Magic

Magic, Chapter 3, Unwanted Memories Part 3

The first thing John was aware of was his throbbing head, the spark of awareness spreading like a wildfire through his skull. Keeping his eyes securely shut, so as to not betray his consciousness, he discreetly wriggled his one of his hooves, making sure he was able to make a quick escape. Flexing his wings underneath him, he felt a small flutter as they responded to his will. A small smile appeared on his face, overjoyed that he wasn't torn to pieces by a distraught Luna after he lost consciousness. Wait, did he lose consciousness? Was it just an illusion? Or was it actually Discord? Dismissing the train of thought before he became immersed in the question, he accepted the first and third options. Just to make it easier.

He already had a headache, after all.

Slowly opening his eyes, he gazed blearily around his surroundings, his groggy brain trying to formulate a plan. From what he could see, he was in a dimly lit, beautifully decorated room of an average size; expensive drapes and curtains in shades of purple and blue made up a lot of what he could see. A thin stream of daylight filtered in through a gap in the purple, landing squarely on a row of bookcases on the far wall. Rows upon rows of the novels and tomes were blanketed in a shroud of dust, hiding the titles from view. Not that it mattered; he was still unable to read Equestrian. Blinking wearily, he looked down at what he was lying on. It was a simple bed, scarily comfortable and welcoming. Purple sheets, with a white snowflake emblazoned underneath him greeted his eyes, and he paused to take it in for a moment.

Raising himself fully off the bed, and dangling his hind legs over the side, John sighed.

The moment the sound, barely a whisper, escaped his lips, he was aware of footsteps faintly approaching. Throwing himself off the bed in a blind panic, his eyes darted over to the door. It was too far away to reach and escape before whoever the hooves belonged to made it to the door, leaving one option. Slowly, and carefully as to not make unnecessary commotion, he began sneaking towards the purple curtains. Thankfully, his hooves were muffled by what appeared to be a blue woven rug, with the same white snowflake printed in the middle, but it never hurt to be too cautious.

Especially if one is attempting another daring escape, immediately after failing one's original attempt.

With just a few inches to left to travel, John tried to pull the fabric aside with magic. He concentrated on moving it silently to the side, but absolutely nothing happened. Not even a twitch, or a slight tug. Frowning, he began again, but with the same results. The footsteps were getting closer, he realised, and he bit down on the curtain, drawing it aside with a little more force than what would have been necessary. It fell heavily, the material heavier than he expected, landing with a swish of air. Jumping backwards in surprise, his wings shot out with an even louder whump. Biting down on his tongue to stop himself from cursing, he hastily poked his head through the aperture left by the curtain, not expecting there to be any more barriers.

He was wrong. His head slammed into the window, bouncing of the glass with a dull impact of bone. Rearing back on his hind legs, he brought a hoof to his head, struggling not to curse anything under the sun for his misfortune. His headache increased tenfold, and he was disorientated by the pain momentarily. A moment was all it took.

The door was pushed open, and he turned around, flaring his wings out in preparation for an attack. Instead he was met with the uncertain gaze of Spike the dragon. John scowled down at the purple assistant, baring his teeth slightly. Spike remained unaffected, yawning slightly either in tiredness or boredom. John took a step forward. Spike produced a scroll out of nowhere, and held it teasingly to the side.

"I'll send it." Was all he said, with such a chilling tone that it disturbed John. Blinking in shock, he bit his lip, thinking.

Could I get past him? Undoubtedly. Could I grab the scroll before he sends it to Princess Celestia? Doubtful.

"You wouldn't dare." John challenged him, taking a step forward. Strangely, under any other circumstances, such a situation would leave him pumped with adrenaline, but he was eerily calm. Spike opened his mouth, raising the scroll to his chest height. There was still around two ponylengths between the two, and neither was going to give ground to the other.

"I would." Spike swore, a thin lipped grimace on his face.

The stallion and the dragon locked eyes, green against red. Just give up, was his subconsciousness' not so helpful input on the situation.

"Give up? You forget who you're talking to." John returned, not feeling at all foolish for talking to himself.

Would you rather have them chase you down, or you go to them?

"Neither. Now get out of my head." John blocked his now suspiciously pain free head from the spirit, and turned his attention back to the dragon. Spike had a bemused expression on his face, scroll even closer to his mouth. Raising an eyebrow, the dark grey stallion motioned to him with a wave of his hoof. "What?"

"I don't trust you. Who were you talking to?" Spike questioned, the scroll directly in front of his teeth.

"Nopony. Myself." John growled back, uncomfortably scraping his hoof along the rug, pawing at it.

"You feeling alright?" Spike lowered the scroll slightly.

"You tell me. I could have a concussion for all I know. Or brain damage. That would explain a lot."

Spike blinked, before glancing behind him.

A million different plans were formulated in John's mind in that split second, and he decided on one. Time slowed down as he breathed in, everything being seen in spectacular detail and precision. Dashing forward with a powerful flap of his aching wings, he grabbed the scroll with his mouth, and began to gallop, all before the poor baby dragon had time to react. John blinked, feeling the adrenaline soften the impact of his hooves to the point of not feeling them hit the floor, like he was running on air.

Running on air. Oh.

He sighed, not resisting the magical hold now that he was now aware of. He had barely made it out of the door before being caught.

"Damn it." He whispered, dropping the scroll in the process. It bounced once, fluttering in the still air, and landed. Slowly, as John looked on, it rolled open, revealing... nothing? John spun around in the magical grip, eyeing Spike suspiciously. The lilac dragon shrugged, bending over to pick it up. "You seriously think that I carry letters around?" Spike gave him a smug grin. John stuck his tongue out, since he couldn't flip him the bird, or make any similar grotesque gestures. The assistant blew a raspberry at John, and began to greet whoever had stopped him. John refused to acknowledge the other presence, even as he was gently dropped back to the crystal floor, but not yet released.

/br/

Meanwhile...

/br/

Even through the daily toils and troubles she had to sit through, the bringer of the sun, Princess Celestia, still managed to make time to indulge herself. It was the least she deserved, and in all honesty, it was all the Elite allowed her. Ugh, how she hated the Elite. They weren't all bad, however, but one bad apple spoils the bunch. Unfortunately. She stopped musing, turning her attention to the platter in front of her. As usual, she had politely requested that everypony, save for Luna, left her alone for five minutes.

She was now sitting alone, staring at a single slice of cake. It wasn't expensive, or made with the finest sugars. It was a simple arrangement between herself and the Cake family. Every week, they would send up a cake, each time of a different variety, in exchange for the regular price and publicity. It was a good situation for each side, and neither had regretted it since. It had then become a daily routine to settle down with a cup of tea, and a slice of said cake, each and every day.

Today, it was chocolate.

Taking a sip of her tea, she let the sweet, hot beverage calm her nerves. Luna had vanished from the castle a while ago, and hadn't returned since. She had left neither a note or a notification from a guard; if anything, the Royal Guard were just as shocked as her. Celestia had since been on edge, worried about her whereabouts. After all, Luna was still recovering from escaping the moon a second time. But still, she could take care of herself.

Placing down the dainty, minute cup she was using, she looked around, studying her surroundings with the intent of distracting herself. She was currently in her own private bedroom, nestled in one of the highest towers of Canterlot. Not the highest one, however. That belonged to somepony else, even after it had been refurbished into a sightseeing point, complete with telescope. The same one that Discord had met his end, after being tackled of the edge by a pony she had never seen before.

After all, she had been imprisoned and impersonated for at least a year, after that Faust-damned Changling Queen, disguised as a lesser Changling with no horn, had infiltrated Celestia's room in the dead of the night after being brought inside. She couldn't possibly know everything. How the ponies she cared for assumed such a thing was beyond her and her sister, but she never said anything.

Her eyes were drawn to the newest addition to go into the Hall of the Elements. It was a  window, a carefully and precisely crafted sheet of glass. But this were different to the others. Two had been created by herself and Luna, commerating that mysterious pony.

The first, created by herself, was a rendition of the scene unfolded in front of her, and her interpretation of the situation

when the pony, (whom she had assumed to be Shaded Comet originally, until her sister and student had told her that it was in fact a sentient creature who called himself John, who had been forced into the body by the Changling Queen) had tackled Discord off the highest tower, plummeting to both their dooms over three thousand metres below, landing on the outskirts of Ponyville.

It depicted the grey pegasus flying down, wings spread, with Discord held in place by "John"'s hooves. In the background was blue sky, and soft clouds, signifying the peace he restored. But the most striking thing, even to her, the creator, was the brilliant rainbow directly behind John, and the spectrum-tinted flames engulfing his body as he fell. In the light, be it from Luna's moon or her sun, it sparkled, glowing, casting the room into a glorious blaze of colour.

The second, created by Luna, had been placed elsewhere. It was a lot smaller, but for a reason.

Celestia rose up, striding towards her balcony. It was open air, so that she could raise the sun, and comfortably see the city sprawling underneath. It also happened to have a table, so as an afterthought, she levitated her slice of cake outside with her.

Below, in the centre of Canterlot, a monument had been built. It was both simplistic and unique in design, taking the shape of a raised arch. Each of the stone pillars supporting the structure had the names of every last pony, mare or stallion, that had been murdered by the Changlings etched into the surface. The stone itself was glossy, making each and every last section sparkle brilliantly. Between the pillars was a smaller monument, dedicated to the Royal Guards that had been murdered akin to their civilian counterparts. Here, each individual name was engraved on an obsidian black plate, mounted on the surface.

But the most striking part of the entire monument was in the arch itself. Luna's window was imbedded in the centre, so that when the sun or the moon rose at their respective times, the first rays of light from either celestial body would shine through the window at an exact point. It was a pain to get it in the right place, but Luna had figured it out eventually. The window background was a dark azure, dotted with small, clear stars. Mentioned stars were surrounding a burning yellow halo, glowing with an otherworldly light; in the centre of the halo was a depiction of the moon. In front of the moon was that pony, hooves outstretched upwards, wings flared to the sides.

It had confused Celestia to no end, learning that, in her and Luna's absence, "John" had raised the moon in front of the sun. From what she learned, it was a beacon to war, a call to arms. But, how he did it... That information was unknown. Nopony knew how he had done the impossible. The unthinkable. And yet, he had.

Taking another sip of her now almost drained cup of tea, she sighed in annoyance. She had known this "John" for all of ten minutes before he died. He had rallied uncountable ponies to his cause, single-handedly killed both Changling Generals, and then killed the Queen, and she barely knew who he was.

And why was that? Because he had been alive for two weeks. One doesn't tend to make a lot of friends in that lifetime. That, and the fact that Luna seemed to be hiding information from her.

Mysterious.

A pang of hunger slipped through her train of thought, and she wriggled her nose. Lifting up the slice of cake, she studied it for a moment, before bringing it to her mouth.

There was a gust of wind as the door to her bedroom was forced open, slamming on the wall supporting it. Her head snapped around, ethereal mane whipping in the air, cake still in front of her mouth. She hastily set down the slice, exhaling to show her displeasure. But, as the pony burst through the door with a cry of "Tia!", her mood turned to one of worry.

"Lulu!"

Luna slid to a halt, firmly planting her hooves into the floor. Celestia stepped forwards, confusion evident on her face, but she was cut off from saying anything.

"Sis! The Empire! John! Discord!"

/br/

Thankfully, after an exchange between himself and Princess Cadence, he was allowed to roam free inside the castle. So far, he was getting bored of seeing his reflection in everything, and was itching to fly around properly. But, until such a time when he could, he was stuck, alone, with his thoughts.

He was dreading to see them again, but from what he had heard on his walk around the crystal fortress, they were attempting to find him. That was enough to send him scampering back down the hall with his tail between his legs every time he heard hoofsteps in his immediate vicinity.

Coward.

He had plonked his flank down on a bench under a window, buried his head in his hooves, and let his thoughts loose. Outside, the sun as shining, but everything seemed bleak to him. Right now, even if the six angry mares rounded the corner, he wouldn't budge.

But why would they be angry? I killed... well, got rid of Discord...

They're angry because they barely knew you. You played all of them for fools.

Not all of them; Dash. She knew.

The name sent a shiver down his spine. How did she react to his death?

She screamed out my name, didn't she?

Doesn't matter. A friend would do the same.

But isn't she more than a friend?

"More than a friend?" He asked bitterly, his voice echoing through the halls. "She was to Shaded. Not me."

But what is she to you?

Nothing more than a friend. She thought I was Shaded.

Then why did you kiss her?

The mental question shook him, bringing a memory to mind.

I... Don't know...?

You love her.

I don't! At least, I  don't think so... I was depressed... I just needed someone... Anypony who would listen...

Pointlessly depressed, though.

Hardly. I thought I saw my daughter die before my eyes!

True, but why Rainbow Dash? Why her...?

He flicked his ear, hearing something in the distance drfit into his mind.

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armour do..."

He blanked it out.

Ugh... where was I? Oh! Dash...

He swished his tail, unsure.

I chose Dash because... we needed each other... I was depressed, she was depressed...

You fit together.

No, we don't...?

His brain stopped working momentarily as he mused over that thought.

I chose her because... as much as I hated it, Shaded was still a part of me... It was easier...

But do you love her?

I... suppose I do...

The voice in his head that happened to be his stopped responding, and left him alone.

Alone.

A flash of determination found him on his hooves.

"I don't want to be alone." He whispered, looking through the window, peering down into the streets below. Something was going on; there were brightly coloured tents here and there, more stalls than he could care to count, and a lot of ponies in the streets.

A celebration of sorts?

Shrugging, he turned away, beginning to trot through the hallways with a goal in mind. He was a stallion on a mission. As he rounded a corner, he found himself face to face with his reflection, and he frowned at it.

"Oh no, you're not stopping me. I messed up, and I need to apologise."

Smiling at himself, he spun away, spreading his wings.

/br/

A few minutes later...

/br/

After rushing through the halls and out of a door, he found himself outside in the sun, an small, odd smile on his face. The air, strangely, wasn't as stale as he remembered it, and the jovial grins on the ponies around him lifted his spirits, a boost of confidence injected straight into him by the change of scenery. There wasn't a single dull coat in sight, and it brightened his mood considerably, for some quaint reason he couldn't quite place his metaphorical finger on.

I imagine it's just me trying to quell any stray thoughts.

Well, it's working. It would be better if you were in a good mood anyway.

John found himself absent-mindedly nodding in agreement; the quaint grin still worn proudly.

"It would be, wouldn't it? I can't afford to be in a bad mood, as much as you're helping me; I'm still stronger at the moment."

What do you mean?

At that moment, John swore he could see the draconequus appear in front of him, leaning on a nearby stand without a care in the world. Discord regarded him with a curiously knowing expression, but had a cocky grin that ultimately angered John. Dashing over and sliding to a halt in front of him, barely avoiding a crystal pony in the process, he began to string together a list of profanities before being interrupted by a wave of Discord's lion paw. Shaking his head in disbelief, John narrowed his eyes.

"How are you out here?" He hissed, barely louder than a hoarse whisper. Discord simply stood up straight, and begun to stretch, seemingly oblivious to the ponies around him, who were now congregating around the stand. The crowd didn't take notice of him, barely even batting an eyelid.

John, startled, glanced around behind him. Eyes rapidly flitting from pony to Discord to pony, he felt his eye twitch. What the hay was going on here?

Discord cracked his neck, and turned his head to face John, smirking.

I'm not actually here. At least, not really. Now, are you going to answer my question?

"What?"

Are you going to answer my question? Y'know, you saying that you're stronger than me?

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, John blinked several times, and exhaled heavily whilst looking down and to the right.

"My body."

True, but I'm in it. I'm keeping you safe from yourself.

"Whatever."

Discord flew over the heads of the ponies, landing at his side without so much as a sound. Many of them were expressing their confusion at him talking to himself. He brushed their looks aside without a second care in the world. Now, all they needed to do was find...

"Hey!"

Or that.

John groaned, turning to face one of five ponies he didn't want to run into before finding Dash. The mare in question, a bright pink mare with a personality every bit as quirky as her mane, was bouncing towards him, seemingly under the impression that he was a crystal pony. No matter. Discord watched with a bemused expression as the party pony opened her eyes mid-bounce, and saw John.

Her mane deflated instantly, eyes adopting a colder, harsher look.

John didn't spare her a second thought; he just galloped away with his tail between his legs, ducking and weaving through the bustling city centre with a number of mishaps. He knew he could run, but he couldn't hide. But strangely, some primal instinct inside him spurred him onwards. Adrenaline coursed through his veins unlike ever before.

He didn't even get a dignified hoofshake when she caught him, a whole four seconds later. After a moment of weightlessness, John found himself planted firmly on his face after running into the mare. He had promptly tripped, and ended up on the floor, wings flapping spasmodically behind him. At that moment, John lost all faith in the laws of reality forever. There was no way in hell she could move that fast.

Discord, drifting along behind the pegasus, gave him a mournful look when Pinkie blocked him.

"Uhhh..." John moaned, rubbing his forehead with his hoof groggily, the floor in front of him spinning and dipping as he lay on the ground.

Pinkie trotted over, looking eerily calm.

"Nopony breaks a Pinkie promise."

"...Pinkie Promise?" John coughed, not entirely sure of what incident Pinkie was referring to.

"I love you so much..." He whispered, stroking aside an errant strand of her blond mane, looking deeply into her rose eyes, and kissing her on the forehead again, but with as much fatherly love he could muster. She jumped on him, wrapping her hooves around him one final time, pouring her heart out.

"You'd better... come back...promise me..." She sniffled, refusing to let go. John's composure flickered, and he dropped his voice a few decibels, so only Hope could hear him.

"Cross my heart...and hope to fly...Stick a...cupcake...in my...eye..." He softly whispered, nuzzling her face.

"Oh... no..." He placed his hoof against his head in regret, a distant memory brought back to mind. He had promised.

"She's still with Zecora, just so as you know." was all she said. With that, her mane inflated again, and she hopped off.

In utter exhaustion and defeat, John dropped his hoof to the ground, his head following swiftly after, tears dripping from his eyes. Heart wrenching waves of emotion rocketed through his body. All that he been blissfully unaware of had just come crashing down around him, shattering against the cold, hard ground.

"Hope..."

/br/

Some more minutes later...

/br/

Head held low, tail limp and mane partly hiding his face from the world, John traversed the now bleak and bleary world around him with a level of awareness only just noticeable. He was so deep in thought that he was narrowly avoiding bumping into everything, and that was only because they noticed him first and made way for the musing pegasus. Slowly making his way in a random, winding manner with no particular destination in mind, he blanked out all sound as he thought.

How long has it been?

Avoiding an unmanned food stall with something that vaguely resembled corn on the cob, he steadily brought his head up to glance around. The moment he did, his eyes stung due to an unfortunately timed bitter wind that blew his mane back. Blinking away the tears; the twin streams of water were rolling down his cheeks, he stopped to gaze upon the crystal gateway.

He had been so close to escape, to not interfering.

I obviously came in through there, so naturally it has to be...

"An exit..." he breathed, his breath oddly crystallizing in a cloud in front of him. It didn't escape his attention, and he frowned down at it, curious. At that exact second, he heard a malevolent chuckle, faint but distinct. All around him the ponies' heads shot up, fear and recognition dawning on their features. Eyes wide and mouths trembling, they quickly lost their sparkly lustre, proceeding to shake like leaves and crouch low to the ground.

John, meanwhile, had locked eyes with the source of the laughter, on the hill with the crystal gateway. Ignoring the ponies trembling, he stepped around them and raised his head to fully meet the eyes of the newcomer.

The newcomer was immersed in smoke, hiding much of his body from view. behind him, dark storm-clouds swirled and swished like an ethereal cape of darkness, casting a malevolent glow across the pony's armoured torso. The armour he was wearing was as bright as harsh moonlight, not the soft, comforting moonbeams that Luna possessed. His grey coat was considerably lighter than John's, and his black mane was swept backwards into the inky fog behind him. His eyes gave off a sickly smoke, tinting the whites green and the edges purple. Two pairs of red irises met, challenging each other.

"Who is he?" He shouted, not taking his eyes off him. One of the ponies clustered at his hooves raised her had weakly, all the life seemingly drained out of her; the happiness that was exuded by the ponies before had been replaced by trepidation. Their fear seeped into the air, creating a foul cloud of negative thoughts for John. He shook them off, waiting for an answer.

The mare who had raised her head, in a cracked voice, answered with a squeak.

When no other attempt at an answer came, and the pony on the hill moved even closer, he saw no other choice. Judging from their reactions, he was known. Reasonable deduction led him to the conclusion that the pony was the fabled King Sombra. That, in short, meant he was an enemy. He watched as Sombra slowly climbed into the air, assisted by the black thunderclouds that hid him away. Extending his wings, previous woe forgotten for now, John sucked in a breath of the freezing air. Behind Sombra, he could see miles upon miles of snowy wasteland, without a single non-white structure in sight. As soon as he caught that glimpse, the blackness rolled in to obscure it once more, beginning to encircle the city.

No other choice.