Discord arrived with a quiet pop in the middle of Fluttershy's living room. She stood before him, ears down, face hidden behind her mane. He didn't know what to do or say, because there was nothing to be done. Not yet. His instinct was to pick her up and give her everything she wanted... how he wanted to do that. How he wished he could so lightly accept her feelings, or bring himself to reciprocate like he wanted. But...
"Goodbye, Fluttershy," he said quietly.
Fluttershy scuffed a hoof on the carpet, turning her face away from him. "Goodbye, Discord."
Discord walked out the front door, closing it gingerly behind him. He stared at the sun that hung high in the sky, still, mocking how early he'd messed up everything. There were so many hours left in the day, and he'd already broken something precious. Maybe irreparably.
He walked out to the chicken coop. Scootaloo sat atop the peaked roof of the coop, wings open and surveying the chickens as they pecked the dirt and grass below. He mustered a grin for the young mare. "I see somepony took her duties seriously."
"Discord!" Scootaloo hopped down from the roof, her wings buzzing and slowing her descent so she landed more-or-less gracefully in front of him. "I was starting to get a little bored, but it wasn't so bad."
"Great. Listen, kiddo, would you do me a favor?" Discord asked, leaning down to eye level with the little pony.
Scootaloo frowned, "Seriously? I just helped you out."
"Not for me, this time. For Fluttershy," he paused, giving Scootaloo a meaningful look.
Scootaloo took in his expression, her ears drooping slightly. "Is she okay?"
"No. Not remotely, but she's safe and not physically hurt," he said, wincing as Scootaloo's expression hardened.
"Discord, what did you do?!" Scootaloo said, stepping up to Discord and pointing a hoof in his face.
"Plenty. Not enough. It's complicated, kiddo, but she's not the only one hurting. I don't know what she's going to do here, but I want you to go get your crusader pals and come out here and make sure the animals get fed and taken care of," he said, pulling back from her.
Scootaloo slowly nodded, turning away from him to gaze at Fluttershy's cottage. Discord looked, too, hoping to see... well, he didn't know what he hoped to see. The young mare spoke up after a moment, "Yeah. I'll go get Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and we'll make sure that things get taken care of. But," she looked at Discord, now, her expression softening, "what about you?"
Discord smirked. "You're sweet, kid, but I have a lot to think about. Hard questions to ask myself."
"You'll be okay, though? You're not going to go off somewhere and mope, all alone?" Scootaloo said, giving him a gentle prod in the side with a hoof.
Discord chuckled. "That was the plan. Am I that easy to read?"
"Your guard is pretty down, Discord. I'm good at seeing things about ponies. That's why we help other ponies find their purpose." She stood up on her hind legs and grabbed him, giving him a hug. "You're our friend too, Discord. If you need our help, let us know. We may be young but we're really good at what we do. If we can get a griffon a cutie mark, we can help you figure yourself out."
"You know, you didn't actually get her a cutie mark?" Discord pointed out, patting Scootaloo on the head.
She snorted. "Yeah, well, that's not the point."
"I know," he said, chuckling. "You go get your gal pals and take care of things here, yeah?"
"Sure, we'll keep an eye on things!" Scootaloo stepped away and gave him a salute and a smirk.
Discord returned the salute, and then snapped his fingers.