Magic

The sun was warm, the day pleasant and carefree. Not a single cloud was in the sky, leaving a beautiful light blue shade for everypony to admire. It was such a shame that they weren't actually admiring it. Many a pony were lolling about mirthlessly in the sun's rays, gazing blankly at the sights around them and tilting their heads in curiosity. The crystal palace, long a subject of terror and hopelessness, had been restored to its former glory and splendour, shining brilliantly in the daylight. Nothing could ever hope to defeat the unique and dazzling structure; the crystalline towers reaching up to the bottom of the heavens themselves cast a pleasant glow across the kingdom that could never be matched through artificial means. And yet, something was missing.

This was all too apparent to one such pony idly lazing about outside the hospital, studying the daily routines of his fellow citizens from a bench. As far as he could remember, he had been living here. The again, he couldn't recall much anyway, as if an entire lifetime had been wiped off the slate. The last thing he could remember was waking up in a hospital bed with no idea who he was, where he was or what he was. Two of those questions had been answered with time already.

He half-heartedly flicked his tail, which was two tones of blue; a calming baby blue and a shockingly bright azure. It was slightly ragged in places, and curled into thick spikes near the ends. Much like his mane, which was flicked carefully to the side to keep it out of his eyes. He blinked, hiding his deeply crimson eyes from view for a split second, before sighing and looking over his shoulder. As he shifted, he felt his stomach slide over the cool crystal underneath him, making him shiver slightly.

On his back were a pair of wings, an addition that the other ponies here most certainly did not have. Each individual feather was a dark grey, the same shade as the occasional storm cloud he saw on the horizon. Past the wings, which he flapped experimentally, was an intriguing and grimace-inducing patch of lighter grey that spanned the distance between his left flank and just under his ribcage, as if all the skin there had been ripped off. Unfortunately, from what the pony had been told, he didn't have a marking that should be on both sides of his flank, something that the hospital staff, dull and as lifeless as they were, called a "cutie mark".

That was probably due to having the skin torn off on the left, but what about the right? Did he just not have one, or did he have one before?

He shook his head, turning back to look at the motionless forms of the so called crystal ponies. How were they crystal? They more or less all had the same coat colour as him, but with duller manes and tails. Curious.

A soft breeze wafted his direction, cold yet refreshing. As he felt the bracing air against his skin, he let his thoughts wander. Or rather, change. Since he had awoken, every time he tried to think of one thing, he was slowly led on to another thing. He thought it comparable to a stream, twisting and turning slowly until it changed direction, splitting off into smaller branches until it reached a lake. If that was the case, he was slowly floating along the start of the stream on a wooden raft, peacefully admiring the scenery. It was only a matter of time until he reached a turn, and then eventually, the lake itself.

That is, presuming a lake is comparable to knowledge. A lake of knowledge perhaps?

"Excuse me? Mister?" The pony heard a voice from behind, tired but young. He turned to face the speaker, a young mare with a grey-purple mane and violet eyes. She was standing at an angle to him, so he could see her cutie mark. It was a indigo-ish diamond, giving him no clues whatsoever. According to the monotonous hospital staff, a cutie mark represents a pony's special talent. Therefore, having no cutie mark meant no talent. That was depressing to discover.

"How can I help you?" He replied in an equally tired voice. It wasn't physical fatigue; it was boredom. As far as he could tell, he had been here for around a week, and had done nothing except sleep, eat and watch the empty sky. He wanted something to do. His cutie mark wasn't going to be in sleeping, that was for sure.

"Do you mind if I join you?" She motioned with a hoof towards the bench, her facial expression staying remotely neutral. He shook his head politely, and shuffled across to make some space for her. She nodded a thanks, her neck stiff, and sat down, folding her forelegs underneath her. The stallion breathed in deeply, sniffing the afternoon air and placing his head against the tops of his forelegs. The air smelt different today. Almost...stale.

Stale?

The stallion's head popped up, scowling at the sky in confusion. As he watched, the mare beside him lowered her head, drooping in her seat. He raised an eyebrow, turning his gaze around so that it faced the gateway into the kingdom in the distance. The thin crystal spires that burst from the ground still shone brilliantly, and the three gems floating between the two were still reflecting the sunlight. beyond the gateway was a vast array of green rolling hills and lush fields of grass. The countryside. So why was the air stale?

It made no sense to the pony, and as such, sparked his curiosity. Doing something aside from the basic functions of a pony would be nice, he reasoned, and he slowly tried to pry himself off of the bench. His body refused to budge, even after a few attempts, so he gave up. Even thinking about it would be a change. Something's better than nothing, right?

Lowering his head, he closed his eyes, and cleared his mind of errant strings of thought.

We're in the countryside. Therefore, if the air is stale, something is up. Something's going on. The air can't be stale here, so we're either in a pony maintained environment, or...

The stallion snorted, his wings twitching in amusement.

Or I'm just imagining it. Boredom is a wonderful thing.

He raised his head again, observing the oscillating shards and the colours they gave off as they sparkled. He had no idea how long he sat, blankly staring off into space. He was surprised that he didn't forget how to breathe; he was that bored. A flash of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and his eyes snapped round. It was a white...unicorn...stallion? A blue two-tone mane similar to his own, but brighter?

Huh. That's interesting.

The stallion turned to look at him, or rather, the hospital, as he continued running into the distance. As he faced him, the pegasus got a clear view of the unicorn. Piercing blue eyes, muscled build and a quaintly decorated shield for a cutie mark?

Why does he look so...familiar?

A twinge in the back of his skull warned the pegasus that he was overexerting himself by thinking, and he turned away. It remained, however, and the grey stallion used a wing to massage the back of his head. It was like an extra pair of hooves, but with smaller legs on the end. If that made any sense whatsoever. but what fun is there in making sense when all you do is eat and sleep? It made it extremely easy to hold things though; all he needed to do was curl it around whatever object it was. It wasn't useful for holding a drink though. The cup just slipped and fell, and anyway, he couldn't bend his neck back far enough to reach the straw. Blinking twice, the stallion continued to rub his head as he sagged in his seat, trying to ignore the

potent headache he know had.

Stupid stale air.

His eyelids fluttered, feeling heavier with each passing second. The breeze, by now, had increased slightly, and had decided to lower itself in temperature. It was now ice cold, leaving him with chills when it passed over. The mare beside him had dropped off to sleep, and was snoring quietly and twitching every few seconds, one of her back legs kicking out spasmodically now and then. Deciding to join her, the stallion let his head droop, returning his wing to his side with a flick of a muscle.

/.../

After an unmeasurable length of time, the stallion heard the clopping of hooves against the crystal floor in the distance, and he flicked his ear in annoyance. Why was it the moment he decided to get to sleep that they suddenly chose to start moving? Through his eyelids he could see the light shining down directly on him, so he flicked his mane. The curled fringe ended up covering his eyes, and he sighed in relief. No more blasted sun.

Who was that unicorn? I feel like I know him.

Stifling a yawn with a hoof, he laid his head back down against his hooves, turning his head so it was more comfortable. As he tried to fall back into the welcoming clutches of sleep, he couldn't help but listen to the hoofsteps. As he concentrated, he began to be able to hear even smaller details. For instance, the was a lot more than one set of hooves walking. From here, he could make out maybe four or five, possibly more. Unsure, the head was brought back up with an audible groan, the fringe flopping over his red eyes as he swivelled around to see if he could spy whoever was walking.

Not seeing anypony, he cracked his neck. A pop echoed off the empty streets, and he smiled as the stiffness in his neck disappeared. As soon as he had done this, he felt his nostrils twitch. He sniffed. He sneezed violently, his head forced backwards with the sudden action. His eyes were clenched closed as his speed backwards continued, his body following his head due to the two being connected.

The next thing he knew, he was on the crystal floor behind the bench curled up into a ball, and had one hoof over his quivering nose. Eyes rolling in a derped-up fashion, he sat up, feeling the blood rush to his head. With an exhausted exhale, he fell backwards onto the glass-like ground, throwing his forehooves out to his sides.

"It's gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!"

He shot up immediately, wings flapping erratically as he landed on all four hooves. He knew that voice. He was sure of it. But who did it belong to? It was female, definitely. It had a bit of an upper-class ring to it, the pronunciation had emotion, precision and it sounded close.

Wait, close!?

He glanced around, his headache returning as his eyes scanned the surrounding area, wary yet hopeful. The voice had stirred something within him, and he was determined to find out why.

"Focus, Rarity." Another voice, different but oddly cordial. "We're here to help Twilight, not admire the scenery."

Twilight? Rarity!?

Who in the name of all things hay was here? He began to trot away from the bench, peering round the street and frowning when he saw nopony. Nopony whatsoever. Arriving at a corner, specifically the one that lead to the palace, he poked his head around.

"Eh, I don't see what the big deal is. Just looks like another old castle to me."

The stallion blinked, slumping down slightly before struggling to push himself back up. His head was pounding, thumping, fighting to break the inside of his skull. He could hear his own heart beating furiously against his ribcage. Because, just underneath the spire, in the little alcove beneath the palace, were six ponies.

A yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail, delicately styled into a heart shape. A pink earth pony with an even pinker mane, poof-y and bouncy. A white unicorn with a deep purple mane, stylishly fashioned into curls. An orange earth pony with a stetson hat balanced on her head, with a loosely tied-at-the-end blonde mane and tail. A purple unicorn with a straight darker purple mane that had highlights of pink and purple.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw the last pony.

"I could never hate the mare I love, Dashie."

Dashie?

The stallion shook his head frantically, desperate to clear his head. After a few moments, the six disappeared inside, and he could finally breath. Panting in fear, confusion and something else he couldn't quite place a hoof on, he collapsed where he was standing, mentally drained and dead to the physical world.

"What was that? Who are they!?" He hissed between sucks of air, glowering at the doorway that the six entered. Around him, the air got colder, his breath icing as soon as it left his body, forming a fine, sparkling mist in front of him that hung like a veil in the silence that ensued. Several deep breaths later, he found himself holding a hoof to his head and a hoof to his chest, lying flat on his back. Chest heaving, he rolled over onto his front, and hugged himself, curling up.

If there was anypony around to see, they would have noticed that the stallion on the floor was shaking without control, the crystal around him frozen over with a thin layer of frost. All of a sudden, the frost melted, leaving a minuscule puddle in the outline of a pony. The pony, calm and collected after a few moments, shook himself off, tapping a hoof to the side of his head in an effort to keep himself focused.

"I need to sit down... and think." He murmured to himself, frowning at the doorway into the castle. Swaying slightly from side to side, he began to step back to the bench, feeling a little light headed, and a bit sick. As he lurched precariously, he noticed that the mare had gone.

What in the name of all things Equestrian is going on? Is this what an answer feels like?

He fumbled to get into a position to sit down on the bench, turning his gaze skywards as he lowered himself. Above him, in the corner of his vision, he could see something sparkling at the top of the crystal spire, reflecting of the mirrored edges of the palace as his eyes followed the contours and edges all the way to the ground. As his belly made contact with the bench, he vaguely remembered something.

/br/

It was... yesterday. He was in the exact same position as he was now, sitting on the exact same bench. The sky was the same shade of blue, but... flickering. Shifting colours, from a peaceful baby blue to a stark grey. It happened so quickly that even he doubted that it happened, but he was sure. A sound to his right. Slowly, he turned his head to meet approaching hoofsteps. It was a pink mare, one with a horn and a pair of wings. An alicorn...

As she made her way past, he lowered his head in respect and admiration, and she turned back to face him.

"Please, don't bow."

He raised his eyes to look at her. A lovingly crafted three-tone mane swayed slightly in the wind, accompanied by a smile that could melt the thickest ice. Her horn was aglow with a small light, but it was faint. She was, as noticed, pink. Not a bright pink however, but a warm and welcoming pink. Her eyes were much the same, but a vibrant purple.

The alicorn crouched down slightly, probably to get on his level so he didn't have to look up.

"I'm Princess Cadence. I was sent here to help."

He cocked an eyebrow, stretching out slightly.

"Help? Why would we need help?" He replied, his volume low and tone cautious, yet questioning.

Cadence glanced behind her, before taking a seat next to him. Her eyes gazed into his own with curiousity.

"You've been gone a thousand years. So much has changed in that time. Sombra is not gone, but he isn't here."

"Sombra?"

"You don't remember?" She asked, suddenly quiet.

"I don't remember much. I don't even know my own name." He said with a pang of sadness, shaking his head slightly to actuate his point. Out of nowhere he felt something rubbing against his neck. It was Cadence, gently nuzzling him. Was she trying to comfort him? The action was sincere, full of unhidden emotion. She felt sympathy for him.

Sympathy?

"I am so sorry. I didn't realise..." She apologised, lowering her head in... shame? It may not have been, but there wasn't much else that she could have possibly felt. She felt bad for them, and being a Princess, was truly sorry that she couldn't do anything.

"Hey. It's not a problem. You didn't know." He returned, smiling soberly.

"You remind me of somepony I was told about." She suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. "But he's unfortunately not with us any more." She finished, looking away and up. He followed her eyes to the balcony connected to the palace.

"You're staying in the palace?" He inquired, tilting his head to the side. She nodded wordlessly, still staring up at the balcony. After a few moments, she sighed, and looked back down.

"I was sent here by my aunt Celestia," She started speaking, turning to face him again. "To help you. To protect you. You've been gone for a thousand years. The ponies here were cursed by Sombra and ultimately disappeared with the city. You were gone. Out of the blue, the Crystal Empire returned, just a few days ago. I'm here with my husband, Shining Armour..."

"Shining Armour? He sounds familiar..." The stallion whispered to himself. Cadence must have heard him; she fixed him with a weird look, watching him carefully out of the corner of her eyes, studying every minute move he made for a few seconds.

It was uncomfortable.

"...And soon, my sister-in-law and her friends will be here to help. Is there anything you remember that we can do to make you feel safe?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The Crystal Empire isn't the only thing that returned." She said cryptically, before raising herself off her haunches and standing up. He grimaced, and nodded to her.

"I wish you the best, Princess Cadence."

"You too. I hope you remember something soon."

/br/

He awoke in a fit of shivers. Twisting around, he saw that he had been sweating, and a noticable sheen of it was on his coat. With a groan, he lowered his head again, going back to thinking. Daintily placing his chin on his hooves as he stretched out, he breathed in deeply and sniffed the air once more.

Stale.

With a huff, he flipped himself over, tucking his wings into his sides. The sunlight above, as if through divine intervention, shone at just the right angle to make him sparkle, faint beams of light refracted off him shooting back out, giving him a lightly glowing appearance. Not bothering to move out of the way; it was pleasant, he yawned and cast his eyes back out at the streets.

Okay. So, that was a memory...? From yesterday? Why can't I remember?

I suppose, if that's the case, that I know Princess Cadence. She mentioned a Celestia. Why does she sound like I know her?

WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE I KNOW EVERYPONY?! He screamed out in his thoughts, casting them out far and wide, expelling them from his brain.

"Confound these ponies. They're driving me crazy!" He muttered, sitting back up and throwing himself against the back of the bench, hiding his wings from view. Not that it really mattered anyway; there was an alicorn somewhere inside the palace. With them.

Hold it. Rewind. Sister-in-law? That must be one of those, making them royalty. But which pony was it? He shut his eyes, unaware of the fact that his hoof was rubbing sub-consciously against his left flank, and tried to think. To remember.

As he listened to his inner mechanics, he became aware of the quiet, sincere echoes inside his skull. He sensed the vibrations of a voice, and was beginning to make out a picture in his mind's eye, watching. Darkness tinged and gathered around the edges of his vision. The voices were echoed and distorted, twisted and demonic; remnants of the shattered memories of a dead pony. Nothing more, nothing less. Somepony not him. His lips moved of their own accord, mirroring the movements of those he saw, hissing out the sounds made. Each was drawn out, becoming quieter near the end.

"He will pay..."

"Go. I'll hold them off..."

"I'm your worst nightmare..."

"Why...is this...happening to me...!?"

He gasped, watching what could potentially be his life flash before his eyes in a maelstrom of colour and sound, accompanied by the sounds of hoofsteps from nearby. He pulled himself out of his brain, gulping in air and massaging his temples furiously. As he did, he couldn't shake the feeling of horror at watching his life go past. It was both a blessing and a curse to see. Imagine his emotions; fear, horror, anger, as a forest fire. Destructive, corrupting and tainted. Then imagine an equally destructive thunderstorm that puts out the fire. Yes, it stops the fire, but it replaces it with things just as bad; jealousy, sadness and regret just to name a few. He heard the waves of emotion crashing against his thoughts, words barely audible through the chaos.

"John!"

It stopped. There was no warning, no slowing down. It just stopped. Blinking a few times, he rolled his shoulders, flexing his wings and breathed in deeply.

"John?" He whispered, placing his hooves in front of him as he straightened out on the bench. "I have a name... I... remember..." He grinned from ear to ear like an idiot, only just restraining himself enough to not whoop and jump about in glee. "I remember! I'm alive!" He laughed, rich and deep, the sound vibrating in his throat.

"Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and-" He paused, ears drooping down as he recalled what he had done.

"Dashie... Hope..." He flicked his tail to the side in sadness, sighing.

They all think I'm dead. They've moved on with their lives. I can't intrude now. It's too late.

No. I'm dead, and this is just a punishment. I did enough crap in one lifetime to be punished in seven. Or am I alive?

John pursed his lips, lowering his head back down. With a snort, he settled on the latter.

And they're here in the Crystal Empire. Ponyfeathers. Luna, please, keep them the hell away from me. They'll do their job and go. I don't need to be found. Just let them walk past, unaware. Please.

He stared at the crystal surface underneath, looking deeply into his own reflection.

As least my mane's different. They won't recognise me if they walk past. Hopefully.

He moved his head closer to the shiny rock, studying his eyes. They had completely shifted in colour from one end of the spectrum to the other. Oh well, it was just another thing that camouflaged him.

"Uhm... Excuse me... Mister...?" A soft voice from above his head spoke, feminine and quiet. Almost shy...

Oh no.

Of all six ponies, it just had to be her. Even Rainbow Dash would be preferable to her.

"Can I help you?" John refused to raise his head, keeping his eyes firmly away from the knowing gaze of the meek yellow pegasus. As soon as he uttered his response, there was a little squeak from her, followed by an even quieter answer.

"I was... wondering if you could help me... If that's all right with you..."

Some ponies never change.

"That depends on what you need help with."

Another squeak. The urge to facehoof rose, and John cursed his rotten luck. His breathing was strangely calm, surprising him.

"Uhm...would you know anything about...defending the Empire?" She made that adorable "squee" sound that he loathed and loved equally. It broke any and all barriers he had, and he almost raised his head. Urging himself to keep down, he stared with determination at the mirrored surface, met with his own steely eyes.

"Why don't you try the library?"

"Oh! Good idea! Thank you...erm..."

She wanted his name? John quickly racked his brains for an acceptable excuse of a name, flicking his tail in annoyance. When it landed, it covered his flank slightly, hiding the blankness there. After a few moments of silent conversation with himself, scanning through talents that he had and particular traits and dismissing some, he came up with a name to use instead of Shaded Comet or John. Instinctively, without any control, he lifted his head as he said it. His eyes were met with Fluttershy's, and fortunately, there was no spark of recognition.

"Stormy Skies. And you?"

"Err...I'm Fluttershy..." She trailed off, voice barely louder than a mouse scampering in the fields, or a slight wind. Just as he remembered. She cast her eyes down, hiding behind her pink, half-heart shaped mane.

/br/

Fluttershy, not one to normally be suspicious of a pony, was intrigued by the behaviour of Stormy Skies. He had kept his head down, avoiding her eyes to begin with. Earlier, she had seen him out of the corner of her eye, watching her and her friends from around a corner. She couldn't help but feel a bit wary of this pony.

Even the way he was positioned on the bench was off. He was, whether he realised it or not, covering his flank with his tail, and had his back strangely parallel to the backrest of the bench. His tail, and mane when she took note of it, were scarily familiar. It reminded her of John's mane, but Skies' was darker, more greyed, just like the other crystal ponies she had seen. The only thing that separated him from them was his shockingly vibrant crimson irises; something the crystal ponies definitely didn't have.

After all, a red that deep was unnatural. It normally meant one of two things. One, he was actually a unicorn: it was one in a Celestia-knows-how-much chance of a unicorn having red eyes; making him an extreme rarity amongst ponies. According to Twilight, only unicorns could have pure red eyes like his. She had heard rumours of Vinyl Scratch's eyes being red, but the off-white DJ never took off her distinctive sunglasses. The other, if she recalled Twilight's explanation after the incident, meant that Stormy had a high concentration of Chaos magic inside of him.

But, as he was a crystal pony, he had been gone for a thousand years. How could he have been corrupted in the millennium that he didn't exist? Who was that pony?

Thoroughly confused and suspecting of trickery, Fluttershy held her tongue with practised ease. For now.

/br/

Fluttershy had been studying him with a mysteriously inquisitive expression, hiding behind her mane and frowning down at him as if she had noticed something out of place. If he were wearing any, John would be quaking in his boots. Fluttershy was easy to mislead, but not easy to fool for an extended period of time. If there was anything to be noticed, she would know about it.

It's always the silent ones.

Repressing a sigh, John blinked at her, thinking of something to say to break the uneasy mutual silence and failing. As such, he opted to sit there and stare blankly at her until she went away and hopefully forgot about him. But, alas, fate begged to differ.

The quick pitter-patter of hooves behind him alerted John to the presence of another pony. Not twisting around, afraid that Fluttershy would see his not so cleverly hidden wings, he instead gazed out of the corner of his eyes. He was greeted with the sight of one of the monotonous doctors from the hospital. No doubt out her to check on him, at the worst possible time.

"Sir? Are you feeling better? I see you're holding a conversation, so that's progress." He droned, eyes unfocused and cloudy.

John nodded uneasily. "Yes. This is Fluttershy. She's visiting from Ponyville."

The crack of eyes moving at phenomenal speeds was almost imaginable as John flinched, the horror of the situation hitting him as he realised what he had said without thinking. Fluttershy's pair turned steely, ice cold circles boring into him, freezing him in place in trepidation. Why!? In the names of Celestia and Luna, why in Equestria compelled him to blurt out something he wasn't supposed to know? The doctor's pair was inquiring, but he held his silence, seemingly amused by the canary yellow pegasus' reaction.

"What did you say?" She asked, her meekness and shyness forgotten as her voice went neutral, void of all emotions.

John gulped, unable to tear himself away from the now slowly approaching pegasus. Deep down inside him, he felt something stir, a chuckle building in his throat. It came out as an uncomfortable choking sound, feeling as if he was shrinking under her eyes.

"Nothing." He quickly replied, formulating a plan.

"I see she has wings as well..." The doctor mindlessly began, unaware of the tension building.

"As well?" She repeated, eyes flashing from the doctor back to John. Her lips curled in slightly, giving her a barely noticeable snarl that would never be on her face normally. The last time she had that look, she punched him; becoming a complete toss up of who she was, warped and twisted by hate.

"...But Anti-Magi corrupted him...When Magi or Anti-Magi is transferred between objects, the receiver will always undergo a change..."

He shook his head, the distant memory taking him out of reality for a second. As he locked eyes with Fluttershy, he noticed a slight change in her appearance: she was greyed. The doctor was nowhere to be seen, and Fluttershy had been changed.

"Anti-Magi corrupts... receiver undergoes a change..." He whispered, a plan beginning to take form in his mind. Fluttershy, for now, was dubbed as "Flutterrage" whilst she was like this, so he had a name for future reference.

This is why, out of all the possible methods, I killed Discord like I did.

Killed?

John, all of a sudden, was completely overwhelmed by the thought, delving deeply into what he knew in an effort to reassure himself, but failing miserably.

When something dies, it releases energy when it is consumed. The high amount of Anti-Magi in Discord, upon death, so have practically overflowed from his body. Discord's body IS Anti-Magi, therefore meaning that when he died, he was essentially released in the form of Anti-Magi. Magi, and probably Anti-Magi, has a tendency to be absorbed by the nearest living thing able to host it, such as crops, animals and even ponies.

Even ponies.

He gulped, making a strangled sound as he noticed how Flutterrage was staring at him.

That explains why there was no body. So, I now host a god-level amount of Anti-Magi inside of me, and because I have so much, it's leaking out into the air, thus flipping nearby ponies' personalities.

His eyes flicked between Fluttershy and the sky.

Well, bollocks. If I get away now, hopefully she wouldn't have had enough time to absorb enough to completely turn her. This is exactly why I shouldn't be here.

"I hate this bucking world." John uttered, before launching himself into the air from the bench, leaving a startled yellow pegasus behind.