Chapter 13: Change

Hearth's Warming Eve came and went. I am getting closer and closer to having to leave Canterlot. The past month was filled with thoughts of the dark magic. Every day and every chaotic spell I cast made me want it more. I feared that I could get to the point I wouldn't eat because I was so obsessed with dark magic. At this point, I knew I needed this insane magic. At this point, Luna told me just to enjoy the last month or so in Canterlot, so I had lots of time to study chaos magic. I could tell that Ember had begun to worry about me.

I was sitting at my desk. I held a quill in my magic, I was going to write some things down, but my mind blanked. Instead, I was staring at the candle flickering. I was trying to be silent so I wouldn't wake Ember in the next room. I realized I was holding on to the quill when it snapped. Sighing, I gently set it down and looked at the paper. I suddenly remembered why I pulled out the paper, but I didn't want the blank one, rather I wanted to review my plan for getting the dark magic books in the Canterlot restricted section. I slid off my chair and stuck my horn in a hidden compartment lock. I had an earth pony help me specially make the lock so only I could open it. The drawer clicked open and I pulled out a scroll that I had sloppily stuffed in the way back of the drawer. I also found a new quill and I pushed the blank paper off my desk and onto the floor. The area around my desk was a mess, but I stopped caring about order. All I wanted was the black magic, then I might feel better. In my last session, I had written a large note to myself saying to do this the day before I leave so I don't get caught. I also knew of a rumored spell that could alter memories. I would do that to Discord when he helps me so he admits to the princesses that he did it. It was the perfect plan. Near fool proof. I reread my plans and made minor tweaks to the overall plan. Making sure that every last detail was right and perfect. I checked the time; 11:36. I rehid my plans and crawled into my soft bed. I needed my rest.

Ember violently shook me awake. Yelling at me to get up. He told me it was noon, I had slept 12 hours. I vigorously apologized. It was impossible for him to stay mad at me. I had a gem hidden away that I was saving for a moment like this. I gave it to Ember to make it up to him. He greedily ate it. Ember also forced me to make breakfast, so I made pancakes. A meal simple for unicorns, but complicated for the rest of the races. We enjoyed the pancakes and we started a normal day. Discord had written out multiple books about chaos magic while he was waiting for me. If you remember, he knew when I was born because he is the spirit of chaos, so he can sense when a chaos bringer is born. He had given me the books to study on my own. That day, I constantly switched from reading the books and continuing to draw out my plan. I had less than one more month in Canterlot. I needed to hurry and make my plan flawless. With a mind like mine, I knew I could do it.

"Aura!" Ember called after a knock at the door.

"Yes, Ember?" I called back, looking up from one of my chaos books.

"Could you come here?" He asked nervously. Sighing, I closed my book and pushed it up on my desk.

"Just a minute." I called back. I quickly looked at myself in the mirror as I passed it by. "Oh, Aura Bliss. What has gotten in to you?" I said to myself. My eyes looked tired and my mane was no longer straight. I used my magic to bush my mane and tail out with a nearby brush. Once I was done, I inspected my face one more time before a walked out to the main room. I saw Ember talking to a pony I did not recognize. "Can I help you?" I asked. The mare jumped up.

"I heard that you were leaving soon!" She chirped. I still did not know this pony.

"I am a common pony, I help with the maintenance in the castle." I said.

"You are more than just a common pony, Aura." She insisted. Before my eyes, the pony shifted from a young mare to a very tall and thin Discord.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"It was simple, my dear. It was an illusion spell." Discord explained.

"What are you doing here?" I finally asked.

"Curious on your progress. I also wanted to ask you something, Aura." Discord said.

"Yes..."

"About you plan, are you still going through with it?" He asked. I smiled.

"Of course! You two are still helping me, right?" I asked. Discord immediately responded with a yes, but Ember let out a long winded sigh.

"I guess if you want to continue your studies, then yes. I will help you." He said. I gave him a thanking smile. Discord turned to leave, but quickly turned back.

"I almost forgot!" Discord exclaimed. He lifted his hand and pulled a gem out of thin air and threw it to Ember, who caught it. "I found this for you. I thought you might like it." He said and left in a flash of light. Ember looked at his new gem.

"What are you going to do with it?" I asked.

"I looks great, but I think I'm going to save it." He said.

"Ember, if you don't want to part take in my plan, then you don't have to." I told him.

"No, magic is your life, so it is only logical that you take this new step." Ember said.

"Thanks, it means a lot to me." I said. Ember set his gem down on the table and ran to me and hugged me. I returned the hug.

"You're the best friend a dragon could have." Ember said.

"And you're the best friend a pony could have." I responded. "Would you like to go out for dinner tonight?" I asked.

"Where?"

"That one cafe down the street you like?" I offered. Ember smiled.

"I would love to go with you!" Ember said happily. I looked at the time.

"We will go in an hour." I said. "I just need to wash up." I promised. Ember nodded before I headed into the bathroom and started a shower. I carefully washed out my mane, tail and coat. Taking extra pains to make sure my cutie mark was clean. I looked at it one more time before I stepped out and dried off. I dried myself off and brushed out my mane and tail. By the time I was done, Ember was rushing me to leave. We practically sprinted to the cafe. This is the one place that Ember would miss most. We were seated and served. We both had our normal hay fries. We enjoyed a diner that neither of us had to make. We did something we hadn't done since I was told I was a chaos bringer, we casually talked and joked. I wished we could do this more often, but...

"Aura, I missed you." Ember said.

"Miss me? I have been here the whole time."

"No, the real you. Lately you have been different."

"What do you mean? I still am Aura Bliss."

"Not the Aura Bliss I grew up with."

"Ember..."

"No Aura. Since that one day you began to be different, forget more things, ramble on about things to yourself, you began to be messy and unorganized. I miss the days when you would yell at me because I spilled batter on the kitchen floor, or even if I forgot to do one little thing. I want the old Aura Bliss back." Ember said. I was shocked.

"Ember... Ember, I'll try. I promise." I said. "As soon as we get home, we will take the first step back, we will clean the house." I announced. Ember would normally be upset about this statement, he drew a large smile.

"I can't wait." He said. I paid our bill and let Ember sit on my back on the way home. Together, we took the time to clean our house up and we began to pack our things for moving.

Hello everypony! I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but from this chapter you can guess I have been busy. You don't need to worry yourselves, Ember and I are completely fine. We thank you for your continued support and we will talk to you next time.