WHAT?! Twilight’s eyes were wide. Star Swirl the Bearded created Discord!? H-How does that make any sense?! Why didn’t he just heal the child and escape? How does a, even above average unicorn, create life?! T-this makes no sense!
Please, Twilight, calm down. Twilight gasped as she stared into Ardor’s eyes. In an instant, all of the stress from her minor episode evaporated. She felt calmed, relaxed. She took a deep breath, sitting down on the chair once more. I’m sorry I had to use that power, but I’m afraid we don’t have much time.
We don’t?
I’m afraid not, Twilight. You see, we may only talk whilst you dream. As soon as you wake up, the spell will end… We can always talk more using the spell, but it is taxing to have so many conversations. It is better to have few, and answer questions later.
Twilight nodded. That makes sense…
Of course it does. After all, we have been together a long time – We have begun to think alike, you and I. Ardor took a sip from his tea, smiling. To answer a few of your questions… For one thing, Star Swirl did indeed create Discord. It was one of the worst mistakes of his long life. Although, he wasn’t bearded at the time. He was actually quite young.
I… Wow. It’s hard to believe he created something so… powerful.
Ardor scoffed. You defeated him easily enough.
I… suppose…
In any case, Ardor continued, he did not intend to make him. It was all a mistake. He was never the best at healing magic, but he knew Life energy can cure all diseases and wounds. He harnessed his own, and almost killed himself trying to save the child by spreading his life force to it. Of course, you were correct. Even a powerful unicorn would be unable to harness the power of life alone.
Twilight nodded. But why use that power in particular? Couldn’t he have tried to heal it, even thought he was never the best at healing…
I honestly could not tell you. Ardor sighed. These things have a way of happening. Everything is destined to happen as it does, and all that follows is as well. We can change certain points, points that are variable… but, if you’ll listen, you’ll realize that without Discord, there would be no princesses.
Twilight’s eyes widened. Please… tell me more.
*~*~*~
Star Swirl went into a time of depression. Discord ruled as a cruel tyrant. All ponies in all spans of life suffered. Discord took ahold of all races, having little mercy for those who pleaded for freedom. The effects of his power only grew. Star Swirl desperately searched for a way to fix this all, to make it right.
Upon Discord’s escape from the Pony Tribe, Star Swirl found that only two ponies remained alive in the village – A stroke of luck, a missed pair. Both were fillies, a little blue unicorn, and a white pegasus. Both were terrified, their parents destroyed. Star Swirl took them both in, knowing death was all that remained for them.
As time went on and they all hid from Discord, they researched together. They tried as hard as they could to find anything that could stop that beast. The children helped cheer him up as much as they could, forming a sort of familial bond. They all helped each other in the darkness. Struggled and fought for what they sought.
And, in the darkness of that age, a single ray of hope shined.
An ancient power, which you know of well. The Elements of Harmony. You see, they did not exist back when Star Swirl lived, when chaos thrived. They were made. Star Swirl retreated underground, deep in a forest, his two fillies joining him as always. There, a single, solitary tree grew. It was nothing special, simply surrounded by crystal. However, this tree had lived far longer than any tree he had ever known.
After examining the surroundings, Star Swirl realized the crystals around him were filled with Life Energy, the same that the tree used to live so long. The tree was nothing special, almost a parasite. But, to Star Swirl, it was a symbol hope in the darkness of these chaotic times.
He began to come up with a plan, one that would most likely kill him. He didn’t care, however. If he could die, he would feel blessed at that point. However, his only wish was that the two fillies would survive. He devised a plan to create 6 items, 6 crystals of Life Energy, and with them in existence, they would counter act the chaos that had formed. They would protect the children, and finally give these ponies peace.
He came to surround himself in crystals he managed to dislodge. They were the best he thought he could control with his newfound magic. The 6 of them rested in a circle around him. The two fillies were instructed to stay back, both of them standing on either edge of the tree. Both feared for their new father, but obeyed him nonetheless.
Star Swirl quickly began his spell. Just as quickly, the 6 crystals latched onto his magic. Slowly, they mixed his energy into their own. They drained him, and as they did, he began to age. The children both shouted, but he couldn’t hear a thing behind the power that took hold of him. The power of the 6.
The first crystal took part of his energy, but they appeared to be sentient from that energy. They all knew draining him completely, or being greedy for power, would cause him to die. They all decided to cling to beings around them, instead of becoming entities themselves, at least if they could help it. Living hosts with gems of power to practice and hone their magic through.
Hanging from the tree was a small spider. He was part of a small village of them, nestled in the branches above. He had always been witty, yet deadly – The latter being a common trait in his kind. The first crystal shot a bright, clear blue beam at it. It was quickly enveloped in the blast, growing from the power of the magic. It quickly came to hover above the ground below the blue crystal as it grew to the size of a small filly, its face bewildered.
The second crystal struggled, being one with far more energy. Finding no hosts it saw suitable for the power it held, it created one that it had seen wandering into the cave on occasion. In a blast of pink energy, the form of a large bear appeared below it, hovering as the spider did. This used up a great deal of Star Swirl’s power, but there was more to come for the now older wizard.
The next gem, seeing the distress on the children’s faces as their adoptive father struggled, did something simpler than the second. Using Star Swirl’s knowledge of teleportation, it forced an Owl to the scene, engulfing the flapping fowl in a purple light. This used up only a slight bit of life energy, yet still used some.
The next two crystals saw the drain in power, unsure what to do. Their power was substantial, but knew that if they used their power singularly, the pony would die before the 6th was created. Seeing two living hosts, albeit young, nearby, the two elements clinged to them.
Star Swirl watched in amazement, his eyes growing older and more tired as the spell continued, as his daughters became surrounded by light. Both rose into the air slightly. A magenta blast surrounded the dark one’s sides, wings forming there. A red blast surrounded the pegasus, circling into a spiraling horn on her head. Both aged from the massive amount of power pulled between them – The blue mare younger, yet stronger with magic, whereas the older was wiser, yet less powerful. Having split their energies between the two hosts, they left Star Swirl with just enough life left to fill the remaining host.
The last crystal struggled. It was weaker than the rest. It absorbed as much energy as it could from Star Swirl.
It was not enough.
No more hosts remained. With nothing left to do, the crystal shaped its orange magic into the shape of the most generic thing it knew – A simple pony, without wings or a horn. Yet it could not fulfill even this simple task. There were holes in the design, filled with nothingness. Redirecting some energy, the crystal spent its last magic power on the creature’s horn, which became deformed and crooked – Yet a horn, nonetheless. With that, a shadowy husk remained in the weak orange glow, looking this way and that. It had no face or bones or even a soul, yet it had life. It was hollow, yet filled.
Star Swirl collapsed to the ground. The 6 hosts looked at each other as he fell, and instantly knew what to do. Channeling their collective powers, they all focused on the stallion. In one unified blast from all 6 crystals of power, the stallion was engulfed in a rainbow light. With a gasp, he awoke, his body being filled with the minimal life energy to survive – And something more.
You see, life energy is a tricky thing. Creating things with it makes it nearly impossible to destroy. There is but one way to destroy those made of life energy… And that is to destroy the creator.
And thus… The Elements poured something more into him. The curse, and gift, of immortality.