The Book of Ages. Volume 1. Harmony and Immortality

by Rune Singer

Pacts and Changes

"...The years pass, time flows.
To whom shall I tell, what my heart knows?...
Rune Singer 2015"

---

Twilight broke the narrative even while the scene was fading away, by asking Voice directly this time instead by mistake or in exclamation.

“So he grew himself older? You mean to tell me that a creature of Chaos, alive for an innumerable amount of time before he even met those ponies, did not know of growth?”

“My dear, a child of an eternity still remains a child unless he changes. His kind -and I don’t only mean Draconequi- have to submit to it consciously. The knowledge whether his progenitors could or would have guided him, has never been revealed to me or my creator. What is obvious to you as well, was that he did not know how to recognise specific feelings within him. If you have no parent or even a relative to tell you, to indicate and give stimuli, how would you know you are in love, how would you understand the different forms love can take?”

Twilight wholeheartedly understood that. “I know now what you mean, I was an adult and thought I knew all there is to know of friendship and there is so much left to know still!” being thoughtful for a moment she asked “Before we go on, tell me one thing please, if you know that is. The Discord I’ve known is very different from the one you’ve shown me. I can guess some events later on will change him; but the one I know is a lot crazier than this…”

“He made his choice to change…” came the answer

“Yes, I know that” Twilight felt she was being taken for an ignorant “I saw that. Now show me what I need to save my friends!”

“You do NOT KNOW!” the words seared hot in Twilight’s mind. But after a pause, Voice sounded more pained than angry and continued, gently and hushed “Even though this book exists to give you answers through the past, you will inexorably gain more knowledge than you ever asked for… As you can realise, now we stand at the precipice, at the pivotal stage of things. How have the princesses changed? How had Discord? How will you?”

If she had a body to do so, Twilight would have thrown her hooves up defensively stepping away from the book.
“Whoa! Whoa..hold it one second there. I have been put in this position to see or read or whatever, a retelling of the past. Who said anything about changing me?”

“Doesn’t every trial change an individual?” Voice added patiently.

“A trial, yes. The outcome of one, absolutely. But I am here to have the past read to me. If what you say is true then all Alicorns who read you, were changed. You can’t be serious, Celestia, Luna, Cadence how…where they changed?”
To Twilight the pause that followed felt very heavy with what wasn’t being said.

“Fine… it seems I cannot avoid any of this and instead of getting to the chase I will have to wait for that one big secret that will shock me so much, my mane will turn a different colour right? Or I will wondrously gain a new power to thwart my foes.”

“The aid, the solution if you must, to saving your friends is not what will put choice and change in your path.” Voice went on sagely.

Twilight shouted back “For oat’s sake Voice, I want to find out how to save my friends! Bring the change thing up after that, I beg of you!”

A definite pause again. This time Twilight almost imagined cogs turning within the terms and conditions of the spell that created Voice’s book.

“Would you vow that?” the book asked strained.
“Yes, three times yes!” Twilight answered in haste.

“Then so be it.” There was a distinct notion of a sigh in Voices words “In so far as I am able the past will be revealing the information you need to save you friends. After that, three times will choice and change be put in your path…”
"Oh no! This was not what I meant." was all Twilight could think of.

This time she was sure she would not be able to interrupt the narration again. The book’s magic, at least for her, had changed.

---

The beginning a Mareterranean autumn is what constitutes a fresh summer on the mainland, its when the incessant heat of summer is broken by lovely breezes and the island humidity just enough to need light bed covers. That morning whether having attended the harvest end celebrations tired him or whether his muse called him to her side, Taproot bard Elder of Marelantis passed away.

He had by far not lived the longest, Marble Grain son of SeaPine himself lived to see a hundred ten years. Taproot who’d been complaining he was dying over a decade ago, lived to an honourable age of ninety nine. He had asked for a simple rite to his memory but Marelantis would have none of that. It did not require a royal decree to grand him the burial rite of a hero. A warrior he might not have been but he braved many an expedition at sea, whether for war or colonisation, to inspire with song and to bare witness. Thus in a long procession, his bier was carried upon the shoulders of four stallions. From the Earth clan, Stone Bark and Viridian Sight bore the weight on the front and at the back King Cronus and Aeolus of Tirre for the Unicorns and Pegasi respectively. A Trireme decorated in flowers awaited its last passenger at the harbour.

Ponies have been filling it with fine cloths, orichalcum armour and weapons as well as scroll messages the deceased would take to their relatives in the Sea Beyond the world. Most outsiders would find the sacrifice of the orichalcum, that extremely hard metal mined only in Marelantis, a complete waste. Yet it was the Trireme, a ship that took years too build, from even a more rare material, Marelantean pine wood, that was the greatest sacrifice. For that ship would be burned and set to drift upon the open sea. A pegasus would then serve as collier and dive expertly down to gather some ashes for the urn. A chant had begun first from a few ponies near the ship and then came from the entire crowd.

---

From high above on a cloud, Discord looked upon the island below in silent contemplation. He was not going to disturb his friends during a funeral via their crystals nor invisibility, even if he found such a practice unnecessary. For him dead meant gone from existence.

He was eager to see them again though, it was obvious in how he gripped the edges of the cloud, his left arm now longer with strong raptor’s talons and his right one boasting a great lion’s paw, claws sheathing and unsheathing like a slow pulse. His tail, now half his new length swished slowly from side to side with a mind of its own, ruby scales glistening in the sun. Impatiently he stretched his wings that exceeded his previous span by a ten fold. He longed to impress the princesses again, and an inner voice told him he needed to be careful from making the same mistakes.

Thus had been observing the ponies since he returned to this realm the previous night. He had not seen the princesses though and had waited for day when the bells rang all over announcing a funeral.

Now, he watched the proceedings that dragged on, with a certain aloofness, when his ears perked up to the ceasing of the chant. Leaning forward he cupped his chin focusing on who the crowds parted for, now that the dead pony had been put in his little ship. His eyes opened wide and his lips parted in a silent “oh” when he saw one of them.

The unicorn mare that walked down the cobbled street on slender long legs drew each eye with her grace. From forehead to flank she was covered in a translucent garment that seemed more to separate her from the world all together, like the fabled Veil itself. Mist silk they called it and it took the sheen of her light olive green coat. Discord squinted in search for her mark but did not see it, although he saw with joy that her horn was adorned with the three silver rings, serving as proof to all that she had gone through the third degree mage trials. Her mane was braided and held back with unseen pins but what he was drawn to where her eyes. Saddened, considering the situation, but brilliantly ochre gold, they looked ahead while tears streaked down her cheeks unabashed.

Concordia walked down the main harbour town’s street leading to the promenade, passed by the rows a ponies and reached the last four who had carried their friend and teacher. She looked from her father to the twin Earth pony leaders and lastly by the pegasus warrior, the latter being the only one not showing his tears. She took a torch that was placed next to a brazier in which hot coals simmered and ceremoniously lifted it high, still unlit and with a steady voice sang a dirge.

“Gaze a last time upon the land of your youth,
Before on this journey you embark.
This ship shall take you steadfast beyond the Veil,
Fallen comrades await as our lament you hark.
From your pyre
A last token we shall receive
Your memory celebrating
We shall not grieve.”

Dipping the torch into the coals, a scent of laurels and thyme permeated the air. The fire was transferred to the ship where the princess of Marelantis lit the ropes. The flames caught at once and the ship was prodded slowly and laboriously forward by the unicorn’s magic, the ropes holding it to the pier seemed to unravel on their own and an unseen breeze caught the sails furling them taught, sending flames upwards. No pony sang, spoke or even moved as all watched the ship, now steered by the currents, catch speed and reaching the mouth of the bay. It was far from burnt and it would take quite a long time to burn down entirely. That would happen far at open sea, the body within though, wrapped in oiled cloths would turn to ashes soon.

Time seemed not to pass as Discord gazed at his friend, realising now that more than a little time had passed since he had left. How many birthdays… he shook his head …years did actually pass? How old is she?…and where is…

With a flash of metal, something had launched itself from the sky above the sentinel lodestones falling with reckless speed towards the Trireme that had just then left the island entirely. With enhanced sight he made out a pegasus mare clad in orichalcum armour diving for the ship, eyes almost shut against the air and long wings held tight to her side.
It was Aneris!

She also had changed, grown. Her physic was ultimately athletic, yet graceful. Her wings glorious in their armour.

The island and its harbour where protected from the perpetual winds of the open sea but there none but the most adept of fliers would dare pull such a dive, not when the air became demons pounding at the body, not when water became knives that ripped through wings and certainly not when carrying a cast metal fire pot, that could easily take one to the bottom of the dark watery abyss.

“Aneris…no…” Discord breathed the words, recognising who the pegasus was, unable to reach in time even if he tried.

The Pegasus gritted her teeth against the strain of the heavy object she held below her chest. Its weight tugged at her arms, and her wings threatened to open, yet she closed her eyes, took a breath and steered her fall into a dive, flew through the flames of the ship and upwards in a wide arc. The pegasus then spread her wings wide apart and for a moment the rising sun framed her and she seemed a creature born of flames. In her hooves the vessel held coals from the ship below.

A triumphant call came then from all over the island. Onlookers that stood on the cliffs waved at their princess while ten or so pegasi also in armour flew towards her to escort her back. When they were just fifty meters from the pier, Discord shook out of his wonderment and turning invisible flew after them.

When Aneris had landed, her escort flew over the harbour city in formation, to return to their keep. Priestesses of the earth temple had quietly placed themselves at the pier to receive the fire pot and take it where they would oversee the coals burn down to ashes in a overnight vigil.

After the priestesses had ceremoniously walked by holding their charge, Aneris ran to her sister and hugged her tight.Concordia did not care if soot smeared her expensive attire and hugged her back, grief giving way to relief that nothing happened to her sister. Disengaging from the hug, smiling and still panting, the Pegasus walked towards the four stallions that had not moved since. She bowed her head curtly to the pegasus, and her earth pony teachers and then stood before her father. King Cronus briefly touched foreheads with her.

“I am so proud of you my daughter! You did my late friend a great honour.” Seeing his other daughter nearing he beckoned her to him as well and together they walked back to the promenade, and further to the harbour amphitheatre where a customary feast awaited everyone. The crowds of ponies had thinned by now and as tradition dictated sorrow had ended and a subdued joy would commence.

Discord followed the party, flying from building to building reluctant to get closer. When the ponies arrived at the marble amphitheatre, they were welcomed by the queen and other ponies of rank and importance. Music was already being played from ponies siting on one side and soon some would dance in the middle.

Above the last seats, were grassy terraces on which stood old pine trees that gave shade for tables laden with food and many ponies seeking shelter from the sunlight already sat on reed mats, eating, drinking or discussing. Everypony seemed to disregard status that day and thus the royal family sat on a long mat of their own.

Aneris was followed by two other pegasi mares, did not join them yet, going for a nearby tent, apparently to be helped off her armour. Discord flew closer to where the rest sat and carefully climbed down the branches of the tree next to them, his serpentine body coiling around the trunk.

Queen Rhea was pouring some wine into short clay cups. She was speaking about something and when she came to fill Concordia’s cup she raised her voice a tad higher. Discord listened in.

“…and you Concordia looked absolutely stunning. Wasn’t that mist silk cloth Spell Wright made for you amazing? He must have toiled hours over its creation just for you…weren’t you Spell Wright?”

The young stallion she was addressing seemed a little too absorbed in the princess next to him and the queen ever so slightly bumped the jug she was holding against his cup. The stallion snapped out of it and looked at his cup being filled.
“I …yes. It took quite a long time but it is worth the wait…” turning to Concordia he added

“And you do look very beautiful wearing them. I thank you for accepting my gift.”
And bowed his head curtly.

Concordia blushed slightly and looked sideways into his eyes, looking back immediately.

Her mother taking that as coyness, found all was well in the world and progressed with the wine. Her daughter though had turned away for another reason completely, only her twin knew that Spell Wright’s already whitening eyes made her anxious. He was a mage one level above hers, the last before attaining full atonement to the Unicorn lodestone thus from the ever longer exposure to it, he was losing mundane sight.

Discord felt uneasy when Spell Wright leaned closer to Concordia, his hoof inching towards hers.

“What is the matter princess?” Spell Wright asked.

She having leaned just a fraction away from him said while picking up her cup.
“I think I have told you a hundred times already not to call me princess. We’ve been studying magic for years together, I don’t like it, it makes me look fragile before the other mages.”

The stallion drew away his hoof, now waving both in front of him .
“No Concordia, force of habit, forgive me. But…ahem… I’d like to talk to you about something…lets go somewhere less…” he caught her gaze and looked about deliberately indicating he wanted some privacy.

She nodded her agreement and they both rose, excused themselves and walked along the terraces. Discord looked over to where Aneris had yet to appear from and followed the pair walking off. Behind the terraces, a few paths led through shrub lands that never yielded to cultivation, a few wild olive trees grew in thickets, with thorns as long a filly’s hoof.

They walked for a few minutes just far enough till only bird song and the breeze through the shrubs could be heard. They stopped and sat on a stone bench under a few short trees whose branches where so intertwined they cast solid shade.
For a moment they looked ahead into the distance until Concordia turned and asked him with the ease of a friend
“OK, tell me and while you are at it also explain to me why my mother started fawning over you all of a sudden”

Spell Wright only then turned and spoke.
“Well, you see I will soon go into my final trial…”

“I know that, everypony knows that and I am sure you’ll make it.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence but I meant I will have to be away on solitary training and preparation and it will take time until I return. Even then it will mean my test will be on, so…I wont see you for a long while.”

“So? I am not going anywhere.” She asked nonchalantly.

He must have taken it the wrong way because he sat a bit straighter taking her hooves into his.

“You meant that? I mean I… oh ouch!” he suddenly grasped his belly.

“Spell Wright! You OK?”

The stallion bent forward once more with a groan “I…perhaps…the berries” and he ran off back to the amphitheatre. Concordia a bit worried but also a bit amused galloped after him. Where they were Discord appeared for a moment blowing on his fingers and rubbed them against his chest, satisfied he got that one’s hooves off Concordia. Invisible again he followed them suit.

Spell Wright ran past a row of tents and disappeared into an outhouse. Concordia was cut off her run when a hoof grabbed her and vaulted her into one of the tents. It was a temporary storage area for wine barrels and a few amphorae of other spirits. It took her a few seconds to get her sight adjusted to the sudden shade within but then saw her sister, now without armour, sitting on a barrel.

“Aneris! What are you doing here?”
“What are you running from?”

The sisters looked at each other for a split second and then laughed.

“I was not running from, but after Spell Wright, but what are you doing in here when everyone is waiting for you out there?”

“Oh Dia’” her sister looked a bit abashed. “Bright Dawn and White Gull where helping out of my armour and chatted incessantly about this and that stallion. How lucky I am as a warrior with all the strong and fast ones next to me and stuff like that. I know I should not pay heed to the civilian gossip, but when they thought they saw Aeolus walking by they wanted to call him in, I lost it”

Concordia opened her mouth but someone else entirely spoke.

“Maybe I should give fly boy out there a bout of diarrhoea as well?”

The Twins turned slowly with a smile of slow recognition.
“Discord!” they exclaimed but did not see him.

“Where…”
“Shh” he cut them off “not here, you will be overheard talking. Meet me at the secret garden as soon as you can shake everyone off”.

---

The sisters managed to arrive in the afternoon, one having left an elaborate spectre of herself pretending to study in the library and the other pretending she was given orders for a solitary patrol. When they entered their old playground, Discord was already there, leaning against the stone serpent statue.

“There you are!” he flew towards them and hovered a bit above the ground.
The ponies took all the changes of him in, with amazement. He stood three times their height now and and his wingspan about the same as that. Aneris marvelled at his wings while Concordia fussed with how long and complex his horns grew and whether that amplified his magic.

They pestered him with questions of why he left, why so long and how did he change so much. While answering and explaining, Discord absorbed all that attention and felt content. He told them upon being asked that he had to close the portal when leaving to have no external influence from any other realm while he grew and that now he needed none for as long as he had a connection to this realm he’d be able to return.

“You could have told us you were leaving…” Concordia said after a while.
“Yeah…we came over a million times looking for you…and when…” Aneris said and looked away.
“And when we discovered the portal was gone we thought…you had disappeared forever.” Concordia said looking at her sister, remembering how sad they had been.

Discord’s shoulders drooped a little bit and he sat down on the grass, rubbing a hand over his left arm.
Quietly he said “I am sorry. I forgot that time here went on differently.” Looking up he asked more brightly. “Tell me all about you, how old are you now, what happened all this time. And tell me about your marks!!!”
Aneris got up first and strutted before the other two, lifting her wings to show off her flank.

“I got mine when I was fourteen and we flew this patrol over the cliffs to the northeast…”
“There we go again…” Concordia said but stopped herself, enjoying the story every time she heard it.
“…when this galleon was barely visible in the horizon, its sails where ripped and behind came the mother of all storms. Captain Gale, -that is our Aunt if you remember- ordered us to save anyone we could and get the heck out of there before the storm front hit, or we would be squashed like flies against the cliffs. I got the last pegasus off the deck just as the thing cracked in two and sank, but the gale was over us and we were tossed kilometres off course. You could not see anything for miles, no shore no stars, nothing. As the other one was too weak to fly, I found a piece of driftwood along the way and set her on it, flying behind. Somehow I knew in which direction to fly and within a day we were found by a patrol of ours, but by then I had seen the lodestones as well. When touched shore, there is was my mark.” She turned to look at it with pride, a compass star, the colour of the sentinel lodestones.

Discord clapped his hands, his eyes shining with mirth.

Concordia added to her sister’s story, happily.

“She then surpassed everyone of her class and even joined an expedition to the mainland when the Tessarakonteres was fitted out and sent to reclaim the colony of Tirre. You remember the wimpy colt my aunt rescued and adopted, Aeolus? Well he is Aeolus of Tirre now, because he led that mission and won, driving out the Centaur marauders once and for all. Everyone thinks he will lead the Pegasi when our Aunt retires and every mare has the hots for him…”

“Hush you…” Aneris said “why don’t you tell us how you got your mark, miss shine and bright”

“All right, all right” said she and got up, bowing down as if before a stage and said with a flourish.
“I present to you the magical, one and only, trillion gem! “
Aneris leaned closer to Discord and whispered “Trillion is a kind of cut you see, and she keeps saying the colour is so brilliant, when its just…”

“GREY!” Concordia said loudly if a bit foppishly “I know what you said sister mine. But fear not, even you simple minded and small will one day understand that this is not one…but all colours in one” and burst out laughing.
Aneris was already laughing and Discord looked at them in amused bewilderment.

“What is so funny?” he asked “its pretty obvious the colours on this rotate so fast they seem to be one”

For a moment both ponies looked at him and then rolled on the grass laughing.
Concordia spoke between breaths as soon as she could and explained.

“You see…ah…haha…our Teacher…he…is so proud of my mark and keeps telling everypony that dares say anything, about how important it is and that no one understands its complexity. Anyhow… here comes the tale… of how I got it. It was on a dark mysterious night…”

“DIAAAA…” Aneris complained

“OK, OK…I had just attained the second degree so that I slept alone in the mare’s dormitory because most mares leave after the first degree. We don’t have priests and priestesses like the earth clan and mages are mostly stallions. Anyhow, I had the mare’s dorm all to myself, spells kept me safe inside but it was where I wanted to be the most. I had all the time and space to practice spells and methods alone and without anyone breathing down my back and telling me what mares can or cannot do. The colts you see, can practice amongst themselves whenever they can, and each takes over a different element in the various configurations. I always have to wait for lessons to start for the day to be able to practice anything with more than one element and everyone else is always prepared. I was falling behind everypony in anything that needed practice. Crystal Quill constantly looked down upon me and made an example of me to the colts. He used to go “Mares are only good for low magic… and mares cannot do…” So I had this idea that I could temporarily infuse a complex polyhedron with all four of the elements that I needed for a five element configuration, and show that pompous old wizard that mares can do awesome magic. I had everything in line and recited each spell for each element and …fell asleep”

“You fell asleep?” Discord asked a bit worried “but the spell went on…”

“Yup it went on in my brain while I slept and in the morning I had my mark!”

Aneris then added proudly “AND her dormitory was missing a few beds, a wall, and anew lay line was traced from the lodestone all the way to her desk. After that Crystal Bald guy never pestered her again. She earned her third level this way and every stallion adores her…”

“Ane stop it…”
“They do!”
“They do not”

And thus began a chance, the sisters behaving like fillies, laughing and shouting obscenities at each other. They stopped abruptly when the stone serpent’s head fell off, cut cleanly at the throat.

“Discord?”
“I don’t like it!” he said fists clenched “If you want to I can get rid of anyone that pesters you. Aneris’s flyboy, your Bald Crystal and his son…anyone!”

“Discord!” Concordia shouted.

Aneris flew closer and looked at him sternly. “Are you jealous?”

“I am not”
“You are!”
“I AM NOT” and the stone serpent exploded… A second later he realised happened and looked around for them finding Aneris defensively shielding her sister, and Concordia her horn ready with a spell.

“No I did not mean to…I…it just happens” he tried to explain.

“It just happens?” Concordia said loudly, both of them cautiously nearing him. “And Spell Wright’s sickness just happened right?”

“Seven years ago all the mishaps ponies told us that happened when they were with us just happened as well eh?” Aneris added. “You need to stop this or someone will get hurt”

“Look, I…” he stammered
“No you look, you are not even a day back and everything gets complicated again”

“Please, OK I will try to keep this in, I just…it feels I am losing my friends…you… when they get all your attention” he said having turned around, sadness turning him entirely the colour blue.

Aneris went closer and poked the side of his arm.

“Hey you will never loose us… that is what being a friend means…”
“Yeah” Concordia added “see it this way, we share our attention with others.And want to know something very important?”
“What?” he asked looking to the side.
“We never told anyone about the gardens or the portal or you.”
Aneris hugged his arm.

“Even if we never learnt what happened to you when you left, we never told a soul, and we still got your gift” she said and brought her hoof up, looking at the crystal with affection.

Concordia looked at hers too and when her sister inched closer to whisper something in her ear she lit up at the idea.
“Yeah lets do that! Its brilliant Ane’!”

She got up, levitated both of their crystals in the air and enclosed them in a ball of bright light. Air whooshed about her sending rocks and dirt away in an expanding radius.

Discord got up ready to cancel what ever was being done, but Aneris grabbed his paw and pulled him down.
“Don’t worry she is combining the crystals and then will divide them, one for each.”

“But Aneris” he said with worry “this is not simple magic this crystal came from my realm and…”
“Then help her silly!” Aneris said smiling “come on”

Concordia strained to keep the light ball aloft and felt it give way when she saw Discord, arms extended, helping her keep it up. She saw her sister taking place in an equal distance between them and nodding an OK to her. Over the din of the circling air about them she spoke.

“Now will we add a promise to the spell and you Discord help me divide them again.”

“I got first” Aneris shouted and closed her eyes as she was lifted in the air “I promise to never forget my friends and give everything to save them”.
Concordia then closed hers.

“I promise to never forget my friends and give everything for them to be happy”

Discord swallowed hard, the ponies where attempting a conjuring whose repercussions they did not understand. A promise like that might span across dimensions… but then a tendril of light reached him and he was filled with the feelings of companionship, camaraderie and love. Words came with great difficulty, marking his existence in a time line he would normally just have skirted away from. He willingly spoke the words.

“I promise as long as my friends live to never harm anyone, my realm shall be the outlet of my dangerous feelings.”

Sending a piece of chaos into the single gem to balance its counterparts within, he guided Concordia’s will to divide them and channelled Aneris’s inert talent to direct their goals. The ball of light imploded within the three gems, everyone released from its tendrils and falling to the ground. There in their midst lay three gems pulsating with interchanging colours.

Aneris, always the brave one, ventured a few steps forward tentatively extending her hoof to touch one of the gems. The one nearest to her sizzled as if with static electricity and then flew into her hoof as if magnetised.
“That was weird” she said and laughed “it tickles!”

She then looked around the dishevelled garden for something to use as string. She found a piece of leather cord hanging from a stone flag, ripped it from where it was embedded and then looked up to Discord.
“Uhm… how do we hang these around our necks?”

Discord deftly used some metal cups that were half buried in the ground. He levitated the metallic objects, and with swift movements smashed and compacted the material, heating and cooling it. Concordia watched with rising admiration that did not escape her sister’s notice, as Discord motions seemed to order the materials to bend to his will. They sat in silence as Discord made an elegant show of dividing the molten metal into three parts and creating settings for the gems simultaneously.

“They are beautiful Discord” Concordia said, grasping hers out of the air as they floated towards them.
Aneris was already tying hers behind her neck and winked at her sister.

Concordia looked from her to Discord and shook her head. Aneris stared at her and looked meaningfully at Discord who was lying on the grass, watching the darkening sky. He was munching on a stick he had transformed into wriggling candy and counted of each star as they appeared in the sky. The unicorn though opened her mouth, looked over at the Discord, looked away and got up. Discord saw her and her sister rising as well and got up himself walking closer.

“We have to go, lots to do and… well we will be missed.” She then toucher her gem. “Do…do these do what the old ones did?”

“Well, you still need to activate them” Discord said while looking at Aneris who was making gestures in the air, trying to convey that he keep it short “and…and yeah… you dont need to tap them, just think of them going on and off, like mage lights…”

He followed the unicorn to the wall exit, raising his arms to make the hole appear again, walking next to Aneris. When they were outside, the ponies hugged him, their hooves around his torso for he had grown too tall for them to reach his shoulders.

“See you soon ladies” he said, delighting in their chuckle “I’ll make sure the garden is cleaned up next time, looks like…well I don't know how it looks like…so…goodnight?”

“Goodnight Discord” they said and hugging themselves, Aneris flew off to the pegasi keep and with a last look towards Discord Concordia teleported off to her dormitory. He waved them goodbye, stood for a long moment looking around and went back inside, the wall sealing itself behind him.

---

In the bushes not far from the old walls, a unicorn in a black cloak appeared, panting from the exertion of keeping his shielding spell up. He had seen something he did not believe was possible. The forest…the ancient gardens have been searched and analysed for relics a thousand times.

The pegasi mapmakers have plotted the area to a single piece of wall stone and nothing had ever shown this. He caused the one-use spell scroll to ignite and burn itself, squashing the ashes into the dirt when they fell.

“Whatever, whoever you are, I will bring you down” he told himself, retreating into the shadows.

Author's Note:

References

1. Upon Orichalcum *scientific* : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orichalcum
2. Orichalcum *magic/occult* : The Occult Sciences in Atlantis
3. Also : http://arcana.wikidot.com/orichalcum