Chapter 7: Easy
Well I didn't get a chance to chat with Cadance in that short meeting. We retreated to separate rooms. I actually wanted to bunk with Celestia, Luna and Discord just like old times, but Twilight was pretty adamant that we should all sleep in separate rooms. Oh well, with Luna gone and Discord also missing I doubt I could get us all together. It would just be me and Celestia. Hmph.
In my room, I sat in the centre, thinking about what had transpired. There were a lot of unanswered questions, that was to be expected I was time travelling after all, but the sisters and Discord were fairly secretive about the whole thing. I frowned. Knowledge of future events from a past traveller wouldn't affect the future right? Paradoxes wouldn't be made. Discord himself was a case in point.
I frowned at that. If I accepted that paradoxes could not be made in that regard, it gave the whole thing a fatalistic spin. I didn't like that. I snapped my fingers a couple of times, practicing some quick spell techniques. After the encounter with those griffons I made sure that my magic side would never be neglected to that extent. I should have paid attention in class. I chuckled inwardly, who would have thought after spending so much time on my world and travelling the parallel universes that I'd ever be seriously studyig magic? If I told myself in the past, it would be so farfetched I would have laughed myself out of my own house.
I frowned at that analogy. That was confusing. Even for me.
I started when Discord snapped into existence in my room. He was facing the other way when he materialised so he looked around in confusion until I cleared my throat.
"Ahem," I coughed, drawing his attention. "Hey Discord, what's up?"
Discord hunched his shoulders. He looked guilty.
"I know you told me that I must of had a reason to fulfil the prophecy… but I wanted you to know exactly what it was." He snapped his claw and a book materialised in the air next to him. The book looked leather bound (but I knew that was impossible) and engrained in the surface in gold were two words…
"Chaos theory," I read out loud. Discord nodded at that.
"It contains a little of our known history and some that has been… erased."
I studied the book with a healthy dose of trepidation. I looked up slowly from the book, finally tearing my eyes away from the cover.
I swallowed audibly. “Has anyone else read this?”
Discord shook his head slowly.
I looked back at the book. Truth be told, I didn’t want to read it. Discord had many secrets in here that he wasn’t happy with. Would I change my mind if I read what he did? I smirked. Of course not, I would never doubt Discord. I traced a finger down the side of the book and after a monumental effort I slid the tome back.
Discord looked at me in surprise. He raised an eyebrow.
“You’re… not going to read it?”
I sighed and wiped a hand across my face. “No… at least not yet.”
He pushed the book back into my arms.
“Then keep it,” he replied gently. “Maybe you’ll get to read it when the time is right.”
I stared at the book and set it gently down on the bed.
“Okay,” I said, then I gestured around to the rest of the room. “Where are you going to sleep?”
Discord gave me a mischievous grin.
“Oh,” he said casually. “I have my ways.” With a snap, he was gone, leaving me alone with the book.
I was sorely tempted to read that book, let me tell you. For ages I think I just stared at the covers, as if the writing would somehow speak to me through the hard layers of the front matter. It stayed inanimate and I lay down on the bed, wryly noting that the size was just a little too small… for a moment I had a flash back to Tempora’s warning.
You can’t see the future, you can’t see what he’ll become.
Back then I told her the future be damned. I meant it back then, I was so convinced… but so much had changed in the meantime and so many thing I had thought were impossible became possible. Was I the same person that appeared in Equestria so long ago? Was I still me?
I brought the book in front of me as I lay down on the bed. Eventually, my eyes felt heavy and I drifted off to a fractured sleep.
–––––
Morning over the Crystal Empire was spectacular. The old castle and the outlying city that spread beneath it was certainly better designed than the village sprawl that Tempora’s castle occupied. I gazed in some awe at the shining crystals, clouds and the patchwork of land below from the vantage point I held at the balcony of the room I was situated in.
“Harmony,” a warm voice greeted me and I turned around to meet the familiar snow-white alicorn. “I hope you liked the sunrise.”
“Celestia, it’s beautiful,” I replied, grinning. “Little Celly,” I added to her faint embarrassment.
“Oh Harmony, I hope you don’t call me that in front of anypony else,” she pleaded. I raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong with a nickname?”
Celly pawed the ground. “Oh you know… it’s been over a thousand years and I’m technically older than you…”
I laughed at that. “Celly, if you were ten times your current age I’d still treat you like my little sister.”
Celestia sighed but she looked a little happy.
“That’s… refreshing,” she replied with a small smile. I gave her a pat on her head.
“Come on,” Celestia beckoned me as she broke away from my ministrations. If I kept going we would probably be here until the sun set again.
As I headed out the door I had the distinct feeling that someone was watching me. As I glanced around suspiciously the feeling disappeared. Still, I think I felt something around here… Shaking my head, I followed Celestia to the dining hall where we’d have our breakfast. It was probably nothing.