//------------------------------//
// Please.... 
// Story: Stay with me.... 
// by Snowy Song 
//------------------------------//

Discord sat alone on the couch of his living room in a state of shock, the tears that had been falling now drying on his cheeks. He stared straight ahead, eyes unblinking and unfocused, as the thoughts of what had happened moments before replayed in his head once again.


"Fluttershy...." he said, choking back tears. "Please don't leave."

The yellow pegasus before him looked down at her hooves in sadness. "I don't want to...." she began.

"Then don't!"

"But I have to," she finished, looking at him with tears of her own.

"But.... why?" he asked, not fighting back the tears anymore. "Is this about the whole thing with Tirek? I said I was sorry! You... you said you forgave me!"

"I did! I have...." she reassured him. "I'm doing this to protect you. We can't hide our relationship forever, and you know what the others will do when they find out." She sniffed. "They'll think you've cast some kind of spell on me..... they'll do something horrible to you.... I just know they will!" she sobbed. "W-what if they turn you back to stone?"

"They can't do that without you," he reminded her.

"That doesn't mean Princess Celestia or Twilight won't find some other way.... or some other punishment.... and I can't bear to see that happen to you!"

"But without you, I'd be better off stone!" he cried. "Fluttershy.... I.... I love you...." he whispered hoarsely.

She wrapped her hooves around his neck in a hug, and he held her tightly. "I love you too," she whispered. She pulled away all too soon. "And I always will," she added, tears streaming down her face. "That's why I have to do this.... to protect you."

"No..." he sobbed. "Just... stay with me! We can make it work, make them see! Or we'll run away together!"

She looked at him sadly. "Discord.... I can't just abandon my friends. You know that."

"But what kind of friends can they be if they don't listen to you; don't care about your feelings?" he exclaimed angrily.

She turned away from him. "I'm sorry, Discord."

"No...." he muttered. "I can't lose you, Fluttershy."

She turned back to him. "It won't be forever. I'm going to do everything I can to get them to fully accept you.... but until then, this is how it has to be. I.... I can't lose you either."

She flew up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye Discord.... for now."

And with that, she was gone. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

A fresh stream of tears poured from his eyes as he recalled how she flew out the door. He squeezed his eyes shut as he once again felt the crushing pain in his heart.

"It won't be forever," she'd said.

He sniffed and opened his eyes. He looked down at his paw and claw as determination pierced through the sadness.

"I'll wait for you, Fluttershy," he said softly. "Forever...."





Meanwhile....

Fluttershy lay on her bed, her face buried in her pillow as she softly cried. Her pet bunny, Angel, sat next to her, stroking her mane comfortingly.

"I- I didn't w-want to leave him, Angel," she choked out between sobs. "B-but if s-s-something happened to him because of m-me, I.... H-how could I l-live with myself?!"

"It'll be alright, Fluttershy," Angel told her in his bunny language. "You'll get your friends to see."

She lifted her head and looked at him, sniffling. "You.... you really think so?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Hey, if you can manage to reform the Spirit of Chaos single-hoofedly, you can do anything." He threw his tiny paws in the air to emphasize his point.

She wiped her eyes with a hoof and gave him a small smile. "Thanks Angel. You always know what to say to make me feel better." She nuzzled him lovingly. When she pulled away, there was newfound determination in her eyes.

"And you're right," she continued. "I will make them see, no matter how long it takes, I won't give up on him; on us!"

She reached over to her night stand and picked up a picture of her and Discord together on their first date. She carefully ran a hoof down the side of the frame. Her eyes lingered on the draconequus as she repeated in a whisper, "I won't give up on us."

She hugged the picture to her, then gasped and turned to Angel Bunny as a horrible thought occurred to her. "You.... you don't suppose... he might not wait for me, do you? What if he's mad at me for leaving and doesn't forgive me?"

Angel face-pawed as she continued, "What if he never wants to see me again? What if-"

She was cut off as Angel placed a paw over her mouth. "Of course he'll forgive you; he said he loved you, didn't he?"

Fluttershy nodded, his paw still keeping her muzzle closed.

"And you love him, right?" he continued.

She nodded again, quicker this time.

He removed his paw. "Then why should you be worried?" he finished with a satisfied smirk.

The pegasus thought for a moment, before nodding again. "You're right; I can't give up hope. I have to stay strong."

She turned her gaze back to Discord in the picture. Little did she know, that same draconequus was looking at her in that same picture, as they both whispered the same thing:

"Because I'll always love you...."