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The sisters’ old castle was filled with memories, down to the dustiest of corners. Discord could distinctly remember a time when he would roam the halls, chasing two little fillies who were a little too arrogant for Discord's liking. How much fun it had been! But that was very long ago, too long for even Discord's near-perfect memory to keep track of. The castle, while still impressive in size, had certainly fallen from grace, and few were brave enough to explore the forest deep enough to reach the area it resided. It’d been a while since someone other than him had paid a visit to the ruins.
He was never sure why he kept coming back to it. Nostalgia, he supposed. Though why he was so attached to the place, he could never figure out. Emotions were often irrational, even those of divine beings such as himself. Nevertheless, here Discord found himself again, floating across the empty rooms.
He froze, then. To his surprise, he found he could suddenly sense the presence of another being. This instantly caught his interest. Who else but him cared enough to be exploring some old, abandoned structure?
Careful to stay out of sight, he teleported to the room this new guest was in, and he watched. He was (pleasantly) surprised to find it was none other than Starlight Glimmer. He hadn’t seen her in a long time.
He should probably approach and ask her what she was doing. But instead, he kept staring, following closely behind as she explored different rooms. The unicorn used her magic to levitate books from the shelves, taking some of them with her and discarding others. Discord supposed this made sense. The castle was the home of some useful but forgotten knowledge, although he never pictured her as particularly bookish, despite some of the ponies she chose to associate with.
Starlight suddenly stopped walking, and the books she levitated dropped to the floor. Before Discord had time to think, a laser of light shot up toward him, and Discord could barely teleport himself out of the way in time. The beam of magic crashed against the walls of the castle, damaging the already fragile structure.
“Who is there?! Show yourself!” the mare demanded. It was then that Discord processed what happened.
“Is that any way to greet a friend? I’m hurt.” Discord’s voice echoed through the hallways.
“I… Discord?” Starlight’s expression changed from alert to confusion, to relief, and finally, anger. “Were you watching me?!”
“I was, yes.” He teleported in front of Starlight, making her jump back in surprise. “I just couldn’t help but notice you were here, and it intrigued me. It’s usually just me in here. I suppose I should’ve just told you I was here, but that wouldn’t be as much fun, would it?” He then pointed to her horn. “By the way. you should be careful with that thing. Had I been a lesser being, you could’ve killed me.”
The unicorn looked down in shame.
“Sorry about that.”
“And that poor castle! Do you have no respect for historic preservation?” Sensing that she was being mocked, Starlight rolled her eyes, and she began to pick up the books scattered across the floor with her magic. It reminded Discord of why he was following her in the first place. “What brings you here, by the way?”
“I’m looking for new spell books to practice. I’ve already finished all the ones gifted to me by Twilight, so I figured the next best place to look would be here.”
“Well, you’re in luck because I know this castle like the back of my claw. I’d be happy to give you a tour.”
“You do?” Starlight narrowed her eyes. “How so?”
“Oh, I used to love tormenting Celestia and Luna back when we were all younger. Before I decided to cross the line and try conquering Equestria, of course. There was a time when they thought of me as just a harmless nuisance.”
“Oh. Well, do you know where else I can find spell books?”
“They’re scattered everywhere. That was all those two were reading back then. But I believe I remember some of their preferred rooms to study in. Perhaps I can take you there.”
“Sure, why not? Lead the way.”
The pair of friends navigated the castle, with Discord sharing whatever stories he had to tell about the rooms they passed. And sure, some of them maybe were a little dramatized for the sake of entertainment, but so what? Starlight seemed fascinated all the same.
Eventually, they reached one of the rooms Discord mentioned, and they both fell silent for a few minutes. Starlight was busy looking through the bookshelves and occasionally stopping to do some reading, and Discord was just floating around.
He found himself thinking back on the way Starlight attacked him. Something about that really shook him. He was a deity, there was no way Starlight could have significantly harmed him, but he knew it would have hurt had he not moved in time. He wasn’t joking when he said if it was anyone else, she could’ve possibly killed them. If Discord wasn’t a god, he would probably fear her.
It made Discord wonder how things would have turned out had Twilight not befriended her. Starlight was powerful, so much so that he had no doubt she could take on the princesses if only she trained enough. For a unicorn to be capable of that was unheard of. Sure, there’d been powerful wizards throughout history, Discord met some of them himself, but enough to defeat four alicorns? That was ludicrous, and yet there she was. Even just being near her was enough for Discord to feel the magic that surrounded her. If others had the same magical sensibilities he did, it’d make them dizzy.
“Do you realize how dangerous you are?”
“Huh?” Starlight looked up from the book she was reading, confused.
“You’re probably the most powerful unicorn I’ve ever known,” he explained. “And considering how many unicorns I’ve met, that’s quite impressive. Do you even realize how much you could do with that magic of yours?”
For a second, Discord pictured a Starlight that never got to make friends, never had anyone to show her there was a better way, and the image was anything but pretty. A dark part of him found the idea amusing, but he had matured enough not to feed into those thoughts, so he ignored them.
Starlight smiled, probably thinking Discord was exaggerating. Which, to her credit, he did occasionally like to do.
“I appreciate the compliment, but I think you’re overblowing it. There are many magically gifted ponies out there, not just me. I mean, have you met Twilight?”
Twilight was also very gifted, but becoming an alicorn had helped her strengthen her pre-existing abilities. Starlight had nothing of that, but she could still easily rival her. How much power would she have if she became an alicorn? That was too much power for a single pony, he thought.
But he didn’t push the subject any further, knowing Starlight wouldn’t listen. He was honestly a little shocked by how ignorant she was of her own abilities. But thinking back on her past, maybe that was for the best.