Until the End
Discord stood alone on a small hill on the outskirts of Ponyville. A tear fell as he read the inscription of the grave that lay before him:
Fluttershy
The Kindest of Ponies
It had been a little over a month since her passing, but Discord was still extremely saddened over her death. She had been his first true friend, and owed his life to her. If it were not for her, I would no doubt have been turned back into stone. As he continued to gaze down at the tombstone, he found his mind to be flooded with memories
“Go on, say it,” Fluttershy urged.
“Fine,” he agreed with a sigh, “friendship is magic.” As she smiled up at him, he couldn’t help but return the grin. While he would never admit it, he had wanted to say that all along, and Fluttershy had given him the perfect opportunity. Friendship was a beautiful gift that he had never known until he had met her.
As the years went on, he became well acquainted with Fluttershy’s other five friends, but he always remained closest to the kind pony that had reformed him so many years ago under the princess’s request.
Discord paced back and forth in the throne room as Celestia gazed out the window. It was almost time for the sun to set, meaning Luna would soon join Discord in the wait.
“Discord, you are going to wear out that spot of the floor,” Celestia said with a soft smile as she turned to look at him. “What is bothering you?”
Discord sighed and looked down at the floor, “I’m worried about them.” Two days ago, Celestia had summoned Fluttershy and her five friends to Canterlot as the elements of harmony were needed to fight a returned threat in Equestria. It had been over a year since they were last needed, and Discord found himself worrying about their safety. While the ponies were no doubt strong, he worried if a fight would ensue as it did during the royal wedding in Canterlot. While the other five were strong and could easily defend themselves, he knew Fluttershy was easily intimidated making her an easy target. His worries were instantly shattered as the doors burst open and six ponies walked in.
“Welcome,” Celestia greeted with a warm smile as she walked towards the group. Discord floated over and greeted the group. He gave Rainbow Dash a quick hoof bump while Pinkie Pie hopped up and down pausing for a moment to whisper in his ear a simple request. With a effortless snap, a cotton candy cloud appeared and rained down chocolate milk as he gave Fluttershy a warm hug. He was glad to see all of his friends uninjured and only continued to smile as Celestia continued, “I look forward to hearing what happened, but for now you should rest. The six of you are welcome to stay here in the castle for the night.”
He earned a short discrete nod from Rainbow Dash and a giggle by Pinkie Pie that did not go unnoticed by Fluttershy who in turn gave him a knowing look. Instantly he knew what this meant.
Tonight he could have some fun pranking the guards with his two fellow pranksters, as long as they were reasonable and did not cause any real harm.
Time skipped forward once again as he remembered Fluttershy’s wedding day. For a while, it had been hard for the pegasus to meet somepony due to her shyness, along with the fact that it seemed no stallion in their right mind would try to be with a pony who could take them down with the elements of harmony, who had ties to princesses, as well as the captain of the royal guard and the Lord of Chaos himself. Nevertheless, she had found herself a humble stallion that had won the approval of everypony.
Discord loved visiting their cottage, especially after the birth of two foals, and later a total of five grandfoals. Somewhere over the years, he had been adopted into the family and earned the name Uncle Discord.
It was strange to think that only a little over a month ago, Fluttershy went to sleep one night, only to never awaken. He had heard the news from Celestia late in the morning, and his first reaction was not to cry, but to lash out. He wanted to be true to his name and ensue chaos like Equestria had never seen before, but he knew that was not what she would want. Her husband had died the year before, and he found some comfort in knowing that they could be together again.
He allowed one last tear to fall before laying down a single flower on her grave. It was a thorn less yellow rose symbolic of the beautiful friendship they had shared.
“Hey.”
Discord turned towards the soft voice to see Fluttershy standing before him. He blinked twice and realized it was not Fluttershy in front of him, but it might as well have been. A solid white pegasus with a light indigo mane and tail each in a thick braid walked over and stood next to him. It was not her mane, or her single butterfly for a cutiemark that grasped his attention, but her eyes that were identical teal replicas of her grandmother’s.
He had known her since she was born in Cloudesdale, spending every Summer in Ponyville with her grandmother. She had found her special talent with the caretaking of animals, and had moved in with her grandmother after finishing school. Fluttershy’s kind heart and shyness were no doubt present in this pony as well, allowing her to be chosen as the new Element of Kindness after her grandmother’s passing.
“Hello Azura,” Discord greeted with a small smile.
“I could see you from the cottage,” she explained softly, “I was about to feed the animals, would you like to join me?”
“I would be happy to.”