Over a thousand years have passed. Her sister was banished to the moon and came back, Star Swirl is long gone, and Celestia apparently has a small purple alicorn student. What’s going on?
Celestia is settling into being a princess. It’s a lot of work, but luckily Star Swirl is a big help, even if Luna isn’t.
Then she wakes up and over a thousand years have passed. Her sister was banished to the moon and came back, Star Swirl is long gone, and Celestia apparently has a small purple alicorn student.
“It’s an exciting day to be magical, Celestia. I’ve made a breakthrough that even I didn’t think possible. This mirror is going to be the greatest achievement of my career!”
“Star Swirl, you’ve really done it? It’s just … it’s too impossible to believe. Another world?”
“In time we might be able to jump from universe to universe … aren’t you curious to find what else is out there in the cosmos?”
“With Luna being so distant lately, I’ve got so much to do … I doubt I’ll have time to help you with what you’re proposing.”
“Now Celestia, I know you’ve been concerned since your sister started to act a bit … dark. I’m sure we’ll get her turned around before anything serious happens.”
“Oh, Star Swirl, thank you. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that. I’ve had so many doubts lately …”
“Never doubt yourself … you’ll do great things for your subjects. We all know that.”
Ever since she’d first raised the sun and earned her cutie mark, she had cast a spell each night to wake herself up before it was time for sunrise. She was afraid of sleeping in and being late. Equestria was depending on her more than ever before, after all.
However, that didn’t mean she enjoyed waking up so early. She breathed in deeply and forced her eyes open. As expected, her room was dark. The sun wasn’t up yet. Luna wasn’t here. She had her own room, now, and at any rate she didn’t sleep at night, anymore.
Celestia recognized that she was wasting time. Pulling the silk covers off, she swung her legs towards the side of the bed and stood up. First things first: she needed to put on her regalia, then she would go out on the balcony and raise the sun. Her crown was right where she left it, on her nightstand –
That was odd. It was not, in fact, on her nightstand, though now that she looked at it, she didn’t think it looked like her nightstand at all, nor did she remember placing that bouquet of flowers atop it.
Perhaps somepony had come in the middle of the night and … replaced her nightstand? That didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t afford the luxury of stopping to ponder a more reasonable explanation. She lit her horn to find her crown, which she discovered was in a chest on the other side of her bed, along with her necklace and horseshoes. Celestia had never kept her regalia in a chest before, but she would have to deal with her growing sense of unease later. It was almost time to raise the sun.
She had been taught to always move with grace, but she was so rushed that she cantered to the balcony anyway, where she caught sight of Luna lowering the moon. Immediately, she leapt into the air and strained with her magic, but oddly, the sun was not as heavy as she had expected. As though it were an extension of her will, it peeked over the horizon, shining its light across Equestria.
With the sunrise on time, she should have been relieved, but instead she only felt confusion. She was used to things going as expected, but this morning, nothing was. As if to emphasize this, Luna was gliding from her tower towards Celestia’s. It seemed like dawn always ended with Luna walking out of the sunlight without a backward glance, but today Celestia’s little sister was coming to speak with her.
The younger alicorn touched down with the soft sound of horseshoes brushing marble. Celestia schooled her face into a warm smile. If the times that Luna would willingly talk to her were rare now, then she would simply make her sister feel welcome to do it more often.
“It is not every sunrise you see fit to visit me, Luna.” she said by way of greeting. She walked forward to give her sister a brief nuzzle, glad that Luna didn’t back away.
Luna looked a little embarrassed. “Well, no, but this morning is a little different, I think.” Celestia watched Luna with an open expression, inviting her to explain, which she did. “It is a relief to have our magic again, is it not? I had only just discovered the extent of my abilities. To have to give them away was … not pleasant.”
Celestia’s happiness drained away. Luna might have deigned to speak with her, but even she didn’t make any sense this morning. What was she talking about? “Again? Give them away?” she repeated.
Luna raised an eyebrow, slowly. “We gave all our magic to your faithful student, in the hope that she would keep it safe from Tirek. We spent hours magicless, imprisoned in Tartarus with our niece. Surely you did not enjoy it?” Celestia’s face only showed more confusion, to which Luna responded with incredulity. “You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I would not kid you now. Who is Tirek? What is Tartarus? I have a student, and a niece?” Something clicked in her mind and she hurriedly assured herself that Luna had in fact said “our niece” and had not implied anything about a daughter Celestia didn’t know about.
Meanwhile, Luna’s mouth had slowly dropped open. She didn’t want to believe it, since they were both incorrigible pranksters when they had the chance, but it looked like Celestia really didn’t know anything. Luna knew she wouldn’t easily forget her time in Tartarus, but it appeared that Celestia had done just that. “Is … is this a side effect of losing your magic?” Luna wondered. Celestia asked what she was talking about, but Luna ignored her.
“If it is a side effect, why did it appear now, and why am I unaffected? Could it be triggered by using our magic?” The thought frightened her. If it was true, it would be dangerous to try to help Celestia herself, but she knew only one other pony with enough magical experience to trust. Celestia was anxiously trying to get her attention. Luna came to a conclusion and turned back to her. “Very well. We shall summon your student at once!”
Celestia’s relief at being noticed again was overridden by her complete lack of knowledge regarding the pony Luna was talking about. “Who?”
Luna rolled her eyes at her sister’s cluelessness and walked into Celestia’s room to find some parchment and a quill.
In the library of Castle Friendship, a baby dragon and an alicorn princess looked at a newly delivered scroll. Spike held it in one hand and rubbed his throat with the other. “I don’t think this letter is from Celestia, Twilight.”
Twilight looked at Spike with concern. “Why would you think that?”
“It felt different. Cold, almost.” He shivered at the thought of breathing cold fire. He didn’t mind cold, ice cream was great after all, but that just wasn’t right. His fire was very personal.
Twilight nodded, thinking. “You’re right, maybe it’s somepony else’s magic. Let’s see who sent it, then.”
Spike slipped the seal off and opened it up. “It’s from Princess Luna!”
Dearest Twilight Sparkle,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am sorry to call on you once again so soon after you saved us all from Tirek, but I find that I must.
This sunrise, I spoke with my sister to find she did not remember yesterday’s events. Further questioning revealed that she does not know anything about you, her faithful student, or Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, either, though she does at least remember me.
I fear this loss of memory is connected to the magic transfer we performed. If this is the case, both Cadance and I may be at risk of the same consequences.
This is a matter of utmost importance. I request your presence in Canterlot to investigate this issue further.
Your friend, Princess Luna
Spike looked up from the letter to see Twilight staring at him in shock. Worried, he asked, “Oh no, Celestia forgot everything? What are we gonna do?”
His worry was nothing compared to Twilight’s. “This, is bad. Celestia lost her memories? She can’t lose her memories, she’s – she’s Celestia! She’s the ruler of all of Equestria! How is she gonna raise the sun if she doesn’t know anything? How is she gonna be wise and kind and understanding? How is she gonna be Celestia?” She paced back and forth, going from bad thoughts to worse thoughts. There were legitimately world-ending consequences here! The fact that her dear mentor didn’t even remember her was the least of them, even if her feelings disagreed.
Spike bit his lip. Twilight overreacted to bad news fairly often, but this time her reaction might be appropriate. It was still his job to be her number one assistant, though, no matter what, so if Twilight didn’t know what to do, it was up to him. He looked down at the letter again. “Well, we should probably let Luna know we’re on our way –“
Twilight spun to face Spike, interrupting him. “Nonono, we’re going right away. Celestia needs us now, there’s no time to waste!”
With a flash of purple light, they disappeared.
Celestia watched the letter vanish in a flash of blue light. With an approving nod, she said, “Very impressive, Luna. Not just teleportation, but matter transference keyed to a magic signature. Did you come up with that spell?”
Luna coughed, flattered that Celestia would think her capable of creating such a thing, but at the same time aware that she had not. “Ah, no. You did.”
Celestia frowned. “I think I would remember if I ever cast something like that before.” Granted, the way everything was going this morning, she should have expected Luna’s answer to be something like that.
Luna huffed, not looking forward to the challenge before her. “Apparently not. From what you have asked me this morning, there is much you should know, but have forgotten.”
Her words sounded uncomfortably true. The elder sister looked at her nightstand and the open regalia chest beside it, then remembered the feeling of the sun easily obeying her magic. Nothing was like what she expected.
There was a knock at the door. Celestia glanced at Luna before calling out, “You may enter.”
The door opened to reveal an aging white unicorn stallion wearing a pince-nez and a red tailcoat. He greeted them, “Good morning, your Highnesses.” At their reply, he continued, speaking to Celestia, “Princess, have you been here the whole time? I was waiting for you in the throne room, we’re over five minutes behind schedule!”
Celestia answered, not knowing why she felt guilty for it, “Ah, yes, I have been here,” She wanted to add, ‘Who are you?’ but he acted like she should already know him. Instead, Celestia gave Luna a look, pleading for help.
Luna noticed it and directed a long-suffering sigh at the stallion. “Kibitz, my sister here is not up to fulfilling her duties today, nor am I willing to fill in for her. Could you see to it that, the schedule –“ Here she allowed herself a vengeful grin at the schedule’s misfortune, “- is delegated to the appropriate officials?”
Kibitz raised an eyebrow at her disturbing expression. There was nothing wrong with the schedule, except that they were now six minutes behind it. Celestia looked perfectly fine to him, but this wasn’t the first time he’d had to run the itinerary without her because of outlandish reasons. “As you wish, Princess.” He turned, but paused before he left. “Shall I send up some coffee?”
Luna leaned forward, eyes wide. “YES, THANK YOU!” Kibitz nodded and departed to carry out his orders.
Celestia’s previous concerns about the stallion and her duties fell to the wayside at Luna’s sudden and loud enthusiasm. She grinned at her sister. “I suppose this coffee is a refreshment you rather enjoy?”
“Oh, it’s wonderful, I don’t know how I lived without it before.” Luna paused. Celestia had been the one to introduce her to coffee after her return. The beverage had been invented several hundred years ago, but evidently Celestia no longer remembered it. It shouldn’t have surprised her, if her older sister didn’t even remember Tirek from the first time, but she hadn’t considered what else Celestia might have forgotten.
“How much do you remember?” Luna asked.
So, Luna’s love of coffee wasn’t so great that she would ignore the problem at hoof, but Celestia hesitated to answer. As far as she knew, she remembered everything. A bit of a tautology, that. She might as well say what she knew. “Well, we weren’t crowned terribly long ago.” Luna’s face was already grim. “We built our castle down in the Everfree Forest, near the Tree of Harmony, although we rule from here, in the unicorns’ capital at Canterlot. We’ve been all across Equestria, and we’ve talked with the zebras, the griffons, and the Crystal Empire.”
She was running out of big events to talk about. “We earned our cutie marks by raising the sun and the moon?” It had been awhile, but nothing really important had happened since then, just day-to-day running of Equestria, even though that made it sound much simpler than it was. There was only one other real thing to mention. “You – you’ve been growing more distant with everypony, so I’ve been relying on Star Swirl to help me instead.” Luna’s eyes were downcast.
The thought of a time when it was Luna who was always at her side tore at Celestia’s heart. Her sister had been as open now as she had been in a long time: Celestia had things she needed to say while she had the chance. “Sister, I’m sorry if I did something wrong. I’ve just been so busy, I don’t know how to help you. It was such a relief to see you coming to me for once. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
“It is – not your fault.” Luna replied, jerkily. “I –“ There was another knock at the door. Guiltily taking the chance to put off her confession, Luna gave a small smile and said, “Well, there’s our coffee. You should answer that.” How was she going to explain this to a Celestia who knew nothing about darkness?
Celestia glanced at the door, then looked back at Luna before reluctantly letting in their visitor.
It was a purple … alicorn. On her back was what looked like a small purple … dragon, holding a tray of drink mugs. Celestia blinked.
“Celestia?” asked the alicorn in the doorway. She seemed uncertain about something.
“Yes?” Celestia glanced at her sister, beginning to suspect that this was who Luna had sent that letter to.
Luna confirmed it. “Ah, Twilight Sparkle, Spike. I did not expect you to arrive so quickly.”
Twilight Sparkle gave Luna a sad smile. “I wasn’t going to keep you two waiting.” She trotted into the room. To Luna, she said, “How is she?”
Luna developed a clinical detachment, speaking about her sister as if she wasn’t there. “She’s as much herself as ever, but her memory stops not long after we earned our cutie marks.” Celestia was aware she was being talked about, but she had noticed Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark, causing enough surprise to overwhelm any feelings of annoyance she might have had otherwise. Luna noticed her wide-eyed look and smirked. “Yes, her cutie mark is the six pointed star. I think we both noticed the first time we met her.” Twilight looked at her own flank, as if checking to see if it had changed.
“You must be a very special pony, then.” Celestia murmured. Star Swirl had known she would meet Twilight Sparkle: she had seen it in his eyes when she asked him about the six pointed star on the Tree of Harmony.
“Oh, well,” Twilight blushed at receiving such praise from a pony who didn’t even remember her. “I owe a lot of it to you, and to my friends.” She smiled at Spike as she said this.
Celestia didn’t remember doing anything this humble alicorn would owe her for, but neither did she want to disagree with Twilight. Luna had said Twilight Sparkle was “her faithful student,” after all. A thought crossed her mind. “And I owe as much to my mentor.” She turned to Luna. “What did Star Swirl say when we met her? You know he knew about the six pointed star.”
Twilight looked taken aback. Luna’s distant amusement darkened into solemness. “Sister, it’s been a long, long time. I haven’t seen Star Swirl for … years.”
Celestia caught her serious tone. “How long?”
Luna glanced at Twilight, who could do nothing to help. To Celestia, she said, “It has been over a thousand years since Star Swirl disappeared.”
Luna’s words echoed. She spoke quietly, but her words must have been loud enough to break something, because it felt like the tower was falling down. Why was all the furniture staying still? Celestia stumbled. Both Luna and Twilight rushed to her side to help steady her. “A thousand – a thousand years?” she repeated, not wanting to believe it, but knowing Luna wouldn’t lie to her. “That’s – that’s not possible. Ponies don’t live for a thousand years.”
“Alicorns are different,” Luna said regretfully. “You know this, sister.”
“But – but it wasn't supposed to happen so fast,” Celestia protested weakly. “A thousand years? I don’t remember any of it.”
“That’s why we’re here, to help you remember.” Twilight said, trying to be encouraging.
Celestia turned towards the stranger, asking desperately. “But what happened to Star Swirl? To Princess Platinum, and Commander Hurricane– to all our ponies?” Celestia shook her head, already knowing the answer. “They can’t – they’re all gone.”
Twilight glanced at Luna. This was the part of alicornhood the youngest princess was most apprehensive about. It seemed even Celestia had trouble with it. Luna nodded to her, then turned back to Celestia.
“I cannot say for certain what happened to Star Swirl. I do not know, but remember that he had his time spells and he did know about Twilight Sparkle. Him at least we might see again someday. Until then,” she braced Celestia and held up her distraught sister’s head to look her in the eyes. “Until then, we have each other, and our little ponies.”
Celestia returned her gaze. In Luna’s eyes, she saw kindness and wisdom that hadn’t been there the last time she checked, but most importantly there was love. Luna was telling the truth. Celestia fell forward to hug her. “Thank you, sister.”
After some time, Celestia felt a little better. She lifted her head and let Luna go. Quietly, her sister told her, “I think I need to speak with Twilight, to see about getting your memories back.” Celestia nodded and stepped back. As Luna went to consult with the purple stranger, the dragon handed them mugs from his tray, then approached Celestia.
He picked up another mug. “Here, Celestia. I know it won’t help much, but, uh, it’s still warm.” Here he stopped to breathe a little jet of flame under it, making his words true before he held it out to her. Curious about the drink, she thanked him and took it in her magic.
Meanwhile, Luna turned her attention to the youngest princess. Twilight had been watching the two sisters with a mix of emotions on her face. Luna guessed what was on her mind. “You know, she told me it is not so bad, when I asked her. A long life means there will always be the joy of meeting somepony new, and of watching them learn and grow.”
Twilight swallowed, knowing what Luna hadn’t mentioned. “And what about, when they …”
“Then we celebrate the times we shared with them in their lives, and remember them as they were.” She was paraphrasing Celestia, of course; she had not quite come to terms with it herself since her return, so she was compelled to add her own piece. “But, it might be possible for ponies to escape the ravages of time. Star Swirl may have done it and I daresay if anypony could rival Star Swirl for his magical ingenuity, it would be you.”
“Me? I’m not …” Twilight started denying Luna’s claim, before her eyes widened. It was categorically true, she had completed a spell that Star Swirl could not, and she had easily cast one of his time spells before.
Luna smirked at the look at Twilight’s face. Perhaps something would come of her hint. “You might want to speak with my sister about this, when she has her memory back. She has a way of seeing the bright side of things.” Thoughtfully, Twilight turned to watch Celestia, who seemed to be talking with Spike about coffee. “As I mentioned in my letter, I suspect she lost her memories because she gave you her magic, as did Cadance and I. I am uncertain how to retrieve her memories, or to prevent my own memory loss, if necessary.”
“Well, our first step should be seeing if we can establish a link between the transfer and the memory loss,” Twilight said, shifting into problem solving mode. “The timing is close enough to be suspicious, but we need to find out why she lost her memories, even after she regained her magic.”
Luna nodded. “Therein lies the rub. It would have been understandable, if unfortunate, if all three of us had lost our memories with our magic.”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Why does she have any memories left at all?”
The magic transfer theory was starting to look less plausible. “Perhaps there is an event that Celestia refuses to forget? But why wouldn’t she mention such a thing if it was so important?” She had a guilty feeling that Celestia had mentioned it obliquely, because it had to do with her worrying over Luna’s troublesome behavior.
“Maybe she doesn’t recognize that it’s important. We need to find it. She’s already told you as much as she thinks she knows, but … I have a way to view her memories directly.” Luna looked intrigued, so she continued. “It’s a friendship-based memory spell. Now, my friendship with Celestia only goes back so far, but yours is a lot longer. With your help, we should be able to see what she remembers about the time while, uh, you two were friends.” Twilight rubbed the back of her neck.
Luna didn’t miss the implication. A thousand years was a long time. She looked to the side, disappointed. “That will have to be enough, then. How shall I help?’”
“I’ll need you to link your magic with mine. That way, I should be able to incorporate your magical signature into my spell.” Twilight explained, double checking her harmonic-arcane casting theory in her head.
Luna nodded. “Very well. Let us begin.” They both turned to speak with Celestia.
Spike was offering his untouched mug of coffee to her. “I don’t really like it, I prefer hot chocolate, myself. You can have mine.”
Both Twilight and Luna rushed forward. Twilight chided the startled dragon, “Spike! Are you trying to make our job harder? Mental magic is hard enough on one cup of coffee!”
Luna was worried for a different reason. “Ah, you don’t want to do that, sister. I remember my first coffee binge, trust me, I regretted it.” Granted, her binge had involved a lot more coffee, but there was no reason to let Celestia drink more than one cup, not when there were four in the room. She carefully took the mug away from Celestia and set it down. Celestia’s face was a study in disappointment.
Now that they were safe from coffee, Twilight composed herself and started explaining, “Alright. So. Celestia, Luna and I figured out a way to review the memories you do have. We’re going to work together and cast a spell on you. That should help us find out what went wrong.”
That sounded interesting. She hadn’t encountered such a memory spell before, much less one that required multiple casters. However, she was concerned over letting this stranger root around in her mind. Some of her reluctance must have shown on her face, because Twilight looked mortified and said, “Uh …”
Luna glanced at the little alicorn, before reassuring Celestia, “I know you don’t remember her now, but you have known her for years. You took her as your protégé when she was just a filly, and she has surpassed you greatest expectations. If anypony can be trusted to help, it is Twilight.”
Celestia thought about it. Though she wasn’t suspicious by nature, she would prefer to keep her mind private. She was being asked for a lot, but it was Luna who was asking. Of course she could trust Luna, so she didn’t hesitate long before she nodded.
With that, the blue and purple alicorns arranged themselves for the spell, with Twilight facing Celestia and Luna by her side. Since she wasn’t much taller than the average mare, Twilight asked Celestia to lower her head, which she did. With a glow of magic, they crossed horns -
-the morning sun shone on the grass by a lake. Celestia looked down beside herself at a tiny blue filly who was just waking up -
-two sisters without a care in the world were playing in a wooded valley. All the wildlife that saw them came to join in and, now with an audience, the fillies crowned each other as princesses –
-strange but kind alicorns taught them everything about ponies and life on Earth. Little Luna tried out the Royal Canterlot Voice for the first time and shouted Celestia head over heels-
-Luna didn’t want to eat her greens. Neither did Celestia, but she knew growing fillies needed to, so she took a bite – then she teased Luna about it-
-now young mares, the sisters were discovered by little ponies. Word of alicorns, with magic from all three tribes, spread-
-an eccentric old unicorn came to see them. He explained all about the founding of Equestria and asked them to be their princesses. His name was Star Swirl the Bearded-
-they were crowned princesses for real, and adventures were had. They made friends with manticores, unicorns, earth ponies, zebras, pegasi, griffons, and crystal ponies-
-Star Swirl came to them, weary and magicless. Celestia and Luna leapt to his aid, earning their cutie marks and restoring his magic -
-Celestia recognized their cutie marks on the Tree of Harmony. She asked about the third symbol, but Star Swirl knew better than to tell them about the future-
-Both of them grew, but where Celestia became a warm and caring ruler for all their ponies, Luna changed from a cheerful little filly into the proud and fearsome Princess of the Night. The sisters spent less time together now, which made it all the more precious.
The spell ended, leaving the alicorns breathless. Twilight had already known about the princesses’ past, thanks to Zecora’s potion and their old journal, but there was a key difference between those and what she had just seen. As she recovered, she turned to Luna with a huge grin on her face. “You were adorable as a filly, Luna!” Was she allowed to call a princess adorable? Whatever, she was a princess now, it was allowed for her.
Luna looked embarrassed. “Oh, well,” Her personal sense of decorum demanded that she be seen as a regal princess, not a little filly. “What about Celestia? Was she not more ‘adorable’ than I?”
Celestia blinked. Her whole life had just flashed before her eyes. Slowly, she recognized that Luna had said her name. She found herself agreeing with the purple stranger. “It’s true, Luna, you were adorable, and you still are.” Luna’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she didn’t know how she could still be adorable instead of dignified like she strived to be. Celestia continued, undeterred. “Why, if I could show everypony how adorable you are, I think I would.”
Luna scoffed. “Everypony? I should think not! Some of us have to work for our reputations.” However, she knew she couldn’t be too upset. “I am glad that you choose to remember those times, though, rather than – ah, my later self.” Just in time, Luna stopped herself from mentioning too much, but she had said enough. Celestia seemed to know Luna had meant to say something else.
Twilight looked slightly nervous and tried to change the topic. “Uh, yeah, sorry, we’re getting kind of distracted, we should get back on track.” Luna shot her a thankful look, while Celestia appeared disappointed, but cooperative. “I was expecting your last memory to be some kind of significant event, but nothing caught my attention. It doesn’t look like there was anything particularly memorable, right?” The older alicorns shook their heads. “Maybe there was something that was supposed to be forgotten, instead? Luna, you were there, what happened next?”
Luna thought back, trying to remember. “At the time, I was … not terribly active in my royal duties, so I cannot say for sure, but …” Her eyes widened and she turned to Twilight. “I remember hearing reports of Tirek and Scorpan’s arrival.”
Twilight shared her concerns. “Celestia doesn’t remember that at all.”
The alicorn in question confirmed the point. “Who are they?”
In response, Luna summoned a book embossed with a golden unicorn design. She flipped through the pages to show her sister the story. Spike, who hadn’t seen it before, looked as well. “They were villains, intent on stealing every pony’s magic. However, Star Swirl was able to make friends with Scorpan, so he warned us and returned home, instead of attacking.”
Twilight continued. “Tirek was imprisoned, but he escaped recently. He nearly succeeded in taking all the magic in Equestria, but you came up with an idea that would keep him from getting our magic. Since Tirek only knew about three alicorns, you, Luna, and my sister-in-law transferred your magic to me.” Celestia glanced at Luna, silently asking if any of this was true. Luna nodded. Slightly hurt to see her mentor doubt her, Twilight made herself go on. “I wasn’t able to keep the magic safe, but in the end my friends and I found the Rainbow Power and sent him back to Tartarus.”
Luna watched her sister’s eyes roving the illustrations in the book. “That happened yesterday. You were with me and our niece the entire time.”
Celestia hesitated, but while the story was difficult to believe, there was indeed another alicorn in front of her. She touched the book’s pages with a golden-shod hoof. “It really happened, didn’t it.” She looked up with beseeching eyes. “Why don’t I remember?”
“That is a good question.” Luna paced to the balcony, a stormy expression on her face. “It is suspicious that you would forget everything about Tirek the day after he was defeated.”
“Could he have cast a spell on her to make her forget, in case he lost?” Twilight asked.
“I did not see him do it, and it would not be like him to take further revenge on an enemy he did not think would rise again.” Luna replied. “However, I do not know who else would have cause to do such a thing.”
The room fell quiet. After everything they had done, it felt like they hadn’t accomplished anything. They apparently had an enemy capable of overpowering an alicorn, yet they had no idea who it could be.
It was Spike who broke the silence. “Well, if it looks like somepony made her forget everything, how would they do it? Wouldn’t there be clues?”
The three alicorns looked at him, before Twilight exclaimed, “You’re right, Spike! Of course there’d be clues! Everypony’s magic has a signature aura – that’s how your scroll sending fire works!” Twilight joyfully picked him up and gave him a hug. “If Luna only noticed the memory loss this morning, it might have happened overnight, here! Maybe there’s something in this room right now that we didn’t notice!” She lit her horn and examined the background magical auras around them.
There was the familiar warm glow of her mentor, the less familiar but welcoming light from Luna, and of course Spike’s little flame. Twilight briefly basked in their presence before tuning them out, looking for dimmer magic.
Usually, traces of ponies’ magic faded away fairly quickly. A signature had to be repeatedly applied for a long time before it would become ingrained in an object or place, so normally the room should contain only Celestia’s background aura.
Twilight was looking for something that didn’t belong in an ocean of Celestia’s magic, so she thought she would have to look pretty hard. Instead, it was obvious there had been an intruder the moment she opened her magical senses.
“There’s definitely something here, and it’s strong.” she said. It was clearest right next to Celestia’s bed, so she trotted over to get a better look. “They must have come here overnight. That shouldn’t be possible, right? The palace is full of Royal Guards, but, well ...” She examined the magical signature. It was … oddly familiar. Time had already faded it slightly, and it was somehow mixed with a signature she didn’t recognize, but at its heart it was very similar to …
Three alicorns and a dragon glided down towards a grassy hill on the outskirts of Ponyville, Luna and Twilight in the lead. If Discord had wiped Celestia’s memory in her sleep, they couldn’t take any chances with him. Twilight wanted to go get the rest of her friends just in case, but there was a problem with that.
“More tea, Fluttershy?” At her nod and happy thank you, Discord lifted the teapot with his claw and refilled her cup. He would prefer to snap his fingers and have the teapot do it itself, but he was on his very best behavior today. After everything that had happened yesterday, Fluttershy was still his friend, and now he knew that he wouldn’t trade that for anything.
“DISCORD!” Luna landed by crashing down heavily on her hooves. “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” Fluttershy squeaked and dove behind Discord.
Twilight and Celestia touched down at a much more reasonable speed. With a stern expression on her face, Twilight strode up to stand beside Luna, but Celestia stood back, watching with wide eyes. “What manner of beast is that?”
Discord put down the teapot and stood up. “Beast? Really? You’re interrupting someone’s tea party to yell at and insult them? Why, I never – Fluttershy, is there any reason for them to do such a thing?”
Fluttershy peeked out from behind Discord’s tail. Luna was scary. “Um, maybe? I don’t think so–“
“You see? Fluttershy agrees with me. Rude.” He retaliated by sticking his forked tongue out and blowing a raspberry at them.
“Cease your playacting,” Luna seethed. “You know what you’ve done. Explain yourself!”
“What?” Fluttershy jumped out to face Luna directly. “I thought you forgave him for that! He’s really sorry for siding with Tirek!” Meanwhile, Discord’s defiance disappeared and he wilted, feeling unworthy of how Fluttershy was defending him.
It was a hard heart that was able to resist a pleading Fluttershy, but Luna was determined to see justice done. “We shall see whether forgiveness was deserved. I speak not of yesterday, but of a crime committed afterwards.”
Fluttershy frowned. “Afterwards? But, he can’t have, he’s been here with me.” She looked up at Discord for support.
“That does not preclude his wrongdoing, even if he was … with you overnight …” Luna’s anger faded slightly. She looked from Fluttershy to Discord and back again.
Discord straightened up. “Oh, ho, uh, no … I don’t think we’re, ah, quite there yet.” His awkward grin was hard to decipher.
Luna seemed to have lost her train of thought, so Twilight stepped forward. “Fluttershy, I was called to Canterlot this morning to help solve a mystery. Someone cast a spell on Celestia to make her forget almost everything!”
Fluttershy gasped. Her gaze moved to the white alicorn watching from behind Twilight. It was true, Celestia hadn’t said anything except to ask what Discord was. “Oh no! Who would do that to the Princess?”
Now that she had to break the bad news to Fluttershy, Twilight was hesitant, but she didn’t have a choice. “Well, I was able to trace the spell, and it looks like it was Discord.”
Fluttershy’s eyes grew round. “No.” She quietly turned to face Discord. “Is … is it true?”
Discord swallowed. His mouth felt so dry that it might as well have been a desert. In fact, a little sand might have fallen from his lips, but he managed to say what he needed to. “Of course not, Fluttershy. Yesterday, I almost lost your friendship because I was foolish enough to listen to Tirek. Please, believe me when I say, I’ll never make a mistake like that again.” She had doubted him for a second, but Fluttershy could tell he was being honest. She wrapped him in a hug, which he gladly returned.
Twilight frowned. Discord had learned his lesson. He had even given her the Rainbow Key of Magic to prove it. Everything she had learned about friendship told her to give Discord a chance, but at the same time she knew that it was Discord’s magic that had been used on Celestia. Probably.
Luna seemed to have come to the same conclusion. She glanced at Twilight. “So, we have found the culprit, yet the culprit seems to be innocent. What are we to do now?”
Spike grumbled. “You know he’s probably just faking it, right?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Well, if he’s faking, he’s doing a really good job. I mean, how’d we get that big castle if he didn’t really learn the value of friendship?” She waved a hoof at the giant crystal tree palace visible in the distance.
Though the proceedings had served only to confuse her beyond belief, Celestia set aside her bewilderment. She had decided to trust these friends of Luna’s, so she joined their conversation in order to help out. “If that beast isn’t at fault, then perhaps we’ve misinterpreted the clue you found. Is there a way we could confirm one of our leads?”
Twilight bit her lip. “I guess I could take a look at it again, but if Discord really is guilty, he’ll run away when we leave. I’m not sure we should let him do that.”
Luna gritted her teeth in determination. “Then we shall have to bind him such that he cannot escape.”
She knew that was only logical, but Twilight still lifted a hoof apprehensively. “Does he really deserve that?”
“It doesn’t have to be cruel.” Celestia suggested. “It appears that he desires nothing more than to be in Fluttershy’s good graces. If we trust her, perhaps we can just make her responsible for Discord, by making her Discord’s warden.”
Twilight quirked an eyebrow, thinking. “Huh. You know, this isn’t the first time we’ve done something like that …”
She stared at Celestia, not saying anything. Luna and Spike did as well. Just as she was starting to wonder if her idea was horrible somehow, they turned to look at each other.
“Creepy,” Spike said. “Do you think this is what she thought the first time?” It had seemed foolish back then, but it had worked so well that it still sounded like a good idea. Was Celestia just that smart?
“It is very possible,” Luna also looked disturbed. “It seems that only Celestia understands how Celestia thinks.” It was obvious now, but Celestia had somehow predicted this before anypony else. Apparently, she still possessed that ability even after she had forgotten everything about Fluttershy and Discord.
“Well, she was right before. I guess we’ll try it.” Twilight turned back to Discord and Fluttershy, who were waiting for them to finish.
Celestia sidled up next to Luna and whispered, “What did I do?”
“The same thing you did before.” Luna replied quietly. “Let us say this is not the first time you’ve met either of them, nor the first time you entrusted Discord to Fluttershy’s care.”
Twilight spoke. “Discord, I want to believe you, but I still don’t know who wiped Celestia’s memory. I, uh,” she hesitated. Oh, if only there was an easy way to do this! “I want to be completely sure that I can find you if I need to.”
“You don’t trust me.” Discord said glumly.
Fluttershy reached a hoof up and touched his paw to reassure him. “Discord wouldn’t go back on his word now. Hasn’t he proven that?”
Twilight sucked in a breath. “He has, but … this is an opportunity for him to prove it again. I would like to cast a spell that would keep him from leaving you.”
Discord shivered. “You want to put me on a leash? Me, the master of chaos? ”
It wasn’t very comforting to be reminded that she was dealing with ‘the master of chaos,’ but it wasn’t anything he had ever stopped being. Twilight nodded. “Only for a short time, while we figure out how to get Celestia’s memory back.”
“And what if I refuse?”
“Then – I guess,” Twilight looked back at Luna, Celestia, and Spike, but they were waiting to hear what she said. Worry was evident on Fluttershy’s face. “I guess you refuse.” She really hoped he didn’t.
Discord watched her, an unreadable expression on his face, before he took a deep breath and nodded. Twilight cast the spell, her magic linking Discord to Fluttershy.
“I’m sorry. I’ll release the spell after Celestia’s back to normal again.” Twilight said. She turned away, unable to face him any longer.
Fluttershy hugged him. “It’s not so bad, Discord. We were together for the tea party, anyway.”
“I know.” He smiled wanly. “Thank you, Fluttershy.” As the princesses flew away, Discord and Fluttershy returned to their tea party, together.
Twilight sighed, staring at the Discord-like magical signature. It had faded even more since she had looked at it earlier. Nothing could ever be easy, could it? She set to work trying to identify the part of the aura she didn’t recognize.
Behind her, Spike and the royal pony sisters watched. With nothing else to do, Celestia turned to Luna. “So, sister,” she began. “You’re acting much more … open than I remember. What’s happened to change you?”
Luna had been content to simply watch Twilight work and offer any help she could. Talking about ancient history was not high on her list of things to do, which actually put ‘going to sleep’ much higher than that. Now that she had been asked directly, though, she couldn’t really avoid explaining herself, not that she wouldn’t try. Spike looked at her nervously. She replied with exaggerated nonchalance, “It’s a long story, but rest assured, I have learned my lesson about keeping my feelings to myself.”
Celestia wasn’t satisfied. “So, what did your feelings say, back then?”
“Well, you must understand, it’s all in the past, now. It’s nothing to worry about anymore.” Luna continued to evade the question.
Luna’s tactics were having the opposite of the desired effect. Celestia only grew more determined to know the answer. “Then, surely it couldn’t hurt to tell me?”
“It would only upset you.”
“Why would it? I only want to help you, Luna.”
“And, you did. I am perfectly fine now.”
“But I don’t know what happened! You’re hiding it from me. I fear it was something terrible.”
Sometimes, Celestia was a worrywart, but she was right this time. Reluctantly, Luna admitted, “You’re not wrong … you don’t remember all the things we fought against, all the times we stood side by side against the darkness, two mares defending Equestria …”
Celestia considered what she did remember. “I know we negotiated with the griffons, and retrieved the Crystal Heart from a dragon, before, ah, Tirek …”
“That was only the beginning. There was more, much, much more.”
Celestia imagined what they must have gone through. It was sad to think that such dangers had threatened Equestria, but they used to think of themselves as guardians rather than rulers. “Then, I am glad I had such a stalwart sister to rely upon. There is nopony else I would rather have stand by me.” She gave Luna a grateful smile.
Luna’s heart sank. Even back then, Celestia had loved her so, and she had repaid it so poorly.
Her sister misinterpreted her melancholy. “What? Do you not feel the same way?”
Luna spurred herself to correct her. “Sister, I reveled in our camaraderie. What I could not stand was how the ponies treated us afterwards. They saw you, and praised you, the older one, the wiser one, who ruled with such a gentle touch and asked nothing in return. They ignored me. They didn’t know what I did. They didn’t know who I was. To them, I was just your little sister, to be overlooked and scorned.”
Celestia gasped. “No, they wouldn’t … they did.” She rushed forward to comfort Luna. “Oh, sister, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I didn’t see it!”
Her little sister backed away, refusing the contact. Celestia felt even worse before Luna said, “No, you have nothing to be sorry about. It is I who must apologize.”
“What? That doesn’t –“
Luna interrupted her. She had begun to explain, and now she needed to finish. “For a time, I did nothing, stewing in my own resentment. But finally, when we returned to the Crystal Empire, we failed to save it. You were distraught, but the ponies, they only comforted you. They … they blamed me. ‘Celestia would never have failed if she didn’t have her sister there,’ they said.”
“How …”
“That was what did it. I snapped. The darkness we had always fought against came to me, and I used it. I was going to show them all. I was going to make them see who I was. I was going to take your place.” As she recounted her thoughts, she once again felt the old regret at her folly, made in such tearful fury.
“… what happened?”
“I took the darkness into myself and became Nightmare Moon. The night would last forever.”
Celestia shakily took in a breath, hearing that she had let it go so far that Luna had turned against her. “And that was when I finally saw what was wrong? How could I have been so blind to my own sister?”
“I … didn’t tell you anything. You were happy. It seemed like you were one of them.”
Even if it hadn’t been told to her, Celestia thought she must have noticed something, but apparently she hadn’t. All she could do now was find out how she had made amends for her failure. “What did I do?”
“You did what you had to. You stopped me, all by yourself. I was banished to the moon for a thousand years.”
That wasn’t a solution at all. “Why? Why, that wouldn’t make anything right! Ponies needed to see you, not be rid of you!”
“I gave you no choice, sister. It is in the past now. You made good use of a thousand years without me. When I finally returned to be saved from myself, I found a world where I fit in, a world that you made.” Luna stopped to remember how she had discovered everything that had changed. “I am the guardian of ponies’ dreams, now. Astronomers study the stars by night. There is even a holiday dedicated to me! Nightmare Night, Celie! The foals love it!” Oh, it was such a joy to see the excitement on their faces.
Celestia looked at her doubtfully. Surely a thousand years of banishment could not be made up for by a holiday for foals. “And, you are certain you have what you need?”
Luna recognized the worry in her sister’s voice and responded reassuringly. “Of course, sister. I could not ask for more.”
Celestia fell forward for a hug, which Luna allowed this time. “Oh Luna! Luna, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that!”
Luna smirked over her shoulder. “You did also. I daresay you suffered at least as much as I did, though you did have the benefit of good company -”
As if to prove her words, a majestic raptor on blazing wings swooped through the open door to the balcony. She alighted on the floor in front of them and crooned a greeting.
They backed out of their hug in order to see her. Celestia lifted a hoof uncertainly, but after a quick glance at Luna, she lowered it and her head to get a closer look at the bird. “Is this a phoenix?” she asked. Celestia had more self-control than most ponies, so her wings stayed comfortably at her sides, but Luna could see the growing excitement in her wide eyes. The younger alicorn smirked while Philomena fluffed her feathers, showing off for Celestia.
Luna didn’t particularly like Celestia’s pet. Early this morning, for example, the thing had decided to come and pester her until dawn. She answered, “Indeed it is. I suppose you might not remember her, even if the rascal has been with you longer than most.” Celestia shook her head, sad to hear that she had forgotten such a dependable companion.
Now Luna had to introduce the little monster to her sister, but at least she had a chance to say how unscrupulous the bird was without it being dismissed. “This is Philomena. Her egg was a gift to you from a dragon.” She nodded to Spike, who suddenly looked very interested. “It was a peace offering, after we confronted him over how he was terrorizing ponies. You were quite taken with her. In fact, I daresay you rather spoiled her, because she is an ill-behaved brat –“
Philomena squawked somewhat indignantly and took to the air with a fiery flourish to dive-bomb Luna’s head. The younger princess ducked and Philomena ended up soaring around to land on Celestia’s back. The bird warbled something that sounded remarkably like a raspberry.
Luna stood up, scowling. “You see? A menace, that’s what she is.”
Celestia giggled, partly at the feeling of bird feet on her coat, but mostly at the behavior of her sister and what was apparently her pet. Luna needed recognition, but Celestia knew she also needed a bit of conflict and drama. She could see hints of a mutual, if not quite friendly, rivalry, and – assuming Luna was not harboring any deeper feelings of resentment - she knew just who to side with. “Now, Luna, I’m sure Philomena here means no harm. I think you two could get along just fine if you tried.” The bird nodded smugly.
Luna huffed irritably. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who almost got set on fire.” Celestia was, of course, fireproof, though it occurred to Luna that she might not remember that.
There was the sound of a frustrated groan. They all looked at Twilight, who seemed to have given up with the magic signature. “It’s too faint to see now. I can’t work with it anymore.” She turned towards them. “It’s not exactly like Discord’s magic, but I couldn’t get anything helpful from it. There has to be another -” She tilted her head, noticing the phoenix on Celestia’s back. “When did Philomena get here?”
“She flew in while you were working, Twilight.” Spike answered. “Did you know Celestia got her from a dragon? It’s kinda like how I got Pee Wee!”
“Interesting.” Twilight glanced at him. She was trying to be considerate, but it was clear she was distracted. Looking around the room, she spotted the ornate perch stand by the fireplace, like a fancier version of the stand she used to have for Owlowiscious back in the library. “Does Philomena usually sleep here at night?”
The others were silent for a moment, uncertain why Twilight would ask that. Luna responded. “I believe so. There isn’t an aviary set aside for her, if that’s what you mean.”
Twilight clapped her hooves in excitement. “Perfect. That’s just what I needed.” With unnerving speed, she cantered to Celestia’s side to look up at Philomena. Celestia backed away slightly as the phoenix looked down at the little princess.
“And, what exactly did you need?” Celestia asked.
“Oh, if Philomena was here overnight, that means she was here when the spell was cast on you. She might have seen it happen!” At this, Philomena nodded, causing Twilight to glow with joy and pride at being right. “Now, she can’t tell us who did it, but we can still find out. During my studies, I discovered that pets are really just friends who are animals instead of other people. That means that my memory spell should work on Philomena just fine.”
Celestia gasped. This was it. They were about to find out why she had lost her memories, so she could get them back. She couldn’t wait to understand this strange new world. “Then let us proceed without delay.”
Once again they arranged themselves for the spell, this time with Twilight facing Philomena and Celestia standing by her side. They wove their magic together, then Twilight touched her horn to Philomena’s head -
There was a pulse of powerful magic. Philomena cawed a sleepy protest, but she was awake now. Curiosity woke her up the rest of the way.
Celestia was shifting in her bed. The princess was awake, too. She looked for the intruder, surreptitiously preparing a defensive spell as she lit her horn. “Hello? Who’s there?” Across the room, a hat-wearing and bearded figure stood up. There was an unmistakable and incongruous jingle of bells. Celestia let her spell fade away and squinted disbelievingly. “Star Swirl? Is that you?”
There, in the flesh, was an old grey coated unicorn stallion: her beloved friend. He smiled fondly. “You look as beautiful as ever, Celestia.”
Despite the bizarreness of the situation, she found herself happy as well. “Some would say entering a princess’s room in the middle of the night and ogling her would be inappropriate.” She sat up, glad to see him anyway.
Star Swirl tilted his head up, taking her response stoically. “And what do you say?”
Celestia threw her arms wide. “Where have you been? You disappeared without a word! It’s been over a thousand years, why didn’t you come and visit?”
Star Swirl rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. “Well, it’s been a significantly shorter time for me, you see.”
She put a hoof to her chin, quickly intrigued by what she remembered about Star Swirl’s old spells. “Ah, so you just sped up your perception of time, instead of using an age spell to rejuvenate yourself?”
“Not quite.” He walked to her bedside. “I’m not here on just a visit, Celestia. I travelled here in multiple steps from the past to ask you something.”
Celestia readjusted her thinking. Star Swirl had not been hiding from her for centuries, but rather he had travelled into his future to see her now. It was a rather more impressive feat, actually. “This must be an important question, then.”
Star Swirl nodded seriously. “I know that Tirek broke free and was defeated, again. That’s why I chose to come to you now.” Celestia nodded, thinking how neatly Twilight had done it. “How did you beat him?”
Celestia paused. The question didn’t surprise her, but she was uncertain how to answer. She started with what he must already have known. “Surely you must have seen how he was defeated the first time.”
“I saw that Tirek was imprisoned, before Discord took over.”
“It wasn’t us that defeated Tirek. He was stealing ponies’ magic, then he was imprisoned in Tartarus and Discord’s rule began. It might have been Discord’s appearance that created Tartarus and trapped Tirek within it.” Celestia reasoned. That was why she had Discord reformed, in case she needed his power.
Star Swirl raised an eyebrow. “So, you think ponies had nothing to do with it. One evil defeated another.” Celestia nodded in confirmation. Star Swirl fell silent, digesting this information. “In my time, Discord hasn’t appeared yet, nor is there any sign of him.” He gestured in a general motion, towards Equestria. “I don’t see Discord here now. How did you defeat Tirek this time?”
At this, Celestia frowned. She wasn’t the experienced time traveler that Star Swirl was, but she knew enough to be wary. The past couldn’t be changed. “I know you’ve already seen the future, but isn’t it dangerous to send knowledge back into the past?”
Star Swirl grimaced, annoyed. “It is, but is it more dangerous than losing the magic of every last pony in Equestria?”
She knew Tirek wouldn’t win, but her words tasted bitter in her mouth. “Don’t worry. Discord will defeat him.” Discord had been an enemy both times they fought Tirek.
Star Swirl shook his head. “He might not show up until the very end. That’s a risk for too many ponies, it isn’t worth taking. Scorpan’s warning gave us time, but all the magic we’ve tried has only made Tirek stronger.” He leaned closer. “Celestia, I haven’t met myself in any of my trips to the future. When he comes for me, I don’t think Tirek is going to just take my magic, I think – I think he’s going to kill me. I need to know, how did you defeat him this time?”
Celestia’s insides curdled. So that was why they’d never seen Star Swirl again. She twisted her hooves in her silk sheets.
Star Swirl placed a hoof on her shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be this way. You’ve defeated Tirek, you know how to do it.” Magical lightning bolts ran up and down Star Swirl’s body for a moment. “I don’t have much time. Please, just tell me how.”
Celestia opened her mouth and quietly said, “It was my student. She and her friends sent him back to Tartarus.”
“So you taught your student powerful magic?”
“No, true magic can’t be taught, it must be learned. Star Swirl, it was her friends. They used a harmonic focus to harness the power of their friendship.” There was no way this was going to change anything, Celestia thought. It was a hopeless endeavor, but she hoped anyway.
“What do you mean? Was it a spell that required multiple casters? Innate magic of some kind?”
“Not quite – it was the same magic she used to complete your spell. I gave her your book, and she was able to cast the destiny spell.”
Star Swirl knew what she had said, but he couldn’t believe it. He had a lot of spells, but there was only one that didn’t work right. “The destiny spell? No, that can’t be it. It can’t be completed. What was it, really?” Sparks flew from his body, and this time they didn’t stop. He was returning to the past, like it or not.
Celestia watched him sadly, even as she remembered her joy at finding Twilight on the astral plane. “’From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.’”
Star Swirl closed his eyes in disappointment. “Celestia, that doesn’t even make sense.” His entire body was glowing with the force of the time spell. He needed to know, but he only had time for one last terrible thing. He sighed. “I am sorry.”
He conjured a bouquet of colorful flowers, setting them on the nightstand. If he had no choice, he would at least show her a little kindness before he did what he had to.
She watched him place the flowers, knowing that she didn’t deserve them. In the end, she couldn’t save him. “Sorry for what?”
Star Swirl lit his horn. “For this.” And he unleashed his newest, most powerful magic upon his dear friend.
Pure chaos blasted Celestia. Her mere solar magic didn’t stand a chance: she was unconscious before she hit her pillow.
Philomena screeched in alarm. She flew off her perch and dove at the stallion, claws outstretched, but he summoned a magic barrier to protect himself. The phoenix shrieked and flapped desperately, blowing flames at the shield, but she was helpless to reach him.
Celestia had the information that he needed, so he simply reached into her mind and took all of her memories after Tirek had first appeared. The mind was not a thing to be ransacked, but he didn’t have time to do anything neater.
As he returned to the past, he said words that Celestia would never hear. “I’ll keep your memories safe for you, if it’s the last thing I do.”
With the stallion and his shield gone, Philomena landed by Celestia’s head and unmoving mane. She gently tapped the alicorn with her beak, to no effect. She could tell that Celestia was still alive by the way she was breathing, but didn’t know whether Celestia was hurt somehow or if she was just asleep.
No, these were matters of pony magic, and Celestia needed a pony to help her. Philomena knew who Celestia would turn to first, even if the phoenix didn’t like the cold blue one. She spread her wings and went to find Luna.
Twilight blinked. Slowly, she lifted her head away from Philomena, who watched her dolefully. She turned to look at Celestia.
The white alicorn was devastated. Her wings sagged, her jaw was slack, and she stared at nothing. She had missed Star Swirl and the others, while she had thought that some strange villain had taken her memories. Instead, Star Swirl, her best wizard, her most trusted advisor, and her friend, was to blame all along.
Twilight stepped towards her. “Celestia?” she asked timidly.
“I … I,” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. No, whatever she felt wasn’t important. She could come to terms with it on her own, later, after she had taken care of everything else. Her voice was shaky as she said, “Tirek … was defeated, but Star Swirl disappeared. Did … did he make it?”
Twilight furrowed her brow in disbelief and anger on Celestia’s behalf. “You’re worried about Star Swirl? Celestia, what about yourself? How can you be worried about him after what he did to you?”
Luna, who had by now noticed something wrong, asked, “Star Swirl? What does he have to do with this?”
Twilight stomped a hoof furiously. “He’s the one who took Celestia’s memories! He time travelled here and knocked her out so that he could steal them!” How could she have ever admired him?
Celestia turned her head sharply. “No! He had a reason! He was going to die!” At that, she again lost her resolve, knowing neither she nor Luna had ever seen him again. “He died anyway. I couldn’t save him.”
Twilight couldn’t respond. If there was a good enough reason for anything, life and death had to be close to it. Luna asked somberly, “You know this for certain, sister? He told you he would die?”
“He was looking for a way to defeat Tirek. I said Discord would do it, but Star Swirl was desperate to stop him before Discord took over.” Celestia paused, reluctant to give voice to the most convincing evidence of all. “He couldn’t find himself in the future, after Tirek’s defeat.”
Luna took the news quietly, because she didn’t know what to say. If anypony else had wronged her sister so, Luna would have burned with righteous anger, but it was Star Swirl. He had been the one to crown her and Celestia princesses, and he had been there for them throughout their rule, even if she hadn’t been as close friends with him as Celestia had been. Even if he was at fault, she was sad to hear he was gone forever.
Twilight frowned. They were both ignoring the fact that Celestia didn’t even properly remember any of this because of what Star Swirl had done.
Right. They still needed to get her memories back. “Well, he said he would keep your memories safe, if we can trust him. Where would he have put them?”
The sisters glanced at each other, remembering Star Swirl’s habits. Luna answered, “His library, most likely. I’m sure Celestia has perused that most thoroughly over the years. If it is there, we may not be able to find it easily.”
“Maybe he left a clue behind.” Twilight looked around and quickly spotted something. “Wait a minute, these flowers – is there anything special about these flowers?”
It was Spike who answered. “What do those have to do with anything? Aren’t those the flowers Discord gave Celestia yesterday?”
Twilight sighed in exasperation. “No, they’re not. Star Swirl left them here right before he blasted Celestia with … chaos magic …”
The oddity of the coincidence was striking. What were the chances that both the wizard and the spirit of chaos could be so similar, unless they were somehow connected? How could they be connected, when one hadn’t appeared until after the other had died? That just didn’t seem possible, but there was a certain spirit of chaos who specialized in doing the impossible …
Still defending Star Swirl, Celestia said, “He wouldn’t have done it if he thought he had a choice. I – I cannot hold that against him. Please, we should just find out where he hid my memories.”
Twilight disagreed, feeling a little odd to correct her one-time mentor, but knowing she was right. “There’s always a choice, Celestia.”
Luna stepped forward. “It seems we owe Discord another visit. Let us return to Ponyville.”
Angel Bunny hopped after the lord of chaos, fuming. He kicked the draconequus’s tail to get his attention and pointed at the door. His meaning was clear: get out!
Discord looked at the pest. “Oh dear. Fluttershy, I see you still have a rodent problem …” Angel responded by kicking him again, this time in the leg.
Fluttershy didn’t want to call Angel a problem, but he was being a little difficult. “Angel’s not a rodent, he’s a bunny rabbit. Rodents have fewer teeth and, uh, they’re less picky about what they eat.” Feeling bad about calling him picky, she swept up Angel in her hooves and gave him a nuzzle, which he grudgingly tolerated.
Discord crossed his arms, watching them. “Oh? And what’s wrong with having fewer teeth?” It’s not like he had only one tooth. He had way more teeth than Angel did.
She turned to face him and Angel hopped out of her hooves. “There’s nothing wrong with it, that’s just why Angel is different from a rodent. Mr. Mousey here is a rodent, and he gets along with fewer teeth just fine.” Next to her was a small family of mice who had come out to see the draconequus. She gently patted one of them on the head.
He looked down at them all, Fluttershy and her rodent friends. What did she see in them? They were just rats. If she was friends with rats, she’d probably try to make friends with just about anything. What kind of pony made friends with rats?
Fluttershy. She was one of a kind, and she was friends with him. Nothing could be more precious.
There was a knock at the door. Fluttershy went to open it, revealing that the princesses were back. They didn’t look happy. Actually, Spike almost looked scared.
“Hi Fluttershy, is Discord here?” Twilight asked. She spotted him in the living room. “Of course he’s here, he can’t leave. Great.”
“Oh, uh, Twilight, what do you need Discord for? He didn’t do anything wrong, did he?” Fluttershy was still standing in the doorway, stopping three alicorns from entering her cottage with a rigid grin on her face. Her eyes pleaded for Twilight to agree.
Twilight sighed. “Relax, Fluttershy. We know who took Celestia’s memories.”
Fluttershy didn’t move. “Oh, then, not that you’re not welcome, but why aren’t you trying to catch that pony? Celestia needs those back, you know.”
“We, uh, don’t know where he went.” Twilight hesitated. That was an understatement. Star Swirl had been gone for longer than Luna was banished. “We need Discord’s help to find him.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy visibly loosened up. “Ok, then,” She finally stepped aside, letting them in. Luna and Celestia had to duck slightly to keep their horns from scraping the top of the doorway.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Discord stood up tall and cupped a paw to his ear. “Did I hear that right? You need my help to catch the pony at fault?” He pulled his ear off his head and looked at it to make sure it was working right.
Twilight answered flatly, unimpressed by his antics. “Yes, Discord. We’re here to ask you for a favor, not to punish you.”
He shoved his ear back on. “Humph. How many alicorns does it take to do a draconequus’s job? Perhaps you should have thought about this before you tied me down.”
“Discord, I already said I’m sorry for casting the spell on you.”
“But cast the spell you did anyway.” Discord hung his head, letting the argument pass. He had let Twilight do it, so he wouldn’t refuse to help her now. “What do you need?”
He was being remarkably cooperative, for Discord at least. Well, this was it: time to find out what happened to the famous wizard. Twilight probed, “What do you know about Star Swirl the Bearded?”
Discord raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting the question. “Star Swirl? What an odd name. Did he feel like he needed everyone to know how much of a beard he had? Rather egocentric, if you ask me.” He stroked his goatee thoughtfully.
Twilight gave him a look. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were like this sometimes – a lot of the time - all the time. It figured that Discord was a friend now, because he acted the same way. She said, “Yeah, I don’t know anyone like that. No self-proclaimed masters of chaos, anyway.”
“Now Twilight, you hurt me. It’s not bragging if it’s true.” Discord’s head was lit by a glowing halo, which he plucked up and tossed in his mouth.
“Whatever. Do you know anything about him?”
“Nothing. Why would I associate with an old curmudgeon like that? I’m new age, hip and cool. You should ask your princess friends, they’re old and crotchety like Star Swirl, no offense.” Discord said the last part to the sisters as an afterthought. Luna looked furious, but she restrained herself. Celestia was surprised and saddened.
“He was their friend, but they don’t know what happened to him. He disappeared right before you showed up and took over.”
Discord stood completely still for a moment, before responding quietly, “What a coincidence.” His jovial mood was completely gone as he said seriously, “I didn’t … do anything to him, if that’s what you’re asking. I’ve never met anypony like that.”
Twilight fought off her disappointment. Their only remaining lead was starting to look hopeless, but she continued anyway. “Alright. Where did you come from, then?”
“You’re asking where all chaos came from?” Discord’s grin slowly returned. “Chaos doesn’t have a beginning, Twilight! The best part about me is that I’m eternal! No matter how far back my memories go, there’s always more!”
Twilight parsed his nonsensical claims into something she could understand. “You mean you don’t remember.”
He recoiled at the mundane rephrasing. “What – no, that’s not what I said at all. I said I don’t have a begin – yes, yes, fine, I don’t remember.” He rolled his eyes. Mortals and their limited understanding. He could totally remember where he came from, if he tried hard enough. He just never had.
“Well, what if I helped you remember?” Twilight walked forward to take his claw with a hoof.
He looked at her, confused. “I thought you were looking for Celestia’s memories? What did Star Swirl the Bearded have to do with that, anyway?”
“Well, maybe your memories start about the same time Celestia’s stop. If we help you remember, it might give us a clue to help her,” she explained.
Discord was intrigued, but her explanation made too much sense. He couldn’t abide by making sense, so he said, with an exaggerated bow, “Anything for the princess. Just don’t complain to me when you see things ponies were not meant to know.”
For the third time that day, Twilight readied herself for the spell. Celestia walked over to stand next to her, then Twilight flew up to touch her horn to Discord’s head -
-the tribes were newly united, but friendship wasn’t so easy. Earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus all had deep-seated prejudices against each other, causing distrust and unrest. He heard of two sisters, alicorns, a part of every tribe, yet none of them, at the same time – perhaps they were the key-
-they had no cutie marks. They were too young. They were powerful and knowledgeable, but inexperienced. Yet they were brave and caring, and had no preconceptions against anypony. Yes, they could be great leaders, if he was there to guide them-
-he lowered the crowns over their heads. They smiled up at him and turned to address the crowds. This would mark the end of the tribal era, and the beginning of the time of the two sisters-
-they surpassed all his expectations. They chose a place of great magical power for their fortress, they made contact with the hitherto unknown zebra tribe, they calmed the growing conflict with the griffon aggressors. Even the distant, aloof Crystal Empire joined them beneath the banner of Equestria, with their sovereignty intact. He was so proud-
-he was proud to show them that his work on time spells was paying off. He learned things about the distant future that saddened him, but he knew everything would turn out alright. What was more important was the Rituals of Day and Night. He was running out of able unicorns to help him, how much longer could he last?-
-of course that was what their future marks meant. Alicorn magic was so powerful, they would never have had such trouble with the Rituals. Now with their cutie marks, they had far surpassed him. He could only watch them rule and hope that one day he might be their equal, though how could he, when he was only mortal?-
-there were reports of two villains stealing ponies’ magic. One became a friend, but the other was implacable. Nothing the sisters tried could stop him, so Star Swirl was forced to find a different way. The future had offered him knowledge before, he would be a fool not to look there for the answer-
-With a flash of light, Star Swirl reappeared in his library. He heaved a sigh. What he had already done, he would never be able to change.
No matter. If he succeeded, his actions would allow Celestia to have a future and memories to lose at all. He walked to his desk to examine his stolen knowledge.
Several hours later, he stared at his writing hopelessly. Celestia had told him the truth, and he couldn’t understand it. He knew the Tree of Harmony had provided some kind of chest that had been involved in defeating Tirek, but Celestia’s memories didn’t provide anything more detailed than that.
In the end, his only real option was to examine the finished version of his own spell. Celestia had not mentioned that the spell was also the reason her student had become an alicorn, but he knew that now. There was no doubt that his spell could work. He just didn’t know how.
“Magic without end,” that was the power that he needed in order to defeat Tirek, but the rest of it was practically gibberish. He had studied magic all his life and nothing he had ever seen suggested that such a spell could be cast. Celestia’s student was nowhere near his age, yet she had figured it out in a day. There was something he was missing.
If he was going to achieve any results, he couldn’t use Twilight Sparkle’s spell in its entirety. At most, it could influence the work he had already done. He started on a new page – the last page in the book. It was fitting, he thought morosely. This was his last chance.
He wished he could change things. That had been the original intent of his spell. As far as he knew, he was the only one who had ever come close to breaking free of fate, but now that he knew about a working version of his spell, he saw that he might have been trying to do the wrong thing. Perhaps power was not a result of a destiny defied, but a result of a destiny fully embraced. He set to work.
From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled.
It didn’t rhyme, but he had reason to believe it would get results. He lifted his quill away, satisfied, only to hear a crash at his door.
No, it couldn’t be. He hadn’t tested his spell yet! It wasn’t fair! Slowly, he looked up from his book, dreading what he would see. There, a shadowy figure slowly stood up to an imposing height, topped by two great curved horns …
“Tirek.” Star Swirl said, naming his enemy.
The beast smiled. “Writing for help? Or perhaps, creating more magic? You are not as wise as they say, are you? There is no magic that does not belong to me.”
“We shall see.” He glanced down and defiantly read his incantation aloud. Instantly, power, incredible power, flowed into him, only him. This was it! It had worked! All the failures, all those messes and shames, had been worth it in the end. With this, he could send Tirek away –
There was something he didn’t expect. It felt like the chaotic results of his failed magic, useful, but not intended. It was stronger than before, too strong to control. He was losing it, it was turning against him. Tirek was drawing nearer. No! He couldn’t go yet, he couldn’t leave them alone, he had promises to keep! With a titanic effort, he fought to take his magic back. One of his eyes opened wider than the other –
Then they both changed, from a normal pony white with amber pupils, to sickly yellow and red. He lifted a hoof, but it stretched and cracked to become a claw. Chaos magic whipped around the room, scattering parchment, causing havoc, opening portals – there was the sound of clanking chains, snarling dogs, voices screaming - mismatched wings burst from his back, his body lengthened and coiled, his horn split in two and knocked his hat off -
Twilight hovered in the air in front of Discord. He looked back at her thoughtfully.
“So, Star Swirl the Bearded tried the same little spell that made you an alicorn? Why isn’t he a princess then?” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “Wait, weren’t you trying to help me remember where I came from?”
Twilight stared at him. “You don’t remember?”
Discord returned her stare blankly. “Remember what?”
Well, it was pretty clear to her, but somehow Discord didn’t remember his origins, how Star Swirl’s body had twisted and warped into ... she shuddered at the thought. Deciding it was time to land, she fluttered to the floor and looked toward Celestia.
The white alicorn was standing tall. She breathed in deeply and opened her eyes. As expected, Twilight was by her side and Luna was watching with concern.
Everything was right with the world.
Celestia looked up at Discord, knowing that Star Swirl had kept his word. Even though he was gone, he had kept her memories safe for over a thousand years, so that Celestia could get them back from where he had left them, when the time came. “Thank you, Star Swirl,” she murmured to herself.
Her eyes were still looking at Discord, though, and he raised an eyebrow. “Ah, you’re welcome? My name isn’t Star Swirl. I’m Discord, master of chaos, nice to meet you.”
She chuckled. “I remember, we’ve met. You took the throne from Luna and me, some thousand years ago?”
Discord’s face brightened in exaggerated delight. “Ah, you do remember! I’m quite sorry about that, now anyway, certainly not at the time.” He bowed deep and summoned a bouquet of flowers to offer to her. “Welcome back, Princess.”
“Thank you, and I know. I’ve already forgiven you for that.” Taking the flowers in her magic, she smiled, before turning to her former student. “I believe I owe some thanks to you as well, Twilight. You’ve saved me two times in as many days. You’re a better friend than I know how to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Celestia. I’m just glad you’re back.” She leaned her head forward, letting Celestia hug her like they had when she was just a filly. Luna cantered forward to join them.
Fluttershy tilted her head, unaware of what the spell had accomplished. “So … Celestia is alright now? What happened?” she asked timidly.
Celestia answered, “Yes, I’m fine, Fluttershy. It seems Discord here was holding onto my memories without knowing it, and I have them back now, thanks to Twilight’s spell.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Fluttershy said. Her wings spread in happiness, before something occurred to her. “But, uh, how did he get them?” Her wings slowly drooped as she realized what it must have meant.
Discord swallowed, coming to the same conclusion, but he agreed with her. “That is a good question, Fluttershy.” He rounded on Twilight. “How did you know I had them? I didn’t even know I had them. I must be doing something wrong if ponies can understand me better than I can.”
Celestia kept a straight face as she looked down at the flowers and took a sniff. Hm, daisies.
Twilight, unaware of the older alicorn’s thoughts, responded, “Well, you don’t need to worry about that. You still don’t make any sense.” She watched as Discord wiped an arm across his brow in relief, then continued as if nothing had happened. “It was Star Swirl. He took Celestia’s memories while he was trying to stop Tirek.”
“Ah, trouble in princessdom. Don’t worry dear, it happens, I’m sure he was very sorry.” Discord patted Celestia on the shoulder comfortingly, which she allowed. He was being considerate, in his own way. “Yes, I saw that. He didn’t become an alicorn, so what happened to him?”
Twilight bit her lip. She couldn’t just blurt it out, but she didn’t know how to say it when it was so simple. Instead, Celestia replied for her. “It seems he lost his own memories in turn, when his magic – chaos magic – ran out of control.”
Discord, not seeing how this was relevant, asked, “So … what? There was an amnesiac incompetent wizard a thousand years ago? What happened?”
Celestia expected this. She replied simply, “He became the master of chaos.”
He heard and rejected this. “No, I’m –“ It hit him. “The master of chaos.” It fit what he had seen, the wings, the claw, the eyes. “No,” he said angrily.
This also fit her expectations. “No, you are not Star Swirl, it seems. He did not understand true friendship.”
Discord glared at her, still feeling like he’d been accused of secretly being someone else. He might do many questionable things, but lying about who he was wasn’t one of them. He glanced at Fluttershy, who was staring at them wide-eyed. His anger evaporated. “But I know about friendship. I – try to be a good friend, right?” Yesterday was too fresh in his mind for him to have forgiven himself quite yet.
Fluttershy flew to his side and hugged him. “Of course you do, Discord. You are a good friend.” He hugged her back thankfully.
“I’m glad you value your friends so much, Discord. It is thanks to you, and to them, that we were able to recover my memories, and learn Star Swirl’s fate.” Celestia said. A look of unease crossed Discord’s face at the name. Celestia let it pass and continued on. “I hope you continue to learn about the magic of friendship with their help.” She nodded to Fluttershy and Twilight.
Twilight jumped slightly. “Oh! Uh, I think I should start by taking off your binding.” She lit her horn and quickly undid her spell. “There. You’re, uh, free to go about being the master of chaos.”
“Thank you, Twilight, but I think I’m fine with staying right here for now.” He lay an arm across Fluttershy’s shoulders.
Satisfied with her work, Twilight turned back to Celestia. “Are you sure you’re alright? I mean, after everything, Star Swirl is gone, now, unless ...”
Celestia lowered her head to Twilight’s level, causing her to fall silent. Quietly, she said. “I think he’s happier now. There is no reason to change that, not for my sake.”
Twilight hesitated, but it wasn’t in her to doubt her old mentor. “Alright. I trust you, Celestia.” Still, part of her didn’t want to accept the loss of somepony she’d respected so much. “It’s sad though, isn’t it? He was only doing what he thought he had to.”
“Then it is only right to let him make his own choice now,” Celestia said. Her eyes softened as she explained, “I can remember him as he was, and that is enough. It will be up to him and his new friends to make more memories to share.”
“Well,” Twilight looked towards Discord and Fluttershy, now fussing over Angel. “I guess it’s good to know Discord really does care about us that much.”
Celestia smiled. “Certainly, Twilight. Friends are what make our time worth remembering.”
Celestia lit her horn and lowered her head, setting the sun below the horizon. The sky was streaked with orange, fading to purple, before Luna took hold of the moon and brought it up to begin the night. Celestia turned her eyes upward as stars slowly appeared in great swirling swathes above her. It was slightly sad, she reflected, not for the first time. No matter whether enough had been accomplished, the day was over. She knew that ponies needed to rest though, and at least they could do so under her sister’s watchful eye ...
Beside her, Luna yawned widely, squeaking at the end. Perhaps not so watchful tonight. Celestia smirked and raised a wing to lay over Luna’s back. “Is little Luna tired? I know it’s been a long day …” she asked, partly worried, partly teasing to hide her worry.
Luna shrugged her wing off, annoyed. “Stop it. I am a big pony now, I need not your tiresome ministrations.” A bell chimed mournfully in the distance, eight times. Luna sagged slightly. “I … I do not mind standing vigilant for such times, when I must. You have done the same for me, for far longer …”
That was not the way to make Celestia less worried. She watched Luna’s downcast expression. “That doesn’t mean you need to repay me, sister.”
Luna stood up straighter, looking out over Canterlot. It was clear that she would do her duty, regardless. “I know.”
Celestia watched her for a moment more, before turning her gaze out to the city as well. Luna always tried so hard. It would only be right to let her do as she wished.
They didn’t have much time, as always. Raven, her dependable scribe, had deposited a mountain of papers on Celestia’s desk that needed to be shrunk before she went to bed. That was what happened when she lost her mind and went on an adventure for a day. At least she had Kibitz to take care of everything else.
Still, she was glad it had happened. Star Swirl was one more mystery laid to rest, although …
She spoke up again, her brow creasing. “Luna, you never told me what was wrong.”
Luna turned towards her, a questioning look on her face. “What do you mean?”
Celestia explained, “When I didn’t remember the last thousand years, I asked you why you used to be so quiet. You never answered me.”
Her sister thought back, remembering what she had said. “… didn’t I? I was hoping you would get your memory back before I had to tell you, but …”
She shook her head. “No, before that. You were so withdrawn, even all the way back then. We hadn’t even found the Elements of Harmony yet. What made you like that?”
Luna understood and mentally cringed. Oh, that. “Oh. Uh … it’s nothing.”
Predictably, Celestia frowned. If there was half a reason to worry, that was a whole reason too much. “It’s not nothing, it’s important. You can talk to me about these things, I don’t want you to be upset if I can help it!”
She bit her lip. How could she make her sister stop? There was no way Luna wanted to tell her, it was too embarrassing. The only thing Luna could think of was the truth – with bits cut out. “I know that, Celie, but I have taken care of it. It is nothing of concern.”
Celestia blinked. The little Luna that needed her help had turned into a confident and independent younger princess, capable of solving her own problems. When had that happened? “… if you’re certain. I am always here for you, sister.”
There. She was safe, as long as Celestia got distracted by something else before she started worrying again. “And I am here for you. Goodnight, sister.”
“Goodnight, Luna.” With one last smile, Celestia turned and walked back inside to make decisions for the fate of Equestria.
Luna watched her go. That had been too close. It probably wouldn’t have been too bad, to let her know, but she didn’t need to find out. No, what she needed was a sister she could rely on. Luna spread her wings and took off, to go protect Equestria from the terrors in the night.
