//------------------------------// // A Grand Entrance // Story: Discord's Tales of Equestria // by The Patriotic Pony //------------------------------// By the time Twilight awoke, with Spike curled up beside her and his blanket over them both, she had barely enough time to pack her things and catch the train before it departed. As she sat alone in the grey cushioned seat of the compartment with the orange and brown wood finish, she retrieved a small pink envelope from her saddlebag. The Seal of the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Heart, left no question as to who had had it left on her bed the previous night. The note was short, but it gave her a much-needed relief from one of her worries. Dear Twilight, I'm sorry that I had to leave on such short notice, but I had completely forgotten about something important back in the Crystal Empire. Everything's fine now, so don't worry. I'm certain that by now, you've found what you were searching for. If Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna don't know, nopony does! You'll have to tell me what you've learned next time we meet! Love, Cadance One less thing to worry about. Twilight rested her head on the orange windowsill and smiled as more of her foalhood came rushing back. Cadance rarely forgot things when she was her foalsitter, but when she did, it was a doozy! Once, she was so absorbed with telling Twilight the story of Canterlot's construction that she forgot she had their dinner cooking. It wasn't until the smell of smoke filled the room that she realized her mistake. The casserole had been burned to a crispy black brick, and it took them a good while to clear the smoke out of the house and furniture, even with magic. Too much time had passed for them to start over, so they decided to sneak out to a nearby restaurant. Cadance somehow managed to convince the few ponies who saw them that they were visitors from across the sea, despite them both being fairly well-known. It was the first secret Twilight had ever promised to keep, and she would never let Cadance live it down! Although her friends shared the car with her, Twilight made the journey alone, staring out the window at the gathering storm clouds and still wondering about the previous night's events for some time. She didn't notice that her friends had suddenly become quiet. Rarity's talk of designing a private coach for her, Applejack suggesting the services of the CMC, Spike's offers to assist her, all of their conversations had faded into whispers. "I'm worried 'bout Twilight, y'all," said Applejack, with the brim of her hat concealing part of her face. "She's even worse than before." "I never thought I'd say this," said Rainbow Dash, "but I kinda miss Freaky Twilight. This-" she looked over at her grounded flying buddy "-just hurts to look at." "Freaky Twilight was kind of funny sometimes, especially when she made the faces,” said Pinkie in a disturbingly calm voice. "This isn't funny at all." "Are you sure there's nothing we can do to help her, Spikey-Wikey?" asked Rarity. "Nothing at all?" "Not unless we can bring Star Swirl out of one of her books," he replied. "If the princesses couldn't help her, I don't know who can. This isn't like when she just has a big assignment or a test or something. She's not going to get over it any time soon." Up until now, Fluttershy had either been silent or so quiet the others couldn't even hear her. But as soon as she heard the name, her ears perked up and she found her voice. "Wait a second! I think I just remembered something!" Spike looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You know about him?" "Well… no. I mean… not much. But the name sounds familiar. I just know I've heard it somewhere else, but where?" She looked down and rested her chin on her hoof, occasionally punching herself when the train car rocked. The other six watched her anxiously for what seemed like hours. When she finally looked up, they were surprised to see a triumphant smile. "Girls, I have an idea." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the train pulled into Ponyville Station, the friends found the Crusaders waiting eagerly for their sisters. Rarity and Sweetie Belle headed to the boutique to begin work on Pinkie Pie's "wings," and Pinkie followed with a mouthful of purple feathers, holding back laughter as they tickled her tongue. Applejack and Applebloom raced each other back to Sweet Apple Acres, while Rainbow Dash flew off with Scootaloo on her back to find a place to watch the coming storm together. Fluttershy seemed to be in a hurry, for she too flew off at an unusual speed with a big smile on her face. All of her friends were in an extremely good mood for some reason. Twilight envied them as she and Spike walked through the freezing wind to the library. The ominous sound of thunder echoed in the distance as the sky began to darken. "So what are you going to do now?" he asked as they entered the library. There was hardly enough light to walk in, and the room was so quiet that even their steps echoed as they approached the table with the horse head. "Princess Celestia said she would tell me what I wanted to know, but she has no idea when she'll be able to." Twilight lit one of the candles from the table and carried it with them to the study on the next floor. "I guess I'll just have to spend the next few months on other things. It might be years, for all I know." They were surprised to find that the candle on the desk was already lit, until they were greeted by a familiar "Who!" Owlicious stood on a brown-paper package beside the candle, tugging at the strings. Spike laughed at his partner's preparedness, and even Twilight mustered a brief little smile as he hopped off. "At least the new books made it," she sighed as she opened the package and patted Owlicious on the head. Spike looked up at the clock on the wall and smiled. "That's nice and all, but I suddenly have an itching for some popcorn," he said, obviously unconcerned. The owl gave Spike something of an owl-scowl, but he replied with a wink. The two hurried excitedly from the room. Twilight watched them over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. She didn't appreciate being ignored. With a grunt, she set her candle down on the other side of the desk and turned to the first chapter of The Culture of Mexicolt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After a while, Spike came in with an abnormally large bowl of popcorn in his arms and Owlicious hovering over his head. "Hey Spike," said Twilight, "listen to this: 'An interesting fact about the Mexicoltan tradition of mareiachi bands is that, despite the name, they are normally made up of stallions. It is speculated that the spelling is a result of a mistranslation that nopony has ever tried to fix.' Weird, huh?" "Sounds like your obsession with Star Swirl's going away," said Spike with relief in his voice. He handed a piece up to his partner before grabbing a clawful and stuffing his face. "Mu manth hmm, Twi?" "Uh, no thanks. You both know I only eat popcorn when there's a show or something," she said as she turned the page and glanced at the picture. "And as interesting as this book is, I don't think it counts as– AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" "AU CONTRAIRE, MON PRINCESSE! HEEEE'S BACK!" shouted the picture from the book as one of the faces jumped out and lightning melodramatically struck outside the window behind it. The face was followed by a snake-like body with an assortment of animal limbs and the tail of a dragon. Discord was dressed in full mareiachi attire, complete with a blanket and a sombrero that his horns stuck out through, and he held a trumpet in his right arm. As he popped into existence before Twilight, who had jumped back in surprise to where her assistants sat chowing down from their bowl, he snapped his fingers, and several copies of himself appeared with more instruments and matching attire. The Discords danced about the room, playing their music with glee. "Discord!" Twilight said angrily, after realizing what had just happened. "Oh, not a mareiachi fan? How about some jazz?" He stretched the trumpet into a trombone in his hands, and the rest of the band changed accordingly with a snap. "DISCORD!" she shouted. "How about some country, then?" He snapped his fingers and started to play the opening to a ballad on the banjo, "A filly from up north, and a colt from the down south, must travel together, according to word of mouth…" "DISCOOORD!" "Oh, alright!" he said, rolling his eyes as he snapped his fingers to clear out the band. "Why are you here? I was in the middle of something!" "You were in the middle of a crisis, it would seem. Our good friend Fluttershy told me all about it." He paused. "Our good friend Fluttershy," he said thoughtfully, "Our good friend Fluttershy... oh, how I love being able to say that!" "She told you about my problem?" "Of course! All of our friends –" he smiled "– have been ever so worried about you, and decided that I could be of assistance. And so I, being a good friend" -he put his talons on his chest as he tilted his head back- "have promised her to help you in any way that I can." "So that's why you decided to jump out of the book?" "Oh, that? That was just a bit of fun! It's been so boring without you guys; pranking Angel gets old after such a long time!" "We've been gone for less than two days." "Exactly! I was already starting to feel withdrawal! If you hadn't come back when you did, I'd have gone completely insane!" He donned a straight jacket, pointed one eye at the floor, and another at the ceiling as he rolled about in the air, knocking over several piles of old telescopes, sextants, and book stacks, laughing like a maniac. Spike and Owlicious cringed. Twilight put a hoof to her face. "I'm not sure even you of all beings could possibly have the answers I'm looking for. Spike spoke up. "I thought you were over that already?" Owlicious rolled his eyes and pecked him once on the head. Ignoring them, Twilight continued. "Cadance said that nopony other than the princesses could answer my questions." "Do I look like a pony to you?" Discord asked as he changed into a grey unicorn with a black mane. "I know it's hard to take your eyes off such a handsome face, but it doesn't hurt to be more observant." Each part of his body popped back to its original form as several matching diagrams of animals briefly appeared behind him. "Try me!" True. After all, what could go wrong? She took a deep breath. "Do you know who Star Swirl the Bearded was?" Discord looked irritated. "Well, of course I know about him! I've been around longer than the sisters, and you don't think I would know such a great sorcerer as Star Swirl?! Does 'One Thousand Years Ago' mean nothing to you?" Twilight's eyes widened. "So, did you know him personally?" "Of course! We were very close from day one!" he said almost boastfully. "I know everything there is to know about him, even more than the princesses!" "Then... you would know why he never finished his spell!" Twilight said, her anger turning to pure excitement. "'From one to another, another to one?' That old thing? That one was made right before I ruled Equestria! I know full well why it wasn't finished. Would you like to know?" "Yes. Yes! YES!" Twilight's eyes widened, her wings shot outwards, and her heart pounded as she bounced like a filly. "Why wasn't it?!" Discord smiled sinisterly at her reaction. "Well I can't tell you just yet. You're not ready." Twilight's back legs gave out, her wings flopped to the floor, and her smile vanished as her heart sank. "Wh-what?" she muttered. She could feel tears forming in her eyes. "In order to understand why Star Swirl the Bearded never finished his spell, you must first understand everything that led up to him creating it. Oh, it's such a long, long, story..." He leaned forward with a devilish grin. "Do you think you can handle it, Twilight Sparkle?" Instead of responding with anticipation or begging, Twilight suddenly lunged forward and tackled the Draconequus, bringing him to the floor. She looked into his eyes with her mane suddenly disheveled, her wings curling upward, her eyes bloodshot, and her teeth bared. Taking his head in between her hooves, she leaned so close he could feel her heavy breathing. "YES!" she yelled as she shook his head violently. "TELL ME!" Discord laughed calmly despite having an unstable psychopath on top of him. "As you wish, Your Highness." He teleported her back to Spike's side and fixed her appearance. "I'll tell you my tales of Equestria. I'll even relax on the antics a little!" With a snap, they were down in the basement study, where Twilight kept some of the more rare and valuable books. The room had a simple chair across a small rug from a fireplace that fed into the kitchen vents. Shelves of different heights stretched from either side of it along the walls to the door. Large portraits of historical ponies filled the spaces above the shorter shelves, and the ceiling was adorned with empty firefly lamps. They were a bit harder to catch when a storm was scheduled. The chair, table, and rug moved out of the way to one wall as two large red velvet chairs appeared in the center of the room, facing each other on either side of a wider rug that displayed a map of modern Equestria. Discord took the chair with the fireplace to its left, and Twilight and Spike shared the other. A fine oak statue of Discord holding a perch over his head appeared to their right, which Owlicious settled on greatfully. Discord looked down at the rug and moved his arm in a spiraling motion above it. The rug began to glow, and the map moved back in time. Homes disappeared until the town of Ponyville was gone, and the tree they were in sank back into the ground. Canterlot disappeared into the mountains. Baltimare, Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and all of the other cities shrank until they were mere villages, before disappearing into the wilderness. Cloudsdale faded away into the separate clouds that first formed it. Even the Everfree Forest was gone, and the ruins with it. For a time, Twilight could see the lands become completely dark, before becoming bright again. A chill ran down her spine as she realized what she had just witnessed, and what she would have to witness again soon. Several cities appeared in place of the others before disappearing again. As the last one, which was near where Ponyville had been, finally faded, the logs in the fireplace ignited, warming the room and illuminating it against the storm. Speaking in his best theatrical voice, Discord began. "As you've probably guessed, we must begin a long time ago, before the First Hearthswarming, back before the Regal Sisters, before the Era of Discord, even before the Elements of Harmony!" Owlicious nudged Spike, and the dragon glanced down at the now empty bowl. "In that case, I'd better make some more popcorn. Don't start without me!" "Oh, you've ruined the mood!" Discord groaned in his normal voice, refilling the bowl. "Anything else? Any of you? Good! Now then," he cleared his throat and returned to his previous voice, "as you probably know, Equestria wasn't always a prosperous kingdom of harmony. Several societies came before it, many of them trying to achieve greatness, but all of them failing for different reasons. In order to understand Star Swirl's spell, we must go back before they appeared." The map closed in on the mountain where Canterlot would be built and followed the river down a ways, until it crossed to the south and focused on the large plain, that would one day become… "Isn't that where the Everfree Forest was?" Spike asked. "Yes, my dear boy, it is. Or rather, it is where it will be after a time. But for now, it is the Everfree Plain, a lush, bountiful land, just the same as the rest of the land. This is where the First Kingdom of Equestria was formed, and this is where our story begins!"