Gilda immediately released Fluttershy, who ran out of the cafeteria exit and outside. Discord watched Fluttershy leave and only grew angrier.

Dumbbell came behind Discord but he was smarted and grabbed Dumbbell's arm, hoisting him over his shoulder and body slamming him to the ground. Discord put a foot on Dumbbell's chest and stood there powerfully.

Trixie, Dumbbell and Gilda stared at him in horror, as well as everyone else in the now quiet cafeteria.

"What're you looking at?"
Immediately everyone turned away and pretended to ignore the situation. Dumbbell tried to get Discord's foot off him but Discord was strong.

"Hey Dumbo! The next time you feel like being an asshole, pick on someone in your own league," Discord took his foot off, "Pfft, have fun with the kindergarteners," Discord smirked. Dumbbell was furious but also didn't really catch on to Discord's comment and only watched as the snide new kid walked away feeling victorious.

Once Discord was out of the cafeteria, he headed for the back of the school hoping to find Fluttershy in the gardens.

"Fluttershy?" he called quietly, as to not draw too much attention.

"Ahg!" he heard from around the corner. Discord made a sharp left and saw Fluttershy sitting on a stone bench with her back facing him.

She kept making painful moans as she rubbed her wrist, there was blood on her right hand from trying to stop the bleeding from her left arm's wrist.

"Fluttershy? You ok?" Discord asked, coming up behind her. Fluttershy whipped her head around and pulled her sleeves up.

"Umm hi...Discord. Th-thanks for what you did back there," she thanked.

"Please that was nothing, besides I should be the one thanking you. You know, no one's ever defended me before," he smiled, which Fluttershy returned with a blush.

"Oh, umm, no problem," she spoke softly. Discord noticed that Fluttershy was playing with her sleeve and he could see the faintest of blood stain seeping through.

"My god, did she hurt you that bad?!" he asked, concerned and rushed towards her and sat on the bench next to her.

"Let me see," he demanded, asking for her wrist.
Fluttershy shrank her arm away in fear of him seeing her cuts. Sure, some of it was Gilda but the bleeding wouldn't be nearly as bad if Fluttershy hadn't...

"No, it's ok...I'm fine," she said.

"No, Fluttershy, it's not! You're bleeding, and it's probably pretty bad if it's showing through your sleeve!" Discord demanded. Fluttershy's eyes went to her sleeve and noticed that, it was in fact, seething through.

"Shit!" she swore softly; although the words reached Discord's ears and he was quite surprised to hear her swear, she didn't seem like the type.
Fluttershy seemed to notice his confusion, "Oh, pardon my profanity."

Discord chuckled inside his head but knew that there was a more pressing matter at hand.

"Fluttershy, please let me see your wrist."

"I'm sorry Discord but I can't...it's fine-I'm fine!"

"No you're not!"
Finally. Fluttershy thought.

"Discord, I appreciate you trying to help but it'll be ok...please," Fluttershy pleaded as she started to get off the bench.

"Where are you going?" he asked, forgetting about their more heated conversation. Fluttershy smiled for a brief moment.

"To my locker...I umm need a new hoodie," she said before sighing.

"You can take mine if you want," he offered, about to take off his black hoodie.

"No, no it's alright...I wouldn't want to wreck it."
Discord looked disappointed but he out it back on. Fluttershy was about to turn and leave when-

"Wait!" he stopped her, looking her in the eyes, "Umm, are you *cough, going to that dance thingy?"

"Umm yes."

"Do you, I don't know, maybe wanna go...with...me?" he asked cautiously, closing his eyes and waiting for the bomb of rejection to hit.

"Sure," she replied, smiling, to his surprise.

"Oh really?! I mean uh, cool, so I'll pick you up around 6?"

"Oh, umm me and my friends are kinda walking there together but I'll see you there," she exclaimed.

"Ok, cool, that's cool?" Damn it Discord stop saying cool! "Yes, alright, see you there...bye," he waved her off and then headed to the other side of the school as the bell rang.

He checked his surroundings and when he knew no one was looking.

"Yes!"

Author's Note

I'm so sorry for how long this took!! The next few chapters will definitely be quicker and hopefully better detailed!!

I hope you enjoyed, have a good day! :pinkiehappy: