Synchrony

by Fangren

Chapter 7 - The Limits of Kindness

Fluttershy was not having a very nice morning. Granted, she hadn't had many lately to begin with, but this one in particular had not at all turned out like she wanted. Her plan to squeeze an extra hour of tranquility out of her time at the Rescue Center had been foiled by the early arrival of the very man she was trying to avoid, and things had only gone downhill from there.

Part of her was even beginning to sour on sticking around, and that horrified her. She loved animals, and loved helping them. The sheer fact that anything could make her want to avoid the Rescue Center was nearly enough to bring her to tears.

She was putting out a fresh batch of pamphlets in the front area when a crash of metal and an angry hiss came from the backroom at a volume loud enough to make her flinch. And immediately afterward, she tensed up in anticipation of what would surely come next.

The door to the back opened a crack, and Mr. Discord leaned out of it with a few light scratches on his otherwise smiling face. He looked around theatrically with his one good eye before finally pretending to notice Fluttershy standing right in front of him. “Oh, Fluttershy, there you are!” he said, voice oily and smirk bright.

“What is it this time, Mr. Discord?” Fluttershy asked, utterly resigned.

“Oh, it isn't much,” he replied, waving his hand dismissively. “It's just that I'm having difficulty trimming Mr. Piddles' claws. It seems he doesn't like it for some reason!” He slapped a hand lightly against his cheek as though he were genuinely shocked. “Be a dear and help an old man with the proper procedure. Pretty please?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes in an almost disgusting manner.

Fluttershy sighed. “Okay, Mr. Discord, if you really still need the help...” She took a step towards the door, then paused suddenly. She blinked, and Mr. Discord's grin widened as her brow furrowed. “Hey,” she said in an accusing tone, turning her gaze towards him. “Mr. Discord, you know Mr. Piddles had his claws trimmed yesterday! He won't need another trim for two weeks!”

Mr. Discord's mouth went round with feigned shock, and once more he gave his cheek a light slap. “Why, I do believe you're right Fluttershy! Oh, silly me for forgetting so soon. What am I going to do with myself?” He grinned under Fluttershy's stern look. “Well, I suppose that explains why Mr. Piddles was so reluctant,” he reasoned, idly stroking his goatee. “Though I'm not entirely to blame, all the little kitty-cats just blend together after awhile, am I right?”

He looked to Fluttershy for confirmation, but received only a stern frown. “No,” Fluttershy told him. “Not if you take the time to get to know each one, anyway.” She began to walk to the doorway, and when she opened it wide and added “Which you haven't,” Discord stepped aside without a word.

It only took a second for the smirk to reappear on his face. “Oh, you have me there, Fluttershy,” he said in his usual half-mocking tone. “But you will be happy to note that I have at least restocked all the supply cabinets and organized all the clutter.” He finished with a satisfied nod.

Fluttershy immediately turned a suspicious look towards him. “Really?”

“Scout's honor,” he replied just as quickly, grabbing one strap of his overalls and making the Scout's sign with his other hand.

---

Fluttershy had expected the cabinets and drawers to be in near-disarray, organized only according to some cryptic schema that existed solely in Mr. Discord's imagination. What she found was genuine order, from the supply room to the treatment rooms. Everything was exactly where it should be.

“Well?” Mr. Discord asked, leaning over her with an almost angelic smile on his face as he tried to look at hers. “Do you like it? Oh, please tell me you like it, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy stared at the non-mess for a good minute before her uncertainty manifested as a distinct “Umm...” It took a little bit more before she added “Yes. Thank you, Mr. Discord.”

He stepped around in front of her, now looking nearly concerned. “I'm sensing a 'but', Fluttershy,” he said. He raised a brow and added, in a goading tone, “Come now, if there's something you'd like to say, then say it! I may be old, but I can handle a little criticism.”

He was answered by a raised eyebrow and pursed lips, skepticism radiating from the entirety of Fluttershy. He grinned and fluttered his lashes, and so she sighed.

“But,” she said, pausing and waving her hand vaguely, “it's just... unexpected. That's all. Umm, no offense Mr. Discord, but you don't seem like, umm, the tidiest person.”

By the way he sharply gasped and clutched at his chest, one who didn't know the man would be convinced Mr. Discord had just had a heart attack. And with how he let himself begin to fall backwards, Fluttershy was nearly convinced herself. But soon enough he took a step back to save himself, moved the back of his free hand to his forehead, and wailed in melodramatic agony.

“You wound me, Fluttershy!” he said, leaning back as far as his body would allow.

Fluttershy let out another light sigh, and began to move past him towards the door to the animal cages.

“I'll have you know that simply because I happen to have idiosyncratic tastes in organization,” Mr. Discord explained as he followed after her, “it does not mean I am unable to make use of more traditional methods. Not only that, but you ought to be grateful to me for suppressing my natural inclinations and organizing things to suit your needs!”

Fluttershy stopped at the door, one hand on the knob, and sighed again. “Sorry, Mr. Discord,” she said, unable to stop her eyes from rolling.

He didn't seem to care. “Apology accepted, my dear,” he said, bending down and smiling.

It was then that the pair heard Dr. Rescue's voice call from a couple rooms away. “Fluttershy! You have visitors!”

She blinked in confusion. “Visitors?” she repeated, automatically pulling her phone from her pocket to check for missed messages – and finding none. “Who would come to visit me?”

“Well, I suppose you'd better go find out then, shouldn't you!” Mr. Discord said with an expression of pure delight, scooting her forward and taking her place by the door. As she turned to look back at him, he grabbed the knob. “And don't worry about me,” he said. “I'll simply be preparing to give all the precious little doggies their morning-” he deliberately opened the door and leaned into the room beyond with an impish grin- “walkies!”

He hooted with laughter at the chorus of excited barks that rose up in response.

Fluttershy sighed in resignation. “Okay, Mr. Discord. Just... be careful with them.”

“Don't worry, Fluttershy,” he told her, “I won't do a thing that you wouldn't. I promise.” He made the Scout's sign again.

He got a skeptical look from Fluttershy, but another call from Dr. Rescue got her to sigh again and finally leave the room.

---

When she got back to the front room, Fluttershy let out a small gasp of surprise when she saw who was waiting for her. “Principal Celestia? Vice-Principal Luna? What are you two doing here?”

“Unfortunately, it is for neither business nor pleasure,” Luna answered, arms crossed and tone severe. The two sisters were standing in the Center's lobby with Dr. Rescue, and neither of the three women looked particularly pleased about it. Even Principal Celestia looked uneasy, though she put on a smile when she noticed Fluttershy looking at her.

“I wish I could say that we're simply here to adopt a pet,” she said as she walked towards Fluttershy, “but I'm afraid my sister is right. An old friend of ours told us about who recently started volunteering here-” Fluttershy's brow shot up at that- “and we decided it would be best if we stopped by and gave you some advice for dealing with him.”

“You... you two know Mr. Discord?” Fluttershy asked, looking between the sisters in shock.

Dr. Rescue laughed. “Know 'em? Fluttershy, these two are the ones that got him thrown in jail.”

“Well, it's not like we did all by ourselves,” Celestia said with a bashful chuckle.

“Though we were the ones that delayed his escape long enough for the police to arrest him,” Luna said. “And we did provide crucial evidence that led to his conviction.”

“True,” the elder sister admitted. “But that's beside the point.” She looked back at Fluttershy. “Which is that Vice-Principal Luna and I know quite a lot about Mr. Discord, and can help you work with him more easily.”

“Oh, I'd greatly appreciate that,” Fluttershy said, enthusiasm filling her with every nod she gave. “I mean, if you're sure you can spare the time. I wouldn't want to pull you away from anything important just to help me.”

“Trust us,” Luna said. “There is little we'd like to do more today than prevent Mr. Discord from harming one of our students.”

“Harm?” The word alarmed Fluttershy, causing her to stand up straighter and shoot a quick and fearful glance at the door to the back rooms. “He,” she continued at a whisper as she looked back at the sisters with wide eyes, “he's not going to... to hurt me, is he?”

“Not in the way you're imagining, no.” Dr. Rescue was the first to answer, but her snort of contempt did nothing to alleviate Fluttershy's mood and so she quickly looked to Celestia and Luna again. They shared a look, and after words unspoken Celestia turned her smile to Fluttershy once more.

“He never was one to get physical,” Luna chimed in, her eyes drifting downward as they were lost in memory. “Even at the height of his anger, the most he ever did was shove us out of the way so he could escape. However-” she turned her gaze, now sharp, back at her student- “there are more ways to harm someone than simply injuring them. Mr. Discord delights in turning people against each other, whether they were business partners, friends, or even family.”

For a moment Luna's eyes darted away again, and Fluttershy swore she saw something like shame in them. But just like that she was drawn back to the Vice-Principal's fierce gaze, and she said nothing.

“Or even themselves,” Celestia added, eying her sister. But she, too, soon turned her focus back to Fluttershy, and even leaned forward to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Which is why it's important not to keep your feelings to yourself, and instead communicate them to those around you. If Mr. Discord ever makes you feel bad about yourself, talk about it with those you love.”

“And if he ever tries to tell you something about those you love,” Luna added, “whether it is bad or even good, make sure to ask them about it before jumping to conclusions. Never be afraid to speak to those you care for about your feelings, no matter what they are. Do you understand?”

Fluttershy looked into her eyes for what felt to the girl like forever, before finally nodding. “I understand, Vice-Principal Luna.”

The sisters smiled. “It is good to hear that, Fluttershy,” Luna said. “And-”

Whatever she was about to say was lost in a sea of delighted barks and pants as a veritable horde of dogs burst through the door to the back, controlled only questionably by Mr. Discord. He himself entered the room with a broad grin on his face and his eyes closed, and in a pleased tone of voice he said “Pardon me, I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I simply must take care of these dogs.”

Then he opened his eyes and saw Celestia and Luna glaring at him. Instantly, his grin dropped away and a scowl took its place. He planted his heels on the linoleum floor, stopping the dogs in their tracks despite their insistence on moving forward.

“Well. Well. Well,” he said, voice dripping with loathing. “If it isn't the teenaged wonder-detectives, all grown up.”

“Yes. It is,” Luna said shortly. She and Celestia continued to glare at him.

Mr. Discord returned it with equal intensity.

Dr. Rescue, not caring that she wasn't the focus of Mr. Discord's ire, glared at him as well.

Fluttershy, torn between her anxiety in the face of a confrontation and genuine curiosity about the adults in her life, shrunk back slightly but still managed to quickly shift her wary gaze between the others.

And the dogs, too distracted by two strangers and a good number of friends all in close quarters to pick up on the humans' moods, simply sniffed and licked and played to their happy hearts' content.

“Here to meddle in affairs that aren't your own, I take it?” Mr. Discord asked after a tense moment.

“We're here to check in with a student of ours,” Celestia replied, not taking her eyes off him.

“Ahh yyyeeeeesssss...,” he said with a slow, deliberate deviousness that curled the edges of his mouth. “I'd heard that the two of you took the plunge into the vast and fulfilling world of high school education. Not exactly the path I would have pursued, of course, given your heritage.” He looked at Celestia as he said this, then gave his nails a bored glance and sighed lightly. “But, you do you!” He finished with a smile that failed to amuse.

He turned his attention to Luna next. “By the way, Luna,” he told her with a sinister and knowing look in his eyes, “did you ever manage to get out from your dear sister's shadow?” He was answered only by her continued glare, which only made him smile more. “No? Well, I'm sure you'll do so eventually.”

“Now if you'll excuse me,” he said, giving the mass of leashes a tug that brought the curious crowd of canines back to attention, “I have a walk to take. Later, ladies!” He tugged the leashes again, and departed with a quick over-the-head wave.

It wasn't until after the door swung shut and the sound of the dogs faded that someone finally spoke again.

“Wow. I get the feeling that he really doesn't like the two of you,” Fluttershy said, all of them still watching the door.

Luna snorted. “I cannot imagine he ever wouldn't.”

“Not after the way you two destroyed the life he'd built for himself,” Dr. Rescue said. Then she snorted too. “Though I'm sure he'd have carried a grudge against you even if he'd gotten away. He doesn't strike me as being the most forgiving person.”

“He isn't,” Luna said, gaze far off and voice once more filled with the certainty brought by experience. “All that Mr. Discord cares about are his own selfish desires, and he will do everything he can to crush those who get in the way of them.”

Fluttershy frowned, looking down at the floor in thought. “He really doesn't care about anyone but himself?” she wondered aloud, not noticing the three adults turning their heads. “I don't understand how someone could get that way.”

“I believe it's simply a case of him having never had anyone to care about,” Celestia answered, “or that cared about him. I delved into his personal history back when my sister and I were investigating him, and what I discovered painted a picture of a man who had been forced since a young age to rely entirely on himself to survive. He has no family, and as far as I can tell he's never had any true friends either. Anyone he's ever pretended to get close to he's either betrayed, or been betrayed by.”

It was a good minute before Fluttershy replied, not even bothering to look up as she murmured “Wow...”

She said no more, but didn't need to. Seeing her thoughtful frown, Celestia placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled when she looked up. “Your kindness is admirable, Fluttershy. But you mustn't forget that while Mr. Discord's past explains the person he is today, it does not excuse his actions. His choices were his own-” her smile became more grim and her eyes more distant and sad- “and the consequences his to suffer.”

“I understand,” Fluttershy answered after a moment, dully and meekly.

“Good,” Luna said, voice crisp and gaze pointed. “Now, if you have the time, my sister and I have several more pieces of advice that we'd like to give you for dealing with Mr. Discord.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, lifting her head in surprise and immediately looking to Dr. Rescue.

“Go ahead,” she nodded in reply to the unspoken question. “I can handle things myself for a little while. I'll even let you three take your discussion to the back.”

“Thank you, Dr. Rescue,” Celestia told her, hand still on Fluttershy's shoulder. “Mr. Discord may not be as much of a menace as he was decades ago, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't stick together.”

The other two adults responded, but their words were lost to Fluttershy. As she was gently guided to the back rooms, all she could think about were how lonely and friendless Mr. Discord had been, and how Sunset and Twilight had once been the same, and what could have – would have – happened to them without the influence of her and her friends.

---

---

Mr. Discord was most definitely and certainly not angry right now. Irked, perhaps, even peeved. But not angry. That would be undignified! And besides, what did he even have to be angry about? It was a perfectly pleasant day as far as the weather was concerned, and even with all the un-fun restrictions the Five-O had slapped him with he was still enjoying his well-earned freedom. So what if those two meddlers who had put him in jail all those years again had shown their faces for the sole purpose of making his life more difficult? It was hardly anything to get angry about.

Of course, to the common man in all his irreparable ignorance it would no doubt appear that Mr. Discord was angry. What with the scowl, the furrowed brow, the muttering under the breath, and the one good eye fixated on some far-off source of ire and all. Then again, the common man likely wouldn't stay in front of Mr. Discord long enough to notice and the fools that tried would in short order be distracted by the tight pack of canines trying to subsume them.

The dogs, Mr. Discord decided as they led him on their collective walk around the city, were another good thing about the day. He'd never had a pet back during his glory days spreading chaos around the Republic; he had no need for companionship nor desire to lug around another mouth to feed. But caring for what amounted to other people's pets this past week had been a delight. The dogs especially; they were energetic, playful, and oh so trusting. In other words, a veritable wellspring of untapped chaotic potential.

Safe to say, he had plans for the dogs. Particularly once he got the hang of the more advanced training techniques.

But for now, taking a score of rambunctious canines for walkies around Canterlot was providing more than enough entertainment to make up for the earlier bit of sourness at the Center. Not that he was dwelling on that or anything. Because he wasn't.

Watching hapless pedestrians get assaulted by his pack while he pretended to be oblivious just never got old. Neither did 'accidentally' trodding on the fallen schmucks as he, too, moved past. He always made a show of stopping to help them up, of course. Didn't want people getting the wrong idea, after all. He wasn't acting maliciously, as he repeatedly swore, he was simply a doddering old coot! Perfectly harmless. Aside from the dogs which he could barely control of course, he said as he stealthily commanded them to proceed onward and thus drag him off in demonstration of his point. It worked every time.

“Honestly, for all the talk of progress and a more well-informed populace,” he allowed himself to whisper aloud when he was away from prying ears, “the people of this city are just as gullible as they were the last time I was roaming around freely.” The corners of his mouth curled upwards, and he used the pretext of checking the cheap watch he wore to glance behind him.

Just as expected, someone was following a fair distance behind him. Oh, certainly, the man was trying to seem like he was simply minding his own business, but Mr. Discord knew better. Even from a quick glimpse he could tell the brown-skinned, yellow-haired man's body language was all wrong for the average pedestrian just wanting to get to wherever they needed to be, and all right for someone who didn't want to be noticed. The fact that he'd stopped when Mr. Discord had, and resumed walking shortly after Mr. Discord as well, was all the proof that was needed.

It made Mr. Discord smile. “If that's the level of tail the cops are putting on me,” he muttered to himself, “either they've gone soft or they truly understand that I only want a peaceful life right now. Relatively speaking, at least.”

Questions of police competency aside, however, the fact that he was being watched at all gave Mr. Discord an obligation to toe the line. He didn't want to give the coppers a pretense to throw him back into Tartarus State Penitentiary, after all. Fortunately for him (and, of course, the general populace) he knew the law of the land like the back of his own fake eye; he sincerely doubted that even with his dog-walking mischief that the world would be robbed of his genius self once again. At the very least nobody was bearing down on him at the moment.

And so things continued for Mr. Discord. He kept walking, the dogs kept mowing down everything in their path in the name of playful curiosity, and the tail kept tailing. And it never truly got old.

He lucked upon a crosswalk that had just gotten the right-of-way, and let his pack steer itself into the street. As he'd hoped a contingent of them veered off to investigate the closest idling car, a convertible ridden by two fair-skinned girls, and Mr. Discord reveled in the driver's horrified reaction. Her eyes met his, and in his barely-contained mirth he smiled and waved.

“Don't mind us,” he said. “Dogs will be dogs, you know, and who am I to stop them?”

As though reading his mind, a retriever took the opportunity just then to relieve himself on the convertible's front bumper. The purple-haired driver's horror was more than doubled, of course, but Mr. Discord showed none of his glee. Instead, he simply pieced together an idea of who these two were and what they were doing – both dressed nearly to the nines and in completely different styles; faces too dissimilar to be close relatives; each wearing a simple necklace consisting of a single colored crystal of some sort. Driving through this part of town on a Saturday morning when, to Mr. Discord's knowledge, there were no major social events at the time, meant they likely had somewhere special they were going to.

Whether as friends or even lovers he didn't know, but that didn't stop him from offering a hearty “You two just enjoy your day!” before laughing and moving along. Sadly, with the stoplights threatening to change colors any second, he was unable to give the dogs time to investigate anything else before they reached the safety of the sidewalk.

Still, he was in a good enough mood to spare a few thoughts towards the Rescue Center situation. No doubt those two do-gooders were inoculating Fluttershy against some of his tactics, which was going to make his volunteer work a little less fun. Oh, he'd do his best to get under her skin regardless; even with outside assistance the girl was practically a doormat after all. And he'd succeed, of course, given enough time, but he'd have to proceed cautiously. One wrong move would undoubtedly land him back in prison.

He'd have to start looking for other places to get the sort of fun he wanted out of life.

The Principal and Vice-Principal had left about fifteen minutes ago, leaving Fluttershy to stew in their stories and advice. Dr. Rescue had kindly offered her a reprieve for the rest of the morning, but she'd declined – the unexpected visit had put her behind schedule as it was, and she didn't want to leave Dr. Rescue to run the entire Center by herself.

“Besides,” she reasoned, “several of the dog cages need cleaning and now's the perfect time to do so!”

Dr. Rescue relented, and so it was that Fluttershy now found herself clambering about on her hands and knees scrubbing out the insides of cages. She soon began to hum as she cleaned, her heart filled with a peaceful sort of happiness that had been in short supply that week. Fluttershy was in her element, and she wasn't going to let anyone disturb her from it.

Which naturally caused her thoughts to drift back to Mr. Discord and what she'd learned about him. She just didn't know what to make of him; he'd done so many terrible things but at the same time knowing how lonely he must have felt throughout his entire long life tugged at Fluttershy's heartstrings.

She sighed, and pulled herself out of the cage she'd just scrubbed spotless. “It's no use thinking about him when I have work to do,” she told herself. Standing up, she inspected the other cages and wiped away a few spots she'd missed. None of the cages with animals still in them were due for cleaning, so after a couple light minutes of smalltalk with the furry friends inside she disposed of her gloves in a hidden wastebasket and washed up at the room's small sink.

“Now let's see...,” she thought aloud, looking around the room. “The cleaning is done, and everything's organized. There's still some time before lunch, so...”

Fluttershy wanted that to mean play time, the very best part of working with animals. Sure, most of them were there because they were sick or injured, but that didn't mean they couldn't play a little. She just had to make sure they did so gently.

However, she had the feeling she'd forgotten something important and didn't want to start playing until she knew what it was.

“Hmm...,” she murmured, tapping her chin as she thought. She started walking around the room in silence, looking for anything that would jog her memory. The charts for the animals showed nothing out of place, the drawers and cabinets were just as organized as Mr. Discord had left them, there were no signs that anything had been broken, the food-

The food. Fluttershy blinked, then turned back to the food cabinet she'd just closed. She swung the doors back open, and sure enough every type of food was accounted for. But something was still nibbling at her subconscious, so she systematically began to check all of them just the same.

“A-ha!” she declared in triumph, grabbing a bag of kibble that was deceptively close to being empty. Sure, with the current load of animals in the Center's care it would hold out for another day or two easily, but Fluttershy wasn't about to risk some poor doggie with strict dietary needs being checked into their care only to not have food immediately available. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and she intended on averting it.

Especially because, upon further checks, she discovered three other types of food they were running low on.

It was time for a trip to the pet store.

---

Dr. Rescue had readily agreed to let Fluttershy handle the shopping, and had even given her some cash to buy the food with; Fluttershy guarded it dearly all the way to the bus stop for fear of accidentally dropping it. The bus ride itself was nothing out of the ordinary, and she kept the bag she'd brought to carry the food in on her lap even though the bus wasn't crowded.

As she waited for her stop to approach, Fluttershy let her mind wander back to Mr. Discord once again. He was a jerk, and what's more she knew he was a jerk. She hadn’t been so certain at first, even after their disastrous first meeting, as he had done a good job of seeming nice – or at least pleasant – for some time after that. But that, as she now knew all too well, had only been a way to get her to lower her guard towards him. Then he started the meanness, the 'pranks', the coy 'I honestly don't know what you're talking about' deflections where he really did know what she was talking about. She wasn't born yesterday, she knew when people were picking on her.

Then he'd go back to being relatively nice, to the point where she began doubting whether he was really that malicious after all. Only for him to get her again, and again, and again. And as much as she wanted to see the best in everyone, he made it so hard to do that Fluttershy had just about written him off as a lost cause. Dr. Rescue had told her to treat Mr. Discord like nothing more than an unrepentant conman, and Fluttershy had been doing just that.

And then the Principal and Vice-Principal had come in and changed everything, without intending or even realizing it. How could she possibly turn her back on somebody who had always been alone? Somebody who had never the chance to learn about friendship? It didn't sit right with her, not when she'd become such good friends with Twilight Sparkle and even Sunset Shimmer, who even just a year ago had relentlessly bullied her too. Sure, her friends were much younger than Mr. Discord, and had never truly been alone in their lives. But both girls had been friendless when Fluttershy met them, and both girls no longer were. If it could happen to them, why couldn't it happen to Mr. Discord?

Fluttershy knew it was a longshot at best, the past week had made that clear enough. But she still thought that everyone deserved a second chance, and when else was Mr. Discord going to get one but now? Especially since he seemed to genuinely fear being sent back to prison.

But still, Fluttershy had her doubts. Everyone, the Principals included, seemed set on Mr. Discord's irredeemability. How could Fluttershy possibly make a difference, then? It's not like she was Princess Twilight, or even Sunset. She was just...little old Fluttershy, barely able to stand up for herself.

She got off the bus at the correct stop, but depressed. She hung her head and sighed as she began the final leg to Plushie's Pet Supplies, hoping that she'd be able to take her mind off Mr. Discord again once she was inside.

---

She wasn't able to. Not at first, anyway; her mind just kept going through the same patterns it had on the bus. And before she could get beyond lingering inside the store entrance, someone called out to her.

“Hey Fluttershy, what's up?”

The suddenness of it startled her into squeaking, and with her anxious nerves already worked up over Mr. Discord her hands went to the geode around her neck out of instinct alone.

“Is something wrong?” said another young girl.

“Cause it seems like something's wrong,” added a third. It was then that Fluttershy realized she was talking to her friends' little sisters (though only in spirit for one of the three).

“Oh, hi girls,” Fluttershy finally replied, allowing herself to relax a little as she quickly processed what they'd asked. “Umm, I don't know if I'd say something's wrong, exactly,” she decided to tell them with a fair amount of nervousness, unsure whether it was a lie or not. “But, well... I suppose today hasn't gone like I expected it to, either...” That, at least, she knew was an understatement.

“Is it anything we can help with?” Sweetie Belle asked, her and her friends leaning forward with such wide smiles that Fluttershy couldn't help but feel more anxious.

She really didn't want to get them involved in her troubles; they were young and nice and didn't deserve to be bothered by her mixed feelings about Mr. Discord. But at the same time, their eagerness tugged at her heartstrings, and they did seem like they really wanted to help her...

“Umm, well, I guess so, if you really want to that is...”

“We want to!” Apple Bloom said, ending with a decisive nod. “Trust me!”

“Yeah, we've been looking for people to help all morning!” Scootaloo added.

Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, well, in that case, I'd be glad to give you someone to help...”

The problem, she decided, was figuring out exactly what to tell them. She didn't think they'd know who Mr. Discord even was, and she didn't want to cause them unnecessary worry by telling them she was working with a convicted felon. Not only that, but she also felt that doing so would only make it harder for him to truly reform – if she ever decided to help him do so, that is.

“Umm, well,” she finally said, “I guess the main thing is that I'm not sure how to handle this person that I work with at the animal shelter. He's a bit of a handful, not at all the type of person I'm comfortable being around. But I can't not be around him either, and I've been given some, well, conflicting advice on how to deal with him.”

Apple Bloom began to rub her chin in thought. “Hmm, sounds like quite the pickle.”

“Yeah, you should probably start by telling us exactly what he's been doing,” Scootaloo added.

Fluttershy was going to do just that when Sweetie Belle suddenly stuck an arm out in front of her friends. “Wait,” she said before giving Fluttershy a confusing look. “Before that, this isn't one of those things where we assume you're talking about a human but you're really talking about like a dog or something, is it?”

It took Fluttershy a little bit to process the question, unexpected as it was. She had a vague sort of feeling why it had been asked, though, so she didn't take offense. Instead, she smiled. “Oh no, I'm talking about a human. All the dogs at the shelter love me, and I love them.”

Sweetie Belle smiled back. “Okay, just checking.”

“So, uh, yeah,” Apple Bloom said to Fluttershy even while she gave Sweetie Belle a strange look of her own. “What's this guy been doin' exactly?”

A desire to unload all the gripes and complaints she'd accumulated over the past few days hit Fluttershy like a truck, every little thing fighting to be said first. They ended up all coming out as one big suffering sigh before her mind imposed enough order to express them.

“A lot of little things, mostly. He'll pretend he doesn't know how to do things we've demonstrated several times so we have to do it all over again. He'll misinterpret requests on purpose and either get us the wrong thing or bring the right thing to us way later than we wanted. He'll play mean pranks on the animals when we aren't looking. And the worst part is, he's not even consistent about it! Sometimes he'll be mean and make things harder, but other times he'll just do what he's supposed to! And whenever someone calls him out on what he's doing, he'll act like we're just picking on him because he's an old man with a bad history! He's very good at seeming kind and thoughtful, so much so that I keep having second thoughts about him, but he's also very good at making me doubt myself and what I'm doing.”

Her stream of consciousness dry for the moment, she took a breath and looked at the girls. For some reason she didn't really want to think about, they all flinched.

Scootaloo was the first to speak, though Fluttershy could tell she was nervous. “Wow, uh, that sure is... something...”

“I'll say,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “I'm not sure we know how to help with something like that.”

Fluttershy felt her shoulders sag as she heard that. She should have known – the three girls in front of her were always eager to do things, but that didn't mean they were any good at them. And they were still so young, so of course they wouldn't know how to deal with someone like Mr. Discord – when would they have ever learned?

“Oh...,” she told them, looking down and feeling shamed. “I understand. I'm sorry I bothered you with it...” That was that, she knew then. She'd have to solve her own problem while feeling bad about having tried to force it on someone else, who probably liked her even less now.

Only, Apple Bloom put an arm around Fluttershy's back and even smiled. “Don't be! Even if it don't seem like somethin' we can fix, we're still gonna try. Right girls?”

Fluttershy could tell how little they agreed by how long it took for them to nod.

“So,” Apple Bloom asked her, “you mentioned you were getting' conflictin' advice, right?”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy replied, just happy that they were still willing to at least try to help her. “Dr. Rescue says that we should just treat him like, well, who he is, and not let him get to us. He'll only be volunteering at the animal shelter for a few months, after all.”

“Well, that sounds reasonable,” Scootaloo said. “If he's a jerk, then just ignore or avoid him as best you can.”

If only it were that simple. It wasn't, and so Fluttershy sighed. “Yes, and I was going to do just that, but then this morning Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna dropped by, and, well...” She sighed again. It was, she had decided, a very sigh-worthy topic. “Long story short, they gave me some tips for dealing with him better. But they also said that the reason why he's such a jerk to begin with is because he's never had anyone really care about him before, and has never had anyone to care about.”

The younger girls shared a much more uncertain look before Apple Bloom said “That is pretty sad to think about...”

Now that was what Fluttershy wanted to hear. None of the three women she'd talked to about Mr. Discord had much sympathy for him, so hearing it from her young friends – even if they didn't know exactly who they were talking about – was reassuring. The mere knowledge that other people were even inclined to feel the same sympathy as Fluttershy made it feel as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Oh, I know!” she told them. “And it just made me think about how Sunset and Twilight used to be before they became our friends. And even though I know he's a lot older than they are and so probably can't change as easily, I still can't help but thinking that he can if only someone would give him a chance.”

“And... you wanna be that someone?” Scootaloo asked, blatantly skeptical.

Fluttershy hesitated, not because she didn't know the answer but because she didn't know if she wanted to say it outright. The notion of her trying to reform a man like Mr. Discord still seemed off, even to her, and what would other people think once they found out more about him? But she didn't want to lie about it, either, not when it seemed like the girls had already come to the conclusion themselves.

She felt herself look down at her fidgeting hands, but forced herself to voice her true opinion anyway. “Umm... well, I guess so... I mean, nobody else thinks it might be a good idea to try. And I am supposed to have the Element of Kindness, I think, so why shouldn't I extend that kindness to him?”

She couldn't bare to look as they went silent, obviously deliberating their response amongst themselves. Thus she was surprised when Scootaloo soon said “That's also a pretty good point.”

“So... do you wanna show him kindness and try to be his friend?” Sweetie asked, and Fluttershy felt herself drawn to her eyes.

“I do,” she answered, her determination only taking but a moment to flare to life inside her. “I just don't know if I can succeed, especially when everybody else seems to think it's impossible.”

“Well, I don't think it's impossible,” Sweetie Belle said, and Fluttershy felt the fire in her heart increase. “Not for you, anyway. And besides, just because something is hard doesn't mean it's not worth doing. I mean, look at us!” She motioned to her two friends. “We've been trying for years to figure out what we're really good at, and we still haven't succeeded!”

“Hey, yeah!” Apple Bloom chimed in, her smile giving even more warmth to Fluttershy. “Crusadin's been some of the hardest stuff I've ever done, but I'm never gonna give up until we figure it out!”

“Yeah, me neither!” Scootaloo chimed in, her previous skepticism drowned out by raw enthusiasm. “You know what, forget all that stuff about him being a jerk. He's not gonna stop being a jerk on his own, and if you think being nice to him will help then that's what you should do.”

Fluttershy practically beamed, overjoyed that somebody finally understood how she felt. “You're right. I don't care how hard it is, I'm still going to do the right thing.” She clenched her fists and looked upward, declaring to the heavens – well, the heavens on the other side of the ceiling at least – that she was absolutely determined to see this through no matter what.

She snapped her head back down to the girls. “Thank you for helping me,” she told them. “I think all I really needed was someone to talk to and give me a confidence boost.”

“Glad we could help!” Scootaloo replied for the group, putting her hands behind her head and striking a cocky grin.

A throat was suddenly cleared nearby, which almost startled Fluttershy clear out of her good mood. Then she looked over and saw it was only just Applejack's brother holding a sack of kibble nearly the size of her on his shoulder so she let herself breath a sigh of relief. He soon began to walk towards the exit, however, and the girls took that as their cue to wrap up the conversation.

“Well, uh, let us know how it turns out,” Apple Bloom said first as she stepped away.

“Good luck!” Sweetie added with a parting wave.

Fluttershy waved back, feeling gracious. “Thanks. Good luck finding yourselves!”

“We will!” Scootaloo answered with one final wave before the door closed behind them.

“...'we will'?” Fluttershy repeated after a moment, face screwed up in confusion. “That was an odd thing to say. Did she mishear me or something?”

And then, all at once, the realization that she'd just spent several minutes talking to friends instead of getting pet food hit her. She gasped in horror, spun around, and raced into the store at the fastest walk she could manage without getting too embarrassed.

---

---

An hour and a half after beginning his walk around the city, Mr. Discord's arms were getting tired. As deceptively well-trained as the dogs were there were still quite a lot of them, and Mr. Discord hadn't been young in decades. The only thing that had kept him walking for so long had been a general disinterest in returning to the Center before he had to. There'd be some sort of tedious confrontation, no doubt, and afterwards they'd probably make him do actual work. And he doubted he'd be able to use his genuine (this time) tiredness to get out of it. They might even make him take a late lunch.

But he knew he'd have to go back eventually, and had already begun steering his pack back on route to their temporary home. And not long after that, he heard something that elicited both excitement and panic in his old bones: the sound of a bank alarm going off.

“Oh, somebody's been naughty,” he said to himself, fully aware that his dogs were leading him in the alarm's direction and uncertain as to whether he wanted them to or not.

“Hmph,” he said after a few more feet. “I suppose it couldn't hurt to go see what all the hubbub is about. I've been tailed all morning, the police would be fools to think I have anything to do with it.” He snorted. “I suppose that's not as reassuring as I'd like; the police have always been fools. But nevertheless, my alibi is rock solid and I won't do more than rubberneck to begin with. Just a bit of excitement for a curious old man, nothing wrong with that.”

And so, fueled more by stubborn defiance than anything else, Mr. Discord continued on towards the bank that was no-doubt being robbed. It didn't take him too long to find it, either; if the approaching sirens hadn't clued him in then the gathered crowd would have made it obvious. He felt it immediately strange, however, that the crowd should arrive before the police. But he couldn’t yet determine the cause of the paradox, as even at his great height Mr. Discord could not see past the throng in front of him.

He was about to just call off the endeavor entirely when one of the other onlookers, startled by his exuberant dogs and their incessant desire to sniff anything and everything around them, stumbled and bumped into Mr. Discord. That caused him to lax his hold on the leashes just long enough for a terrier at the front of the pack to sense freedom and seize it.

Seeing the dog disappear between the legs of the crowd was enough to make Mr. Discord's already-gray skin turn white. He managed to regain control of the rest of the dogs, but while his natural inclination was to give the runaway up as temporarily lost the rest of the pack had other ideas.

Of course, a man like Mr. Discord never gets dragged anywhere against his will. So he was the pinnacle of composure and confidence as he strode through the crowd, letting the dogs do most of the work as always and doling out apologies where need be. The dread he felt inside reached its peak with merciful swiftness, and even abated somewhat when he breached the crowd and saw the stray dog waiting in the clearing they'd encircled. Also present were a slightly-battered old car, several criminal types tied up with rope, and two very eccentrically-dressed young women who were looking at him with surprise.

“Pardon me, ladies.” he said, making sure to tip his hat while his dogs fanned out in a thoroughly unwanted manner. “I'll just, ah, collect my little friend,” he motioned to the terrier who was now sniffing some sort of sack, “and be on my way.”

He received only glares in reply at first, but to his surprise one of the strange young women – blue-skinned, armored, and baring a shock of rainbow hair – suddenly appeared in front of him at the end of a rainbow-colored blur, holding the terrier's leash.

It took Mr. Discord's mind an embarrassingly high number of split-seconds to process what had happened, but before he could realize anything beyond that he'd just witnessed something very interesting the sound of sirens snapped him out of his daze. Innocent or not he didn't want to be caught on top of a crime scene, so he grabbed the leash, whistled out a command, and tugged the pack into action. They left opposite the way they'd come in from, as quickly as Mr. Discord could get the pack to go.

And as he left, his heightened nerves alerted him that he was being watched. Expecting it to be his current tail he turned his head, but saw to his surprise a figure wearing a motorcycle helmet duck down below the lip of a roof across from the crime scene. Not quite knowing what to make of it but well aware of the haste he needed, Mr. Discord looked away and continued forward.

“Either my eye deceived me,” he murmured to himself once he felt he was safely away from the scene, “or the rumors of this town having bona fide superheroes is truer than I imagined. How grand!” His lips curled up into a mirthful smile, and he let loose a childlike giggle. “It's like something out of a comic book. I wonder what sort of smoke-and-mirrors they use to foil the bad guys? If only I'd stumbled upon them sooner so I could watch the showdown for myself.”

He sighed. “Oh well. Another bit of fun for another day, I suppose. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if that helmeted sneak I spotted was in on the con. Either that or a rather determined secret admirer of theirs.”

He said nothing aloud after that, content to walk back to the Center in relative silence. A few times he glanced back to check on his tail, but failed to spot the yellow-haired man at all. Chalking it up to either coincidence or good luck, Mr. Discord continued on in peace.

Fluttershy had been quite happy to see that even with her longer-than-expected shopping trip Mr. Discord hadn't returned before her. She'd resolved herself to showing him kindness in hopes of truly reforming him, yes, but she wanted to prepare herself and do it on her own terms. That meant giving herself the chance to calmly plan out her approach in a familiar environment.

Whether by good fortune or ill, no sooner had she finished feeding the animals in current residence than did she hear the din of barking dogs in the front rooms. Taking a breath to steel herself, Fluttershy put on a pleasant smile and opened the door to the boarding room.

She was quickly assailed by several of the dogs, who pinned her to the wall and greeted her with happy tongues. “It's nice to see you all again too!” she giggled, rubbing each of their heads in turn and taking the time to remove their leashes.

“Ah! My humblest apologies, dear Fluttershy,” Mr. Discord said, looming over her with a neutral expression. “I truly wasn't expecting you to be on the other side of the door. You understand, don't you?”

“It's okay, Mr. Discord, I understand,” she answered without reluctance, still smiling even as she looked up at him. “How was your walk? I hope the doggies weren't too difficult to handle.”

Mr. Discord, momentarily taken aback by her pleasantness, could only blink. “Oh! Well, they were hardly a problem, I assure you,” he finally answered, adopting a proud affect as he stood up straight and rested a hand on his chest. “In fact, I'd say I've bonded quite well with all of the little ankle-biters!” He bent down and stroked the back of a spaniel in demonstration, and it panted happily.

“We saw quite the sights as well,” he added as an aside.

“Really?” Fluttershy asked, attention on the next leash she was removing. “I'd like to here about it, if you don't mind telling that is.”

That caused Mr. Discord to stand up straight and blink again, but his surprise soon turned to suspicion as he narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that so? How peculiar, I didn't think you'd be interested.”

“What's wrong with being interested in a coworker's life?” she replied, looking up at him again. Then she giggled, adding “Well, more like co-volunteer. But still...”

This only made Mr. Discord even more suspicious. “I don't know what your angle is, but fine, I'll bite. Towards the tail end of my little jaunt about town, I happened upon a crime scene.” Fluttershy's brow shot up in genuine surprise, and Mr. Discord replied with a haughty little laugh. “Yes, that's right. It was a bank robbery, to be specific.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, eyes wide and leash-removal duty momentarily forgotten. “That sounds frightening! You weren't hurt, were you?”

“Silly girl, of course not!” he answered, giving her a look of sharp disdain. “The heist had already been thwarted by the time I got there, and a crowd had gathered. One of the dogs got loose and ran off into the masses so I bravely chased after it, and there in the middle I saw the most peculiar pair of young ladies about your age.”

“Pe-peculiar?” Fluttershy stammered, standing stiff and putting her hands on her geode necklace. “H-how so?”

Mr. Discord raised a brow at the gesture, but said nothing of it. “The pair of them were dressed like costumed heroines straight out the comics. One mysterious and purple, the other wearing armor and having a vague sort of rainbow theme to her.”

“R-Rainbow?” Fluttershy squeaked, eyes wide and breathing getting heavier. One hand still on her geode, she leaned again the wall and used her other hand to brace herself.

Mr. Discord stared at her for a good long while before his lips suddenly curled into a dastardly smile. “Ah, I see! Fluttershy, you wouldn't happen to know that pair of caped crusaders, would you? I couldn't help but notice the similarities between your necklace and the one around the neck of your rainbow-haired friend.”

Fluttershy squeaked again, drawing it out as she slid down the wall. Several concerned dogs licked her, but she was unresponsive.

But before either of them could say another word, movement out of the corner of his eye caught Mr. Discord's attention. The door to the boarding room was still wide open, as was the door to the back hallway, giving him a fairly direct line-of-sight to the lobby and entrance with which to see the trio of uniformed men enter the Rescue Center.

The blue-skinned man at the front of the group made eye contact with him immediately. In a strong, clear voice he said “Mr. Discord! Just who we wanted to see.” The man didn't smile.

Mr. Discord gulped, his former deviousness draining away at record pace. “H-h-hello, officers!” he greeted with false cheer, tugging at his collar and taking an instinctive step back as the three policemen began walking towards him. “What, ah, what happens to be the problem?”

“I think you know perfectly well why we're here, Mr. Discord,” the blue-skinned officer said. “We'd like you to come down to the station with us for some questioning about a bank robbery earlier this morning.”

Author's Note:

Here it is, at long last! Sorry for the delay, but it is what it is. Admittedly I feel it's a bit too tell-y with the bits about Fluttershy thinking about her experiences with Mr. Discord, but the plot must go on and I regrettably didn't have time to develop them beforehand. Perhaps in the future I'll write a story with them set between Rather Fetching and Synchrony.

That aside... well, things aren't looking too good for Mr. Discord at the end, do they? I figured that was the perfect place to end the 'Morning' arc of the story. Next week will be another check-in with the full cast, and then the 'Afternoon' arc will begin in earnest. I hope you're all looking forward to it!

One last note: the events that led Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna to show up in this chapter are detailed in the oneshot No Other Choice, if you haven't already read that.

Let me know what you think, and I'll see you all next time!

Comments

[Flufux]

I really like human Discord so far. I mean, even without the reality warping powers, it still feels exactly like him in every way. I especially like how he dances between the lines of being bad guy or not. He's a bit of a trickster, and that's why I love him so much.

Fluttershy as well get some good development, and I'm curious to see how she would go about 'reforming' Discord.

Also, having seen all perspectives for this singular time frame, I can say that I like how it all comes together, and how certain 'random' events in earlier parts paid off in later ones.

[Fangren]

8602305
Believe me, I really like writing human Discord! He just has such a strong character and voice. Strong enough to even influence the narration, which only happens to me with a couple characters,

I've also enjoyed writing the human Starlight Glimmer (so sorry for not replying to your comment on the previous chapter before now!). She's not quite as strong a voice as Mr. Discord is, but she's been interesting to explore nonetheless.

And honestly, weaving all these storylines together and showing off the other side of all the little unexplained scenes I came up with early on - and coming up with all those little interactions - has been one of the best parts of writing this story. It hasn't been easy, I'll tell you that, but I don't regret taking this approach to Synchrony one bit.

Thank you so much for the regular reviews, Flufux, I seriously appreciate it.

[Flufux]

8602971

Thank you so much for the regular reviews, Flufux, I seriously appreciate it. 

Well, there is this really old saying: "Treat others as you yourself would like to be treated"...or something like that. I'm paraphrasing.

Point is, that I myself really appreciate it when people comment and review my own stories, so, when this very well-written story comes along and has so little response, I feel the need to do something about that.

And seriously, just one person can make a difference in that regard. On my current story (one where Rainbow Dash is Spider-Girl, yeah, seriously), I have like one guy who always give me a comment on every chapter I publish. Sure, while I would love to get more than that (and occasionally, I do, not gonna lie), sometimes one guy doing that is more than enough to keep me motivated to continue writing.

[AlexTFish]

Well, yep, that was indeed a lot of fun! Discord is a delightful character. I love the trick of tidying and organising all the clutter, without any wrongness about it, just to unsettle Fluttershy... I also love the revelation that this unruly pack of dogs we've seen a few times are actually a lot more under Discord's control than he makes out.

It does feel to me that the sections covering conversations that we've already seen don't need to be done in quite such detail. It's fun to see the other side of things, certainly, but I'm not sure we need to see repeats of every line; just the ones where the new viewpoint character's internal narration would cast things in a new light. Just my two-penny-worth.