Chapter 1: All Good Things...
He stood there in the room, eyes glazed over for the first time since he wasn’t sure when. This was a new feeling, one he’d not experienced in all the time he’d lived. He’d never known where he’d come from, he’d never had anyone to care about him. His only entertainment was what he made for himself, and once he got the hang of it, he found out he was very good at entertaining himself. Then she came along. He’d never given her a thought the first time they’d met, in fact, he was quite cruel to her. But he learned that even given his long life, things could still surprise him when they met again, and he’d learned that, indeed, friendship is magic. And now the magic was gone forever.
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Two Days Prior...
“Oh, it is so good to see you!” Discord zapped through the door wearing the dress of an old mare, with curly white hair and crooked glasses.
With another zap he was closer now, now dressed in overalls intended for a young colt.
“I bwought you dese fwowers,” he said with the wide-eyed stare of a child.
he held out his paw and with a pop, a bouquet of roses appeared. With a snap of his fingers, Discord appeared closer to the bed, looking his normal self, but still offering the roses. The pony laying in the bed chuckled only a bit, but smiled as bright as the day he met her. She put a hoof to her mouth and suppressed a cough, as he came close.
“H-how are things these days? In Canterlot I mean?” she said softly.
“Pfft, boring, as always. The Princess keeps me on such a short leash, I never get to go anywhere. Of course I never got to go anywhere before, unless it was to see you. Alas, between Canterlot and Ponyville, even after all these years I’d bet so few ponies even know of the return of me, Discord, Lord of Chaos!”
“S-stop being so d-d-dramatic. I’d bet the most chaotic…” she paused, wheezing loudly as she caught her breath, “is what to have for breakfast.”
Discord had to admit, as the years went on, life had slowed from the pace he was used to for hundreds of years. Still, it beat being trapped in stone and put in somepony’s garden. It also had been worth it, for his one friend. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have his mischievous streak, and in fact he hadn’t completely stopped from doing something bad once in a while. It was still loads of fun, but every time he would get a pang in the heart he was sure at one time he didn’t have for her. He would always imagine her wriggling a disapproving hoof at him.
“Oh, you’ve got me Fluttershy!” he put his eagle claw arm over his eyes and swayed backwards. “I’m as harmless as a bunny rabbit now,” he suddenly remembered the long life of Angel bunny, “err… harmless as a kitten.”
Fluttershy chuckled a bit more, before breaking into a massive coughing fit. He moved to help her, but she extended her forehoof not covering her mouth to stop him. Concern wasn’t an emotion Discord often showed, but it was painted across his face as he stood almost helplessly.
“Fluttershy,” he spoke up once she was calm, “You know I cannot bear to see you this way. I miss skating with you on ponds of frozen orange juice, dancing with you and the woodland creatures in upside down disco halls.”
“That’s… that’s what happens to us… we get old, and…” her soft voice trailed off.
“That’s the thing though. You don’t have to! You can live forever with me, Discord and Fluttershy, friends forever!” he put his paw and claw to his cheeks and confetti blew out of his ears.
A stern look crossed the yellow pegasus’ face. She tried her best to flare her wings, but the brittle, nearly featherless appendages held firmly to her sides.
“Would that be fair to Applejack? Would…” she hadn’t even raised her voice, but even the smallest exertion of anger was taking a toll on her body. “Would… it be… fair to… Rainbow… Dash? Rarity is still… here, but… I’m sure she’d be really… really… jealous if I turned up… looking younger… than her.”
He took his mismatched arms, and tried to comfort her, laying her down from the position she was in, and pulling up her covers. He moved back and raised over her again.
“Well, has it EVER been fair that Celestia gets to stick around and see every pony to ever live get sick and old? Is it fair she can pick and choose and let one pony continue on for millennia, while millions leave us in just a few centuries?” Discord couldn’t help the anger in his voice; despite his reformation, Celestia was still one of his least favorite ponies. “Besides, maybe if your friends had seen me save you from your fate, they’d have actually learned to trust me.”
Despite giving up his grudges against the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, he still held spite towards them for the years and years that he continued to be friends with Fluttershy, only to be continually shunned by them.
“Discord,” Fluttershy managed to raise her voice, “Promise me.”
“Promise? Promise what, exactly?”
“Promise… me that n-n-no matter what, you won’t save me. Y-you won’t try to… bring me back… either.”
“Fluttershy, you cannot be serious!” he cried out.
“Years ago… I made you a p-promise. I kept that. Now I need you to make...me one.”
Discord sighed. He didn’t want to fight her, especially not in the state she was in. He wanted to beat his claw onto one of the bedside tables. He wanted to rant about his powers, the things he could do. Fluttershy, however, wouldn’t accept any of it. He made a row of human-like teeth and gritted them for a moment, before finally answering her.
“I... promise.”
Fluttershy mustered another smile, and tried her best to get comfortable. Just then, a doorknob rattled as one of the doctors made his way into the room. When he came in, all he saw was Fluttershy, attempting to drift off to sleep, a vase of roses, and a single green balloon tied to her bedpost.
“I see everything is ok in here. A guard dropped by with a letter for you. It seems the princess will be visiting you this afternoon. I’ll just let you get back to resting so you can speak with her later,” said the brown stallion as he adjusted the reflector on his head, before beginning to leave.
“Bring me some chocolate milk next time you visit me!” the balloon yelled.
“Will do,” the doctor chuckled before walking out the doorway.
In a second, the doctor was back, extremely confused as to where the voice had come from. By then the balloon was gone.
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2 Days later, but three hours before….
Canterlot Castle was mostly boring as always for the Draconequus as he floated through the halls he was permitted in. He’d always assumed he’d get some sort of welcome, a party, something to introduce him to the world, the new and improved Discord! But in fact, a reveal at one of Celestia’s gatherings had all but cried for him to be destroyed, and eventually Celestia had lied her way out of a possible uprising and claimed Discord had been returned to his prison. And so he worked, mostly in secret, using his magic for problems that weren’t as easily fixed by the Princess and her subjects.
His mind shifted to Fluttershy. So many questions came to his mind. He’d not mess with hers since the first time he’d escaped his prison, and yet he considered more and more, just altering it so she’d let him save her. He felt that pang against his heart again, and couldn’t bring himself to continue to think about trying. He decided he’d go see her again. He wanted to keep seeing her as long as he could.
BANG! The doors to the room he was now occupying swung open. A lone guard trotted in nervously. He began to shake a she approached Discord.
“Uh… well... uh, I have a… uh”
“For Luna’s sake, spit it out!” Discord floated up and towered above him.
“ThePrincessHasARequestIt’sAllDetailedInThisNoteBye!” she flung a letter bearing the royal seal to the floor and sprinted on all four hooves as fast as she could.
“Wonderful timing,” Discord rolled his eyes in his hand.
He snapped his fingers and the letter appeared in his palm. He raised a tiny pair of glasses, then a larger pair, then a larger pair, and then a larger pair still, and unrolled the scroll.
“Hmm, lack of rain in Saddle Arabia again. Transform into a Pegasus and stir up some clouds. Make sure they see me and know that I’m with the Princess and she’s getting things done,” Discord flipped the letter away, it bursting into flames seconds later.
He conjured up a plush Fluttershy doll. He looked it over for a moment, then sat it on the ground.
“I’ll finish this job quick, and be back soon Fluttershy,” he said seriously, before leaving for his job.
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The Present…
Discord popped back to Ponyville, still in the Pegasus form he’d taken on the job. For once he didn’t want to have to hide when visiting with Fluttershy. He flew through the entrance doors and made his way to the second floor. He heard lots of noise coming from the hallway where Fluttershy’s room was. He made the turn, and found a large group of ponies crowding the way. Some looked like ponies from the news, some were hospital staff, and a few looked like regular ponies just trying to get a glimpse of whatever was happening. A lump formed in Discord’s throat. He galloped up to the group, and tried to fight his way through.
“Hey!”
“Watch it!”
“I’m tryin’ to get a story here!”
Eventually, Discord couldn’t take it. He took his normal form and rose up amongst the crowd. Lightning and thunder crashed around him. Everypony screamed as they caught sight of him.
“A Draconeqeuus!”
“Discord has returned!”
“I’ve gotta tell someone!”
Regardless of what they cried, they ran in every direction, fleeing in utter terror. Discord slunk inside the room and slammed the door. Inside, Fluttershy lay lifeless on the bed. Her legs were crossed across her belly, and her graying pink mane was laid carefully at her side. A single candle flickered in the darkened room at her bedside.
Discord couldn’t form words. He could feel his eyes getting misty. Normally, when he wanted tears, he made tiny garden hoses, or turned his eyes into sprinklers. These tears were real. Tears for a lost friend, his only friend. Discord fell to the floor and sobbed.