Author’s Note: HAI!!!! I know. It’s been a while. I really must thank you all for being so patient with me. I apologize for the long wait. I have had plenty of my own little dramas to deal with these months. I am now finally getting to finishing this chapter!!! UGH! Celestia help me. T_T In other news: I had a birthday. I’m 17 now. Lol. Just thought you’d all like to know that. :D Yay. OK! You came here to read, so READ. I wrote this FOR YOU. :3
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Twists and Turns”
Twilight Sparkle galloped through the bends of the maze with a sharp glow of determination in her heart that may have indeed been reminiscent of the princess she adored so dearly. Discord had to admit that to himself as he floated invisible above the maze and looked down on the six ponies inside it. She would be the toughest one of the six to crack, as with her allusive magic Element attached to her. First for his mission in separating these Elements, he would tackle Honesty. After all lies surrounded his life, this would be too easy. He grinned and flew down to where Applejack was. The orange mare followed his lure of moving apples and she galloped to the pool where he’d show her an image of the future. His apple puppets lured to her glance inside and the images of her and the other five ponies fighting horrified her. Her eyes swirled almost instantly after he recited something similar to what he’d told to Luna years ago.
“When all the truth does is make your heart ache. Sometimes a lie is easier to take…”
'Perhaps your truthfulness can crack just as quickly as your heart. Just as well; your so-called friends will lie to you always and before you know it, your life is a lie. Throw honesty away or suffer the pain later,' Discord thought.
Next, he entered another section of the maze and found the bubbly pink pony bouncing along. Discord smirked and created a plethora of balloons. Pinkie Pie’s eyes glistened and she merrily bounced into the balloon garden before tripping and falling into a chocolate milk puddle. Discord morphed into a balloon and made the other balloons with faces on them taunt her, turning laughter, her Element against her. It didn’t take long for the pink pony’s coat to turn a drab shade and her facial expression to a bitter and angry one.
'Trust me, I know exactly what it’s like to be laughed at. But see, it’s better this way?' thought Discord. 'Hate them all and have the revenge. How could your own Element betray you in such a cruel way? Happiness is so short-lived, my dear Pinkie Pie. Why do I laugh so much? Oh, mostly to find a sense of pleasure in the smallest things. Not happiness. No. That I do without. You are like me. We do not wear pain on our sleeves. We find smiles to be the best masks. However, in time, that dark cloud cannot stay hidden forever. Hm. So much hate in a sad little pony. Didn’t take much to bring it out now did it? Same I could say for a sad little draconequus I remember from years past. How time changes us.'
Next as he continued on through the maze, he came across Rarity, trotting and looking annoyed. He placed a dead end in her path and she marveled at the beautiful gems that glistened in her gaze. In a matter of moments, the simple little sparkling temptation spawned Rarity’s overwhelming lust for the treasure. Her greed, of course, as Discord had planned it, could only make her see the enormous diamond before her, which in reality was just a giant boulder planted there by the chaotic one himself, so to see her treasure hunting endeavors would prove to be futile, useless, and hilarious for him to watch. He turned invisible and laughed as the white unicorn lifted the heavy rock onto her back, all her greed and affection for the “diamond” blinding all reality.
'Now this is one I do so commend. Generosity. Well, it is commendable, isn’t it? It’s a service really. I should know. Wasn’t I the most generous, caring, trustworthy of them all? Well, SHE certainly thought so. And she’d always remind me of it. But in the end, how useless a service. Pitiful really. You give. You always give. Every bit of yourself and what’s inside you. You are commended, indeed. For, it truly is a commendable thing to be so generous. But then it becomes your downfall. Makes you naïve. Makes you believe others will give back. And they never do. Because it’s just you giving and never receiving. So why live on that end of the spectrum? I find greed to be such a harsh word. More like taking what is yours. Deserving it. For they never gave it to you. So take it from them. And then maybe they’ll finally be forced to give back. And you’ll have everything you ever wanted. Because you are the one calling the shots. And not being pushed around or stepped on any longer. So, greed? Only if you look at it that way. I don’t.' Discord thought.
Soon, the draconequus came across the ever timid Fluttershy. He used subtle tactics, butterflies, which were her cutie mark after all. A pony scared of her own shadow would be intimidated by him easily. So he had to take a less conspicuous approach. Of course speaking to her through the butterflies proved easy. However, convincing her to abandon her friends was not. This, of course was something the baffled draconequus could not understand. However the Element of Kindness was not budging against him. In the end, he had to use his own power to turn her, as he was growing too impatient.
“You’ve been kind for far too long, my dear. Time to be cruel! Arrivederci!” he said before disappearing again.
'Why be kind to ones who treat you as an outcast?' Discord mused. 'Those ponies think of her as helpless. She thinks of herself as helpless. She is still so naïve. I do wonder how many times they get annoyed with her cowardice and weakness? They will stab you in the back eventually. What did I do with my weaknesses? I turned them into energy against my enemies. I made myself more than what I could be. And being kind is tedious. But being cruel, negative, taunting, like second nature. To gain power. To become more. To not live life underneath somepony’s hooves. Even the innocent little Fluttershy will find it so much easier than she thinks.'
Lastly, in the labyrinth, he encountered Rainbow Dash. He stretched out on a cloud hammock and watched as she ran into the clearing. She jumped up, ready for a fight. Discord rolled his eyes slightly, removed the sunglasses he had on and created a false vision for her to chase after of Cloudsdale crumbling. A test of loyalty indeed. Making her choose between her roots or her friends in the maze. As soon as her wings were offered back, her choice was made. He smirked as he watched her fly away. Winning was such a wonderful feeling, even cutting corners to get the job done. Still such a rush.
'One thing I do not understand is the concept of loyalty, he thought. Perhaps because I never saw much of it, what with Mother leaving and Celestia…and what she did. To be loyal, oh, like signing an unwritten contract of the heart. It never dies. It’s always there. And you have to follow through with commitment. Oh, in some ways, I suppose that sounds blissful, or perhaps a high fee to pay, when freedom looks so pleasing and inviting. For freedom, to go away from it all and have no such commitments, is a life one most likely wishes for. In the end, when one heart is loyal while another isn’t, then everything is shattered. So then, what does loyalty truly mean, hm, Celestia?' He finished his thoughts by completely destroying the maze and ending the game.
______________________________
Terribly slowly and quietly she inched the door open with her hoof and stepped inside the quiet room of the cottage. The cold from the outside rushed in. All the snow and ice was still gripping the little delicate feathers of her wings. She couldn’t help but attempt to shake the mountainous cold off as she shut the door behind her. Celestia let her dark hood fall off her head and peered out with concerned eyes as Sage Clover greeted her.
“Oh, Princess! Thank you for coming on such short notice.” She glanced nervously at the other room.
“What happened?” Celestia asked worriedly. “His message didn’t say much but…it sounded like…he was…” Her voice cut off and Clover hung her head, her eyes growing sad.
“He cast a complicated spell,” she said. “And what happened was so unexpected and too terribly dark for him to handle. He’s hurt from it now. But…he’ll tell you everything when you see him.” Celestia nodded in response and sighed.
“How is he?” she asked quietly. Clover didn’t answer right away. Her eyes were downcast and welling up slightly, though it appeared as if she were trying to hide her emotion.
“He’s resting right now,” she replied. “Princess…he doesn’t have long. I’ve noticed his health has been failing him. That spell today...it’s done him in. I’ve…said my goodbyes already. He’s more than a mentor to me. He’s my friend. I only wish he understood what he means to me. He’s like a father to me. He really never understood what friendship means, Your Highness. He could never solve that spell he tired over for so long. I would take it up if I were half the unicorn he was. Oh…but now it’s all for nothing isn’t it? His work? I could never carry on such a legacy.”
“Please don’t fear, Clover,” Celestia replied sighing. “Star Swirl’s legacy won’t die. His memories will live on now for generations in the Canterlot Archives. Besides, I know he loves you in his own way. If you feel as if you are not ready to practice your magic alone, I will mentor you now. I have been meaning to teach magic for some time now. It was all about choosing a unicorn to teach.” Clover brightened up slightly.
“Thank you, Princess,” she replied. “Please. Go see him. He’s awake. I just brought him tea. I know he’s anxious to speak with you.” Celestia nodded and walked over to the partially closed door leading to Star Swirl’s bedroom. She nudged it gently with her hoof and peered inside to see the wizard lying in his bed, wrapped in a dark blue quilt with his long silvery-white beard resting gently on the top. He still had his hat on his head, almost as if he had forgotten to remove it; but in a way, he looked comfortable and almost natural, as if it would take away his identity for him to remove it. He glanced over at Celestia and gave her a weak smile. His face was very pale and wrinkled, especially under his eyes. And in the times that Celestia had seen Star Swirl, she had never truly noticed his wrinkles. However, she really did notice them now. He looked old. That was almost shocking to her. He actually looked old and tired.
“Hello, Princess,” he said sighing with relief. “Thank the stars you came.”
“What happened?” Celestia asked coming over to him. She looked down at him, noticing apparent scars and burn barks on his coat that did not come from any ordinary spell accident. “Star Swirl, what have you done? You’re hurt!”
“Oh, pay no mind, child,” he replied sipping his tea grimly. “I deserve it, the foal I am. I’ve cast my last spell. I only wished to assist you and Luna a few weeks ago when you were faced with trying times in The Crystal Empire. I wished to understand what turned that unicorn’s heart to dark evil. However, my studies led me back to a form of magic I never wished to understand. It is the very reason why I could never assist you when Discord took over Equestria…” Celestia sighed and nodded for him to go on. “I could never fully counter-act such dark power. However, I found a spell in this book of the ancient unicorns detailing how to contain the dark form of one’s inner power.” Star Swirl picked a black book up with his hooves, which of course was unlike him, as he would normally levitate items. He flipped to the page and showed Celestia as sketch of a necklace with an alicorn on it.
“An alicorn?” Celestia commented. “What is it?”
“The ancients wrote about it once here, calling it The Alicorn Amulet, because when their dark powers came alive, their inner selves were as powerful as the alicorn gods and goddesses. A group of the ancients found a way to create it and contain their inner power within it. However, after wearing the necklaces, they became corrupted, so all were destroyed. However, when I uncovered this, I found there was a way to not only contain the dark form of oneself, but also to separate it outside of oneself. And after tirelessly reading such dark materials, I only wished to abandon my inner shadow. So…I cast the spell, the one of a foreign tongue, a thousand tongues, all combined, all understood, and there he stood. I saw the shadow before me, the hideous creature, the darkness plaguing my soul. And his eyes gleamed a fierce green and his coat smoked and burnt like ash. And he was me, Princess. That shadow was Star Swirl the Bearded.”
“No!” Celestia breathed. “Star Swirl! Don’t say that. Please. That wasn’t you. It was only a part of you faded in the dark. You are a good wizard!”
“I only wish I could say this now,” the old unicorn replied. “I battled him, Princess. His powers were so strong and dark. At last, I managed to defeat him by containing him in this.” He slowly levitated a red and black necklace from under his hat. He also levitated a case from his dresser and put it inside. “Never let any unicorns wear this, Princess or it will corrupt them. Keep it hidden away. It can’t be destroyed or he will be re-released and could very well end the kingdom.” Celestia levitated the case from him and nodded.
“I will Star Swirl. You are brave to have done this. This shadow is inside us all, ready to corrupt.”
“This is the point I make, Princess,” Star Swirl said gravely. “It has to do with your sister. See, Discord was vulnerable to the shadow when his heart became fragile. I do believe his heart found it when it broke, Your Highness. He released his on his own. As for King Sombra, he and his shadow were both one in the same. He was purely evil and only a glimpse of light remained. Now…now this is important. As for Luna, I received a vision, Princess. The stars said to me ‘on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about nighttime eternal.’”
“What?!” Celestia replied. “Escape? Escape from what? A thousand years of what? Does this have to do with this deal I made with them when they granted us The Elements of Harmony?!”
“I don’t know,” Star Swirl said. “But I had to tell you before it was time…” Celestia sighed in confusion and nodded.
“Star Swirl,” she said quietly. “One thing haunts me…my inner shadow. It surfaced in me…when Discord took over. This spell you cast…could I re-write it? Can’t I contain my shadow in something else? Must it be the amulet?”
“The book states that the shadow must rest in a gem. The gem in the center of the amulet is where mine resides. Yours could reside in the amulet spawned from the spell, or an inconspicuous gem, I suppose. However, anyone could be tempted to be its user and destroying that would prove difficult.”
“I would do anything to avoid my shadow resurfacing again, Star Swirl. There must be a good use for this spell.”
“I beg you not to, Celestia,” Star Swirl replied. “This magic is the spawn of Chaos. He gloats in darkness. Look at the corruption he brought to his own kin. My dying wish now, as I feel the hour drawing ever near where the stars call me to their side…that you burn this book. Don’t let it be completed. Let it go unfinished. Oh, I know you won’t listen to me, child, but it was worth asking. I never did understand the complexities of contact, relationships, and love. Even in my youth I secluded myself. But oh, Princess, my magic was my love. I needed no other ways to feel happy. Though in a way, it truly was my downfall, wasn’t it? Your future prodigies will mimic me, won’t they? Make sure they know. Make sure they understand my flaws. I would never wish the same lonely life without them knowing…” The wizard sighed and slowly removed his hat from his head. “Oh, don’t be sad for me, Princess. I have lived long. I have done all I could to be a good wizard. I only wish I could say it. But I never will. But….but…now I say this to you…..Princess…” Here his voice began to fail him. He closed his eyes. “…I used to wonder…what friendship…..could…..be….” Star Swirl’s voice sighed and slowly faded like it floated from him into a different realm. His lips rested into a thin line and his hooves fell down to his sides gently. When Celestia heard his voice and breath fade, the snow from outside the window ceased and everything felt just a little warmer and calm. It wasn’t very surprising to her when she didn’t see his chest rise again, but all the same, still sorrowful.
“Star Swirl,” she murmured slightly after that moment. She waited with no response and closed her eyes in grief for the wizard. She levitated his hat up and rested it gently between his forelegs on his beard. She bowed her head to him and slowly turned out of the room to find Clover. “He is gone…” she whispered. Clover nodded, tears in her eyes.
“Thank you, Princess,” she said walking toward the room. “What did he give you?” she inquired, glancing at the case and the black book.
“Parting gifts…” Celestia replied stiffly. She opened the door to the snowy cold and exited the house.
'Thank you, Star Swirl,' she thought grimly. 'But I cannot abide by your wishes. If Discord returns, my shadow won’t.'
___________________________
Celestia's mind swung like a pendulum from one thing to another as she paced in her chambers. This memory of Star Swirl, though it seemed unrelated to anything else, was a pivotal moment. It of course not only provided a clearer picture to her of just how Discord fell into his enraged, darkened, crazed self, but also how the shadow could be conjured just as easily in someone like her. Or Luna. Oh, such corruption in even the purest hearts. How, darkness and light seemed to accompany one another so well. But now choices must be made, and Discord had the choice now to stay with his shadow in accompaniment with him or let The Elements bring back the light into his heart. Luna abandoned Nightmare Moon, and never would she turn to her evil ways, Celestia had this faith. Now, there was a glimmer of hope on this day, if anything. Twilight would never let her down. However, the Son of Chaos would have a bounty of tricks up his sleeve. The white alicorn shivered and let her body rest on the cousin on the floor right by her fireplace that she waited for letters from Spike's fireline by. What could she do now? She couldn't leave the castle, because Discord's magic sealed it off, trapping her inside.
She had already checked up on her sister. Luna was sound asleep in her room. The princess of the night had gained Forevermore in the time of her dream-traveling magic training after she was released from the moon. She had finally learned to go into dreams for the good of her subjects. So now, hopefully, the night would no longer be misunderstood, shunned, or be considered frightening. As a result, of her immortality her mane had turned deep and flowing like Celestia's, except in Celestia's opinion, a lot prettier than hers and she looked a lot like more like Father now. Like the night. When Celestia entered the room and saw her little sister fast asleep, looking so at peace, she made the decision not to wake her. She couldn’t burden her with this. When everything was over, she would tell her about it later. She needed sleep for her busy night and the strange moon-sun, day-night switching Discord was doing again would only mess her up.
Now, Celestia felt as useless as ever. She was just lying here, unable to help her subjects, all because the Chaos was a different kind of power that only The Elements would be able to contain. And now, all she could do was let her mind keep swinging like the pendulum it was from hopeful to hopeless. From indifferent to complacent. What was she even feeling?
'I am Princess Celestia.' She thought closing her eyes as the moonlight fell through the balcony. 'And I am afraid.' She sighed a levitated parchment, a bottle of ink and a quill to her. The urge to write to her student lingered. But could she possibly say that would help in any way? Confess the entire story to Twilight? Have her most faithful student never trust her ever again. No. She could never imagine the disappointment, the sorrow in Twilight's eyes. Celestia began to hate herself even more as the quill bled into the paper with no result. The thick black ink made a spot and no words. Suddenly, in a burst of anger, she wrote out all she was feeling at the moment in a quick gesture, not even taking the time to be neat.
"Dear Celestia,
You were a fool to have trusted Discord. Now you're paying the price. You and your subjects. Twilight must fix the mistakes you made. You are a disgrace. And you still love him, don't you....? Stop torturing yourself! He won't live forever. It can't be forever. So why love? You'll be alone forever. Let Twilight have the friends you couldn't keep but warn her about the dangers of Forevermore when she becomes an alicorn. She can't be cursed like you. Because you're already dead, Celestia. You're already dead..."
The tears ripped through the sclera of her eyes and burned to the surface. They fizzled and evaporated on her flushed, pink cheeks. Celestia clenched her teeth and flared her horn, sending the paper up in flames and ashes. She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply to calm herself down. She had never let her emotions pour out like this in a thousand years. Even after Luna had become Nightmare Moon. There was so much pain here. For a moment she felt a bit relieved to have just vented.
This slight calm was soon replaced by the ever familiar chill of HIS presence. She wasn't very surprised this time. In fact, she wasn't at all jumped when the deep red rose fell into the room through the balcony and hit her leg. She glanced at it indifferently and then moved her violet eyes upward to see Discord standing on the balcony railing with his claw pressed against the wall and one leg cocked over the other. He was somewhat back to her, looking out over Canterlot at his creation. He was just standing like this in silence for a few seconds. Then, he turned his head to look at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Hello, Princess," he said with a half smile; not a smirk like usual, but a half-hearted, almost sad smile. It almost disturbed her when she saw it. She had never seen that look before. It almost made her heart stop for a millisecond of grief for him. Just when she'd thought he'd come here to rub all this in her face some more...
"Why are you here, Discord?" she asked quietly. "Shouldn't you be out there making more changes to your new kingdom?"
"Yes, but a king can take a break to visit his favorite kill-joy, can't he?" Discord replied sighing and flopping down in a U shape on the curve of the railing and the wall. He put on hoof on the other and examined his paw.
"They will stop you, Dis," Celestia said sighing. "You can't win. Eris can't win, no matter how much she thinks she can."
"They'll have quite a hard time of it, considering those ponies of yours won't be finding the magic of friendship anytime soon," Discord replied chuckling.
"What?" Celestia said, her eyes widening. "What did you do to them?!"
"I'm not going to tell you that!"
"I'll assist them in any way possible, Discord. Even if I can't leave this castle!" Celestia replied gruffly.
"Of course! I would expect nothing less," Discord replied shrugging. He sighed and smiled at her. "You look so beautiful, Celestia. The moonlight truly accentuates your curves." Celestia blushed and glared at him.
"Stop it!" she retorted walking over to him. "You have no right to come in here and treat this like a big courting game! Dropping a rose in here. Talking about moonlight. You're not being fair! You think it was easy for me to just stand there and watch you stay in the stone day after day?! And now...do you really think it's any easier for me to watch my kingdom suffering?"
"Oh, you have such hatred in you, Celestia," said Discord standing up on the ledge in one motion. "Not like when you became so corrupted. No, this is different. You just seem to have this deep innate hatred for my chaos, as natural, but you love it so much also, it tears you apart. How does it feel to do nothing? Let King Discord do all the work? I can assure you, your subjects are in tip-top shape! And that whole day-night cycle comes and goes. Seasons will pass so quickly, they won't even have time to say 'Winter Wrap Up!'" He chuckled. "So really in this chaotic dreamland, is it truly your fantasy, Celestia? Do you deep down crave for chaos? You were always so content with order...but when I finally introduced the slightest taste of change and spontaneity, you opened up. So...I believe you said something along the lines of you wanting me to 'break free' of all this darkness you think I've shrouded myself in. But perhaps it is you, Tia that must break free from the chains of Order she's wrapped herself in..."
"Do not lecture me, Discord," Celestia replied looking down. "I will no longer fight with you. There may be a part of me that rejects chaos, but...I can't hate you. I sometimes wish I could, but I can't. I can no longer feel such strong hatred and darkness when I became corrupted. I sealed it away long ago. I determined that your shadow provoked my shadow. Therefore, I could not trust myself again. And I really do not miss that side of me."
"Oh you hate me, Celestia," Discord replied smiling. "But you also love me. You can't help it." Celestia narrowed her eyes again.
"Leave," she said. "I can't look at you now. As it truly does seem the one I loved is gone and replaced by this shadow. If you feel no sorrow and pain, but just wish to mock me and the past, then I have nothing more to say to you, Discord. So leave me alone and go have your chaos!" She held back the hot tears and clenched her teeth as she turned and faced the wall, dropping her wings to the floor in defeat. Focusing on the dark floor, she saw his shadow slowly approaching with the twisted horn and antler distinctly overlapping her own shadow, making them morph into what appeared to be quite a disturbing, Tartarus-like beast from first glance. She shifted nervously as she felt his presence pause behind her, not looming, but rather, calmer and almost comforting. That's what was upsetting her. As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Celestia could almost see or sense Discord's paw reaching out to touch her shoulder, perhaps inches away, when she snapped at him. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She whirled around and burst into a dramatic, almost adolescent fit of sobbing. Behind the blanket of tears, she saw a flash of light. After blinking to clear the stinging veil, she saw nothing. He was gone. As she asked, he had left her alone. Celestia's lip trembled as she struggled to pull herself together. She rubbed her cheek with her knee to get rid of the evidence of her juvenile pain. She wasn't supposed to be crying like a stupid foal. She felt miserable and hopeless. And now, the worst part about all this, she feared Discord had already won....and he was right.
'No,' she thought. 'Even if he's separated the Elements, I can do something. I can protect my kingdom and help Twilight.' She searched the room in determination through all the scrolls Twilight had sent her for the studies of friendship. Equestria would be saved. There was hope yet. She could at least remind her student of all that Discord...and his shadow was trying to take away. Harmony would return here. 'And it appears I can no longer have that with you,' she thought, the pain throbbing in her chest as she choked through sending the letters and bottling the tears. 'It's torn. I can't win. I will never win. I can't have him. Because of the shadow. Because the past. Because of everything! It will never be. I will always be alone. It is my curse. My destiny. Equestria is my love and always will be. Luna will stand by me. My parents will watch me. But I want to live. Really LIVE. No wings, no magic, no royalty. What I would give to be a normal pony for one day. What I would give to feel mortal again. What I would give...to die. Will I? Could I die centuries or millennia from now...or have to leave and become one with the gods like my parents? I hate wondering. I would rather know. I really would rather know my days were numbered. Instead, I've stood still while my world died around me. I always lose. I just keep losing him over and over. He is gone. The Elements will only contain him again and that shadow will control him for all eternity. How can I let it be? How can I keep him that way for another thousand years? Either way I am alone.' Celestia tried writing on a blank piece of paper again after she was finished sending the scrolls. The strokes from her pen flowed free and easy. She would burn this too, but it was still the act of the pen's fluent movement across the parchment that gave her a peace she hadn't felt in years.
"I am Princess Celestia.
I live in a castle with my sister and 1,287 guards.
And I am alone.
Forevermore is my Nevermore.
A thousand years ago, I died.
And I love a monster.
Forevermore is my Nevermore.
Is there any hope left for the princess?
Is Harmony dead?
Is the magic gone?
The dark can't win but the light looks as dim as the blinking stars in my eyes.
I am Princess Celestia.
And I am already dead."
______________________________
Discord's black silhouette eclipsed the moon as he began flying quietly over the Canterlot garden. Everything here looked so different at night. The other statues that were his only company for the last millennium, for the most part looked so menacing in the dark now. Earlier today, they looked cheerful. Now they looked quite eerie. They almost looked like they were moving, staring at him. Discord landed in the spot where he spent all of his days for a thousand years. He glanced around and inhaled the fresh breeze of his clear, beautiful night. Not so long after, a guard pony statue a little ways in front of him gained the ever so interesting feature of glowing red eyes. Discord sighed in contempt as the dark cloud loomed high above the garden and smiled at him.
"Son." Chaos grinned. "Finally, the spell is broken. I quite like this kingdom. More frivolous than I would have done. But you are your own draconequus."
"Really now, Chaos." said Discord yawning. "I would much rather the skip father-son bonding session. What do you want?"
"I have a decent proposition for you, Discord," the god replied forming another cloud in the air that showed an image if Celestia in her chambers, writing and attempting to blink back tears. "Why did you go see her, just now? You feel a sense of satisfaction? Or are you still feeling that brokenness inside, watching her drift further away from you. Did you really think you’d just try to sweep her off her hooves like old times? Or were you trying to drive her away? She doesn’t love you. Not you now. Not this side of you. So, let me ask you something, this love is just ripping you apart, isn’t it? These memories. This form of weakness, rather…that you call love…” Discord pinned his ears back and glared at the smoky figure.
“Weakness?” he sneered. “You loved mother didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Chaos replied sighing. “Even gods have their weaknesses. Do you really think the god of disorder wished that on himself? When you came along, well…that was pretty strategic on her part. She had her heir for her plans, as did I. However, you were always never quite like I expected. I think you’re shaping up a lot better than the impish little pure-hearted urchin you once were that stood up to me on that cloud so many years ago. But oh this Princess Celestia still continues to cloud your judgment and your heart with poison. Try as you may, you can never shove her completely from your heart. She is your Aphrodite. Your curse. And now, you find the stalemate once again. You stand here without a path to travel to. And the one thing you want, is to have another shadow there on the ground next to yours. And you can’t have that. Because she too pure for your darkness. She is afraid of your shadow. And now, she is alone in the dark too. Such an interesting stalemate.”
“Then no amount of therapy will help this draconequus,” Discord scoffed. “What do you want, Dad? What’s this proposition? Do you really have one? Or have you just come here to analyze everything in riddles. I don’t have the time. I have a kingdom to keep under my paw,” he said looking at a newly existent watch on his wrist.
“I do indeed,” said Chaos nodding his head, if you could call it a head and blinking his many eyes. “If you truly feel the broken loneliness I know you do, I can purge it from you. I can make it all go away. I can make you forget about her.”
“You can?” Discord replied blinking and raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I’m listening…” He said looking back down and pinning his ears back again.
“This is what I can do…” said Chaos. “I may be a god, but even my power has limits. You are my kin. I can only do so much to you. So, the only way I’d be able to make you forget, is if you were turned back to stone. If these ponies take back Equestria and you fail, there is of course always room for another chance, and when that chance comes, you won’t remember much of the past. I say…much because I cannot remove everything. You’ll still know the princesses and you’ll still recognize places you’ve been in the kingdom. You’ll still remember me, your mother, and what I did for you. But you won’t remember Celestia and Luna as in all the years you spent with them. This is what I won’t take away though…I won’t remove that point that Celestia hurt you. Why? Because you have a reason to hate her. If I take away everything else…the love will be gone and all that’s left is hate. You will remember loving her, but that will feel faint to you, like a distant blip you can’t reach. You won’t feel like it was real. Most of it, if you recall it, will feel like a dream to you. Do you understand? This is my little proposition. I do this for you, if you manage to fail again. It’ll be a little incentive to try harder next time if these equines do manage to slip passed the traps you threw them into. I see now, that this love is holding you back. It’ll be the only way.”
“But I won’t fail,” Discord said glaring at him. “Just do it now and end my misery then. I’m going crazy without her. I do want to forget! I want to throw it away. I never want to feel this way ever again! I can’t even look at her without all the guilt and regret pouring back in. Then the voices fight again. Make it stop!”
“Prove to me that you can do this without it,” Chaos replied smirking. “You seem confident enough.” Discord glared at him and fidgeted.
“You…twisted my thinking with your own words!” he growled. “That’s not fair!”
“Hm. Like father like son,” Chaos replied grinning. “This little proposition of mine stands if you fail and only if you fail. Goodbye, Discord.” The god rose up, his smoky image clouding against the pale moon and then vanished like vapor into the sky as the blanket of stars unraveled to reveal blue sky and a yellow sun in its place. Discord sighed and let himself vanish away from the garden of statues to return to his kingdom.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was on a mission he knew nothing about. And harmony was about to find its return.
TO BE CONTINUED…