30 Days/ 30 Stories

by Fenton

Hell Is Other Ponies

There were more animals than ponies. It couldn’t have been otherwise.

Everyone was holding the hoof, the claw, or the paw of one of his neighbor. Surrounded by her sister and her niece, Celestia watched the coffin of the kindest pony she had ever known slowly disappear in the ground. Once the eagles were done, Celestia took a step forward and cleared her throat.

“My little ponies and friends.” Her voice quavered. “It is a tragic day where we have to bid our farewells to such an amazing pony. Equestria is suffering a great loss today. Our dear country will never be the same without a certain pegasus wandering its lands, taking care of all the animals without any distinction of race, size or diet. If infinity could be contained, it would have been in Fluttershy’s heart. There was always a free place ready to welcome anyone.”

She stopped and looked at the crowd of sad faces. Her heart tightened, and when she spoke again, her voice lost its firmness.

“I am not the only one saying her goodbye today. Many had the chance to know her, and it’s their memories they will now share with you. We will remember and celebrate the pony who was Fluttershy.”

Celestia stepped down from the rostrum and went back to her place between Luna and Cadance.

A queue quickly formed, with Zephyr Breeze leading it.

“I—I…” he tried. He sighed, then pointed at his impeccable mane. “You see this? This is possible thanks to my dear sister. Without her, I wouldn’t have become a mane artist. With—without her, I wouldn’t have finished my studies.” He sobbed before speaking again. “Without her, I would have stayed a failure. She gave me a chance when everyone had lost faith in me, myself included. Wherever you are, sister, thank you…”

Zephyr left, and Celestia watched Rainbow Dash taking his place. Although time had left its mark on her, especially on her mane where colors had long gone, only leaving shades of grey, Rainbow Dash seemed to be still filled with the same energy and the same liveliness.

“Hi everyone,” she said with a sad smile. “You probably already know me. For those who don’t, well, I’m Rainbow Dash, the former captain of the Wonderbolts, the former Element of Loyalty, and the only known performer of the Sonic Rainboom.” She shook her head and faced the crowd. “And you know what? As awesome as those titles sound to some of you, they don't mean much to me. To be honest, even if I enjoy the attention and the praise coming with them, nothing could compare to Fluttershy’s approval for me. I could have flown to the Moon and back, I could have touched the stars, but if it wasn't something she could be proud of, then it would have meant nothing. If I couldn’t see that spark when she was looking at me, it meant I had failed her and myself.”

She giggled. “It’s funny because the first time I remember this happening, I was just a little filly. I had met Fluttershy at the flight camp. One day —”

Celestia’s attention dropped when she noticed a conspicuous absence among the crowd. Someone who should have stood out even here among the variety of species from every corner of Equestria.

“Sister,” she whispered to Luna. “I need to leave for a moment.”

“It better be a serious matter,” she scolded. “Equestria on the verge of its destruction serious.”

“I’m not sure, but it could be. It won’t be for long.”

Luna nodded and Celestia disappeared among the crowd, looking for the one among all who should have been there.

---

It didn’t take her long to find him. His chaotic magic was pretty easy to follow. He was standing before one of the big ponds of the royal garden, looking at the fish choir singing a melancholic requiem.

“Discord.”

“Princess.” He kept watching the pond.

His voice was flat. Celestia couldn’t remember a moment where his voice had ever been flat. Joyful, angry, mocking and a thousand other adjectives, but never flat.

“Why aren’t you with the others?”

Discord snapped his fingers, and a pebble jumped from the ground to the pool, making a few ricochets before landing on his paw. He clenched his fist around the stone.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I don’t intend to go back to my old ways. Because that’s why you came, right?”

“Yes,” she bluntly said. She heard a crack, and this fishes dove back into the pond. Discord opened his paw, dropping stone shards. “But that’s not the only reason.”

He turned around, wearing a rictus-like smile . Red eyes stared at her. “So, why did you come?” he sneered.

“I came because you’re facing a terrible loss. I can only imagine what you are living right now. What I know, on the other hoof, is that you shouldn’t face it alone.”

“Alone? Alone?” he shouted. “I’ve been alone my whole existence, and I was happy. But because of you and Fluttershy, I discovered that happiness was a lie I was telling myself. You know why I’m not staring at the coffin right now? Because at this very moment, I want to laugh. My situation is so dramatically ironic it makes me laugh.”

“I don’t see you laughing.”

Discord crossed his arms and presented his back to her. “That’s because I'm laughing on the inside.”

He sat down, keeping his arms around his waist, and Celestia noticed he was tightening his grip.

“I know you’re not laughing, Discord. Right now, you are sad for the first time in your existence. And that’s because you cared. You cared about her, and you still care. Mourning is harrowing, that’s why we don’t face it alone. Come with me, and let’s join the others.”

“Please, Celestia,” he whispered. “Don’t tell me you’re believing in this nonsense. That won’t bring her back. If I couldn’t, and that is not for a lack of trying, then I doubt a bunch of memories can do anything at all.”

“You’re right, no one can bring someone back from the dead. But what we can bring back is who she was.”

“What’s the point? I’ve lost my friend. Now leave me, please.”

“Discord…” she tried.

Seeing no response from him, she turned around and started leaving. She had only taken a few steps when she heard his trembling voice.

“I was there you know. I was there at the very end.”

Celestia came closer to him and put a wing on his shoulder.

“I was there, holding her hoof the entire time while she was dying in her bed. And she was smiling the whole time.” He faced her, tears now running on his cheeks. “She was smiling and I don’t know why. Why would she be happy to die? It—it doesn’t make sense. Why was she smiling?”

Celestia didn’t reply. She sat down next to him, and gazed at the beautiful garden surrounding them, while the draconequus was crying, probably for the first time.

Author's Note:

Proofread by the awesome Orbiting Kettle

And that's another character piece. It seems I can't do anything else with the time I have. I'll probably try something else one of this day.

This story is longer than the others, and it's not much of a surprise since I was quite inspired by the prompt. My train of thoughts started from 'why someone would think that suffering comes from the others in world such as Equestria', to 'by losing someone very close, this character not being used to the concept of loss and mourning'. So Discord, being immortal and having discovered friendship only recently was the obvious choice.

Anyway, see you tomorrow.

Comments

[Sunset Sophie]

It was so sad but I loved it! Great story