DAiE Ch. 4 P. 2 - The Memory

>You are Doctor Anonymous.
>And right now, you are feeling pretty good.
"It's absolutely perfect, Albert. I'm earning an income, doing science, AND I'm working on getting us home."
>You finish the meal your first day's pay had bought you. You and Pinkamina had spent the day looking at her previous designs and identifying why they didn't work.
>"And you get to spend more time with Pinkie!" The robot chimes in.
"...yes. Yes I do."
>Your mind flashes back to what she had said, and you look over to the hovering metal shell of your companion.
"Albert."
>He looks up from the book he was reading. "Yes Doctor?"
>You pause for a moment.
"I'm.. I'm glad you're here with me. This whole affair would have been a lot harder without you."
>An emotion you can't read crawls across his face. "..thank you, Doctor."
>You nod, and stand up, stretching.
"I think I'm going to bed, Albert. Good night."

>You discard your gloves, and kick off your boots. As you drape your coat over the chair at your desk, you look to your bed.
>Another night of that same dream.
>Another night spent waking up in a cold sweat, only to drift off again.
>That statue. Always staring. Laughing. Demanding.
>Well, fuck that. Tonight, you and he are going to have some words.

>You lie, and shut your eyes. With little warning, sleep takes you.
>It's only a matter of time before that voice returns to you.
>chaos.
>Not this time, you creepy motherfucker.
>You find yourself on an open plain. There is a gentle breeze, and the tall grass scratches softly against your pants. Before you, is the creature in the statue. Only this time, he isn't grinning twistedly at you, or grimacing in horror.
>He's smiling. A real, genuine smile.
>And someone else is here...
>Celestia?
>"I bet you can't catch me, 'tia!"
>The white alicorn looks... different. Younger, a playful smile on her face.
>"Of course I can't. You never play fair!"
>She flies after him as he takes off into the sky, his long body sailing through the wind.
>The young Celestia is obviously faster than him. But as her hooves are just about to catch him, he curls up in midair and turns into a puff of smoke.
>"Hahaha, no fair, Discord!"
>She flies off in search of him, and you feel a talon poke you on the shoulder. You whirl around to see the creature there before you. He's... massive, in comparison.
>"This is very private, important memory, little human. How funny that you should finally choose to respond to me tonight."

>You don't have time for this shit.
>You hope your augmented strength is enough. Grabbing the creature by the scruff, you pull his face down to your eye level. A big, goofy smile is on his face, and you desperately want to punch it off.
"I owe you a few nights of barely sleeping."
>"Tsk, tsk, is that any way to treat your host? And besides, it's not my fault you took so long to accept my invitation."
>A single, pawed hand reaches up to offer a handshake. "My name is Discord. I'm sorry if I've been keeping you up, Doctor. I hate to impose, but I very much need someone to talk to."
>You look at him for a long while, then accept his hand, letting go of his neck.
"You know who I am?"
>"I know enough. I hope you won't mind, but I've been prying into your mind a little bit. Nothing private, just some basic information."
>You narrow your eyes at him.
>"And I won't do it any more! Pinkie promise."
"...fine. What did you want to talk about, Discord?"
>"Oh, anything, really. You're the most interesting thing to happen in centuries! First, that dance you did, then, messing up Celestia's dining hall! And the part where she said, 'I didn't know you were a virgin!'" He laughs heartily. He guffaws. It's almost comical how much he finds that, well, comical.

>You find it strikingly less funny. Time to even the playing field.
"How do you know Celestia?"
>His laughter stops so abruptly that you almost feel it. There is a grim look on his face. One of anger, and regret.
>"You have no place asking that, Doctor."
"And you have no place peering into my mind. Besides, you wanted to talk, didn't you?"
>His beady red eyes focus in on you.
>"...very well." He snaps his fingers, and you feel slightly sick as the meadow around you bends and twists.
>This time, you're in a massive stone chamber.
"Where are we?"
>You look around. Discord is nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, you find yourself sitting on a huge marble throne, decorated with gold and silver statues of all sorts of odd things.
>The door bursts open, and there stands Celestia. Still young, but older than in the previous incarnation. Behind her is Luna, who at this point is only a filly.
>Both of them are seething with rage. Rage, and sadness.
>They are wearing a very strange set of jewelry. As they step into the room, they freeze, and Discord appears again.
>"Oh, my. I've skipped forward a bit, haven't I?"
"It looks like it. Are you going to answer my question?"
>Discord looks around, his gaze is almost mournful as he looks at what you realize was once his throne room.
>"I knew Celestia, Doctor, because I loved her."

>A memory. This time, it's one of yours. It flashes by only briefly.
>And you hate it. You push it aside.
>Discord is looking at the frozen Celestia. "This sort of conversation is not particularly my style, Anonymous."
>It takes a minute before he looks back to you.
>"I prefer happy endings. Funny endings. Laughter. This story doesn't have any of those."
>He snaps his fingers again. You're back on the plains, but this time the scene is different. It's raining. Underneath a large, black umbrella, you see Discord, and Celestia.
>They're talking about something. You can't hear it, but that memory creeps up on you again. You drive it away again.
>When you look back to the pair, Discord is giving Celestia a soft kiss.
>Discord, the non-memory Discord, you assume, appears beside you once more. "I loved her."
>Memory Discord finally pulls away. There is a long pause, before Celestia flies off, leaving him alone, in the rain.
>"But she didn't love me. Not in that way."

>You look at the Memory Discord. He doesn't cry. He doesn't yell. He just sits there, in the rain. With his umbrella.
>"It happened to you too, didn't it?"
"I told you to stay out of my mind."
>"I am."
>You look to him.
"What happened next?"
>"Well, I got a lot funnier." Even on this topic, he manages to chuckle. His mood sours again, too quickly. "I pushed them away. I... became something else. I poured myself into my work."
>This is hitting way too close to home.
"And what work was that?"
>Chaos.
>Flashes of neon pink clouds that rain chocolate one second and acid the next. Grass fires that froze down houses. Before you, flashes of Discord's rise to power. You see how he wrought chaos upon the entire world.
>And finally, time slows back down. You're in the throne room again. Celestia and Luna are still there, but this time, they're hovering in mid air, their eyes glowing with an impossibly bright light.
>"And then?"
>Discord looks at you. You're still sitting on the throne. You look to him, and then to the Princesses.
>"When I thought that she could not hurt me anymore. When I thought I was above her?"
>A beam of technicolor light shoots out at you. It hits you with an impossible, tingling sensation. You look down, and you see your feet start to seize up.
>They're turning to stone.
>"When I thought she couldn't hurt me anymore, she surprised me with a visit."
>You struggle to scream, but the transformation is too fast. Before you can cry out, your lungs are frozen in place. The last thing you see is Celestia's pained, hateful glare.
>"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

>Finally, you scream. Everything is gone. The chamber, Celestia, everything. You're floating in inky blackness.
>When your scream dies down, you grasp at air desperately. Your lungs are working again.
"Th-... that was horrible."
>Discord's voice echoes through the blackness.
>"Yes, well. You asked."
"I'm... sorry."
>"Don't be. It's hardly your fault. In fact, I suspect you know all too well what it was like already."
>There is a long pause. You don't answer.
>"I'd like to ask something of you, Doctor."
"Yes?"
>"I'll leave you alone. You'll get all the sleep you want. But you have to promise that twice a week, you'll talk to me. You have no idea how bored I get."
"Are all our talks going to be this... unpleasant?"
>"Only if you ask me about unpleasant things, Doctor."
"...alright. You've got a deal, Discord."
>You can't see him anymore, but you know he's smiling.
>"Thank you, Doctor. Now get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be exciting for you."
>Before you can ask what he means by that, he's gone. And for the first time since you've been in Equestria, real, peaceful sleep overtakes you.