Why Would You Stalk Shy Ponies?
Fluttershy hummed a delightful tune as she carried her trash out one evening. It was a little jingle she heard earlier when passing by the park, a little ear-worm that clearly stuck with the pegasus for the rest of the day.
It sounded even better when she was humming it, though. No instrument could ever really capture the blissful tones of her own sweet voice.
Her little melody soon faded away as she finished her chores, fluttering back to her cottage as she secured the small locks on her trashcan.
The lights inside her humble home soon faded away as she retired for the evening. And as the air grow quieter under Luna’s moon, a shadowy figure slowly crept out of a nearby bush.
A faint yellow glow enveloped the locks, easily popping them off as the spells began tearing through the trash.
Strands of pinks hair, a few loose yellow feathers, and a used toothbrush fell into a small bag as the figure closed the trash can. His little collection of memorabilia teleported away in a muted flash as he began toting away.
Except… He didn’t.
His usual routine of watching her from afar, collecting her belongings, it wasn’t enough. He had spent the past month watching over her, acting as a helpful guardian from the shadows for the shy mare. Wasn’t it finally time for them to meet?
He already knew her so well. He could recite every poem she read, he knew her better than any of her so called “friends,” like Rainbow Dash. For Celestia’s sakes, the mare was willing to trade her friendship for a book! A book!
He would never do that to her. He’d love her, care for her, hold her. He would never hurt her.
And she’d know it. They’d finally meet and she would know how much he cared for her, how much he could protect her. All he would need to do was… knock.
Just a light knock, since she was a light sleeper. Maybe he’d imitate Rarity’s knock? Fluttershy always answered a few seconds quicker whenever the unicorn knocked, as opposed to Pinkie Pie’s hyper style of getting her attention.
Yes. That would work. All he needed to do was trot to the door, raise his hoof and—
“Celestia’s bucking teats!” He roared, feeling a set of small blunt teeth digging into his ear.
Using his magic, he tore the small rodent off of his head and growled at the little white rabbit.
“Nice job, little demon. It seems we caught a little moron tonight,” an all too familiar voice complimented from behind him.
Apprehension, fear, terror, it all washed over him like a flood. There was only one creature near Fluttershy that he couldn’t touch.
“Discord,” he quietly cried, dropping Angel Bunny as he turned to face the bemused draconequus.
“Well hello there. Lovely night for a trot, isn’t it?” He asked, looping an arm around the stallion as he pulled him close. “I was just going out for a breath of fresh air when I find you here. Tell me, what’s your name?”
“I-it-I-I swear, I wasn’t—“
“You know what, I’ll just call you Bug. Do you like that, Bug?”
“Well I—“
“Good. Because I could turn you into one, if you’d like,” he offered with a twisted smile.
“N-No! I’m not a bug, my name’s—“
“It’s Bug, now,” Discord snapped, zipping Bug’s muzzle closed as he he glared at the stallion.
Bug tried to open the zipper on his mouth, only for the little metal tab to avoid his hooves as Discord floated around him.
“You know, Bug, pests like you shouldn’t be seen or heard. I’ve dealt with my fair share of stallions and mares like you. Even that one dragon that came back for Fluttershy. And do you know what I do to them?” He asked rhetorically, pulling Bug closer as his smile widened.
“I…. Invite them to The Fluttershy Fan club, of course!” He cheered, snapping his talons to teleport them to a large gymnasium.
Bug’s eyes darted around the room, flying from the happy creatures who were eagerly sharing stories about Fluttershy and their experiences.
“Oh Pitter Patter! You have a new member~!” Discord called out, causing a teal pegasus with a pink mane to look over at the pair.
“Alrighty, I’ll go get the paper work!” She called back, flying out of the room as Discord finally unzipped Bug’s muzzle.
“Ah, Paperwork, the bane of my existence. A necessary evil to keep this fun get-together going.”
“You… You aren’t gonna… K-kill me?” Bug asked worryingly, still letting his eyes gloss over the Fluttershy themed posters and decorations that littered the room.
“Oh, now I wouldn’t do that, Bug! Fluttershy would be so sad if she found out I did something that boring. I saw an opportunity to have other ponies become friends, and I made all of this.”
“So… You made a fan club?
“It seemed fitting. Something chaotic and strange to pass the time,” he shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll get along with all the other members. You all have something in common.”
“This… This is actually really nice. I didn’t really think you’d be this willing to let anypony get close to her,” Bug said, letting his eyes settle on a small collection of Fluttershy fan-fiction stacked in the corner.
“Oh, I don’t let anypony near her. I’m not a fan of sharing,” Discord explained, lazily levitating a book titled Fluttercord.
“But you made a fan club for her.”
“No, I made a fan club for all of you. What do I look like? Some creep? I’m her friend, not some obsessive fan, thank you very much. Although, I do enjoy a few of your little pet projects,” he mused, flipping through the pages as he sat on a chair made of bubbles.
“So, you… Made this for us?” Bug asked.
“Of course! It’s for all of you, the fans. And that’s all you’ll ever be. A fan, some creep who draws art of her and steals her garbage. You’ll never be a friend, only a shallow shadow sticking to her tail hairs, something for me to get rid of if you ever step out of line,” he sneered, grabbing Bug by the scruff of his neck and pulling him to his eye-level.
“I’m Fluttershy’s friend, her best friend. Dig through her garbage, take pictures, I don’t care. But, the second you cross that line? Well… There’s a reason nopony remembers Kevin.”
“Who… Who’s Kevin?”
“Nothing, now,” Discord remarked, tossing Bug back to the ground as Pitter Patter flew over with a stack of paperwork. “Now then, I’ll be off. I need to make sure Lulu doesn’t get any silly ideas and take a peek on Fluttershy’s dreams. See you never, Bug. For your sake,” he said, snapping his talons and disappearing in a flash of light.
Bug looked at the empty space for a few minutes, his jaw gaping as his horn unconsciously signed the papers that Pitter Patter was hoofing to him.
“So, what’s your name, stranger?” Pitter Patter asked, drawing Bug out of his dumfounded fear with her own hesitant smile.
“I’m… I’m Fedora Tipper,” he greeted, holding out a hoof to the pegasus.
“Pitter Patter… Sooooo… We’ve got a few fanfics of us sticking it to Discord if you want to read them,” she offered.
“I uh… Yeah, yeah. That sounds nice.”
