Twilight sighed, staring at the Discord-like magical signature. It had faded even more since she had looked at it earlier. Nothing could ever be easy, could it? She set to work trying to identify the part of the aura she didn’t recognize.
Behind her, Spike and the royal pony sisters watched. With nothing else to do, Celestia turned to Luna. “So, sister,” she began. “You’re acting much more … open than I remember. What’s happened to change you?”
Luna had been content to simply watch Twilight work and offer any help she could. Talking about ancient history was not high on her list of things to do, which actually put ‘going to sleep’ much higher than that. Now that she had been asked directly, though, she couldn’t really avoid explaining herself, not that she wouldn’t try. Spike looked at her nervously. She replied with exaggerated nonchalance, “It’s a long story, but rest assured, I have learned my lesson about keeping my feelings to myself.”
Celestia wasn’t satisfied. “So, what did your feelings say, back then?”
“Well, you must understand, it’s all in the past, now. It’s nothing to worry about anymore.” Luna continued to evade the question.
Luna’s tactics were having the opposite of the desired effect. Celestia only grew more determined to know the answer. “Then, surely it couldn’t hurt to tell me?”
“It would only upset you.”
“Why would it? I only want to help you, Luna.”
“And, you did. I am perfectly fine now.”
“But I don’t know what happened! You’re hiding it from me. I fear it was something terrible.”
Sometimes, Celestia was a worrywart, but she was right this time. Reluctantly, Luna admitted, “You’re not wrong … you don’t remember all the things we fought against, all the times we stood side by side against the darkness, two mares defending Equestria …”
Celestia considered what she did remember. “I know we negotiated with the griffons, and retrieved the Crystal Heart from a dragon, before, ah, Tirek …”
“That was only the beginning. There was more, much, much more.”
Celestia imagined what they must have gone through. It was sad to think that such dangers had threatened Equestria, but they used to think of themselves as guardians rather than rulers. “Then, I am glad I had such a stalwart sister to rely upon. There is nopony else I would rather have stand by me.” She gave Luna a grateful smile.
Luna’s heart sank. Even back then, Celestia had loved her so, and she had repaid it so poorly.
Her sister misinterpreted her melancholy. “What? Do you not feel the same way?”
Luna spurred herself to correct her. “Sister, I reveled in our camaraderie. What I could not stand was how the ponies treated us afterwards. They saw you, and praised you, the older one, the wiser one, who ruled with such a gentle touch and asked nothing in return. They ignored me. They didn’t know what I did. They didn’t know who I was. To them, I was just your little sister, to be overlooked and scorned.”
Celestia gasped. “No, they wouldn’t … they did.” She rushed forward to comfort Luna. “Oh, sister, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I didn’t see it!”
Her little sister backed away, refusing the contact. Celestia felt even worse before Luna said, “No, you have nothing to be sorry about. It is I who must apologize.”
“What? That doesn’t –“
Luna interrupted her. She had begun to explain, and now she needed to finish. “For a time, I did nothing, stewing in my own resentment. But finally, when we returned to the Crystal Empire, we failed to save it. You were distraught, but the ponies, they only comforted you. They … they blamed me. ‘Celestia would never have failed if she didn’t have her sister there,’ they said.”
“How …”
“That was what did it. I snapped. The darkness we had always fought against came to me, and I used it. I was going to show them all. I was going to make them see who I was. I was going to take your place.” As she recounted her thoughts, she once again felt the old regret at her folly, made in such tearful fury.
“… what happened?”
“I took the darkness into myself and became Nightmare Moon. The night would last forever.”
Celestia shakily took in a breath, hearing that she had let it go so far that Luna had turned against her. “And that was when I finally saw what was wrong? How could I have been so blind to my own sister?”
“I … didn’t tell you anything. You were happy. It seemed like you were one of them.”
Even if it hadn’t been told to her, Celestia thought she must have noticed something, but apparently she hadn’t. All she could do now was find out how she had made amends for her failure. “What did I do?”
“You did what you had to. You stopped me, all by yourself. I was banished to the moon for a thousand years.”
That wasn’t a solution at all. “Why? Why, that wouldn’t make anything right! Ponies needed to see you, not be rid of you!”
“I gave you no choice, sister. It is in the past now. You made good use of a thousand years without me. When I finally returned to be saved from myself, I found a world where I fit in, a world that you made.” Luna stopped to remember how she had discovered everything that had changed. “I am the guardian of ponies’ dreams, now. Astronomers study the stars by night. There is even a holiday dedicated to me! Nightmare Night, Celie! The foals love it!” Oh, it was such a joy to see the excitement on their faces.
Celestia looked at her doubtfully. Surely a thousand years of banishment could not be made up for by a holiday for foals. “And, you are certain you have what you need?”
Luna recognized the worry in her sister’s voice and responded reassuringly. “Of course, sister. I could not ask for more.”
Celestia fell forward for a hug, which Luna allowed this time. “Oh Luna! Luna, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that!”
Luna smirked over her shoulder. “You did also. I daresay you suffered at least as much as I did, though you did have the benefit of good company -”
As if to prove her words, a majestic raptor on blazing wings swooped through the open door to the balcony. She alighted on the floor in front of them and crooned a greeting.
They backed out of their hug in order to see her. Celestia lifted a hoof uncertainly, but after a quick glance at Luna, she lowered it and her head to get a closer look at the bird. “Is this a phoenix?” she asked. Celestia had more self-control than most ponies, so her wings stayed comfortably at her sides, but Luna could see the growing excitement in her wide eyes. The younger alicorn smirked while Philomena fluffed her feathers, showing off for Celestia.
Luna didn’t particularly like Celestia’s pet. Early this morning, for example, the thing had decided to come and pester her until dawn. She answered, “Indeed it is. I suppose you might not remember her, even if the rascal has been with you longer than most.” Celestia shook her head, sad to hear that she had forgotten such a dependable companion.
Now Luna had to introduce the little monster to her sister, but at least she had a chance to say how unscrupulous the bird was without it being dismissed. “This is Philomena. Her egg was a gift to you from a dragon.” She nodded to Spike, who suddenly looked very interested. “It was a peace offering, after we confronted him over how he was terrorizing ponies. You were quite taken with her. In fact, I daresay you rather spoiled her, because she is an ill-behaved brat –“
Philomena squawked somewhat indignantly and took to the air with a fiery flourish to dive-bomb Luna’s head. The younger princess ducked and Philomena ended up soaring around to land on Celestia’s back. The bird warbled something that sounded remarkably like a raspberry.
Luna stood up, scowling. “You see? A menace, that’s what she is.”
Celestia giggled, partly at the feeling of bird feet on her coat, but mostly at the behavior of her sister and what was apparently her pet. Luna needed recognition, but Celestia knew she also needed a bit of conflict and drama. She could see hints of a mutual, if not quite friendly, rivalry, and – assuming Luna was not harboring any deeper feelings of resentment - she knew just who to side with. “Now, Luna, I’m sure Philomena here means no harm. I think you two could get along just fine if you tried.” The bird nodded smugly.
Luna huffed irritably. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who almost got set on fire.” Celestia was, of course, fireproof, though it occurred to Luna that she might not remember that.
There was the sound of a frustrated groan. They all looked at Twilight, who seemed to have given up with the magic signature. “It’s too faint to see now. I can’t work with it anymore.” She turned towards them. “It’s not exactly like Discord’s magic, but I couldn’t get anything helpful from it. There has to be another -” She tilted her head, noticing the phoenix on Celestia’s back. “When did Philomena get here?”
“She flew in while you were working, Twilight.” Spike answered. “Did you know Celestia got her from a dragon? It’s kinda like how I got Pee Wee!”
“Interesting.” Twilight glanced at him. She was trying to be considerate, but it was clear she was distracted. Looking around the room, she spotted the ornate perch stand by the fireplace, like a fancier version of the stand she used to have for Owlowiscious back in the library. “Does Philomena usually sleep here at night?”
The others were silent for a moment, uncertain why Twilight would ask that. Luna responded. “I believe so. There isn’t an aviary set aside for her, if that’s what you mean.”
Twilight clapped her hooves in excitement. “Perfect. That’s just what I needed.” With unnerving speed, she cantered to Celestia’s side to look up at Philomena. Celestia backed away slightly as the phoenix looked down at the little princess.
“And, what exactly did you need?” Celestia asked.
“Oh, if Philomena was here overnight, that means she was here when the spell was cast on you. She might have seen it happen!” At this, Philomena nodded, causing Twilight to glow with joy and pride at being right. “Now, she can’t tell us who did it, but we can still find out. During my studies, I discovered that pets are really just friends who are animals instead of other people. That means that my memory spell should work on Philomena just fine.”
Celestia gasped. This was it. They were about to find out why she had lost her memories, so she could get them back. She couldn’t wait to understand this strange new world. “Then let us proceed without delay.”
Once again they arranged themselves for the spell, this time with Twilight facing Philomena and Celestia standing by her side. They wove their magic together, then Twilight touched her horn to Philomena’s head -
There was a pulse of powerful magic. Philomena cawed a sleepy protest, but she was awake now. Curiosity woke her up the rest of the way.
Celestia was shifting in her bed. The princess was awake, too. She looked for the intruder, surreptitiously preparing a defensive spell as she lit her horn. “Hello? Who’s there?” Across the room, a hat-wearing and bearded figure stood up. There was an unmistakable and incongruous jingle of bells. Celestia let her spell fade away and squinted disbelievingly. “Star Swirl? Is that you?”
There, in the flesh, was an old grey coated unicorn stallion: her beloved friend. He smiled fondly. “You look as beautiful as ever, Celestia.”
Despite the bizarreness of the situation, she found herself happy as well. “Some would say entering a princess’s room in the middle of the night and ogling her would be inappropriate.” She sat up, glad to see him anyway.
Star Swirl tilted his head up, taking her response stoically. “And what do you say?”
Celestia threw her arms wide. “Where have you been? You disappeared without a word! It’s been over a thousand years, why didn’t you come and visit?”
Star Swirl rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. “Well, it’s been a significantly shorter time for me, you see.”
She put a hoof to her chin, quickly intrigued by what she remembered about Star Swirl’s old spells. “Ah, so you just sped up your perception of time, instead of using an age spell to rejuvenate yourself?”
“Not quite.” He walked to her bedside. “I’m not here on just a visit, Celestia. I travelled here in multiple steps from the past to ask you something.”
Celestia readjusted her thinking. Star Swirl had not been hiding from her for centuries, but rather he had travelled into his future to see her now. It was a rather more impressive feat, actually. “This must be an important question, then.”
Star Swirl nodded seriously. “I know that Tirek broke free and was defeated, again. That’s why I chose to come to you now.” Celestia nodded, thinking how neatly Twilight had done it. “How did you beat him?”
Celestia paused. The question didn’t surprise her, but she was uncertain how to answer. She started with what he must already have known. “Surely you must have seen how he was defeated the first time.”
“I saw that Tirek was imprisoned, before Discord took over.”
“It wasn’t us that defeated Tirek. He was stealing ponies’ magic, then he was imprisoned in Tartarus and Discord’s rule began. It might have been Discord’s appearance that created Tartarus and trapped Tirek within it.” Celestia reasoned. That was why she had Discord reformed, in case she needed his power.
Star Swirl raised an eyebrow. “So, you think ponies had nothing to do with it. One evil defeated another.” Celestia nodded in confirmation. Star Swirl fell silent, digesting this information. “In my time, Discord hasn’t appeared yet, nor is there any sign of him.” He gestured in a general motion, towards Equestria. “I don’t see Discord here now. How did you defeat Tirek this time?”
At this, Celestia frowned. She wasn’t the experienced time traveler that Star Swirl was, but she knew enough to be wary. The past couldn’t be changed. “I know you’ve already seen the future, but isn’t it dangerous to send knowledge back into the past?”
Star Swirl grimaced, annoyed. “It is, but is it more dangerous than losing the magic of every last pony in Equestria?”
She knew Tirek wouldn’t win, but her words tasted bitter in her mouth. “Don’t worry. Discord will defeat him.” Discord had been an enemy both times they fought Tirek.
Star Swirl shook his head. “He might not show up until the very end. That’s a risk for too many ponies, it isn’t worth taking. Scorpan’s warning gave us time, but all the magic we’ve tried has only made Tirek stronger.” He leaned closer. “Celestia, I haven’t met myself in any of my trips to the future. When he comes for me, I don’t think Tirek is going to just take my magic, I think – I think he’s going to kill me. I need to know, how did you defeat him this time?”
Celestia’s insides curdled. So that was why they’d never seen Star Swirl again. She twisted her hooves in her silk sheets.
Star Swirl placed a hoof on her shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be this way. You’ve defeated Tirek, you know how to do it.” Magical lightning bolts ran up and down Star Swirl’s body for a moment. “I don’t have much time. Please, just tell me how.”
Celestia opened her mouth and quietly said, “It was my student. She and her friends sent him back to Tartarus.”
“So you taught your student powerful magic?”
“No, true magic can’t be taught, it must be learned. Star Swirl, it was her friends. They used a harmonic focus to harness the power of their friendship.” There was no way this was going to change anything, Celestia thought. It was a hopeless endeavor, but she hoped anyway.
“What do you mean? Was it a spell that required multiple casters? Innate magic of some kind?”
“Not quite – it was the same magic she used to complete your spell. I gave her your book, and she was able to cast the destiny spell.”
Star Swirl knew what she had said, but he couldn’t believe it. He had a lot of spells, but there was only one that didn’t work right. “The destiny spell? No, that can’t be it. It can’t be completed. What was it, really?” Sparks flew from his body, and this time they didn’t stop. He was returning to the past, like it or not.
Celestia watched him sadly, even as she remembered her joy at finding Twilight on the astral plane. “’From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.’”
Star Swirl closed his eyes in disappointment. “Celestia, that doesn’t even make sense.” His entire body was glowing with the force of the time spell. He needed to know, but he only had time for one last terrible thing. He sighed. “I am sorry.”
He conjured a bouquet of colorful flowers, setting them on the nightstand. If he had no choice, he would at least show her a little kindness before he did what he had to.
She watched him place the flowers, knowing that she didn’t deserve them. In the end, she couldn’t save him. “Sorry for what?”
Star Swirl lit his horn. “For this.” And he unleashed his newest, most powerful magic upon his dear friend.
Pure chaos blasted Celestia. Her mere solar magic didn’t stand a chance: she was unconscious before she hit her pillow.
Philomena screeched in alarm. She flew off her perch and dove at the stallion, claws outstretched, but he summoned a magic barrier to protect himself. The phoenix shrieked and flapped desperately, blowing flames at the shield, but she was helpless to reach him.
Celestia had the information that he needed, so he simply reached into her mind and took all of her memories after Tirek had first appeared. The mind was not a thing to be ransacked, but he didn’t have time to do anything neater.
As he returned to the past, he said words that Celestia would never hear. “I’ll keep your memories safe for you, if it’s the last thing I do.”
With the stallion and his shield gone, Philomena landed by Celestia’s head and unmoving mane. She gently tapped the alicorn with her beak, to no effect. She could tell that Celestia was still alive by the way she was breathing, but didn’t know whether Celestia was hurt somehow or if she was just asleep.
No, these were matters of pony magic, and Celestia needed a pony to help her. Philomena knew who Celestia would turn to first, even if the phoenix didn’t like the cold blue one. She spread her wings and went to find Luna.
Twilight blinked. Slowly, she lifted her head away from Philomena, who watched her dolefully. She turned to look at Celestia.
The white alicorn was devastated. Her wings sagged, her jaw was slack, and she stared at nothing. She had missed Star Swirl and the others, while she had thought that some strange villain had taken her memories. Instead, Star Swirl, her best wizard, her most trusted advisor, and her friend, was to blame all along.
Twilight stepped towards her. “Celestia?” she asked timidly.
“I … I,” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. No, whatever she felt wasn’t important. She could come to terms with it on her own, later, after she had taken care of everything else. Her voice was shaky as she said, “Tirek … was defeated, but Star Swirl disappeared. Did … did he make it?”
Twilight furrowed her brow in disbelief and anger on Celestia’s behalf. “You’re worried about Star Swirl? Celestia, what about yourself? How can you be worried about him after what he did to you?”
Luna, who had by now noticed something wrong, asked, “Star Swirl? What does he have to do with this?”
Twilight stomped a hoof furiously. “He’s the one who took Celestia’s memories! He time travelled here and knocked her out so that he could steal them!” How could she have ever admired him?
Celestia turned her head sharply. “No! He had a reason! He was going to die!” At that, she again lost her resolve, knowing neither she nor Luna had ever seen him again. “He died anyway. I couldn’t save him.”
Twilight couldn’t respond. If there was a good enough reason for anything, life and death had to be close to it. Luna asked somberly, “You know this for certain, sister? He told you he would die?”
“He was looking for a way to defeat Tirek. I said Discord would do it, but Star Swirl was desperate to stop him before Discord took over.” Celestia paused, reluctant to give voice to the most convincing evidence of all. “He couldn’t find himself in the future, after Tirek’s defeat.”
Luna took the news quietly, because she didn’t know what to say. If anypony else had wronged her sister so, Luna would have burned with righteous anger, but it was Star Swirl. He had been the one to crown her and Celestia princesses, and he had been there for them throughout their rule, even if she hadn’t been as close friends with him as Celestia had been. Even if he was at fault, she was sad to hear he was gone forever.
Twilight frowned. They were both ignoring the fact that Celestia didn’t even properly remember any of this because of what Star Swirl had done.
Right. They still needed to get her memories back. “Well, he said he would keep your memories safe, if we can trust him. Where would he have put them?”
The sisters glanced at each other, remembering Star Swirl’s habits. Luna answered, “His library, most likely. I’m sure Celestia has perused that most thoroughly over the years. If it is there, we may not be able to find it easily.”
“Maybe he left a clue behind.” Twilight looked around and quickly spotted something. “Wait a minute, these flowers – is there anything special about these flowers?”
It was Spike who answered. “What do those have to do with anything? Aren’t those the flowers Discord gave Celestia yesterday?”
Twilight sighed in exasperation. “No, they’re not. Star Swirl left them here right before he blasted Celestia with … chaos magic …”
The oddity of the coincidence was striking. What were the chances that both the wizard and the spirit of chaos could be so similar, unless they were somehow connected? How could they be connected, when one hadn’t appeared until after the other had died? That just didn’t seem possible, but there was a certain spirit of chaos who specialized in doing the impossible …
Still defending Star Swirl, Celestia said, “He wouldn’t have done it if he thought he had a choice. I – I cannot hold that against him. Please, we should just find out where he hid my memories.”
Twilight disagreed, feeling a little odd to correct her one-time mentor, but knowing she was right. “There’s always a choice, Celestia.”
Luna stepped forward. “It seems we owe Discord another visit. Let us return to Ponyville.”