A helping paw? Or was it claw?

by SweetCookie

Chapter 4

He DID love her...
And she had been oblivious enough to ignore him.

Fluttershy stood still in her living room, processing the actions Discord, the Lord of Chaos himself, did in order to show his affections towards her. After thinking about it, not even Discord would do something like this on a good day, even for Fluttershy. He was the Draconequus who only cared about creatures that were ponies, but didn't pay heed to any of the creatures from the EverFree Forest, nor did he go out of his way to care for them. For Discord, showing his kindness, or whatever was there of his kindness for animals, was one of the biggest factors of affection he could show. Fluttershy mentally bucked herself for not looking deeply into the situation.

The pegasus got to work to send all her panicked animals back into their specified sleeping quarters, calming them down and cleaning up the mess caused by Discord's magic in the living room. At that point in time, Flutters looked just as she did when Discord poofed into her living room earlier that day, if not in just a bit better of a condition than she was earlier. Brushing her mane as best as possible to make it neater and a bit more presentable, she flew outside to try and find the Draconaquus who was hopefully lingering around Ponyville or in the EverFree Forest.

Looking around in the afternoon, Fluttershy was able to think clearly about the events that have happened today, and how she could talk to Discord upon finding him. She kept reminding herself that Discord vanished on the account of misunderstood words. She asked a few ponies lingering around town if they had seen him anywhere with no success of a definite answer. Lost for what to do, the pegasus trotted off to Sweet Apples Acres to find AppleJack for some information and advice.

AppleJack had been bucking an apple tree for its apples, whistling a small tune to keep her from growing bored of her work. It came as a surprise when she saw a messier-than-usual Fluttershy trot into the Apple Fields. Giving her a warm smile, AJ stood up straight and greeted the pegasus as she normally would previously but with a bit more exhaustion because of what she was doing earlier.

"Afternoon sugarcube! What brings ya 'ere? I thought you were back home taking care of your animals?"

"Good Afternoon AppleJack. They're resting. I came looking for Discord, have you seen him?"

"I haven't seen him since last week Fluttershy. Everything go well with your confession?"

"That's the problem I'm facing at the moment. Discord was going to confess to me."

"Discord confessing? Doesn't sound like him."

"He came by to help me look after my animals, but something bad happened and now I can't seem to find him."

"Let's not go into a panic sugarcube. What happened?"

"Um...Discord used his magic to make the work easy for the both of us, but things got out of hand. I told Discord to cut the magic off, but he must have decided to try and tell me how he felt, and me telling him to stop the magic might have made him believe I didn't like the help."

"...I really don't see how that could end up as a misunderstanding, nor why Discord didn't try to stay and understand the situation..."

"Jackie, he is one of the last of his kind, and he is rather new to this like me. I know he didn't mean any harm, but with how he's trying so hard to be good, he can misunderstand scenarios."

"Draconequus' aren't really known for timing as seen by Discord, if he is anything but a representation of an almost forgotten species."

"I'm certain that he isn't the last of his species."

"I know, but let's not get side-tracked from your problem sugarcube. So if Discord was going to try and show you his affection, why not go find him and show him your affection?"

"That's another problem: I can't find him. I looked all over Ponyville AND the EverFree Forest, but I haven't even seen a trace of his magic anywhere."

"Did ya ask Twilight?"

"Yes..."

"Well, this might be more serious for him than I once thought. If anything, did you look over Sweet Apple Acres yet?"

"No, not yet. I was hoping to look after asking you for advice."

"Advice? I'm guessing advice on how to fix this, huh?"

"Yes..."

"Just fix everything up and tell him how ya feel. If anything, now that you know his intention, maybe you should tell him yours, ya know, to make it balanced for the both of ya."

"You think so?"

"Positive. And while I enjoy talking to ya, I need to finish harvesting, so unfortunately I may need to cut this conversation short."

"Ok, I'll try to talk to him when I find him. Thanks AppleJack, you've been very helpful."

"You're welcome Flutters. Good luck sugarcube!"

Fluttershy looked around the orchard and Sweet Apple Acres for the rest of the afternoon. It had been around dusk when she began to lose hope of finding him at all, standing beside a big Apple Tree to think about what she should do next. Should she go home and wait for him? Should she continue to look? Should she travel to other areas of Equestria? She really couldn't decide on what to do, and she continued to think until she felt something soft and light fall onto her coat. Looking behind her, she realised she was covered in multiple flower petals. Looking up, she saw more flower petals falling from the tree, and it took her some time to realise that the tree wasn't its usual colour, something that wasn't easy to do because of the shifting light of the setting sun.

Flying upwards, Fluttershy avoided as many petals as possible, a few red and white petals falling into her mane as she flew up to the top of the tree. What she saw gave her relief beyond compare, seeing the sight of Discord plucking petals from summoned flowers. Discord with flowers? It baffled her even more, but she shook that thought out of her head as she flew close to the Draconequus, hoping to not startle him. Unknowingly to the pegasus, Discord was able to sense something looking at him, and turned his head to directly see the one pony he was not expecting to see.

"Fluttershy...?"

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long update, but that's me! xD

Yeah the pacing is more or less History at this point, as well as the sense of the story, but I'm not a professional so you'll have to forgive me for it! xD

Yeah, things will be wrapped up in the next chapter (hopefully) since this is a lengthy chapter already. I won't take this short story on a long ride for much longer. If I had gotten Discord, Fluttershy or AppleJack out of character here, please let me know :)

Also, as a reminder for mainly myself, this was inspired by DisneyFanatic's Fanfiction and Audio Drama 'Bride of Discord'!

Have a wonderful day mares, colts and foals!
Trotting away~

SweetCookie