Twilight's POV
Discord's Realm, Equestria
With a burst of light from the magic I channeled, I opened my eyes seeing all of the Realm of Madness that Discord resided in. The sky was not that of a clear blue or cloudy white or gray... nor rain or thunder. It was a swirl of purple and waves of what I can only assume is the energy that binds and holds the realm together, for only the sake of preventing madness and chaos from running amok in Equus.
I had brought my friends to the realm with me, all for the sake of Discord having, yet another, forbidden spell that we could use to bring back Brayden... even if it is only for a small temporary time. No other library or lost chamber would have such a spell - but even the most dangerous of all spells was stored here, away from the hooves of anypony good accidentally getting ahold of it - and away from the claws of evil.
Even if evil has been sealed away for good, me and my friends with the powers of friendship... we needed to remain vigilant on anything that arose with a purpose of bringing about Equestria's destruction.
Ahead of us was none other than Discord's place, which in fact, threw me off because I originally was under the impression that it was going to look like some crazy palace or some sort of gloomy cave full of chaotic surprises he would leave for us. But I certainly did not expect for his home to look like... a regular house! The roof and the front door itself were in a yellow color, almost like a bumblebee's stripe, as well as the exterior being completely red bricks.
For the first time seeing this, I am quite intrigued and impressed... both at the same time.
I starting trotting forward with my friends, approaching the front door and placing my hoof onto the smooth surface of the door itself, turning to look at Fluttershy.
"Are you sure that he's going to know where he has this spell?" I asked her, a concerned look on my face as she kept her smile and hope from what I saw on her facial expression.
"I'm sure Twilight," Fluttershy says to me. "I haven't doubted Discord in recent years. He'll know what to do, and will know what you need."
I exhale a sigh. "I hope so..."
My right front hoof moves back and then proceeds to knock onto the panel of the door a few times before I set it back down and take a few steps backwards to be around my friends. We wait for a bit, hearing only the sound of what sounded like a radio and singing with water running.
Me and my friends look at each other with confusion expressed on our faces, and then look up, seeing that Discord is up there on the roof of his own home, taking a shower... probably pretending that he hasn't noticed us yet, but knows we are already here.
"La la la... la la la la..." Discord sings out while scratching his back in the shower with his eyes closed, embracing the moment of being clean. "Just a moment please, I wasn't expecting visitors!"
A giggle was released from Fluttershy's mouth. "Discord! It's only me, Fluttershy! Princess Twilight and her friends are with me!" She called out to him.
Discord halted on his actions for a moment, and with two flashes of light from his magic - had moved from his roof and appeared in front of me and my friends with a rather joyful smile on his face. "Ohhhh Twilight! It has been way too long since we last met!" He pauses for a moment, using his magic to summon what looked like a scroll of his pledges as far back when he was reformed. "I promise you that I really REALLY have been good, and have not been causing trouble!"
"Discord..." Applejack had a slightly annoyed tone in her voice when he got that dramatic. She wasn't glaring, she just knew this was typical of the draconequus himself to do this when suspected of causing what he originally did before. "Y'all of us came here to come and see you. Ya ain't in trouble..."
"I'm not?" Discord pauses for a moment, using his magic to disperse the scroll he had summoned. "Well, that's good news. What brings you all to my realm? Need a bit of chocolate rain for the soul?"
"I wouldn't mind that!" Pinkie exclaims excitedly, bouncing up and down as she usually does. Her wish is granted when Discord snaps his lion paw finger, summoning a pink, yet fluffy cloud above Pinkie, letting it rain down brown milk chocolate upon her, to her satisfaction.
"So, Discord..." I spoke with him, taking my sight off of Pinkie and taking a look at my draconequus friend who looks back at me, eager to see what I have to say to him. "We came here because you might have something that could help us out. A sort of item."
"An item? You might want to clarify what you mean, Princess," Discord said with confusion in the tone of his voice, and his eagle claw scratching the side at the top of his head. "You are kind of being a bit vague about it."
"The truth, Discord... is that we are looking for a certain kind of spell that is stored here that can bring back somepony... you know, that kind of spell that-"
"That can bring back ponies from the dead?! Are you crazy Twilight?!" Discord responded to me, using his magic to illusion his own self as a 'zombie' from those films on the posters I see at the theater in Ponyville. A frown appears on my mouth with a small disappointed expression on my face as he continues. "It's not a pretty picture... I don't like doing that!"
A giggle came from Fluttershy beside me, and takes in a quick breath to respond to him. "Silly Discord, we're not looking to do that sort of stuff..."
Discord is able to calm himself as he reverts back to his normal self. I close my eyes for a moment, and I reach my right front hoof forward to touch his left shoulder. "Please Discord, it's not like that. It's... it's just..."
"Brayden?" He said, as I lower my head and close my eyes. "Oh Twilight, I know he's gone... I miss him too. But I don't know if necromancy is the right thing to do as it is strictly forbidden in Equestria. Even before I joined the side of Equestria as the Lord of Chaos, I even knew that it wasn't allowed."
"It's a different kind of spell, Discord," I said to him, opening my eyes and looking back up at him. "I'm hoping to see if I can get Brayden from a certain point of time before the battle in Mortem. But only for a limited time, as I know this one could be temporary..."
"That kind..." Discord wanders a moment in his thought, and his concerned face seems to become serious. "I'd be careful with such a spell like that. Making an accidental tamper with it could be quite dangerous for you and your friends... and most likely, the whole timeline."
"I... I don't care. I just want to see Brayden... again..." I said, trying not to become upset at the thoughts of my love as I take my hoof off of him.
I can hear hooves trotting from behind me, going forward and seeing it is Rarity herself who is approaching him. "If you can trust about anypony to be as careful as possible with forbidden magic, it's Twilight. She did help you in the exchange between her and Tirek after all..." She says to him, with hopes of convincing him.
A sigh came out from the draconequus' mouth as he spoke. "Very well Princess, I'll help you out with that, but you have to promise-"
"Pinkie promise!" Pinkie interrupted with a smile on her face while looking at him, her mane and coat practically covered in chocolate after the pink cloud had dispersed.
"...Pinkie promise that nothing will be disrupted during the process of the spell. One wrong thing, and the whole timeline could either be messed up, or plain out destroyed permanently." Discord says, almost expressing a frown on his face like he didn't want to expect failure from me or my friends, his lion paw being held forward and waiting for me to shake it with a hoof.
Slowly raising my left front hoof. I'm about to bring it forward for him to shake as well as I, but I stop for a moment. My thoughts were on the consequences of not being careful about the spell that Discord is talking about.
What if something does go wrong? What if I get distracted during the process and in turn, erase something from the timeline we are in? As dangerous as it sounds... I don't have much choice when my love comes to mind... I have to do this, Brayden.
I brought my hoof forward, setting it onto Discord's lion paw, and I allow him to shake it. He still gives a grave, yet concerned look of caution on his face. "Alright, the promise is sealed for me and all of you," He says, letting go of my hoof after shaking it, as I place it back down on the path. "However, it's still not too late to turn back now."
"Give us a break Discord!" Rainbow Dash says with an annoyed tone in her voice, groaning prior to speaking.
Discord turns and opens the door into his place. "Step right in, I can get it for you from the sealed library of magic scrolls." He says as I trot forward into his home with my friends behind me.
He teleports inside and turns to tap on the wall behind him, as if he is using some sort of secret passcode. I don't know what he is tapping onto it for, though it sounds like rhythms and random drum beats. But hey, that's Discord for you.
"My, what a home," Rarity comments as she looks about the interior of the living room. "I certainly would use some nice curtains for the windows though."
After some tapping on the wall, the wall opens up like a sliding door that I remember seeing back on Earth when Brayden took us to visit his home. Inside the small room, I can see various scrolls of magic that were previously deemed "forbidden" for any sort of usage at all.
"It's right over here somewhere..." Discord said to himself, as I join with him in the room. My friends stay in the living room, taking a look around as they as well as I have not ever been to his place before. The only one I know who's been here is Fluttershy, but that was to be expected as she and the draconequus have been best friends for a long long time now.
I think I see the scroll that Starlight Glimmer used when she wanted revenge on me and my friends... it looks to be surrounded in an impenetrable orb of magic that nopony nor any evil can access at all... even the darkest magic will not be able to penetrate it as it floats above a strong magic-based pedestal of silver. I turn my head away from the scroll I experienced in the past, and have my focus on Discord who has his eagle claw scrolling through the various scrolls on the shelf until coming to a stop at the end.
I watch as he grabs onto the scroll at the end, taking a gander at it and then looking at me. "I found it Twilight," He says to me. He turns and shows me the paper scroll with all of the written text transcribed from old Equestria brought forward to me. "The Scroll of Time Extraction."
"I really appreciate that you've helped us out, Discord," I said to him. "I thank you."
"I certainly hope you know what you are doing," He responds to me. "For use of the spell, you will need a large room with lots of space for the scroll to start working its magic. Then, you and your friends have to choose the memory of Brayden that you recognize together and the magic within the words will recognize it and sync it together to re-create him. It will only work for a short time though, as he will fade away after a day. So take your time wisely on it, as the scroll may turn to dust from its own age."
With my magic channeled, I used it to take the scroll from him, knowing with his advice what to do when the spell is activated. I look at him, nodding my head in thanking him once again.
"Twilight..." I heard him as I was turning to go back to my friends, stopping to hear what he had to say. "Remember when I said back there when I said to not disrupt the process?"
"Yes?"
"Well, once the magic is activated, there will be a web of time surrounding all of you as described in the scroll. It is what keeps all of time together and everything going throughout the universe. Just... whatever you do... please don't let yourself or any of your friends touch it."
"Oh Discord, you're over-exaggerating on this," I said with a giggle as I store the scroll in one of my bags on my side. "I assure you nothing bad is going to happen. I Pinkie Promised, remember?"
"Oh right, I suppose you did..." He says with a nervous laugh.
"Thank you again, Discord!" I said to him as I join back with my friends.
Pinkie zipped towards me, a look of excitement present on her face. "Alllllright! We got the one thing we need to see Brayden again!" She sounds excited when she speaks with me, bouncing up and down.
"Come on girls, let's head to the old castle in Ponyville, we can use the ballroom there to use the scroll there." I said to them with a smile on my face. Brayden... it's almost time to see you again... I can feel it in my heart.
"One more thing before we go, girls?" Fluttershy stops us, turning to look at Discord. "Lunch time together sometime soon?"
"Of course," Discord says to her with a smile. "I'll definitely prepare the daffodil sandwiches right this time!"
She turns to look at us. I then look at every one of my friends. They are just about ready to leave Discord's realm, as well as I, knowing that I now have what I came for. Channeling magic to my horn, I use a spell from memory, collecting us and teleporting us out of there to Ponyville.
My heartbeat is beating quite well, knowing I'll be happy to talk with my love, even if it is for a short time... Brayden... I'll see you soon...