//------------------------------//
// Time stays, we go 
// Story: Time stays, we go 
// by flutteredchaos 
//------------------------------//

	"Sister?" The alicorn princess called. Luna turned to face her sister, jumping at the sight of her. Her eyes were tired and worried, and she seemed to have been crying. Before she could ask, her sister lifted her hoof. "Do not ask, I am fine. Discord however..." She trailed off. 
"She has passed." Luna concluded. Princess Celestia only nodded  grimly. "How is he taking it?" 
"Not well..." Celestia admitted. "She passed some nights ago, I only recently got here because I had matters to attend to in Manehattin." Luna sighed and hugged her sister swiftly. "Discord is a mess. If only she were here... I...I fear he may never find joy again." Celestia continued.
"How are her friends?" 
"They're devastated, but they're keeping it together. Twilight is planning the funeral." 
"All these years...we knew it was coming, but..." Luna murmured, not bothering to finish the sentence. The two hugged again, feeling much grief over the loss of a friend.

He paced around, again and again. Finally, he collapsed onto the couch in a fit of sobs. Discord was not one for crying, he never had been- but anyone would cry given the circumstances. Seventy-two long years of friendship and love, gone in an instant. He thought back to the night he held her hoof and said goodbye. 

"Discord..." She whispered almost inaudibly. 
"Yes my dear, I'm right here." He cooed, holding her hoof sternly. She coughed slightly, not having the energy to cover her mouth. 
"Promise me..." She began, caressing his paw. "Promise me you'll move on...promise me you'll allow yourself happiness..." He paused, unsure if he could make such a promise. He nodded uncertainly. Smiling tightly, she sat up as much as she could and kissed him. He ignored the hot tears that threatened to fall, as he felt her hoof loosening around his paw. 
"Fluttershy?" He said frantically, watching her head fall back and her eyes flutter shut. "No! Fluttershy please don't go!"
"She's gone, Discord..." Rarity sniffed. Her friends stood, watching them, having already said their goodbyes. 
"She can't be!" He cried. Rarity and Applejack exchanged solemn glances, their hearts heavy with dismay. 
"I asked Princess Celestia to move the body." Coughed Twilight. His lip trembled, his eyes drifting to her face, soft and peaceful, unlike before. He could tell she was suffering, she was holding on for him. She was ready to go long ago. 


His body began to shake. He was unsure of what to do, he had no place in this home anymore. It was filled with her. Everywhere he looked, he saw her. It was filled with their memories. So many years ago, they fell in love over the summer, a few years after they became friends. 

He approached her cottage slowly, watching her giggle with the animals she regarded more as family than friends. She flew down to a squirrel and offered him an acorn.
"Fluttershy, can I speak to you for a moment?" He asked nervously. 
"Of course." She said sweetly,turning away from the animal she was petting and smiling amiably at him. 
"Heh," He choked. He didn't understand why he was so nervous, he was the lord of chaos for Celestia's sake! 'Perhaps because you're afraid she'll reject you and your friendship will be ruined', his subconscious pointed out. He shook his head and looked at her, her teal eyes staring up at him curiously. "Well er...um...seeing as how we've been such good friends for a while now...um- well-" He paused as he heard her snickering. He glanced down to see her giggling. "And just what is so funny?" He put his hands on his hips and pouted. She rolled her eyes and flew up to meet him, and pressed her lips to his. He gasped at the sudden- and unexpected- action and willed himself to shut his eyes. He felt fireworks going off in his head, only to actually hear fireworks launching. They broke apart to look up and see them popping in the sky. He realized he must have accidentally conjured them as a response to their kiss.
"Oops." He mustered up a smile which broke into a laugh when he heard her giggle. "Will you be my marefriend?" 
"Yes." She smiled.

He sighed at the memory. It was so long ago, he never thought about the future. He never once considered the fact that he was immortal and she was not. Not until their honey moon, that is. 

	"Fluttershy..." He murmured. She glanced at him from under the sheets, her cheeks flushed. "What are you thinking about?" Her eyes darted away. 
"What will become of us...when I'm old and you're still..." She trailed off. He eyed her curiously. "Will you still love me? Even when I'm not young and you don't think i'm pretty anymore?" 
"First of all," He sat up. "I will always think you're pretty." He sighed, pushing a strand of her pink mane out of her face. A sad smile appeared on her lips. "And second of all...I will always love you." He kissed her and she sighed. 
"I love you." She whispered. He kissed her again. "I love you." She repeated. 
"I love you." He whispered back and kissed her again.

He couldn't stay in the cottage anymore! They shared memories everywhere! He couldn't sleep in their bed, he couldn't sit on their couch without being reminded of her. His stomach growled hungrily, reminding him that though he was immortal, he still needed to eat. His eyes darted to the kitchen, and darted away. He tried to block it out, but it came anyway. 

"Discord, what are you doing, it's four in the morning!" She cried as she came down the stairs. He turned around, caught red handed. His loud grumbling and the sounds of pots and pans clanging had woken her up. She glanced behind him and saw a recipe book and bowls of cake mix. "Dissy?" She said. He sighed.
"I wanted to surprise you." He grabbed the cookbook and glared at it. "Turns out i'm not all that good at baking. All these years whenever I got hungry I just made something appear." 
"Why didn't you make a cake appear?" She giggled slightly, wiping the flour from his cheek. He smiled. 
"I wanted your birthday to be extra special, magic free." She rolled her eyes with a laugh, and hugged him. 
"It already is." She murmured into his chest. 	
"Happy birthday." 


"This has to stop." He put his paw and claw over his ears, as if that would stop the memories from flowing. It didn't, and one by one they came. 

The doctor sighed heavily, he hated giving this type of news. He sat the couple down with a sympathetic smile. The mare was grinning, rubbing her large stomach gently. He sighed and gave them the results.
Fluttershy sat in a chair, crying. He felt tears prick at his eyes, watching his wife cry had to be one of the hardest things to do.
"I'm sorry." He said hoarsely, tightening his hold on her hoof. She continued to sob. 
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. Your body is just incapable of carrying and passing a draconequus baby." One nurse attempted to soothe her. "You didn't do anything wrong." This didn't stop her tears. 

He thought of their friends, checking in on him every now and then. His eyes wandered around the room, not bothering to object when he began to see balloons decorating it. 

		"Happy birthday!" The group cried in unison, all clapping. The unicorn colt began to rip open his presents. He grabbed one from Fluttershy and Discord and began to tear the paper.
"Now Jewels!" Rarity called. The white blue haired unicorn glanced up at his mother with large green eyes. "What did I teach you?" The colt paused for a moment, before gasping. 
"Oh yeah!" He grinned. "Thanks aunt Fluttershy! Thanks uncle Discord!" He gave them a toothy grin. 
"You're welcome." Fluttershy giggled slightly at the adorable colt. She sat on the couch, wrapped in her husbands arms. She agreed to have the young pony's birthday party at her cottage because he had a fascination with animals. Rarity's daughter Scarlet joined her brother, helping him open his presents. Fluttershy was smiling at the adorable foals when her smile faded slightly. Discord noticed the sad look gleaming in her eye and squeezed her hoof. She smiled and kissed him gently.
"Ewww!" The foals called in unison. Fluttershy pulled away and giggled sheepishly. 
"I agree, get a room." Rainbowdash teased. Discord rolled his eyes and tightened his arms around Fluttershy. She rested her head on his shoulder, her sadness forgotten.

"Get out of my head." he whispered.
"Papa?" A pony whispered, poking it's head through the door. He whirled around to see his daughter, Honey Leaf staring at him sadly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Fluttershy mumbled anxiously. 
"Are you having second thoughts, my dear?" He teased. 
"No! I mean...no...I'm just nervous." 
"So am I." He admitted. Suddenly, a kind looking stallion cleared his throat. 
"Are you ready to meet your daughter?" He asked sweetly. Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded, taking Discord's paw in her hoof. He smiled gingerly at her, giving her a nod of encouragement as they walked into a large room. They saw a shy looking filly staring at the ground. She was cowering behind her brown mane, her lips trembling. 
"Remind you of anyone?" Discord chided with a smirk. Fluttershy nudged him slightly and smiled. The filly glanced up at them with wide brown eyes. She had a pale yellow coat, her tail matching her mane and bearing a green stripe. She wore a green bow in her mane. 
"Hello Honey Leaf." Fluttershy cooed. "I'm Fluttershy and this is Discord." Honey Leaf stared at them for a while, and slowly, began to smile. Fluttershy and Discord exchanged a glance, grins growing on their faces. 

"Honey Leaf?" He choked. 
"I just learned the news." She cried, running to him. He hugged her gently, hearing her cry softly into his chest. "Papa, i'm sorry I wasn't here." She sniffed. 
"We already forgave you." He whispered, sighing as the memory invaded his mind. 

"Honey don't you dare leave this house!" Discord yelled, snaking his way down the stairs. Fluttershy followed frantically, her hoof on his arm. 
"Now, Honey Leaf, please, can't we talk ab-" She tried.
"No! I'm so sick of this stupid place." Honey Leaf screamed, causing her mother to jump. 
"Don't talk to your mother that way!" Discord yelled again. 
"Discord please-" 
"She's not even my real mother." Fluttershy felt as though she had been slapped. "And you're not my father. So just leave me alone!" She continued. With that, the young mare marched out and slammed the door. He stood with his mouth open, unsure of what to say. Beside him, Fluttershy began to cry. He pulled her close, caressing her mane. 
"Don't cry- please don't cry. She'll come home." 

"Where did you go?" He asked when they parted. 
"I've been in Fillydelphia with some friends. Aunt Twilight sent me a letter and I hopped on a train as fast as I could." She said. He sighed and sat down. "I'm sorry for what I said." She chimed after a while of silence. "You're my real father...and she's my real mother." 
"Fluttershy knew you didn't mean it-we both did." He assured. "It's okay." He glanced up at her, knowing Fluttershy would be proud, despite what happened. 

"You look beautiful, my dear." Discord cooed, lifting her into his arms. The filly giggled, and twirled around in her dress when he released her. "You know, it was at The Grand Galloping Gala that I realized I was in love with your mother. But don't tell her that." He confided and chuckled when the young pony made a zipping motion over her lips.The sound of someone clearing their throat startled them. 
"Don't tell me what?" Fluttershy asked. He grinned and moved over to her, wrapping his arm around her. 
"Papa fell in love with you at the Grand Galloping Gala!" Honey Leaf piped. He sighed and smacked his palm to his forehead. Fluttershy looked at him questioningly. 
"You remember that year with Tree-Hugger?" He asked. Fluttershy chuckled. 
"I remember." She moved forward and knelt down to face her daughter. "Your papa threatened to send my friend to another dimension." The filly giggled. Discord rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, simpering when his wife gave him a loving kiss.

They attended the funeral, ignoring the tiring dismay eating at their hearts. Honey Leaf gave him a small hug before leaving to return to her home in Fillydelphia, promising to visit soon. 
"I love you," He whispered in the empty room. There was nobody there, all of attendants had left hours ago. "I love you," He repeated to the casket. "Come back..."
"Discord," A familiar voice startled him. Twilight Sparkle stood behind him, a look of sympathy in her eye. She was still young, her Alicorn title making her immortal like the other princesses. "We need to leave now." She said softly. His eyes dropped back to the casket. 
"I can't." He whispered. She sighed grimly and approached him. He stared at the casket, attempting to think of a way- any way- to be free of his grief. Suddenly a light bulb appeared above his head. Twilight eyed it uneasily. 
"Twilight, do you remember long ago when the princesses transferred their magic to you?" 
"Yes," Twilight nodded. "Why do you ask?" 
"Do you think...do you think that could work with me?" 
"I'm not sure..." She pondered. "Your magic is much more, well, chaotic than theirs. Who knows what would happen if I tried to contain it along with my own magic." 
"Could you try?" She stared at him, his tired eyes pleading and sad. She furrowed her brow and nodded, glancing up at him. He took one last tired look at the casket. 
"I'll see you soon, Fluttershy."