Forerunner Laboratory…

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Shining Armor all stop, appalled at what they and everyone else just watched. A regular pony had been transformed into the Draconequus they all know as Discord. After the last detail was formed, Discord fell to all fours, still looking oblivious, like he still lacked intelligence. Maverick removes his helmet and stares at the hologram with amazement.

“This… This alien… Faber… He made Discord?” He asks Twilight for an answer, but nothing comes. The Princess of Friendship is transfixed on the hologram to even register a single word Maverick just spoke.

She also notes that Discord appears a little different in the holoprojection. For instance, his mismatched horns and wings were a lot shorter than they are now. He lacked his beard, and his eyebrows were black instead of white.

“It worked… I am actually able to create other species!” The projection of Faber exclaimed loudly. “After all these years, my work has finally exalted some real progress! But this is just a small step.”

Faber places the sphere down onto one of his tool benches and picks up the Bewitching Bell. He is heard sighing before aiming the artifact directly at Discord, who looks at it with curiosity. A loud clang is heard, and a bright yellow & black beam is fired from the Bell. It hits Discord with enough force to send him to the ground.

Twilight gasps as she watches him shake and convulse. The young Draconequus suddenly lets out a pained growl, causing Faber to pull the Bell back and then set it down. Discord curled up in a ball as he slowly began to unravel. He looks back at Faber, and his eyes widen.

Faber holds his breath as he watches Discord begin to look about the room. Then, the Draconequus looks down at his own hands. He opens his fingers and then clenches them into fists.

“Can it be…?” Faber is heard whispering, which causes Discord to look back at him. “Signs of intelligence…”

Faber slowly reaches his hand towards Discord, who shows caution and some fear. This interests Faber, as before, his behavior was like every other Equui, curious, not cautious.

“It appears that even though my experiment was a success, it seems my test subject only possesses child-like understanding,” Faber speaks as he places his index finger and thumb on his chin. “Perhaps, I could teach him to act more sophisticated if given the time.”

The projection fades, and Twilight looks back at her friends and brother. Everyone was left in awe and speechless at the sight of Discord in these holo-diaries. Well, everyone except Ember, who is the least shocked of the group. “Wait, that’s the Lord of Chaos I’ve heard so much about?”

With the silence in the Forerunner laboratory shattered, everyone turns their gaze to Ember, who notices the still shocked expression on everyone’s faces.

“Yeah, that was him, alright,” Spike answers.

“But how!?” Twilight’s shrill voice echoes off the metallic walls. “How is all of this even possible!? This has to be an illusion! Discord has never spoken about any of this before!”

“Well, he did mention the Forerunners when we first met him.” Says Rainbow Dash.

“Yes! He did…” Twilight looks down at the ground as she still finds all of this hard to accept. “But… but the Bewitching Bell. How… Our history says that Grogar created it!”

“Uh, princess—”

Shining Armor enters the conversation. “So how is it this alien had the Bell in his possession?”

“I… I don’t know. None of this makes sense.” Twilight looks to her brother as her mind begins spinning for any possible explanation.

“Hey!” Twilight, Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash, and Spike turn around to see the humans who had confused looks on their faces, including Ember, who had interrupted the ponies. “You know what would really be great right now? An explanation! Because a lot of us aren’t familiar with pony history.” She says.

“Yeah, I’m a bit lost, too.” Carlito adds as he steps forward. “What the hell is a ‘Bewitching Bell’? And what was that alien pendejo doing with it?”

“And who is this ‘Grogar’ you speak of?” Maverick joins in with the questions.

Twilight, Shining, Spike, and Rainbow exchange a look before looking at the humans and dragon lord. Having little to no knowledge of Equestrian history, as well as the history of Equis as a whole, they were in for a quick explanation.

“Uh, Grogar was an Ibex, as well as the first emperor of Equestria and the father of all monsters,” Twilight explains. “He ruled over the lands with cruelty thousands of years ago, and his magic was said to be insurmountable. His magic was too powerful, so he kept most of it in his talisman, or what most know as, The Bewitching Bell.”

Twilight watches the humans get into a more comfortable position, with Carlito sitting cross-legged on the floor, Tex leaning against the nearby wall, and Ember just sitting on the nearby table, followed by Kieran leaning on it. Maverick, however, remains on his feet. They still face Twilight, with Tex ushering her to continue.

“The Bewitching Bell is a powerful artifact able to siphon magic right out of living creatures or objects, but also able to give creatures the ability to use magic. Grogar’s rule came to an end when a mare known as ‘Gusty the Great’ defeated him and stole the Bewitching Bell.” Twilight continued to lecture. “Cut off from most of his magic, Grogar was banished to the stars, the constellations making up his prison. With Grogar defeated, the Bell was the only thing left of him. Since the Bell is said to be indestructible, Gusty herself sealed it away atop Mount Everhoof so nopony could ever use it. Her spell keeps it safe even to this very day.”

“The Bell is still there?” Maverick asks with curiosity. “How do you know? Has anyone ever seen it before?”

Before Twilight could form a response, Shining Armor stepped up to answer. “Only those brave enough to scale Mount Everhoof claim to have seen the artifact and the protective barrier keeping it sealed. But those who have seen it are few and far between, as Mount Everhoof is very dangerous. Many have died trying to climb it, some bodies even becoming unrecoverable. Even climbers sometimes use said bodies as landmarks.”

The humans and the dragon lord look at each other with interest.

“Okay, but what about that bolas de bolos brillantes? You also reacted to it when it was shown.” Carlito says.

Everyone looks at Carlito in confusion, not understanding what he said. Tex, however, knows exactly what the sharpshooter said.

“The bola de-what?” Ember asks.

“Uh, glowin’ bowlin’ ball.” Carlito translates, earning a long “Oh~” from everyone.

Twilight had to take a minute before answering. Not only was her mind still spinning about how Faber had both the Bell and the Pearl, but she also had to collect her thoughts and knowledge about the latter as well.

“That was The Pearl of Transformation, a magical artifact belonging to the hippogriffs and seaponies of Mount Aris.” Twilight answers, which only raises more questions than answers.

“Hippogriffs? Seaponies?” Tex asks, crossing his arms. “I remember a lot of races joining us, especially in boot camp, but not eagle-horse or horse-fish hybrids.”

“That’s because they’re one of the few kingdoms that declared neutrality,” Twilight responds. “Well, not true neutrality. They are helping us but decided not to actively join the fight.”

“Princess Twilight is correct, Sergeant. In fact, I recall a hippogriff attending the first alliance meeting.” Maverick adds before turning to look at Ember, who nods, remembering General Seaspray.

“The first time I ever heard about the Pearl was when my and I friends visited the hippogriff kingdoms for the first time after the Storm King attacked Canterlot.” Twilight says.

Mentioning the Storm King causes a few more eyebrows to be raised from the humans. Twilight only shook her hoof in response to their confusion. “Who he is isn’t important to the overall story. But when we found the hippogriff’s second kingdom underwater, the Queen showed us the Pearl, and she used it to turn us into seaponies so we could breathe underwater.”

“Whoa, so you not only have seen that thing for yourself but were also changed by it!?” Carlito exclaims loudly.

“And into these seaponies?” Tex asks.

“They did. I, however, got turned into a pufferfish.” Spike huffs, a bit of smoke escaping his nostrils. Both Ember and Carlito become amused by Spike’s irritation while Tex stifles a chuckle and Kieran gives a humorous smile.

“So this Pearl can turn any creature on Equis into something else?” Tex finally speaks up, looking towards Twilight. “What about humans? Could it work on us too?”

“I have no reason to doubt that it wouldn’t.” Responds Twilight. “Though, I don’t think a Human has been changed by the Pearl before.”

Both Tex and Carlito give each other a look of amazement as many thoughts begin forming in their minds. In Tex’s mind, the first thought that appeared was, ‘Mermaids and Merman can exist!’

“That would be awesome, Amigos! Imagine a squad of Mer-ODSTs!” Carlito exclaims excitedly.

“Nah, brother. Imagine a Mer-Spartan; that would be awesome.” Said Tex as both Kieran and Maverick shot him a look.

“If the transformation would even be compatible with our cybernetics, that is.” Kieran scoffs at the possibility. All Spartans have had cybernetics implanted into their systems during augmentation. Imagine how painful it would be if they were sticking out of their bodies.

Ember raises an eyebrow, not understanding what Kieran said about these cybernetics. She does not understand why the commander and his two teammates are so different from all the other humans, why they are much taller and wear more advanced armor. Come to think of it, they were also much stronger than other humans, rivaling her own.

“Well,” The dragon lord starts before crossing her arms. “If that Pearl replaced my legs and tail with a fishtail and I kept my fire breath, it wouldn’t work whenever I’m in water.”

“Well, it might replace your fire with sonic blasts, bioelectricity, or scalding hot water, but it’s better than becoming a puffer like Spike did.” Said Carlito with a chuckle, earning one from Tex as well.

Hearing this, Spike frowns and gives another huff at the sharpshooter’s jab, causing most of the team to laugh at his pouting expression. They haven’t had any reason about something since they started watching these recorded entries, especially the one with that mutated pony thing, so Spike’s pouty face was enough to relieve their stress.

Ember, who is still giggling at her friend’s reaction, turns to look at Carlito. “Yeah, better than being a pufferfish.” She says, giving him an amused smile and receiving another from the ODST.

“That’s enough, everyone,” Maverick says in a firm tone, silencing the laughter. “We have more important things to discuss than what this artifact can do.”

Maverick turns to Twilight and asks,“Is there anything else you can tell us about this Pearl?”

Twilight only shakes her head. “Unfortunately, no. My knowledge of the Pearl is limited as the hippogriffs like to keep their secrets. Heck, we thought their kind was wiped out until we discovered they all just turned themselves into seaponies and made a new kingdom underwater.”

“Reclusiveness can only keep you safe for so long. If the Covenant knew the Hippogriffs have such an artifact that is supposedly Forerunner made, they would tear this planet apart to find them.” Maverick commented, giving Twilight a slight feeling of dread.

Without saying anything, Maverick pushes on the nearby console, and the hologram lights up again. This time, it only shows the young Discord standing upright.

“Try it now. You have had all the practice in the world.” Came the voice of Faber off-camera.

“I’ll try.” Discord responds. But the way he did it was a bit startling. Usually, Discord sounds a bit crazed when he speaks to others. But here, he sounded… Unsure of himself.

“I have taught you speech and mannerisms. Now it’s time for you to demonstrate the whole reason why you were created. Show me your Neural Physics.” The voice of Faber demands. Discord looks at the ground and lets out a nervous sigh. Seeing this side of the Draconequus disturbs Twilight greatly.

Discord held up his deformed claws and closed his eyes. Seconds would pass as it appeared he was trying to focus. Eventually, his claws begin to glow, and the Draconequus grits his teeth. The glowing in his hands would flicker as a nearby tool on Faber’s workbench also began to glow with the same aura. It would slightly shake the more Discord tried to focus. However, after many minutes, Discord gives up and begins panting hard, sweat running down his face.

“How disappointing.” Came Faber’s voice, still not visible on the hologram yet. “You have so much potential, yet you can’t even perform the simplest request. You were made for the very reason to use Neural Physics.”

“I can do it. I swear. Please, just give me time.” Discord begged as he looked to the side.

“Time is the only thing I do not have!” Faber stepped into view, looking annoyed and angry. He was holding the Bell and pointing it at Discord, who was cowering in fear. “If you do not give me results, I will blast you back into a mindless animal and give the Neural Physics to another subject who will!”

Discord was covering his head with his arms and shaking. The young Draconequus was fearful of Faber, for he knew that the Forerunner was not joking when he made his threats. Discord’s behavior was even more disturbing as Twilight saw tears of fear begin to form in his eyes. This was not the overly dramatic, insane, and energetic Draconequus she knew. Discord was acting submissive, frightened, and… orderly.

“I’ll get it right… I promise…” Discord was begging for mercy like Faber had been abusing him.

The Forerunner just rolled his eyes before walking out of view again. “You better, or you will be one of my biggest failures thus far.”

Faber’s words were so harsh that they seemed to stab directly into Discord’s heart as the look of sadness was visible on his face. The Draconequus looked towards the ground as the footsteps of Faber get quieter.

“I’m…not a failure…” Discord says above a whisper as the hologram faded again.

Twilight’s face grows with concern as she watches the young Discord with a sad expression fade away.

She is barely given the time to process what just happened when another entry starts playing. It shows Faber sitting at a desk with his face in his palms, with the Orb sitting in front of him.

“Test Subject 1 has shown to be lackluster. It could be how…deformed he is. My attempts to change him have made him a conglomerate of multiple species to make any biologist shudder in fear. I believe that is why he is unable to perform any neural physics, as I believe I have made his form… a bit chaotic.”

Faber then stood up and picked up the Orb. “So I have remedied this orb while tweaking my creation. I believe that I can control the transformation process to not be quite as random. So, I must begin with a new test subject, and I have just that.”

Faber stood up from his desk and walked over to his lab, where he kept his test subjects. Standing by herself was another primitive pony with a white coat and red mane. Like others before her, she appeared to be mindless and curious about everything around her. Twilight raised an eyebrow to her. This pony looked a bit familiar as well, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it.

Faber wasted no time in holding the Pearl to her and gently rubbing it. Pink swirls came from the Pearl and embraced the pony. Slowly, she grew in size. A rather large horn began to protrude through her head, and a set of wings grew on her back. Faber quickly pulled his hand away so as not to overdo the transformation. Twilight once again was caught off guard, as the pony now resembled that of a modern-day alicorn.

Faber then wasted no time in blasting her with the Bewitching Bell, causing the same results as with Discord. The pony was knocked to the ground and shook for a few moments before looking around with a newfound curiosity. Faber looked down at the bell and gritted his teeth in anger.

“I’m running low on Neural Physics. The Precursor parts used to make this are running out of reserves. Test Subject #2 better yield results soon, or I will not hesitate to take the Neural Physics out of Test Subject #1 to refill it.”

The hologram fades again in the middle of Faber’s tirade when a new entry begins playing, this time showing both Discord and the White Alicorn standing next to each other. The two seemed to be practicing together and keeping each other company. Discord was sitting down trying to make a cup levitate, but he seemed to be having a lot of trouble. The cup was surrounded in his aura and was shaking slightly, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move it. Discord lets out a large, exhausted breath and his aura dies down.

“Hey, that was close. You were making it shake more than usual.” Says the Alicorn with an innocent, friendly smile on her face.

“Close isn’t good enough.” Discord scowls in frustration. “I need to get it right, or Mr. Faber will take away my ability to talk and think.”

“Try one more time; I know you can do it. I believe you can do it.” The Alicorn kept encouraging the young Draconequus.

Discord gives her a small side eye before letting out a large breath. He holds up his claw again and tries focusing once more. His aura surrounds the cup again, and it shakes again. Minutes go by and still Discord is unable to move it a single inch.

Discord once again dispels his aura, and he begins panting. Sweat drips from his forehead as his efforts were beginning to strain him. He looks down at both of his deformed hands and then squeezes them shut tight, balling them into fists. He narrows his eyes in frustration.

“I just can’t do it…” He mutters to himself.

“You can’t give up. I know one day you can do it.” The Alicorn approaches him and stands next to him, nudging his side with her hoof.

“It’s been almost a month, yet I still can’t move a single cup.” Discord sighs and drops his hands down to his sides. He sits down on the floor, looking defeated, and then looks to the Alicorn. “You give it another try. I’m done for now.”

“Okay. Maybe you can try again later.” The Alicorn said as she approached the cup. She sat down on her haunches and closed her eyes, seeming to focus and collect her thoughts. The Alicorn would make many attempts to move the cup, but so far, nothing worked. But she never gave up.

After each attempt, she would try and try again till finally, after about two hours, she lights her horn again with a bright red aura. The cup is surrounded by the same aura. The Alicorn keeps her eyes closed and winces slightly. The cup shakes a few times before finally rising slowly into the air. It goes up one inch, then another inch.

Discord’s eyes widen, and he gasps loudly. The sound of his loud gasp caused the alicorn to open her eyes, and in front of her face was the cup. It was eye level to her, suspended in front of her surrounded by her own aura.

“You’re doing it! You’re actually doing it!” Discord shouted loudly. In response, the alicorn couldn’t keep in her own excitement.

“I am! I’m levitating the cup! Go get Mr. Faber!” The alicorn exclaimed loudly. Discord quickly gets up and rushes out of frame, leaving the alicorn alone for a few minutes. It didn’t take long to hear Discord returning with Faber, their voices being heard off-screen.

“She is doing it, Mr. Faber! She is using her physics!” Discord said loudly.

“By the precursors…” Faber slowly walks into view, eyes widening as he looks at the alicorn holding the cup in her aura. “You… You did it. You’re using your neural physics!”

Faber grabs the cup out of her aura and stands up. He examines it close, the look of awe and wonder over his worn and tired face. The Alicorn was smiling brightly as she then looks at Discord who was also smiling and giving her a thumbs up with one of his deformed claws.

“After all this time, My work has finally yielded a success!” Faber exclaimed as he looks down at the white and red alicorn. “I have finally created a creature who can successfully harness Neural Physics!”

Faber then knelt down in front of the Alicorn which almost startled her. She has never been this close to Faber before, and now he was face to face with her.

“You, my dear, are the key to stopping the Flood. With you, I believe we now have a chance at stopping the parasite once and for all. I need to get you to the Forerunner Council at once, while also hoping to get them to return my title as Master Builder.” He then stands up. “Alright, Test Subject 2, we… Ugh. I can’t keep calling you that. Especially not in front of the Council.”

Faber placed his index finger and thumb on his chin, and he began thinking on what to call the alicorn.

“Hmmm… let’s see. Fortune?... no. How about…no… Ah! That’s it.” Faber smiles and looks at her again. “I will call you…Faust. The Fortunate One.”

“Faust?” The Alicorn says as she looks down. “You’re giving me a name?”

“Of course. Now, we must prepare you for the Forerunner Council. You are going to be—” Faber was then cut off when the Alicorn spoke up again, pointing her hoof at Discord.

“Will he get a name?” Faust asked innocently. Discord’s eyes widen slightly as Faber then looks at him. Faber narrows his eyes at him before looking down at Faust.

“Of course not. Come now, I only need you.” Faber crosses his arms.

“Then I’m not going.” Faust sat down on the floor.

“What? What do you mean.!?” Faber exclaimed loudly.

“He’s my friend. He comes with us, and he needs a name too.” Faust spoke in a stern voice to Faber who looked visibly annoyed.

“I’m not wasting my time with him. He is a failure, and his Neural Physics could be better used somewhere else.” Faber scowled at Faust.

“He comes with, or I will never use neural physics.” Faust narrows her eyes at Faber who grits his teeth in response. Finally, he lets out an annoyed sigh and pinches the skin between his eyes.

“Fine. I’m in no mood to argue. He can come with us.” Faber relented.

“Give him a name too.” Faust huffed. Faber is heard growling in annoyance in response.

“Fine!” He looks over at Discord, his chaotic, deformed looks, and his failure to use neural physics. He blurts out the first name to come into his mind. “His name will be Lance. Is that better?”

Faust nodded her head and smiled at Faber. Twilight, however, raises an eyebrow at that. Lance? What kind of name was that? Why did he call Discord that? Or better yet, why has Discord never called himself that? This appeared to be his first name. There was a lot of info here not making sense, and Twilight narrows her eyes, mentally noting Discord has a lot of explaining to do.

“Good, now we must prepare for our departure.” Faber uncrosses his arms.

As they were watching the entry, Kieran gets the strange feeling that they’re being watched. Not by the others, but by someone else behind them, someone not part of the team. He checks his motion tracker and sees only his allies; no hostiles detected. He slowly turns head around to look at the laboratory entrance, only to see nothing. No one else is in here with them, and yet, Kieran still can’t shake the feeling off.

The Spartan-III slowly turns his head back forward to the hologram, keeping an eye on his motion tracker. It was then that one of Faber’s security crew stepped into the frame, wearing his gear. Faber turned to address him. “What do you want? You know you are not allowed clearance down here unless it is important.”

“I am sorry, sir, but it is important. We recently captured a ship drifting near our sector.” The security member said, his tone suggesting he was a bit frightened.

“And? That’s of no importance to me. You know the drill, decontaminate it and sell it back.” Faber narrows his eyes back at the guard.

“But sir… it… someone alive was on board the ship.” The security guard spoke, and this earned a raised eyebrow from Faber.

“Someone alive? In this part of the galaxy? Impossible. Who is it?” Faber asked but was in no way prepared for the answer.

“It… It’s the Didact, sir.” As the security member spoke, Faber’s face morphed into that as if he had just seen a ghost.

“The Didact? But he should be dead… I left him to die in that burning… Take me to him at once.” Faber quickly walks off-screen, leaving just Faust and Discord alone. Faust turned to look at Discord, neither of them knowing who this Didact was. Eventually, they began talking to themselves again.

“F…Faust.” Said Discord. “That’s a very pretty name.”

“Thanks, Lance.” Faust responded with a giggle. She stands up to all four of her legs and approaches him. “You wanna try to use your neuro-whats-it again?”

“Neural physics?” Discord corrected.

“Yeah, that. I need to come up with a different word for that. Neural Physics is hard to remember.” Faust giggled again and once again invited Discord to try again. “Come on, I know you can make the cup move as well.”

Discord looks a bit hesitant as he looks away for a second. He scratches the beach of his head before looking back at Faust. She had a sweet, innocent and hopeful smile on her face. He knew that she truly believed in him. He hardens his face and nods.

“Alright, I’ll try again.” Discord stepped back in front of the cup again, raising his lion’s paw and once again tried channeling his Neural Physics. Though he tried and tried, his aura would only fade in and out around the cup. Not being able to move it.

“Come on… please… I just want to move the cup just a few feet.” Discord begged, to no one in particular, begging himself to just prove he wasn’t a failure.

“Maybe… try a different way. Instead of focusing really hard, try relaxing a bit.” Faust gave encouraging words.

Discord looked down at his own deformed lions’s paw for a hand and stares at it. “Try something different” echoes in his head. He looks back up at the cup, it still resting where it has been. He looks over to a spot on the floor just one foot away, thats how far he wanted it to move. He held his paw out one more time, taking one breath in, and one breath out. He closes his eyes and relaxes.

“Try… something… different.” He repeated softly and silent as his paw lit up with an aura. But instead of using it to lift the cup, he lifted his paw up, and snapped his fingers. The cup is quickly engulfed in a bright flash of light. Discord opened his eyes to see the cup had completely vanished. Another flash happens, and the cup reappears, this time in a different spot, the same spot Discord wanted the cup to be moved His eyes widened and heard Faust’s cheers behind him

“You did it, Lance! You moved it!” Faust said proudly. Discord slowly turns to see the excited face on Faust. He slowly begins to smile as well.

“I…I did it. I finally did it! I’m not a failure!” Discord exclaimed, mostly to himself.

It was then Faust suddenly hugged him. Discord looked shocked as he sees Faust wrap her hooves around his slim body. His smile gets bigger as he wraps his claws around her as well. The hologram slowly fading as they stayed hugging.

When the recording ends, they are all left silent. Things have only gone from confusing to straight-up nonsense. No one said anything, and no one could say anything. New names were spoken; names no one recognized. ‘Faust’, ‘Lance’, and ‘Didact’. Maverick lowered his gaze to the console, showing it has only one more recording to play. Maverick didn’t know this would answer a lot of unanswered questions, but it was worth a try.

When Maverick hits the play button one final time, it only shows Discord and Faust, but they look a bit older. This must have been some time after the last time they were recorded. Their faces even looked more stern, indicating they had been through some difficult times together. Finally, Discord began to speak.

“Never thought I would see this place again… Not since what happened to Faber.” He spoke with some sternness but also a bit of sadness.

“Though what Faber had done here would be considered monstrous by many, his sacrifice at the Greater Ark has given us some time.” Faust’s response shocked the group, as it hinted that Faber had died.

“Time that we are already running out of. We must meet back up with the Isodidact at the lesser ark. Faber’s instructions were quite clear. Mendicant Bias is already approaching with a fleet of billions.” Discord hardened his gaze as he looked at Faust. “We are wasting our time here. Why did you want to return?”

“Because now I understand why we were created, Lance. We are the final defense. Offensive Bias cannot hold out against the Mendicant and the Flood alone. We are the shield while the Halos are activated. We were made to sacrifice ourselves for the survival of the galaxy. A means to an end…” Faust spoke as Discord’s jaw dropped slightly. “But I refuse for it to be an end. This place will mark a new beginning.”

Faust used her magic to levitate both the Pearl of Transformation and the Bewitching Bell, the latter looking like it was fully charged. She placed the Bell in Discord’s claws as the Draconequus gave her a weird look.

“I don’t follow, Faust.” Discord responded.

“Many horrible things happened here due to Faber’s work. In turn, he created something far more wonderful. He created us. He found a way to create beings able to use… Magic.” Faust said almost proudly. “This ability is a gift; I can see many great things coming from it… But it cannot if this gift dies with us. We need to share it.”

“…Magic.” Discord repeated to himself as he looked down at the Bewitching Bell. “…But the Flood, if we give magic to others, how do we know they will be safe until the parasite is finally dealt with? How do we protect them from the Halo array?”

Faust smiled in response and used her magic to bring forth index capsules from out of frame. Discord looks at them curiously for a second before Faust responds.

“The Librarian used these to store biological beings inside. They are a part of her Conservation Measure to make sure life continues after the Halos are fired. After giving magic to more of our kind, we can seal them away to which they will finally be released once the Flood is destroyed.” Faust explained.

Discord looked a bit unsure at first but slowly closed his eyes as he entered deep thought, seeming to contemplate Faust’s words. He opened his eyes again and then nodded in agreement. One by one, before the group’s very eyes, they watch as Faust and Discord bring in more ponies and change them with the Pearl. They are stunned as they watch them give some horns, making the first-ever unicorns. Then, to others, they gave them wings. And the last group they changed the least, but making them bigger and stronger.

As they made each subspecies, they were also given very small amounts of magic from the horn, dividing it equally among each of the ponies. After giving them magic, they all suddenly become aware of their surroundings, like they suddenly gained consciousness like Discord and Faust when they first received their magic. Each one of them was then quickly sealed away in a capsule.

Eventually, the Bell ran out of magic, to which Discord placed it down. There was one more pony present, so Faust decided to make this one look like her. The gave it both a horn, wings, and a bigger physique; another alicorn just like her. She smiles at it but noticed that the Bell was out of magic.

“Are we really out of magic?” Fausts asked.

“Unfortunately so.” Discord huffed as he looked at Faust with the other Alicorn she just created.

“Well… then there is one thing we can do to give this last one some Neural Physics.” Said Faust as she looked back down at the new Alicorn. “We’ll have to give her some of ours willingly.”

“Give her some of ours? Is that safe?” Asked Discord.

“We’ll have to try.” Faust sighed as both she and Discord closed their eyes. Both of their bodies glow with a golden aura. The primitive Alicorn stepped closer out of curiosity as two orbs emit out of both Faust and Discord. They float towards the Alicorn and are slowly absorbed into her, her body beginning to glow with the same aura. Faust and Discord let out a large sigh as their auras died down, both of them looking a bit exhausted from their spell.

“Our work is done. The settings on the capsules have been set to release them sometime after Halo is fired.” Discord felt a bit of pride, knowing at least his and Faust’s legacy was being preserved. “I’d say now is a time for us to leave and join the remaining Forerunners at the Lesser Ark.”

“Not yet, Lance.” Said Faust, causing Discord to turn around and look at her. She was standing next to one more capsule that was empty.

“Faust, we can’t preserve any more. We used the last of the Magic inside the Bell.” Discord stated, but Faust had an emotionless expression on her face.

“This one is not for another pony, Lance… Someone is going to have to teach them how to communicate… how to use their magic.” Faust then suddenly frowned while Discord narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean, Faust?” Discord said before slowly beginning to realize what she was hinting at. His eyes widened in response. “Are you saying I should get into that?”

“…Yes,” Faust responded. “One of us has to ensure their survival, be their teacher. My duty is to stop the Flood while you need to—”

“I’m not going to let you sacrifice yourself alone!” Discord raised his voice and narrowed his eyes. “You’re my friend, Faust, the first and only one to show me kindness. I’m not going to let you go off by yourself to die while I’m stuck here without you.”

Faust continued to look at Discord with a sad expression. She sighed hard and hangs her head for a brief moment before speaking again.

“I know, you’re my friend too, Lance. That’s why I knew you would refuse.” Faust’s horn began to light up. Discord’s eyes widened, and he held up one of his claws.

“What are you—” That was all Discord could say when he was suddenly hit with a spell from Faust. He felt his muscles seize, rendering him unable to move. His eyes were the only thing that can move. He watched as Faust approached him, her face heavy with regret but also determined.

“I’m sorry. One day, I hope you can forgive me… Lance.” Faust spoke before using her magic to lift Discord and levitate him towards the index capsule. Discord’s eyes shot in all different directions as if he was trying to protest, but his efforts were in vain as he was finally placed inside, his DNA and body digitized into the capsule.

With the capsule standing nice and neat, Faust approaches the elevator. She is seen looking back one more time, looking specifically at Discord’s capsule, before saying, “…Goodbye…Lance.” then turns back one more time. The hologram ends, the last entry finally coming to an end. As the now silver metal lab grows quiet, everyone begins looking at each other.

“…That it?” Rainbow Dash asks, breaking the silence.

“I believe so.” Ember replies, her mind all but mush at this point.

“What now, Commander?” Tex asks.

“I believe we’re done here for now,” Maverick responds as he taps the side of his helmet near his visor with his finger. “I recorded everything. I need to give all of this to Captain McCormick.”

“And the Princesses,” Twilight adds, looking at the tall metal supersoldier. “What we just saw calls everything written down in Equestrian history into question.”

“What we need to do more than anything is question Discord.” Kieran said, his voice stern. “Now we do know that he is connected to all of this.”

“We’ll get to him soon enough, Lieutenant,” Maverick said, looking at his fellow Spartan. He then motions towards the elevator. “Come on, let’s get topside.”

Author's Note

Hello everyone, k00l here with SCPEquis! Finally got this chapter out, and we’re now clear that Discord has connections to Forerunners and the creation of Ponykind.

And the humans have learned about the Bell and the Pearl. However, you all might be wondering. If this is how Ponykind came to be, then what are the origins of the other creatures of Equis? What about the Dragons, the Griffons, or the Changelings?

With many secrets being revealed, there are many many more waiting to be discovered locked and closed in Equis’s past. Excited for more chapters and hopefully we can get them out faster.