Chapter 10 - Order and Chaos
Fragments of Memories
By Starwin
Chapter 10 – Order and Chaos
The streets of Canterlot were crowded with ponies. Some were selling things, calling out to passers by to stop and look at their wares. Others simply trotted along with a smile on their face or a spring in their step. Nearby, a pack of young mares were giggling over beautiful new dresses prominently displayed in a shop window.
Everypony seemed happy, like they didn’t have a care in the whole wide world - everypony, except for two. There was no carefree grin upon their faces, no sparkle of hope in their eyes. They walked with a slow, defeated pace through a world of vague shadows without meaning.
Other ponies who saw the two leapt aside, avoiding them like they carried something foul with them. Whispers followed in their wake. Accusatory glares were the only thing that dared touch them. And Applejack hardly noticed any of it.
At the moment she simply felt… empty. There wasn’t a thought in her head. It was like she had been hollowed out. Like she was a shell of a pony, wandering aimlessly through the streets.
Gradually, the other ponies began to thin. The tall buildings shrunk. Beneath her hooves the paved road turned to dirt with sparse clumps of grass.
Applejack might have kept on walking forever had there been any place left to walk. She comt to the farthest reaches of Canterlot and here, she had found the edge of the world.
A sheer stone cliff dropped sharply in front of her. The only path from here was straight down, with the open sky in front and the world far, far below. Her hooves stopped right at the edge, sending a small stream of loose pebbles and dirt cascading over the side.
For the first time since she had left the train station she was aware of something. Her whole body still felt numb but her thoughts were slowly coming back to her as she looked out over Equestria.
Spike was right. Everything he had said was right. Every piercing word he had hurled at her… She felt like crying some more, but her tears had run dry long ago. Her gaze drifted out over the sight before her. At any other moment, this view would have been breathtaking. However, right now, it was simply there and she was simply here.
Wispy silver clouds dotted the world below, drifting lazy on the breeze. Sparkling blue rivers stretched across the patchwork of golden fields. The sky at the horizon had become the brightest orange that Applejack had ever seen. The sun sank slowly into the distant ocean as the day drew to a close. Twilight.
It hurt to even think the name. Even if it had been for the time of day and not her… them… whatever… What was that pony now? Was she still a friend? Was that even the right word anymore?
“Applejack?” asked the soft whisper of the wind. Applejack closed her eyes and felt the breeze blow gently across her face. It was easier not to think about anything while she had been walking. There was just the feeling of walking and nothing else. Now she had run out of places to walk and all she had left were thoughts.
“Applejack,” said the wind again. Except, no, it wasn’t the wind, it was a voice, a familiar voice. It had come from behind her.
She turned her head, opening an eye just enough to see the yellow blur of another pony standing nearby. Her eyes snapped open. Fluttershy. She had followed her all the way out here.
“What… why?’ asked Applejack. “What are ya’ll doing here? Why’d you follow me?”
“I… I don’t know,” said Fluttershy, looking away from Applejack’s stare. “I didn’t know where else to go.” The wind blew between them as the sky darkened above them. “Do you know where to go?”
“Not… not really,” said Applejack, finally looking away. “I wasn’t thinking of no place to go. I just had to get as far away as I could. Look’s like this is as far as I can go.”
“As far away from Spike?” asked Fluttershy. Slowly, Applejack shook her head.
“No, no Spike was right,” said Applejack, not looking back at the pegasus while she said it. “I deserved every word he said to me. I had to get away from something else…”
“From… them?” asked Fluttershy quietly. She hadn’t said their name, but Applejack knew who she meant.
“From myself,” said Applejack at last. “From what I am… what I’ve become.” She laughed. It was a strange humorless sound, dry and dead in her throat before it even came out. “How do you run away from yourself?”
Only a sliver of the sun blazed on the horizon. The land below had become shadowed in night and the sky deepened into the darkest blue. Overhead the stars twinkled like distant gems.
“I don’t know what to do now,” said Applejack after a very long silence. “I know they’d take me back if I went to them. I know they’d forgive me. But what good is that if I can’t forgive myself?
“It don’t matter how much I want it, that ain’t Twilight and it ain’t Dash. It’s like watching the most terrible thing I can imagine. Seeing my friends slip away and there ain’t nothing I can do about it.
“And I don’t want this new pony they're changing into. I know that sounds terrible, but it’s the truth. It’s how I feel. I just want my friends back!” Her eyes burned, trying to give her the tears she wanted so badly.
Applejack heard Fluttershy approach but the other pony didn’t say anything. Then she felt a hoof wrap around her as Fluttershy hugged her and let Applejack sob dry tears into her mane.
Twilight Dash woke with a start. For a moment the unfamiliar surroundings unnerved them. They didn’t recognize this strange room, or this strange, uncomfortable - yet oddly familiar - bed. This was her bed - Twilight’s bed - or at least it used to be.
Slowly, they started to find other parts of the room that they knew. The desk that she - Twilight - had spent so many hours at. The bookcase that she… they… them… us!!!
They pulled a pillow over their face in frustration.
“Us,” whispered Twilight Dash’s muffled voice into the pillow. “Not me. Not I. Us…” “Yeah us, but we don’t remember this place.” “Yes, I do… we do! Ahhh! This is my room in the castle. It’s where I stayed.” “Where we stayed.” “No, me, when I was just Twilight.” “Well, WE’RE not just Twilight anymore, are we?”
They closed their eyes trying to find calm. After a long moment their thoughts settled. They pushed the pillow off, took one last calming breath and opened their eyes. It was their room, well, their old room anyhow.
There was a bookshelf, crammed with books. It had so many that several great, heavy tomes overflowed into piles on the floor. In the corner was an old beat-up dresser that had come with the room. And just next to the bed was a small round window through which golden sunlight poured in.
Celestia had left it just as Twilight had left it. Untouched, waiting for her student to return to the life she had left behind. That would never happen now.
“This is so strange to be back here,” said Twilight Dash absently playing with the bed sheets. “Yeah, we know, we went over that last night.” “It’s still strange.” “It’s still uncomfortable is what it is.” “Yes, well, Luna said she would look into getting us a cloud bed.” “I still don’t understand why we couldn’t have stayed with my parents?” “You mean our parents?” “We know what we mean! They brought their whole house with them!”
They used a hoof to part the curtain on the window. While this room might be small, it certainly had quite the view. From here, they could see most of the castle grounds below. Floating out near the mountain was a cloud house. Memories came flooding back to them as they looked at it.
They smiled at the memory of all the times they had leapt off the roof. They had been trying to fly and scared their parents half to death. They could recall all the fun they’d had playing hide and seek with their dad. They could remember sitting in their room reading some old boring book about Equestrian history.
“Ick, no!” cried Twilight Dash. “Sorry, it just sort of… wait, what do we mean ick?”
Their eyes moved off the cloud house and down into the gardens. They had rarely visited the grounds around the castle. Study had been far more important than stopping to smell the flowers. Even still, it seemed like such a shame to have not spent more time outside. The sprawling gardens would have been such a great place to play hide and seek with…
“With who?” whispered Twilight Dash, resting their head on the rounded windowsill. Absently, their eyes drifted up the tall mountain beside the castle. The sun was just making its way over the peak.
“It’s afternoon.” “Oh no! It’s afternoon!” cried Twilight Dash. “We way overslept!” “We were going to meet our parents for breakfast!” “Maybe there’s still time for brunch?”
They tumbled out of bed, landing in a heap on the floor. They tried to force themself up but only succeeded in getting halfway before losing their balance and toppling backwards.
A knock came at the door, followed by a slightly muffled voice.
“Are you alright? Do you require assistance?” asked the voice. A guard. They remembered the princess had posted a guard outside to help them if they needed it.
“No,” said Twilight Dash determinedly as they struggled back to their shaky legs. “We’re fine, thanks.” They took a wobbly step and threatened to fall again, but caught themself on the edge of the bed.
“See, normal beds make for great support,” said Twilight Dash. They rolled their eyes. “Cloud beds are always running off.” “Great support, we have to be kidding, do we feel how stiff our back is? And our wing feathers are all ruffled.”
After a few minutes, they at last made the long, six-ish hoof walk to the door. Although, upon opening the door they tumbled out into the hallway, landing flat on their belly. There were suddenly many voices speaking at once. The light out in the hall was much brighter, between that and the fall, it was hard to make out was happening around them.
A hard blink and a shake of their head brought things into better focus. Apparently, the guard had not been the only pony waiting outside their room. Four other ponies were gathered around them as well.
“I don’t think she should be left alone!” said the first pony standing beside them. It was their dad, Rainbow Sky.
“They’re our daughters, not prisoners,” said the pony in the middle, Winter Breeze. Their mother, well, one of their mothers. They couldn’t remember which one at the moment.
“And it might perhaps be a little odd watching them sleep,” offered their other dad, Night Light.
“We can hear you, you know,” said Twilight Dash, working their way back to their hooves.
“Are you alright sweetie?” asked Velvet gently as she moved closer. Reflexively they took a step backwards. Velvet halted her advance looking a little hurt. For a moment they hadn’t known who she was. But they were fairly certain she had to be their mother… they did have two of those too… right?
“Perhaps breakfast will help,” offered Breeze. “Or, well, whatever meal it actually is.”
Twilight Dash nodded and their tummy rumbled in agreement.
“Do you want to try walking on your own?” asked Night Light.
“Of course they do!” said Sky. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about!”
“Mine too!” said Night Light, sounding a little perturbed.
“Boys,” warned Velvet.
“Sorry,” mumbled both colts before glaring at each other.
“Couldn’t we just fly instead?” asked Twilight Dash. “In here? We have to be joking!” Their eyes darted around. One wall was solid stone, hung with ancient, irreplaceable paintings and tapistries. The other wall was lined with ornate glass windows that had expensive looking dark red drapes, trimmed in gold. “Maybe walking would be safer.” “Pfft, you’re no fun.” “This isn’t meant to be fun!”
“Walking should be fine,” interrupted Breeze. “I’m sure flying will come naturally, just like before.” There were slight tears in her eyes which she hurried to whip away.
Uncertainly, Twilight Dash extended their front leg. It stayed extended without touching the floor, like the ground was lava or something. At last they lowered their hoof down shakily and took a step. Immediately they began to topple sideways.
However, they hadn’t even really started to fall before their dad was at their side. Their, other dad. Dash’s dad. No, Twilight’s dad too. What were they supposed to call him?
“Try again,” encouraged Sky as he held them. They were overcome with a very strong feeling of déjà vu. They could remember those words, remember their dad helping them back up when they had first tried to fly. They leaned on him for support, just like they had when they were younger.
They moved their back hoof and started to fall in the other direction. But again, they hardly even started to fall before their father was there to catch them. Their other father?
“Don’t worry my little-light, I’ve got you,” said Night Light. Twilight Dash nodded their thanks. Then they stepped again.
It was kind of like training wheels. They kept wobbling back and forth with their fathers on either side keeping them upright. However, just like the previous day, the less they thought about it, the easier it seemed to get.
Their mothers walked ahead of them, glancing back every now and again with encouraging smiles upon their faces.
It was a quiet walk. Maybe there wasn’t much to say, or perhaps their parents didn’t want to distract them. Either way, they couldn’t help but smile as they felt the love all around them. They just wished that their… the thought scurried away mid creation. It was odd. It had been there, important and clear. Then it was gone in an instant. Like it had been stolen away.
They were so focused on the missing thought that Twilight Dash didn’t even notice they had reached the dining room. It seemed that food had already been prepared for them, and set out buffet style. Twilight Dash was helped to their seat first, before their fathers went off to get them food.
Wild Heart also entered the room. She smiled at Twilight Dash before taking a seat across the table from them. Their mothers sat on either side, each giving Twilight Dash a hug before sitting down.
“You both did very well just now,” said Wild Heart. “Near the end you were almost doing it completely on your own.”
“You were watching?” asked Twilight Dash. They weren’t sure how to feel about that.
“Only part of the way, you passed by my room,” explained Wild Heart. “I am staying in the castle as well, barring any major emergencies.”
At that moment both their fathers returned with plates full of food. They eyed each other accusatorially.
“I think your daughters are hungry,” said Wild Heart motioning for them to set the plates down. “And grateful to both of you for getting them something.”
“Uh, yeah,” said Twilight Dash, they hadn’t even noticed. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome champ,” said Sky, setting down his plate first, right in front of them, before ruffling their mane and making them giggle.
“Here you are my little-light,” said Night Light, setting his plate right beside the other one. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek but thought better of it at the last moment and gave them a hug instead.
“Dad,” moaned Twilight Dash, trying to squirm out of the embrace. They looked down at the plates. The odd like and dislike sensation ran through them again. One plate was piled high with some of Dash’s favorite breakfast things, like pineapple and raspberries. While the other plate had Twilight’s favorite foods, such as broccoli and cauliflower. They opted not to touch either.
“Where’s Luna?” asked Twilight Dash. They glanced around the dining hall. It was a very large room with more than a dozen large tables. But at the moment, only their table was set and they were the only ponies here.
“I’m unsure,” said Wild Heart. “I would expect her to be sleeping at this hour, but with her sister away…”
“Oh yeah, where is Celestia anyhow?” asked Twilight Dash as they shoved one of the pineapple rings into their mouth. It tasted amazing.
“Away,” said Wild Heart vaguely. “On important business I’m told. Luna is looking after things here at home. I don’t think she has gotten much sleep.”
“You are correct,” said Luna. The guard bowed as the princess entered the dining hall. “I am sorry to have kept you all waiting.”
“It’s alright, we just arrived,” said Velvet. “Our little-light had a bit of a lie-in this morning.” Luna smiled briefly.
“Would you care to join us?” asked Breeze, offering a seat.
“No,” said Luna with a shake of her head. “I… cannot.” Something at Luna’s side moved slightly as she spoke, catching Twilight Dash’s eye. It was a bag of the deepest blue, lined with silver trim. It was bound with many straps and locks. They couldn’t look away from it.
“Doctor Heart, if I could have a word with you?” asked Luna. “About what we discussed?”
“Of course,” said Wild Heart. “If you’ll excuse me.” She pushed her chair back and followed Luna out of the room. Twilight Dash watched the bag. It felt… familiar, important… like… like it belonged to her.
“You mean us, right?” asked Twilight Dash to herself. They were snapped out of their daze and a moment later Luna and Wild Heart vanished. “Something in that bag…” “Yeah, we know, we felt it too.”
“So,” asked Velvet from across the table. “Did you sleep well dear?”
“Eh, it was okay,” said Twilight Dash absently. “The bed isn’t so comfortable.”
“It’s no cloud bed, that’s for sure,” said Sky. “I asked the Princess if you could stay at our house, since it’s just outside, but she seemed to think you would be better off in the castle. As if you wouldn’t be safe with your own parents.”
“Some of her parents,” reminded Night Light, glaring at Sky. “As we are all her parents.”
“Oh will you two give it a rest,” said Breeze. “Yes, we are all her parents, so maybe we shouldn’t be acting like children.” That shut the two colts up. They both looked slightly embarrassed.
“Twi… uh, I mean, TD,” asked Velvet. “Do you mind if I ask you something personal?” They looked at her uncertainly. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Uh, okay,” said Twilight Dash. “We guess?”
“What is it like?” asked Velvet gently. “Are you okay in there?” That was not the question they had been expecting. No pony had really asked them that. It was hard to put into words.
“It’s… strange,” offered Twilight Dash simply.
“Strange… how?” asked Breeze. Apparently, this question wasn’t just on Velvet’s mind, but everypony sitting around them. They all seemed to be looking at Twilight Dash with interest.
“It’s like, having two minds, thinking at the same time,” explained Twilight Dash. “No it isn’t, it’s more like a lot of noise.” “Hey!” “Well it is! Sometimes everything is quiet and I can think, but other times it’s all noise and we can hardly hear ourself.” “We guess that’s true.”
“So, you can hear each other’s thoughts?” asked Sky.
“No, not really,” answered Twilight Dash. “Well, maybe a little. Not like thought, thoughts. Sometimes we think with each other’s thoughts.”
“So… who are we talking to right now?” asked Night Light. “Twilight or Dash?”
“Both, sort of,” offered Twilight Dash, struggling to put their mixed up thoughts into words. “Sometimes,” “-not often-” “we’re both in sync. Thinking the same thing. Other times,” “-most of the time-” “Yes, thank you, we are thinking different thoughts. It’s not like one of us controls it, we both sort of do. Talking is the easiest. I don’t know why.”
They smiled. It hadn’t felt bad to talk about it at all. In fact, it actually felt pretty good. Their parents seemed genuinely interested.
“You keep saying we,” pointed out Night Light. “But sometimes, not often, you say ‘I.’ Why?”
“We don’t know,” said Twilight Dash honestly. “I guess it’s just whatever part of us feels more strongly.” “We can’t really control it, it just kind of happens sometimes.” “Yeah, to us, they sound almost the same.”
“Do you… do you want to go back to how you were,” asked Sky. They felt the bottom of their stomach drop out. They set the piece of broccoli they had been nibbling on back on their plate, their appetite completely gone.
“Sky,” hissed Breeze angrily.
“What,” said Sky. “I want to know the truth. I want to know what they want. Not what somepony else tells me they want.”
“We do,” said Twilight Dash softly. “But we can’t.” They could feel tears. They tried to fight them back. “It isn’t possible. We’re stuck like this! Forever!” Both Breeze and Velvet wrapped their hooves around Twilight Dash.
The others finished breakfast, but Twilight Dash did not want anymore. Wild Heart rejoined them at the end, but Luna did not come back. The rest of the meal passed in silence and Twilight Dash was thankful when they were finally able to get up and leave.
With their fathers at either side, they made their way back out of the dining area and into the hall. Twilight Dash was only half paying attention to the conversation that had started up again.
It wasn’t until a few minutes had passed that they started to wonder where it was they were heading. This didn’t seem like a route back to their room.
“Where are we going?” asked Twilight Dash.
“We are meeting Luna out in the garden,” answered Wild Heart. She paused as though she didn’t want to discuss the next part. “I believe there is somepony that can help you. Possibly better than I can. But it might be dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?” asked Sky, narrowing his eyes.
“He is currently a prisoner,” explained Wild Heart. “Placed there by none other than Twilight Dash and their friends.” Twilight Dash felt like they could almost remember who Wild Heart was talking about. “This is not the first time a magical fusion like this has happened. Luna has told me a story of another pony who long ago fused herself with somepony else.
“There is one survivor from that incident,” continued Wild Heart. “And right now, he is here, in Canterlot. If anypony can give us insight into helping Twilight Dash, it might be him.”
“And who is this pony?” asked Night Light.
“Ah, well, that’s sort of the catch,” said Wild Heart. They stopped at a door leading outside. “Discord is the survivor.” Breeze and Sky both looked unhappy at this pronouncement. Velvet let out a gasp
“Discord!” exclaimed Night Light.
“I had a similar reaction,” said Wild Heart. “But the princess has assured me she is taking every possible precaution.”
“Even still, why does our daughter have to come!” exclaimed Sky. “Shouldn’t it just be you and Luna? Aren’t you just going to ask him questions?”
“We think he will be more… responsive to Twilight Dash,” said Wild Heart. “They have a history. But I won’t force them to do this. If you don’t want…”
“We’ll go,” said Twilight Dash, the determination in their voice surprising even to them. “If there is even a chance he can help, we’ll at least listen to what he has to say.”
“If you’re sure,” said Wild Heart, looking them in the eye. “This isn’t our only option.”
“Yes it is,” said Twilight Dash. Wild Heart frowned but didn’t argue the point.
Luna was waiting for them at the end of one of the lesser traveled garden paths. She had with her twelve pegasus guards, all clad in armor, all carrying long pointed spears. They stood a dozen hooves away from the entrance of what appeared to be a huge hedge maze of some sort. It was almost familiar to Twilight Dash.
“You must all stay close to me,” cautioned Luna. “This maze is designed to turn you around and keep you trapped inside. Do not wander off and do not attempt to fly. It’s dangerous to go alone.” Luna looked at each of the ponies and they all nodded that they understood.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Luna turned and walked right into the outer wall of the maze. However, instead of crashing into the branches she passed through them as if they weren’t there.
As Twilight Dash moved closer, still with the help of her fathers at either side, they could see how Luna had done it. From every angle, except where Luna had been, the wall appeared solid. But in truth there was a very narrow opening leading into the maze.
It seemed that even the entrance into the maze was a secret to everypony.
As they stepped inside, the light seemed to dim and the sound became quiet. There were no birds chirping, no breeze blowing and no leaves rustling. It was eerie. The sun was high overhead, yet the path they walked seemed oddly dark. The world felt unnaturally still.
Even with their parents at their sides – literally – and Princess Luna, and twelve of the finest royal guards, Twilight Dash still felt uneasy. They wished their friends had… come…
The thought drifted sideways again, like it was trying to escape. They tried to pull it back, to hold onto it, to focus on it. Their… friends… they wanted their… what had they wanted?
“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Night Light form beside them. In an instant the focus lapsed and the thought scurried away into the nothingness. “This can’t be the only way.”
“We… we aren’t sure,” answered Twilight Dash. “We want to get better…”
“There is no guarantee this will help,” said Night Light. “Perhaps…”
“Perhaps it will help,” interrupted Sky. “I want my daughter back.”
“Dad,” mumbled Twilight Dash, feeling embarrassed.
The group marched on, with Luna leading the way. Twilight’s eyes slid slightly and they found the blue and silver bag once more. There was something in that bag. Something powerful. They could feel it, calling to them. They wanted it. They needed it…
Luna turned a corner and their eye contact with the bag was lost. They shook their head, unable to recall what they had just been thinking about.
On and on they went. Left, right, left, straight. They couldn’t remember the way anymore. Even the sun overhead offered little help; it seemed to be stuck at noon.
“It’s a spell,” whispered one of the guardsponies walking close by who had noticed their interest. Twilight Dash was suddenly aware that there were other ponies around them. They had forgotten anypony else was there. “In the maze, it’s always noon, so that you cannot tell the direction by the sun.”
It truly was an intricate maze of hedges. They had no idea where they were, or how to get back out. How much further was Discord anyhow? It felt like they had been walking for hours and…
“We are here,” announced Luna as she came to a stop at a dead end. Wherever here was, it certainly wasn’t where Discord was. The path simply ended into the hedge, with no left or right or… back? The way back had closed behind them.
A sudden terrible panic overtook Twilight Dash for a moment. What if they were lost in this maze forever!?
Twilight Dash felt their wings twitch at their side.
“Oh, right,” they whispered to themself.
Luna’s horn began to glow and the bushes in front of them shivered. The leaves trembled and began pull apart, slowly opening like the mouth of some hidden shrubbery monster.
Twilight Dash half expected something to jump out at them, as if Discord had just been standing on the other side waiting to shout “surprise!” A wave of nervousness washed over Twilight Dash. This was a bad idea, a terrible idea. Why had they even considered it why had they even…
Warm sunlight poured in from the opening. Twilight Dash felt the sun melt away their fears. They could do this. Their families were with them. Luna was with them. If only their friends…
“Enter quickly,” instructed Luna. “The way will not remain open long.” Twilight Dash was urged forward, letting the thought slip free once more.
For a moment all they could see was the sunlight making a great wall of white, but as they passed through it their surroundings came into sharper focus. They stood at the edge of a small beautiful flower garden. The garden was a picture of balance and order. It was evenly divided by two small streams. The water flowed out from tiny waterfalls placed at opposite ends. Both streams pooled up in the center around a small island.
From the color of the flowers, arranged in an intricate rainbow, to the placement of the stones that made the path, everything had been carefully designed to present order. For this was no simple garden, it was a prison.
At the end of the pebbled path, on a tiny island with no bridge, at the exact center of the garden, was an ugly stone statue. Everything about it was chaotic. Its limbs were mismatched, its pose unnatural and the expression on its face was a twisted mix of fear and happiness.
The rustle of the bushes signaled that the maze had closed behind them. From here, the only other exit appeared to be the sky above them. Why hadn’t they simply flown here?
The twelve guards that had come with, spread out around the garden, each positioned like the hours of a clock. It was only now that Twilight Dash noticed that none of them were unicorns. None of them were even earth ponies either. All of them were pegasus.
“We must be cautious,” instructed Luna. “Discord is bound by powerful magic, both in chains of stone and his prison of flowers, but that does not mean he isn’t dangerous.” Luan looked to Wild Heart, who nodded understandingly. Then her gaze moved to Twilight Dash, who turned their eyes away shyly.
Luna’s horn glowed. The clasps and locks on Luna’s blue and silver bag unfastened themselves. Radiant purple light spilled out over the clearing. Twilight Dash felt their eyes widen in astonishment.
“My… element…” whispered Twilight Dash. “But… how?”
Slowly, the pulsing purple gem lifted into the air, hovering above Luna.
“It was long ago bound to me,” said Luna. “It still remembers my touch, though it is reluctant to let me use it again.”
“It… it’s alive?” asked Twilight Dash in surprise. She had never heard any pony talk about the elements like that before.
“Not in the way you are thinking,” said Luna. “But now isn’t the time. We must focus on the task at hoof.
“At the first sign of trouble,” announced Luna. “I am turning him back to stone and we will leave immediately. Am I understood?” Everypony nodded. “Guards, stand ready.” There was a shuffling of spears as the points were lowered to within striking distance of Discord’s frozen form.
Twilight Dash pulled her eyes away from the glowing element of magic to focus on the stone statue. There was no turning back now.
Luna’s eyes flared with silver-white light and the element of magic began to spin rapidly. The garden darkened slightly as the purple light increased in intensity. The air felt like it was charged with energy, like a bolt of lighting waiting to be released. The element hummed softly as it spun faster and faster. Then a thunderous crack rent the air and a bolt of white fire lashed out across the garden, blasting the statue right in the face.
A creeping fire crawled across the stone where the magic had hit. As it spread over the statue’s face stone flakes peeled away revealing living flesh beneath. The head of the statue turned and moved, its jaw opening, its mismatched eyes rolling in its head.
“Ouch! Do you have any idea how much that stings!” cried the living statue. Then its focus snapped to Twilight Dash and the thing inside the stone smiled a twisted, terrible, smile
“Rainbow Sparkle,” said the monster of stone made real. There was a grin of delight in his voice. “I simply adore the new look. Incidentally, you are the last pony I ever expected to see again. I thought I would be waking up in another thousand years and you and your friends would be long gone. Unless it has been a thousand years and you’ve somehow survived! Or worse, you’re her great, great, great…”
“It’s Twilight Dash, actually,” interrupted Twilight Dash.
“What? That’s a terrible name! It doesn’t work at all!” proclaimed Discord. “No, you need a much better name. I’m sure I can think of one.”
“No Discord,” said Twilight Dash sharply. “We didn’t wake you up to argue about our name!” “Yeah, we don’t need a different name! Although I do kind of like Rainbow S…” “Dash!” “Sorry.”
Discord raised an eyebrow at them for a moment, his expression becoming puzzled.
“Mr. Discord…” began Wild Heart.
“Oh, please, just call me His High and Mighty, Ruler of All the World, the Great and Powerful, Supreme Master of All Things, Discord,” interrupted Discord. “Mr. was my father’s name.” Wild Heart didn’t seem to know how to respond to this.
“Look!” snapped Twilight Dash, taking a few steps closer to Discord and glaring at him. “We just want to ask you some questions! So are you going to help us or not?”
“Oh well, I know that expression, you are the real Twilight-Dash-Thingy! Well, at least some part of you is. It’s so good to see part of you again. And that part. And that other part.” Discord made to move forward but only his neck jerked against the stone. “Oh, you seem to have forgotten to remove the spell on the rest of me, if you could just…”
“No,” said Luna flatly.
“Oh, how delightful, the whole gang is here,” said Discord as his eyes swept across the ponies gathered around them. “They all seem to look a little different too, don’t they? I don’t remember Rainbow Dash being so coltly… well, you know what I mean…
“We are her parents,” growled Sky.
“What was that?” asked Discord. “I can’t ‘ear’ you from way over here!” His left ear grew very slightly and flapped back and forth. He smiled at his own pun. Everypony continued to look at him seriously.
“Oh! I get it. ‘Ear’ him!” chuckled one of the guards, before snapping back to attention at the glares of his fellows.
“Huh, tough crowd,” mumbled Discord. He struggled against his stone prison again. “How do you possibly expect me to talk like this if I can’t work any magic! How am I supposed to express myself?”
“I’m sure you will survive,” said Luna, the element of magic still floating above her head. Discord’s eyes lingered on it for just a moment before looking back to Twilight Dash.
“I suppose, but what’s the point,” said Discord with a slight shake of his head. “You can’t see it, because I’m trapped in stone, but I was going to turn myself into a giant pin just now.”
“Discord,” tried Wild Heart again, attempting to get them back on track. “We would really appreciate it if you could answer some questions for us.”
“All of you want me to answer?” asked Discord, his eyes locked on Twilight Dash. “Or just some of you… or should I say, just part of you?” Twilight Dash looked away. “Before you start asking your questions. Let me ask the most important one of all. Why, should I tell you anything? Will you set me free when you’re all questioned out?”
“No,” answered Luna before anypony else could speak.
“Tsk, tsk, not even attempting to lie,” said Discord in disappointment.
“If you would rather go back to being stone…” said Luna the element magic above her head began to spin once more.
“Ah, you make a very persuasive argument,” said Discord, his eyes fixed on the glowing element. “Very well, limited though this freedom might be, I will play your game for a time. But only because it amuses me to do so. Not, because you want me to.
“Now tell me, Sparkle Dash, what is so important that you risk unleashing chaos upon Equestria?”
“We want to know what happened to Aurora Winds and Silver Stars,” asked Twilight Dash. “After they were split apart.”
“What?” exclaimed Discord, his usual air of aloofness and humor vanishing for the briefest of moments. If Twilight Dash didn’t know any better they might have sworn that Discord had been honestly surprised by the question. But the shock was quickly replaced with Discord’s usual carefree smirk. “What makes you ask about...”
His eyes swept over Twilight Dash once more, as though seeing them for the very first time.
“Oh-ho-ho,” chuckled Discord in amusement. “It hadn’t even occurred to me until just now! I never thought the good and pure Twilight Sparkle would stoop so low…”
“Discord,” warned Wild Heart. However, Discord ignored her. His neck lengthened slightly, stretching like a snake so that he could move closer to Twilight Dash and look them in the eyes. The points of the spears followed him but he ignored them.
“You cast unforgivable magic on one of your best friends,” whispered Discord. Both Breeze and Velvet rushed forward, putting themselves between their daughters and Discord.
“Guards!” commanded Luna. The guards jabbed their spears into Discord’s neck. However, instead of piercing his scaled fur the points sparked with blue magic. Discord let out a yelp of pain. His head jerked suddenly, reeling back into his body with a snap. His eyes rolled around for a moment before finally coming to a stop.
“I guess I really should have held off on using my ‘point’ pun so early on,” mumbled Discord as he stretched his neck around in slight discomfort.
“Attempt that again, and I will return you to stone,” warned Luna.
“Fine, fine,” answered Discord dismissively. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you go first. Tell me what you think you know about them and I’ll fill in the blanks.”
Twilight Dash looked back at Luna, who nodded reassuringly.
“Well, Aurora Winds was Celestia’s top student,” began Twilight Dash.
“Right so far,” said Discord, his smile growing slightly.
“But, she wanted power, more power than Celestia could teach her,” continued Twilight Dash. “So she used forbidden magic and fused with another pony, Silver Stars.” “But it didn’t work. Something went wrong and instead of getting stronger, she got weaker. Silver Stars was fighting back.”
“Oh, she was?” asked Discord trying to sound surprised. However, his smile was now actually larger than his face and the corners of his mouth floated in the air. He looked anything but surprised.
“Eventually, Celestia had to split them apart,” said Twilight Dash. “Only Silver Stars survived.” “And from all that chaos, you were brought into the world.”
“Well, the best lies always have a little bit of truth to them,” said Discord smugly, his mouth snapping back into place.
“What do you mean?” asked Wild Heart, moving slightly closer to the pond.
“Why would Celestia tell you the whole truth?” asked Discord.
“Why would you tell us even a half truth?” asked Luna.
“Oh dear princess, you wound me so,” said Discord dramatically. He struggled against the stone for a brief moment. “Well, I supposed I can’t really do that gag either…
“I could tell you lies,” explained Discord. “But really, where is the fun in that? You see, Celestia got most of the details right, but she neglected a few, minor, but important parts.”
“Like?” asked Twilight Dash.
“Like, the fact that there were three ponies merged together, not two,” said Discord. He paused for a long moment before looking around as though expecting something. “Oh, I guess we aren’t going to leave on that as a cliffhanger. Right then…
“After Queen Aurora fused with the Princess of the Silver Stars…” explained Discord.
“Wait, wait, wait!” cried Twilight Dash. “Queen? Princess?”
“Well, yes,” answered Discord in mock surprise. “Aurora Winds was Queen of the Unicorn Empire. And Silver Stars the Princess of the Sky.” Discord looked around at all the ponies gathered before him. “Don’t any of you read your history books? I mean, I don’t, because I was there, but certainly you should.”
“Before Equestria,” whispered Twilight Dash. The thought hadn’t even occurred to them. But of course, it had to have been that long ago.
“Anyhow,” continued Discord dismissively. “They called themselves… Silver Aurora or something? No, that doesn’t sound right. In any case, it doesn’t really matter. Their power grew quickly. But it wasn’t enough. Two beings fused together had not done the job that Aurora Winds desired. She couldn’t make the sun dance across the sky. She couldn’t bend the ground to her will.
“So, there was only one thing to do. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” explained Discord. “After all, there are three pony tribes. I don’t expect it was that hard to work out.
“Even still, Aurora Winds had always considered earth ponies beneath her, so to speak. But she realized the key to becoming a god required not just one or two aspects, but all three.
“So she merged once again, with the King of the Great Plains. A party-hearty pony by the name of Stamped,” said Discord.
“Impossible,” interrupted Luna. “The spell can’t… she couldn’t have… My sister…”
“Lied to you,” said Discord in delight. “It was a truth too terrible to pass on. Knowledge too dangerous for others to hear. After all, what is there to keep somepony else from giving it another go?” His eyes fixed pointedly on Twilight Dash before shifting up to the element of magic floating behind them. The garden fell into an uneasy silence.
“What happened next?” asked Twilight Dash quietly.
“The most powerful goddess the world has ever seen was born into existence, Eternia!” proclaimed Discord. “An ironic name, really. She didn’t last more than a few hours. While she was busy making the earth ponies cower before her, Celestia arrived. The sun goddess tried to talk her former student out of her madness, but I’m afraid there was only madness left within her.
“In the end, Celestia had no choice, she split Eternia apart.” Here Discord paused again and this time, he had the darkest, most terrible grin upon his face. “Except she did it wrong. Like you, she thought there were only two merged together when there were actually three.
“When she divided us,” said Discord, his words filled with glee. “It was the best moment of my life, well, the first moment of my life really.”
“And… and the other… one?” asked Wild Heart, her voice dry. Discord’s eyes snapped to her, there was no smile upon his face.
“That would be my sister,” said Discord, his voice seething with loathing. “Harmony.”
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Whoa mind blown!
Aw hell yeah.
Does the Tree of Harmony not exist in this continuity?
No, it was not bound to her. In "Princess Twilight Sparkle", if you pay attention in the flashbacks, the Element of Magic (along with Kindess and Generosity) was with Celestia, not Luna. I made a blog post explaining how that made sense. I know the events of this story take place before most of the episode's events could have happened, but the flashbacks take place long before the cutoff date.
4719686 The Element of Magic is also fused to the Element of Loyalty in the previous story, remember that?
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw5617_small.png
4719724 No, I don't. I just remember Magic being taken.
Doesn't matter. I wanted to point it out anyway, just to be sure.
*inset dun dun dun here*
So, you've changed canon in your 'verse on which sister had which element? Celestia was shown to wield Magic, Generosity, and Kindness. With Luna using Honesty, Loyalty, and Laughter.
Interesting switch-up.
I wouldn't be surprised if Harmony was sealed into the Tree of Harmony. Not that Harmony is bad or anything just I'm guessing she's like extreme Order and too much of any one thing can be bad.
4719683
The tree of Harmony does not exist within this story. (see below for (much) longer explanation).
4719686 (and 4719724 and 4719871 )
)
tl:dr - story written before most of those events aired in the show. (because, this response got long, sorry
So, fanfiction is an interesting beast. It can only stay in "cannon" for so long (obviously depending on what the story is about). But usually, anything having to do with character back story, past events, world history, etc... (if it's defined before the show does it) is unlikely to match.
Case in point, this story, sort of. Remember that this is a sequel. And that I started writing the first story during the airing of season 2. While there isn't really a time frame for this story it best fits after season 2.
Some elements in FoM were per-defined based on the last story. Such as "my" take on the elements, where Nightmare Moon came from, which princess got which elements and obviously Discord's origins (which the show hasn't doesn't yet, but I think is highly unlikely to match with this story).
With all that said, it gives me a couple of choices when working on this story. First (and the one I chose) I can continue with the "universe" I originally constructed for the first story. Some of the newer elements from the show (tid-bits and such) might be worked in. But mostly, I have to stick with what I originally thought at the time, and not what's been revealed in the show since.
Or second, I can attempt to try and fit into the new information that has been given to me after the fact. This is more difficult to do, and some elements, like the tree of harmony, don't even fit into the story at all.
I started work on this story well before season 4 (even though it is taking a long time to publish it). So episodes like "Princess Twilight Sparkle" hadn't aired for me while I was drafting. It might seem like I am writing chapters week to week (cuze it's taking so long), but actually, for the most part all the chapters are all written and just lingering in editing limbo (and some of them I keep going back to and adding stuff, like AJ and Fluttershy in this one (or, moving things)).
So... I hope some of that made sense.
That was almost, but not quite what I was expecting. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
I had only two words left in my head after I read the story...
What is going to happen next???
OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD!!!!
My, it was the perfect chapter ending....
The feels, the plot, the EVERYTHING!!
Infinite
But also
I'm scared...
I can't help but want to smack Discord for his assumption that Twilight fused with Dash as a means of gaining power when in truth it was to save Dash's life. And now that I think about it, I wonder if that simple detail is what will give this incident a happier ending than the Aurora/Silver/Stamped merge.
Somehow I get the feeling that's actually what's happening with their thoughts. They are literally being stolen away by Rainbow Sparkle. Though it might be Harmony instead.
So when Celestia separated Eternia, she did not get two separate ponies (they actually were three), she just conseguil to split up the pony that stood before her.
I can see it there: the fusion of the three kings was perfect, they wanted power.
Celestia tried to reverse the spell, but there was nothing to reverse. Before her were not three ponies (or two, as she should have thought), but a single creature that had never before existed.
When she tried to separate them in fact she only shared the pony that already existed.
There was nothing to be corrected in order.
Which leads me to another question, having been born Discord addition, they came from the rest of your being: dragon, griffon, jack? By chance he tried to compensate for the loss by performing the spell so desperate?
Good job so far! :D
Hy Pinkie Pie we want to try something.
O you what to add me into you, yous, yall.
One of us. One of us! ONE OF US!!!
Bong boom ta daaa...
I just don't know what went wrong.
Still a great story! Can't wait for more!
I'm getting a very Ancient-Greek-play sort of vibe from this...
4754002 Fair attempt... But still in poor taste.
4857135 Twilight Dash Pie would be along name but i think she would be cute.
4857212 perhaps, but one thing would be for sure... The world would be doomed... A magical genius with an incredibly competitive nature and... Pinkie-ness. Oh god...
I see what you did there.
OH SNAP!
When I read the line "it's dangerous to go alone" followed closely by " it's a secret to everypony", my inner Zelda fanboy squeeled with glee. Starwin, are you a "Legend of Zelda" fan too?????????????
Was there any reason you had to make up characters to be the origional element bearers? It could just as easily have been Princess Plantnum, Commander Hurricane, and Chancelor Pudding Head and it would have worked the same way.
I usually wouldn't have a problem with a fanfiction veering off of canon, because it's a fanfiction, but that difference to the official canon has to benifit the story somehow. What exactly is the benifit of Tia and Luna bearing different elements than they did in canon??????????? Speaking of the elements, when Twilight Dash was seperated from the element of magic, the other mane six acted like they'd never seem the actual artifact before. From this, I can't help but get the impresion the elements aren't physical objects in this story. If that's true, then how the buck do they work???????????
Probably a bit late to this party...but I found a grammar error you may want to fix
Their -> they're
5606197
THIS PARTY'S OVER! (9000! (sorry))
Corrected, thank you
5606588