5: Fading Sun
As Fluttershy's cottage came into view, Twilight slowed down, panting heavily from running so far. She calmed down quickly enough, though, seeing that it was still fully intact. Outside, the animals were lazing about in various places, listening to the beautiful singing coming from the cottage itself. Twilight made her way over the bridge, which now seemed unnecessary, as the babbling brook it once covered was little more than a trickling creek, now. As she neared the door, the singing stopped, and she hesitated a moment. Taking a deep breath, she took the last few steps toward the door, and pushed it open. Inside, she saw Fluttershy sitting on the couch, gently petting a wolf.
"Hello, Twilight."
Twilight reared back for a moment, then smiled.
"Fluttershy! You remember me!" She ran forwards to hug her friend, but skidded to a halt when the wolf turned its attention to her and growled. Fluttershy bopped it gently on the head.
"Stop it, Gale. Twilight is a friend, she's safe." The wolf growled again, but dropped its head back on the couch. Fluttershy smiled apologetically.
"Sorry about him. I found him not long after all this started, and nursed him back to health. He's protected me from the Hollows and monsters since then, so he's cautious around new arrivals."
Twilight nodded, still glancing warily at Gale.
"It's alright. I probably shouldn't have run at you like that, anyway. But I'm so glad you remember me! I've met almost all the others, and you're the first to know who I am!" She smiled widely, and a small giggle escaped her. Fluttershy, however, looked down sadly.
"Not entirely..."
Twilight's smile faded.
"What do you mean?"
"I only remember your name, and the fact that we were friends. I can't remember any specifics."
"Oh...." Twilightt's smile faded, and she sighed. "Well, I suppose it's better than nothing. At least I have someone who remembers me, right?"
Fluttershy nodded her agreement.
"Yes, but I'm not the only one. There's someone else who remembers you, waiting for you upstairs. He said that you should see him as soon as you arrived."
Twilight cocked her head to the side curiously.
Who else could possibly be here?
"Um, okay." She turned to the stairs, and started climbing. At the top, there were three doors, but only one of them was opened enough to see light coming from inside. She pushed it open all the way, and gasped at the creature lying there.
A goat's head, a bear's paw, an eagle's talon, a hoof from a minotaur, a claw from a lizard, the body of a pony, the tail of a dragon, mismatched wings and horns, all held together in a single being, who was currently lounging in a pool chair, sipping at a margarita.
"Discord!" Twilight cried, setting herself in a combat stance and drawing her sword.
"Twilight!" Discord echoed, jumping up and spreading his arms wide, as if expecting a hug.
"What did you do, Discord?!"
Discord looked at her, surprised, then set his hands on his hips.
"Now is that any way to greet a friend?"
Twilight huffed at him.
"Friend? Last time I saw you, we had just turned you back to stone before you could turn the entire world inside-out! What could possibly make you think I would consider you a friend?" She pointed at him with her sword, just to make it clear she was not amused. Discord sighed.
"I was worried this might happen. Though, I suppose it's not entirely surprising."
"What are you talking about?"
"The fact that a good chunk of your memories have been completely erased, along with the power you had gained. Specifically, your alicorn power."
Twilight stared at him in disbelief.
"What do you mean 'alicorn power'? I'm a unicorn! I've always been a unicorn! The only alicorns in Equestria are Celestia, Luna, and Cadence! I'm certainly not one!"
Discord sighed again.
"Correction: You're not one anymore. Let me tell you a story, Twilight. Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were six friends. One of them was the student of the ruler of Equestria, and one day, she got a package from her mentor, with an incomplete spell. She attempted to cast the spell, and woke up the next morning to find that all of her friends had switched cutie marks. After exhausting all her other options, the student finally went to each of her friends, had them each try the activity they were actually good at, and managed to complete the spell properly using the Magic of Friendship. Sound familiar?"
Twilight thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, but I can't remember where I heard it before. I know I didn't do all that."
"Ah, but you did, my dear. What's more, this final test from Celestia proved to her something else about you."
"What?"
"That you were ready for greater things. Upon completion of the spell, she cast a spell of her own on you. A spell of Ascension, to give you the power and appearance of an alicorn, along with all the titles and privileges that come with it."
"I don't believe you." Twilight narrowed her eyes at the draconequus.
"I didn't think you would. And I know you aren't going to believe this next part, but I'm going to tell you, anyway. First, though, a question: Do you know how the balance of power works in Equestria?"
"Celestia and Luna rule and make all final decisions regarding major problems, while a council of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies decide on smaller problems, as well as outlines for any particularly large reforms or projects, which then get sent to the Pincesses for approval."
Discord clapped a few times.
"Good, good! You know your politics! But I didn't ask how the government works. I asked how the balance of power works."
"I don't understand."
Discord snapped his fingers, and Twilight suddenly found herself sitting at a desk, looking at a chalkboard.
"The balance of power," Discord explained, now wearing a tweed jacket and glasses, "is what keeps the world from becoming unbalanced. In order for the balance to be sustained, each Primordial Being is given, well, let's call it a time slot."
Twilight raised her hoof automatically, as the desk she was sitting at stirred up old memories from being in a classroom. Discord pointed at her.
"Yes, you? With the robes and helmet?"
"What's a Primordial Being?"
"Oh, I'm so glad you asked!" Several pictures appeared on the blackboard. "There are a few different kinds. First, there are spirits, like me. We have nebulous forms, and are capable of altering our forms, at least to some extent. We typically choose a single trait, state of being, or emotion to serve as a source of power. For me, this source is Chaos. Spirits who do not choose a source typically become evil, life-sucking beings, who forfeit their time slot for the power of Lifedrain. Nasty ones, they are. Next, we have the alicorns. Alicorns were the original ponies, and all other ponies were their creations. Alicorns have phenomenal power, and most of them like to think that they are infallible. Most importantly, though, all alicorns have a connection to an emotion, force of nature, or a particular astronomical body. Without one, they begin to die, but as long as their source of power exists, they will not die from age or disease. Third, is the dragons. Dragons have the unique power to generate life itself within them. Their bodies generate so much, in fact, that it is too much for any other being to handle directly. This is what gives a dragon its breath weapon, and is what causes a dragon's body to become so resilient to damage of any kind. The sheer amount of life energy becomes tangible, and causes various kinds of reactions when exposed to air and organic material, forcing their bodies to adapt to contain it. Finally, we have the elemental trees. Elemental trees do not have time slots, like the other Primordial Beings, but they do have just as much power. Each of them is attuned to a different set of Elements, and the powers they grant to those who find them vary depending on the set. The one you're familiar with, of course, being Harmony."
Twilight raised her hoof again.
"Question?"
"Yes. What does any of this have to do with what's been going on?"
"Well I already explained the idea of a time slot, but what do you think happens when a ruler decides not to give up the throne at the end of their turn?"
Twilight thought about it. It made sense that something would happen, after all. A power-hungry ruler was never a good thing.
"I would guess that the other Primordial Beings would try to force them to give it up."
Discord clapped again, and the sound of an award bell ringing echoed in the room briefly.
"Correctamundo! Everyone else tries to get them to step down peacefully, then we all go after them together. If that doesn't work, though, what do you think happens?"
"I don't know."
"I didn't expect you to, honestly. It changes, depending on who's on the throne and who's next in line. In this case, though, the effect is the Darksign."
Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"But, why? Who's still on the throne that wouldn't give up the position?"
The blackboard, desk, and Discord's outfit disappeared as he raised an eyebrow.
"You should be able to figure that out, yourself. You probably just don't want to believe it, do you?"
Twilight reflexively took a step back, unnerved by the fact that Discord could read her so easily.
"N-No.... It... It can't be...."
Discord nodded.
"Celestia. She refused to give up the throne, and cast the rest of us out of the palace. She sent me here, and attached me to the cottage. I can't leave this house anymore. Similarly, she sent Luna to the Everfree Castle, and Cadence to the Crystal Empire. None of us can leave our locations, and we are now all but powerless to dethrone Celestia. You, however, are not bound to any single location. The spell she cast must have had a different effect on you, since you had only been an alicorn for a little while. Instead of binding you to wherever she sent you, it undid your ascension."
Twilight's back legs gave out, and she plopped down onto the wood. She didn't want to believe anything he was saying. She couldn't believe anything he was saying. Celestia would never allow something like this to happen to her ponies. But deep down, she knew he was telling the truth. Deep down, she knew that everything that was happening was a result of Celestia's actions. She didn't know how she knew, but no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, she knew it was useless.
Everything that was happening was Celestia's fault.
She choked back a sob as the tears started. Discord stood a few steps away, silently allowing her to cry. There was nothing he could do to comfort her at this point. Anything he did would only make it worse. After all, what could possibly be more insulting or painful than having one of your worst enemies try to console you, after having them tell you that the one being you trusted, more than any other in the world, had betrayed you?
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I called it! the moment I saw the name I new what it was! Reading this later (cause i don't have the time right now) I know ill be loving this
I usually don't like 'their time has come' as a plot-device at all, but this seems like a interesting (and tragic) take on it.
Poor, poor Celestia... For the greatest horror that have ever befallen her lands to be that she doesn't wish (presumably) to leave behind her poeple? Ouch.
Dear goddess and little fishes, I can't wait for more of this!
4216812 called what?
Wow! I thought you were going to write a copy paste of Dark Souls, but with ponies... but this...well that was great!
Still, how did Celestia beat every immortal being, including Discord? Compared to him, she doesn't have much power.
...or does she ?! DUH DUH DUUUUUUH
4217124 That it was a Dark Souls story
Guessing that Celestia = Gwyn, nevertheless, really enjoying this.
4217143 it says it's a dark souls crossover in the description
4217143 It's called pony souls, the first thing Twilight does is light a bonfire, Rarity even calls it a bonfire and gives Twilight a flask to heal with! Of course it's dark souls! and if it took till this chapter to figure it out.... You must not play a lot of dark souls, or skipped most of this story
4217360
I dont think he's read it yet. I think he's just read the chapter names.
4217360
4217250 I posted the comment without reading the description. i see it in my feed and think "Oh Dark Souls" then i click on it and read the description and i think "Yes I win!" get it?
Info dump ahead, try reading
Rating: 0
Is it just me or is it odd that Discord, of all characters, is the one to share all of this information with Twilight? Maybe it's because he shares it so freely, I dunno. I assume that Discord plays the role of Kingseeker Frampt? Or maybe Kaathe, I dunno. It's fun looking for the parallel stuff between your story and the lore of Dark Souls
4217662 That hardly warrants a comment
4217927 meh. its something i do.
4217416 So, Author, will this be following the world of Dark Souls 1 and 2? Kingdoms rise and fall with the kindling of the first flame, till it goes out, only to rise another kingdom when the ruler kindles the flame again? With 4 great lord souls always reincarnating, along with the dark soul?
Or, will you be taking a whole new story and background into the world, just with some Dark Souls machanics, like Hollowing, Bonfires, and so on?
4217699
What makes you think he was telling the truth?
And as for him being Frampt or Kaathe, well... I'll leave you to decide that for yourself.
4218122
I'll be borrowing heavily from the games, but most of the actual events and enemies will be original.
OH MY GOD, THIS IS GREAT!
MOAR, MOAR, MOAR, SOARIN WANT MORE.
This is not Celestia's fault. The whole world is to blame. The ponies she lived with loved had left her over years. She outlived them and to see that must be heart breaking. To see your loved ones die, over and over and over again. She wanted to live her life, not everypony else's, so what she did, did not surprise me. I see she just wanted a life of her own. Where she could have a family of her own, a special somepony, friends, and a life to live.
I don't blame her for what she has done. She didn't choose this. The world did.
Well Discord gave us a lot of info, i wonder how much of it is true.
"Spoiler for Demon's Souls and Dark Souls"
I find the explanation on the Primordial Being's to be very interesting, the Elemental Trees being the most interesting to me, though The Old one from Demons soul's and the Bed of Chaos is partly to blame for that, i also find the Spirit's to be the next most interesting of the Primordial Beings, not just because of Life-drain but also because of what different types you can make, or take from either Dark Souls or MLP G1 villains.
"end of spoiler's"
4220713
i see him as a mix of Frampt an Kaathe
CELESTIA IS GWYN! GET THE PYROMANCY!
Celly,
YA DONE FUCKED.