Dearest Memories (Epilogue)
Discord stood at the crest of a hill. Five sycamore trees sat before him, each one reaching high into the sky, each one standing just behind a gravestone. Each stone was a pristine white and devoid of any writing. A symbol was engraved in the middle of each, five different marks for five different graves.
Discord conjured a hat onto his head, just to take it off and sweep into a bow. “Good morning, ladies. I hope that I haven’t kept you waiting for too long.”
A wind picked up over the hill. Discord’s hat, balancing on a loose grip, was swept out of his claw and out over the grass. The draconequus watched it go.
“Well, there’s no need to be rude about it.” Discord snapped and the hat reappeared in his claw. He slammed it onto his head. “I’d like to think that I was rather punctual. Considering that your precious Princess isn’t even here yet. If you want to be angry at anyone, be angry at her.”
The gust of wind tapered off, little more than a breeze.
Discord let out a humph. “Of course. Big bad Discord shows up on time and his hat gets ripped away. Twilight Sparkle is late and nothing!” He kicked at the ground. “Speaking of which, I never thought that she’d ever be late. She must be going senile.”
The wind picked up again, rustling through the leaves of the sycamore trees. Particularly, Discord thought, through the leaves of the tree to the very left of the group. The draconequus disappeared in a flash, reappearing in the branches of that tree.
“Oh honestly, Fluttershy, you can’t say anything else! And it’s entirely possible at her age!” Discord leans back slightly. “What is she? 400 and a little bit now?”
More rustling.
Discord patted a branch fondly. “Don’t you worry. You don’t look a day over 200.”
The wind died down completely. Discord leaned back into the branches, rough bark scratching at his fur. The morning was quiet and cold, a freshly risen sun doing little to warm the lingering chill. Everything was quiet and, for a moment, the world seemed incapable of rising above a whisper.
A smile played at Discord’s lips as he slowly patted a tree branch. He spoke softly, not wanting to break the silence.
“Four hundred years. Has it really only been four hundred years? I’m pretty sure it has, but, then again, I still haven’t quite got a handle on this whole Time business. It’s so strange, trying to quantify something that can’t be quantified.” Discord chuckled. “Only you mortals would think of something like that.”
The hill was silent.
Discord cleared his throat, feeling a now familiar pressure build up behind his eyes. “I’ve started reading. Under the influence of our precious Princess, no doubt. Either way, it’s a rather nice experience. Reading, I mean. So many worlds, so much time, that passes in the blink of an eye. It’s like being immortal.” Discord’s words were strained now, the pressure turning into a burning.
“Your letters—” Discord cleared his throat again “—I’ve read your letters so many times. They’re probably my favorite piece of literature. But there’s a quote th-that I can’t get out of my head.” The world blurred. “‘A pony cries, his tears dry up and run out. So he becomes a devil, reduced to a monster.’”
Discord leaned back, nestling against the trunk. “I’d never cried. Not once. Over one thousand years of life and not one sincere tear ever left my eyes. I reveled in my callousness, laughed at those who cried. And now look at me.” Discord reached a talent up to his eyes, wiping away a trail of tears. “I’ve lost it, Fluttershy. That monstrosity. That selfish and uncaring nature, being concerned only with amusement, everything that made me me, all of that’s gone!” The tears flowed freely now, hiding the world behind a watery film. For his lost kingdom, for the solitude he could never have again, for the time before he had any friends.
“Thank you, Fluttershy.” Discord pushed the words past the lump in his throat. “For… for everything.” The draconequus fell silent. A breeze ran through the hill, making the leaves of the sycamore tree sway. Back and forth, over and over. A pleasant rustle filled the air.
Discord cried, silent as he laid against the memory of his first and dearest friend. He sat for hours, not making a sound, watching as the sun crept silently upwards. Then, when he had had his fill of tears, Discord slept.
He was sleeping still, four days later, when Twilight Sparkle made her way to the hill. She and Discord had promised to meet on that day, the anniversary of Fluttershy’s death. Twilight had watched her calendar diligently, and she could only hope that Discord had done the same. She needed someone to talk to, someone who remembered all that she did, someone else who could close their eyes for but a moment and see them as they had been, could hear them and laugh with them again, just as she could. Just as she did.
Twilight’s stomach sank when she first reached the crest. There was no sign of Discord. He had forgotten, just as he had done 372 times before. Twilight remembered. She had kept count. Then Twilight had caught sight of a red tail, hanging down from the branches of the leftmost tree.
Of course. Twilight smiled and reached into her pack, pulling out five bundles of rosemary and laying them on the graves. Then she sat and closed her eyes, listening to long-gone voices and watching long-gone movements.
There, on a hill topped with five trees, a hill that rose over a graveyard of hundreds and hundreds of ponies, two beings thought and dreamt of things long-gone.
And the dead were alive again, held in their dearest memories.
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And again I'm crying. A nice epilogue.
I really want to hate you... but I can't
. Good job you jerk you made my eyes leak and now I have to get them fixed.
Dammit you couldn't just leave me crying in the first chapter! No, you thirst for more tears from me, take them you bastard!
Bravo dude. Bravo. It is rare to find something this good on a fiction site. Please keep up your work.
God damn this is some powerful stuff. I applaud you for masterfully writing such an astounding piece of literature.
The depression fog lingers once again over the vast field that is my mind... but there's a hint of sincere lost hope among the clouds that will never be found. That lost hope is all I need to feel content with myself.
Bravo.
Tears.... They have been shed...
This reminded me of my dog who's choice to have put down wasn't the owner, my dad, it was mine. I feel like I let him down after reading this but then I can remember the memories I had with him... At this point in typing I am shedding (manly) tears and am going to stop.
Anyways, this was a great story. Nice job.
4005122 I had that feeling too, a brave and younger brother of a dog i had, and it was my choice, even now the guilt still goes
so sad, yet so beautiful
Why can't I like and favorite this twice?!
Very few stories can hit me in the feels like this. This is one of those few.
Nothing can burn so fiercely and sooth so completely than the love founded in true friendship.
Fluttershy always wanted to be a tree.
nothing more to say really
good job....
It is a good story.
The feels are strong.
But I would like to thank the commentary too.
It was the words of all of you that pushed me from the stillness to tears.
So thanks for that.
sweet
The feels are strong with this one
4005225 i.imgur.com/KHA8Wci.jpg
This is an absolutely beautiful story. There is not a single thing wrong with this.
static1.e621.net/data/e4/6a/e46a2cb63d1b1f224a453a01693d34ac.gif
This about sums up my experience with this fic.
I love stories like these. Great job.
I feel like I shoul be crying. I'm not.
Damn.
Anyway, this is one of the best stories I've read on this site. I found no fault with it. It was well thought out, well written and the perfect feels-extractor. Take them all.
It's the first of its kind that I've read, but I don't want to read any more. This is enough for me. Well played.
~ Decaf
i am not crying! Its just liquid pride!
I think you meant talon? For some reason I can't quite remember the right word at the moment ...
Otherwise amazing epilogue, you've left me in tears
Is amaizing how a single fan could make a single show a peace of pure, well done literature...i'm impresse
tears man. TEARS! you brought me to tears! you how many fics i have read on this site since i joined that left me with tears. i can count them on one hand. this chapter alone now makes it on 2 hands.
I like your story's motif. Where did you get it?
Dealing with grief and "immortality sucks" fics are dime-a-dozen in this fandom, but they can be done well, and making the fic centre around Discord is certainly one way to put an interesting spin on it. So thank you for that, author.
I especially applaud the bold choice to write Discord correctly instead of as a caricature vaguely resembling his canon self. I have no idea what inspired such an unconventional portrayal, but it worked. The dialogue captured his voice, and before the heavy stuff hit he was just as flippant and humorous as always. Sometimes, Discord's mere presence can make a reader forget that they're not reading a comedy. And then Fluttershy dies and the crying starts, and suddenly I remember the tags and description that got me to start reading this thing in the first place.
I should really start working.
NYEH
IM CAUGHT IN TEH TRACTOR BEAMS OF FEELFICS
The dead are not gone simply lost waiting to be found again.
The forgotten simply wish to be remembered.
Death is never a end simply a continuation.
That was fantastic
really, really well written! You wrote Discord perfectly 
I love you're writing stye!
Fluttershy got to be a tree.
"To a well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
4223397 I couldn't even laugh at that.
manly tears have been shed. I applaud you for writing such a heart wrenching story.
I cried so badly!
Brought tears to my eyes. 2nd story thats done that so far.
Oh, it got an epilogue. I didn't expect that.
Oh, poor Discord.
Why u-u-u make me cry.........
Damn, I see a lot of tears being shed in the comment section... will have to give this a read. :)
I don´t know if I am a though insensitive mother****er or what, but I didn´t cry as most people over me. However, that doesn´t keep it from being a magnificent story. One of the best short fanfics I remember reading, particularly the ones I like the most. The characters´s development was realistic and according to their personalities, something I consider difficult to achieve. The development was really creative, especially the moment in which Discord attempted to plunge the world into chaos but wasn´t capable of. Really intense. So, I´ll conclude saying you´ve done an amazing labor and deserve all the recognition you´ve obtained or even more. Bravo!
All I can say is, well done.
An interesting epilogue...
Time, the great equalizer, even if you are immortal, time will find a way to wound you just as deep. However, Time does mean to be such a harsh mistress, Time just is and forever will be that same no matter what you want or do.
~Hearn
I put off reading this because I knew what it would do, I was right, damnit...
Btw,
Talon*
This fanfic is pretty greatーone of the best I've ever read, actually! Not just in the world of fanfiction, but literature in general. Even in such a short storyーless than five chaptersーthe character development is amazing! You found a way to flip Discord's personality in less than 5,000 words without giving it a feeling of being rushed, which is an amazing thing! Would I be able to write a piece inspired from this with your permission?
4880328
You don't need my permission to do so, but by all means! I'm flattered, really.