Fluttershy gulped.
She thought it was a gulp. Maybe it was her swallowing the large knot of anxiety at the back of her throat. Come to think of it, was she even feeling anxious? Nervous maybe, but anxious? Was there a difference? She had always thought they were the same, but that didn’t mean she was right.
Stop it, you silly pegasus.
Fluttershy inhaled, bringing her hoof to her chest. She exhaled, moving it further away. She repeated the process three times. While she continued the routine, Fluttershy made a mental note to thank Twilight for the pointers. She was not usually nervous… or anxious…. But for some reason her heart was beating rapidly in her chest.
She closed her eyes, the sweet scent of a herbal concoction filling her nostrils.
When she opened them, she saw the two cups of mint tea that were sitting in front of her. That, and a plate of cucumber sandwiches.
With a final deep breath, Fluttershy picked up the two cups with one wing, the plate with the other, and walked out her kitchen.
“So…” Fluttershy said awkwardly. She brought the cup of tea to her mouth and took a sip, attempting to break the silence. “What have you been up to?” She briefly thought about using the nickname, but thought better of it. She still didn’t fully know what was happening.
The figure who was seated next to her hummed. “Nothing much. I must admit, sitting around messing up the princess’s schedule gets boring after a while.”
Fluttershy opened her mouth to respond, but promptly closed it. She was going to say that she had never really seen Princess Celestia use a daily planner, before she remembered who she was talking to.
And from when he was.
The mare looked at Discord and smiled. The draconequus looked back and grinned. Fluttershy felt a tingle race down her spine, and a blush threatened to appear on her face.
“That’s… too bad,” she said hesitantly, in order to answer Discord’s question.
Discord chuckled. “I suppose. But it’s worth it to see Twilight explode in front of the nobles.” He leaned in closer, and whispered into her ear. “One time, I put a bunch of ladybugs into her desk!”
“Discord!”
Discord huffed. “It might not have been the kindest thing to do, but she laughed after it was over!” He stopped talking and shuddered. “After she tried to incinerate me.”
Flutershy couldn’t help giggle. Discord might be chaotic, but that was why she loved him.
Well, not exactly him.
The mare bit the inside of her cheek and winced. Discord obviously noticed her discomfort. He looked at her with alarm. “What’s wrong? he asked.
“Nothing!” Fluttershy blurted. Upon seeing Discord's eyes fill with pain she inwardly kicked herself. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong,” she tried again, pondering how to phrase the next sentence without sounding like a heartless beast.
“This is just, well, strange… and confusing,” she offered, ignoring her pulse flutter. “It’s not that I don’t like spending time with you, I do! I really do! But…. w-well…”
“It’s not me you're spending time with.”
Discord didn't say it as a question. He said it as a fact. And that made a large knot of lead appear in her stomach. Not because of how he said it, but because it was true.
“I-i’m sorry!” she squeaked. The yellow pegasus shied away, hiding behind her pink waterfall of hair.
Discord raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, for what?” he asked, confusion apparent in his eyes.
Fluttershy winced. “That… that just didn't sound too friendly,” she whispered quietly.
Discord remained silent, observing her with curious eyes. As the seconds passed, her previously calmed-heart began to race. She lowered her gaze, hot daring to look him in the eyes.
The eternity of silence was broken by Discord. “You really are kind,” he mused.
“W-what?”
“You’re kind. And gentle. And forgiving.” The lord of chaos looked at the ground. He fiddled with the teacup he still held in his claws. “I… I had forgotten.”
Fluttershy’s heart stopped racing, and empathy started to bubble up within her. The pegasus remained silent, at least, in words. But her feelings became apparent when she hovered above the ground, and hugged Discord tightly. Fluttershy felt Discord stiffen at the contact. But after a while of seemingly eternal moments, he relaxed and melted into the embrace.
“Tell me about it,” she said in a soft tone.
Discord blinked. “About what?”
Fluttershy landed and sat down next to Discord. “The future,” she replied, no sign of hesitation present in her voice.
Discord’s ears pressed down against his head. “I.... I don’t know,” he said meekly.
Fluttershy smiled sympathetically. “It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said in return.
Discord sighed. “It’s not that...it's just that I don’t want to tell you too much.” He smiled wryly. “Ya know, upsetting the balance and all that.”
“Uh, right,” Flutters grinned bashfully and averted her eyes. “But,” she tried again, hopefully, “You don't need to tell me about the future! Just about yourself! What you’ve been up to! How-”
The mare bit down on her tongue, stopping her sentence.
How you managed to survive outliving everyone!
STUPID! STUPID! STUPID FLUTTERSHY!
Fortunately for her, Discord didn’t notice. He laughed softly. “Persistent, aren’t you?” he teased. Fluttershy giggled and blushed nervously.
Discord exhaled. “I suppose it wouldn't hurt giving you a bit of information,” he mused. “As long as I don’t give out major spoilers.” Fluttershy did her best to suppress the squeal that lodged itself into her throat. Discord smiled again and hummed. “Where should I begin?”
Fluttershy remained quiet when Discord began to speak.
“Once upon a time, there was a land called Equestria. The land was previously ruled by two sisters who controlled the sun and moon. Their reign was anything but peaceful. Fortunately for Equestria, they had a group of ponies who were willing to do whatever it took to protect their home.”
He looked Fluttershy dead straight in the eye.
“These ponies became known as the Heroes of Harmony. They protected Equestria for decades, spreading the magic of friendship far and wide.
However, these ponies did not only save the world. They had an impact on others lives, whether they knew it or not. And including them, was a draconequus, who had been trapped in stone for a millennium.
He was defeated by the elements of harmony, and returned to his stone prison. But the ruler of Equestria saw that he might not be all that bad, and assigned a young pegasus to help with his reformation.
The draconequus didn’t believe that he could be someone good, and scoffed at the idea of reformation. But then the mare showed him something that he had never been shown before…
Friendship.
It was that one gesture that changed his life forever. He opened his heart to the idea of friendship, he took comfort in others. And for a small time, everything in the world seemed perfect.”
Discord stopped and swallowed. Fluttershy bit her tongue and looked questioningly at Discord. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when Discord lifted up a claw. He took a few gulps of air, then exhaled and continued his story.
“Alas, all good things must come to an end. For the draconequus, it happened when he realised something he had ignored his whole life.
His whole existence was based on chaos. So as long as chaos remained in the world, so would he. And chaos… it wasn’t going anywhere. He continuously pushed the thought to the side, refusing to acknowledge it. Until his best friend shoved it in his face.”
Fluttershy’s breath caught. The world had become blurry and Discord’s words were jumbled.
She knew the pony that Discord had just spoken of.
How Fluttershy managed to hang on to Discord's story, she never knew.
“There are many different ways to deal with immortality, and many ways to look at it. The draconequus, he looked at it in the worst way possible. So when his best friend left him, taken by the hands of time, he---”
Fluttershy drowned out the entire conversation, the only thing that stood out in her mind was the emphasis of best friend...
“---He lost it. He isolated himself from the world, too afraid to open his heart again, for the fear of it being broken.”
The mare looked at Discord, her eyes bulging, a thin rim of water pooling at the bottom of them. Discord looked back.
And smiled.
“Often when somebody loses what they care about, they’re unable to look at what they have. The same thing happened to me. When I lost you… well not you-you, future you, it crushed me. I couldn’t bear the thought of not having you with me anymore.”
He paused, struggling to put his thoughts into words. “But then, something happened, an incident, if you will. An attack, by villians obviously. I...I don’t think I can fully describe what happened without revealing too much… but in short, I realized that by closing myself off, I just continued to hurt more.”
Fluttershy stared, eyes moist, before bowing her head. “I-I-I;m so sorry,” she whispered. Tears ran down her cheeks and she buried her head in her hooves. “I’m so, so, sorry!”
Something warm pressed itself under Fluttershy’s chin, forcing her to lift her head. Discord cupped her face, gazing at her, looking straight into her eyes.
“Don’t be,” he whispered gently. “It took all of that to teach me a lesson.”
“L-lesson,” she gasped, slightly breathless. .
Discord nodded tenderly. “I’ll always have ponies who care about me.” His eyes became moist. “Always. Friendship’s can’t just fade like that. I learnt so much from you, from the girls. Those lessons aren’t going to simply die. I’ll remember them.
Forever.”
It happened all at once. One moment Fluttershy was on the ground, the next her hooves were around Dicord’s neck, trapping him in a suffocating hug.
“Ugh, uh, Flutters?”
“Heh, sorry.” She blushed and lessened her tight grip on Discord. Discord sighed in relief, but didn’t let go of her altogether. Instead he hugged her softly. Fluttershy buried her head in her chest and exhaled happily.
Discord hummed contently. The mare at his side relaxed, but soon a frown crossed her features. “Discord?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes?”
“If life was going so well, what made you travel to the past?”
Silence followed her question, until Discord answered. “I might be content with my life, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss my past.” Fluttershy smiled and nodded. She let go of Discord, who slowly got up.
He walked a few feet away from her and snapped his claw. A portal, glowing and fizzling with raw power, opened up, lighting the area in which he and fluttershy stood. The portal twisted and flickered, before settling into a set shape, though still bulging slightly at the sides.
The draconequus turned to look at Discord. A moment of silence passed before one of them dared to speak. “I missed you,” Discord mumbled quietly.
Fluttershy’s eyes softened, the light of the portal reflecting against them. “I know,” she whispered, not moving from her place. “I know.”
“Well, I guess this is goodbye, Fluttershy,” Discord said, a bittersweet expression on his face.
“Wait!” Fluttershy cried suddenly! She bit her lip, unsure of whether to ask her question. Finally she decided to take the risk and opened her mouth. “If… if things in the suture seem… bleak… for you… well, not you-you, but you-from-a-few-decades-down-the-line….do you have any, um, any advice?” She looked at him with wide eyes. “Just, you know, if something, uh, happens?”
Discord looked at her and smiled. “Tell him that he’ll never be alone.”
And with that he turned around and stepped through the portal.
The swirling vortex flickered, the closed, no trace of it left behind.
Fluttershy stared at it for a few minutes. The wind ruffled her mane and the sweet birdsong drifted through her ears. All was calm. A smile slowly appeared on her face as she stared at the place where Discord had just finished. She murmured the next few words without realizing it.
“Never alone.”
