Fragments of Memories
By Starwin

Chapter 15 – The Element of Magic

Rainbow Sparkle stood completely motionless in the center of the unfamiliar room. There had been a voice in her head, a voice that wasn’t hers. Although she had not understood the words, she could sense anger in them. She listened for the voice to speak again, but she heard only silence in her thoughts and the drumming of the rain upon the roof.

Distantly, she could sense murky dreams tumbling around in the shallows of her mind. Twilight Dash was asleep, their thoughts like reflections in the surface of a pond. Perhaps the words had come from them? Rainbow Sparkle pressed the dreams deep into the depth of her mind. She didn’t have the power to make them go away completely but she would. Soon.

Her eyes wandered across the strange room. Waking up someplace she didn’t know was nothing new for her but it was the first time she had even been alone. There had always been friends, other ponies or Spike, around whenever she had managed to emerge.

Now, however, there was just her. She liked that.

Her absence had been much longer this time. The train was the last thing she could clearly recall. She had managed to escape her ‘friends,’ she had even found a way into the castle. But she hadn’t been able to hold on. She had slipped away, back into the silence.

Of course she had vague memories of the missing time in-between but the images were blurry and colorless. It was like she was remembering them through somepony else’s eyes.

With any luck, that would be the last time she would be pushed out. If everything went according to plan, after tonight, there would only be Rainbow Sparkle. And every morning, she would wake up in the same place she went to sleep.

While she had been smothered beneath the other minds in her head there had been little she could do. She had watched as if through a pinhole and waited in the void, listening to empty echoes.

Yet she had not been completely powerless. When Twilight Dash had tried to think of their friends for strength, Rainbow Sparkle had taken those friends away, one-by-one. They were her friends now.

She had taken other things too. At first it was simply out of necessity to exist. But as she took, the more real she began to feel. She liked that feeling. She liked being more than a passing thought.

Rainbow Sparkle’s eyes fixed on the simple wooden door across the room.

Quietly, she moved towards the door. The planks of the wooden floor creaked at the touch of her hoof. She froze, and held her breath, listening intently for any sign that she had been heard.

The relentless rain beat upon the roof above. A cough came from the hallway. However, after a long tense moment, nopony came in to check on her. Carefully, she backed away.

She closed her eyes, searching through memories that weren’t hers. She didn’t like these memories, they reminded her that she wasn’t in complete control. For now, she would endure, because she needed them. Soon the memories would become her memories and her’s alone, not just glimpses of somepony else’s life.

Images rolled through her mind as she stole the past from the sleeping ponies. There were guards outside the door. Luna had posted them there, but why? The Princess should trust her completely by now.

Perhaps they were there to guard her? Or, rather Twilight Dash? No, it didn’t seem that way.

She tried to look deeper. There was something else… that part was... disorganized, mixed up, almost… chaotic. She frowned. The little she could make out seemed to be of that Doctor and the Princess. They were talking to… she couldn’t tell, not Twilight Dash. Somepony else in the room? Yet, there didn’t seem to be anypony else in the memory besides the three of them.

With a shake of her head, she let the foreign thoughts slip away. They were unpleasant and she did not wish to feel them any longer then was necessary.

Her eyes fell back on the door. With the main exit blocked, she would have to use an alternate route. The window.

Twilight’s memories of the castle told Rainbow Sparkle that, at present, she was four floors up. The wall outside was sheer. There would be no possible way to climb down.

Luckily, she didn’t need to climb.

Reflexively her wings spread out and she couldn’t help but smile. She loved flying. She hadn’t been able to stop herself when she had taken control out in the field. It had been a foolish thing to do, but it was her body after all. She should be able to enjoy what it could do.

She put a hoof against the glass of the window. The opening wasn’t much larger than her, so she couldn’t just fly out. It would be tricky, but doable.

Gently, she pushed open the glass and it swung outwards on its hinges. She began to climb into the small round opening.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

She froze for a third time as though she had looked a basilisk right in the eyes. There had been a voice! She had heard it, even if she couldn’t make it out. It had spoken. It had come from her. But it hadn’t been her. She listened to her own thoughts.

Distantly she could sense both Twilight and Dash. They were deep within the thralls of sleep. It may have been them and yet… it didn’t feel like it. It felt like…

Rainbow Sparkle shook her head. She didn’t have time for this. She would just have to sort it out later. She put her front legs through the window, hoisted herself up onto her belly and dangled out the small opening.

Cold rain poured down only a hoof or two from her face. The overhang of the roof gave her some cover, but once she was out, she would be exposed. That was alright, the rain would make it harder for somepony to see her.

She nudged her wings through the opening and commanded them to flap. They did. She felt suddenly weightless. With a little shove she was free of the window. She hovered out in the rain, the dark room still empty behind her and the door still closed.

Carefully she pushed the window back into place. Nopony would know she was gone until it was too late.

She knew where she had to go — where they must be keeping it. She stayed close to the castle hoping she would be harder to spot. She just had to keep out of sight and…

“Oh, out for a flight in the rain, how delightful!” exclaimed Rainbow Sparkle. She clamped her hooves over her mouth and dropped into the shadows of the roof.

A moment later a pegasus guard appeared overhead. His white coat was easily visible, giving him a ghostly glow against the rain. She recognized this pony, or rather, Twilight’s memories recognized him. Dawn Chaser, a captain.

He was very strict, always following the rules. If he caught her, she would lose her chance, possibly forever!

He hovered high above her, his head sweeping back and forth searching for the source of the sound through the downpour. While she could make him out against the gray clouds, she hoped that she was harder to spot, partly covered by the roof and hidden in its shadow.

He moved in her direction, slowly closing in. His eyes continued back and forth, passing over her hiding spot several times. Rainbow Sparkle felt a sudden panic in her chest. She wasn’t sure what to do, there was no way to escape without being spotted.

Suddenly the gem in Dawn Chaser’s helm began to glow. It pulsed with light and for a brief moment he looked away. She seized her chance. Magic swirled around her horn and she felt invisibility wash over her as she held her breath.

This kind of magic took a lot of focus. She couldn’t hold it for very long. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t escape. She just had to hope that the pegasus would give up his search and fly away.

The Captain was now level with her. He looked right at the spot where she was, only a half dozen hooves from her face. Then his eyes moved on and a moment later, he hesitantly flew away, off to deal with whatever distraction had caught his attention.

Rainbow Sparkle let out a sigh of relief. The invisibility spell evaporated.

What was going on, why couldn’t she just keep her mouth shut?!

Shaking off her doubts, she resumed her course. She was eager to abandon the hiding spot and reach her goal.

She stayed close to the walls, trying to keep beneath the overhang of the roof whenever possible. If there were other guards flying around, she didn’t bump into them as she made her way along the outside of the castle.

At last Rainbow Sparkle came to an uncovered walkway that ran between two upper levels of the castle. She landed lightly on the stone walkway a dozen hooves from a door leading inside.

Cautiously, she approached, as if the door might bite her at any moment. Her hoof reached out for the latch and stopped. Even with the rain pattering around her, she could still hear voices beyond the door. Voices getting closer. Somepony was coming… guards!

The latch clicked and moved away from her hoof. As the door swung open, Rainbow Sparkle leapt into the air, her wings carrying her up. She had to tuck in her legs to avoid being hit by the opening door. She hovered there, hopeful that the guards would not glance up.

A moment later, two pegasus emerged from inside. They were talking about something as they walked beneath her, but whatever they were saying, she couldn’t hear over the sound of her heart throbbing in her ears.

The guards continued on, casually glancing left and right as they walked, but seemingly more engrossed in their conversation than their patrol. They reached the far end of the walkway, and continued on inside, into another part of the castle.

Rainbow Sparkle let out a sigh. They hadn’t seen her. That had been too close.

“I love a good game of hide and seek,” said Rainbow Sparkle to herself again. “And here I didn’t think you would be any fun.”

She hadn’t imagined it. It wasn’t Twilight. It wasn’t Dash. It was her. She was talking to herself.

She double-checked that the guards were indeed gone before responding.

“What… what do you want?” asked Rainbow Sparkle.

“Oh, well that’s easy! I want to have fun!” answered her voice.

“But this is impossible,” mumbled Rainbow Sparkle, hovering above the walkway. “I can’t, there shouldn’t be… two of me!” She chuckled to herself.

“And here I thought you didn’t have a sense of humor, Twilight Dash,” said the voice that wasn’t her.

“Wait,” whispered Rainbow Sparkle. “Who… who are you?”

“Oh come now, have you forgotten me already?” replied her words. Rainbow Sparkle didn’t answer herself. “Pretending you don’t know who I am won’t make me go away you know.”

“I really don’t know who you are!” cried Rainbow Sparkle in frustration. She clapped both hooves over her mouth. Instinctively she glanced around. There were no other ponies in sight, just the relentless fall of the rain.

This was wasting too much time and making far too much noise! She hadn’t planned for something like this. There would be no way to get close to her goal now if she couldn’t shut this annoying voice up!

“Fine, fine, if you want to play this game I guess I can indulge you,” said her voice. “But telling you would take all the fun out of it. How about twenty questions?”

“No,” said Rainbow Sparkle flatly. She lowered herself back down on to the walkway once more. Carefully, she opened the door and peeked inside. For the moment, the coast was clear.

She hurried inside as quietly as she could. One long passage stretched out before her, with doors on either side spaced evenly every twenty or so hooves. This hallway also had several statues.

“How about ten questions then?” asked the voice. She stopped in her tracks as she heard her voice. The words did not echo and she continued on without answering. “Five? Hey, wait, weren’t you having trouble walking? And flying, and casting magic! When did you fix all that? Were you just lying to me?”

She darted down the last few steps of the hallway before coming to an abrupt halt at intersection. Hoofsteps. She hurried behind one of the statues, a massive carving of Princess Luna, painted in blue and silver. A guard appeared a moment later. He looked up and down her hallway, however he continued on without a word.

“So?” asked the voice in slight annoyance after the guard had departed. The sound made her jump. “Were you just lying to me about walking? You can do that just fine. And I saw some magic out there as well. And you didn’t seem to have any problems flying. And how come I can’t move your legs.”

“That’s it!” growled Rainbow Sparkle. “Whoever you are! WHAT-ever you are! Shut up! Just shut up!”

“Is that anyway to talk to your head-guest!” said her voice, sounding hurt.

“Head… guest? I don’t understand…” said Rainbow Sparkle in confusion.

“You know who I…” began the voice.

“Just tell me your name!” demanded Rainbow Sparkle.

“Fine, fine! There’s no need to get so bossy,” said her voice. She could almost ‘hear’ it roll its eyes. “Discord. You would think that would be an easy name to…” She began to laugh quietly. “Hey, what’s so funny?”

“How… interesting,” said Rainbow Sparkle.

“Interesting?” said Discord, sounding slightly annoyed. “That’s all you have to say about it? I think I am far more than simply interesting!”

“I guess I should have figured you might show up sooner or later,” said Rainbow Sparkle. She resumed creeping down the hall.

“And what should I call you?” asked Discord.

“You will address me as Rainbow Sparkle,” she answered.

“Oh, well, see, that’s a much better name,” said Discord. “I’m glad you took my advice and decided to change it.”

“It’s not my original name,” explained Rainbow Sparkle. “Not the name you used to know me by. But this is a new life and I had to borrow some things …”

“I have the distinct feeling that I’m missing something important,” said Discord. “Just how many ponies are in this head anyhow?”

“Soon, there will just be one,” said Rainbow Sparkle with a dark smile. She paused at another intersection and listened. All quiet, she turned right and continued on. “Soon there will just be me.”

“I think you are forgetting someone,” said Discord. “I’m here too you know.”

“Not for long,” whispered Rainbow Sparkle. She could feel Discord try to speak, but she pushed him away.

“Do you know where a god goes when they die?” asked Rainbow Sparkle. She felt a sudden uncomfortable shift in her thoughts. No, not her thoughts, Discord’s thoughts. She could feel them now, sense them… suppress them. “They go to the same place that everypony goes. Death.

“I was stranded there,” explained Rainbow Sparkle bitterly. “Lost between worlds. I couldn’t move on. I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t go. I wandered an empty void for five-thousand years. Hating you every moment of it.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I haven’t thought about you at all,” interrupted Discord sounding disinterested.

“Then she came. Shining like a beacon in the dark,” said Rainbow Sparkle with an evil grin.

“Who?”

“Twilight,” said Rainbow Sparkle. “Not dead, not alive. Trapped, just like me. I followed when her friends came for her and they unknowingly pulled us both back into life.” She paused again.

A just ahead was a solid oaken door, bound in rivets of iron. It was guarded by four armored pegasus. This had to be it.

“I was little more than a whisper in their mind then,” explained Rainbow Sparkle softly. She surveyed the path before her and weighed her options.

“When Celestia showed up,” continued Rainbow Sparkle with a frown. “I thought she was there to destroy me. I thought that she would fling me back into death to waste away forever. There was nothing I could do, I was an echo of nothingness, clinging on for life. I had no power, no control.

“But I was lucky,” continued Rainbow Sparkle. “Celestia had not come for me. Instead she took the element of magic and I remained, unnoticed. But I had so little of my former self left.

“So, bit-by-bit I stole parts of Twilight Dash away. A name. Their friends. Their memories. Their abilities. With each passing moment I grew stronger and they became weaker. I unified the chaos of their mind into a single perfect being. Me.”

She could feel Discord trying to speak, to be heard. But she made him silent. She could sense his rage, his struggle. She smiled the broadest smile of all.

“You do not seem to understand the most important thing of all, I am in control now. And the one thing you don’t know anything about, God of Chaos,” said Rainbow Sparkle coolly, “is control.”

Her horn burned with rainbow colored magic. Pink mist flowed into existence, summoned by the spell. The mist wasted no time, it raced across the floor. Every inch it touched turned to pink crystal.

None of the guards had a chance. All too late they saw the swirling mist rush towards them. The mist wrapped around them, transforming their bodies into motionless transparent crystal.

“Disgusting,” sneered Discord. She frowned at having let Discord speak.

“I forgot how much you despise that brand of magic,” said Rainbow Sparkle. “You hated it enough that you would destroy your own sister over it. How delightful it is that you get to see it one last time before I do the same to you.”

“Ha, the joke’s on you,” laughed Discord. “You can’t turn me to crystal, I’m already stone!”

“No,” said Rainbow Sparkle as she approached the heavy door ahead of her. “I meant that I will destroy you, just like you did to me so long ago.” Discord tried to retort but she forced him into silence once again. That was the last time she ever wanted to let him speak with her voice.

Her horn glowed as she pressed against the door with all the strength she had left. Despite her confidence she could feel that she had used too much magic too quickly. This weakened body was almost at its limit. Without the element of magic, each spell took a greater and greater toll on her.

The doors whined one last time before they splintered and broke, buckling inwards and scattering across the room.

Luckily, she wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Floating in the room before her, spinning gently in the air and glowing with a soft purple light was the treasure she sought. With its power harmony would be restored.

Luna galloped back towards the castle. She neglected protection from the cold rain as its hard droplets pelted her. She felt anger. She felt rage and hate. She felt it all for herself but she couldn’t decide why. Was it because she hadn’t done what she knew needed to be done? Or did she feel this guilt because she had even considered doing it?

Doctor Heart galloped only a few steps behind her. Whatever words she was trying to speak were lost in the downpour. Luna let herself believe they were words of comfort, or maybe forgiveness. But they were just as likely to be blame and disgust.

Ahead the walls of the castle loomed up out of the storm. Torches behind the windows flickered and Luna could make out shapes waiting for her at the door. She didn’t slow even a step.

Discord had been inside Twilight Dash’s head long enough. Now he would leave or she would go back to his statue and shatter him.

Her gallop slowed just enough for Doctor Heart to pull along side her. For the briefest of moments Luna considered going back to the garden right now. Perhaps he did not even deserve the chance to leave on his own. She looked behind her, the maze was well out of sight, but she knew exactly where it was.

“Luna!” called Doctor Heart. Over the galloping and the rain, her words were fait, but Luna heard them none the less. “You made the right choice.” Luna turned her gaze back towards the Doctor, seeing her reassuring smile. Luna nodded very slightly.

The two mares slowed into a trot as they reach the door. A small group of guards stood just out of the rain, waiting for their arrival.

Luna frowned. Something must have happened while she was away. It had to be Discord.

“Princess,” called one of the guards. Luna recognized his white coat in the dim light. Dawn Chaser, Captain of the watch. Luna felt slightly relieved, something hadn’t happened to Twilight Dash, or else it would not be Captain Dawn waiting to meet her. Luna did not stop for him, she continued on into the castle. The guards filed in behind her.

“Unless this is about Twilight Dash, it can wait,” said Luna as she hurried down the hall, dripping water on the carpet as she went. Captain Dawn hurried to catch up to Luna.

“It sort of is,” said Captain Dawn. Luna slowed her steps but did not stop and at last spared him a glance.

“Sort of?” asked Doctor Heart.

“Yes,” confirmed Captain Dawn. “Earlier this evening we apprehended three intruders attempting to break into the castle. They tried to teleport past the walls. However, the spell was sloppy and the detection wards alerted us to the spell. The ponies are lucky that none of them were injured, or worse.”

“Get to the point Captain,” said Luna as calmly as she could manage. She continued forward, picking up her pace slightly. She was hardly paying attention now. Discord was the real threat here. If the guards had caught the ponies, she would deal with the trespassers later.

“Well, the three in question, claim to be friends of Twilight Dash,” said Captain Dawn. Twilight Dash’s room came into view. The guards that Luna had left there were still posted outside. Twilight Dash’s parents waited across the way. “I recognized one of them, Spike, Twilight Sparkle’s dragon assistant.”

Luna stopped dead in her tracks only a few steps from Twilight Dash’s door.

“Spike is here? In the castle?!” cried Luna. Of course they were! Of course! How stupid of her! They wouldn’t have let their friend come alone. Spike wouldn’t have let Twilight come alone! “Bring them here, at once!”

“Yes, Princess,” said Captain Dawn with a bow. He turned to fetch them at once but didn’t take even a single step before the Princess spoke again.

“Wait, you said three intruders?” said Luna. “Who are the other two?”

“A unicorn by the name of Rarity and a pink earth pony calling herself Pinkie Pie,” answered the second guard. Luna recognized the other pony as Lieutenant Bolt, Captain Dawn’s second in command.

“Only the three?” asked Luna.

“Yes, Princess,” said Captain Dawn. “Just the three. Do you still want me to fetch them?”

“As quickly as possible, Captain,” said Luna. Captain Dawn saluted before galloping away.

“Where do you think her other friends are?” asked Doctor Heart. Luna shook her head.

“For the moment, it does not matter. We must attend to Twilight Dash,” said Luna. Doctor Heart nodded.

Using her magic, Luna unsealed the door to Twilight Dash’s room once again. She would make Discord leave. She would force him out. And if he would not go, she would do what needed to be done.

The door opened and for a moment, Luna was confused by what she saw, or rather, what she did not see. Her eyes darted around the small space, from bed, to desk and every inch of the floor in-between.

“No,” whispered Luna. She backed out. “No pony has left or entered this room?” demanded Luna. The guards exchanged glances.

“No, Princess,” said one of the guards.

“What is wrong?” asked Velvet.

“Twilight Dash is gone,” whispered Doctor Heart as she poked her head in behind Luna. “How did they get out?” Luna gave her a knowing glance and Doctor Heart seemed to understand. “It would seem our fears are confirmed.”

“What fears?” asked Night Light. “Where is our little girl?”

“Discord has…” began Luna. A cold shiver ran down her spine and a painful tingle resonated in her horn. At the same time, Velvet, Night Light and Doctor Heart all winced.

“What? What’s wrong?” asked Sky.

“I… I don’t…” began Velvet, she looked woozy like she was about to faint. Night Light moved to her side, but she waved him off. “I’m fine, it’s alright.”

“No,” said Luna to herself. “It is not alright. Somepony is trying to steal the element of magic.”

Author's Notes:

Well, here we are once more. I'm really happy you could all make it back for some more story :D

This... this chapter is a big one. It's been a long time coming and I've been both really excited about it, and terrified to post it at the same time. I don't want to get too spoilery here, but I'll just say that if you've ever wondered where about the first story was originally headed (before things fell apart and ending chapters got changed), then you are in for a glimpse of what I had originally intended (although, very different from its previous incarnation (haha, inside joke (sort of))).

I'm working hard on something special for the next chapter. I won't say what it is (in case I can't complete it in time) but I think it will be something... fun? I hope it will be...

Anyhow... thank you all for reading, and commenting and supporting this story. It means the world to me!