//------------------------------// // Chapter Five—Begins Valuable Quality Time by Revisiting the Past // Story: Tirek's Shadow // by LiterarySerenity //------------------------------// Whenever Twilight revisited the moment later, she had to marvel at the surreal nature studying texts with Discord in the cavern held. In a way, it reminded her of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns—where she had spent many precious hours going through the latest magic lessons contained in various books while seated alongside her wise mentor each week. Celestia had always been such a patient guide, assigning materials for Twilight to read and listening in an understanding way to the overabundance of enthusiasm her pupil had exhibited over every step. Their discussions had been comprehensive yet inspiring. Understanding magic in all its forms had become a lifelong passion for Twilight then, due in part to her respect and admiration for the princess—as well as what she had read of the legendary Starswirl the Bearded. And as a filly, she had vowed to make the most of any learning experiences from ponies who had vast stores of knowledge gathered over their lifetimes, and especially those with great magical prowess—believing she would come away richer, wiser, and grateful for receiving such special help. In addition, Twilight could form a special connection with such ponies. But even as a filly, she could never have imagined being in this particular situation. With such thoughts in mind, Twilight ventured a look at Discord. The draconequus lay on his back, suspended in mid-air, slowly flicking through one of the thicker volumes. Now he wore academic attire, a shirt covered by a green vest that sported a red bow tie. The set of spectacles rested on his snout yet again. He had remained silent as Twilight had begun reading through a few promising scholarly works—only to find frustratingly scant remarks to the writers having heard tell of a miraculous tree that shone like starlight—and it occurred to her that over half an hour had probably passed in this way. Then again, time seemed to fly past whenever she sat down to read anything, particularly interesting research. It was only now that Twilight discovered, with some dread, how bored Discord had grown in the meantime. Or, perhaps it wasn’t boredom so much as a distracted daze, where he fidgeted on occasion and seemed on the verge of dropping off to sleep. Perhaps he was listening to the Tree of Harmony that she still couldn’t hear. The alicorn suddenly became aware of the stillness dominating the cavern, which clashed stridently with the usual flurry of activity Twilight had known from the chaos spirit. This felt almost unnatural. Yes. Staying quiet and motionless for so long would be uncomfortable for Discord, like it had been uncomfortable for Twilight to do a bunch of random things in trying to understand the Tree of Harmony. During her school lessons, Princess Celestia had often broken the silence every once in a while to ask for Twilight’s impressions or even to discuss other matters related to the task at hoof. Somehow, Twilight had assumed Discord might approach the process in a similar way—or at least have spoken up. He was Discord, after all. Maybe she was trying to compare him with Celestia too much. “If you’re trying to have a conversation with me through your eyes, my dear Twilight, I would be more than happy to give them the ability to talk aloud.” Discord said, licking his claw tips before turning another page. He kept the same bored and aloof demeanor, as if Twilight was the one disturbing him in his work. But she could see the hint of mirth tweaking his lips. “Sorry.” Twilight cringed a little at the imagery but realized she really must have been staring at him for a bit. “I was just thinking of how much I love studying magic, and how other ponies have always helped me to grow stronger and wiser through my life—even before I understood the true importance of what this meant.” “Oh?” “Growing up, I guess I considered Princess Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded as my main magic teachers—even if meeting Starswirl the Bearded would have been impossible. But that’s strange, isn’t it?” “Honestly, Twilight. It surprises me you would consider a small thing like that impossible or strange, specifically when you have a lord of chaos not five feet away.” As if to drive the point home, Discord sprouted branches from both ears, a red nose, and then inflated his eyes—which made him look so goofy Twilight could barely stifle a laugh. “’Expect anything, and the unexpected never happens,’ after all. Haven’t you learned that yet?” “Actually, that sounds like something Starswirl the Bearded might have said. At least, according to what I’ve read about him.” “Then Starswirl must have had more than sense than I’d given him credit for before.” Discord said, grabbing up another book to thumb through. “It makes me wonder how much of him rubbed off on the princesses, considering the way they turned out.” Twilight couldn’t tell if the last part was a veiled poke at Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, given the light-hearted delivery. Although she suspected it might have been his mischievous ways shining through again. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna appreciated Starswirl the Bearded very much, particularly Celestia. She used to tell me how he was her mentor to her, magical advisor, and one of her closest friends. In addition, she would say how he seemed to know everything there was to know about Equestria’s History—which is what Celestia was like for me.” Twilight sighed, and then smiled a small, thoughtful smile. “Still, it would have been nice to have learned from a pony like Starswirl. He probably would have known all about the Tree of Harmony.” “Yes, Starswirl did seem knowledgeable for a pony at that time.” Discord was stroking his beard again, eyes closed as if mediating on the matter. For a moment, Twilight thought the chaos spirit seemed ancient as he must have been—and somewhat worn. Twilight had promised to make the most out of any learning opportunity with wise ponies… “Discord.” The princess asked, in a quiet tone that surprised her. “Did you ever meet Starswirl the Bearded?” “Once.” Discord breathed. “What was he like?” This time, unlike the twitching unease Twilight had seen only a few minutes ago, the draconequus, this stayed still for a long while. *** Discord had been at his most chaotic, wandering through the vast wilderness that dominated Equestria during that time long ago. He could sense the subtle magic possessed by every creature and plant that resided within the undergrowth, which seemed there just to please his tastes with variety of shapes and natures. The chaos spirit had known late nights when the Timberwolves howled at the full moon in grand packs, before they began hunting their favored prey of vampire rabbits—who had antlers and liked to bite any pony into which they could sink their buck teeth. Crocodiles snapped at quarry foolish enough to draw close to the rivers, and the numerous rainbow trout painted certain streams and waterfalls across the region to multi-colored hues. After spurring a few revolutions in the far north, and causing mayhem for fun in various other medieval kingdoms peopled by Griffins and various beings, the draconequus had been somehow drawn to this wondrous land—where a feeling deep inside had told Discord this was the place for him at last. It had seemed strange and a natural haven for chaos, which were promising residency requirements. However, there was a familiarity to these settings he couldn’t shake. It was as if he had been here a long time ago and been searching for the place again ever since. Besides that, there was also this uneasy feeling he sometimes got while watching the groups and packs of creatures that roamed around. Such sensations bothered and irked him. And whenever Discord got irked, he had had the urge to wreck some chaos to ease his nerves and bring some measure of relief. His prime targets, though, were the ponies who not only cut into the forests to build their homes and communities but had the greatest group mentality imaginable. They fashioned communities and worked together to fend off threats from the surrounding forests and beyond. In many instances, they even succeeded in driving away the beautiful, chaotic beasts or tangle growths that might have destroyed or rampaged through the settlements. Still, none of them could possibly contend with Discord, lord of chaos. The ponies were his alone with which to play, and he had found a measure of enjoyment in misleading them through the forests, introducing poison joke to cause endless havoc, and many other inventive ploys. He thought he did quite well at this—not that the ponies themselves appreciated the attention. It wasn’t like he hurt them. And they did find ways to find ways to overcome most of his tricks, which Discord did have to applaud. Then he would devise other things to try out on them, and to watch what they would do next. It became a game, played between the ponies and himself. Although, Discord would sometimes wonder why the ponies didn’t seem to find the game as amusing—considering how much their civilizations seemed to grow as a result. Really, the ponies should have been thanking him for making such quick progress. Hadn’t they been grateful to him at all? Where was his respect? Well, Discord didn’t care about that. Not at all. So he had continued across the region, causing problems for ponies, who built up their communities as if in an attempt to shut him out. Before long, they would form larger towns—and Discord had an idea of exactly what to do when that happened. Yet one night, while preparing to entrap a hapless caravan of ponies traveling through the woods in a tangle of thorny vines, Discord had felt a massive wave of magic jiggle through his entire form. And in the next moment, there was a wide opening in the vines through which the ponies proceeded without incident or knowledge of the danger they might have faced. Then he had heard the jingling of bells, and turned to see an old stallion in blue robes and floppy hat coming through the darkness to pause and stare at him with a clear, golden gaze. This pony had some nerve, ruining what could have been a perfectly delightful evening. “You are Discord, if I am not mistaken.” The stallion said. He spoke in calm and even tones, without fear. This irritated Discord even more than the escaped caravan. “Spirit of chaos and disharmony?” “I see you know me.” Discord manifested before the pony, doing his best to loom and intimidate. Yet this failed to work on the wizard, whom he could sense indeed had more magic than any other pony the chaos spirit had come across. “Here I thought no pony understood I even existed. Then again, you are an exception, I suppose.” His grin belied thinly veiled animosity. “And who do I have the pleasure of speaking with this evening?” “I am Starswirl the Bearded, at your service.” Starwirl the Bearded reached up, removed his floppy wizard’s hat—out of which dropped several packs of playing cards and a few rubber balls—and gave Discord a small bow. It was the first time any pony had bowed to Discord. He quite enjoyed that. “At my service? You should see how you look right now.” Flattered despite himself, Discord barked a laugh. “Dressed all in bells like you could drive away all the evil spirits in the world. And what do you hope to accomplish to messing up my night’s pranking?” He would have to be good, especially since the draconequus had a few ideas to make up for the caravan incident. “Well, one thing I came here to do was save that poor pony family from a terror-filled night.” Starswirl said nodded his bearded head toward the thorny vines now retreating back into the forest. “But I also came to check something. Do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Why not?” Discord returned. “A wizard pony in bells asking me a question sounds wonderfully chaotic. Go ahead.” “Do you know who you are?” Starswirl asked, which caused Discord to jerk back in shock at the unexpected stab of those bothersome sensations he hated so much. Why did they have to bother him now, of all times? “Or what you are doing here in Equestria?” The nerve! This pony was obviously asking for a Discord prank tonight, or perhaps something far more lasting than that. “I would advise to watch your tongue.” Starswirl’s tongue appeared in Discord’s eagle claw. The chaos spirit wiggled it, striving to enjoy the incredulous look on the pony’s face—even if he appeared more amazed than terrified. “You said it yourself, and I’ll remind you.” Thunder clouds gathered, and lightning streaked down around them as the draconequus cackled. “I am Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony—who plays with ponies for my own amusement and gets overjoyed by the conflicts between them. All places are alike to me, unless they lack much-needed chaos.” “Ah, I see.” Starswirl murmured. “You’re like that right now.” “Speak up.” Discord glared at the wizard. “I cannot hear you well.” Then Starswirl met Discord’s gaze, and the latter got another shock—what he saw in the old wizard’s look was nothing short of a great sadness. Sadness? Was this pony feeling sorry for himself? “It must have been difficult for you.” Starswirl said. “Being so lost and alone, all this time. But don’t worry. Someday things will be different, and you will find true happiness at last, renewed purpose, and lifelong bonds.” Discord stood frozen, aghast at the statement and trying to process its implications. “And that is mostly why I came to find you tonight.” The old stallion continued. “To tell you this and give you hope while I still can.” The pony was insane. Discord didn’t understand his cryptic message at all. “Is this supposed to be some kind of prophecy?” Discord asked instead. “Yes.” Starswirl said. “Now I must take my leave. For there are other important things I must wrap up soon.” Then the wizard turned on his hooves and walked away. For a moment, Discord thought of lashing out at the odd old pony. But something made him pause. Even years later, he couldn’t have justified it. He had trouble deciding if he had simply believed the wizard too easy a target for his games, was tired that evening, or didn’t want to contend with whatever hidden magical power Starswirl clearly had. Now both the question and prophecy bothered Discord as well, which eventually led him to cause more chaos than before, and then to his ultimate imprisonment. *** Twilight listened while the draconequus told his story, eyes closed all the while as if that helped him to better remember the sequence of events. There was a sharper edge to his tone at various parts, specifically the parts where Discord recounted his mindset or treatment of the ponies. She had the impression he was berating himself in many ways, and his foolishness. Closing her eyes, she could see the story as it happened—as if Discord were using his magic to help her visualize that historical period in Equestria. In this way, Twilight could understand the rush of excitement that came with taking in such a beautiful landscape, and even appreciate the creatures who had lived there in more abundance in times past. The section about the discomforting sensations made her squirm inside, yet Twilight thought she understood what those must have been—and then she practically gasped at the sight of Starswirl the Bearded in her mind’s eye. It was different to see her favorite wizard as Discord had seen him, worn and hobbling from place to place but still strong as ever in spirit. Then there was his prophecy, which Twilight thought she knew as well. Even though Discord hadn’t known it back then, Starswirl the Bearded must have predicted his eventual place among her friends. Twilight felt that truth keenly, a warmth blossomed within her, and she thought: Ah. That’s how it was. I think I’m finally coming to understand Discord a little better. This is when she noticed a low humming sound, similar to a purring cat. It was a little sad like a violin, jerked like a fiddle played too sharply, mixed by a tune that almost reminded Twilight of a harmonica or kazoo playing. Twilight’s eyes flew open, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. The Tree of Harmony shone, and Twilight knew without question that she could hear its odd music. She could even smell an odd mixture of fragrances, which reminded her of trips through the Everfree Forest. She came to sit before the tree, enthralled. Then the music faded. “You heard TOH at last.” Discord said, coming to stand beside her and regard the tree. “It took you long enough.” “I guess I did.” Twilight agreed. “Why did I hear it now, though? I was just thinking about the story you told, and—“ She trailed off, revisiting the thought she had had at the end. She couldn’t have described it if Discord had asked, but she wouldn’t have tried to classify the melody in the same way Discord had tried to do. This still didn’t answer everything, but at least they had made some progress. Matching frequencies… There didn’t appear to be much written in the books they had gathered about the Tree of Harmony, and playing instruments also hadn’t done anything. Yet now Twilight had a crazy idea, and she wanted to test it out as soon as possible as the afternoon pressed onwards. “Maybe we’ve been going about this the wrong way.” Twilight stated. “But I do have something I’d like to try, and I think we might both enjoy it a lot.” “All right, let’s hear it.” Discord said. “We’ll exchange stories.” “Stories, you say?” “Yes.” “Hmm. That is an interesting turn of events indeed, my dear Twilight.” However, Discord seemed ready and willing to test out her theory. “You told me about your encounter with Starswirl.” Twilight persisted. “So now I’ll tell you how I got into Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” “Oh, this is already promising.” Discord said, a hint of sarcasm entering his tone despite it all. Still, he snapped his fingers, and soon they were each sitting on mats around a miniature campfire in the cavern. The books Twilight had brought sat on the shelves of a bookcase along the far wall. “You’ll like hearing this story.” Twilight insisted. “I turn my parents and some faculty members into plants by the end.” “Really?” Now Discord seemed especially eager to hear the tale. “Do tell.” And Twilight did.