//------------------------------//
// Secrets in the Diaries 
// Story: What Lies Within 
// by KidatHeart5 
//------------------------------//

	“It’s so dark in here!”
“I can’t see anything!”
“Where are the lights?”
“Hang on,” Discord said. “I got this.” He then snapped his fingers.
Within seconds, the torches became lit and the whole hallway became visible. The main hallway was expansive, elegant, and gray at the same time. 
Discord said, “Eesh. Starlight really needs a decorator around here.”
Spike looked back to see the girls and saw that Screwball and Apple Jewel looked weary. When they collapsed to the floor, Spike said, “Uh-oh. Fillies down.”
Discord scooped up the sleepy fillies and asked Sunset, “I don’t suppose we could use Starlight’s teacups, could we?” 
Sunset began to protest, “I don’t think we should…”
Discord interrupted, “Oh, good! She won’t mind. After all, she is asleep, so there’s no harm in using her teacups.”
As he made his way to the kitchen, Sunset groaned and face-hoofed.  
When the group entered the kitchen, Discord said, “Snow Pea, be a dear and grab those two teacups while I prepare the potion.” 
Snow Pea nodded, “Sure.” She went over to the cupboard and concentrated on the two teacups until her ice blue aura enveloped them. She brought them to Discord and said, “Here you go, Uncle Discord.” 
He said, “Thank you, my little pony.” 
He then poured the potion into the teacups as Snowy held them with her magic. She then gave the cups to Screwball and Apple Jewel and tilted them into the fillies’ mouths. The sleepy fillies gave expressions of shock and skyrocketed through the ceiling.
“YOWWWWWW!!!” they both cried.
Spike admonished Discord, “Discord, did you add caffeine to the potion?” He touched one of the teacups and instantly, he drew his claw back in shock. He cried out, “Whoa! That is cold, Snow Pea!” He breathed fire on his claw to warm it, but he soon realized, “That wasn’t a good idea.” Spike screamed as he ran around with his claw on fire. 
Sunset ran after him and shouted, “Spike, stop, drop, and roll! Stop, drop, and roll!” When Spike put his claw in his mouth to extinguish the flame, Sunset said, “Or put your claw in your mouth.”
Snow Pea said sadly, “I didn’t mean to make them freezing. I can’t control my powers just yet.”
When Snowy sniffled, Sunset wrapped her hoof around her niece and comforted, “Hey, hey. It’s okay, Snowy. You’re getting better every day.”
Screwball said as she and Apple Jewel floated down towards the floor, “Yeah. It’s not your fault that your snow powers are a little out of whack. You just need to practice.”
Sunset said, “Here. I know what’ll cheer you up.” 
She went to the fireplace and pulled down the head of a stone pony. A staircase then depressed into the floor and everypony but Sunset looked on in wonder. 
Screwball breathed, “Dude!”
Jewel agreed, “So cool!”
Spike said, “That is awesome!”
Discord remarked, “I must admit: Starlight knows how to pull a neat trick.”
Sunset climbed down the steps and said, “Come on.” 
The group then followed her and entered a secret room filled with knickknacks, most of which were covered.
“Whoa!” the three fillies said.
Discord said, “Just what was Starlight? A pack rat?”
Sunset shrugged, “I don’t even know what she did before she kidnapped me. It’s a mystery how she acquired so many things and then put them here.”
Discord put a finger to his chin and said, “Hmm…You know, most secret rooms exist for one of two reasons: they’re either a spare storage room for priceless treasures or they’re meant to keep things from the past so that pony would forget the heartache he or she experienced.”
“Knowing Starlight, she probably built this room to keep me and the others from ever knowing about my past.”
Apple Jewel blew on a dusty book and the dust flew to Spike. He let out a big sneeze and blew fire on the floor.
Discord shouted, “Whoa!” He jumped back and crashed into a bookshelf. When the bookshelf shook, a box from the top fell down and hit Discord’s nose before falling to the ground. He cried, “Ow! What on earth was that?” 
The group looked to see assorted knickknacks that spilled out of the box, including ribbons, pictures, and a book. The box began to play a tune familiar to Sunset’s ears.
She gasped, “I remember this song! Starlight used to sing it to me before I went to sleep.” She reminisced the memory of Starlight tucking her in bed when Sunset was younger. The amber unicorn then began to sing, “There can be damage words can do…when full of thoughtless pride…Now heed the wiser voice in you…that calls to be your guide…
“The flowers reaching for the sun are all uniquely blessed…But though each is special…not a one is better than the rest…Bloom, bloom, may you know…the wisdom only time breeds…There’s room, bloom, and you’ll grow…to follow where your heart leads…
“Bloom and may you bring your colors to the vast bouquet…There’s room, bloom, learn one thing…Your gifts are meant to give away…”
Sunset snapped out of her trance when Snow Pea asked, “But I don’t understand. If Starlight was keeping you locked up here, then how could she act like a mother?”
“Well, that’s just it. Despite being controlling over me, she did have her good points. She taught me to sing and practice magic. And even though we didn’t celebrate Hearth’s Warming, she always gave me a present on my birthday every year.”
Spike said, “Wow…I never knew she did that for you.”
Discord said as he picked up the book, “Indeed.”
Sunset told the draconequus, “Put that back, Discord. I don’t want Starlight to know that there were unwanted guests in her house.”
Discord rolled his eyes and said, “Oh, fine, fine. Whatever you say, Sun-“ Just then, he “accidentally” dropped the book and caught it with his paw before it fell to the floor. When he caught the book, it was open. “Oh, look. The book’s open. Well, looks like we’ll have to read it.”
Sunset glared at him. She hated it when he was tricky like that. 
Discord flipped to the first page of the diary and read aloud while imitating Starlight in a nasal tone, “’Today is my 10th birthday. I am very excited because I know that I was born on the exact day my great-uncle…’” His eyes bulged at that moment and he shouted out in his normal voice, “STAR SWIRL THE BEARDED?!!” 
The group cried, “What?!”
Sunset gasped, “But…how…? Give me that!” She grabbed the book and looked at the page.
Discord pointed to the phrase and said, “It’s right here. See for yourself.” 
Sunset read aloud, “’…my great-uncle Star Swirl the Bearded defeated the Windigos and the Umbrum.’”
Discord chuckled, “Who knew?”
Sunset said glumly, “I didn’t. Starlight never told me anything. She always kept secrets from me.”
Spike said as he held a photograph, “And it looks like she kept more from you and the others.”
Sunset held the photograph with her magic and saw a filly Starlight with pigtails and a brilliant gamboge unicorn colt with a brilliant and vivid vermillion mane, moderate arctic blue eyes, and light apple greenish gray splotches on his body. They looked like they were running and smiling in an unknown village. What really intrigued Sunset was that Starlight’s smile looked genuine.
Apple Jewel asked, “Is that Starlight when she was little?”
Screwball said, “I wonder who the colt is with her.”
Discord said, “Well, I say she’s got him under her control somehow.”
Sunset differed, “No, I don’t think so. The look on Starlight’s face looks all too…real.”
Discord grabbed the book again and said, “Well, let’s see what else Gothel Girl has to say.” He opened the diary and said as he scanned the page, “Buh, buh, buh, buh…” 
He then read aloud, “’…great-uncle Star Swirl the Bearded defeated the Windigos and the Umbrum. He truly is one of the greatest wizards of all time. I’m very lucky he visited me today and gave me this book to write in all I’m learning about magic. But I’m going to use it as a diary, too. You know, my great-uncle doesn’t visit very often. Mommy and Daddy tell me he’s always busy with his spells and raising two alicorn sisters.
“’That’s because before Star Swirl got rid of the Windigos, they created a blizzard that wiped out most of the alicorn race. Celestia and Luna, the two sisters, are the only ones left. Star Swirl says that he treats them only as students, but I hope he adopts them so we can be related. It would be cool to have two alicorn sisters be…what is it, cousins? No, aunts? Maybe second cousins?’”
Snow Pea breathed, “The Windigos took Grandma Tia and Luna’s family?”
Apple Jewel said, “That’s sad.”
Sunset told them, “Yes. The Windigos created a strong enough blizzard to take out two powerful races: the alicorns and the draconequui.”
Screwball gasped, “Daddy’s family?”
Discord didn’t want to be reminded of such pain, so he nonchalantly waved his paw and said, “Yes, yes. I’m the only one left. Boo-hoo-hoo. Now can we get on with Starlight’s diary?” 
He flipped another page in the diary and read, “’Today was an amazing day! Sunburst and I went out to Rainbow Falls and we got to see the Traders Exchange for the first time. We brought a lot of old stuff to trade and we got a boatload of new stuff. But that’s not the important part. I gave my most favorite doll to a filly who had almost nothing to trade but a plastic star that she found on the street. I thought the star was beautiful, but nothing could be more beautiful than seeing the happiness on the filly’s face when I gave her my doll. I’m going to miss Mr. Snug-a-Boo, but I know that he’ll be in good hooves.’”
Discord remarked, “Huh. I never took her as the giving type.”
Sunset herself was quite surprised who Starlight was before kidnapping Sunset. She said, “I…don’t understand. Why did she change? What happened to her?”
Discord said, “Well, let’s find out.”
He flipped the pages rapidly until he found something of interest. He said, “Oh, oh! I think I found something!” He read aloud, “’I can’t believe Sunburst is leaving me! He only got his cutie mark yesterday and already he’s been asked to attend Star Swirl’s School for Gifted Unicorns! Star Swirl’s my great uncle, for crying out loud! I’m going to do everything in my power to be a great unicorn like Star Swirl wants me to be! I don’t care about friendship now. I’m going to be even greater than Sunburst was.’”
Discord remarked, “Ooh…She had a bit of a competitive streak.” He flipped some more pages and then read aloud, “’I did it! I got my cutie mark and got enrolled in my great-uncle’s school! Let’s see how surprised Sunburst will be when I arrive.’” 
He turned another page and read, “’It’s been a week since I came to the school. I’ve been really busy with my studies and something upsetting had happened. When I arrived at Star Swirl’s school, he told me that Sunburst had vanished just before I arrived. I have tried everything I could to forget about him, but I…just can’t. He was my first and only friend. There’s nopony in Equestria like him.’”
He turned a couple more pages and read, “’I can’t take it anymore! My great-uncle is not as great as I once thought. He is cold, unfeeling, and doesn’t love me at all! He loves nopony whatsoever. He’s being too rough with me and expects too much from me, all because I’m his relative! How can anypony handle that kind of pressure? I’m leaving tonight, and I’m casting a spell on myself before I go.
“’This spell will keep me forever young so I will never have to grow old like Star Swirl. The last thing I want to be is an old grump like he is.’ Huh. Girl was actually being smart.”
Spike said, “Wait…I think she was talking about the Spell of Eternal Youth! It’s in the Dark Magic wing! I helped Twilight clean there when she was young. Celestia knew that she could be trusted to even go in there. Even though the queen technically trusted all of her daughters, Twilight was the only one who was willing to go in the wing. 
“The original keeper of the wing said that a pony broke in there one time to use the Spell of Eternal Youth. He said that the spell was so strong that it affected two ponies: the caster and their true love. He also told us that the only way the spell could be broken was by true love’s kiss.”
Discord grimaced, “Who in their right mind would want to kiss Starlight Glimmer?”
Sunset said, “Just keep reading.”
Discord flipped more pages until he got to one last entry. He read aloud, “’I’ve been traveling for years now, putting on my magic show everywhere I go. Now I would like to settle down and live a comfortable life. I shall pay contractor ponies to construct a lavish manor for me in the middle of the woods. Just yesterday, I found an abandoned phoenix chick near a waterfall. I decided to name it ‘Sunburst’ and keep it as a pet. With it by my side, I shall never be alone.’”
All of the royals were shocked to hear this.
Sunset breathed, “So the phoenix my father took…was named ‘Sunburst’.” She could hardly contain her tears as she said in a broken voice, “I’m so ashamed! That phoenix was her only reminder of the friend she lost.” 
Discord said as he closed the diary, “Eh, I wouldn’t feel too sorry for Starlight. She did, after all, keep you locked up for most of your life.”
The tears drained from Sunset’s eyes as she said, “I would like to see her before we go. I feel bad for everything she’s gone through.”
The royals were confused, but followed the unicorn up the stairs.





Back in the Umbrum world, Nightmare Moon appeared before Belladonna.
“Your Highness, I have located the royals. They are at a manor in the middle of a forest.”
Belladonna smiled wickedly, “Good. Go out there and bring them to me. I will not be strong enough to travel great distances and I will only be a shadowy mass.”
Nightmare Moon bowed and said, “As you wish, princess.” In that moment, she turned into a smoky mist and raced out of the Umbrum world and across the icy tundra.





The royals made their way to Starlight’s bedroom and Discord lit the fireplace with a snap of his fingers. 
Discord said, “Well, there’s the sleeping beauty. Now can we leave the room?”
Just then, Sunset noticed something on Discord’s tail.
“What’s that?”
Discord quickly put the item behind his back and sheepishly chuckled, “What’s what?”
“Discord…If you have something, let me see it.”
“Oh, fine.”
He brought a small gift from behind his back. Sunset took it and read the tag, “‘To Sunset Shimmer. Happy birthday.’” She opened her gift and gasped in surprise. It was a tiara with the plastic star fashioned into it. 
Spike breathed, “Wow…That is a pretty star.”
Discord said, “Well, I suppose that one pony’s trash is another pony’s treasure.” When the box fell unexpectedly, he asked, “Sunset? Sunny? Hello?”
Sunset was too lost in her trance to even hear him. She looked at the tiara with glistening eyes before she collapsed onto the floor, crying.
Snow Pea wrapped a hoof on her aunt and asked, “Aunt Sunny, are you okay?”
Discord shrugged, “Well, I guess while Sunny here is having her breakdown, I’ll just look around.” He opened the drawer on Starlight’s vanity and said, “Oh…My, my, my…” He then pulled out a journal and continued, “What have we here? Another diary? Well, let’s take a look at it.”
Sunset said in a choked-up voice, “Don’t you dare.” 
Discord tilted the book and the cover flew open. “Oops. Too late.” He read from the first page, “’This is my first time writing a parenting journal. A Guide for Foal and You recommended it since I’m going to be raising a filly now. Okay, I technically stole her from the King and Queen of Canterlot, but they took my phoenix Sunburst from me! Why Sunset Shimmer? When I heard Queen Celestia had twins, I wanted to know if either of the twins bore a stark resemblance to a phoenix. After months of observation, I found that Sunset, one of the twins, had coloring similar to a phoenix.’”
Snow Pea asked Sunset, “She took you because you looked a lot like her phoenix?”
Discord said, “Wait, there’s more.” He read aloud, “’But the more I look at her, she reminds me more of my friend Sunburst and not the phoenix. There’s also a connection between the names of the princess and my former friend. Both of them have the word ‘sun’ in their names. As much as I hate reminders of the past, I am going to make sure I never lose Sunset like I did with both Sunbursts.’”  
Spike said, “Oh…Maybe that’s why she kept Sunset at the manor for most of her life.”
Discord flipped another page and remarked, “Huh. I guess diary entries are not the only thing she has in here. Looks like she kept a list of your favorite things before she took you from the palace.” He turned another page and chuckled, “Oh-ho-ho! Look at baby Sunset trying to eat spaghetti.” He turned the book towards the royals and showed them a photo of baby Sunset having spaghetti all over herself. 
Sunset smiled a little and said, “Yeah, she took some pictures of me when I was little.”
Discord skimmed through the book before coming up an interesting entry. He said, “Oh, listen to this!”
He read aloud, “’Today I taught Sunset two important things: never stray from home and never to cry. When I woke up from my nap, Sunset was nowhere to be found. I raced outside and saw her going into the woods. I stopped her and told her to always stay at home. When she was about to cry, I told her that crying was a sign of weakness and she had to always keep her emotions in check. I hope she never runs off like that again.’”
Sunset said, “Wait…I don’t remember running off like that except when I came to Canterlot.”
“Well, you must’ve been either really young or Starlight took that memory away.”
“Well, if she did take that memory away, I would’ve remembered by now.”
“Okay. Then you must’ve been very young.”
“The only thing I can remember is her telling me that I must never cry.”
“Well, getting back to the journal…” Discord flipped several pages before stopping at an entry. He read aloud, “’Sunset’s nearing 13 now and is asserting her independence. I don’t want her thinking she can leave the manor, so I devised a plan to keep her busy. I’ve decided to hire some ponies to be my servants. Besides, the chores are not getting done as much as I would like. It’s just only Sunset and me and it would help to have more helping hooves around.’”
He turned some more pages and stopped at Starlight’s last entry. He said, “Uh-oh. I see smudges on the ink. I hate to admit it, but I think she might have been crying.” He read aloud, “’My life is in shatters again! Sunset turned her back on me and found out who she really was: a Canterlot princess! 
“’I’ve not only lost her, but my servants as well! If that wasn’t enough, I’m locked up in my own home! I suppose it is a befitting punishment considering what I’ve done to Sunset. I now spend my days carrying out the chores that were once…’” 
Discord squinted his eyes to read the writing that was almost completely smudged. He continued, “…Sunset and the servants’ duties. I am now completely alone in this manor. This was never what I wanted. I never wanted to become an old geezer like my great-uncle Star Swirl, but since I have cast the Spell of Eternal Youth on myself, I might as well spend eternity here.’”
Discord skipped over the entirely-smudgy section and read the last sentences of the journal, “’If I could talk to Sunset again, I want to tell her what I’ve been through so she could understand. I hurt her for my own well-being, but I only pushed her away. I also want to tell her that I never want to be alone again.’”
Sunset was in tears again, and Spike wrapped his arm around her while she dug her head into his chest. 
Discord closed the book as he said, “Huh. Who knew Gothel Girl could feel?”
Sunset scolded, “Stop it. She’s not a monster. She did it because she wanted to have control over her life. She lost everypony she ever loved. Trust me, being alone is a fate worse than death.”
That struck a nerve for Discord because he knew exactly what she meant. If it hadn’t been for Fluttershy, he would’ve still been in stone. And if he hadn’t made a friend after the blizzard took his kind, he would’ve been a complete monster roaming all across Equestria. 
He hung his head in shame and said, “All right, point taken. Nopony ever wants to be alone.”
The gears in Sunset’s head started turning and she remembered something. She gasped, “Alone! Daring Do!”
The other royals asked in confusion, “Daring Do?”
Discord said, “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.  Are you saying that Daring Do is real?”
Sunset nodded, “Mm-hmm. I met her several months ago. My friends and I rescued her from the evil clutches of Ahuizotl. Since then, we’ve accompanied her on some of her adventures. Last I’ve heard from her, she was getting close to finding a lost tribe deep in the jungle. If she’s asleep along with every other pony, Ahuizotl might use this chance to find the tribe first and destroy them!”
Discord said, “Well, by all means, let’s go!”
Screwball cheered, “Yeah! We’re going to kick some cat booty!”
Sunset said, “No, no, no. You are going to stay here with Apple Jewel’s father until Discord and I return.”
The fillies began to protest, “But-“
Discord wagged his finger and said, “Ah, ah, ah, ah! No ifs, ands, or buts. That’s final.”
Screwball pouted, “Phooey!”
Sunset said, “We’ll be back as soon as we can, okay?”
Discord held Sunset in his arms and told the fillies, “We’ll bring back photos.” 
In a flash, both he and Sunset disappeared into thin air.