The Grand Unified Theory Of Magic

by The Temporal Storm

Fragments

Something happened. There was...research, I walked, and walked...

There was Magic...there were lots of creatures, somepony trying to stop me. Something...is wrong. My mind is...is...something. The word is missing. I can't remember. I can't remember...anything. What happened?

I looked up. I hadn't even realized I was staring at the stone below me. I was...in...a castle? I think. It might have been the throne room of Canterlot Castle. Or...maybe not. Part of the ceiling was gone. Actually, I think it was that rubble on the floor below the hole. Huh. There were also statues I didn't recall being in here. Wait, why would I know what the throne room looked like? Had I been here before? When? I really couldn't remember. But there were some statues in the middle of the room. Six of them, one of which was broken into several pieces. They were Ponies, two Pegasi, an Earth Pony and an Alicorn. All of them had necklaces with big jewels in them, exept for the Alicorn, who had a crown. They were all in a stange position...almost like they were supposed to be floating. Why were they on the floor? Had they been floating and they fell, which is why one was broken? Who were they?

I felt like I should recognize them, but I couldn't remember. They were...important Ponies, to be sure. Shouldn't I know this? Why couldn't I remember?

Wait! These were statues of...the...something. I lost it.

Elements! No, that wasn't it. Wait, maybe Elements of something? Elements of...of...I don't know. It didn't matter.

There didn't seem to be anything else in here. Wait, didn't the throne room have a throne? Where was it? I looked around. There were pillars, banners, scorch spots (which I didn't think were normal), and three doors. No throne. I turned all the way around, maybe it was behind me? I followed the walls with my eyes as I turned on the spot. Suddenly the wall got really close. Wait...no, that was the...the...something, of the throne! I was sitting on the throne!

Wait, wasn't Celestia supposed to be here, doing...why would Celestia be here? She didn't...did she? She was a...something important. Was she supposed to be here? Who was supposed to be here? The...Princess was! Was Celestia a Princess? She was an Alicorn...but "Princess Celestia" sounded silly, didn't it?

Oh well. No matter who Celestia was, why was I on the throne? Actually...I don't think I was supposed to be in Canterlot at all. If that's where Canterlot Castle was. It had the same name, so it should be. That was sound logic, right? There was something bad here. Something...no, not a thing, a Pony! Somepony bad, somepony trying to stop me from...doing something big. Something important. Trying to find something...

But if I was here, and I couldn't remember what I needed to do, that must mean that I did whatever I had to, and beat the bad Pony! Right? I think that's what happened...

Where was Celestia? She was important, somehow. She wasn't here, even though I felt like she should have been. She wasn't the bad Pony, was she? No...those six! The statues! They were the bad ones! I must have turned them to stone...somehow. How did I do that? It didn't matter. I needed to find...Celestia! Yes, needed to find her because...she was important.

Why was there nopony else here? Where did they all go? A castle should have...drones?...that did stuff. Like fix the roof. And collect...no, they didn't collect anything. Did they?

I should try to find somepony. Maybe they would know where Celestia was. I stood up and stepped off the throne, the noise my hooves made breaking the deathly silence around me. I hadn't realized how quiet it was. Well, if it was silent, it should be easier to call out to get somepony's attention, right?

"Hello?" I flinched at the sound of my own voice. It sounded almost...masculine. I was a mare. I looked under myself for a moment. Yes, definitely a mare. Why was my voice so deep and...and...

"What was I thinking?" Flinching again, I now remembered. Why was it so...cobblestone-y? No, that wasn't even a word...but it was something to do with where Ponies walk...maybe...why would the ground have anything to do with the sound of somepony's—

Clap

I ducked at the sound, pressing myself to the ground. That had not been my voice. Why did I duck? Was I being attacked? What was g—

Clap

I spun around, still on my stomach. Honestly I wasn't sure how, but I did. There was nopony, just the throne I had been on.

Clap

"I couldn't have done it better myself."

Who was that? Where was it coming from? There was no one in here! Was I...something. Something to do with my mind... Buck! Why couldn't I remember anything? Oh! I remembered how to curse, at least.

Something touched me on the shoulder. In a panic, I rolled over and blasted it with my Magic. Wait, I had magic? I looked up at my forehead. I did indeed have a horn. I could also feel something underneath me. Rolling over again, I looked at my back. I had...wings. Since when did I have wings? Why did I have wings? Did this mean I was an Alicorn? Was I the Princess? Is that why I was on the throne? I couldn't be the Princess, Princesses had to...do things that I couldn't do!

Something groaned behind me. I stood up and turned towards it. It was the thing I had blasted. It seemed to have gone clear through one of the pillars and partway through the wall. I could see a long, red tail with gray fur at the end. Was it a Dragon? Dragons didn't have fur, did they?

It grunted as it sat up, and I could only gape at it. It was definitely not a Dragon. Or a Pony. It...was several times the length of a pony and...and...there was so much wrong with it. I couldn't remember hardly anything and I knew this thing was not normal.

"Listen, I know you're jumpy by nature, but that was a bit excessive, don't you think?" It said, looking annoyed. Suddenly it was next to me, one of it's forearms around my shoulders. "As I was saying, now that I have established my presence and will not be attacked, I couldn't have done it better myself."

I ducked out from under it and backed away. "What are you talking about? Who are you?" I said. I continued studying its appearance. It had brown fur all the way down its body, two different horns, and all four of its legs were different. What the hell was wrong with this thing?

It looked shocked. "Who am I? What do mean, who am I?" It rose onto its hind legs and brought its upper ones to its head, as if about to faint. "Has your quest for knowledge consumed you so that you don't even remember me, your great friend Discord?"

Discord? Friend? I didn't remember this creature at all, but if it always acted like this there was no way we had been friends. I shook my head. "I don't remember anything. I just, I'm here, and that's all I know. If we were friends, tell me, what has happened to me?"

It looked right at me, actually surprised. It dropped down to all four legs again. "You...really don't remember anything?" It said.

"No."

It recoiled some. This thing was very expressive with its body. Didn't it get tired of moving so much? "Wow. She must have put a lot of power into that spell."

"Who?" I asked, agitated. I felt my wings move behind me. I looked at them. I hadn't done that. Did they move on their own? Or did they react to my emotions? Would I lose control of them while flying if I got mad while—

"If you don't remember anything..." It said, and I looked back at it, deciding I would deal with my wings later. It was stroking its beard. "You don't know why you look the way you do, do you? Or who those Ponies are." He gestured toward the statues. "You have no idea whatsoever what happened."

"No, I..." I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "What do you mean the way I look—" I glanced down. Oh. I just realized my hooves were not actually hooves. They seemed to be...separate? No, another word...each hoof had multiple endings, like Discord's. They were called...numbers? No, I couldn't remember. And my legs had something on them...something black, like a plating of some kind.

I looked back up at Discord, but he was gone. Another creature, just as horrific, was in his place. I jumped back, startled, and so did the other creature. I sat still for a moment. There was no way...

"Surprised?" Discord's head appeared above the creature, and I realized that he was behind a mirror. The creature, it was... It was the same height as me, but I guess that was obvious. It was an Alicorn, with a short, dirty golden mane with black streaks. It's coat was an ashen gray, as were its wings. It's horn was jagged and with holes. That reminded me of...some other race. It's eyes were bright blue and had slit pupils, like a Dragon. I couldn't believe it. How had this happened? I wasn't supposed to be like this. I was...I was a normal Pony, I had to be. Nothing like this existed naturally.

"How..." I couldn't hardly make myself speak. "How did this happen?" I couldn't look away from my reflection.

"Well," Discord said, and the mirror vanished, leaving me staring at his midsection. "That is a rather long story."

I looked up at it. "Why...can't I remember?"

"Oh, that's easy." It said. It jumped into the air, but didn't fall back down, simply floated. "Well, mostly. Those Ponies over there," He pointed at the statues. "They are the Elements of Harmony. They deal with major threats to Equestria. They were fighting you."

I opened my mouth to speak, but it kept on.

"Yes, that means you were a major threat. However, unlike every other villain that they've fought, you actually won. Let me tell you, they have dealt with a lot of villains, and up untill now they were the undefeated champions of Friendship. That sounds dumb, but that stupid rainbow beam of theirs is really powerful."

Champions of Frienship? Rainbow beams? What was he going on about?

"But that's not why you can't remember anything. As I said, you won, you didn't get hit with the dastardly Friendship Canon. That Alicorn, the one with wings and a horn, she realized they were about to lose, and for whatever reason, she fired a single spell at you before being turned to stone. At the time, I hadn't known what she did, but now I see that it was a memory wipe. She put way too much force into it though and locked away nearly all of your memories."

So I...lost everything. I don't even know why...and I lost my whole life in an instant.

"But..." I said, but it came out as more of a noise than word. I swallowed and tried again. "Why...were we fighting? What did I do? I'd never try to hurt anypony!"

"Never try to..." He repeated, then burst out laughing, loud enough I had to clamp my ears to my head. Why was everything so loud? "Never..." He wheezed. "Never...oh Nova, if Ponykind survives the hell you've unleashed upon them, you will be know as the bringer of death, doom and destruction, as well as whatever other crazy titles they invent for you! You...you may not remember what you did, but you were a psychotic scholar hellbent on unifying all Magics, maiming or killing anything that dared to stand in your way."

No. There was no way. Unifying all Magic? What did that even mean? Why would I be so determined to do that? Had I really killed Ponies? "But..." I closed my eyes. "But why would I do that? Why would...would I...that can't be true!" I looked back up at Discord. Who was this creature, anyway? I knew I would never hurt anypony, it had to be lying! I had no reason to believe it, so why should I? "You're lying to me. I could never– nothing is worth killing for. That is something I know I believe. I have no reason to believe or trust you. You have given no evidence for anything you've said, and you have explained nothing regarding the current situation. My appearance, the castle, Celestia, nothing! You say a Pony used a memory wipe on me, but what proof do I have that you didn't do it?" Now my magic flared up on its own. Damn, did everything just do whatever it felt like without my consent?

He backed up, waving his forelegs in front of him. "Wait, wait, wait, don't blast me yet! Listen to yourself. You were missing word before, weren't you? You had a hard time thinking. But now that you're trying to think, trying to remember, you're beginning to wear down the effects of the spell. She didn't 'erase' your memories. They're not permanently lost. They're just locked behind a magic shield that is impenetrable for most creatures. You though, you're so freakishly powerful that you're already breaking it down. At this rate, you'll begin to remember events in a few days. If you don't believe me, you can wait, and you'll see for yourself." It snapped it's...fingers! That was the word! And a glowing orb appeared above one of it's paws. "Or...I could help that process along." It smirked. I think. It had a weird face.

I didn't like that at all. What it said made sense. I was beginning to remember words now. Perhaps it was only a...horseapples. Horseapples! That was new. Anyway, maybe I only had to wait. But if it could make that process faster...waiting and regaining memories slowly would be agonizing, like reading a book much slower than I would normally, constantly left with ledgehangers. Wait, no, not that...something to do with heights though.

"Helloooo?" Discord waved his other forearm in front of my face. I blinked and focused on it. I hadn't realized I had...phased out? No, that wasn't the word. Wait, don't get distracted! I blinked at it again. "Umm...what...exactly would you do?"

"Well, this bad boy here," it tossed the orb into the air and caught it as if it were a ball, "will pretty much instantly break that spell."

"But..." I drew out the word. I knew there had to be a catch.

"But..." It said, "It will force you to relive all the memories you've lost, focusing mostly on the ones of the last few years. That means you may not go through your foalhood, but you will relive all of your 'quest' as it were. After that, anything it didn't show you will quickly return."

"And...how long will it take?" I asked slowly. There were a few possibilities, none of which I liked.

"Well..." It drawled. "There's the kicker. Like I said, you'll relive everything, but for me, it'll only take a few seconds. Sooooo...you might end up with a veeeery minor case of serious emotional trauma from everything you did."

There it was. I could either deal with my past slowly and painfully, remembering every horrible thing I did a little at a time, or I could watch it all at once and risk breaking myself even further then I already was. Damn.

I shook my head. "Fine. Do it."

It looked taken aback. "Really? Just like that? You're not going to consider the pros and cons of each option for an hour?"

I blinked. "No. Why?"

"No reason. Here goes!" Then it suddenly brought the paw with the orb in it to my face, as if it were going to slap me, and everything vanished.

---

Nova crumpled. Discord never thought he'd see the day she hit the ground like that, but here he was, standing over her. Hopefully she wouldn't bring her full wrath to bear when she woke. He would probably be able to escape before she was fully lucid...

She began to stir. Now or never. He either had leave right now, or stay and hope she wouldn't blast him into oblivion. He had called himself her friend, but that had been mostly sarcastic.

Her eyes shot open, her horn lit, and Discord found himself encased in white magic. To late.

"Oh Discord..." She murmured. Her voice was considerably different now, silky smooth and practically screaming 'I'm going to kill you extremely painfully!' Wow, did she get over that emotional whiplash fast. She slowly began to rise, and Discord realized she wasn't actually using her legs. She was just rising, casually defying gravity the way he usually did. "You really should have left as soon as you realized I had forgotten you." She set herself down on her paws, hardly making a sound. "Who knows how far you could have made it, holing yourself up in some corner of the world...you may love chaos, but you value your life more. Or so I thought."

She stared at him with her eyes half closed. It might have been sexy, if Discord didn't know that it was her murder face. "So why didn't you run? Why did you help me in the first place? You know what I want to do to you." She looked to his left, seemingly staring at nothing. Then her eyes snapped back to him, and she smiled. "I suppose that doesn't matter." She said. She turned on the spot, towards the center of the room.

"I recall you telling me that you didn't know why Twilight used a memory spell on me. I do." Slowly making her way closer to the statues, Discord floating helpless behind her, she continued talking. "She knew they had lost, but she didn't see until it was too late to stop the Elements firing. She had an idea though, a stroke of genius."

She stood before one of the Pegasi. With a flicker of Magic, it slammed into the wall at the opposite end of the throne room and shattered into fragments. "I never did like Rainbowdash." She muttered. "Pinky Pie has already been taken care of." She continued down the line of remaining statues, carefully avoiding loose stone. She stopped in front of the other Pegasus. "Fluttershy. I never really had anything against you, but you are an Element, so you are dangerous. I apologize for what I must do, but I do not regret it." With that, Fluttershy befell a similar fate to Rainbowdash. Nova moved on, walking past the statue of Twilight untill she met with Applejack. "Applejack. As with Fluttershy, you never gave me a reason to dislike you. You are an honest pony, a quality I admire even if I would never emulate it." A third statue met it's demise at the hands of the wall. It was beginning to crack at his point. She turned to the last of the statues. "Rarity. You imitated and mingled with nobility that you were not rightfully a part of. While that is not necessarily a crime, or even worth punishing, your being an Element is enough that I do this gleefully." Rarity hovered before her for a moment. "You do have a wonderful mane though." With that, she joined her friends at the other end of the room.

She sat still for a moment, though Discord had no idea what she was thinking. Probably something to do with world domination. Finally she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the last remaining statue. "But Twilight made a fatal mistake." She said. "She didn't put enough power into that spell." The Pony in question was lifted in a white haze and began spinning slowly. "If she hadn't held back for the sake of a daughter that hated her, she might have survived this fight." She dropped Twilight. The rock cracked at the hooves and topped over, but didn't break. "If she had put her all," Nova said, staring at the fallen statue, "I would have been little more than a vegetable. Celestia would have had no trouble releasing them and permanently containing me." She lifted Twilight again, still horizontal. "I really didn't need to use the power of the Elements against them the way I did. Actually, there was a good chance it wouldn't have worked. I broke my own rule when it mattered most. I'm sure karma will get me for that one." Discord watched as the Alicord rocketed across the room, finally joining her friends forever.

"I could have just turned them to stone from the very beginning." She set Discord on the ground. He felt something moving up his legs, but he couldn't look to see what it was. Suddenly he was released. He immediately snapped his fingers, trying to teleport away. Again and again he snapped them, but nothing happened. He also tried to speak, but he couldn't open his mouth. She was no fun. Finally he looked to see what was crawling up his leg.

It was stone. "Do put yourself in a dignified position this time. You might be in the throne room of my castle, when the time comes." But Discord was not having any of that, and feeling the stone getting higher, quickly put himself in the single most undignified position he could manage with the limbs he could move.

He heard Nova sigh. "Or maybe you'll entertain the prisoners." The stone sped up even further, and within seconds he was encased. Nova spoke again, though she sounded muffled. "I hope you're happy with yourself. You're going to be like that for longer than a thousand years this time."

Discord was happy. If he was going to be a statue, he was not going to be a lawn ornament.

Comments

[The Temporal Storm]

How much intrigue, foreshadowing, sudden character development, OP bullshit magic and random references can I stuff into under 4K words? More than I thought, apparently.