It was late in the afternoon when Celestia and Luna’s dinner alone was interrupted. “Well, hello there, Celestia! I certainly hope you’re doing well,” Discord called, appearing in the air with a poof of pink smoke.
Celestia regarded him with a carefully neutral expression. “Discord. Might I ask what you’re doing here?” she said calmly.
Discord arched an eyebrow. “Oh come now, Celestia, did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” A scroll appeared in his claw, and he dangled it in the air. “Your little plan?”
The scroll vanished, and he shrugged, tapping his noggin. “I’ll admit, it was rather clever, sending me that letter through Fluttershy. You didn’t really expect that I’d just play along, now did you?”
Luna stood up from her seat. “Discord, if you have done something, speak now.”
Discord grinned. “Oh, what a choice of words. I’ve done a great many things today: I had a lovely tea party with Fluttershy, played around in a tesseract, spent a few hours contemplating existence; why I’m even doing something right now: speaking with you!” He laughed at his own joke.
Luna and Celestia stared.
“But that’s not quite what you wanted to know, is it?” He waved a clawed hand. “Yes, I did speak with that ‘Abyss’ girl. We had a rather lovely chat, she and I. She was particularly interested in the letter you sent to Fluttershy.”
Luna and Celestia paled visibly. “You showed her..?”
Discord pinched Celestia’s cheek. “Oh, come now, Celestia, did you really expect any less of me? She was quite angry. “Absolutely livid,” in fact. What was that old saying about a ‘woman scorned’..?”
“It was not our intention to- those letters were sent by mistake,” Luna argued.
Discord put his paw on his hip and held up a clawed finger. “Well it’s not like she knows-”
Discord stopped cold. “Did you just say ‘letters?’ More than one?”
“Yes,” Celesta replied. “We intended to send one to each of the former element bearers, but thought better of it.”
Discord’s eyebrows shot up. He blinked.
“Eh-herm,” he began, clearing his throat, “If you’ll excuse me, I have other important business to attend to. Ta ta!”
With a flash, he was gone, and the room was silent.
Luna was the first to speak. “Sister, we have made a huge error. We may face some form of retaliation from her…”
“We’ll have to double the guards throughout town, have them stand attentive and watch for any sign of trouble. We’ll be ready, should she choose to attack anypony.”
Luna stared thoughtfully at her plate. “Perhaps it would be wiser to plan for the worst, yet hope for the best. I agree, we must be ready to protect our people, but we must also hope that she can be reasoned with, and act accordingly.” Luna looked at Celestia. “If we could send her a message explaining things… perhaps offer her that which she requested as an apology, she might relent.”
Celestia tapped a hoof to her chin. “True. But how would we deliver said message? Nopony knows where she hides.”
Luna smiled. “Actually, there might be somepony who does…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though I stood absolutely still in the absolute silence, not a single fiber of my being felt calm. There was nothing to hear but my own thoughts. And it was driving me crazy.
Stupid Discord.
Damn him, acting all nice one second then being an asshole the next. Talking about me all smug, as though he knew.
What did he know?
What did anyone f***ing know?!
I stopped, mentally slapping myself. Get a hold of yourself. This is exactly what he wanted to do. Get me riled up an angry. Create disharmony.
Well, it’s not going to work you smug bastard. I’m not giving in. Nothing can get under my skin.
Nothing.
I’m completely calm.
Completely f***ing calm!
I fumed silently, letting out a huff.
Feeling restless, I kicked at a black pebble at my feet, sending it flying across the room in a soft clatter. I dug my hands into my pockets and kicked at a more grayish one. Missing it, I resumed directing all my misplaced anger at the floor, which really didn’t deserve all that hatred directed towards it.
I gave it the evil eye anyways. Stupid floor.
It was at this time that Nocturne decided to speak up.
…Abyss, we wish to speak with you. We know you are… troubled.
I clenched my teeth. “I’m fine. Leave me alone.”
Nocturne shifted a bit, then tried again. There is no need to lie to us-
“I’m not lying,” I lied.
You may be open with us. We are friends, are we not? If it is that your life has been difficult, we are willing to listen. We know well the fires of anger.
I glowered, turning my scathing gaze to the floor. “You don’t have any idea what my life’s like,” I muttered.
That is precisely what we seek to learn! Nocturne responded. If you would just speak openly, like Discord said-
He just had to bring that up, didn't he?
My eye twitched. “Are you taking his side now..?” I asked, voice barely a whisper.
Nocturne hesitated. Discord made some valid points about-
“-Because that’s just great, you know?” I cut in, pacing the floor, “I thought you’d actually be smart enough to notice that he was just messing with you. To figure out that you shouldn't take what he said so seriously. Clearly I overestimated you. Wonderful.”
We meant to say he was right in that friends must communicate.
I glared. “Friends also respect personal boundaries and know when to shut their damn mouth. If he was so knowledgeable about friendship, why didn’t he mention that?”
We have no way of knowing what’s too personal with you! When were you going to tell us your real name is Katherine? Or is that too personal?
“I told you I don’t know shit about magic. For all I know, they could use my name to, I dunno, control me or something,” I growled.
Nocturne folded his imaginary arms across his metaphorical chest. So because you’re paranoid, you won’t tell us anything. Is that it? Can’t even trust us, even though there’s no way we could possibly tell anyone?
I sputtered, shocked. “You-! That- You’re one to talk! Who was it that said we should kill all the unicorns? Certainly wasn't me.”
Three. Things, was Nocturne’s retort, You’ve told us only three personal things about yourself. Perhaps five at best. We barely know who you are.
"What's with this sudden interest in my personal life? You never bothered to ask before now," I objected.
We never thought about it before now. And now that we are, you refuse to speak.
I huffed. “Excuse me if I don’t feel like talking about my past in excruciating detail right now.”
I could feel Nocturne becoming increasingly frustrated. It doesn’t. Have. To be. Your past! Dreams, aspirations, even how you’re really feeling; by Tartarus, we’d take anything at this point. You don’t tell us anything. You’re never honest with us!
“What are you talking about? I am honest,” I replied.
No you aren't. Think what you may, we are not an idiot. We can tell how you’re feeling, and we know when you’re lying about your emotions, when you cut them off and stuff them in a cage, how you act as though being just a little honest about how you’re doing would mean the end of the world, how you always put on a phony mask around everyone… You’re lying about being “fine” as we speak. You’re not fine- you’re livid and you’re trying to act like you’re not. We’re sick of it! Just talk to us. There’s no reason to treat us like we’re your enemy!
I refused to dignify him with a response.
Nocturne’s frustration reached its peak. Gods! It’s like trying to talk to a wall!
“You want honesty? Fine! You bicker like an old married lady!” I snapped, “Is that honest enough for you? Happy now?”
Wha-! Buh- ! We are not an old lady! Nocturne snapped back.
“Sure as hell act like one!” I countered, “And by the way, in case you haven’t noticed, no one’s used ‘we’ to refer to themselves in the first person in centuries! Relic.”
You-! Infuriating, selfish… childish asshole! Nocturne sputtered.
“Takes one to know one!”
Infantile brat!
“Arrogant prick!”
Lying scum!
“Batty old nag!”
F*** you.
“No, F*** you!”
Gah! Nocturne cried, Perhaps it’s a good thing you’ll never go home! No family could put up with you! In fact, they'd be glad to be rid of you!
I stopped cold.
My gaze hardened. My eyes narrowed.
That did it.
You reap what you sow.
“I should have left you in that stupid rock.”
Nocturne stopped cold.
His mind spun, processing what he'd heard. Playing it over and over again in his mind as though he couldn’t believe it. The words wounded him, like he'd been struck.
Good. I wanted him to hurt.
Y-You do not really mean that, do you? You’re angry. You don’t mean it, right? His voice wavered slightly, a spark of hope in his voice.
I scoffed. My voice was like ice. “Anything’s better than being stuck with you in my head forever,” I stated, crushing that spark of hope unceremoniously.
Nocturne felt… stiffer than before. Like his mind hardened.
Well. If that’s how you really feel… he said, his voice shaking, We’ll just leave you be, then. Have fun on your own.
“Fine!” I snapped.
And with that, he vanished, diving deep into the recesses of my mind. Within seconds, I couldn’t feel his presence anymore.
He was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Golden Oaks library was in complete disarray. Scattered about the room were many dozens of books. Open books, towering stacks of books, and books with dozens of little bookmarks to different pages. Notes of all kinds and sizes were scattered about the room, many written in a rushed scrawl. Some held bulleted notes, others arcane circles. And at the center of the entire mess was Twilight, frantically scribbling something on one of the many sheets of paper scattered about her desk.
Normally, Twilight would have absolutely hated to see the library in such a state, and would have called Spike to help her clean up. Now, however, was an exceptional time and had special considerations.
Twilight was researching.
Truth be told, she was running herself ragged. Twilight was well aware of this. She had large bags under her eyes from limited hours of sleep for days on end, her head hurt from prolonged use of her magic, and the lines on the page were beginning to blur again.
Oh, but she had been able to uncover so much in the meantime. What were a few hours of sleep compared to all of the progress she’d made in her research? They were necessary sacrifices. Nothing a good cup of coffee wouldn’t fix. She’d go brew one just as soon as she was done writing. Just as soon as she’d finished this one last part.
After many long hours, Twilight sighed, and set the pen down, satisfied at last. She put a hoof to her aching head, wishing her headache away. Not that it did any good. She got up from her seat, trudging into the kitchen.
Before she knew it, she had a steaming cup of coffee clutched in her magic aura. She took a sip before trotting back to her desk. She looked over it, her eyes half-glazed at the mess before her.
No, this wouldn’t do at all.
After taking another sip, her horn glowed with a dull violet, and the books and notes scattered about began to organize themselves. Books took their proper places on the shelves, and the magic set the important documents square at the center of the desk. She was done now. She had to tidy the library up.
Twilight had to admit, despite the toll it took, research was fun. It always had been, in her eyes. There was something entrancing about uncovering so much knowledge. There were golden nuggets of wisdom out there, like a sparkling treasure trove waiting to be found. Research was an adventure in its own right.
It had been very hard uncovering information about Abyss, about Shadow Ponies and their history. The shelves were remarkably bare of any information on the subject. She’d had to order in books from other libraries.
Twilight hadn’t given up, though. She’d failed to stop Abyss before, failed princess Celestia. She had to make it right no matter what. It was her responsibility.
She’d learned many things, many of which had been reinforced or confirmed by the rather troubling letter the princesses had sent her recently. The most prominent and groundbreaking of which was the confirmation of the “Shadowborn,” as they seemed to be called.
The Shadowborn: A parasitic life form that was the source of shadow magic and was capable of wrenching control of the host body’s mind. Twilight theorized it might be something akin to the Nightmare that had possessed Luna long ago. There were many connections between the two: a connection to darkness, the alteration of the host’s personality, reported shadowy appearance…
Twilight had felt… ashamed when the letter had confirmed her theory. Abyss must not have been in control of her actions that day in the library. No, she was being controlled by something darker, something that held a hatred of ponies. The Shadowborn was the one who had attacked, stolen from, and insulted everypony. Twilight had misjudged her. As the element of magic, as a princess, she should have known. She should have saved her. She had failed in that regard as well.
But the only way she could think of had been to use the elements to purify Abyss. This wasn’t an option, of course. They were needed at the Tree of Harmony. There must have been another way. She'd been determined to find another way.
And she had found it. One of the most remarkable things she had found wasn’t a fact, or a bit of lost history: It was a spell. A spell she’d found only whispers of, a spell she’d had to piece together from dozens of sources like a jigsaw puzzle. A spell designed to locate, remove, and entrap the parasites. She’d spent many, many long hours working on this spell. But it had been worth it. She was sure she had it now.
But now she was done. She had everything she needed. All she had to do was just test the spell she’d rediscovered, and everything would be right with the world. She gave a final glance over her notes, readying herself.
Just one last test.
Twilight felt giddy as she poured her energy into her horn-
Only to be interrupted as a certain unwanted visitor flashed into existence before her, startling her into releasing her magic with a loud pop. She sat on the floor, rubbing her head and glaring at Discord.
“Well, Twilight, whatever are you glaring at me with such intensity for?” Discord asked with mock innocence.
“What do you want, Discord?” Twilight muttered. She didn’t have time for his antics right now.
Discord flitted through her notes absentmindedly. “Why, hardly anypony’s heard from you in nearly a week. Your friends are beginning to worry.” He stuck out his lower lip, making the poutiest face he could muster. “Is it really so strange that a friend would stop by to check on another?”
Twilight arched an eyebrow.
“After all, just look at yourself!” Discord proclaimed, shoving a hoofheld mirror in her face. Her reflection looked absolutely exhausted. Suddenly, the image in the mirror morphed into Discord’s face, popping out of the mirror’s surface and coming way too close for comfort. “You look positively ghastly!”
Chuckling, Discord snapped his fingers, and Twilight suddenly found herself covered up in a rather comfy chair with an ice bag on her horn and a thermometer in her mouth. Discord was wearing a doctor’s outfit, and staring at a clipboard. “Large-scale spells are highly unstable if the user has not had adequate rest. I prescribe at least, mmm… four days worth of rest. Preferably more, if at all possible.”
He wrote something on the clipboard, and handed her a slip of paper. Twilight took it in her hoof and glanced at it suspiciously.
It was just a picture of Discord laughing.
His face twisted into a wide grin. “But by all means, go ahead and try! It should prove rather amusing. To me, at least.”
Twilight threw off the cover and leapt off of the chair. “I don’t have time for this. I need to finish this spell.”
Discord gave a bit of an indignant huff. “All right, fine. I can tell when I’m not wanted. Though, a bit of fair warning: your other friends are on their way, and should be here right about…”
There was a knock at the door. Twilight looked away for a split second, and when she looked back, Discord was gone. She gave a long sigh. He was hard to deal with some days.
Twilight trotted over to the door and opened it, and was greeted by the sight of her five friends. She smiled. “It’s nice to see you all. Please come in. There’s something we need to discuss.”