Chaos and Justice

by AwkwardVoid


Complications

Chapter 7 - Complications

"DISCORD! GET YOUR FAT ASS IN HERE RIGHT NOW MISTER!"

The draconequus materialized above the coffee table infront of the two fuming mares.

"Ladies! What a pleasant surprise! Oh, tell me, what you have we got in store for today?"

Fluttershy, annoyed at his optimistic attitude, gestured towards the living room. Every piece of furniture was tipped to be upside down; the couch, the coffee table, the television set, even bouquets which somehow are balanced on the the petals.

Discord chuckled and cheekily smiled at Pinkie and Fluttershy.

"Oh, that? This is just some...home redecorating. Your living space needed a bit of pizazz, so I fixed it up."

"Discord, I think it would be best to put everything back in its place," Fluttershy declared.

"But they are, only flipped over!"

Pinkie huffed angrily and shoved a good at Discord's chest.

"Look mister. This week, we've been patient. We've been counting and waiting and trying not to get our hooves around your damn neck. But this...this has gone FAR ENOUGH! So far you've pie pop out of thin air over our heads-which I must say was delicious- have turned Angel and Gummy into chocolate animals, have somehow turned our cars into bicycles, and also took bites out of every piece of cake, clothing, furniture, and picture frame in this very house! AND THAT WAS ALL IN ONE DAY! THAT DOESNT EVEN START WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

Pinkie's hoof dug deeper into his chest, making Discord cringe in pain.

"Well, I'm a busy stallion. I can't stay in one spot and do nothing with my life now can I?"

"Discord, that isn't the point. The more you keep aggravating us and making us angrier...the more time you're spent without your chaos magic and freedom. You don't want that, do you?" Fluttershy looked up with pleading eyes.

Discord rolled his eyes and groaned, snapping his talons. A white flash appeared before the room came back to everything having to be back to the way it was before.

Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded in approval, standing up before falling to the ground. They look up at Discord, seeing everything in the room hover above the ground. The mares fumed in anger and screeched to the top of their lungs to Discord's amusement.

"DISCOOOOOORD!"


Fluttershy sighed heavily, swirling her spoon in her coffee mug as she tried to ignore the noises coming from the kitchen. She shuffled towards the couch, Discord chuckling and circling around her whilst Angel chases him for the carrot that was in Discord's grasp. He finally left her and ran back into the kitchen, Angel scampering behind him.

Fluttershy sighed once more and sat her rump on the couch, her mind trying to go elsewhere. She tried to imagine herself in a peaceful and calm setting, such as the beach.

Yes, the beach. With the waves singing their lullabies and the moon in the purple sky shining it's heavenly light towards the pale pegasus. She thought of the stars coming to life as fireflies, blinking their lights around her.

And she actually, for a moment, thought she was at peace and quietness.

That is, until a shattering noise came from right beside her.

She woke up from her daydream and quickly looked over to see dishes and glasses on the kitchen floor, broken. She set down her cup of coffee and trotted to the kitchen, now to see Discord grabbing at Angel's ear whilst Angel is grabbing at Discord's antler, both of their fists raised. Fluttershy clears her throat, and both stop to look at her.

"What in the world do you think you two are doing?! You're trashing the entire kitchen, and now look! The dishes and glasses...broken!"

Angel gave the glance of guilt, Discord on the other hand chuckling at the mess.

"Oh we don't need silverware! We're animals! Equine foods really don't need to be served on a plate if they already come from the ground or a tree ya know."

"Discord, that isn't the point," Fluttershy argued, "the point is that you need to help fix and clean this up."

Discord glanced up at the ceiling while stroking his beard.

"Hmmm, let me think about this. You know if I had my chaos magic, I could possibly put up a thinking tree. But I mean, cleaning up something that isn't rightfully mine and have not boughten not once. Mmmight have to raincheck on that one dear."

He teleported out of the room and into the living room, walking towards the basement door.

"B-but you have broken it! It doesn't matter or it's yours or not...," Fluttershy flew from the kitchen and hovered five inches from his muzzle, "...you need to clean it up! You eat on these plates and bowls, you drink from those glasses! Now clean. It. Up."

Fluttershy began to get even more frustrated when he rolled his eyes and moved her aside, slamming the door in her face. She could even hear his menacing laugh from the other side.

Fluttershy ever so wanted to grab something and throw it at his head, to punch him in his..."area". She wanted to rip out his horns and shove them into his skull.

But she couldn't. And even if she could, she wouldn't. She knew of the consequences, she knew she was too timid and shy and weak to do so. Now if she were Rainbow Dash or Pinkie or even Twilight, they'd probably do it in a heartbeat. But Fluttershy?

She wasn't brave. She wasn't courageous. She was what her name showed her to be.

And so, she grabbed a broom, swallowing in the tears, and started to clean up the mess Discord and Angel had made. Gummy brought a dustpan in his jaws, Angel willing to help clean in part of the mess.

After throwing away the debris and sharp shards of glass and dishes, she called Pinkie to buy some more silverware, dishes, and glass cups when she comes back from her classes. She didn't explain the exact reason why, but explained to Pinkie that they broke because Gummy and Angel were playing around again. She didn't know why she lied, and why she didn't tell the truth. But if Pinkie heard of the trouble Discord was at again, she'd give him such the beat down that he'd wish that he was never saved by Fluttershy in the first place.

So Fluttershy went into the living once more after thanking Gummy and Angel for helping clean the mess. She sat down on the sofa and grabbed her mildly cold cup of coffee and sat silently, sipping at the bitter liquid whilst glaring into the open flames of the fire in the chimney.


"Discord! Leave it alone!"

"Don't touch that! Stop!"

"Turn them back into cakes! They aren't supposed to be jumping like that!"

"Stay in the corner! I said stay!"

"Stop playing the piccolo in the middle of our soap opera!"

Fluttershy dropped her head into the kitchen counter, pain from the hit blocking her thoughts on the mental pain and annoyance from their household guest.

Pinkie hopped down the stairs and into the kitchen. She noticed Fluttershy banging her head on the island multiple times, amusement and empathy crossing lines in her head. She somehow produced a pillow from out of nowhere and placed it quickly to the place Fluttershy was banging her head. Fluttershy looked up at Pinkie, confused, dazed, and annoyed at Pinkie giggling at her sore and red forehead.

"Hey grumpy cakes! How have you been doing lately?"

Fluttershy silently glared at Pinkie, the party pony instantly getting the idea and the gesture.

"Well, now that I'm home and I am finished with a~all my homework and classwork, thanks to Cheesy, I can take it from here!"

Fluttershy gazed confusedly at Pinkie once more before realizing what she had meant.

"Oh no, you can't possibly-"

"Oh yes I can possibly. You need the break, Flutters. Besides, you look like you've been run over sixteen times, been electrocuted eight times, been flushed down the toilet five times, and vomited, ate the vomit, and vomited the vomit back up again."

Fluttershy cringed at Pinkie's description of herself, yet she knew what Pinkie was trying to tell her was true.

"Pinkie, you can't."

"Yes I can! You need the break and going out to your special place by yourself will do you good. Besides, I'm a Pie. And Pie's are a family that do not give up on the lives of others. We are determined, we are prideful, we-"

"No, Pinkie. I mean you can't. We can't go along the lines of being more than 20 feet away from each other. He's bound to get closer to me once he gets in pain by the distance. It wouldn't work."

Pinkie blinked a few times before rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, a light blush forming on her cheeks.

"Pssh, I knew that! It just slipped from my mind, that's all!"

Fluttershy giggled and lightly punched her arm teasingly.

"I didn't know you can get sheepish. Looks like someone is wearing themselves off on you."

"Yeah right! I never get sheepish unless I have a sheep around to be sheepish with!"

Pinkie pulled out a stuffed sheep from her mane before pressing her hoof into its belly, a 'baaa' noise coming from the toy. Fluttershy giggled and laughed half-heartedly, joyed that Pinkie can distract her with light jokes in the toughest of times.

"Well, I have to go upstairs to do a really, really, really quick thing. And I'll be back to make some carrot stew! Pinkie promise!"

Pinkie hopped her way up the stairs, leaving Fluttershy to her lonesome. She sipped at the warm cup of tea that Pinkie left behind, the sweet taste of lemon and sugar overwhelming her senses. The warmth engulfed her, almost lulling to a false sense of security.

Until, once more, a commotion of something falling and breaking onto the wooden floor in the living room. Fluttershy placed the cup down, a strange sense of worry taking the tea's lemony sense away.

Fluttershy scrambled off the chair and abruptly stopped to the sight of Discord hovering over a picture frame that lay on the floor. Discord looked up at the pegasus standing in the area between the kitchen and living room, Discord feeling amusement at her shocked features.

Fluttershy stared at the shattered picture frame. The frame that carried the most memorable picture that Fluttershy took to heart.

The last photo Fluttershy and her family took with her father.

"Wha-what–?"

"Oopsies! Oh, I swear I am soooo clumsy. But don't worry dear Flutters, I'll get this all cleaned up for you~", Discord replied mischievously.

He noticed how Fluttershy reacted to the picture. It's importance to the wimpy girl. And that's when he noticed the fireplace lit.

And so, he magically conjured up a dustpan with his small amount of power, scooping up the broken frame and picture. Smirking to himself whilst doing so.

Fluttershy shook awake from her trance, and just as she was to yell at Discord to stop whatever he was to do, it was too late. The picture and frame were thrown into the open flames of the fireplace.

Discord spun around to see what work of wonders he had done to Fluttershy, only to have a blur of pink and yellow speed by him and to the flames.

Fluttershy quickly pulled out the photo, stamping out the embers before it could damage and singe anymore of the paper. Tears blurred her vision, the only recent memory of her father almost burned to a crisp.

Yet the tears weren't of sadness. No. Only that of anger.

She looked up at Discord, who seemed to be chuckling at her pain. At her misfortune. And she had enough.

Fluttershy screeched. "You...YOU MONSTER!"

At that name, Discord's smirk diminished completely.

"You only think about yourself, you greedy, selfish, annoying, inappropriate, and self loathing criminal! You don't respect other pony's things. You only cause damage and destruction to those around you and you do it only for your amusement!"

Fluttershy was fed up with his insolence. Her face was only distorted into anger and frustration. Hot tears spurted down her face, unafraid of the beast that stood in front of her.

"You don't know how much you put damage and frustration into ponies without just doing it! You don't even know-!"

Yet, when Discord rolled his eyes and turned, heading towards the basement door, fury took over Fluttershy's actions.

Before kindness could come out, before the wimpy and soft Pegasus could come out and put reason in Fluttershy's head, she grabbed at the closest object near her, being a pink vase her mother had given her for her birthday, and threw it at Discord's head. This made the draconequus freeze on impact.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

A white flash surrounded the room, and after batting an eyelash from the room, Fluttershy gasped at the proximity Discord was from her.

He stood towering over her, a fearful scowl etched over his facial features. Danger flashed in his piercing red pupils, as if they dilating in anger.

"You DARE throw a fucking vase at me?!? The most fucking dangerous criminal in all of Manehattan, well Tartarus, ALL OF EQUESTRIA?!"

His voice was just laced in venom.

Yet Fluttershy surprisingly wasn't afraid. No, after only a week and a half of dealing with all his quirks and mischiefs, all his pranks and humilities to the two mares and pets in the house, her fear vanished. The fear that he brought to Fluttershy that first night she visited his cell, the day he almost did strangle her to death, was now left dangling in the air at the moment.

"Yeah, and so I did. What are you to do about it?"

A red reptilian tail slid from under her, tripping her backwards onto her back. Fluttershy looked up and saw him get on all fours, glaring his eyes at Fluttershy's.

"What I would do about it? You really don't know me at all, DO YOU?!"

Discord's eagle claw scraped against the wooden floor, splinters and wood shavings flying in the air. Fluttershy tried getting up near the wall, anxiety catching up to her head. Instead, a lion paw pushed her back onto the floor. Discord was over her, still on all fours.

"I could do whatever I please! I am Discord, master of CHAOS and DISHARMONY! Does it look like I care for anyone? No!"

His pupils started to glow in fury, as if an eternal flame has suddenly been lit.

"I could choke you to death like I have before. I could easily snap your little neck. I could pick off and kill everyone on this damned house if I wanted to! I could make you all suffer!"

He raised his eagle claw in the air, Fluttershy staring wide-eyed at what Discord would do.

"Starting with you."

Discord's talon ushered down, only to not meet its target. Instead of Discord making a hit, he got a mouthful of hoof to the face.

Such force propelled Discord's body off and away from the shaking pegasus, whom drew out a shaky breath that she didn't even know she was holding.

Fluttershy looked up to see who had punched Discord, still startled by what had happened. She recognized the silhouette to be that of Pinkie, her hoof extended out. Fluttershy didn't see the happy, fun loving Pinkie she knew to heart, only that of Pinkie's dark side.

Pinkie's coat color turned slightly darker, her blue eyes sparking in anger, as well as her fluffy pink mane now deflated and even darker than her coat.

Pinkie, or Pinkamena, spoke softly yet sternly to Fluttershy, not once moving her eyes from her target.

"Press the pendant."

Fluttershy gave concerning looks to her friend, worried at what she was going to do.

"But Pinkie-"

Discord started moving around to face the pink mare who had struck him, his pupils dilating more so.

"Press the DAMN pendant!"

Fluttershy yelped and did as she said. Before Discord could do anything, a yellow hoof pressed into the butterfly pendant in her necklace, pain burning into him.

Fluttershy saw Discord cripple to the floor.

As well as Pinkie moving forward towards his wriggling body.

"Pinkie what are you...?" Fluttershy's voice trailed off to a gasp of realization.

"Don't move your hoof from the pendant till I say so. Look away..."

The buttercream pegasus wanted to say something, anything to stop what Pinkie was about to do. But it was too late, for the first hoof-punch already had left his mark on Discord's pegasus wing.

Once Fluttershy heard the breaking of bones and a muffled scream of agony from the draconequus, she immediately turned her head away.

She squeezed her eyes tighter and tighter at each scream of pain Discord made, along with the occasional crack of bones or hits.

Memories flooded Fluttershy's mind. Memories of when something similar had happened when she was a young filly.


"Please! Stop!" Whimpered out the small filly that lay in a fetal position on the ground.

"'Oh, please stop! I beg of you!' HA! What a whimp!" Laughed out a red pegasus with a golden mane.

He kicked her side again and again, his friends also joining along.

The small pegasus could only scream out for help, afraid of what would happen if she moved or struggled against the bullies.

That is, when the punches suddenly stopped. The filly didn't move, only listen to the yelps and screams from the children who were beating at her before. And then, that stopped as well.

She heard hoofsteps approach her, and the filly assuming the worst, whimpered more.

"Hey, hey. It's okay."

The pegasus moved her long rosy hair aside, staring up at a young pink pony filly about her age grinning down at her. The pegasus scanned her eyes to her surroundings to see the bullies galloping or flying off, others on the ground in pain.

"You...you s-saved-d me-e?" Asked the small filly.

The pink filly's grin widened, showing a gap where a tooth would be. "Well, I wouldn't call it saving. More like, getting some pony's off your back...literally! Buuut if you want to call it saving, go ahead."

The pink filly helped the yellow pegasus from the ground, wiping a few tears off her cheeks and eyes.

The pegasus could only look at the filly in wonder and confusion. Why would she help her?

"You, it wasn't right what they were doing to you. Beating you up there. You didn't do anything to them. I just...I just needed to do something before anything went even more wrong."

The pegasus stared into the pink pony's eyes in wonder.

No pony had ever stood up for her except for her parents and older brother. In fact, other than her family, no one either paid attention to or acknowledged her. The only way the filly was to be noticed was when they pushed her in the hallways at her school or when she got picked on by her peers for being wimpy and slightly skinnier and weaker than the rest.

"Th-thank you. Thank you so much... Um...", the small filly's voice trailed off, only now knowing that she doesn't know the name of her rescuer.

The pink pony smiled at this.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie...but Pinkie Pie is what I go by", responded the pink filly.

"And you are...?"

The pegasus straightened up and gave Pinkie her shyest of grins.

"Flu-Fluttershy. Call me Fluttershy."


Fluttershy could no longer hear the sounds of hoof-hitting and screaming anymore, just the sounds of ragged breathing from both Discord and Pinkie.

She let go of the pendant and turned around. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Discord was bloodied and bruised all over. His mouth was curled in a snarl, hot tears coming from his yellow eyes. Blood oozed from his mouth, nose, and small cuts made by Pinkie herself. He was engulfed in bruises, and could see places where bones were broken.

Pinkie looked over to what she had done and huffed in approval. She glanced over to Fluttershy, her face softening only a bit.

"I'm going to get washed up and go to bed. I already did what had to be done."

Pinkie turned around and walked off and up the stairs, not wanting to bother with the hump of draconequus meat on the floor anymore.

Fluttershy also started to get up, wiping the stray tears from her cheeks and walking in the same direction as Pinkie.

Her eyes skimming over the barely breathing Discord is what made her stop.

She'd never seen him so...useless. So vulnerable and weak and beaten up. Almost enough to make her feel bad for him, which it did.

She sighed and regretted what she was going to do. But she couldn't let him die like that.

Discord watched as the buttercream pegasus hurriedly flew up the steps. He weakly smiled, yet now felt even lonelier.

There was this tug in his heart he couldn't get away.

And this only happened when he made Fluttershy cry.

He didn't know why, didn't know how. All he knew is that he somehow hated to see her cry. And that made him scared.

He was somewhat glad she left him to rot there in his own blood. He knew he deserved it. He tried to shake the feeling of what was making his stomach churn and heart ache, and thought he had done it.

Until he heard her come back.

His eyes moved from the floor to Fluttershy, who seemed to be carrying a case full of medical supplies.

She silently hovered to him and landed a few inches from his snout. She didn't say anything.

Her hooves reached to his shoulders and carefully gripped them. She pulled him up using her wings and propped him up against the wall. He muttered curses at the pain but didn't argue to what she was doing.

His eyes widened when she started unzipping his orange jumpsuit to his waist and help take the sleeves off his shoulders. She held in her gasp at how muscular Discord actually was, trying her best not to delve into it much. She instead started to look for the wounds she deemed as fatal.

Discord watched curiously as she opened up the case and dug around in it. She finally found what she needed, a needle and sting, and began to look for any deep cuts on his body. She found one near the middle of his torso and began to work.

He noticed the intensity of her eyes, how her movements of putting the string through the needle's hole were graceful yet careful, the same to when she made a knot at the string's end.

He didn't even make a grunt as the needle went through his flesh. She looked up to see Discord's reaction, but all he had was a face contorted into confusion. She looked back down, trying to focus on her stitch work.

She stitched up two more scars afterwords, as well as rubbing healing gel onto Discord's bruises. She noticed him flinching as she touched his wounds again, but ignored his grunts of disapproval to rub some gel onto the stitches.

Discord finally got the courage to speak up to her actions.

"What...what are you doing?"

"I'm spreading some antibiotic ointment over the stitches so you don't catch an infection," Fluttershy replied solemnly.

Discord wanted to say something along the lines about how he could easily treat his injuries himself by using healing spells, but kept the snarky comment to himself. Instead he asked another question.

"No, I mean, why are you doing this?" Discord gestured to himself and her, pointing at the stitching and the medical kit.

Fluttershy sighed. "I'm just trying to help heal you up quicker."

"That isn't what I was prompting. I'm asking as to why you would help me. Right now."

His stood up straighter, gritting his teeth at the pain. Fluttershy gripped and helped him so he wouldn't break the stitches. He shrugged her off, still wanting answers.

"Why are you being so...so..."

"Nice? Kind?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Yeah that. I've been nothing but a pest these past two weeks. A weight on your back, a pain in the flank. I even threatened to kill everyone in this house! And yet you're...helping me heal?"

He just didn't understand. No pony would ever just suck up and be nice to him like this. Not after the events previous.

Fluttershy stayed quiet after finishing up on wrapping his lion arm in bandages. She grabbed a cloth and dabbed it in rubbing alcohol. She then gently started to dab at the wound and places that were bloodied.

A few more minutes pass before she had to clean up his face. She tried to reach up to his mouth, but his eagle claw grabbed as her hoof and set it down to her side.

His look of bewilderment made her feel awkward.

"Answer me. Why-"

"You want to know why I'm being so nice to you Discord?" Fluttershy answered sternly. "Cause I'm not like you."

Discord's mouth clamped shut as he heard that phrase.

"I don't just leave some pony to cripple and rot on the ground. I don't laugh at other pony's pain or misfortune. I'm. Not. You."

She looked straight into his red and yellow eyes whilst he into her glowing teal ones.

"I treat other fairly and justly. I give kindness instead of selfishness and greed. I give gracefulness to those who deserve it, and sternness to those who don't. I know the difference right and wrong, good and bad. I believe in harmony and order. So let me finish my work. Please."

After a few seconds of looking into her determined teal pools, Discord let go of her hoof.

Her cloth-covered hoof wiped at the blood running from his nose.

Discord was still perplexed about the entire thing. It didn't make sense to him at all.

He expected her to cry. To run off. To call the cops to drag him off to execution. To say he was a lost cause.

Not do...this.

Yet it seemed it wasn't the case. And Discord wanted to know why.

He again watched closely as Fluttershy finished wiping the rest of the blood from his mouth and nose. She huffed in approval and began shuffling toward her medic kit, putting away all the ointments, needles and strings away.

She stood up and began walking up the staircase when a grunt stopped her on the fifth step. She didn't turn around to face him, for she didn't want to see any expression of his at the comment he were to give.

She expected a snarky remark or a dirty joke to come put of his mouth at the way she handled him. Yet what came out of his mouth momentarily shocked her.

"Why...why did you save me?"

Fluttershy didn't know how to respond. She honestly didn't know what to say.

'What do I say?'

Fluttershy glanced around silently till her eyes caught onto a picture that was on the floor. The same picture that was almost burned to a crisp.

She picked it up from the ground and examined everything that lay in the photograph. The way the sky seemed clearer, and happier. How everyone had smiles on their faces, the widest of smiles, she could tell, on that of her father's.

Without her even knowing, Fluttershy began to speak her honest answer.

"Because...everyone deserves a second chance. My father taught me not to give up on those who have given up. That no matter how utterly impossible it is to change that person or help them, you can't give up on what's in your heart and what's right. Killing you off wouldn't of made the world better. Just worse."

She peeled herself from the picture and into Discord's eyes.

"I chose to not give up on you. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

She stared at the draconequus for a few more seconds before sighing and turning to face up the stairs.

"Goodnight Discord."

She walked up silently, gripping the case of medical supplies to her side and the burnt picture to her chest.

Discord didn't move, didn't talk, didn't breath, didn't even think.

Her words circled his mind over and over and over again, like a broken record that kept repeating the same lyric.

'I chose not to give up on you. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.'

He didn't know how to feel about the entire situation anymore. Discord felt confused and displeased at this...yet he also felt this sense of charisma flow through him from her words.

But this other sense consumed him even deeper into the unknown territory of his feelings.

Absolute guilt.

He's never had it, had to feel guilt because there was no need to.

The world acted like he was absolute garbage, and he threw it back at their faces. He was only known to be cruel and hurtful because society had treated him that way.

But no pony had ever given him the kindness and care Fluttershy has given him. She actually thought he can still be reformed despite how horrible he has treated her.

And now the guilt was eating away at him.

He thought back to when she first saved him from execution. The calmness in her voice when explaining her reasoning, the determination flaring in her eyes. She had heard all about Discord from the beginning, and still freed him from Death's grasp.

She had experienced the annoyance and childish banter of his existence. Fluttershy even got a look at his fierceness and cold demeanor, but still shook it away to look for goodness.

Now that Discord thought about it, this moment, the moment when she wrapped him up in bandages and cleaned him up, even after threatening her and pushing her to the ground, would be the second time she's saved him.

Yes, he could easily heal himself due to his powerful skills on unicorn magic, but it would be such a slow and painful process that would take days to just fix the bones broken. Yet, thanks to Fluttershy's medicine, he could heal up in a matter of hours.

'Ugh...this mare is tormenting me and my mind. Either she's plain crazy...or a saint.'

He didn't know which of the latter would describe Fluttershy. He was just so perplexed by her nature, yet so intrigued by it all the same.

Which gave him the sense to make it up to her. He didn't know how, or what, or even why, but to him it would he would just do it to get the regret out of his chest.

'I'll just be the regal stallion I once was. Damn feelings and emotions catching up to me.'

He'd make it up to her. Not for he cared, no, but to make the feelings go away. At least to his belief.

And he'd find a way, and for once, and only once, he'd make things right.