//------------------------------// // Chapter IV: Dark Magic With A Dark Purpose // Story: A Love To Remember // by SapphireWings999 //------------------------------// One bright flash of emerald later, me and Fluttershy were immediately in Princess Twilight Sparkle’s throne room. The princess herself seemed to be the most surprised by our sudden appearance there as she spoke up. “Hey David. Hey Fluttershy. How are-” “Twilight? Wh-what happened to you?” Fluttershy cut off in a panicky tone. “I… I thought you were still unconscious. Where are Celestia and Luna? Why do you l-l-look soo different? How do you know D-David? Did he just use magic? Wh-what’s going on?” Twilight had a look of total confusion on her face before she finally posed a question of her own. “What’re you talking about?” I then made a suggestion to Twilight. “Twi, would it be possible fer you ‘n Ah ta discuss this matter privately on tha balcony?” “I… I guess so.” As Twilight rose from her throne, she spoke these final words to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, I’m gonna need you to stay here for the time being while I have a brief talk with David. O.K.?” “Umm. O.K.” she answered back, somewhat unsure of herself. And with that, me and Twilight stepped out onto the balcony located directly behind her throne. Once we were outside of ear range from Fluttershy, she finally asked me the question lingering heavily on her mind. “What happened to her.” “Well,” I began, “tha 2 of us were on a date where Ah was plannin’ ta propose ta her, but, before Ah could do that, we were interrupted by an unusual individual.” “Unusual how?” “Unusual in tha sense that he was… another human.” A look of genuine surprise reached Twilight’s face as I continued with my explanation. “He said that his name was Claude ‘n that he was tha first human ta ever come ta Equestria, even long before Crystal ever did. Apparently, he’d arrived here as a result o’ Discord’s chaos magic whereupon he discovered that he had special abilities too. One ability he mentioned was tha ’bility ta make lies inta reality. With this power, he masqueraded as Star Swirl Tha Bearded after tha ‘riginal Star Swirl wound up in limbo ‘n altered tha memories o’ those he came ‘cross, includin’ tha princesses, while also creatin’ Destiny.” Twilight gasped before speaking. “The princess you told us was your ancestor who wound up in your world over 1,000 years ago. At least by our measurement of time.” “Yes. Claude ended up fallin’ in love with his own creation before accidentally sendin’ her ta ma world where she met someone else ‘n started a family without him. Apparently, when Destiny was sent ta ma world, Crystal wound up here in her place. Crystal knew o’ Claude’s true identity ‘n tried ta convince him ta move on from Destiny, but he refused, tryin’ everythin’ within his power ta get back with her, only ta wind up stuck in limbo himself where his powers were ineffective. “Durin’ those 1,000 years he was trapped there, he held major regret over tha fact that he’d never moved on with Crystal when he had tha chance. Then Ah wound up in limbo too after sacrificin’ maself ta Crystal so that all o’ ya could live ‘n he was tha one Ah came ‘cross while Ah was there. Claude, as Star Swirl, saw this as an opportunity ta finally escape ‘n be with Crystal. However, he’s held major resentment towards me fer strippin’ her of her magic ‘n sendin’ her ta Tartarus. After regainin’ his powers, he’s been tryin’ ta ‘nact revenge against me fer that. First by erasin’ tha memories y’all had o’ me ever bein’ an Alicorn Prince ‘n jus’ now with what had happened ta Fluttershy, although he originally tried ta strike me with that magic. “Ah don’ know that much ‘bout tha magic he used, but Fluttershy seems ta have completely fergotten that Ah even exist ‘n also appeared ta think that ya were still in that coma from tha firs’ time Ah ever came here.” Twilight ran a hoof under her chin in silent contemplation before finally answering. “Something about that kind of magic sounds strangely familiar to me. It's possible that this is a form of magic similar to that of the Memory Stone that wound up in the human alternate reality I had visited long ago, but that stone was destroyed a good while back. Just to make sure, I might need Spike to send an urgent letter to Starlight Glimmer so she can help with figuring out this situation.” Making our way back into the throne room, we saw that Fluttershy had been joined by Spike, who was quick to notice the 2 of us entering from the balcony before speaking up. “Twilight, why is Fluttershy asking me why I’ve gotten larger and have wings now? What’s going on?” “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” the princess answered. “I actually need you to write an urgent letter to Starlight Glimmer.” “Who’s that?” Fluttershy puzzled. “Tell her that we need her help with Fluttershy,” she continued, ignoring Fluttershy’s question. “That she seems to have lost memory of all events that happened after we first defeated Tirek, including any memories of ever meeting David. Tell her that, if need be, she has access to any book in my library in order to find out what’s causing this.” Spike was writing the letter with such speed and tenacity that I was amazed the paper itself didn’t catch on fire from how fast the feather pen was flying across it. Before long, Spike had the letter finished, rolled up, and, with a quick breath of his flame, sent off to Starlight. As we waited for Starlight to respond to the letter, a very unsettling feeling came over me: the realization that my whole life had been a lie. This Claude I’d come across less than an hour ago had created my ancestor Destiny as part of his ability to make lies into reality. All that I’d ever been this whole time was just a byproduct of someone else’s own imagination. Every descendant of Destiny’s leading up to me weren’t even real. This scary realization that my whole existence had been in the hands of another individual was incredibly hard for me to swallow in that moment. As seconds turned to minutes while we waited for Starlight’s answer to the letter, all I could think of was, if Claude still had this kind of power over my fate, what else could he possibly do to me? Or even scarier still, what else could he possibly undo to me? * * * * * * * * After what felt like an eternity to me, though in reality it was only several minutes, Starlight Glimmer finally zapped into our presence, startling Fluttershy in the process. “Ahh!” she cried out while hiding behind Twilight. “Who’s th-that?” “Sorry for taking so long,” Starlight spoke up to us. “As soon as I got your letter, I teleported straight to the Canterlot library and began looking through all the books that were there.” It was then that she produced a sizable book before continuing on. “Granted, I’m not as fully familiar with the Canterlot library as some others might be, but I finally found what I was looking for in this book titled, ‘An Account of Chaotic Curses and Calamities’ which I found in the restricted section of the library.” “What exactly did ya find out?” I posed the question. “That,” she started, “I’ll need to discuss with you and Twilight privately.” “Spike, would you mind accompanying Fluttershy outside of the throne room for the time being?” Twilight asked. “I’ll fill you in on the details later.” “Sure thing,” he replied. And so, after Spike had led Fluttershy out of the throne room, me and Twilight turned our attention over to Starlight. “So what were you able to find out?” Twilight questioned. “Well,” Starlight began, opening up the book that she had to a specific page, “I believe that what’s happened to Fluttershy is that she’s been struck with ‘The Curse of Forgotten Love’, a curse that dates all the way back to the time when Discord ruled over Equestria. In fact, I’m pretty sure that he was originally the only one who was ever able to use that curse.” “Well, I think that answers where Discord’s magic has disappeared to.” “Did this curse have any kind o' connection ta tha Mind Stone from long ago?” I posed the question. “Memory Stone,” Twi corrected, a playful smile crossing her face. “Someone's clearly been watching way too many Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.” A look of confusion came to Starlight's face for a few seconds, but then she seemed to think better of it before speaking up. “Yes actually. Apparently, there was a powerful sorceress who called on Discord to unite their powers into the creation of the Memory Stone itself. He held the primary power for the stone within himself while this sorceress had the strength to stabilize this power in the form of the stone, serving as a vessel for this dangerous form of magic.” After Starlight had turned a page in the book, I saw an image of the Memory Stone on one of the pages and the familiar eye shape it held with 3 triangles above and 2 curved, scrolling lines that didn’t quite line up right beneath. That easily recognizable symbol left me aghast upon seeing again. “That’s tha same shape Ah saw glow ‘cross Claude’s hands before he fired tha blast!” I exclaimed. “Then there’s no doubt that this same curse is the cause of your troubles,” Starlight stated. “What exactly does tha book say ‘bout this curse?” I asked her. “Basically, the curse causes somepony to completely forget about their significant other, whether it be somepony they’re dating or even married to, similar to the Memory Stone. However, there's some differences between the power of the Memory Stone and the curse in question. With the Memory Stone, any memories of somepony would be permanently gone after 3 days of the stone being used on them. As far as this curse is concerned, the individual who's memory has been forgotten by their significant other slowly begins to fade from existence entirely. After a full week has passed, that pony vanishes as if they’d never existed.” Starlight’s revelation to us only made me all the more uneasy. First, Discord had the ability to bring other ponies back from the dead and now this? All of this gave me even more reason for concern that Discord couldn’t be trusted with this kind of power anymore. Knowing that any pony could’ve been erased from existence like that was not the kind of power that should belong to anyone, especially not Discord. Still, I was sure that there had to be more to this curse than what Starlight had just mentioned, some form of counter measure that could break it. “Does tha book say anythin’ ‘bout how ta undo this curse?” “There is only one way that the curse can be broken: with True Love’s Kiss.” After this realization, I couldn’t help but groan inwardly before speaking up. “Really? That’s tha solution ta all o’ this? Couldn’t’ve come up with somethin’ a little more original than that?” I sighed. “O.K. then. Ah guess Ah’ll jus’ go kiss Fluttershy ‘n this’ll all be over.” “Wait!” Starlight called out as I turned to leave. “What?” I paused in my tracks. “It’s not as simple as it may sound.” Of course it’s not, I thought to myself. Why should I ever expect it to be? “In order for it to qualify as True Love’s Kiss, it must be given willingly by both parties involved. Fluttershy would have to want to kiss you in order for the curse to be broken.” “But how am Ah supposed ta get her ta wanna kiss me? She’s absolutely terrified o’ me right now.” “Knowing how charming you can be, I’m sure you’ll be able to win her heart again, no problem,” Starlight smiled at me before her face turned serious again. “However, you’ll only have about a week to break the curse before you vanish out of existence.” “One week? Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve is one week from now.” “At least you know what the deadline is to aim for,” Twilight spoke up. “That’s a plus.” “I honestly wish that there was some way that we could help you more,” Starlight began, “but winning Fluttershy’s heart back and breaking this curse is something that can only be done by you. Knowing how much you truly love and care for her, I have no doubt that you’ll find some way to win her love back.” I offered a tiny, weak smile at Starlight’s statement towards me before I came to realize something that I’d meant to bring up to Twilight. However, with my current situation being as precarious as it was, I wasn’t sure if it would even be anything all that important if I were to fail at getting my beautiful Flutters back. Still, I felt it necessary to voice my concern to Twilight on the off chance that I was able to succeed. “Hey, Twi?” “Yes, David?” “On a completely unrelated note, if Ah am… able ta win Fluttershy’s heart back… ‘n break this curse… Ah… Ah have somethin’ important… that Ah need ta talk ‘bout with ya.” “Why don’t you just tell me what it is right now?” “Because it’s somethin’ that Ah’d like ta do personally. Ya know, after all this mess has been taken care o’ first.” “O.K. If you feel that way, I’ll be right here waiting for you when the curse has been broken.” “Thanks, Twi,” I stated as I hugged her gently. “You’re welcome, David,” she reciprocated back to me. Pulling apart from the hug, I was reminded how late it was as Starlight yawned before speaking back up. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I think it’s time to hit the sack. I’ll just return this book to the library and then I’ll be out of your manes.” “See you in the morning, Starlight.” With a flash, she was gone. “Ah should prob’ly be headin' out too,” I concurred. “Now that Ah think ‘bout it, Ah’d need ta get Fluttershy back ta her house also.” “Good luck, David.” And with that, I exited the throne room where Spike and Fluttershy were standing right outside. Both of them soon took notice of me, Spike being the first to speak up. “Did you find out what the problem was?” “Yes. Twi will fill ya in on tha deets.” “Umm, is it O.K. for me to go home now?” Fluttershy posed the question. “Ah don’ see why not. If ya want, Ah could escort ya home no problem.” “Umm... I don’t know,” she replied nervously. “Aww c’mon, Flutters. Usin’ ma magic, Ah could get ya back ta yer house in a matter o’ seconds.” “Well… O.K. if you’re offering.” “Ah’ll see ya later, Spike.” “See you later, David.” And so, gently taking Fluttershy’s hoof in my hand, I summoned my magic to bring her back to her cottage, the 2 of us vanishing in a brilliant flash of emerald. * * * * * * * * Within the blink of an eye, me and Flutters were back inside her cottage, though I knew that my time there would be brief. It wasn’t long before Fluttershy herself spoke up to me. “David?” “Yes?” “I… I just wanted to let you know… that I do greatly appreciate you… going out of your way… to bring me back here… even if I don’t really know you all that well.” “Hey. It’s no problem at all.” It was then when Fluttershy let out an absolutely adorable yawn before I followed up. “Welp, Ah should probably let ya get some rest,” I turned to leave. “Jus’ know that, if ya ever need me fer anythin’, ma place is right within flyin’ distance of here.” “Oh. O.K. I’ll keep that in mind, though… I’m not sure if I’ll really need that much help.” “Well ma offer still stands all tha same. See ya later.” “Goodnight.” And with that, I left Fluttershy’s cottage and made my way back to my own place for the night. As I laid down to rest, sleep didn’t come easily for me. Running heavily through my mind was the realization that this Claude character had been responsible for me even existing in the first place. Even worse still was what I’d found out from Starlight about the curse that he’d cast, knowing that he’d originally meant to cast it on me before Fluttershy sacrificed herself to take the hit in my stead. I was filled with rage at the thought that he would’ve erased my memories of ever knowing Fluttershy while she would’ve eventually been erased from existence entirely. Equally disturbing to me was the fact that this curse that he’d cast was a form of dark magic that had come from Discord himself. Knowing that that kind of power existed to begin with was bad enough, but the realization that it was something that Discord had once had in his reserve of magic made me all the more distrusting of him and more certain that power of this magnitude shouldn’t belong to anyone at all. Finally going off into nervous, troubled sleep, one question lingered the strongest in my mind: Was there any possible way for this terrible, deadly magic to be destroyed completely? Even in that moment, I couldn’t come up with the right answer.