Forward

by GivingSpider

Chapter 3

Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours. The torturous passage of time was similar to the pace he experienced when he was locked in stone. There was an entire world carrying on while all he could do was sit and think. He couldn’t be part of it and there was nothing he could do about it.

Well there were a lot of things he could do but the safety of his mate and child were more important to Discord than satisfying himself. He could use his power to just make the birth happen. He could turn into a pony and impersonate a doctor. He could put himself into a state of hibernation and just sleep until it was over. Discord had many other fevered ideas that roamed into his mind on how to just make the day fast forward to the ideal conclusion but for every scheme he could think of he could conjure two reasons for why he shouldn’t interfere.

The most noteworthy one being that there was no good way to predict how residual energy from any spell he cast would affect their child. With the events that made up the afternoon it was painfully obvious that their child had inherited a portion of his power. The sounds and sights that only he seemed to see and the fact that she somehow come into some wealth before being born were firm reminders that he needed to show restraint.

No matter how badly he wanted to be in the room with her.

For the first time in a long time Discord felt truly helpless; and he didn’t care for it very much.

The Draconequus paced down the hall to the end and turned around to trek back. At the opposite end of the hall he turned and restarted his mindless migration. Sometimes he stopped at the door that kept him from his wife and child. Sometimes he knelt down to look through a keyhole only to give up upon rediscovering that there was no keyhole to peek through. He sometimes let one of his eyes fall to the floor to look under the crack of the door then gave up when he couldn’t really see anything. On occasion Discord considered making the door transparent so he could see but as soon as he reached for his power he was reminded of how loose his grip always was.

For the first time in his life he cursed the nature of his magic for being whimsical and free; and then laughed at the irony that the former Master of Chaos had shunned a form of freedom.

Another trip down the hall and another trip back to the other end. Somepony had brought a chair to the hall facing the door that blocked him from witnessing a miracle of nature. He never used it. Discord already knew that after half a minute he would be fidgeting uncomfortably and making the wait worse for himself. If anything he interpreted the chair as a cruel joke that came only because there was an unwritten promise against retaliation. Sitting and waiting was not a talent he was known for. Granted the past few months offered a list of exceptions but today was different. Back then waiting was a choice that he had made. Today, in a hallway of a hospital the choice was made for him. He would have to wait just a little longer.

Or a few hours longer. Discord really didn’t have any real idea as to how long labor normally took. The hallway didn’t have any clock he could consult. There was no window from where he could take note of the sun’s position. He had no way of measuring how long he had been in the hall. For all he knew it could have only been ten minutes.

Discord decided to keep count of how many times he traced the hall from one end to the other and got bored of it when he reached the twenty third lap. He knelt down to peek through the keyhole and was thwarted by the fact that there still wasn’t one. Another journey down the hall and back around again. Another pause at the door. Another obscene hand gesture for the chair. Another trip to the end of the hallway.

Abruptly the stopped walking at the sound of the door opening. He didn’t take note about what the ponies coming out looked like. He didn’t even remember how many even went in there. With a single step that more resembled a quick leap he planted himself near the open door and one of the doctors decided to say something to him.

“There were a lot of concerns since you’re not a pony; but everything went fine. Would you like to go in?”

Without a word Discord made his way into the room. He didn’t take note of how big it was. He didn’t look to the window to check the time. He didn’t notice the color of the walls or the floor. All he cared about was the figure resting in a simple hospital bed near the window. All he cared about was the yellow Pegasus with the pink mane. All he cared about was the tiny bundle cradled in her fore hooves. He slowly made his way to the side of the bed and looked at his wife. She appeared to be exhausted beyond measure and yet at peace. Her smile made the weight of the day just fall out of existence. The way she looked down at what she was holding made him forget countless hours of waiting for this day to come. His eyes ventured to the small figure securely wrapped in a pink blanket. He saw the tiny face and mane of their child. Discord saw a newborn filly that he had seen before, but for the first time she was really in front of her.

Fluttershy offered Discord a glance and slowly inched the newborn towards him. She didn’t seem to have the strength to speak but the message was clear.

Discord carefully took their newest family member into his arms and gazed down upon what he saw. He stood dazed and continued to look at what he was holding.

“We did it” Fluttershy half whispered. “We did it Dizzy.”

Tears were inevitable for the Draconequus now.

“Well to be fair, you did most of the work. You carried her in you for months…and you brought her into the world” Discord choked out as his vision grew increasingly obstructed by liquid joy. “Our little filly…our precious daughter…”

Discord paused as he briefly considered a curious notion.

“It’s a daughter right?”

Fluttershy’s soft laugh was all the answer he needed. He continued to look down upon the sleeping newborn. He carefully moved his paw and delicately ran a digit though her unique purple mane with white swirled streaks. He slowly brought her back down to Fluttershy and carefully laid down next to her and found himself once again stunned at what he was seeing.

“I know what you’re thinking Dizzy” The gentle mare softly said. “It’s ok with me.”

Another drop of joy escaped him as he once again.

“Are you sure Fluttershy? You did the hardest parts, you can pick the name if you want.”

“We both know what we’re naming our first child.”

Discord took out his eyes and dried them on his chest before setting them back in.

“Welcome to the world Screwball…”

Discord’s heart skipped a beat when their daughter opened her eyes. She looked right at them and uttered an incomprehensible syllable.

Discord had never heard something so precious in his life. Judging by Fluttershy’s excited breath she had reached the same conclusion. Fluttershy slowly brought the filly just a bit closer to them and Discord carefully ran his paw across the infant’s mane. Little Screwball looked at them as if she already somehow knew them. Discord was very familiar with what his imagination spawned but for the first time he was truly bonding with his daughter.

“So…who won the bet that the town had going on?” Fluttershy quietly asked as she leaned her weight into Discord’s side.

“You’ll never guess who it was.”

“Looks like we did then.” She replied with a soft grin. “I was a little sneaky and put her name in since we weren’t allowed to guess.”

Discord blinked. He liked it more when he believed that his daughter had somehow done it; but he accepted the reality. He had their daughter in front of them, nothing else mattered. The time, weather, impending hospital bill, none of it was important. All that he cared about was in the room with him. Discord softly kissed his wife’s head and she slowly gave Screwball back to him. His eyes went wide as a curious notion crashed around his mind.

“Wait…you called her our first child.”

Fluttershy’s relaxed breath, neutral expression and closed eyes were all the answer he got. He adjusted himself a bit and she turned onto her side and wrapped a foreleg around him. He looked down at their little miracle and saw that she also had fallen asleep. Discord glanced at the window and was greeted by the moon. He never noticed that it was up. He carefully turned the wrapped filly to face the celestial body.

“I’m telling you before I tell your sister because you’re the first convenient pony I can possibly show off to. Don’t let it get to your head.”

For a brief moment he swore that a lone sun ray crept over the horizon. For the first time in a long time a slightly sinister grin came over Discord. He looked down at his sleeping daughter and shared what came into his head.

“There’s a good chance that you got some of my power little one; and that means that Princess Celestia might insist on enrolling you into her school for gifted Unicorns to keep two or three eyes on you.”

Discord softly rocked the infant as he went on.

“You are going to have so much fun and give her so many grey hairs.”

Comments

[taterforlife]

This was precious because the daughter of his mind--which probably pained him because he wanted her to be real--is now actually real. I could see how that would bring even the Lord of Chaos to tears.

And I think that, if Discord had told Fluttershy about this imaginary daughter and what he had named her, then it would make sense for Fluttershy to agree on that name. Because otherwise, I feel like Fluttershy would feel that was a mean name and would feel bad about it. But here it's got symbolism...

Beautiful writing, my friend.

[David Goliath]

“There’s a good chance that you got some of my power little one; and that means that Princess Celestia might insist on enrolling you into her school for gifted Unicorns to keep two or three eyes on you.”
Discord softly rocked the infant as he went on.
“You are going to have so much fun and give her so many grey hairs.”

Oh, yes please!

[Dr midnight]

i wish there was a sequel to this i want to see if there are more children.

[Novalis14]

This was brilliant and well written. Great premise and great execution. One question, did anyone else find the phantom screwball a tad creepy?

[Featherclaw]

I'm a bit confused... who is screwball's sister?

[Fizzyberries302]

7516412
Screwloose, go read the sequel

[skinst]

Loved this one <3 great work!!

[Evergreen_The_Horse]

Ugh god, it's so cute. Like, Fluttershy is my favorite out of the six, in fact I'd go as far to say I actually am in love her. And seeing her find happiness in any form just happily tears me up. Especially with Fluttercord, this ship seems so believable and sweet.
Really, really cute. Loved it!

[LunaJack]

I enjoyed reading this. One of your non-clop works. I think it captures the emotions perfectly.