Pulsar trotted through the crowd of ponies, the sun beginning to set, but before he event reached his home.
"Oooooh, my old student! Pulsar...Splaaash," a most mischievous voice.
"You know him?" Fluttershy asked the Prince directly.
"I do. You could even say I was his first friend."
"Discord's first friend?" Fluttershy questioned, looking up at the even older being.
"How was...how did Discord have a friend before Fluttershy?" Celestia spoke with a little spite.
"This is one I know," Luna trotted to them, "I've seen it in your dreams, but now I get to hear it myself."
Discord leaned back in a patio recliner, sipping away on a smoothie, "do tell us, Pulsar Splash."
"Far before you battled him, I met him. I met him in what is now called Ponyville, where I used to test out magic spells."
"I like this part!" Discord mentioned, 3D glasses atop his nose.
"Discord approached me and complimented me on being the most magic adept pony he had seen in a very long time. I could see the mischief in his eyes, Unicorn Court would teach you a lot about finding someone's intent just by how their pupils look at you."
"Not my proudest moment."
"But instead I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. I offered me, an opportunity to learn how he uses his magic."
"This was big," the second tale teller stood from his chair, "nopony had offered this ever before. I had never even tried to teach anypony chaos magic. Yet this unicorn stood in front of me demanding to be taught. I think he knew what I meant for Equestria and was dealing with me in his own way, but I couldn't say no."
"Maybe something deep down in me longed for understanding and a friend," Discord quietly spoke.
"He did tutor me, showing me how he used it, his intent when he did...but I had bigger questions, questions key to develop my own physical comprehension of how Discord worked."
Pulsar pointed his hoof at Discord, pressing on the fur of his stomach, "then it hit me why I couldn't do all the things he was even though the embodiment of chaos was teaching me."
"I taught Pulsar to relax and that it's okay to be a little disorganized and chaotic," Discord smiled, "it's only natural after all."
"The next night, I completely disorganized my library, books everywhere, pages open to random numbers, tomes in the wrong spots. Oh Tartarus, I even let a flock of birds nest in there and nailed a couple bookcases to the ceiling."
"He showed me it, messiest place ever, I couldn't find a single thing, but I was having fun looking at it all."
"And I finally understood what Discord meant, what he is. Chaos and chaos isn't a bad thing, chaos is just breaking your routine to serve your own needs sometimes. Chaos is doing something spontaneous because you can," Discord was smiling away.
"Pulsar Splash really took his time to understand me, he's incredibly dedicated to his profession. I have no doubt he will be the best Prince Equestria has ever seen," he looked to Twilight who was speaking with Starswirl a distance aways.
"You doubt her, Discord?" Celestia questioned.
"Y-ye..." he sighed, "no. I don't doubt her abilities, but I can see some scenarios not turning out...ideal. You on the other hand, you have all the magic you need to stop anypony. You have all the magic you need to protect the lands," he smiled, "and the sense to do it classily."
"Not that you doubt her, but that you have concerns that she'll not take an appropriate resolution to some issues?" Pulsar proposed and Discord nodded.
"Back to the earlier topic," Pulsar recovered the conversation, "once I understood Discord, I could think like him and I did that for a week and before I knew..."
He shot magic from his horn, the color coming off as orange and a scene played out in the sky, a railroad track with the appropriate signage. As the barriers came down, actual pieces of railroads started crossing over each other across the railroad meant to hold a train.
"Railroad! Crossing!" Discord wheezed, laughing heartily.
"I could use the same chaos magic he does."
All of the ponies sat with jaws open, their legs in too much awe to continue standing.
"So...so...when did this happen?" Fluttershy asked.
"When did Discord teach me?"
"I...haha..hahahaha, I taught this little pony when he was really young," Discord stifled his laugh, "I saw him run, well teleport away from the twin sister's castle while he was tutoring them and gave chase. That's when I began tutoring him for oooh, a year or so?"
"That matches up for when he fought us."
"The truth at the time, I was certain he would come for me and raise chaos in my name, but clearly he had some more sense than that."
"I..I never knew Discord could have a student," Celestia muttered, "I'm...honestly impressed with you, Discord."
"I'll make a plaque!" He snapped and such an award was made detailing the time and exact words of Celestia. A fireplace appeared and it went atop it, "and hang it on my mantle."
"Pulsar, was that a windigo you were speaking with?" Sunset trotted up.
"Further down on the bridge? Yes."
"A...windigo?" Discord asked, "my and I thought I was something special. How did you get a windigo as a friend?"
"I've spent thousands of years researching magic and creatures to understand Equestria. Considering I lived just after the great freeze that my parents did not live through, windigos were one of those creatures."
"My research is in the Canterlot library, the public one, too. Windigos are not creature solely attracted to feelings of disharmony or conflict. They are rather attracted to specific ponies and their taste of emotions varies."
"B-But!" Twilight shouted, coming over, "that changes everything!"
"Yeah, it does, Twilight."
"I believe it, every creature is often more complex than what they first seem to be," Sunset mentioned.
"Thauma, the windigo that visited, is a friend of mine and attracted to my emotions. They probably tasted on the wind all my emotions that were rapidly changing and came down from the frozen north to check on my health," Pulsar explained.
"So many friends you've had that aren't ponies," Celestia commented.
"Still have," Twilight corrected, "I guess I was really wrong about you. You do have close bonds, just with non-ponies. I apologize for pushing friendship so harshly onto you, Pulsar."
"Don't," Sunset spoke up, "you were the one who sent him my way," she smiled, Twilight grinning nervously in return.
Pulsar Splash wordlessly began to trot away, his horn glowing.
"Something wrong?" Discord questioned.
"Somepony is in my library past my ward spells."
He trotted all the way there, Sunset choosing to follow him.
The double doors of his library opened and the culprit stood locked in an anti magic field created from his horn, "Starlight Glimmer."
"Heeeey, Pulsar. Sunset?" She questioned, "I haven't seen you in a while. Why are you here?"
"Pulsar's my boyfr-coltfriend."
She went silent, in shock.
"A...prince?"
"You could undo my ward spell but not my alarms. That's sloppy of such a thorough magically talented unicorn," he let down the anti-magic field, returning Starlight to the ground, "this is a very restricted library."
"What were you doing anyways?" Sunset asked.
"Organizing this nightmare of a library! At first the books interested me but after reading the first three titles, Pulsar has a HORRIBLE organization of this place!"
Pulsar's horn lit again and all the books flew off the shelves before flying about the room at incredible speeds and sliding into different shelves.
"There, organized," Starlight took a look again.
"Nooooo, no they're not! The authors, the sections, the titles....it's wrong!"
He flew the books around the room once more, Sunset giggling, "organized again."
"Are you...toying with me?" Starlight questioned as she read the titles again.
He flew the books once more, "I like it this way, not knowing where anything is and having to find it every time I want to use it. Helps me stay in tune with Discord," the books flew again, "that one was for fun."
Starlight groaned at him, "but seriously, if you'd like to use my library, please let me know and I can make accomodations based on the information you're looking for."
"But...I jsut want to browse!"
"No browsing, you have to have a reason to go through some of the most forbidden knowledge," Pulsar firmly spoke.
"What about me?"
"Well, you've shown that you can browse and research away in here without doing anything terribly evil, so you're an exception, Sunset."
"That's not fair! She's your marefriend!"
Pulsar stuck out his tongue, "too bad. Oh, but if you'd like to use my alchemy lab, you are more than welcome to. I know you're careful with materials and react quick with defensive magics so I have no fear of your ruining it or damaging rare materials."
Pulsar teleported the unicorn out of his library and reinstated the wards.
"Preferential treatment...feels nice."
"Well, you're responsible. Bullion made it a point that him and his closest subjects get a really good feel for sizing someone up. Kinda prevented the whole assassinations and court takeover fiascos," Pulsar chuckled.
"Well, she's actually real nice and reasonable. I've met her before," Pulsar nodded.
"To be honest, I'm having a huge problem feeling out anypony because thing shave changed so much. I just choose not to trust most ponies until they give me reason," he luaghed with Sunset.
"That's not a bad policy."
Prince Pulsar looked around his library as he felt a magic tingle.
"Starswirl, how may I help you?" The exact pony appeared in front of him.
"I came to see you, Pulsar, not the Prince of Magic."
"I'll um, find my way out," Sunset teleported away, leaving the two in the library.
"Me? Did you have some research to discuss today?" Pulsar nervously smiled.
"Y-yes. Can you show me where it is?"
Pulsar lit his horn and sunk the table in his library in once more, turning it to the left once and to the right twice and this time back to the left four times before stopping and pushing it in further. The floor split in two and Pulsar went down the stone steps, dispelling the illusion and trotting past the more dangerous magics into the circular staircase to the chamber when the floating platform of his best and worst spell levitated, a stone podium in front of it with the spell's scroll laid on top.
"So...this is where it is?" Starswirl uttered, looking at all the other different symbols on the walls, "you have this place warded from outside magic at all times and a time stop spell cast on the objects in here...and a prison spell ready in case someone does make it in without your conscious authority."
"There's also a time advance spell of yours I modified, a trap in case the prisoner spell is overwritten."
"So the ponies that make it here without your approval die a painless swift death," Pulsar mhmed at his words, "an incredible amount of magic is here," Starswirl trotted to the spell, looking at the closed scroll and then at the incantation circle.
"You...you made Sombra then, he developed his dark magic off your incantation circle you made here."
"Yeah, father of all dark magic, that's me."
"Mmm, I'm not here to chastise you like I did two or so thousand years ago. You've clearly grown more than me."
"I saw Twilight meet you. You were still just as harsh."
"A second mistake, she's actually helped me to realize how...stupid I was in starting that hunt for you."
"Huh?"
"I'm...sorry, Pulsar Splash. It was wrong of me to correct you, abandon you when you fled, and persuade the court to hunt you as a lich. You are not that. You are not evil, I hope you can understand why I-."
"That doesn't sound like a real apology!" Sunset came trotting down the steps.
"Sunset Shimmer! You can't be down he-!"
"Quiet, you," Sunset hushed Pulsar and the new Prince shut his muzzle, "it sounds like you are just removing labels you used to demonize him. Do you know what he did because of you? How many things he abandoned? How much he hid away? You won't understand two thousand years of isolation and what it will do because you were asleep and unconscious with you banished the pony of shadows. You had others!" Sunset was tearing into him, staring at him with blazing cyan eyes.
His nervousness, sorrow, regret became her rage. Sunset became angry on behalf of him so Starswirl would give him a proper apology.
He sighed out, "I'm...still learning about friendship more but that is no excuse. Pulsar Splash, I was an awful friend to you. I owed you more than my rudeness, far more and that's not something I can ever make right, but that's a behavior I can correct. I've thrown away such an antiquated black and white moral compass," Starswirl bowed to him, "I'm truly sorry about the pain I've caused you."
Sunset trotted back to Pulsar.
"Starswirl...you're forgiven. I can not hold onto rage at anyone who hurts me, maybe you knew that at the time, but that's still true."
"Pulsar..."
Sunset smiled, "no half measures, ever."
Starswirl stifled a laugh behind his closed lips, "if you asked me two thousand years ago if one of us would be alicorns, I would never have believed it, but you stand here as a paragon of your research and prowess."
"You know...I discovered the recipe for Sacred Solvent."
"Actually...I was the one who did it."
"You...you recreated his legendary concoction?" Starswirl smiled, "I miss that grass picking oaf."
Silence fell over the forbidden room.
"Say, Pulsar, let's have one more go at it."
"Um, Sunset...you know how to lock the room?" Pulsar took a guess.
"Yep! I've been learning a lot of your mannerisms and how to undo your spells, so I'll be fine."
"Just be careful," Pulsar teleported away along with Starswirl.
The celebration was still ongoing outside, most ponies who elected to stay past the sunset were inside his home, there were still some on the bridge, but most were dancing, some ponies were even trying out sword duels with suits worn.
Pulsar Splash trotted along with Starswirl to the magic duel sphere, two young unicorns were currently using it while the two mages dressed in the appropriate suits. Pulsar quickly used his magic to modify his to fit his wings as well.
Luna, Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash came over to the two of them after hearing whispers going about.
"Oh, perfect. Luna, could you hold my crown for me, it would not be fair if I wore it during our duel," Pulsar levitated it to her.
"Are...are you sure? This is an important artifact," she gently levitated it in her magic.
"Considering I've seen you in my dreams and you still chose to keep my identity a secret, you'll be fine. You're in one of the safest places in Equestria."
The young unicorns had already run out of the duel sphere and Pulsar Shadow began to use the magical console next to it to modify it.
The sphere was thrown into the air and levitated, becoming a large box in the air, the edges still curved.
"Are...you two dueling?" Rarity asked, "I've never see an old fashioned magic duel, like the ones they write about still."
Starswirl laughed, "it goes a bit differently than that," the unicorn teleported inside the glass enclosure.
Pulsar breathed in deeply before exhaling, "reminds me of how I became a magical advisor to Bullion."
"Are they really gonna..."
"Yes, Twilight, I believe they are. It's been so long since I've seen the might of starswirl let alone Pulsar Splash. You may learn a lot from them, Sparkle," Luna answered.
Above the residence, the glass box stood completely still, massive in size.
"You sure about this, Starswirl?"
"I may be old, but I am very experienced," Starswirl began to levitate and Pulsar Splash flapped his wings and took himself into the air to meet him at eye level.
"Glad you could come to a more modern view of things, Starswirl."
"I don't think I was right in the head back then."
They went silent again before Pulsar Splash shot a beam of offesnvie magic at Starswirl who levitated away and returned the fire, Pulsar flapping higher.
Their duel began and Pulsar's horn lit to a very blinding grey, he appeared as another star in the night sky to the ponies below. They were zipping about and sending offensive magic bolts back and forth for two or three minutes before the magic ramped more.
Starswirl's horn began to let off the rare spark before he teleported about the glass box, attempting to strike the Prince from multiple angles, Pulsar put up a shield, not sustaining a single crack. He instead smiled, multiple spheres of magic forming throughout the glass box and he shot them randomly throughout the glass box, redirecting them in disorienting and random paths.
"Advanced manipulation of an offensive spell, that's quite a leap."
"I thought to stop holding back as much, see if your magic changed while you were locked away and then helping Equestria."
"I see, it certainly has changed since the last time we did this!" Starswirl began grabbing his magic bolts in lievtation spells, holding them still.
Pulsar smiled at the unicorn who sent the magic back at him. The alicorn let out a massive blast of magic from his horn, a solid ray shooting to Starswirl.
He looked afterwards and saw the unicorn sitting in his own shield, "oh, raw magic now?"
"Should have known such a thing wouldn't catch the Bearded off guard," Pulsar mocked his new title, "but I admit now I need to start trying."
Pulsar's horn lit brightly again before turning to a cyan color.
"Are you...more forbidden magic? Do you ever learn?"
"Did you ever research?" Pulsar opened his mouth and blew out, snow began to fall within the glass box, a chill came over Starswirl, cold needling him to his very bones.
"I-I know this frost...this is."
"Windigo magic," Pulsar smiled, watching Starswirl expend more magic on just keeping himself shielded and warm.
Starswirl glared the alicorn down and fired volley after volley of his own offensive magic while Pulsar flapped about and shielded himself when necessary.
The alicorn stared right at the shield Starswirl kept up and smiled, keeping a shield up himself. His horn began to let off a deep black mist.
"Puuuulsar, I don't think that's wise."
"Starswirl, you have not seen the leaps and bounds by which I've made progress," the master mage shot a transulscent beam at Starswirl's shield, a black color was made when it contacted his defensive magic.
And just a second after his shield began cracking and flickering.
"What?! What is this?!"
Starswirl fed more magic into his shield but it only helped for a brief second.
"I...I'm outdone? This easily?"
"When a mage understands the true nature of dark magic, they can make the right calls on using it or not," Pulsar explained, his horn charging again, "this is the end of our duel, Starswirl."
The moment Pulsar heard his shield crack, a ray blasted at Starswirl. The alicorn continued to stay focused and felt a large magic signature come from Starswirl. The unicorn was suddenly next to him, firing a small offensive bolt. Pulsar teleported away.
"T-T-Time magic?!"
Starswirl heaved, "surely you didn't think I fell that out of practice, did you?" Starswirl was rapidly firing offensive bolts at Pulsar Splash.
"I see, then..." the alicorn split into multiple versions, "I'll just take it higher again," and an volley of rays befell the unicorn.
Pulsar Splash deigned to instead slow time down for the unicorn and speed it up for himself. His horn was sparking magic everywhere while crackles could be heard from it.
Starswirl formed a shield as he began teleporting. Pulsar focused more and countless duplicates of himself populated the glass box, plenty more than just thirty, all firing spells at the fleeing unicorn. Eventually, no matter where he went, magic was flying and his shield was under constant duress.
Pulsar Splash looked at the unicorn, his horn began to boom constantly, ramping his magic output. The sky was filled, even outside the glass duel container, with the wracking of magic. Rainbow Dash would be in hysteria with the noise.
"P-P-Pulsar, I hope you know wha-."
t you're doing.
I'm in your head now, Starswirl.
And Starswirl suddenly could no longer keep his shield up as Pulsar Splash blocked all the magic trying to flow out of his body. He couldn't levitate and while he fell to the bottom of the box, Pulsar's duplicates barraged him before they dissipated.
Starswirl's suit was glowing and the duel box quickly came back down to its original shape, slotting in Pulsar's land again.
"How...how did," Starswirl stood, dizzy.
Pulsar exited and took his suit off, boxing it back, a little while later Starswirl did the same, recovering mostly from Pulsar's mental intrusion. A hoofstomping came from the audience they had, Sunset present now.
"That was...wow, I couldn't even manage those spells," Starlight laughed.
"Pray tell, what happened to cause your shield to falter the second time?"
"Using dark magic what very irresponsible, Pulsar Splash. You should-," Twilight Sparkle was cut off by Celestia.
"He was our teacher, if anypony knows what he is doing with his magic, it's Pulsar."
"Prince Pulsar, he...he infiltrated my mind."
"Telepathy? He distracted you?" Celestia could not believe it.
"No, I read that spell. It was a rather recent one Pulsar created," Sunset interjected, "Pulsar forced his way into his mind with the base of telepathy and a different magic," Sunset put her hoof to her chin, "if I had to guess though, he took it a bit farther. I'm guesssssing, he blocked your use of magic," Sunset looked at the grizzled unicorn.
"Yes, you're correct. Seems you've had access to his library."
"It's a treasure trove in there!"
"I'm sorry, he did what?!" Twilight asked.
"Blocked his magic!" Sunset cheerily answered.
"That's! That's! Pulsar Splash!"
"Princess Twilight, he was your teacher's senior. He is the Prince of Magic."
Twilight sighed, "I guess you did hear my opinion."
"Still, that is an impressive spell," Luna commented.
"Nothing but the best from him," Sunset rolled her eyes.
"And nothing but even better coming," Pulsar pointed at his marefriend, his chest puffed out.
The moon was slowly rising from Luna's lit horn, "Sister, I believe we should retire."
Celestia nodded with a yawn.
"What about you, Pulsar? You said you have a very different sleep schedule," Sunset commented.
"I can stay up late for just one night. In fact, shouldn't we go through the mirror?" Pulsar proposed.
"To the other world?" Starswirl asked with Sunset nodding, "isn't that where I banished the sirens to?"
"Oh, they're completely helpless now. I stopped them and took away their ability to use their magic," Sunset puffed.
"Hmm, didn't think they would get there and still be able to cause ponies undue harm."
"May I come?" Luna asked.
"Um, I don't know Princess," Sunset answered.
Pulsar smiled, "I know someone who would be delighted to meet you"
"Are you sure that would be wise, Pulsar?"
"Of course!" He looked to Twilight, "I know they're your friends as well, will you be coming?"
"I shouldn't, I've been out for a while and I still have to find Spike wherever he had gone off to."
Pulsar pointed with a wing, "he's been talking with my friend Rapture the whole time," the small dragon was staring up at the lone nomad and the two could audibly be heard exchanging questions, "so I think your favorite little dragon just made a new friend."
Twilight smiled, "Tell them all I said hi," Twilight trotted away.
Starswirl bowed to Pulsar before trotting across the long bridge himself, "it's nice to be your friend again, Prince Pulsar."
"Soo...where has Twilight moved the mirror to?" Luna asked and before Pulsar even had the chance, Sunset teleported them.
Pulsar then long range teleported his crown atop his head, the crown shining a bright grey of his magic upon returning to the attuned alicorn.
"Here!" Sunset pointed to it.
"Hmm, same place," Luna composed herself again.
Sunset pulled on the alicorn as she dove into the mirror herself. Pulsar followed after.