Just One Wish - A My Little Pony Fanfic

It was still dark when Discord decided to go for a walk around Bridlewood Forest. He’d been invited by Izzy Moonbow to join her and her friends for some bonding time, so he’d arrived early as he could just to prepare himself.

Nopony had woken up yet, which meant that Discord could take in his surroundings more easily. Bridlewood Forest looked truly picturesque at this time of night. Snow was gently falling down, coating the buildings in white. Pretty lights of different shades of pink, blue, red and green were strung up on the houses and trees.

Winter Wishday. At least that’s what Izzy Moonbow had told Discord it was. To him though, it would always be Hearth’s Warming. Besides, he had barely any clue how they were supposed to be different from one another. Perhaps, as the name indicated, it was less about keeping safe from the wendigos and more about wishes.

There was no denying how lovely everything looked. Yet for Discord, there was still one thing missing. If there was anything he wished for this year, it was just to see Fluttershy again, even if only for a brief moment. He still remembered all those centuries ago celebrating Hearth’s Warming with her, all the fun times they’d spent together and all of the gifts that they’d exchanged. One of his favourite moments had been when he’d been invited to Twilight Sparkle’s Hearth’s Warming gathering and had received an elephant tea cosy from Fluttershy. It wasn’t the most high-quality gift, but the fact that she’d made it just for him and put so much love into it had touched him deeply. He still had that tea cosy even now.

Going through the last centuries without Fluttershy to make more festive memories with had made Discord miss her even more than he already did. He’d been having doubts over meeting up with Izzy and the others for this reason. Coming earlier, he’d hoped that he could take his mind off it with seeing the Winter Wishday decorations, but Fluttershy was the only thing that occupied his mind.

One of the few things that Discord knew linked Hearth’s Warming and Winter Wishday together was the gift giving. Yet the greatest gift that he’d ever received wasn’t here, so what was the point? Discord felt his old age take hold of him and so he sat down on a fence just to get himself together. Remembering the wish aspect of the occasion, he closed his eyes and clasped his hands together.

I don’t care what presents I get, Discord thought to himself. I just wish to see Fluttershy again.

He was so wrapped up in his memories that he failed to take notice of a lone shooting star that sailed above Bridlewood Forest, heading towards the outskirts of it.

Suddenly, a bright blue light proceeded to flash, filling up part of the sky with it. The impact of it hitting him caused Discord’s hair to whip into his face, causing him to open his eyes. He looked on in disbelief as the light continued to shine down on the forest.

Wait, he thought. I’d just been wishing for Fluttershy to come back, and then that light hits.

Surely it couldn’t be? But what if it was? He couldn’t give up hope now.

Discord eagerly started to sprint towards the source of the light, his hair whipping about in the cold breeze. For just a moment, he didn’t feel his age. At no point did he consider stopping to catch his breath. Even the snow-covered ground couldn’t slow him down. If that was Fluttershy in the distance, then his Winter Wishday would be complete.

Soon enough, Discord reached the outskirts of Bridlewood Forest. The cold winds were getting stronger and harsher, but he tried to ignore them. He could still see the light, shining from a small clearing. With anticipation continuing to build up within him, he ran into the clearing before skidding to a halt…

…and then the light disappeared.

Nothing there. Discord felt his age catch up with him again as a pang of disappointment struck up in his heart. He’d gone all the way out here with hopes of seeing Fluttershy and he’d ultimately just wasted his time. He should have known that it was an impossible wish. Loved ones couldn’t just come back from the dead like that.

Tears prickled in Discord’s eyes as he wrapped his arms round himself, trying in vain to keep himself warm against the wind billowing around him. He felt cold both inside and out, his chest was aching and exhaustion was beginning to creep up on him. He’d started to consider simply heading back, but just then, he felt a warm sensation on his shoulder.

Discord turned his head round to see what was causing the strange feeling. And that’s when he felt his heart stop.

It was Fluttershy. Or at least it was a ghostly apparition of her, with her youth having returned to her. A gentle smile was on her face as she rested her hoof on Discord’s shoulder. The same blue light from earlier was now shining from her, with several spectral blue butterflies fluttering around her.

Discord barely managed to get words out in his shocked state. “You…you are Fluttershy, right?”

Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She just continued to smile as she nodded her head.

A wave of contradicting feelings washed over Discord. Sadness over still missing Fluttershy, yet joy over finally seeing her again, spectral form or not. The tears that had been prickling his eyes now came pouring out as he embraced Fluttershy, sobbed into her mane, kissed her many times and rocked her from side to side. Fluttershy simply hugged Discord in return and stroked his hair as he continued to weep.

“Oh F-Fluttershy,” he was finally able to utter despite his broken voice. “I thought I would never see you again.”

Fluttershy simply took a lock of Discord’s hair and held it in her hoof, before letting go of it and stroking his cheek.

Either it was some sort of magic that Fluttershy could now cast in her ghost form, or just a side-effect of Discord being happy to see her again, but he could feel his youth return to him, both literally and figuratively. His hair grew short and changed from its dirty white shade to black again, his goatee grew short likewise, his broken goat horn reformed until it was back to its original pointy shape and the holes in his bat wings shrunk until they disappeared. Meanwhile, their surroundings seemed to fade into nothingness, until they were both floating in a white void.

Discord had noticed his change in appearance when he had looked at his hands and felt his goatee. He could not find any way to explain to himself how this was possible, or how he and Fluttershy had been transported somewhere else, when he hadn’t chosen to use his chaos magic at this time. Not that it bothered him. The important thing was that Fluttershy was there in front of him, still showing the same tenderness that she’d shown him when she was still alive.

Fluttershy continued to stroke the side of Discord’s face as they smiled each other, before using the same hoof to wipe his tears away. Once his last tear had been wiped away, he took Fluttershy in for another embrace and held her tight, as if he feared that not doing so would cause her to disappear again. The butterflies continued to swirl around them.

He had so many things he wanted to tell her. About how he was putting the animal care skills she’d taught to to good use with the animals he was currently fathering. About how he’d gone so insane with grief that he’d tried to destroy Equestrian magic in a misguided attempt to bring harmony back to it. About how his new pony friends had brought Fluttershy’s message about harmony and magic to him to bring him back on the right track. About how he was starting to become a Power Pass pro and constantly looked forward to playing it with his animal companions and new pony friends. But how to explain it all?

Fluttershy could sense that Discord was struggling to get the words out too. She held his hands. “It’s okay Discord, I’ve seen your plight.”

“You have?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I wish I could have been able to help you out directly during those rough times. But I was watching over you the whole time, I promise. I’m glad that you were able to receive my message. And I’m glad that you’ve been able to make new friends.”

Discord nodded in response, though still felt wistful. Fluttershy seemed to sense this as well.

“Something else seems to be troubling you. What is it?”

Discord took a deep breath before speaking. “You’re right. They are my new friends. And I love them…but they’re not my old friends. Sure, Izzy’s similar to you – you’re both sweethearts and you both see the best in everything, but she’s nothing like you otherwise. She’s way too hyperactive to be like you. And yet she’s not as hyperactive as Pinkie Pie. And Zipp Storm’s pretty similar to Rainbow Dash as well, but not similar enough.

He could have said more about how these new ponies were so different from the old ones that he still remembered, but Fluttershy once again took his hands. “It’s okay Discord, you don’t need to fret. They seem like nice ponies anyway. I’ve seen them comfort you during your darkest moment. I’ve seen you having fun playing Power Pass with them.”

Discord thought about all this. Fluttershy was right. Though their first meeting had been a rough one, he’d grown to very fond of these new ponies. They’d been very kind to him once they’d seen how intense his grief had been, promising to help him bring harmony back to Equestria. He’d had so much fun with them taking part in their group photo at Canterlot and playing Power Pass (as well as secretly proud of how well he’d managed to master the game). They’d even responded to his postcards when he’d decided to travel around Equestria for a year and a half, just so he could give himself a well-deserved break.

Discord was able to give Fluttershy a warm smile. “You’re right, they are nice ponies. Obviously you’ll still be my all-time favourite pony, but I’m happy to be friends with them too.”

They both held each other, pressing their heads against one another’s. Discord felt one of the butterflies gently resting on his shoulder. A feeling of pure bliss started to grow within him. He felt glad to have met Fluttershy in the first place and to have had so many treasured moments with her. And though there was still a part of him sad about losing her all this time ago, here she was again at this moment in time. Besides, it was better to be this way than to still be causing disharmony and terrorising ponies like he’d done before meeting her, not feeling anything except numbness. She’d helped him to actually feel something for once.

Soon, Fluttershy began to gaze off the side. “Well, I would love to stay with you for longer, but something’s telling me I have to go back now.”

Discord nodded. “I understand.”

“But just remember,” Fluttershy said as she stroked Discord’s cheek once again. “I will always be with you. I will always be watching over you to make sure you’re okay. And I will always love you.”

“I’ll always love you too,” Discord replied softly, stroking Fluttershy’s mane in return. “To infinity and beyond…and all the way back again.”

Discord and Fluttershy both embraced each other one more time, passionately kissing each other on the lips while stroking each other’s cheeks. They held their kiss for a few seconds, before finally looking into each other’s eyes while holding hands and hooves. As Fluttershy gave Discord one last smile, her body dissolved into more blue butterflies that proceeded to float around Discord, almost as if they were hugging him as well, before flying away into nothingness.

And just like that, Discord was back out in the snow-coated woods, back to his current age. Yet despite all this, he still felt young and light in his heart. He took a lock of his hair and held it against his cheek, happily remembering why he chose to grow it long in the first place. Though Fluttershy’s spirit was no longer visible, he still sensed her within him, still reminding him to be his most compassionate self and not lose hope.

The sun was now breaking through, with barely a dark patch in the sky. Around this time, Discord’s new friends would be getting up and coming out of their houses, eager to spend the day together. Discord smiled as the sun continued to climb higher.

I think I will say good morning to Izzy, he thought to himself. And see if I can join her and the others for a friendly snowball fight.

He began to head back towards Bridlewood Forest, still thinking about what had transpired. He didn’t want to reject his new friends at all. They’d helped him so much when he’d been at his lowest, especially Izzy. Yet he knew that he would always cherish his old friends in his heart, with Fluttershy being the most cherished of all.

Upon arriving back, he noticed that Izzy and the others were already waiting for him, wrapped up for the winter weather and holding gifts. Izzy in particular was positively beaming upon seeing Discord coming towards them.

“Happy Winter Wishday!” they both called to each other at the same time, and they proceeded to shake hands as the Winter Wishday spirit continued to fill the air.