"Go play pretend…" Celestia mumbled to herself thoughtfully, mulling over the familiar words. It was what she'd tell Luna when the younger was out of sorts, or vice versa, when the elder was under stress. Sometimes they'd go together, other times alone. It was a sort of game they developed, one that would help calm nerves.
And so, Celestia chose a hall with towering stained-glass windows, each window telling a story. And, more specifically, Discord's story. At the far end of the hallway was where the elements were stored, and because of that, one could practically breathe in the magic of this particular area.
A simple illusion spell was cast, and the doors of the room locked, creating a world of memories in the narrow hallway. Reopening her radiant purple eyes, the princess was welcomed by a meadow of flowers, a blue sky tainted with white puffs of cloud overhead, and a warm breeze blowing through her mane.
Across the way, a white filly with cotton-candy pink hair trotted in a circle, calling someone's name over and over in a sing-song tone, as if trying to get his attention. "Ardor," the young pony finally stopped galloping around, and plopped down onto the tall, green grass.
The draconequus opened one yellow-red eye, brow furrowing. "What?"
"We're here for a reason." She reminded him huffily, folding one leg over the other, staring the male down.
"Right," Ardon sat up lazily, scratching the back of his rather long neck. "What was the reason again?"
The younger Celestia rolled her eyes, using a spell to have a gust of wind blow in his face, nearly knocking the both of them over. She giggled, quickly making an attempt to recompose herself. "Magic lessons. 'Member?"
The draconequus gave a small nod, as if she wanted this more than he, the student, wanted it himself. "What are we learning today, O Wise One?"
"Um.." The filly glanced around the area, contemplating what object she'd have him transform today. They'd already made cotton candy ten times better, turned things upside down, made somewhat-simple illusions.. "Make those apples grow."
"Seriously?" Ardon rose a brow, then looked over at a nearby tree, apples spotting the green shrub. "That's simple, even for you."
"I'll ignore that comment." Celestia murmured, then stood to all four hooves. "It's a lot harder than it looks, especially since I want you to make all of them grow at the same time, not just one."
"Oh?"
"You've got to concentrate your magic on the apples in general, not just one."
"But you can't look at all of them at the same time," observed Ardon.
"Point taken," the pinkette nodded, pushing her mane out of her eyes and behind an ear. "Alright, look at it this way. You're staring into a bucket of apples, all gathered into one spot rather than scattered like on a tree."
"And then what?"
"Concentrate your magic into the bucket of apples, and…"
The tree her purple gaze had been locked on suddenly shook violently, the fruit it harbored growing in size by the second, until they were roughly the size of a carriage.
Proud of herself, Celestia sat back down, beaming back at the draconequus. "Your turn."
Ardon leaned back on his hands, staring up at a tree. About a minute passed, and just as he was ready to rip the tree from it's roots and toss it into oblivion, the ground shook, and not two, but three of the tree's fruit grew immensely. A smirk perched itself on the male's lips, and he tossed his gaze to his friend, who was baffled.
"That's not fair! How did you make three of the tree's apples grow?" She marveled, slightly jealous, but the rest of her expression showing just how proud she was of her work. For a couple months now, she'd been teaching him how to cast spells, most were simple, others difficult. But she was, overall, satisfied with his progress.
"It's plenty fair. Just goes to show how much better I am."
"Now, now, don't get all arrogant," Celestia prodded, then stood, nodding towards the gate across the field. "We should get going."
"Aww, come on Tia, aren't you up for a little adventure?"
"Ad..venture?"
"Sure, you need to learn a few things, too. Let's see… I think we should go flying." Ardon grinned, but the expression quickly faded when he saw the other shrink back ever-so-slightly. "What now?"
"I-I can't fly yet.."
"Nonsense! That's the whole point of you learning. Duh." The draconequus rolled his eyes, then wrapped a lengthy arm around his friend's neck. "C'mon, it's a perfect day for flying lessons."
"You remember that day, don't you? Clear as glass." A rough voice made the real Celestia, the one who'd been observing the distant memory from afar, jumped. She felt the grass rustle beside her, and slowly turned her head.
"Of course I do, Discord." She whispered, eyes wide in surprise.
"What? Did I disappoint you?" The male smirked, laying down on his stomach and holding his face in his lion paw and eagle claws.
"N-no. I just… how'd you get here?"
"When you trapped me in that statue, do you think I liked sitting around as stone all day?"
"Well, no, but—"
"So I channeled what magic I could to escape. Not as much escape as walk among memories, the one place I find you to be so fragile." Discord hummed a note, brushing a lock of Celestia's mane, tucking it gently behind her ear.
"My memories, you mean?"
"Ours."
Celestia stared into his eyes, then shifted her gaze to the ground, gently resting her muzzle on the ground. "I'm not sure that I understand."
"See, whatever memories you and I have of our childhood, I can wander around in those. Any other memories, for example, of Twilight's, those are locked away. I can only access mine."
"How much magic does it take?"
Discord scoffed, and she couldn't tell if he was impatient or teasing her. "Here I came to see you, and you're asking me how much magic it takes. Gosh."
There was a moment of silence, neither awkward nor comfortable, and of course, the draconequus was the one to break it.
"You haven't changed, Tia."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Celestia lifted her head, curious eyes gazing in his direction. She'd been told by many, former nannies, guards, advisers, even Luna, that she'd become much wiser, a much better leader.
The male smiled a smile that seemed… gentle, almost. It was foreign to the princess, yet warmly familiar. It was the kind of expression she missed most. "You're still a little filly roped into being a full grown mare with responsibilities. But all you want is peace. All you want is fun." His facial features shifted, and he turned away. "But you can't have it."
Another silence came between the two, and Celestia, on the verge of tears, couldn't bear it. She broke the illusion, and the magic washed away the memory, along with Discord. "I-I'm not.."
