//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 [EDITED] 
// Story: "If you ain't got anything nice to say..." 
// by ManlyDerp 
//------------------------------//

	"Oh my oh my oh my oh my o-"

"Fluttershy, my dear; whatever is the matter?"

"Eep!"

Yellow feathers gently fall to the ground as Fluttershy flaps her wings in a frightened manner. The sudden appearance of her tricky friend, Discord, had caused her to launch herself into the air sloppily in an attempt to escape the potential danger. Although Discord could possibly be considered a 'potential danger' in the eyes of most, of not all, ponies, his appearance has the opposite affect on the canary colored pegasus. She instead relaxes and lowers herself back down to the ground upon realizing who it was.

"Oh... hello, Discord," she greeted, exchanging her earlier frown for a kind smile. "Did you find anything about the Everfree?"

The mixed up chimera-like creature hums in confirmation. "Indeed I have," he at first chimes, though his body soon slumps instead. "I'm afraid I didn't quite remove all those dormant plunder seeds like I thought I did, dear. One or two... of thirty of them must have been eaten at one point or another by the random murder of birds in the past and thus unintentionally spread to the far corners of Equestria...

"... if not the whole world."

This was, by no stretch of the imagination, something Fluttershy wanted to hear right now. Thus she gasps.

"O-oh my..."

Discord however waves a paw passingly at the reaction now, standing up straighter once again.

"Nothing to worry about," he tries to reassure. "Honestly! The seeds are gone, but the magic remained here in the Everfree, of this I'm certain... Well, at least it did before this last week. 

"It would now appear that the magic they once contained is what's spreading throughout the town, flowing into empty pockets that the Friendship Death Castle is unintentionally creating!"

The pegasus frowns.

"Please stop calling Twilight's home a 'death castle', Discord. I don't think she likes it."

"I just call them as I see um," Discord replies with a shrug. He then smoothly teleports to Fluttershy's side, relaxing on the grass next to her with claw and paw firmly planted behind his head. He stares up at the passing clouds momentarily before drawing his attention back to his first real friend. "But enough about the eventual death of all living things in Ponyville," he began, giving the shy pony a serious expression. "What has got you all hot and bothered today, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy simply blushes.

"N-nothing," she stammers, failing to hide her now pink cheeks.

Discord's face becomes flat... Not as in dimensionally, which is a thing he can in fact do, but instead expressionless.

"Please, Fluttershy," the spirit began. "I want to try to be a good friend now, honestly! I broke your trust before and I wish, truly I do, to redeem myself." With the snap of his clawed hand, Discord disappears with a flash and reappears in a green garb. "Scout's honor," he says at first, but then he blinks and looks down at his outfit. He snaps his fingers again with no result. He does so again, only to produce yellow sparkles. On the third attempt, a sash appears and completes the costume. 

"Ho hum," he muses aloud. "I keep forgetting that my magic isn't what it used to be since the princesses only returned to me half of it. Woe is me... But enough about that," he declares, allowing the cloths to disappear into a flock of bubbles. "Well, Fluttershy? Will you please share with me your problem? Please?"

Though she pauses at first, Fluttershy internally considers Discord's words. 

On the one hoof, Discord was, and has been for the past week, legitimately making an afford to redeem himself in the eyes of herself and her friends. He had been nothing but helpful and, if she knew him like she thought she used to and still knew him, if she told him her problem, he would do what any good friend would do and take steps to rectify the situation.

On the other hoof, that's what Fluttershy feared the most.

"..."

Sadly thought, in the end, the yellow mare eventually comes to realize that she has no real choice in the matter. One way or another, Discord would find out.

'Better it be from me,' she attempts to reassure herself.

"... O... okay, Discord. I'll tell you."

The draconequus smiles widely.

"But," Fluttershy sharply cuts him off with a hoof, before he could get too excited. "You must understand something about friendship first. Friends stick up for each other no matter what, that's true, but that doesn't always mean fighting and sometimes it means simply listening to something and accepting it... Do you understand?"

Discord pauses for a second, but only a second. He eventually shakes his head up and down in understanding, egger to be of use.

Fluttershy smiles his enthusiasm. 'Maybe this won't be so bad?' she muses internally, tempting fate. "Good," she chimes externally. The pegasus then steels herself for these next few words.

"Okay, so; Applejack's brother, Big Macintosh, passed me by a little while ago, Discord. And, well, h-he... he said to me t-that... that..."

Five minutes later, as Fluttershy stares at the crater that used to house a mild mannered draconequues, the shy pony contemplates how colossal of a bad idea this had turned out to be.

"Oh dear..."