Six Flowers
Lately, Discord had taken up gardening.
It was, admittedly, an unexpected hobby for the spirit of chaos and disharmony to pick up. But he'd easily justified it to himself--and everypony else who dared question--with the answer that chaos is being unexpected, and that true chaos is doing things that no one would have guessed, and so he was living perfectly up to his own nature.
He had created six unique varieties of flowers; they were completely unique to his little garden. Nowhere else in Equestria did one grow. (Except for the purple flower, which grew at one other location, but...that shall come up soon.)
The first flower was the pink flower. It had large, puffy petals which curled inward, and long sky blue stamens that curled into great spirals. It was a sort of happy looking flower, one that made you happy just by looking at it; smelling it only doubled the happiness, as after you have intaken the aroma you find that it smells oddly like cupcakes. It was popular among the handful of ponies who were admitted into the garden.
The second flower was the blue flower. It had long, spiked petals, and a cluster of technicolor stamen poking out the middle which made up every color of the rainbow; indigo, violet, green, blue, red, yellow...every color was present. It grew up the fastest and stayed around for the longest, outdistancing the other flowers and sticking around well into the harsh frosts of Wintertime.
The third flower was the orange. It had alternating colors in its petals; they varied from darker orange, to middle orange, to a pale yellow-ish color. It wasn't the best smelling flower in the bunch, but for what it lacked in aroma it made up for in just about everything else. It was the hardiest of the flowers, and made out well (or at least better than the others) from all natural disasters; thunderstorms seemed to only make it shine brighter. Not only that, but if were to dig it up you would find a small, red fruit curled in between its roots. The fruit was good to eat, and was very sweet and juicy.
The fourth was the white. It was truly dazzling; a sight to behold. It had long, curled, beautiful petals which glimmered bright in the sunlight. The center was royal purple, and gleamed like a diamond. The white flower caught the eye of everyone who looked its way. Truly, it was impossible to walk by it without at least a moment's admiration of it. The aroma of it was heavenly; thick and perfumed, and left you feeling and thinking dreamy things.
The fifth was the aforementioned purple flower. It was a clever, smart little thing; easy to transplant, and it heartily plowed its way through any obstacle placed before it. The roots pushed easily past blockages in the soil, and it was easy for this plant to survive, even when planted in tough spots where the sun shone especially hard and the rain was especially scarce. At first, if you plant it among other flowers, it withers and almost dies. But, then, just as you thought that the flower was surely gone for, it springs back to life and blooms into the most beautiful, amazing flower that you would ever lay eyes on. It had six petals, which were spiked sharp at the edges and aligned perfectly in parallel with each other.
Someone close to Discord favored this flower greatly, and had begged Discord to let them grow one, just one, in their own garden. Discord had been unwilling at first--he'd made a rule up front that all of his unique varieties would always be just that, unique, to his special place--but the draconequus had soon caved in, surmising that rules were made to be broken anyway and had given the dragon permission to grow the purple flower.
The last flower was Discord's favorite; far favored among the rest, and the one which Discord took the most care and pride in keeping. It bloomed slowly, and was very delicate; in fact, it was the most delicate out of all the varieties and was easily killed and torn apart by the elements; cold weather, even relatively mild, would destroy it. It was easily battered in rainstorms, and would come out of thunderstorms looking like a cleanly shaved-down poodle; skinny, bent-down and sticklike.
The harder it was devastated one year, though, the more hearty and long suffering it would return the next. Animals also loved this flower. They would invade Discord's garden and rip apart the flower bed, just to get mouthfuls of the flower. It was sweet, and tasted like honey. Discord was upset at first that the animals enjoyed it so much--by the time he came out to enjoy the flower, it had already been taken up by the critters. At first he'd made a barrier around the garden so that animals could never, ever touch it again.
The animals had given him the saddest faces through that barrier, though. He'd tried to ignore them, and was doing quite well until the flower began to wither. He'd tried everything he could to bring the flower back, but nothing worked. Not even the strongest of magic could heal it. Soon, all of them had withered hopelessly and only one straggled survivor remained.
'Why? Why did you let this happen?' it seemed to whisper.
At the end of his rope, Discord had allowed the animals to come back into the garden. The last flower was soon destroyed, and Discord thought himself a fool for wasting it so. He couldn't find it in himself shut the animals out again, though, and let them roam as they pleased. the next season, though, the special flowers had grown back even more beautiful than before, and didn't succumb to such unhealable withering ever again.
This variety was clearly meant to be shared. Butterflies loved it also. There was hardly a moment when you couldn't see butterflies flitting around this variety; if they weren't sitting on the flower, they were flying around it somewhere nearby. This flower smelled wonderful, too; like some sort of mixture between honeysuckles and actual honey.
Discord would sit quietly among this flower; this yellow, delicate flower with soft, silky round petals. He'd lay in the flower bed, and stare up at the plants growing up all around him. He'd gently raise his paw--his talon was too sharp, he couldn't use that--and caress the silky petals. He'd inhale the deep honey scent, and fall to sleep among them.
One day, though, he was feeling particularly restless. He laid among the flowers, and stared up at them with wide yellow-and-red eyes. He could not find sleep, nor did he find himself wanting to.
He raised a shaky hand, and lifted it to a single yellow flower. He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling as he stroked it. It was soft, so soft. So silky. It felt like her mane; he remembered running a paw through her mane; tussling it, and laughing good-naturedly at some joke he'd invented. How long ago that seemed, how long...
The smell of the flower filled his nose; warm fragrance, like honey. That's what she had smelled like. If not for this flower, he was sure that he might have forgotten that. He couldn't forget anything, though. He just couldn't, he just couldn't. He had to remember everything about her, no matter how many years went by.
He opened his eyes, swallowing hard. Dismay filled his face immediately, and his whole face, and ears, drooped.
He'd made a mistake; caressed the flower with his talon carelessly. He just hadn't been thinking. His sharp claws had torn the flower to shreds; it shuddered in the gentle breeze, seeming to taunt him.
'Why, why? Why did you do this to me?' the flower's broken remains seemed to whisper. 'You took care of me, I believed in you...why Discord, why?'
The draconequus broke down.
Loud sobs filled the quiet Spring morning, breaking the silence which had been his own. Hot tears streamed down his muzzle, and he was so far in his misery that he didn't even think to curse himself for being sappy, or sentimental.
He'd broken her; not the first time, but again; and it was too much for him to bear.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! No coarse language, flaming and/or cursing in the comments, please. 
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DON'T WORRY IT WILL GROW BACK DISCORD STAP CRYING! WHY IS THIS SO SAD?!
...
Poor Flutters...
My first thought - Hey! Discord is Little Prince! (from book Petit Prince). He take care of his flower, like Discord. He love her, but he realized it when he lost her.
Good job, like some story for kids.
Why would you write something like this?! *loud sobs heard in the distance*
Good job though
5899001
5899109
5899221
Mwhahahaaha!
5899221
Seriously though, Discord's immortality (or extreme long-livedness) is always looming. He's bound to outlive the Main 6 unless they get extended lifespans from the Elements of Harmony. Twilight's immortality is questionable. (Which is one main reason I ship him romantically with Celestia; their lifespans are probably pretty comparable)
5899161
Oh, I love that book! It's been so long since I read it. And thank you.
Very nice dude, pretty emotional. Loved it.
So beautiful and well planned, esp. when Spike got Twilight's flower.
Plot twist: Discord killed them by turning the Mane 6 into flowers to always have them by his side.
That was dark.
5899244 The thing is though, Discord's never been confirmed immortal. It's always just assumed that since he's so powerful, he must be immortal. For all we know, the natural lifespan of draconequis is five years. I did like the story.
5899465
Thank you
5899580
Thanks
Wow...that is dark. That sounds like a horror fic.
Though, technically, they wouldn't be dead since plants are living...
5899643
Hm, you make a good point. I suppose that we don't really know anything concrete unless the show decided to explore Discord's mortality a bit, which is kind of unlikely but still possible. I guess that I like saying that he is immortal/has a very long lifespan because he got turned to stone for a thousand years and I hate to think that he's spent most of his life turned into stone.
5899683 I wouldn't say it's that unlikely they'll explore his mortality, or give more explanation as a side note at least, actually; Hasbro said no to comic about Discord's origins in the villain comic series, and the editor doing them in an interview said that in his experience that typically happens when the company already has other plans for the character.
I prefer thinking that the stone-state was hibernation state of sorts myself, since the idea that anyone would have to spend that much time in a sort of solitary confinement is probably the worst torture there is.
5899787
I'd absolutely love to see an episode or comic focusing on Discord's origins. And while I do personally find it unlikely that they would make it front and center (The show seems to stray away from subjects like death and mortality, or it has in the past with the scant explanation on AJ's parents. The show gets darker with every season, though, so who knows), you're right in that there's a very good chance that it could be mentioned as more of a side note. (That is, his mortality)
I'd like to think that, too, and I agree on the fact that it really does sound horrific, but a line from Discord in Keep Calm and Flutter On kind of sticks out to me:
So, Discord has openly admitted that he was at least conscious enough while being imprisoned to have heard the ponies speak. I'm of the opinion that Discord is a pretty mentally scarred from his imprisonment and hides the fact from others. He isn't really one to dwell on deep subjects too often (unless in drastic situations like in Twilight's Kingdom), after all. I kind of borrow my headcanon about this from the fic "Light Rain".
Wut...
Did he...? Did he...
Did he turn them all into flowers? What the hay!
5900407
Nooo!
They all...er...died of natural causes, and Discord is only trying to keep their memory alive.
5899244 We don't really know if he is as long living as Celestia, he might have just born few dozen years before attacking Equestria. So he might have a lifespan of the mane6. And if he's not and he is immortal, then he will outlive Celestia anyway, since she gets older in canon (in The Journal she was a teenager, now she is acting like 30+) so the age thing shoudn't be a reason to ship him with anyone.
5900415 u bein sarcastic or wut?
5900582
I respect your opinion. I think that's a good point. I just interpret canon a bit differently. And age isn't the only reason I ship Celesticord, but it is one reason.
Everyone has their own shipping opinions, and that's okay.
5901268
No, I wasn't being sarcastic.
5901314
Hehe, thanks.
Poor Discord! What a sweet, yet sad, yet beautiful story.
5902194
Thank you!
5899244
When you think about it, MLP:FiM is pretty dark!
Bahhh, I'm a bit sad now. I liked the description of the flowers and what made them special, that was a nice little touch. But then it got to the end and just "uuuuugh."
Good work.
Wow, what a powerful and thoughtful story. It pulls on the heart strings and then some. Such a sad, yet happy story at the same time. I enjoy it when authors can pull multiple emotions out of one person.
thanks again for the great, and I mean great, read.
5900407
He made flowers in their honor that reflected their appearance and personality.... They're all dead from time.
5902242 Of course!
5902504
Yeah, it is.
And thank you for posting that song! I really like it.
5902815
Hehe, well, the objective was completed. The story gave you feels, just as I intended.
5902885
Thank you so much!
5903139 oh, okay.
Right in the feels
Ow. That hurt to read. But that was because of the sadness, not the quality of writing, which is pretty high.
Kinda on the fence about the ending though. I think I would have liked it as just a metaphor and not "just" flowers made in the memory of friends. It's good either way. Well done.
Because you never mentioned other character's names (plus a few other wording choices), I get the feeling that this is sometime after the mane 6 have passed on.
Very interesting. I like it.
novembrepleut.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/yougotmeop-rightinthefeels_07cd144148021d7b97d3cf41a60ffb3a.jpg
This was heartbreaking.
The way you wrote this was brilliant. Instead of outright telling us what happened, you let us figure it out for ourselves. Never stating the obvious, only implying. The fact that you never mention any of the other characters' names, only using phrases such as "her" or "the dragon", really give this sense of isolation for Discord. He's alone. He's lost the only individuals he could ever truly call "friend", and this is the only way he can keep their memory alive. These aren't just flowers to him. To him, they're the closest he'll ever get to seeing "them" alive again.
It's a whole new kind of chaos for Discord: emotional chaos.
Have a like, you've earned it.
... This is a story taking place in the future of Equestria, isn't it? Where the Mane Six have long since passed away, leaving those closest to deal with the loss.
Oh. Oh.
One of the best stories I have ever read... Right in the feels.
(First story I have ever favourited)
5903575 Want to have a conversation?
Hate to the party pooper after everyone else is praising it, but... eh. This is by no measure a bad story, but it didn't wow me.
From the summary I correctly had the story pegged, "six flowers" makes it pretty obvious what the symbolism is, and it didn't take long from there and surmise Discord had created these flowers in memorium of the Mane Six. The story itself focuses on describing what the flowers are like, and it's kinda sappy how they mirror the Mane Six so exactly they may as well have their faces in the middle. Pinkie's smells like cupcakes, Applejack's grows fruit in its roots, etc. The descriptions are very straightforward and didn't evoke any emotion from me, since again I already got the symbolism once you said there were six flowers, this was just making the symbolism overt.
I did like the nod to Spike with Twilight's flower, though. And the ending is strong, with Discord remembering Fluttershy and then accidentally destroying her flower. It makes me wonder if he did something to Fluttershy in the past, or if in a dark twist, he turned the Mane Six into flowers to keep them with him forever. But that is a good aspect of a story, to keep the reader guessing and curious.
Again, not a bad story. I just feel the first half was dull with the obvious symbolism of the flowers and the straightforward explanations of that symbolism. Some more emotion from Discord in this segment would have made it stronger, or some of his thoughts on how he cares for and treats the flowers.
Write "Six Weeds" next, for the background six!
As a whole, very well done. A lot of the points were pretty obvious, as was the twist at the end, but it didn't detract from it all.
Thumbs up and keep the good work coming.
I didn't get what the flowers meant until the very end. Not until the line where he had his paw or whatever in her hair.
5905527
Well, I'm just kind of a descriptive writer, so I apologize that my descriptiveness took away some of the charm for you. Plus Discord is so powerful that the flowers being so similar to the Mane 6 isn't really a stretch, especially considering how thoroughly he's grieving them. If he wanted to, I'm sure he could recreate the Mane 6 themselves, but I have a feeling that they wouldn't feel and act like a real pony would; they'd just be carbon copies, lifeless and unanimated. He really couldn't make them.
I'm sorry if the memorium thing was a bit too obvious, but that was really the point of the story for me; Discord trying to keep the Mane 6's memory alive.
I'm glad that you noticed those little things I added in about Spike's flower and Discord's guilt. There was a gentle hint there that Discord had done something to Fluttershy by accident or that he was unable to save her from an accident, or just from death itself. It's supposed to be open, though, so you can interpret it as being anything you want it to be.
Thank you for your constructive review, and I appreciate your thoughts on how it could have been better.
5905825
Thank you.
5905813
Haha, that would be funny.
5905389
What would you like to talk about?
5905388
5904987
Thank you!
5905041
5904800
Eeyup.
5905023
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it.
5904986
5904265
*insert evil laughter here*
5904338
Thank you! What kind of metaphor do you have in mind? I don't quite understand. You mean, you would have liked the flowers to have been a metaphor for how Discord percieved them?
Flowershy... I wonder if she'd be happy being a flower or if she'd be disappointed that she wasn't a tree.
This was pretty interesting. I had no idea this was the future or a memorial until the end. I thought it was "present day" with the mane 6 around, then when he started meeting how the flower was just like fluttrshy did I realize this was a future thing. Then that made more sense, and sadness. Spike part noted too.
Odd idea: With the mane 6 gone, we needed a new elements of harmony. Insert some contrived plotline, and then it seems discords flowers transform into the new elements of harmony, to be welded by the new bearers. Imagine discords plight then? Like post of him knows they'd want this, part of him grieving the loss of his most mementos of his dear friends. His first. That'd be epic and feelsy, if someone could pull it off.
rs2img.memecdn.com/Dont-let-them-see_c_106158.jpg
Wow, that was interesting! I was completely lost in the vivid imagery. The in-depth descriptors of each flower was fantastic. I hadn't even considered it being a future story until after the yellow flower. Amazing stuff. Absolutely love it.
This was depressing ;w;
But nice, I loved it.
Nice work.
5906091
Haha, I love that
5906153
Thanks, I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
Well, at the moment, the Elements of Harmony are still in the Tree of Harmony, though I suppose that could change in the future.
5906787
Thank you so much, I'm glad that you enjoyed it!
5906807
Hehe, thanks.
5905891 PM me with a question and we can talk about nothing, something, and/or everything!
Waiting until midway through to reveal how long it had been worked so well. I was feeling all warm and fuzzy and then felt like I was stabbed.
5907124 Still a little rusty on that detail. I mean it opened the box and made them go super saiyin, before vomiting a crystal castle later on. So is the tree of harmony still it's own thing? I figured at that point the bearers were sort of bestowed the powers of harmony themselves.
You just made me realize I don't know how exactly they'd summon the evil cleansing rainbow of harmony after the Tirek incident...hmm. So much to think about.
5906091
My sides have left my ribcage
*Deep Breath*
HolyCrudsc***youmotherofallcliffhangersWhydidyoudothistomeomigoshIwasalreadysadthanksalot.
5907124
You're quite welcome ^r^