Don't you remember?

by PinkieIsMahWaifu

Library

Deep inside the castle, something stirred. It made soft grunting noises as it tossed and turned, struggling in its sleep. A single leg thrashed in the space next to it, searching for something, or rather some-one. As it realized the absence of what it was searching for, its pink eyes snapped open.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

'So tell me something. If you were in bed with the Princess, why did you leave?' The white unicorn asked.
'I couldn't sleep.' You lied. Well, it was partly true. 'So I decided to go for a walk. Say, you don't know if there's a library around here, do you?' You asked anxiously.
'Of course there is. The biggest in Equestria!' Marty replied. 'Why do you ask?'
'Uh, no reason. I just wanted to.. check out a book. Now, where might I find this library?'
'Go down this hall, turn left and it's the third door on your right.' The General looked at you strangely. 'Are you okay?' You had started to shake nervously a bit as you remembered the tarot card you had shoved in your face earlier.
'Yes! Of course- I mean, why wouldn't I be?' You let out a nervous laugh. 'Okay, gotta go, bye!' You gushed before speeding off down the hallway. The white unicorn gave you another odd look as you dashed away. He shrugged and then turned back to resume his night patrol.

You skidded to a halt as you came to the door of the library. You pushed open the heavy door and peered in. Thousands of bookcases were arranged in rows down the center of the room, and more were lined against the walls, each brimming with ancient tomes. Your jaw dropped at the immense number of books in front of you. It would take a long time before you would find the one you were looking for.
'I guess I'll start at 'A'.' You quietly said to yourself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A single cotton-sheathed hoof touched the thickly carpeted floor as Celestia stepped out of bed. She rubbed her head with a forelock.
'Oh horsefeathers... What happened last night?' She mumbled to herself. It one split second, it all came back to her. Making Discord share her bed. Putting on socks to try and impress him. Attempting to tell him her feelings. Chickening out of it. The Princess walked over to her desk and promptly thumped her head against it.
'Stupid-stupid-stupid!' She whispered between thumps. She took her head up off the desk and threw herself back on the bed. It was then that she realized that he was no longer in the room.
'Oh no.' Celestia panicked, no longer worrying about the loudness of her voice. 'Ughhhh, I scared him off, didn't I? Nice one, Tia. At least you saved your dignity.' She sighed and glanced down at the offending objects on her hooves.
'Unless.... Maybe he just went for a walk!' The Princess attempted to reason with herself. 'I better go find him.'

Celestia tumbled out of the door into the hallway, a ball of wings and fur. Smarty Pants, who was patrolling the hallway, raced over to help her up. When she was back on all four hooves, only then did the General notice something that, while he had been told about it, was not prepared for in person. His face went a shade of deep red and he backed away a few steps. The Princess noticed this and gave him an odd look.
'Huh?' She suddenly remembered the items of clothing on her hooves. 'Really, Marty? When will you stop being so white bread?'
The Princess said before pulling the socks off with her teeth and throwing them back into her room. 'I'm looking for a certain draconequus. Seen one?'
'Uh, yes Princess. He went in search of the royal library.' The General replied as formally as he could after the sight he had just seen. Tia took little to no interest in the General's tone, and instead raced toward the castle's library.
Celestia stopped outside the large wooden door leading to the library. Just as she was about to push it open, she heard a small scream from within. Seconds later, the door swung open and a lavender blur crashed into the Princess. Tia looked down to see her librarian clinging to her leg.
'Help! It's horrible!' The purple unicorn trembled.
'Seriously? I'm right here, I can hear you!' echoed a voice from within the room.
'Has... has it come to take over Equestria?' whispered the shaking bookworm.
'YES. RAWR!' came the same voice as before. The librarian squeaked and ran off down the twisting hallway, screaming something about anarchy. The Princess sighed and entered the room. The sight she was met with was an odd one. You were sitting atop a mountain of books, thumbing through an old tome with red glasses perched on your nose. You barely even noticed when she entered.
'Discord?' You jumped, roused by Tia's voice. You quickly snapped shut the book and attempted to hide it.
'Huh? Oh... Hi there! Um, shouldn't you be asleep?' You said with a nervous laugh.
'Shouldn't you?' She retorted. 'What is the meaning of this? What are all these books?' She grasped a few with her magic. 'The art of Divination? How to read your tea leaves? The ultimate guide to predicting your death? Wha- is this about your meeting with the Oracle earlier?' She asked. You gave her a weak grin.
'The largest library in all of Equestria and not a single book on tarot.' You sighed.
'Oh, really? I should get some in... Wait. So this is about the Oracle?' She frowned as you descended from your book throne. 'What the hay was on that card that made you panic so much?' Your expression darkened as a silence grew between the two of you.
'Look, my grandma taught me a thing or two about tarot when I was a filly. Maybe I can help?' She took a step nearer to you and wrapped a wing around your defeated form. You sighed.
'Fine. The card was death.' Your voice became panicked again. 'So when will it happen? How am I going to be killed? Why-' You were cut off by the sound of Tia's laughter. 'What?' You said, annoyed. 'Was this all a prank?' Celestia wiped a tear from her eye.
'No, of course not! The Oracle's predictions are always correct.' She said. Your expression dropped.
'Then why are you laughing? I'm gonna die!' You screamed, feeling completely helpless.
'No you're not!' She giggled. 'Common misconception, Discord. The 'Death' card doesn't actually mean death. It just means a stop to something; a transformation in your life. Not that you're going to die.' You let go of a breath you'd been holding on to. 'You should've seen the look on your face! Priceless!' Celestia poked your shoulder with her hoof.
'Hey, I was really worried!' You sulked. You felt a hoof under your chin as Celestia pulled you to face her.
'I'm sorry.' She said, stifling laughter. You gave her a skeptical glare. 'I.....really.....mean it.' She tried to be serious, but a few giggles escaped through her iron facade. Just looking at her, you couldn't keep a straight face. You snorted as a single laugh erupted from your throat and the two of you burst out into shrieking fits of mirth. When you finally were all chortled out, Celestia hugged you from the side as you lay on the floor. You wrapped your paw around her.
'There's still four hours until we have to raise the sun. What should we do?' Celestia asked. You thought for a moment.
'Prank Marty?' You suggested
'Prank Marty.' She agreed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

General Smarty Pants was patrolling the dark corridors in the west wing of the castle. His breastplate shining in the moonlight that crept through the window, his helmet perched on his head like a bird of prey, his nine medals lined on his chest, his magnificent mustache sitting atop his lip like a blue bristling mountain lion. He walked confidently down the silent, midnight-black halls. He stopped at the end of the hallway and leaned on the windowsill, staring out in the night. The crisp north wind blew in his face, causing his tousled mane to blow back out of his face. He shut his eyes and enjoyed the moment. Something, however, caused a crack in the piece of calm the General had found. Behind him, a floorboard creaked. He turned around sharply.
'Who's there?' He asked boldly. Nothing replied. Suddenly, from behind the General, the window slammed shut. 'I will ask once more. Who is there?' He said, somewhat less boldly. There was something unsettling about the corridors at night; everything was devoid of life and the darkness made the General nervous. More floorboards creaked around him. An eerie voice came softly wailing down the hallway, causing the hairs on the back of Marty's neck to prick up.
'General........... General Smarty Pants...........' the voice said.
'Y-yes?' the General stuttered. Damn it, Smarty. Don't talk to the ghost! he thought to himself.
'It's your fault, Smarty Pants....... You did this to me..........' the voice wailed.
'D-did wh-what?' The General's heart was racing.
'You made my father leave when he was snoring smoke over Equestria...... You made him leave his son....... You killed me..............' came the voice. 'And now....... now I want to make you suffer.........' At the end of the hallway, a green glowing image of a dragon appeared.
'I'm.... I'm sorry! I didn't know! Please don't hurt me! HELP!' The General screamed as the image of the dragon grew larger, until it's jaws filled the width of the hallway. It then raced towards him, ready to swallow the General in its gaping maw. He screamed as it got closer and closer until the image hit him and dissipated into dust. When he stopped cowering and opened his eyes, in front of him stood two figures. Their identity evaded him until he heard a single female voice.
'C-chicken, Marty?' She giggled, before running away with the draconequus-shaped figure.
'Oh I'm going to get them.'

You both ran for your lives until you reached the Princess's room. You dashed through the door and slammed it behind you, bolting it to make sure no guards filled with murderous rage got in. You let out a breath you'd been holding onto before you both descended into laughter once again, rolling on the floor.
'Discord?' Celestia called through the darkness.
'Yeah?' You replied. There was a short pause.
'You know I don't normally wear socks, right?'

----------Author's note----------

Comments

[La Barata]

Gleeeeeeee

[Awesome Sauce]

It's a shame we don't use stars any more cause that's nice art.

[PinkieIsMahWaifu]

227089
Oh, just to let you guys know I didn't make this art. It was floating around on the inter-webs.

[???]

jolly good show lad/lass!

[Feren]

So you think it is funny to post an update right when I was about to go to sleep at 1 AM?!
No mercy...

"...struggling in it's sleep." - "its" those things are still haunting ya, eh?
"it's pink eyes snapped open." - "its".
"Your jaw dropped as the immense number of books in front of you." - not sure about this one, but isn't that supposed to be "at"?
"Oh god... What happened last night?" - what is this "god" you speak of, Celestia?
"...out of the door into the hallway, a ball of wings of fur." - "and" ?
"God, Marty." - same here...
"...and instead set raced toward the..." - this one here I am not sure about... looks misplaced but might just be me.
"Has... has it come to take Equestria?" - "take over" perhaps?
"The largest library in all Equestria and not a single book on tarot." - "in all of" ?
"So this is about the Oracle?" - this question sounded odd in that paragraph. Perhaps you wanted to put an accent on that "is" ?
"What should be do?" - "we" ?
"...ready to swallow the General in it's gaping maw." - "its".

Well... that answers the Death Card question... or does it?! The Oracle did mention that she might hasten what ever the card was warning about, and I don't really see any point in her hastening his transformation into a god of chaos... or maybe I'm over-thinking this.

And I see you added another couple of references to the "future"... is the moral of this story that history repeats itself over and over again? Because that could end up being quite an awesome twist! Which I might have just spoiled, assuming I'm right of course.

With so many updates I am starting to fear that this story will end a lot faster then I expected, though.

But enough of my ranting - I'm going to sleep. Cheers!

~F~

[Karrakaz]

Fact: Celestia looks best in socks with her own cutie mark on them.

[Lord Arcturus]

'Nother update, yay! *goes to bed*

[PinkieIsMahWaifu]

227261
Edited! ~ In my head I sang that. Fun times.
Whoa, I derped quite a bit in this one. That's what you get for late-night posts.
Question time! The card- perhaps the Oracle was referring to his time with Celestia and was wishing unto them an end to their fun.... Or perhaps she knew Discord would misinterpret the card and it was an empty threat..... oooohhhohohhhhhhh I'll leave that up to the readers.
I shan't give away any more about the future of the story but I will just say that It will not be ending any time too soon. The only reason I've been updating so much recently is because I've had some time off that will unfortunately end soon and I will go back to regular posting.

227665
I could not find an image of Celestia in cutie mark socks that was not sauce, but I most certainly agree with you on that!

[Razvan563]

And so Discord and Celestia 'Rule the World' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDWNsQqOOws