Greeted by what seemed to be the bland scenery of an ever-growing forest, the sight of trees seemed to stretch on for miles on edge. The woodland creatures that roamed these parts of the forest were sparse in number, with thick bushes and overarching branches physically blocking what seemed to be the only path that lead deeper into the forest. But to the few that had managed to find a way into these deeper parts of this forest, they were greeted with an odd sight.
Yet to Discord, although he was the centerpiece around these parts, he knew a thing or two about this place. What was once the feared and equally respected forest of Everfree, was now just a hollow shell of what was once its chaotic visage.
It was unfortunate, not even the name “Everfree” stood the test of time, much less so the once mystical creatures that inhabited it. The Cockatrice was now extinct, nearly all dying off because of the lack of magic or simply becoming the victims of other Cockatrice, the Timberwolves faired no better, with most literally ceasing to exist, as the magic of the Everfree dissipated so did the bond that held the sticks that made up such an infamous and once feared predator of the forest.
Life had not been kind for the thousands of old creatures, since magic was literally the foundation of some of their lives, not only was the Everfree affected but the oceans too, with Hydra’s losing the very magic that had kept them afloat in the very same water, leading to a drowned fate. And Discord, who was just one of many affected by Twilight’s design, was also unfortunately one of the few who would live to see through the effects of such extents. For how long it had been? He was sure he’d only be remembered as a myth for the second time in his life, on the edge of being truly forgotten.
Ever since Twilight had stripped the world of magic, the world had into such a different place. A new era, where everything had to grow without magic, to continue on without what was once thought to be a fundamental pillar of life. An idea once thought improbable, if not impossible to ever occur, some even believed that the world would have likely ended long before even the first signs of magic dissipating would even conjure up. And yet here he was, the draconequus would have lived through and seen so many eras.
Truth be told, Discord at first had been very indifferent to such prospects, since it happened just after a war he had seen (and had a big part in) firsthand, but once he saw the effects of a world without magic, he openly tried to advocate for it all stop, although as time would tell, he too would eventually be silenced.
It was lonely for the sole draconequus, with none to share his growing old age, he’s been feeling down at best, barely staying alive at worst. To his unexpected wonder, his evening this time around won’t be one of loneliness, as a familiar white coat would come to visit him.
There was a distant rustling in the bushes. To his side, he looked with an intense stare. Discord, despite his really old age, was still as perceptive as ever. Looking over to where the noise came, he braced himself for what could be a moment of false hope if what his mind had concluded was right and what he longed for was not. Listening as each heartfelt moment seemed to drag on.
Then, crack. A twig broke in the other direction, and like a wolf hearing his prey, his neck turned to the sound. But what he found momentarily paralyzed him to the very core. There, right in front of him out came from the bushes, was Celestia, former Monarch of Equestria, the solar alicorn herself. Her mane seemingly being duller and less wavy, her coat, although still the same white, was not the same pristine shade he would remember her always having.
“Hello there, Discord.” The alicorn greeted, the voice very much belonging to Celestia, although he thought it was of a much frailer tone, one that seemed to have lost its power over the years, which unironically reminded him of the timid Fluttershy he knew… She was clearly old, with age catching up to her.
“I see the years haven’t been kind to you too,” he said, having finally mustered up the strength to give a remark, commenting on the clearly not-so-cared-for coat that she currently had, “if, you are even the pony that you present yourself to be.”
Seemingly taking the second part as an insult, her face quickly washed away that feeling as she looked over Discord’s overall physic… putting two in two together, it led her to her own conclusion that he too was also pretty beat up. To her honest dismay, what was, to her recollection, the charming rascal and advocate of chaotic fun, was now all but a hollow husk with no energy to spare, tired in all regards to even make a cheeky comeback.
To Discord, however, he was unsure if his eyes were deceiving him or if what he saw was the very mare herself. Here, standing before him, was Celestia, the alicorn that had once reigned over the sun and all of Equestria, all the regality associated with her having seemingly drained to leave only the mare that she truly was, a shallow shadow that could be described as the complexity being washed away to reveal and leave only the simple mare to be seen.
Each in their own way saw and thought something in the other, something that reinforced a deep subconscious thought within them. They saw through all the trivial, they knew they are speaking to a hollow shell of what was once…
‘Pity…’ both thought. Knowing that the other had ceased to be the creature they once knew from the old world.
“And I see time hasn’t been any kinder to you too,” she finally responded, “and I see you haven’t shaved in a while, I personally always preferred your short goatee…”
Taking it very much personally, he ignored her compliment as he gave her a rhetorical question. “All the while, with your coat, seemingly having dulled, what happened to you? You can’t have just up and slept through centuries forbid, much less teleport here. Magic is practically nonexistent.”
For a moment, a tense silence was shared, bad blood clearly still persists between the two. “Well sulking here won’t do you any good as I, after all, had done the liberty of searching you, just came here to have a chat,” Celestia said, finally breaking the silence.
“And what?” he asked indignantly. “Like arguing with a husk will do me with any good, much less a mare like yourself who’s always had the answer and was seemingly never afraid of anything.”
Clearly, with Discord being a hard case and Celestia being, well… Celestia, they shared an impasse, but Celestia didn’t let that impede what she had sat out to do. “Listen, Discord, I know you’re still pissed at Twilight, and I know you’re still on about Flutter-”
“DON’T. SAY. HER NAME.” He demanded, slowly slithering like a snake in the process as he looked over Celestia, feeling nothing but insulted at her mere sight and what he assumed to be her way of denial. “Don’t you dare say a thing about Fluttershy, not since you and Twilight decided to wage that forsaken war…”
Hesitantly, Celestia still continued her advances despite the clear distress the draconequus was in. “And that’s what I’m here for, to owe up on my part.”
‘Oh… you don’t want to go down that path, Celestia.’ He thought to himself, almost thinking of outright taunting her right then and there, but it took his whole willpower not to just burst out at that moment outright.
“What do you mean your part?” He instead asked, his rage slowly building up at first. “You underestimated the power of ‘Black Powder’, beyond just good judgment and warnings from me. Remember Celestia, Equestria, even with the Crystal Empire’s alliance, got beat with the fire and steel that the Griffon Federation had, and we paid the price in the form of our magic and integrity, dearly.”
Celestia was being chipped longer on edge, she didn’t expect Discord to be this forward towards her, so she tried to make a clever comeback to throw him off. “T-then you of all creatures should know that Fluttershy, along with the rest of them all, sacrificed their lives in order to preserve magic! Even if it cost them their lives…”
The patient’s of the draconequus was not for long, and it easily reached an end as he said something honest. “ALL BECAUSE YOU TOLD TWILIGHT TO BURN OUR ONLY CHANCE AT CONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” He shouted in rage, as with every bit of residue magic he had left, he gathered to make a strong aura surrounding him, both to intimidate and drill home his point to Celestia as he slithered like a snake around her neck. “Did you really think I wasn’t that perceptive Celestia? I knew what Fluttershy did was for our betterment, but its circumstances were brought by you. A sacrifice that was not needed if we had just allowed the travel and trade of Black Powder through Equestria.”
Celestia was now about to break, the dam that was her emotion was nearly going to break and she didn’t know for how long she can keep up this calm, collective façade in front of Discord. It was uncomfortable, unbearable even, as with each passing moment she felt as though it was an eternity with Discord seemingly strangled her moral judgment, bit by bit, condemning and judging her very presence.
He took in a deep breath, trying to calm and steel himself for what he would do, to try and continue drilling into her head, what is to him, the simple truth. “Twilight’s biggest failure was not her inability to introduce change. Oh, no, it wasn’t that, Celestia, instead, it was her inability to change her ‘student-like’ way of finding help, a hard habit to break, despite her own advisors asking her to ‘grow up’ and to put on a tough act to shake off her growing predictability over time. Yes, that’s what she was, a victim of time. The circumstances she found herself in were ultimately what sealed their fate, and it could have changed if you were able to change your unhinged perspective. She could not help and resist going to you for answers, Celestia. You knew that, down to heart”
Slowly, the tears started to slowly run down, but not from the frail draconequus. Instead, the low and soft sobs of Celestia were all that could be heard between the two, with her sobbing seemingly being echoed by the surrounding forest. Yet Discord did not relent his grip on the alicorn as he remained silent as he tightened his grip around her.
Trying to give a comment, Discord would find out there was no stopping the dam from overflowing. “Stop trying to fool me, much less yourself, Celestia. It doesn’t get past judgment, even with the lifestyle of chaos I once had, not even a monkey would fall for your sorry state.”
Still, Celestia couldn’t hold her tears forever, and the sobs then slowly turned into a full-on breakdown, with each sob and tear becoming harder to keep to herself. But this did not bring anything to the draconequus, let alone a slither of sympathy from him, instead, it only served to further infuriate him. So, he slithered up to look at her sobbing face, eye to eye as he battled a mental crossroad of whether to fully hammer home his contempt for her or not.
“Celestia… most of this would have died as they would have lived; not us. You severed our chances when you swore by the sun when you fought by Twilight’s side in the war. Call me a traitor to my beloved, but I was not insane when I saw what that powder could accomplish.”
“S-so how did you know that Black Powder was dangerous?” She asked, sobbing in between breaths and words. “T-then why d-didn’t you stop me? W-why didn’t you do anything?”
At first, he did not slip up on the question she asked, but he was now in mental denial until he took in a deep breath. At first, he struggled to find his footing in giving his rebuttal. But his willpower did not allow him to back down, in truth, he sat at the sideline and watched the whole war from the chair of clouds.
“I d-didn’t b-because… Because they wouldn’t give me a reason nor time to speak, let alone listened to me anyway,” he said, now trying to convince himself of what he was going to say. “They’re too blinded in following your word, plus, the few that listen didn’t understand the full capacity of ‘Black Powder’ and the implications of what I said. After all, it was inherently innate in magic, thus the mentality went that it was lesser compared to magic. That became the foundation and building block of something truly magnificent, and horrifying; innovation. It was like the knowledge of fire; a cornerstone to open ideas.”
And although Discord seemed to have a moment of being paralyzed, he did feel satisfaction in simply letting Celestia cry on and on. But that wasn’t enough for him, no, he would give her a reason to be remorseful for what she had done. He wasn’t going to do a simple one done and gone, he would make her realize just how far her ignorance of the future has led them through.
“Then why are you here? In my isolated place of ignorance, my place of lonely solace and peace?” he asked, knowing full well that what he was about to say would break her very willpower and fundamental reason for even coming to him, at least that’s what he assumed. “To chase a fleeting desire or to taint my silent realm? A remnant of my memories of her? Tell me, do you still remember the centaur, changeling, and rook? HMMM!? Because if you do, then I must ask if you did want to do what was ‘best’ for not only them, then where are their names!? Where is the stonecast to forever stand as their memorial? Didn’t you cast me in stone? And for what? Where did that lead you and your ‘endeavor’? Back to me?”
And with that, with one single line of thought, Discord saw that very shift in Celestia’s fragile demeanor that he had been looking for. The mere thought that somewhere in this world, the stone statue of Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow is simply waiting to be discovered, they could be remembered since they are literally cast in stone, and have outlived Twilight and her gang in this new era. It gave the visible distress Discord was looking for, and Celestia took to the first instinct she knew of, which was to think of reason and justification. “I- I couldn’t… I- I DID TRY! Trust me Discord, PLEASE! I did try, tried everything, from the oldest tricks of the books to pulling every single string that I had, tried to gather as much as possible, just for them to be remembered, for their sake!”
And in between her tears and sobs, she really did believe what she said. She really did love Twilight, much more than any other pony aside from her own sister. “I really did try everything, tried every damn trick to have them be remembered! Even before the war was drawing to a close.”
Still, Discord wasn’t convinced, to him, it was justified to make Celestia suffer in this way, to at least have her experience a slither of unbridled regret, the punishment of foresight. He didn’t care about the sentiments Celestia was trying to give, but he knew that even in her regret, there was nothing that could top the simple fact that in foresight, she could have avoided so many things…
“Then I want you to take note of this, Celestia,” He began, “take solace in the fact that you’re still alive… because we’re now on borrowed time. I always loathed your righteous way; way too conformed for my taste. But I had since learned to never, ever think that no one else is incapable of going to such extents as you.”
At that moment, a single thought crossed both their minds. Maybe Celestia was a fool, fooled by the repetitive things she would tell herself through time. Maybe Discord was in the wrong, for not giving her a chance and holding grudges. Whatever the case may be, it won’t change the fact that they’re old, that they probably won’t have much time left. They couldn’t keep lying to themselves forever, and Celestia was here to make amends with him, but whether it would be accepted or not was something she could guarantee, so instead, she simply tried, better to do so than to never find out.
“W-well, I’m sorry for bothering you,” her sulking apology doing nothing to change the draconequus’ demeanor. “But I have to confess something, to ease myself knowing you too would know this…”
With such a simple line, Discord was all ears, yet he still feigned his indifference towards her.
“Twilight asked me to burn those papers… b-because she believed that it was for the greater good, that she would rather watch her city burn and have her little ponies drown her in hate than to see them be subject to a lifetime of occupation. And she thought sealing away magic until the ‘time was right was the better choice. So in the end, it was decided that Equestria would be split-up since no one could use the inherent magical abilities of ponies by that point. She thought it was for the best of everyone, even if the cost of perusing such a thing with their lives… N-not even the young six nor were her own friends able to convince her, let alone her only brother and sister-in-law. Even if they had a different thought, they all had a part in it, you and I included Discord, although unlike them, we didn't follow her to the end.”
Discord didn’t say a word, but he looked at Celestia with a complicated look. On one side, he didn’t fully believe her, on the other, this could allow him to look at things in a different light. Still feigning his ignorance, he didn’t know how to take this new information, as he tried to quickly make up his mind and feelings towards what she said.
For all the times they bickered and for their somewhat antagonistic nature towards the other at times, they both shared the same history. The world they once knew is gone, forged from a war of mistakes and ignorance. Both had been enemies, associates, and friends, all the same, they both had a wild ride, a life like no other for sure.
In foresight, Discord could only wish that his magic could bend the very fabric of time and space, but like everything, he too had his own limitation in chaos magic. And although he didn’t realize he also had his part, he really did believe that Celestia was largely at fault.
He didn’t know what had become of the old world he and Fluttershy once lived in, and frankly, he didn’t even know what to make of that fact, not since she disappeared. For him, he wanted to wait for her to return, and so, his final request to Twilight was to send him into a coma of sorts, in hopes that he could wake up to live Fluttershy after the storm had settled. And look where that got him in...
“Leave,” he simply asked of her. With so much in his mind, he really didn’t know how to deal with her. So he did the next best thing he knew, which was to just think on his own, after all, he knew what these moments of contemplation could do, being a stature that was conscious tends to get one to think while time moves on.
“Au revoir,” she whispered, looking back a final time at the draconequus, who had now slithered away to one side of his sanctuary, seemingly trying to get away from her as he mumbled something to himself.
“Then, as they say in French, I bid you, adieu.” He whispered, more than willing to simply watch as the alicorn left, for all he cared, it didn’t nor shouldn’t matter for him. He was in a tense situation, reflecting on what he knew, he didn’t know how to move on, and he kind of just expected to be forgotten, left alone never to interact with another soul, not until he would meet Fluttershy again.
With the chat they had, it gave him a new, somewhat more apathetic view on what is to come, because if things were to be based on this one experience, he’d already assumed that he and Celestia were far gone to go back now. What puzzled him was his predicament.
‘Do I need a shave?’ he asked himself, as Celestia finally left his view. The soft whistling of the wind and the rumbling of the faint leaf was all that encircled him. In the end, he is once again left with his own thoughts, with no one else to accompany him.
So, he withdrew an old gift, from a certain dragon, a revered and well-respected hero, friend, and brother to Twilight. A simple lighter, which let alit a flame of green that would never be extinguished, with it being said that its flames were eternal and were made and fueled by a flaming tear of a phoenix and the flaming breath of a dragon, giving it its distinctive hue and everlasting flame.
Using it, he set alit an old smoke pipe he had made long ago, with leaves and other exotic plants within arms reach that he could gather being smoked, letting in a deep breath in, and out.
He was in a long, deep thought, he stroked his now full-length beard, he was saddened, yes, but one thing stuck to him as he silently contemplated; he had long since outlived those he love, even if he didn’t want to, so what should he do now? Well, as dear Fluttershy would probably want for him, he’d probably have to live for her sake, to remember her when no one would, even if time has since gone on without him.
“What a hollow shell…” he mumbled in contempt, never finding the irony of his sulking situation.