//------------------------------//
// Old Tales 
// Story: To Fix an Empire 
// by Neoeryn 
//------------------------------//

“Wait, you mean Star Swirl knew about these long before they even existed?” Calamity and Twilight were surrounded by ancient scrolls and books, only a few of which held the answers to the questions they had.

“That’s what his writing says. They’re called the Elements of Unity, and every thousand years or so they return to keep the balance of Equestria intact. It doesn’t say anything about that strange location though.” Twilight was eagerly flipping through pages and skimming through the scrolls, Calamity looking through the ancient artifacts. She was in awe at all the things a unicorn could even collect, as she believed it was just a habit that dragons picked up on. It wasn’t until she found an amulet, that she stopped to pick it up.

“Oh... Oh no, this shouldn’t be here-”

“What’d you find? Something wrong?” Twilight looked up from her book, only to notice the amulet. “So, you know of that thing? Star Swirl and I tried studying that thing for years. We weren’t sure exactly where it came from, but Discord and I did manage to get it back from Tirek-”

“Well,” -Calamity handed the amulet to Twilight- “Discord showed me a history book a while back. It once belonged to a witch named Catrina, one of the most powerful witches of her kind. She could perform any type of magic you could think of until one day, she disappeared, as did her amulet. I feel like I recognize this as well... Discord knew a lot more about Catrina than the book did.”

“You don’t think,” Twilight had put the amulet away in a chest, and started cleaning up the scrolls and books. “Discord might know about her disappearance? Maybe they were close friends or at least knew each other.”

“It’s possible. I don’t ask him about his past much because it seems to upset him, but I don’t blame him. I suppose I could try to ask,” Calamity had grabbed her bag and started trotting towards the door. “And thank you, Princess Twilight. Even if we didn’t find anything about this new place, we at least found something.”

Back in Chaosville, Calamity couldn’t find Discord anywhere. She looked everywhere and figured he must’ve gone to go start trouble somewhere. Upon entering the living room, she had found the history book laying on the table in front of her. She had picked it up, wondering if Discord might’ve placed it there before leaving.

“I noticed you weren’t where you said you were, so I decided to figure out where you possibly could’ve gone. You know you’re not really good at lying,” He grabbed the book from her grasp, snapping and sending it off somewhere. “I overheard you and Twilight talking about this?” Calamity wasn’t sure how, but he had the amulet.

“Y-how did you get that? I saw Twilight lock it in a box-” Calamity reached upwards, trying to grab it from him to no avail. “-And I don’t know anything about it! Now give it-”

“Not until you tell me how you could possibly recognize it. If this thing’s jogging your memory, there might be more to your past than you may think-” He handed the amulet to Calamity. “-and if this little trinket is going to help you figure that out, then you might want to start doing it now.”

Calamity held the amulet close to her, trying to feel any ounce of familiar magic or memories. She wasn’t sure why it looked familiar, or why the magic felt like it belonged to her.

“Well? Do you remember anything?” Discord had his paw outstretched, signaling that he wanted the amulet back from her. “If not, that’s no big deal. Maybe it’s just from reading too much.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything. I thought I did, but maybe everypony’s right. I think I’m just confusing history with my own emotions.” She handed the amulet back to him and sunk down into the chair.

"Well, it was worth a shot, but don't let it bother you so much. You and Twilight are two peas in a pod when it comes to minor inconveniences. Why don't we both go see her tomorrow about that little quest of yours?"

"Yeah, that sounds great!" She couldn't believe she had just lied to him. She knew something felt familiar about the amulet, and the magic inside of it brought a sense of nostalgia or even emotions about a place she used to know. Even if she wasn't so sure of that herself, Discord could sense something was up.