Memories

by Sun Aura

The Truth

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew this was strange, but I cast it aside. This was a lot like before, silly pranks and laughter. I was enjoying it. Yet my friends were…. Arguing? It didn’t seem to be directed at Discord. They bicker often enough, but this is a little excessive wasn’t it? Discord had created movie theater seats and some popcorn for himself.

“Stop it, Discord” Twilight yelled to end their fighting. “You’re not playing fair!

“I’m not playing fair? Perhaps we haven’t met. I’m Discord, spirit of Chaos. Hello?”

“How are we supposed to find the Elements of Harmony when you took away the labyrinth before we could get to the end?”

“Oh, wait, did you…?” He began laughing even harder now. “How funny! You thought the Emements were in the labyrinth?” With a flash of light the world around us changed. It was a projection of a memory. We were back in Canterlot Tower, hearing Discord give his riddle. ‘Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began.’ And with another flash it was all back to normal.

“I never said they were in the labyrinth.” He said.

“He’s got a point,” I mentioned. Twilight glared at me. Why? It was a fact? She loved facts, didn’t she?

“Keep trying, Twilight Sparkle,” Discord teased. “Maybe the magic of friendship can help you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Chaos to wreak.” With a last flash of light he disappeared. Thunder roared as cotton candy rolled across the sky. Chocolate milk came down from the sky.

“Chocolate milk? I hate chocolate milk!” Pinkie yelled. That was strange? Maybe she was getting annoyed at Discord like Twilight was, hating even his most fun chaos.

“Think Twilight,” Twilight said to herself as she began pacing again, “think! ‘Find the Elements back where you began.”

“Which beginning?” I asked. “We began many things. Did he mean where we began today? Or where we began together? Maybe it is where we began our quest to find the Elements?”
“Ugh. I just want to go home. Wait a minute. Home! ‘Back where you began!” The Elements must be in Ponyville!”
“Well then, we’ll need transportation, won’t we?” I asked her.
“Something faster than the train,” she contemplated. “The chairiots”
We galloped our way to the guard barracks. Twilight looked a little excited to get there. I guess she didn’t know her brother had the day off, or rather, was hiding at home. I wondered who was filling in for him? I got the answer as we walked through the door.

“Iridescent!” I exclaimed seeing the temporary captian. His armor was mostly off, letting his true coat colors shine through; a beautiful mahogany with a mane that seems to reflect colors. “I haven’t seen you since. Oh wow, that was over two months now, isn’t it? Wait, I thought Star Bolt was the replacement captain!”

“Star got transferred to the Lunar guard, gives her better hours for family activities, and I got promoted since last time,” the stallion replied. “I actually expected you would be here today. I heard an ancient enemy of Princess Celestia’s had been released. I assume you’re attempting to blast it with the Elements of Harmony as we speak? Unlike our captain, who decided not to show up today.” That was sassy. He was getting used to being around me.
“Pretty much!” I giggled. “Well, Discord isn’t that bad. But we probably should get the Elements anyway.”

“Not that bad?” Twilight shouted at me. “Have you seen anything this morning.”
“Don’t mind her,” I smiled to him. “She’s just grumpy because her staircase became a waterslide. But I should introduce you all, shouldn’t I? Iridescent Blade, meet the Elements of Harmony! You probably already know Twilight Sparkle, since she’s Tia’s student; she’s the Element of Magic. Applejack is the Orange one and Element of Honesty, the pink one’s obviously Pinkie Pie, Element of Laugher. The Pegasus is Fluttershy and the other Unicorn is Rarity, Elements of Kindness and Generosity respectively. The one you met last time I saw you was Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty. She’s kind of missing at the moment, but I think I know where she is!”
“Nice to meet you ladies,” he replied, getting various responses back. “I wish we could have met in better times.”
“Speaking of better times, the Elements of Harmony are over in Ponyville, so we need to t there quick, and I thought maybe could get some chariots and a couple guards to fly us over?” I added in more smiles, if I am nice he should help, right?
“I don’t know how many we can spare. Things are a bit chaotic here in Canterlot, and most chariots are only big enough for one and a half average ponies, so that’s two pegasai per chariot, and you would need four chariots.” He began looking through lists of what I assumed were ponies’ stations all over the city.
“So do I need to use the ‘I’m the Princess’ line, or the ‘but we’re on a mission to save everypony’ line? Or is it the ‘if we do what we’re supposed to we’re helping you by eliminating the problem’ line?” I smiled back mischeviously. He sighed taking a final look at the papers.
“I think I can pull a couple from the Noble’s district. Most of them are overreacting anyway, so I think they’ll be happy to get out of dealing with them.”
“I feel terrible for whichever pony had to deal with Blueblood!” I laughed. It got a few chuckles.
“Okay, eight guards and four chariots coming up.” Iridescent sighed through a grin.
“Thanks!” I smiled in return.
“Although, I would suggest paying them back,” He added as the others went to the next room to get chariots that were not messed up by this morning’s magic. “Not in money, of course, but they do like interesting stories. And entertainment.”
“How about both!” I said, practically jumping. I knew that anything I said having to do with a fellow guard would be treated as if the information was given to most siblings; major teasing and never letting it go, but all in good fun. I lifted my forelegs up on his desk, and leaned closer into a more secretive position. “I bet you all would just love to hear just why your Guard Captain didn’t show up this morning.”
“I figured he happened to get sick! Or it was some pre-wedding planning thing we forgot about.” He said, leaning closer in interest.
“Oh he’ll wish that’s what it was with all the jokes the guard will make once this gets around!” I exclaimed. I had to drag it out a little bit.
“Well come on!” I was getting him hooked on the idea.
“Well, Discord paid a visit to him this morning,” I said, I would milk this as long as I could. “And he decided to change his appearance a bit.”
“Please tell me he is bright freaking pink!” He exclaimed. I began giggling again. This was fun!
“No, he’s not ‘bright freaking pink, as you put it,” I said, trying to calm my giggles. “What did happen though, was he has spent the entire morning , you ready for this? He has spent all morning as a mare!” There was a pause before Iridescent doubled over on the floor laughing.
“Oh sweet Celestia that is amazing!” He shouted between breaths. “Do you have any idea what they will do to him when they find out?”

“Oh just wait! That’s not even the last of it!” I said as we caught our breath. “First off, the spell includes changing his name too! As long as he’s still a mare, any time his real name is spoken or written, it changes itself to the female one!”
“Glimmer Shield,” he said trying it out. He began laughing again. “Glimmer Shield! That is just too much!”
“Hold on, the best is for last!” I said, checking over my shoulder. The others were still looking at chariots. I think Twilight had to change a few back. Discord’s magic is making that difficult, so that should take a few more minutes. “His fiancé’s under a similar spell. She’s a stallion by the name of ‘Prince Bolero’ today!”
“NO!”
“Yes!”
“Do you think they’ve…?”
“I don’t know, but I know many a mare and stallion who would try, given the chance!”
“It’ll be the first thing he’s asked when he gets back! Wait! If he’s a mare now do you think he could…?
“Nah. That specific spell is designed with a failsafe. They should be back to normal by tomorrow, with no lasting effects! Other than embarrassment, of course.”
“That’s perfect! I’ll send for those guards now.” He walked off still chuckling. I joined Twilight and the others in the other room. Soon enough, we were in chariots and on our way back to Ponyville.
“Do they seem strange to you?” Twilight asked as we flew over the Everfree Forest.
“What do you mean?”
“Our friends. Aren’t they acting weird?”
“I think they’re just a bit on edge from the whole “having to save the world” thing.” I smiled. That was it, wasn’t it? Just a little tension from a high stress environment.
Of course to add to the stress, our Pegasus guards turned into Earth ponies. As we fell to the ground Twilight and I both used a cushioning spell. It didn’t save the chariots, but we all only had a few bruises and scratches. We thanked the guards, promised their wings would return, and hurried on our way back home.
“Come on, girls!” Twilight said to cheer us on. “I’m certain this is what Discord’s riddle really meant. If we get back to the library, I have a book that I just know can give us a clue!” Then she screamed as she was trampled by bunnies with deer legs. It was so shocking it was almost funny.

“Good boy, Angel. Mama’s so proud,” Fluttershy said as day turned to night.

“Wow, ah’ can see so much better,” Applejack sarcastically stated. I felt the ground beneath my hooves become slippery and heard multiple thumps in the darkness. “Ah’ meant to do that.”
“Discord’s turned our dirt roads into soap!” Twilight shouted as night became day.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Discord said, skating by us on the road. He gestured to the place in front of us. “This is the new and improved Ponyville, and these are only my first of changes.”

“This may look fun, but it’s not.” Pinkie Pie told us as she executed professional level figure skating moves on the soap.

“Picture it!” Discord exclaimed, holding Twilight up as day turned to night again. “The Chaos capital of the world.”

“I can’t see anything. It’s took dark.” Twilight retorted.

“Well wait a few minutes and you’ll see it in the light of day,” he said dropping her back into the soap. “Or not” He leapt into the air and disappeared again.

“Ponyvile, Chaos capital of the world? Not if I have anything to say about it!” she led the way to the library. It was slow going as Rarity was still carrying the boulder. AT some point she had named it ‘Tom’, but who am I to judge? When I entered the library, Spike was soaked and confused. Although I was a little more confused when Rarity’s boulder burst through a wall.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” Spike asked as he tried to dry himself off. “Why does everybody look so… gray?”

“Ugh. No time to explain,” she replied. “We’ve got to find the reference guide to the Elements of Harmony before somepony does something she’ll regret?”

“The Elements of Harmony? Oh, I know exactly where that book is.” Spike pushed a nearby ladder to the opposite wall and climbed up near the top.”Found it!” Fluttershy grabbed it from him.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight growled, “you’d better give me that book!”

“Keep away!” she sang in reply, tossing the book to Applejack. I lost track of the book for a while as it bounced around the room. It hit me a few times, but it always ended up somewhere else before I could register where it was. It was almost a full out brawl before Twilight got the book.

“Get back! All of you!” she yelled. “This is my book, and I’m going to read it!”She opened it, and let out a gasp. “The Elements! They were here all along!” True enough, inside the now hollow book were six necklaces and a tiara, the Elements of Harmony.

“I figured you would be more focused on the destruction of that book,” I said. She glared at me again, and I could see her mentally reminding herself to be mad about the book at a later time.

“This is great!” Spike cheered. “Now you guys can defeat Discord and put everything back to normal!”

“See girls?” Twilight asked “we did it! We found the Elements of Harmony! Together!” she was met with unimpressed stares.”You don’t even care, do you?” Some part of me cared, but I couldn’t bring myself to care about the part that cared. Again, I felt this was wrong, but I couldn’t get myself to care about it.

“I never thought this would happen,” Twilight sighed. “My friends… have turned into complete jerks!” I knew I should care about that too, but I felt she was just overreacting to our fun. Discord has really put her on edge. She levitated the Elements of Harmony around our necks and the tiara onto her own head. “Come on everypony. Let’s go!”

“But Twilight, “Spike interjected, “Aren’t you missing somepony?”

“Nope. We’ve got the liar, the grump, the hoarder, the brute, and the uncaring. That just about covers it.” Uncaring? Did she mean me? Since when do I not care? Then again, since when were the rest of them what she had called them? She’s probably just tired by this point. We’ve been at this all day, and I don’t think she has eaten. Yes, that’s it.

“What about Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked.

“Congratulations Spike,” She said after a moment of thought. “You’re the new Rainbow Dash.” She levitated the Element of Loyalty around his neck and ran off. He protested a bit, but eventually gave in. We looked back and saw Rarity trying to move Tom back outside. Twilight took it up in her magic yelling “Move! Look out, here comes Tom!” The boulder smashed through another of the library’s walls, nearly hitting Pinkie Pie in the process.

“Well, well, well,” Discord said as he appeared, “I see you’ve found the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying!”

“Discord!” Twilight yelled at him. “I’ve figured out your lame riddle. You’re in for it now!”

“I certainly am. You’ve clearly out-dueled me, and now it’s time to meet my fate.” He was quite sarcastic, putting on a ridiculous pair of sunglasses. I could not help but laugh. “I’m prepared to be defeated now, ladies. Fire when ready.” A simple target appeared on his midsection, taunting us.

“Formation now!” Twilight yelled. “All right, let’s get this over with!” She activated the Elements. I felt a magic filling the air as we levitated upward. It seemed to be working, but I could tell something was wrong. Just as the magical glow was started, we all fell back down to the ground.

“Well that failed,” I said as I lay there in the dirt.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked.

“Mine’s workin’. There must be somethin’ wrong with yours,” Applejack replied. Fluttershy tossed her necklace off, only to have it caught by Rarity.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Spike sheepishly apologized. “I guess I’d better get back upstairs and clean up the library. Good luck!” He ran back to the library, tripping on Fluttershy’s tail along the way.

“Bravo, ponies, bravo!” Discord said, clapping as he walked over to our group. Well there were more than just your regular clapping sounds, but that was normal for him. “Harmony in Equestria is officially dead. Discord rules, Celestia drools.” He laughed while Twilight growled at him.

“Well, Tia does occasionally drool in her sleep,” I replied. “Also, it is ‘brava’, not ‘bravo’. We’re all female.”

“Easily changeable,” He chuckled. Although his way of correcting it was magically swapping my gender. As weird as it was to suddenly have a stallion’s body, this was familiar. Gender swapping and color swapping were some of Discord’s favorite minor pranks, especially since ponies freak out more than they complain as it usually will only last a few minutes. Even still, I had to turn around in some confusion, looking at the new body. It takes a moment to get used to the height and strength difference. For a moment everything was clearer, why was everypony mad at each other? They should not be like this.

“It’s all your fault it didn’t work!” Pinkie yelled.

“Who are you talking to?” Twilight asked.

“Any of you. All of you! I’m outta here!” Pinkie screamed as she walked off.

“I better go,” Applejack said, heading toward her home. “I’ve got new, better friends waiting for me at the farm.”

“Yeah! I’m sick of all you losers.” Fluttershy commented before flying off. She was being mean? Something was definitely wrong.

“Fine” Twilight shouted at their backs. “Leave! See if I care! I don’t need you guys either! With friends like you, who needs… enemies…?” She began crying, and slowly turned and walked away, leaving me alone. I watched as her coat turned gray like the others. That was completely not normal.

“Wait! Girls!” I called out to them, but nopony turned back. I was about to run to them when I felt Discord’s paw on my head. I felt the magical shift as my body returned to its normal feminine form.

“She has a point,” he said. “Your friends will turn against you eventually.” He was talking about his own friends this time. Whichever pony he thought to have killed me, when Celestia and Luna turned him to stone, who knows how many more times his trust had been broken.

I nodded in agreement. This would have happened at some point, right? Friends always have to leave for some reason or another. Better to get it out of the way sooner. And even if they had tried to stay they would’ve left. I was supposed to be immortal. Celestia lived for two thousand years, so they’d grow old and die before my eyes. Better to not watch that.

“What should we do next?” I asked him, smiling wide, wanting to ignore the feeling that I was missing something.

“What do you mean ’We’?” Discord asked raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I might as well do something, and your Chaos is really fun to watch. Probably more fun to participate in!” I cast my magic and got my revenge for him turning me into a stallion. In front of me now stood a surprised female draconequus.

“How did you..?” He was trying to understand how I was able to change his form. I forgot he didn’t know who I was. He thought I was a lookalike, not the real Feria.

“Well, I think I’ll just call you ‘Eris’ until the spell wears off. Do not worry ‘Eris’, you will be back to normal soon!” I was laughing again, harder than before.

“’Eris’?” he asked, snapping his talon and turning back to normal.

“Why don’t you take all the fun out of it!” I said, faking a pout. “And did you really think I wouldn’t know about the ‘Eris’ thing? It was a common joke for you back then!”

“Aha, dear Tia must have told you about our fun. Or was it Luna? She did like to talk on and on, especially about the time I made her mane into blueberry taffy!”

“I remember that one! Celsetia’s mane was strawberry taffy!” I replied. We were howling with laughter. We went on for a bit like that walking down Ponyville’s main street, spreading some Chaos, occasionally to each other, and laughing at some of our oldest memories. I still did not know why I was sad that he thought I had learned all of this from Luna or Celestia, but I did not care. Just being around Discord again was making me happy. It was a little intoxicating, truthfully.

Eventually we started talking about things we had done other than just fun bits of Chaos. I told him about this lifetime, my time at the castle and my time in Ponyville. The only thing we avoided was what he had done after I died. I tried to tell him who I was, but something would always interrupt. One time it was a banana pie falling from nowhere, another time we ended up on a gravity defying slide of maple syrup.

Discord disappeared for a few minutes. I had suggested an upside down bear in a dress on a unicycle, and he left to set it up. I think it was becoming a project with a full skate park complete with impossible loops and jumps and spins. I felt a bit lonely, but I was happy. Discord was doing something for me. The unpredictable Spirit of Chaos that cannot be tamed, was doing something I had asked for, and not only that, he was improving on it, making it even more wonderful.

I was then tackled by a large purple something. I remember panicking for a minute before I heard her words. Twilight Sparkle had jumped me and was currently asking a question. No, she was not asking, she was pleading.

“Feria, snap out of it!” She begged. “Discord’s put some kind of spell on all of our friends, including you!”

“He didn’t do anything,” I replied levitating her off of me, noticing her coat was no longer a dull gray. “You all left me, and I chose to stay with him.”

“Think about it! Before today would you have done that?”

“Actually, yes I would have. He is fun to be around. I was smiling and laughing the whole time I was with him.”

“But would you have abandoned us?” I thought about that. Didn’t I try to go after them when they left? But Discord stopped me. He didn’t use magic, he just restated that friends will leave. He couldn’t have used magic on me, could he?

“There is no way Discord would use magic on me,” I stated to her, but we both knew I was questioning it. Was I scared? Why was I scared? Would it matter if he used magic on me? I knew I had to find out, and the easiest way was to check the Realm of Souls. Souls and Magic are connected, so I should be able to see if there was anything wrong.

I calmed myself and slipped my vision into the Realm of Souls. At least, I tried to. I tried again, and a third time. I could not slip into it; I could not see it at all. I tried doing minor soul sensing, which is just sensing what souls and magic are near me without being fully immersed in the Realm. I could not even feel Twilight standing less than two feet in front of me. I began to panic. Was I panicking due to the lack of my power? Or is it from the realization that Discord must have done this?

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. My fear was probably visible on my face, and I knew my breath had become quicker.

“I cannot access the Realm of Souls,” I replied. Saying it out loud made it all too real. Seeing her confusion I began to explain. “I- I can see the souls of living things, including their magic. Souls and Magic are part of the same thing. But I cannot do it! It is blocked! That-that should only happen if I am disconnected from myself.”

“Like if he put you under a spell,” she replied.“Do you have any ideas on how to reverse it?”

“I am not sure. I-it seems to work by making you want something else, probably something that would stop one from using their Element of Harmony…” I began panicking even more at that. If the Elements’ power was disrupted, my immortality was at risk. While I do not care for Immortality, I was suspicious about the thing that had killed me. It needed to kill me for a reason, and I believe it was immortal, since it could corrupt Luna nearly one thousand years later. I think it would be safe to assume it would want to kill me again, and I would like to avoid that.

“Maybe we can remind them who they really are?” Twilight suggested. What was she talking about again? Oh, right. Fixing our friends. I think the spell might be affecting my ability to want to help them.

“Wait!” I exclaimed. “Reminding them might work! But I think we will need to do more than just speak it. Did Cadence ever teach you her signature spell?”

“You mean her love magic? I do not know how to do it, but I don’t think romance will help.”

“Different kinds of Love, remember? The spell focuses on a memory of feelings. When Cadence uses it on an arguing couple, she remembers the feeling of loving somepony. When casting the spell it creates a link between the caster and the other pony, and the memory of that feeling comes to mind, bringing up memories of specific events with it. In theory it could be done with any emotion from love to sadness to joy to fear. We would need to focus on feelings of friendship.”

“And this will work?” She asked. I can understand being wary of trying a new, powerful spell that might not even succeed, but this is my only idea.

“I think it will be strong enough to work on somepony who is fighting Discord’s spell” I replied, trying to put her worries to rest. “We would need more magic for one who thinks they are normal. Try it on me first. Please.”

Twilight hesitated, but nodded in agreement. Her horn began to glow a magenta color. I wondered if it was working. Soon my mind was flooding with a feeling of love and friendship and happiness. I felt some resistance to it, as the part of my mind that was under Discord’s spell fought back, but I fought against his spell as well. We broke through as memories of ponies I loved flew through my mind. I saw my sisters, the group of First ponies, and even some dragons and griffons. The memories transitioned into this life. I saw Twilight and the other Element Bearers, I saw Spike and the Crusaders, and Zecora. There were even a few ponies I had barely began to become friends with, some in Canterlot, some from Ponyville. I saw Cadence and Shining Armor and Gale Strike and Iridescent Blade. Even the most annoying Royal Prince Blueblood fleetingly flew through my mind.

I began crying as I saw these memories. So many friends I had never said goodbye to, so many ponies I had barely begun to know, yet cared so much about. I cried for joy and for sorrow, to mourn those who mourned me, and to hope for the future. But mostly I cried for today; I cried for how I acted to my friends, not caring about what was happening to them. I did nothing to stop what Discord was doing. His spell might have made it easier to do, but my memories of him had blinded my judgment. If I thought of him as an enemy, I would have stayed away, I would have kept y guard up, constantly checking for a spell to have been put on us.

The memories of Discord lasted longer in my mind. Or it just felt that way, as this all happened within a few seconds. I saw many memories, both from long ago and from today. How could I count the time I spent with him today as a good memory? I should hate him for this day. Because of his spell I nearly lost my closest friends. I was furious at him and ashamed at myself. As I saw these memories fly by, I realized how much he meant to me. But I was nowhere near ready to forgive him.

The vision stopped as the spell ceased. I was in shock momentarily before running forward and gripping Twilight in a fierce hug. I had never been so happy to see her. I was still crying, but I was nearly leaping for joy.

“Thank you!” I exclaimed. “I am so sorry for today. I cannot make up for what I had done.”

“Feria you were under a spell.” Twilight’s words were an attempt at comfort, but I would not let it go. I released her from my embrace, almost wanting to stay in that moment, to not face what was coming.

“His spell justified some of my decisions, but they were my decisions.” I said to her. “I did not lie when I said I would have left to go with him today, but I would have tried harder to stop some of this. I would have worked more toward a compromise between Discord and us. I could have saved us. All of us.”

“Why did you want to be around him? Celestia told you what he was.”

“It is a long story Twilight, but I will say what I can. I know who he used to be, back when the world was new and everypony was taking their first steps in life, he had been a good soul, a great soul, a really incredible, sometimes infuriating but easily loved soul. I remember that Discord. Today, his spell was supposed to begin to work in reverse. It plants a seed of uncertainty in one’s mind. He talked about friends not only leaving me, but betraying me, and the spell began to convince me he was right. The spell made me not care about you all, it made me think it was better if I did not care, but through his words and your actions I could have grown to hate you. That is the worst part of the spell. He could not make me hate you, but he could make me consciously choose to hate you. What he had not counted on, were two magics. One was my own power. Discord believed me to be on the same level as most Unicorns, not as an Alicorn. The second, was the power of love and friendship. I was able to see through the spell at times. I would realize something was strange, but not do much about it. And allowing me to spend time around him, one I considered a friend but had not proven to betray me, I was seeing more clearly than I should have.”

“How could you care for somepony like him, after all he’s done?” she was questioning how it works. I smiled at the idea. Twilight Sparkle might be the Element of Magic, sometimes called the Element of Friendship, but she had a lot to learn about how friends work. We all had a lot to learn.

“For now, let us save our friends.” I was avoiding the subject, was I not? “Sweet Apple Acres is closest, onward!” I walked forward past her, and we were soon galloping to the farm. As we neared our destination, we saw everything just as weird as we left it. Pigs were flying, Granny Smith was tap dancing, Applejack was eating in reverse, and Big Macintosh thought he was a dog. To be fair, he was still just as quiet as before.

“Applejack!” Twilight shouted to her. “We came to fight for our Friendship!” I laughed as Big Mac popped out of the ground and licked her on the face. She was not glaring at me like before, but I should save it for later.

“Oh, now you want to fight?” the mare replied, standing on her back legs and mocking punches. “Where were you when I was fighting Discord?”

“Snap out of it!” Twilight and I said as we tackled her. “This is not you! You are not a liar!” Twilight and I combined our magic into the same spell that fixed me. I watched the color return to Applejack’s coat. I do not know what memories she witnessed, but I could tell it was working on her.

“What happened?” Applejack asked, coming back from the spell. “Twilight! Feria! I saw a vision of us feudin’ and fightin’. I couldn’t face e truth, so I started tellin’ lies. Can you ever forgive me?”

“We already have.” Twilight answered.

“Come on!” I exclaimed. “Fluttershy is next!”

It went on pretty similar to that afterward. Fluttershy was quick, but telekinesis and Applejack’s rope skills fixed that. Rarity was easier, as she did not want to move away from ‘Tom’, who was thrown out the door as soon as we lifted Discord’s spell. Pinkie Pie was particularly tricky, but the live bait of a laughing pony was enough to keep her still long enough to break the spell. Soon enough We were at Rainbow Dash’s cloud home.

“Uh? She’s not here.” Fluttershy told us from up at the window.

“Without Rainbow Dash we can’t use the Elements!” Twilight answered.

“Well, at least not to its full potential,” I muttered, “Though I am not sure what just us would do.”

“She could be anywhere by now!” Applejack exclaimed. “We’re never gonna find her!”

“Yeah, we will, ‘cause she’s right there!” Pinkie squeaked. I looked up to see Rainbow Dash laying on a cloud. How did we miss that?

“Hey, guys!” Rainbow yelled down to us.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Twilight replied back. “Discord’s still on the loose! We need you to help us defeat him with your Element, Loyalty!”

“Loyalty schmoyalty!” She scoffed. “Have you guys seen Ponyviliie? It’s a disaster! I’m staying here in Cloudsdale where everything’s awesome.”

“How in Equestria can she think that tiny patch of clouds is Cloudsdale?” Rarity asked, mostly t herself.”

“The same way he got you to think that cheap rock was a bona fide diamond,” Applejack replied with a smirk.

“I thought we agreed never to speak of that again.”

“Keep it together, girls,” I said, smiling at their banter. I like this much better. They were teasing each other, and playfully fighting, but not arguing or truly being mad at one another. This was good.

“Time for plan B,” Twilight stated. Her plan consisted of a hot air balloon and a few ropes. Oddly enough, it is easy to find stuff in Chaos if you know where to look. Or really, where to both look and not look, as it will always be in a place where it easily could be, but probably will not be. It was in the library’s basement. Soon, we were in the air and back to Rainbow Dash, who was snoring in the comfort of her little cloud.

“Okay, Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered, “you grab Rainbow Dash and hold her down. Applejack will lower me down from this rope so I can cast the memory spell on her.”

“Why can’t Feria hold her down?” Fluttershy asked. It was easy to see that the timid Pegasus would not want to harm a friend, even if it is the best thing for them.

“I need to concentrate on casting the spell,” I told her. “If her struggling messes me up, nopony knows what would happen. Fluttershy nodded and flew quickly toward Rainbow Dash. I thought it would work before Fluttershy poked her awake.

“Um…” She began, “I’m just wondering if it’s okay if I hold you down against your will for a little bit?” Out of the corner of my eye I could see Twilight pressing her hoof to her face.

“Nice try!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. “Ponyville’s your problem, not mine.” With that she zoomed off,

“Come on!” Twilight yelled. “We’ve got to catch her!” I jumped out off the basket and joined Fluttershy in pulling the Balloon through the sky. I was a bit faster than her, but she could keep up fairly well, although we would not be able to catch Rainbow Dash if she kept flying away. Fortunately, she was fairly overconfident. Rainbow came back flying at us with ridiculous maneuvers. Applejac k threw a rope, landing it perfectly around Rainbow Dash’s midsection. Before I could wonder what the rope was secured to, a white, pink, and purple blur went shooting past us, screaming the whole way.

“Rarity, Pinkie, hold on!” Applejack said, reading another rope. “y’all are slowin’ her down!”

“Oh, Fluttershy,” Rarity shouted, “Would you do us a favor and fly faster, please!”

“I can’t!” Fluttershy whimpered.

“If you can’t catch her, Discord wins!” Twilight yelled to us. Those words seemed to set off something in Fluttershy. Her expression went from terror to determination.

“That big…Dumb…Meanie!” Fluttershy screamed, gaining a large burst of speed. I was surprised to hear her actually insult somepony. We were able to close some distance as Applejack threw our last rope. It caught Rainbow Dash, and through the collective power we were able to pull her to the ground.

“Let me go!” She shouted. “I don’t need you guys! Leave me alone!” The others kept her restrained as she bucked and struggled against the ropes. Twilight and I worked our magic. It just hit me that Rainbow was the last one. Next we would have to face Discord. I did not think I was anywhere near ready for what was coming.

“Wh-what happened?” Rainbow asked, coming back from the spell. She gasped in recollection. “How’s Ponyville? Where are the Elements? Did we stop Discord?” We all ended up cheering and hugging one another. We were glad we were back to ourselves, and that we had our friends back. Our reunion was interrupted by four buffalo dancing ballet through the field.

“Maybe it’s a little too early for a group hug,” Twilight said. We let go of each other, put on the Elements, and trotted on our way to defeat Discord. I was terrified. I was enraged and sad and I knew that whatever I did I would regret later. I did not know what I would do. What I wanted was to make everything okay with just a simple use of my horn. I hoped I knew what to do when the time came. Although, the time seems to be now.

“Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing!” Discord laughed, lifting a glass of chocolate milk to his mouth. He was sitting on a throne of his own creation in the middle of Ponyville and the center of the Chaos. I felt like I could not move, let alone speak. How could I use my Element in my state?

“It’s not as wonderful as friendship!” Twilight said, announcing our arrival.

“Oh, this again?” he asked. He drank the glass and threw the milk elsewhere, making an explosion in the process.

“That’s right!” Applejack confirmed. “You couldn’t break apart our friendship for long!” She was picked up in Discord’s magic and brought inches from his face.

“Oh Applejack, don’t lie to me,” he replied, picking up the rest of us with his magic. “I’m the one who made you a liar. Don’t you ever learn?” Twilight created a magic bubble around us, cutting off his magic. She levitated us back down, the ground beneath our hooves turning back to normal.

“I’ll tell you what we’ve learned, Discord!” Twilight exclaimed. “We’ve learned that friendship isn’t always easy. But there’s no doubt it’s worth fighting for!”

“Ugh, gag!” Discord replied. He was not even worried at the idea of us being able to defeat him. “Fine. Go ahead, try and use your little Elements, ‘frienemies’. Just make it quick. I’m missing some excellent Chaos here!”

“Why do you not care?” I yelled at him, stepping forward. “You had friends before, but what was it they had done?” his form stiffened, but other than that he kept up his theatrics. Others would think he had no idea what I meant,

“I told you earlier, remember? Friends either leave or betray you. No real honor there. It’s much better ruling at the top with all you wanted. Only one never did that, but she would have left eventually, given the chance. Even your precious Princesses wanted to get rid of me.” He was brushing it off, pretending it was nothing.

“You were going too far, just like you did today.”

“They said the same thing. Never really saw much point in helping those who were not even my friends.”

“And how do you think the one you called a friend would react to what you have done today? You broke apart my friends! If your spell had worked, they would have left me and I would never know why? We both know the feeling of a friend leaving with feelings unsaid and words unanswered. No matter which side left there is always something unresolved! You break down and wonder what you did, if it was something that could easily be fixed. It breaks you inside! You feel anger and sadness and regret and it does not stop! It never stops!” Tears had began to run down my face at this point.

“You know the feeling already, so tell me why you question why I should care about that,” For the first time, his voice had none of the sing-song, carefree nature. It was darkly serious, something that was terrifying to see.

“Your friend did not leave you without reason! She was killed!” I yelled at him. I could feel somepony trying to calm me down, but I could not stop. “You all got suspicious of each other and broke apart on your own! None of them even killed her, it was another force entirely! “

“Celestia told you a lot, but do not take her good-hearted suspicions to be true,” his words were angry but he was still trying to pretend they were playfully sarcastic. Behind him the chaos raged, showing his true ideas. “She wanted to believe in everyone’s innocence. I saw what they had done. Really though, can you not try to play that card? I mean, it is too easy and predictable for you to do it, with the whole namesake and similar appearance and all. Not much fun. Besides, it won’t work. Only in fiction would a character not attack one who reminds him of a mare he loved.”

“You admit to caring for one but you do things they disapprove of with their entire being! Do not tell me I do not know what I am talking about! Celestia did not tell me anything! I was there! I remember it! I remember who you were, and I want you back!” I was screaming now. My rage and sorrow swelled, I felt the magic in the air shift. My emotions had triggered the magic suppression spell on my body, and I could feel myself growing to my full size in seconds. Hot tears were streaking my coat.

“What’s going on?” I heard Twilight ask.

“I am Princess Feria!” I declared, my emotions adding power to my form. My mane and tail had become flames dancing around my head. “I am the fire in hearts, and Ruler of the Realm of Souls! I am the Seventh Element! The failing connection to the Elements of Harmony allowed me to die, but their returning strength brought me back! By their power I will do what I have to do to save what I can, even if I cannot save the one lost to himself! But I can try! I can still try! Twilight, sound the call!” That snapped her out of watching me speak. She shook it off as the others got in formation, Pinkie getting one last drink of the Chocolate milk rain.

“All right ladies,” she exclaimed. “Let’s show him what friendship can do!” I felt the Elements activate, but I could not enjoy the feeling I got from it. The usual warm tingle was just numb to me. I knew what the Elements would do, and I wished I could change it. I wish I could make this work in everyone’s favor. I wish to be able to fix everything.

As the Elements finished their job, I took in the moment of peace. I knew what I would see when I opened my eyes again and I wanted it to not be there. I saw the houses turned right side up, gravity restored, pigs without wings, clouds were made of water droplets, and the ground was once again grass and dirt. Yet the thing that held my attention was the thing in front of us. A stone draconequus was frozen in a look of terror. I was still crying.

I was sobbing now. I kept saying the same words to myself; I should have been able to do more. There had to have been something else for me to have done for this to work out. I did not want us to end like this.

“Twilight, send a letter to Princess Celestia,” Rarity said. I felt her put her hoof on my shoulder as well as she could with my larger form. “Will the rest of you do any necessary clean up, but meet us at the Carousel Boutique in half an hour.” She was polite but firm, everypony nodding to her words and trotting off to do what they can. Rarity coerced me into walking with her down Ponyville’s streets.

I could see out of the corner of my eyes curious faces. Ponies who had been hiding in their homes, or those that were freshly freed from a spell were wondering what had happened. They wanted to know if Discord let them go, or if we defeated him. As they looked out from doorways and behind food carts, all they saw were two mares solemnly walking down the street. One was keeping up an illusion of a smile, assuring everypony that the danger was over. The other told truths, not with words, but with actions. I shuffled my hooves down the dirt path, keeping my head down. I could not think enough to put the magic suppression back on, so I was there in my full form; I was as nearly tall as Celestia, my coat was still black, but it shimmered like coal, my mane and tail were flickering, sometimes hair that imitated fire, sometimes flickering into true flames.

The boutique seemed closer than before, though time can be strange when you do not pay attention. Rarity walked me to the kitchen, sitting me at the table in its corner. I took in the normalcy of her kitchen. Purple walls stayed the color they were. The blue curtains matched the tile. Mulberry colored cabinets and counters stayed on the wall with the stove and sink. Rarity was rummaging through the matching pantry. I kept expecting something strange to happen. I wanted something strange to happen, if only to comfort me. My tears were subsiding when she put a cup in front of me. For a moment, I stared at it, waiting for it to do something.

“I find a cup of tea can be quite helpful in times such as this,” she said, “Though I do have something stronger, if you would prefer.”
“Thanks,” I managed to say. Eventually I picked the tea up in my magic and took a sip. It was sweeter than I expected; she did not add sugar, but it was a little bit fruity, maybe berry-like. I was not used to fruit tasting hot. Somehow the unexpected taste was calming. I looked up at Rarity, who was trying not to burst into questions. I nodded in an indication that I was ready to begin talking.

“That form is quite beautiful,” Rarity said, dancing around the real subject. I think I would have preferred her to get right to the point. “You simply must let me make a dress for you in that size.” I blushed a little at the compliment, and the idea of wearing a dress again brought on more embarrassment from the idea of compliments I would receive.

“I-I was going to ask about that soon,” I replied shakily. I might not be crying, but I was having a little trouble breathing. “Er… actually, it would probably be a very f-formal dress that I need, although I would n-not mind too much if you had to get all of your creativity out i-in one go. But the thing is, I w-would need it to fit both t-this and my usual form.”

“So you can turn back to normal? That is good news. We wouldn’t want you to hit your head on every doorframe, now would we? Making the dress might be difficult, though,” she commented. I could see her mind working, measuring my body and holding up colors next to my coat. “You are a lot bigger now than you are usually, or is this the size you are and the other one is a spell form? Either way, this form would need a lot more fabric than the other. It would end up being either right in one form and too short in the other, or right in the other form and too long in the former.”
“It’s not that,” I tried to explain, my voice still shaking a bit. “I-I accidentally tried it with my Gala dress, and the dress became bigger w-with my form. But I know that the way something is stitched or where jewels or bows a-are added can affect how it fits because they a-accentuate different features. There is more to making a dress look good on a bigger pony than just increasing its size.”

“So true, Darling!” She exclaimed. I was glad, she was acting normal again. I was about to suggest she should go get a sketchbook when everypony else showed up. I was saddened by this. I did not want to think about today. I did not want to think about Discord. But they deserve to know the truth. I downed the rest of my tea in an attempt to build courage. I do not know what was in it, but I did feel better.

“Rarity, can you please get me the biggest gem or crystal you can find?”
I asked her. She seemed confused, but wandered to her workshop.

“That transformation was awesome! Think you can make me that size?” Rainbow Dash asked with excitement. I must have looked terrible if she was avoiding the subject. Usually she gets straight to the point without caring about others getting upset. Although knowing her, she was being sincere about wanting this form.

“I-it is not a spell,” I replied. I hated that I still could not breathe properly. “Some Alicorns forms change in r-relation to their magic. You should see what Luna looked like w-when I saw her last.”

“So you’ve always looked like this?” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Only for the l-last few weeks. Since the Gala,” I replied. “I used a magic Suppression spell to appear normal.”

”Celestia never told me about that,” Twilight remarked. She was both interested in the idea, and a little sad that her mentor had never told her.

“I guess it just w-was not relevant. I mean, it is not a thing known to the public. I had to learn about it because there was a chance I could. I guess you have seen L-Luna do it, as you saw her as Nightmare Moon.”

“Is this your version of Nightmare Moon? It looks a lot more fun!” Pinkie yelled a little shrilly just as I thought she was being too quiet. The others had a moment of shock, and then slight fear.

“N-no, It is not like that,” I assured them as Rarity came back with the gem. “Nightmare Moon is Luna at her m-most powerful. Her magic is the night, and she becomes a part of it. But that is connected to emotion. Think about how T-Twilight’s magic set herself aflame when she was angered about not un-understanding the Pinkie Sense, but much more powerful. Although each has their own form, a representation of their true magic. I-It is the same concept, becoming one with your magic out of emotion. I could do it, and someday I m-might, but I hope it is for a better cause than Luna used it.”

“What would you consider a good cause to become like that?” Applejack asked me

“I did not mean turning evil,” I said as I took the gem from Rarity’s magic and began inspecting it. It was a translucent blue, almost white color, and quite large, its length the size of the average Unicorn horn. “That form can be used for any number of reasons, as long as there are strong emotions involved. Sh-She used it to take over. Somepony else could use it to save loved ones from danger. Yet you also have to agree to use it. Not to say that words will pop up saying “would you l-like to do this”, but supposedly one would have to want to use it, not just be particularly u-upset.”

Pinkie popped up in front of me, disrupting my magic. I caught the gem before it hit the ground. Once it was back in my magic I looked at what Pinkie was holding out to me. A cake. When did she have time to get a cake? When did she have time to make this cake? It was personalized with my name on it and a feel better message in strawberry slices.

“You haven’t smiled in about an hour now!” She exclaimed. “I did not want to leave while you talked, so I just used what was here, although Rarity didn’t have all of the ingredients, so I had to improvise the frosting with a meringue. I don’t know how it will taste, but you were just so sad I had to do something! And I will do more later today! And I will pay Rarity back for what I used though!”

“You do not need to pay me back for that Pinkie,” Rarity replied to her. “You used it to try and help a friend.”
“I- I do not…” I stammered. How Pinkie made the cake no longer mattered to me. I could feel myself beginning to cry again. There were no heaving sobs. Only tears running down my coat, following tracks that were already there.

“Ohmigosh!” Pinkie said panicking. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t want you to cry more! I can go make a real cake if you want! Or did you want something else? Maybe a pie? Or if you wanted to be alone that would be fine and I would leave it alone! Or I could get sappy movies and tissues! Sometimes smiles come from getting all sadness out, right? I should probably do more after everything that happened today. I don’t even know what I was thinking to do that!

“No, Pinkie, the cake is fine,” I said, smiling. “I just… I do not think anything can really make me feel completely happy right away, but you are helping. All of you are helping. Just the fact that you want to help is helping, even if there is nothing to do.”

“And don’t worry about how you were acting,” Twilight added. “Discord put us under a spell, he made us behave like that today, we can’t hold you accountable for that.”

“Well that is not entirely true,” I said inspecting the gem again. It was no longer blue now, but pink. “No spell can fully make one do something they would never want to do, no matter how powerful the caster. I could not use magic to make somepony jump off a cliff. Yet I would be able to convince them that jumping off the cliff is a good thing to do, and his magic worked in the same way.
“The spell actually has three parts. The first two parts can be done in either order. One is to use magic to plant a seed of doubt. For Applejack, it made her think the truth was too terrible, Pinkie was convinced we were laughing at her, and so on. Part two actually requires no magic, but it is the thing that makes or breaks the spell. It has to convince the one under the spell that the first part was right. Using Pinkie and AJ as examples again, both we and Discord said and acted in ways that made them believe that we were the terrible truth, or were laughing. The third part was designed to make the idea permanent. After we were complete jerks to each other and seperated, he cast part three of the spell, which was actually the same as the first part. He made three mistakes on this, one was letting Twilight leave with only step two complete. He made her feel we were no longer friends by using our actions against her, and then put the spell on. He would have needed to do the spell a second time for it to be permanent, so it allowed Twilight to break the spell on herself with only a little outside help from her letters.”
“If it was permanent for the rest of us, how’d ya’ break it?” Applejack asked.
“I was getting to that. Another mistake was interacting with me during step two. After he put the first spell on me, he was supposed to convince me that you all were going to leave me, that our friendship was just an act for your entertainment. But his interactions with me reminded me of the fun friends can have, it broke the first part of the spell. When he went to cast the third part on me, he was actually recasting part one. Part two happened almost immediately, as you left me alone, but part three was never cast. After that, when Twilight found me, I was able to realize the spell, and fight against it, yet only outside influence can break it. This is where his third mistake comes in. He thought that Twilight and I both had the magic level of an average Unicorn.”
“I’m not that powerful,” Twilight interjected. It was easy to see the slight blush on her face. She did not like being complimented like that.
“Like it or not, Twilight, you are one of the most powerful Unicorns anypony has seen. You broke a spell two thirds of the way completed, cast by one of the most powerful beings ever to live, a being more powerful than both Celestia and Luna. My own power is only due to my Alicorn status, yours is talent, luck, and ah heck of a lot of hard work. Yet you would not have been able to undo a completed spell, which is why we were very lucky.”
“And just how is it you know about his magic?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed flying up to my face. Once again I dropped the gem, though I did not catch it this time. “You talk about how his magic works, but I doubt he told you what was going on while you were under the spell! Nopony’s that stupid!” I was shocked at that. It is easy for me to forget that they do not know about what happened in my past life. My memory of my previous life feels like it happened just the other day. While I can tell which memories belong to which life, I forget that nearly two thousand years had passed between those days.
“Rainbow you’re gonna’ make her cry again,” Applejack said, pulling her back by the tail.
“You don’t have to answer her if you don’t want to,” Fluttershy piped up. “I mean, that is, unless you want to, but if you don’t that’s fine.”

“No,” I replied. “I should explain this. I should have done this weeks ago.”

“Are you sure you do not want to wait?” Rarity asked me. “You have been through a traumatic day, and while I do not know the full story, I want you to be ready to tell it.”

“I need to do this,” I said, putting Rarity’s gem into a full levitation, so I did not have to focus on it. “It is time somepony in this world learned the truth about our past. It should not be hidden anymore. Not from you, or anypony else!” I called forth a spell, the same one Twilight and I used to remind our friends of who they were. This time, I shot it at the gem. It glowed brightly as my spell fused with it, shimmering around the room in aurora.

“Gem magic!” Twilight exclaimed, walking cautiously closer to examine the gem. “This is supposed to be only in minor stages! Even when I toured the Magical Testing Center in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns I only saw it being used as lanterns! How are you able to do this?”

“As I said, there are truths that need to be known,” I repeated. The gem’s light dimmed a bit as the spell finished. “What I just did was use both the memory spell and a projection spell on this gem. It will be able to cast what scenes I want onto any surface, as long as it was in a memory I had. Let us start simple, the Creation.”

They let out a gasp as the gem shot a light at the blank wall. An image appeared, full of everrypony I had known in my previous life, including those who were not ponies, like Griffons and Dragons. We were adults, close to the age the seven of us are now. It was probably amazing to them to see so many ponies look so different from one another, not just in type, but in color and shape. No two had the exact same coloring or eye shape as another. They had probably never seen a crystal pony or changeling before. Now that I think about it, I had never heard of them until I remembered them. What had happened? Even I do not have all the answers.

“These were the first of each race. Six Unicorns, Pegasai, Earth Ponies, and Zebras each, and seven Alicorns, along with about the same amount of other races, for the most part,” I began. “I will not cover all of them, but I think you should know about a few.” I changed the scene to a lone Earth Pony, her mane a deep red, and her coat a bright yellow, a simple red apple was displayed upon her flank. “This pony is Apple Luck.”

“Granny always said we had a long history, but Ah’ guess the Apple family does go all the way back to the beginin’ of Equestria!” Applejack exclaimed. “Ah’ guess she was also right about us all bein’ Earth Ponies too.”

“Not really,,” I replied, showing a few more pictures, and even a full scene of her playing with Monochrom Storm, both of them laughing in the Castle’s halls. “While these ponies were created, and have no true biological relationship to anypony, and thought of eachother as one large family, but they felt like the ponies of the same race as them were like a sibling. Nopony is fully Earth Pony or Unicorn because of that. Although, Earth Pony genetics are more dominant than most other genetics, so a Unicorn or Pegasus being born in your family is possible, but it is not that likely. Anyway, here is the next, although I think only Twilight could know him.” Apple Luck was replaced with a gray Unicorn, studying magic and scribbling into a notebook. It was strange to think we had notebooks and a full language back then. It wasn’t until a memory of his famous star and moon hat that she took a guess.

“Starswirl?” Twilight asked in response.

“He got ‘the bearded’ added onto his name when he grew the beard. But here are the final two before we get into the full story.” I changed the scene to two Alicorns. One white with a pink mane, the other in multiple shades of blue. They looked much younger, both by actual years, and the age that comes with tragic events.

“Isn’t that Princess Luna?” Rarity asked.

“So the other one is… Princess Celestia?” Fluttershy whispered.

“Yes,” I answered. “To be honest, they were a bit different than now, yet certain things remain the same. Tia would give up nearly anything to help someony else, and Luna is still so interested in everything, investigating anything she can find.”

“As much fun as it is to see the Princesses being young, please tell me you’re showing something a bit more awesome?” Rainbow interrupted. The outburst was met with a glare or two, but it went over okay.

“You are right,” I said. “The pony I want to focus on is one you already know. Yet to show you her, you must know their beginnings, Back when we were about to defeat Nightmare Moon, I told you that there were seven Alicorns. The youngest was Luna, the Moon, Ruler of the Night.”The picture shifted to a yellow-orange Alicorn. “Mira was our peacekeeper. Her most difficult jobs were between those in the castle, and the animals that lived outside.

“Flora came before them,” I said. The picture changed to a brown Alicorn, her mane a deep green with a few streaks of orange. “She was the one who understood the Earth. She helped ponies learn how to grow both helpful and decorative plants, she taught them to respect the earth.” Another shift, this time a more familiar Alicorn appeared.

“She looks like Cadence?” Twilight said.

“Well Royalty has to become Royalty somehow,” I replied. “This is Azura. She seemed a few tacos short of a fiesta platter sometimes, but she was incredibly brilliant. She was a master at gems and crystals, and the first to develop a use for them in magic.”

“It figures that royals are decendants of other royals,” Rarity muttered. “There is no way somepony like Prince Blueblood could have earned the title.”

“If it makes you feel better, he woke up in an unstable bouncy castle this morning,” I said, changing the picture to a lavender mare with a stormy gray mane. “Tornata the Storm. She was first to control the weather before passing it down to the pegasai. The second oldest Alicorn sister was Celestia, the Sun, ruler of the Day.”

“Second oldest?” Twilight asked. “I always heard she was the oldest.”

“Is the oldest the seventh sister?” Pinkie guessed. “You did say there were seven earlier, and you’ve only named six!”

“True, I have only said six,” I replied to them, shifting the picture once again. This time, the six of them were wearing very familiar necklaces, and one singular crown. “When they discovered the Elements of Harmony, Azura used her magic of gems to craft pieces to let ponies wield the Elements, though it has been debated on if the necklaces were needed, as each bearer could use its magic without having the necklace on. Azura herself could bear the Element of Laughter, Flora was Honesty, Tornata was Loyalty, Mira was Kindness, Celestia was Generosity and Luna was magic. The reason the Element of Magic was given shape as a tiara instead of a necklace, was because of Luna’s role.

“When the first ponies were being created, all around them was a terrible darkness. It is one of the most terrifying things anyony has felt. There was constant darkness until Celestia was created. Her day would keep that darkness away, but only until night. She had tried keeping it up all the time, but eternal sunlight is a bad idea, so every time the sun lowered, that darkness came back to them. When Luna was born, her Night was created. Ponies no longer had to fear that dark power. They loved her for it, so they asked Azura to do something special for Luna’s Element.”

“You’d think with love like that she wouldn’t have gone all evil and tried to take over,” Rainbow said. This time I glared at her.

“To you, it may seem like that,” I said, trying to contain my annoyance. “But she never knew the darkness she saved them from, and one thousand years later the only one around to remember what it was like had been Celestia, who was getting the praise Luna once had. Even now, only those who were alive two thousand years ago know of this stuff, other ponies changed it, to clean up history into something nicer, while the Princesses did all they could to stop them! They took their tragic history and made them heros! Their weakest moments of not being able to save a friend were turned into triumphs over an evil creature!” I took a breath calmed myself. I should not be angry at her. I cannot control what ponies did while I was not there.

“Um, you never got to the seventh princess,” Fluttershy said. “I mean, you were probably building up to it, but in case you forgot. Not that you would forget, but just in case.”

I sighed, trying to think which memory to show them. How do you use your own memories to show yourself? I glanced around for an idea, landing my gaze on a mirror. Perfect! There had been enough mirrors in the castle, although memories will be limited.

The picture on the wall changed to what I would see looking in the mirror of my Everfree Castle bedroom. I saw my friends’ confusion; all they could see was me in a mirror. I saw their mouths open to ask just what they were supposed to be seeing when a colorful blur jumped into view. Azura had tackled me into a hug, nearly knocking me off balance. I remember what she had said to me, even though I had no way to broadcast the sounds I remember; ‘Since when do you care so much about how you look? Come on! It’s Bronze Gear’s birthday! Join the party!’

“Feria, was the oldest,” I stated. “She was the first of all ponies, and the only one to fully know the darkness that enveloped them before the Sun and Moon. She spent days alone in that darkness, and became able to appreciate other ponies’ company because of it.”

“She looks just like you!” Futtershy exclaimed. “I can see how Princess Celestia could give you her name.”

“That was why Celestia named me, but it is not coincidence that I look like her. I am her. I am Princess Feria, the Fire in Hearts and Ruler of the Realm of Souls, the seventh Element of Harmony.”

“But you’ve only been around as long as we have?” Twilight asked. “You couldn’t have…”

“I died in that lifetime,” I said to confirm her thoughts, “but my soul is connected to the essence of the Elements of Harmony. As long as their power is in this world, I can be in it, and that is what happened. The Elements weakened, I died, and nearly two thousand years later, the new Bearers of the Elements of Harmony were born, their power grew, allowing my return.”

“That’s…. a lot of information to take in at one time,” Rarity said.

“Go ahead and say it; it sounds ridiculous,” I replied.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, Ah’ believe ya’” Applejack said.

“Hold on! Isn’t that ‘ruler of the realm’ line what you used on Discord?” Pinkie asked. “He seemed shocked by it! Did you meet him before? Ooh! Did you defeat him like the other Princesses did?”

“Er, no I…” I was a bit shocked at her outburst, though it was usual for Pinkie Pie. I did not specifically want it to, but the gem switched to a memory without me telling it to. We watched from behind a pillar as ponies wandered into a ballroom. When nearly all of them had arrived, a talon reached into the memory’s field of vision. The talon snapped and the floor turned to ice. Everypony was slipping and sliding around. A few of them managed to get their bearings, but the projection was showing us the ceiling, rocking back and forth. I had been laughing my flank off at the time of this memory. I could hear our voices in my head:

“This is the best one yet!”

“Really? My vote goes for the slide on the stairs. Or maybe it was when I turned Tia’s throne to chocolate cake!”

“Well we will not have to hear for days about chocolate stains on somepony’s flank with this one! And we can participate in this!” I attempted to gallop into the ballroom, only to slip and spin on the ice. He was much more graceful, skating out and pulling me up with him. We were laughing, we were happy.

I knew his face would pop up in the projection any second now. I knew what I would see, that same familiar face. But compared to today, he would look much younger, no constant weight on his shoulders that he tried so hard to pretend did not exist. His laugh was ringing in my ears, that truly carefree laugh belonging to one who has nothing to do but have fun. When Discord’s face showed up, I was barely able to keep it together.
The projection looped through a few more memories of him, from the first memory of holding out my hoof to a small Draconequus as a sign of friendship, to us playing pranks on others, to us just hanging out or flying around. I wanted to cry again. The difference between who he was and who he is now was terrible to see. It felt worse to know my death had kick started this change.
“He was a friend. He had been sweet and kind and a lot of fun. He did like to pull pranks and mess with ponies, but there was a limit on what he would do to them. Nothing would ever be permanent or harmful, just silly bits of Chaos magic like the stuff he did early this morning. I spent a good amount of time calming down the others who got annoyed at his activities.”
“That’s what you were doing on the train,” Rarity said. “You didn’t know it was him at the time, did you?”
“No, I just… the magic was so familiar that I felt the need to do that. My procedural memory fell into the pattern,” I sighed, hoping an inevitable question would not come. “I do not fully know what changed him, but my death was what made it begin.”
“How…. How did you die?” Twilight asked. There it was, that question I was hoping nopony would ask. The gem’s projection changed to the one memory I wish I could forget. The monochromatic swirling magic in its pony form was walking towards us. A blade appeared. The blade appeared. Even though I knew it was a projection, it scared me. No. I did not want to watch this again. With a blast of magic, I stopped the projection. The gem lost its glow and clattered on the tile. The six of them were still staring at the wall, mesmerized by the idea. They knew what it was, but nopony wanted to say it out loud. But somepony had to do it.
“I was Equestria’s first murder.”

Author's Note:

Oh sweet Celestia this took a while. Even though this update was quicker than before, I spent more time writing this than the others, as I got distracted by many things last time.
Anyhoodle, now that the truth is out, how will this go? Find out in my next update! Which will hopefully happen sooner than before.

Comments

[Shaddeluim]

Can't wait, this story is getting better and better. keep it up.

[Sun Aura]

4845359 thank you! Discord is fun to write, but hard for me to feel like what I write is 'correct'. I can't wait to write more of him, but I have to get through a few more chapters. Hint: the next one is about holidays.

[ZeroWind]

You are doing a very good job so far. Keep up the good work

[Sun Aura]

4874094 Thank you!