I OWN NOTHING

(Special Note: Thanks so much to my boyfriend for helping me with this one!)

"I'll Be There"

"Fluttershy," Discord had said. " if you ever need me, just call my name and I'll be there."

Fluttershy chuckled nervously as her gaze dropped to the ground. "Um, are-are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't wanna bother you. I… I don't like bothering any pony, really."

"Oh, you're not a bother. I'll just teleport."

"Oh… Okay. Thank you, Discord. Thank you very much."

"Go away! No candy here! No Pony's welcome on Nightmare Night!"

Even though Nightmare Moon had been vanquished, Fluttershy still couldn't get over her fear of this most terrifying night. She paced back and forth, her breath quick and her whole body shaking as she tried to quell her nerves.

"It'll be alright," she told herself. "It's just one night. I'll get through it. Yes, I'm sure everything will be-"

Another knock on the locked door caused her to jump with a tiny squeal, and in the next instant, she was crouched to the floor with her hooves over her head, her eyes closed.

"Maybe," she thought aloud, her voice barely a whisper. " they'll stop knocking if I turn off the lights. Then they'll think no one's home and-Well, at least not all the lights… Ah-Ha! That's it!"

With great haste, Fluttershy flew around her house, making sure to blow out every candle and flip every switch. With this done, she hurried to her bed and made herself as comfortably as possible.

"Okay, okay. I'm just gonna go to bed.," she stammered. "The sooner I go to bed, the sooner I'll go asleep. And the sooner I go to sleep, the sooner the sunrise will rise. And then, Nightmare Night will be over!"

Oh, if only it were that simple.

Suddenly, a flash of light brightened the corner of the vast room. For a brief second, a monstrous silhouette danced along the opposite wall. It's pointy ears were huge. It's body was as giant as an earsa major bear. And its eyes-though she couldn't see them-must've been red and flaring with anger.

"Fluttershy, if you ever need me, just call my name and I'll be there."

The memory of his promise sprang to the front of her mind like fireworks. What better time to summon the Lord of Chaos than now?

"DISCORD!" Fluttershy cried from beneath her bed sheets.

"What? Oh, hello, Fluttershy."

Slowly, Fluttershy peeked out from under her blankets. Sure enough, Discord was levitating at the foot of her bed, teacup in his claw, teapot in his massive paw. Unlike most Ponies, however, he chose to take a bite out of the cup and poured the tear straight into his mouth.

"Ah! Discord! I'm so sorry to bother you."

"Oh, you're not bothering me at all."

"Are you sure? You look like you were getting ready for bed."

"On the contrary. Actually, I was feeling quite… lonely tonight. I'm glad you called me, Fluttershy. I needed some company."

"Uh.. Th-Thank you very-"

The light flashed again, and Fluttershy cowered at the sight of the shadow. Once again, she sought sanctuary beneath her blankets.

Discord, however, remained unphased. "Fluttershy, it's okay. Come back out."

"No! There's a monster out there. A monster!"

Discord snorted a laugh. "The scariest thing in this house right now is me, I assure you."

"You're not scary, Discord. At least, not anymore."

He smiled down at her. "It pleases me to hear you say that. But I can still scare the daylights out of anyone who dares to scare you."

Fluttershy relaxed a bit and smiled to herself. "Aw, thank you. But I'm telling you, Discord, there's a monster in my house. I saw it with my own eyes!"

With a mere snap of his fingers, all of the lights were on again, the sound enough to startle Fluttershy to the point where she rolled out of bed. However, being a Pegasus, she flapped her wings and caught the air before hitting the floor.

She opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Discord was pointing toward the corner of the room. Her eyes followed and, to her surprise, a little white rabbit was sitting on her desk, its paw clinging to the string of the writing lamp.

"Angel!" Fluttershy asked in surprise. "It was you all along! What are you doing over there? You're supposed to be sleeping."

Angel rested her paws against her lips and shot an annoyed look at Discord, who grinned back at the bunny mischievously.

"There now," Discord sighed. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

Climbing back into bed, Fluttershy smiled kindly at him. "No. I think I'll be okay now. Thank you very much."

"Not a problem. That's what friends are for." He lifted his paw and braced his fingers for another snap. "Well, I guess I'll be off then-"

"Wait!"

Discord blinked in surprise, then looked down at Fluttershy again.

Lowering the volume of her voice, Fluttershy began again. "I… I mean… Discord?"

"Yes?"

"Will you stay? At least until morning?"

"Of course. I'll stay for as long as you need me."

He took the liberty of tucking her back into bed and even held her hoof as he watched her eyelids fall together.

When he was sure she was fully asleep, Discord flew across the room and hovered above Angel. The small bunny's bossy demeanor was suddenly replaced with one of terror as his voice echoed threateningly.

"Listen here, rabbit, if you ever-and I mean ever-scare my sweet Fluttershy like that again, I will see to it that every night hereafter will be a living nightmare for you. Got that?"

Angel nodded quickly, then hopped away as fast as she could.

With that, Discord checked on Fluttershy once more. She was sleeping so peacefully now, her pink hair fanned out around her pillows. Indeed, she was probably one of the most beautiful ponies he'd ever known. As delicate as a flower.

Which gave him an idea.

The next morning, Fluttershy would awake to the floral aroma of the bouquet of roses on her nightstand. And with it would be a note that read, "To my sweet Fluttershy."

The Lord of Chaos disappeared, leaving his sweet friend to sleep in peace.