//------------------------------//
// Chapter 25: The Backstory 
// Story: Forgotten Bygones 
// by Catpaw616 
//------------------------------//

Twilight shivered from the cold as the three ventured inside the forest. It didn't help that it was raining, which made them soaking wet. Twilight kept shaking her mane to get the water out, but not even the shade of the trees can stop the inevitable.

Starlight didn't seem to be fazed by the storm, although she could notice that she was shaking a little due to the cold. While Trixie, who was next to her, kept chattering her teeth.

"Since when did the temperature get this cold? And how come its raining when moments ago it was clear as night?" Trixie complained.

Twilight looked up to see the clouds. Even though she wasn't sure, she could make out pegasi near the stormy clouds. They kept kicking them over and over, causing the rain.

"I think I found the culprits. No thanks to me though." Twilight muttered.

As they raced to Zecora's hut, Starlight's hoof slipped onto the muddy ground, causing her to fall. Twilight and Trixie halted to see the situation.

"Starlight!" Trixie exclaimed. She rushed over to lend her a hoof.

"Thanks." Starlight responded. Her coat, mane, and tail had streaks of mud. Starlight looked upwards to see the clouds, blinking rapidly so the teardrops don't get into her eye. "It keeps getting worse."

"It won't be long. Just keep going!" Twilight encouraged. She could make out some lights in the distance.

Twilight dashed ahead as Trixie and Starlight trotted after her in a slow pace.

Making their way through the bushes, they finally arrive at Zecora's Hut. Trixie sat near the door, trying to rub the mud off of Starlight. Twilight knocked on the door and patiently waited for Zecora.

Thankfully they didn't have to wait for long. Seeing them out the window, Zecora opened the door, and dipped her head to them.

"Welcome, friends! Nice to see you again." Zecora greeted.

Starlight and Trixie waved their hooves. "Hello, Zecora."

"Zecora, we're in a crisis right now, and we could need to some advice and a clue." Twilight told her instantly.

Zecoa's eyes widened. "The spell is still activated?"

"It's not a spell. It's more of a curse." Starlight explained.

"An aggravating one." Trixie added while rolling her eyes.

"And we have no idea how to get rid of it." Twilight finished.

Zecora's eyes continued widen, as if she couldn't believe what she heard. She cleared her throat and moved out of the way. "We'll discuss it once you are inside. That way, you will be dry."

Thankful for Zecora's hospitality, Twilight walked inside her home, dripping wet, and sat down onto one of the tables. Starlight and Trixie came in afterward, and sat near Twilight.

Zecora grabbed some herbs and put them into her steaming cauldron. Then she searched through her baskets.

"What brings you here in this dire time?" Zecora asked.

The three looked at each other, unsure. Where do they even start?

As if she knew what they were thinking, Zecora waved her hoof. "Just tell me your current situation. Since the entire story may lead to complications."

With a heavy sigh, Twilight began. "We figured out that this spell is actually a curse, and a single head injury doesn't drive it away anymore. It can possess whoever it wants!"

"They've turned Discord into stone, and they captured Spike!" Trixie shouted.

"We want this curse to be gone, but we have no idea how to get rid of it for good. That's why we came to you." Starlight told her.

Zecora nodded, processing the information. She focused her gaze onto Twilight. "Since you were part of the spell, what was it like? If you are willing to tell."

Twilight shrugged. "You have zero control over your body, and you are forced to watch a curse do terrible things with it."

"And do you know who cast the spell?" Zecora asked as she grabbed a wooden spoon with her jaw and started stirring.

Trixie and Starlight stared at Twilight with an intense gaze. Normally, Twilight would be uncomfortable, but given the situation, she felt that it was deserved.

"It was me." she admitted regretfully. "Not only once, but two times."

Surprisingly, Zecora didn't seem fazed. The zebra rubbed her chin. "How did you cast the spell? Surely it wasn't hard, I can tell."

"Apparently when you read it aloud, the curse is activated." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Then I cast it again after the curse literally forced me too."

Zecora immediately stopped stirring the cauldron. She looked at the three in pity. After staring at them for an uncomfortable amount of time, she turned away. "I hope that this isn't true, but I believe I have a clue."

Zecora searched through her pots and herbs, while the others watched. She pulled out a dusty box from the very back. With a sigh, she opened the box. She grabbed a golden chain and placed it onto the table. It was a golden necklace, with a pony-shaped center. The sight of it made Twilight startle a little by how creepy it looked. But it looked... familiar.





"Was this golden-shaped head on the cover of the book?" Zecora asked.

Twilight studied the necklace. Then her head perked up. "Yes... it was."

Zecora nodded grimly. "That's what I thought."

"But what does a necklace have to do with the curse?" Trixie asked.

Zecora looked at one of the masks that hung onto the walls and ceiling. Then she began. "When I was foal, our folks at home would tell me the tales of old. One of them had to deal with this necklace that lays onto the table, and I hoped that it was a fable."

"What tale?" Starlight asked curiously.

"The tale of Basan." Zecora answered grimly. "A tale about a pony who was evil, and was an assassin."

"Would you mind if you told the tale? If you remember it, of course." Twilight asked. Starlight and Trixie nodded in agreement.

Zecora smiled a little. "Of course I remember! I never forget a story from one of my dear mentors."



"Basan was a pony from the ancient times. Not much was known about his life, but he did cause a lot of crimes. He massacred villages, stole food from the poor, and so many more. He was known as one of the most evil ponies of the ancient times.

But then a not-well-known magician, Biaeus, put a stop to his mental strife. He found Basan, all alone in his home, and cast a spell that caused him to burn into flames, ending his life. All what was left was a necklace.

However, Basan had a brother, Anoetos, who was devastated about his brother's passing. Wanting his brother to return, he used dark magic onto his ashes and put it in a giant urn. He put his brother's ashes, and a random book into the urn, and he did the work with the power of his horn.

After the process was done, a spell had been finished. He was about to release his brother in order to end his mourn, but then Biaeus arrived to stop the unicorn. Realizing what he had done and gave him no chance to atone, the wizard turned Anoetos into stone, and... smashed him into bits and bits.

But moments before Anoetos died, he proclaimed that the book was unbreakable, so destroying it was impossible. Turned out he was right, since the wizard's spells onto the book took him all night. 

Knowing that the book was indeed immune as it didn't make a dent, he put a powerful lock onto the cover, so no one would summon the spell by accident.

Then he hid the book into one of the castles, and put it deep into one of the shelves. As time went on, the book, and Basan's legacy had been forgotten. Well, by most ponies."



Twilight and her friends looked at Zecora dumbfounded. Zecora grabbed the necklace from the table and put it back into the box.

"So the book that I found... was actually the book that releases Basan's soul?" Twilight rubbed her head with her hooves, trying to understand the story. "But why was it called Goodness Forgetness?"

Zecora shrugged. "Maybe the wizard wanted to hide the fact that it was Basan's soul. Maybe Basan thought that it was a good idea to hurt innocent souls. So he decided to follow up to the name until he got bored."

"How do we get rid of Basan, then?" Starlight asked.

Zecora continued to mix her brew. "What I'm getting from the story is that Basan's soul is connected to the book, and according to his brother, only he can destroy it, one way or another."

"So once the book is destroyed by him... he dies?"

Zecora nodded.

With all the information setting in, Twilight nodded to her friends. To which they nodded back.

"Thank you for everything, Zecora." Starlight thanked the zebra.

Zecora dipped her head. "Always happy to help my friends in these weird times."