//------------------------------// // "We Were, Once" (Sad) // Story: What Will Today's Adventure Be? // by Gojira007 //------------------------------// Celestia stared up at the statue in silence. That snaking figure, arms outstretched in shock, eyes wide with disbelief. Discord. She had been visiting him more and more often of late, but until this night she could not have put her hoof on why. Now, however, she knew. The Changelings almost overthrowing Canterlot, the Crystal Empire’s mysterious reappearance, the Alicorn Amulet falling into the wrong hooves…the land had been beset by much evil of late, and even Twilight Sparkle and her friends could not be asked to deal with all of it alone. If the incredible power of the Chaos Spirit himself could be turned to good…. “Which it can’t," she all but heard his taunting voice whispering in her ear. "And you’re a foal for even thinking that it might.” She had read the reports, though. Knew that even among the Elements of Harmony, there had been one Discord could not control. One he had failed to manipulate through trickery alone. If Fluttershy could back that strength up with the magic of the Elements…maybe, just maybe…. “Quite a lot to put on one timid little Pegasus," the voice of doubt again teased. Yes, it was a long shot. But she knew it was possible. No matter what other doubts gnawed at her, the Sun Princess knew there was good inside the Draconequus. And looking past the statue, to the labyrinth of hedges that stretched out behind it, she felt her thoughts drifting back…remembering…. …and sighing heavily. No matter what hustle and bustle there was at the palace-and there seemed to always be some kind of hustle and bustle in Canterlot-Celestia could always come to the labyrinth to think. The pink-maned filly let her little wings stretch out to soak up the lovely sun, let her nose be filled with the earthy scents of the dirt and the hedges, and tried to let herself forget, just for a little while, who she was…what she was. Except that today, it simply was not working. Today, no matter how hard she tried, all the young Princess could think about were the roaring fires, the angered lecture about how she needed to be more careful with her magic in the future, the looks of fear and uncertainty that followed her wherever she went. She sighed again, folding her wings back up and scuffing the ground harshly. And then she felt something wet drip on her snout. Eye widening with surprise, Celestia looked around to see where it had come from, but found nothing. No storm clouds in the sky, no dew on the hedges…and then there was another drip, this time on her back. And another on her horn. And then another, and another, and suddenly the alicorn was covered in strange brown raindrops. Before she could yelp and run away, however, she felt the drops slipping into her mouth, and realized it was not rain that was covering her, but…chocolate? Looking straight up, she then noticed a small, pink cloud hovering directly above her. And sitting on it, wearing a face of supremely satisfied amusement, was the oddest little creature Celestia had ever seen. Not one part of it matched-one arm that of a lion, the other a bird’s talon, a horse’s leg next to that of a lizard’s, tail like a snake, head of a pony atop a brown furry body, a pegasus wing next to a dragon’s-and it had such strange yellow eyes. Part of the Princess wanted to be annoyed at the creature for sneaking up on her, or at least confused as to just what it was, but looking at that smile-bright and unafraid-all she could do was giggle. The creature giggled in return, snapping its fingers. A brilliant burst of white light filled Celestia’s vision then, and when it faded the pink cloud and its chocolate rain had vanished, leaving her face to face with her new companion. The Princess was amazed…to simply cause something to appear and then disappear so easily? It was a magic more powerful than almost any other the Princess had ever encountered. And this creature was not afraid of it. They kept giggling together for a bit. And then giggles turned into talking, and talking turned into names. Names turned into stories, and stories turned into games, and before she even knew it Celestia was using her magic to play Tag with the creature-Discord, he had called himself-and then Hide and Seek, and then Dodgeball, and she could not remember the last time she had felt so alive. So free. Eventually, the sun began to set, which meant the young alicorn had to be getting home. But she promised she would return to the labyrinth soon, and they would play again. So she left for the Castle. But she did so with joy in her step. Because for the first time in her life, the Sun Princess had seen that she did not have to be afraid of her powers. Her new friend had showed her that… …and she would never forget it. Mind returning to the present, Celestia let herself look back at Discord’s statue. Those days had been so happy…so fun. But of course they could not last; learning that her powers were not to be feared was only one part of the alicorn’s growth, after all. The other had been learning the responsibility that came with them, and that was one lesson Discord simply refused to learn, no matter what she tried. "But perhaps I was simply trying to teach him the wrong way,” she thought. That was why she believed Fluttershy had a chance. Why she knew, deep down in her heart, that, if he had the right chance, Discord could be a friend. Because once, long ago, he had been hers.