The Promise
It was well past midnight when he approached the cabin. It was much as he remembered it. A vegetable garden to one side, a lovely thatched roof that was in dire need of a new coat of paint, and the moon shining in full cast long shadows down the dirt path. The wanderer was dressed in a heavy-stained cloak, now brown where it had once been green. About his neck he wore a pendant of metal butterflies specially made by the best smith Canterlot could afford. In one hand he held a walking stick made of simple pine.
The wanderer smiled to himself as he remembered the good memories he held of this place. Tea and talks it had mostly been. He would visit her five friends on occasion, and he counted them all as friends of his own but the pink mane one had been different. It was she who had done the impossible. She had changed the very nature of a god.
The stranger removed his hood as he came closer, with one clawed hand he threw down his walking stick as he strode to the door, the other hand froze as it clutched over the knob, pausing for the briefest of moments before turning the knob and going inside.
The house lay as dark and silent as a tomb and with the drapes having been drawn it took a moment for the wanderer to notice the bed where she sat.
"Its nice to see you again Discord." Fluttershy said as she leaned up from where she had been laying on the bed in the far corner. Pity you had to see me like this. Let me light the candle." As the candle cast its light about the room Discord saw her and momentarily shut his eyes. Even with the great boon of magic water he had acquired for the pegasus at great cost, not even elixir of life could stop death forever and he could tell at a glance that Fluttershy was close to meeting hers.
Her skin had sagged, her coat had lost so much of its beautiful color it now looked an ashen grey rather than the beautiful yellow sunshine it had been. As she struggled up he could hear her bones creak like the boards of an old ship. Her face was gaunt, lined with so many wrinkles it resembled a withered tree bent by the elements. And yet her eyes were still beautiful having lost none of their shine, and kindness still radiated from them.
"You came straight here like I instructed?" she asked. "Yes. I came without meeting another soul. But I did see some of the monuments to you and your friends. You live as a god in their stories and in that strange religion that has sprung up. The Church Magic isnt that its name?" Named for Twilight Sparkle I expect. Celestia knows she saved the world enough times as it was."
Fluttershy smiled warmly at her old friend for a moment. "Actually its named for all of them. Our names have gone from fact, to legend, to myth. But where are my manners? Would you like some tea? I remember you liking tea. Angel loved..." Pausing she glanced out the window where next to the garden there were rows upon rows of graves all facing away from the cottage toward the great Everfree forest. All except one grave. A small meticulously kept one, always cleaned and with flowers placed before it. It bore no inscription. Simply a carving of a bunny smiling and eating a carrot.
With a sigh Fluttershy got out of bed and put the kettle on, preparing the tea. She then slowly moved over to a chair she had placed by her bed and with great difficulty managed to hoist herself into it.
"But enough of the past lets talk about the future and what you found." she said. "Is it real? Does Hell exist or is there nothing beyond Tartarus? What of the other two realms? " Discord cast his head down, the dagger of fear momentarily chilling him as he remembered the ponies, and things he had seen in the inferno. "I dont know if Purgatory or Paradise exist, but Hell itself is very real just as you saw."
Fluttershy was silent for a time before speaking again. "Then that is where they have taken the Books of Magic. You and the others need to retrieve them and make sure it they brought back to Equestria. If not I fear war is again on the horizon." Discord saw her eyes dart very quickly to an envelope on the table.
"Take the envelope and follow the instructions inside it. Seek the three ponies in Canterlot who will aid you in Tartarus and bring the books back to Equestria at all costs. I saw war in my lifetime and I am happy I no longer have to see it a second time." With this she laid back in the chair and was silent for a moment before smiling at Discord. Discord looked at her before saying. "You've grown far wiser and far less shy than when we last meet. I will of course do as you say. Its funny that it is the God of Chaos whom will lead reason and order back into the world... You have my promise."
At this Fluttershy smiled closed her eyes and slept the sleep eternal. Discord stayed lost in thought for but a moment before rising, turning off the kettle, and walking outside where a shovel leaned against the cottage wall. Taking the implement in hand he walked next to Angel the bunnies grave and next to it dug another. He then entered the house took the body of whom had been his best friend and weeping silently proceeded to bury her.
But something still wasn't quite right. Realizing what it was at last Discord walked to where a large rock lay and began to carve into it with his claws. Hours passed and many failed attempts before the headstone was finally perfect. He lifted it and put it in the newly dug ground.
With that he changed his shape to that of a blue-green unicorn mare, put on his ashen cloak and took up his cane once more and began walking in the direction of Canterlot. He had only gone a few steps when he paused a moment. Magic flowed from his horn and a single tear fell from his check as it hit the ground. Moonlight shone down on the now deserted cottage, illuminating the graves of two friends who would be together even in death. On one was an etching of a bunny now being feed by a yellow pegasus in the full bloomof her youth. On the other was single a single sentence. "An Act of Kindness Is Never Wasted."