//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Remember // Story: I Think I can Remember // by Just a tree //------------------------------// Angel Bunny hopped after the lord of chaos, fuming. He kicked the draconequus’s tail to get his attention and pointed at the door. His meaning was clear: get out! Discord looked at the pest. “Oh dear. Fluttershy, I see you still have a rodent problem …” Angel responded by kicking him again, this time in the leg. Fluttershy didn’t want to call Angel a problem, but he was being a little difficult. “Angel’s not a rodent, he’s a bunny rabbit. Rodents have fewer teeth and, uh, they’re less picky about what they eat.” Feeling bad about calling him picky, she swept up Angel in her hooves and gave him a nuzzle, which he grudgingly tolerated. Discord crossed his arms, watching them. “Oh? And what’s wrong with having fewer teeth?” It’s not like he had only one tooth. He had way more teeth than Angel did. She turned to face him and Angel hopped out of her hooves. “There’s nothing wrong with it, that’s just why Angel is different from a rodent. Mr. Mousey here is a rodent, and he gets along with fewer teeth just fine.” Next to her was a small family of mice who had come out to see the draconequus. She gently patted one of them on the head. He looked down at them all, Fluttershy and her rodent friends. What did she see in them? They were just rats. If she was friends with rats, she’d probably try to make friends with just about anything. What kind of pony made friends with rats? Fluttershy. She was one of a kind, and she was friends with him. Nothing could be more precious. There was a knock at the door. Fluttershy went to open it, revealing that the princesses were back. They didn’t look happy. Actually, Spike almost looked scared. “Hi Fluttershy, is Discord here?” Twilight asked. She spotted him in the living room. “Of course he’s here, he can’t leave. Great.” “Oh, uh, Twilight, what do you need Discord for? He didn’t do anything wrong, did he?” Fluttershy was still standing in the doorway, stopping three alicorns from entering her cottage with a rigid grin on her face. Her eyes pleaded for Twilight to agree. Twilight sighed. “Relax, Fluttershy. We know who took Celestia’s memories.” Fluttershy didn’t move. “Oh, then, not that you’re not welcome, but why aren’t you trying to catch that pony? Celestia needs those back, you know.” “We, uh, don’t know where he went.” Twilight hesitated. That was an understatement. Star Swirl had been gone for longer than Luna was banished. “We need Discord’s help to find him.” “Oh,” Fluttershy visibly loosened up. “Ok, then,” She finally stepped aside, letting them in. Luna and Celestia had to duck slightly to keep their horns from scraping the top of the doorway. “Twilight Sparkle,” Discord stood up tall and cupped a paw to his ear. “Did I hear that right? You need my help to catch the pony at fault?” He pulled his ear off his head and looked at it to make sure it was working right. Twilight answered flatly, unimpressed by his antics. “Yes, Discord. We’re here to ask you for a favor, not to punish you.” He shoved his ear back on. “Humph. How many alicorns does it take to do a draconequus’s job? Perhaps you should have thought about this before you tied me down.” “Discord, I already said I’m sorry for casting the spell on you.” “But cast the spell you did anyway.” Discord hung his head, letting the argument pass. He had let Twilight do it, so he wouldn’t refuse to help her now. “What do you need?” He was being remarkably cooperative, for Discord at least. Well, this was it: time to find out what happened to the famous wizard. Twilight probed, “What do you know about Star Swirl the Bearded?” Discord raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting the question. “Star Swirl? What an odd name. Did he feel like he needed everyone to know how much of a beard he had? Rather egocentric, if you ask me.” He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. Twilight gave him a look. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were like this sometimes – a lot of the time - all the time. It figured that Discord was a friend now, because he acted the same way. She said, “Yeah, I don’t know anyone like that. No self-proclaimed masters of chaos, anyway.” “Now Twilight, you hurt me. It’s not bragging if it’s true.” Discord’s head was lit by a glowing halo, which he plucked up and tossed in his mouth. “Whatever. Do you know anything about him?” “Nothing. Why would I associate with an old curmudgeon like that? I’m new age, hip and cool. You should ask your princess friends, they’re old and crotchety like Star Swirl, no offense.” Discord said the last part to the sisters as an afterthought. Luna looked furious, but she restrained herself. Celestia was surprised and saddened. “He was their friend, but they don’t know what happened to him. He disappeared right before you showed up and took over.” Discord stood completely still for a moment, before responding quietly, “What a coincidence.” His jovial mood was completely gone as he said seriously, “I didn’t … do anything to him, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve never met anypony like that.” Twilight fought off her disappointment. Their only remaining lead was starting to look hopeless, but she continued anyway. “Alright. Where did you come from, then?” “You’re asking where all chaos came from?” Discord’s grin slowly returned. “Chaos doesn’t have a beginning, Twilight! The best part about me is that I’m eternal! No matter how far back my memories go, there’s always more!” Twilight parsed his nonsensical claims into something she could understand. “You mean you don’t remember.” He recoiled at the mundane rephrasing. “What – no, that’s not what I said at all. I said I don’t have a begin – yes, yes, fine, I don’t remember.” He rolled his eyes. Mortals and their limited understanding. He could totally remember where he came from, if he tried hard enough. He just never had. “Well, what if I helped you remember?” Twilight walked forward to take his claw with a hoof. He looked at her, confused. “I thought you were looking for Celestia’s memories? What did Star Swirl the Bearded have to do with that, anyway?” “Well, maybe your memories start about the same time Celestia’s stop. If we help you remember, it might give us a clue to help her,” she explained. Discord was intrigued, but her explanation made too much sense. He couldn’t abide by making sense, so he said, with an exaggerated bow, “Anything for the princess. Just don’t complain to me when you see things ponies were not meant to know.” For the third time that day, Twilight readied herself for the spell. Celestia walked over to stand next to her, then Twilight flew up to touch her horn to Discord’s head - -the tribes were newly united, but friendship wasn’t so easy. Earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus all had deep-seated prejudices against each other, causing distrust and unrest. He heard of two sisters, alicorns, a part of every tribe, yet none of them, at the same time – perhaps they were the key- -they had no cutie marks. They were too young. They were powerful and knowledgeable, but inexperienced. Yet they were brave and caring, and had no preconceptions against anypony. Yes, they could be great leaders, if he was there to guide them- -he lowered the crowns over their heads. They smiled up at him and turned to address the crowds. This would mark the end of the tribal era, and the beginning of the time of the two sisters- -they surpassed all his expectations. They chose a place of great magical power for their fortress, they made contact with the hitherto unknown zebra tribe, they calmed the growing conflict with the griffon aggressors. Even the distant, aloof Crystal Empire joined them beneath the banner of Equestria, with their sovereignty intact. He was so proud- -he was proud to show them that his work on time spells was paying off. He learned things about the distant future that saddened him, but he knew everything would turn out alright. What was more important was the Rituals of Day and Night. He was running out of able unicorns to help him, how much longer could he last?- -of course that was what their future marks meant. Alicorn magic was so powerful, they would never have had such trouble with the Rituals. Now with their cutie marks, they had far surpassed him. He could only watch them rule and hope that one day he might be their equal, though how could he, when he was only mortal?- -there were reports of two villains stealing ponies’ magic. One became a friend, but the other was implacable. Nothing the sisters tried could stop him, so Star Swirl was forced to find a different way. The future had offered him knowledge before, he would be a fool not to look there for the answer- -With a flash of light, Star Swirl reappeared in his library. He heaved a sigh. What he had already done, he would never be able to change. No matter. If he succeeded, his actions would allow Celestia to have a future and memories to lose at all. He walked to his desk to examine his stolen knowledge. Several hours later, he stared at his writing hopelessly. Celestia had told him the truth, and he couldn’t understand it. He knew the Tree of Harmony had provided some kind of chest that had been involved in defeating Tirek, but Celestia’s memories didn’t provide anything more detailed than that. In the end, his only real option was to examine the finished version of his own spell. Celestia had not mentioned that the spell was also the reason her student had become an alicorn, but he knew that now. There was no doubt that his spell could work. He just didn’t know how. “Magic without end,” that was the power that he needed in order to defeat Tirek, but the rest of it was practically gibberish. He had studied magic all his life and nothing he had ever seen suggested that such a spell could be cast. Celestia’s student was nowhere near his age, yet she had figured it out in a day. There was something he was missing. If he was going to achieve any results, he couldn’t use Twilight Sparkle’s spell in its entirety. At most, it could influence the work he had already done. He started on a new page – the last page in the book. It was fitting, he thought morosely. This was his last chance. He wished he could change things. That had been the original intent of his spell. As far as he knew, he was the only one who had ever come close to breaking free of fate, but now that he knew about a working version of his spell, he saw that he might have been trying to do the wrong thing. Perhaps power was not a result of a destiny defied, but a result of a destiny fully embraced. He set to work. From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled. It didn’t rhyme, but he had reason to believe it would get results. He lifted his quill away, satisfied, only to hear a crash at his door. No, it couldn’t be. He hadn’t tested his spell yet! It wasn’t fair! Slowly, he looked up from his book, dreading what he would see. There, a shadowy figure slowly stood up to an imposing height, topped by two great curved horns … “Tirek.” Star Swirl said, naming his enemy. The beast smiled. “Writing for help? Or perhaps, creating more magic? You are not as wise as they say, are you? There is no magic that does not belong to me.” “We shall see.” He glanced down and defiantly read his incantation aloud. Instantly, power, incredible power, flowed into him, only him. This was it! It had worked! All the failures, all those messes and shames, had been worth it in the end. With this, he could send Tirek away – There was something he didn’t expect. It felt like the chaotic results of his failed magic, useful, but not intended. It was stronger than before, too strong to control. He was losing it, it was turning against him. Tirek was drawing nearer. No! He couldn’t go yet, he couldn’t leave them alone, he had promises to keep! With a titanic effort, he fought to take his magic back. One of his eyes opened wider than the other – Then they both changed, from a normal pony white with amber pupils, to sickly yellow and red. He lifted a hoof, but it stretched and cracked to become a claw. Chaos magic whipped around the room, scattering parchment, causing havoc, opening portals – there was the sound of clanking chains, snarling dogs, voices screaming - mismatched wings burst from his back, his body lengthened and coiled, his horn split in two and knocked his hat off - Twilight hovered in the air in front of Discord. He looked back at her thoughtfully. “So, Star Swirl the Bearded tried the same little spell that made you an alicorn? Why isn’t he a princess then?” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Wait, weren’t you trying to help me remember where I came from?” Twilight stared at him. “You don’t remember?” Discord returned her stare blankly. “Remember what?” Well, it was pretty clear to her, but somehow Discord didn’t remember his origins, how Star Swirl’s body had twisted and warped into ... she shuddered at the thought. Deciding it was time to land, she fluttered to the floor and looked toward Celestia. The white alicorn was standing tall. She breathed in deeply and opened her eyes. As expected, Twilight was by her side and Luna was watching with concern. Everything was right with the world. Celestia looked up at Discord, knowing that Star Swirl had kept his word. Even though he was gone, he had kept her memories safe for over a thousand years, so that Celestia could get them back from where he had left them, when the time came. “Thank you, Star Swirl,” she murmured to herself. Her eyes were still looking at Discord, though, and he raised an eyebrow. “Ah, you’re welcome? My name isn’t Star Swirl. I’m Discord, master of chaos, nice to meet you.” She chuckled. “I remember, we’ve met. You took the throne from Luna and me, some thousand years ago?” Discord’s face brightened in exaggerated delight. “Ah, you do remember! I’m quite sorry about that, now anyway, certainly not at the time.” He bowed deep and summoned a bouquet of flowers to offer to her. “Welcome back, Princess.” “Thank you, and I know. I’ve already forgiven you for that.” Taking the flowers in her magic, she smiled, before turning to her former student. “I believe I owe some thanks to you as well, Twilight. You’ve saved me two times in as many days. You’re a better friend than I know how to say.” “You don’t have to say anything, Celestia. I’m just glad you’re back.” She leaned her head forward, letting Celestia hug her like they had when she was just a filly. Luna cantered forward to join them. Fluttershy tilted her head, unaware of what the spell had accomplished. “So … Celestia is alright now? What happened?” she asked timidly. Celestia answered, “Yes, I’m fine, Fluttershy. It seems Discord here was holding onto my memories without knowing it, and I have them back now, thanks to Twilight’s spell.” “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Fluttershy said. Her wings spread in happiness, before something occurred to her. “But, uh, how did he get them?” Her wings slowly drooped as she realized what it must have meant. Discord swallowed, coming to the same conclusion, but he agreed with her. “That is a good question, Fluttershy.” He rounded on Twilight. “How did you know I had them? I didn’t even know I had them. I must be doing something wrong if ponies can understand me better than I can.” Celestia kept a straight face as she looked down at the flowers and took a sniff. Hm, daisies. Twilight, unaware of the older alicorn’s thoughts, responded, “Well, you don’t need to worry about that. You still don’t make any sense.” She watched as Discord wiped an arm across his brow in relief, then continued as if nothing had happened. “It was Star Swirl. He took Celestia’s memories while he was trying to stop Tirek.” “Ah, trouble in princessdom. Don’t worry dear, it happens, I’m sure he was very sorry.” Discord patted Celestia on the shoulder comfortingly, which she allowed. He was being considerate, in his own way. “Yes, I saw that. He didn’t become an alicorn, so what happened to him?” Twilight bit her lip. She couldn’t just blurt it out, but she didn’t know how to say it when it was so simple. Instead, Celestia replied for her. “It seems he lost his own memories in turn, when his magic – chaos magic – ran out of control.” Discord, not seeing how this was relevant, asked, “So … what? There was an amnesiac incompetent wizard a thousand years ago? What happened?” Celestia expected this. She replied simply, “He became the master of chaos.” He heard and rejected this. “No, I’m –“ It hit him. “The master of chaos.” It fit what he had seen, the wings, the claw, the eyes. “No,” he said angrily. This also fit her expectations. “No, you are not Star Swirl, it seems. He did not understand true friendship.” Discord glared at her, still feeling like he’d been accused of secretly being someone else. He might do many questionable things, but lying about who he was wasn’t one of them. He glanced at Fluttershy, who was staring at them wide-eyed. His anger evaporated. “But I know about friendship. I – try to be a good friend, right?” Yesterday was too fresh in his mind for him to have forgiven himself quite yet. Fluttershy flew to his side and hugged him. “Of course you do, Discord. You are a good friend.” He hugged her back thankfully. “I’m glad you value your friends so much, Discord. It is thanks to you, and to them, that we were able to recover my memories, and learn Star Swirl’s fate.” Celestia said. A look of unease crossed Discord’s face at the name. Celestia let it pass and continued on. “I hope you continue to learn about the magic of friendship with their help.” She nodded to Fluttershy and Twilight. Twilight jumped slightly. “Oh! Uh, I think I should start by taking off your binding.” She lit her horn and quickly undid her spell. “There. You’re, uh, free to go about being the master of chaos.” “Thank you, Twilight, but I think I’m fine with staying right here for now.” He lay an arm across Fluttershy’s shoulders. Satisfied with her work, Twilight turned back to Celestia. “Are you sure you’re alright? I mean, after everything, Star Swirl is gone, now, unless ...” Celestia lowered her head to Twilight’s level, causing her to fall silent. Quietly, she said. “I think he’s happier now. There is no reason to change that, not for my sake.” Twilight hesitated, but it wasn’t in her to doubt her old mentor. “Alright. I trust you, Celestia.” Still, part of her didn’t want to accept the loss of somepony she’d respected so much. “It’s sad though, isn’t it? He was only doing what he thought he had to.” “Then it is only right to let him make his own choice now,” Celestia said. Her eyes softened as she explained, “I can remember him as he was, and that is enough. It will be up to him and his new friends to make more memories to share.” “Well,” Twilight looked towards Discord and Fluttershy, now fussing over Angel. “I guess it’s good to know Discord really does care about us that much.” Celestia smiled. “Certainly, Twilight. Friends are what make our time worth remembering.”