It was beautiful. Soft yellow, the perfect tint, stuffed animals of every kind delicately set around its base. It would have been a wonderful sight...
Had it not been a coffin.
Bouquets of posies were placed around the gorgeously-crafted box, the preferred and favorite flower of the corpse who lay in the darkness of the four connected slabs of wood forming her tomb.
Before the coffin, dozens, perhaps hundreds of ponies sat in rows and rows of pews, dressed in black and other dark hues. Except for one row of ponies. One row of ponies knew better. They knew that their friend wouldn't have wanted them to wear black on this day. So their garments' colors shared the coffin's. But though not everypony bore depressing shades, all hearts were heavy in that room, and nopony made a sound, save for the occasional sniffle.
The minister, a seasoned grey Earth stallion with the cutie mark of an old smoking pipe, stepped up to a podium in the center of the room. After his eyes searched to see all who had come, he began his sermon. "Today, Ponyville, and the others who have come to this occasion..."
Twilight turned her head all around the sanctuary. He didn't come... did he? The pony sighed, and then continued to listen to Minister Waddles.
***
"That was beautiful." Applejack mentioned to the five exiting the church beside her. The other girls agreed in silence.
"I just have one question." Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, looking all about her. "Where was Discord during all this?"
Rarity blinked. "You mean... he didn't come?!"
"I didn't see him, either." Pinkie Pie attested, mane flat as a popped balloon. Twilight sighed, and the other mares turned to her as she began to speak.
"Oh girls... I think this is all my fault."
The other exclaimed in unison. "What?!"
Twilight took a deep breath. "It's a long story..."
***
"Fluttershy! Hey, hey Fluttershy!" The pegasus felt herself being poked with an eagle's talon. She sighed, smiled a bit, and ignored it, being a bit busy at the moment. But the taunting kept on. "Fluttershy~! Hello~!" Fluttershy still chose to ignore.
Discord pouted, crossing his arms, but soon he lit up with another idea. Preparing his lion paw, he pounced, aiming for his target's belly. Needless to say, Fluttershy burst out into giggling fits, being as ticklish as a foal. Once her cries for mercy finally worked, she gave in to her friend's pleads, shoving the important papers under her aside. "Alright, Discord, what do you wa--"
"Wanna go on a picnic?" The draconequus' eyes grew wide.
Fluttershy hung her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Discord, I have to get these papers filed for my--"
"I made a quick lunch!" The Lord of Chaos snapped the claws of his left talon, and a miniature racecar sped into the room, suspended in the air. It carried a wicker basket and a red-and-white checkered blanket in its cockpit.
The pegasus was about to decline once again, but Discord's eyes grew so large she feared they'd explode. And she did feel she hadn't gotten outside enough this month. After a sigh, she nodded. "Alright." Before she could say another word, Discord's paw swept her off her feet, carrying her off to the grassy hill that the two usually picnicked on top of.
When Discord set her down on the soft turf, Fluttershy noticed she was starting to sweat, which was unusual, since it was a cool, breezy day today. She was worried for a second, but then decided not to. This was a time for relaxation with her friend.
The draconequus, jovial as could be, quickly set out the items of food, prepared by himself this morning, and which he was quite proud of. He smiled and held out a small juice box to Fluttershy, and she took it, sending back a sweet little grin of her own.
Discord dug his talon and paw into the brown basket, retrieving some of the food he'd packed. "So, Flutters, what do you want with your lettuce puree, honey mustard or barbeque sauce?" There was no answer. Discord smiled and looked up. "Fluttershy did you hear-- Fluttershy?!" The draconequus hurriedly rushed over to the pegasus lying on the ground, shaking and holding her chest with her hooves. "Fluttershy! Talk to me! W-what's wrong?!" Nothing. The beautiful cyan eyes of the pony started to close, and Discord had no time or power to stop Fluttershy from going limp in his arms.
Discord wasted no time once he was out of his trance. He held the pegasus tight to himself and sped as fast as he could to Golden Oaks Library shouting all the way. "Twilight!"
~~~
"You mean to tell me," the violet-coated alicorn said to Discord once he had told the whole story. "That she never told you about her heart condition?"
"Heart condition?!" The god of Chaos was taken aback. He looked down to Fluttershy, then back to Twilight. Now it all made sense. The papers she signed, presumably for medicine, the short "errands" she ran, probably to the doctor's... Tears were felt streaming down Discord's cheeks. "N-no... No, she didn't tell me."
Twilight's heart sank. Poor Discord. He must feel so... lied to. "Discord, I'm so sorry, I--" She stopped as the once ever-joyful Spirit of Disharmony threw himself on the conveniently-placed sofa in the living room of Golden Oaks.
"Why couldn't I take a hint?"
"Discord, I'm sure she just--"
The draconequus interjected, "Twilight! Just stop! You don't need to defend her!" Discord stroked the mane of the eternally-sleeping mare, but stopped to swipe some frustrated tears away from his eyes. "She probably didn't want me to worry. And I would have, had I known! Wouldn't show it, but I would be anxious every minute of her life!
"Well, of course, if I had known, I would have protected her with all of my power to do so. I would keep her safe from anything and everything! She'd never be hurt around me!" Discord bit his lip, and then shouted to the sky. "I should have known! I should have figured it out! I could have saved her, Twilight! She would still be here!" A pained exclaim rang through the library.
Twilight sighed at the draconequus.
Discord's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
Twilight tilted her head. "That wouldn't have made her very happy, would it?"
"What do you mean?" Discord's nostrils flared.
Twilight continued. "Discord, tell me honestly, how would you feel if somepony kept you inside a small house, locked the door so you could never go out, covered all the windows so you'd never be able to enjoy the sunshine or moonlight--"
"Shut up."
The alicorn reeled back in surprise. It was a whisper, but she'd still heard the rude comment clearly. "E-excuse me?"
"Just shut up! I know what you're really saying!" The air in the library grew cold and intense. Twilight stood frozen in her tracks, save for her quivering bottom lip. "You just think I'm a monster, don't you? You really don't believe that I've changed since I tried to take over Equestria!" Suddenly, Discord's snout was right before Twilight's muzzle; the pony could feel his angry breaths on her snout. "And you know what, Twilight? You haven't changed a bit either." Discord jumped into the air and snorted. "And I actually called you friend." The draconequus fled, out of the tree and into the streets of Ponyville.
"Discord, wait!" Twilight was prepared to race after him, but soon accepted that even her alicorn wings could not match the speed of a draconequus. The pony fell back on he rump on the hardwood floor. He... called me friend?
***
It was dark in the cottage. All of the animals were gone, thrown back into the wild; all of the furniture had been moved out. Only one thing remained in that cottage.
The sobbing draconequus lay curled up on the hardwood floor. The town had been quiet today. All of those stupid ponies had probably gone to that stupid pegasus' funeral.
Discord snorted. "Dumb ol' Fluttershy. Who needs her? Too timid, too quiet, too bossy, too-- too..." The monster slammed his paw on the floor. "Who am I kidding?! I need her! And she's..." The draconequus roared in anguish and clutched both sides of his head, tossing and turning and roaring all the while.
After his short fit, the creature returned to his curled-up position, out of breath and out of tears. But his ears perked when he saw something glimmer in the corner of the house. Discord slowly rose, creeping toward the object until he clearly saw what it was.
A knife. A recently-sharpened, and very shiny blade. The perfect tool for...
What was Discord thinking? He couldn't do that. What would Fluttershy...?
The draconequus suddenly found the knife clasped within his fingers. Cocking his head, he smirked. "Pff. Wonder what those ponies would think if I just... Heh. They probably wouldn't even notice. And if they did, they might have a party." Discord started to mimic Ponyville residents. "'Hooray! The scary monster's gone! We'll never have to run away again!'" The beast rolled his eyes, and his gaze remained on the blade. "Hah! I would be doing them a favor!" The knife's point crept closer to his neck with every word. "A big... fat..."
The knife flew from his hand as the draconequus was tackled by an unknown force. "What the..." Sniffs came from behind and wet tears fell onto the fur on his back. Discord turned his startled head around. "Twilight...?"
The alicorn cried into Discord's folded wings. Her words were barely understandable through all the tears she shed. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry... I didn't mean to-- to..."
The draconequus' lip quivered and his eyes became moist as well as he wrapped both arms around the pony and hugged her tight. "I-it's okay, Twilight... I forgive you... T-Twi..." Now both Discord and the princess sobbed like foals.
After a couple moments, more hoofsteps were heard in the room, and the two sobbing creatures saw four more at the door of the cottage. The ponies dove into the group, and all embraced one another.
"Don't cry, Discord." Pinkie Pie, her straight mane slowly, but surely, inflating once again, sniffed. "It's gonna be okay. We're here for you."
"We're all here." Applejack added, smiling warmly.
"Thank you, my friends..." The draconequus laughed through his tears. "Thank you all."
From that moment, Discord was... happier. He didn't refrain from the five ponies he knew so well as much as he had before. In fact, he actually quite enjoyed spending time with them all. He would even fly throughout Ponyville from time to time. It did take a while for the residents of the village to get used to the draconequus who had once tried to rule over them all casually flying through their streets, but once they did accept it, they started to welcome Discord.
As for Twilight and her friends, they grew closer to the draconequus every day they spent together-- Twilight becoming especially close-drawn.
And sometimes, very occasionally, a yellow star in the sky would twinkle for the draconequus who had found true, eternal friendship.
