It's time.
For an immortal creature, the concept of death was practically alien to him. Before, he thought of it as a confusing and unnecessary topic until it became something more haunting. He knew the idea: once a pony gets old, its body stops working, and they get buried under the dirt for the worms to feed.
Yet, the word that still swirled in his head, despite living centuries, was ‘Why?’
Why do they have to leave? Don’t they understand they would be missing all the fun and chaos? He never bothered to explore the idea further. He made sure nopony was fatally harmed during his reign on Equestria, not because of moral reasons but uniquely selfish ones: “Where’s the fun in suffering if I cannot see their reactions when I turn their homes into mazes or have their hooves grow into knots?”
However, that mindset slowly diminished the longer he spent time with these mortals. The longer he spent time with her.
He remembered the first time he encountered the idea of death. That annoying bunny came hopping towards Fluttershy during their weekly tea parties, screaming and flailing his arms like a maniac. Her horrified face never left his mind.
Per her request, they teleported to the sanctuary. Dr. Fauna was treating a wolf on top of a wooden stump. He looked tired and whined a bit. Discord didn’t understand the appeal of taking care of such animals and couldn’t focus any less on what the two mares were talking about. Whatever they spoke, it ended with Fluttershy crying.
Hours passed with Fluttershy comforting the canine the best she could as Dr. Fauna left for her clinic to gather supplies. Discord approached her and asked if the creature was sick. “His back legs stopped working,” was all she said. She explained that Apollo, the mutt’s name, was having trouble getting up by himself, needing almost constant assistance for a year. It wasn’t until now that he could no longer walk on his own.
Discord offered the simple solution of using his magic to make him better, good as new, but Fluttershy refused, leaving him baffled. “I was thinking of asking you someday to fix him with your magic, ever since these symptoms started. But then I thought of other animals that were growing old and sick. Would it really be right to have them live a little longer in such a state?”
He insisted, a bit frustrated that he could easily wipe away all the suffering they could go through. Yet she continues to decline. “Discord, it’s not our right to prolong what nature intended. Someday I have to let go of these animals” The Lord of Chaos, at this point, was growing annoyed at his friend’s persistence. But he was angrier at the fact that he couldn’t understand what she meant. If a creature could live forever, wouldn’t they take it?
In a flash of light, he teleported away to the woodland cottage and grumpily sat down on the couch. Who cares if he didn’t get it, it was her loss anyway. And as he waited for a couple of hours, Fluttershy returned, her mane covering her eyes. “About time you showed up. Felt like several lifetimes passed waiting for you! But whatever, how’s the canine doing-”
Fluttershy buried her face in his chest and felt a shiver upon feeling her tears on his fur. Discord wanted to brag and chastise her for not taking his solution. But seeing her suffering, he couldn’t help himself. He embraced her back. It was the first time he experienced a pony's mourning, and though she moved on and looked back at times with Apollo fondly as with every animal she cared for, that moment was forever drilled into his head.
And it still was. Till the day Fluttershy died.
As the sun made its slow descent for the moon to take over, there was a slight moment of hesitation with every step on the feathery grass. Ever since her funeral, he refused to visit her grave, and no ponies, aside from Discord’s closest friends, have seen the Lord of Chaos out in public again. The cottage that was once alive with chaos stood still on its tiny hill like it was before his second awakening from stone.
After a few more steps, he reached Ponyville’s garden of stones that held the dead. Observing every tomb made him a bit uncomfortable since Discord remembered many of these names, from a kind stallion that once gave him a free hayburger to a sweet filly who loved his Nightmare Night celebrations.
He walked till he reached the center of the graveyard, and in the middle of this cemetery was a large cherry blossom tree and a beautifully crafted stone in front. Discord bowed and sat comfortably over the dirt as he looked up at the carved figure of one of Equestria's greatest heroes. “Good evening, Fluttershy. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
The leaves danced with the wind with each passing blow, “I see you finally became a tree! If you asked me, I would have gladly transformed you into the largest and most precious tree the world has ever seen!” One of the leaves landed on his nose. “Yeah, you would have said no anyway. Always keen on nature, huh, Fluttershy?”
After a short silence, a scroll manifested from Discord’s magic. “In case you were wondering, every single one of our furball friends is doing marvelously! Let’s see,” With his index, he listed down every single animal that was taken care of before she passed, including many new additions. “Little Mary is doing well and that lagomorph of yours is also still kicking, per his insistency. There’s also Diablo, a goose which I took care of myself! She practically sees me as her father and attacks any pony that comes near! You should see their faces when they try to pet her! It’s priceless!”
Tiny pink petals fell before him as his laughter ceased, “Oh, our friends?” Discord's tone became somber, “Well, you probably know this since you are with her at the moment. Applejack died a year later after yours. But she accomplished something extraordinary before she passed!”
A screen appeared before them, showing the last impactful event of the Applejack’s life, “She and all her family plowed the fields once for the Apple Festival, beating an Equestrian record by a landslide! All at the age of 78!” Confetti and celebratory music ranged through the wind.
His tone returned to being somber, “Rainbow Dash didn’t take the news when she passed. She became a bit grumpy and started to alienate herself from others. But something surprising came of it.” He pulled out a photo of himself and an old mare, whose hair once was a rainbow became different shades of grey, “She and I became great friends! Who knew? We have our usual tea parties on Fridays, and on other days she’s teaching at Flight School. Everypony keeps begging her to retire, but she’s refusing and won't allow anybody to tell her what to do. To that, I respect greatly.”
“As for Miss Rarity, her magic became weaker as the years went and no longer suitable to make clothes. However, she became a judge in many of Equestria’s top fashion shows, so her spirit wasn’t completely demolished. She and I never saw eye to eye when it came to our standards of beauty, but she did organize one fashion show based around chaos, so I like to think I won the argument.”
“Pinkie is still kicking. Despite being at the age where your legs should be ropes with knots, she bounces around like she’s still in her 20s. Continues to give smiles and joy to every newcomer in Ponyville, all with her 28 grandchildren.” He began playing with his beard, “Come to think of it, Pinkie Pie’s genes might take over Equestria if we don't do something about it. Eh, what’s the worst that can happen?”
“Twilight, uh, she never really changed. Even with Tia and Lulu’s passing, she remained headstrong and continued ruling the nation. Guess Celestia’s spirit lives on in her, or wherever you're at.” He sighed, “Every day since your death, she always visits the cottage to make sure how I was doing. She asks, ‘Evening, Discord, how was your day.’ I was annoyed at first, but the usual responses became, ‘Fine, my day was fine.’ Is it bad that sometimes I just don’t wish to see her?”
There was silence where no leaf from the tree fell. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to visit, I wanted to see you, but a part of me couldn't. I didn’t know why at the time, but then I knew. I was afraid, afraid that someday I would be alone.” His eyes began to water, “The more I spent time with the others to fill that stupid void in my heart, and knowing deep inside I’ll lose that again. I can’t handle it! I’ve lived for thousands of years, and I've never felt this way before. It’s frustrating!”
As tears fell, so were a couple of scales from his reptilian tail, “So I hope you understand what I’m doing.” Soon his coat started to lose its color, as signs of silver could be seen. “I couldn’t say goodbye to them. I told Spike, and he got angry. So that might have deterred me from spreading the news. Besides, they would probably hate me anyway.”
Wrinkles began emerging around his face finding difficulty in speech, “They wouldn’t understand. If I’m being honest, I believe that for an immortal being like myself, I have a right to make choices like this. This is what Celestia and Luna did, so why can’t I?”
He saw a little pink leaf falling from the tree and reached for it, his arm shaking with every struggle. “Don’t cry, Fluttershy. This isn’t your fault. The endless years of chaos before I met you, that was nothing, a blink in my memory. The time I spent with you and others. That was my life, and I believe I’m ready to see you, so I could tell you something I was too cowardly to say before”
With his weak arms, he buried the leaf in his chest as he closed his eyes. In his mind, he felt the warm hug of a friend who was ready to see him, “Thank you for your love, my dear.”
The morning sun burned brightly the next morning, thanks to the powerful Princess Twilight Sparkle. She looked concerned and worried as she flew through the sky. Discord, an old friend, has been missing for two days. She has looked around every corner and even attempted to explore the unpredictable halls of his home dimension but found nothing.
All her friends were searching for him across Equestria, but what bothered them most was Spike being strangely silent. He looked devastated, and she could hear him crying in his cave whenever she visited. His demands to be left alone only increased her worries.
She was flying and looking through Ponyville once more, spotting what seemed like pink butterflies fluttering. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be pink petals from cherry blossom trees. And there was only one in all of Ponyville.
Upon landing at Ponyville’s cemetery, she sighed in relief as she found her dearest friend resting on Fluttershy’s grave. “Discord,” she signed as her tone became agitated. “Where have you been?! Almost everypony was looking all over for you! Rainbow Dash couldn’t even sleep last night,” with every step, her bewilderment grew on how still his body was, “I know you miss her. All of us too. But you shouldn’t sulk and grieve this alone. You have friends who care… about you…”
Cold and devoid of movement, it was a sight Twilight feared would start becoming common for her to bear. What was once a colorful coat fitting for the Lord of Chaos was saturated into a cold and lifeless husk of grey.
But what truly devastated her more was his face. She remembered what her old mentor taught her before she passed: immortals always have that choice. That decision that someday, if they wish, they could pass on voluntarily. The last idea she would have associated with him.
She was angry and wrecked with grief. First, it was her parents. Then it was her dear brother and sister-in-law. Celestia, Luna, and Fluttershy soon followed. And now it was Discord. However, years of ruling taught her to control her emotions, hold back her tears, and give every creature a welcoming smile. And she will do so, one last time, to her chaotic friend.
“You old fool,” she wept. Her tears flowed.
“It’s been so long since I saw your smile.”