//------------------------------// // Prologue: Picking up the Pieces // Story: I, Monster // by Magenta Cat //------------------------------// “Me damn it!” Discord thought while hearing the latest round of chattering about theories and plans. “If those phonies don’t stop being so careful and structured, I’ll go sane in here!” He tried to not think about it. In fact, he didn’t have to think. Discord was the very Spirit of Chaos, the essence of chance and anarchy in the great scheme of things. If there was one thing he shouldn’t be doing, that was thinking, let alone thinking clearly. That’s why he hated being imprisoned in stone like this so much. Inside, there was only thought and only thinking to be done. It was so calm, that it took him actual effort to stay insane in there. Discord feared what the isolation would turn him into. He couldn’t let himself be smothered by the peace and harmony of this state of pure thought. The last time he had been here, he’d barely managed to hold out. Suddenly, he felt a spark of something touch his paw. This is an illusion! Madness, surely, he thought. Good. But there was another touch. Then another. Then another. Discord realized the chitchatting was no more. Instead, the funny sensation was beginning to spread from his paw to all his limbs. He soon remembered what he had been doing with his paws before being hit by the “friendship cannon” — as he liked to call it — and that was holding… “Oh, fragg!” Discord felt how the chains he was holding were separated from his grasp. Discord tried to resist the separation with all the might a stone could muster. Of course, a stone being a non-moving object, the resistance was only psychological and it did nothing to stop what was happening outside his imprisonment. He started to feel how even the magical links that held him and his charge together were being severed, so he had to think fast or those fool girls would soon end up separating him from her. At least if there was one thing his prison was good for, as he had just been lamenting, it was thinking. Granted, the idea of not being magically tied to an mad omnicidal maniac was an appealing thought, but it was a terrible thing for everyone else. Discord was surprised to find himself agreeing that being enclosed in stone was preferable to letting such a being loose to hurt anyone else. Now it wasn’t that he really cared about everyone, but there was one, specific… special somepony that he had found his thoughts turning towards again and again during his time in stone. Fluttershy… He did care about Fluttershy, the only being who had chosen to be his friend. She who just happened to be part of everyone. Of all the thoughts that rattled around in his head, her and the memory of his time with her, were the ones that kept coming up, kept dragging him back to sanity. It was about the last thing he needed now, but that touch and the knowledge of what he was holding back from the outside world forced her to the front of his mind. How was she doing? How long has been since she had last seen him? A week? A millennium? Fluttershy was mortal and mortals had that pesky shelf-life thing going. How long was it they lasted again? The possibility of Fluttershy not being around anymore saddened Discord. Sadness. Discord had never minded things that didn’t directly affect him, and mortality was one of them. He never really had to confront the idea as anything more than an occasional annoyance at best, a demarcation that he couldn’t do something he’d enjoyed to a being that was no longer there. As long as the universe existed, there was going to be an element of uncertainty, and as long as that existed, so would he. He never really had to face the idea of losing anything significant either. Until Fluttershy, living beings were little more than toys for him, so losing a few of them wasn’t something that had ever bothered him all that much. But there he was, one of the fundamental pillars of existence, facing for the very first time the ideas of mortality, loss, and sadness on a personal level. For a second, Discord allowed himself to be sane, long enough to pay one coherent thought to the memory of Fluttershy. That’s when he felt Harmony’s touch take hold. Discord lost focus again, trying to forget any resemblance of coherence and get back on his game, but it was too late. Harmony had found him again and it was pulling him out. He had one last thought before re-emerging onto the physical plane. “Maybe I could make another friend.” Twilight Sparkle felt the ground under her hooves as she descended after casting the releasing spell. As she expected, the stone cracked and broke, releasing Discord from inside it, just like the last time. However, instead of languidly stretching and striking some cocky pose, he slipped off Trixie’s back, landing on his scaly backside and looking confused. The draconequus blinked and looked about him. Twilight wasn’t sure what it was, but it almost looked as if Discord was afraid of something. When he noticed Trixie beside him, he went so still that Twilight wondered if they had really managed to fully de-petrify him from his stone prison. Pinkie noticed it too, cocking her head to a side, trying to puzzle out Discord’s troubled expression. Twilight was about to say something when Discord blinked, smiled and looked back out at them. His stillness lasted only and instant more, as the draconequus coiled his body back like a spring, making a loud metallic creaking in the process, and launched himself forward with a sharp twang. Only Princess Celestia managed to register how he speared Fluttershy right out of the air, the others catching up as the pair rolled to a stop on the ground. Discord had wrapped himself around the yellow pegasus as one might expect a boa constrictor, but was nuzzling over her neck and cheeks like a dog reunited with its long-lost master, all while purring like a well-fed housecat. Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity could only gape at the sight of Discord’s happiness. “Fluttershy!” he finally managed to exclaim, stopping his nuzzling long enough to look her in the face. “I thought you…” He then looked around, realizing that the other five Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, plus the three Alicorn Princesses, a green pegasus and a baby dragon were all staring at him. “Yeah, you see...” He then realized he didn’t care at all, and turned back, squeezing her tighter and producing the most adorable squeak. “Doesn’t matter, got my friend back.” “Aww, I missed you too, Discord,” Fluttershy finally managed to reply while returning the too-tight hug. “One down, one to go,” muttered Lightning Dust as she watched Fluttershy try and untangle herself from Discord. “You sound surprised,” Spike commented. Lightning shrugged, the light spring jacket she was wearing rustling softly as it was pulled over her feathers. “What can I say? I didn’t think it would work on the first try.” Fluttershy had managed to free herself from Discord, who, after a final ruffle of her mane, proceeded to go around to and greet rest of the ponies present. Pinkie got a brohoof, Twilight a noogie, and Celesita a big, wet kiss on the muzzle, much to her apparent shock. He looked like he was going to try the same for Luna, but a raised eyebrow by the younger sister caused him to instead move on. “Heh, well, let me tell you,” said Spike, leaning in closer, “as long as I’ve known Twilight -which has been my whole life, mind you- I’ve only seen her fail at magic a handful of times, and most of those were because she was either rushed or was working from incorrect information that she was given.” A small smile tugged the corners of Lightning’s lips. “How big was the scroll she used for the checklist on this spell?” Spike let out a hearty laugh. It felt good after the tension of preparing the spell to free Discord without disturbing Trixie’s own stasis. “I’m pretty sure it killed an entire tree on its own.” Lighting chuckled as well. Meanwhile, Discord had started an inspection of Trixie’s statue, eying it through an oversized magnifying glass. Appearing to find something of interest, he gave the statue a long, wet lick on the snout and contemplated the taste before going back to Celestia and Twilight. Dust’s laughter petered out as she glanced up at Trixie’s obsidian statue, ending in a sigh. “Well, it looks like you’ve got things well in hoof here. I’ve got to get to the hospital. Dr. Stable wants to have this orthopedic rehab specialist he knows from Vanhoover have a look at me.” “Want some company on the way there?” Lightning looked down to where Spike was touching her foreleg. She then looked up and smiled at the little dragon. “Sure.” The two bid the rest good-bye and headed out. Spike did most of the talking along the way and they made it as far as Quills and Sofas before Lightning stopped. Growling irritably, she twisted her head around back, biting and chewing at the jacket where it covered her wings. “Sorry about that,” she said once apparently satisfied, “but the brace has been itching something fierce today.” “You could have just asked,” Spike softly admonished while reaching up and working his claws against her covered wings. Over the last several months, he’d learned the spots that usually irritated her. Lightning sighed and leaned in, closing her eyes and muttering thanks. In her relaxed state however, she let slip the question that had been bugging her for a while. “Do you think Twilight can really do it?” “What, Starswirl’s spell?” Spike smoothed over Dust’s jacket. “Well, she has been working on it long enough. Given Trixie’s situation ‘outside of fate’ as it were, I mean even Celestia thought it could help her.” “Still, it’s… not exactly an easy spell. It did stymie Starswirl, even at the very end of his life.” “Hey, if there’s any pony that is going to be able make heads or tails of that spell, it’s Twilight. More than a couple of her professors called her the next Starswirl. Of course some also called her Starbutt the Beard-less, though never to her face.” Lightning laughed as Spike came around front. “Did they actually call her that?” Spike smirked. “Canterlot ponies habitually ignore ‘the help’. I’ve heard more than a few things Twilight would probably prefer I didn’t when she’s not around.” Lightning laughed again but couldn’t keep it up and it quickly faded once more. Having let slip that last question, she was now faced with the real one that had been bothering her. “Do you think we should really be doing this?” The little purple dragon backed up a bit so he could look up at her clearly. Spike could tell that this was really the matter that had her so worked up. “You mean releasing Trixie.” Her ears backed with worry, Lightning slowly nodded confirmation. “What I saw there that day… that wasn’t Trixie.” Spike let go a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away. “I know, Lightning. I know.” He looked back at her, steeling his expression. “But I trust Twilight and the rest of the girls. If they say that Discord brought her back before the end, I believe them. And if Trixie was brought back, that means she’s locked in there with that… thing. That’s the other reason Twilight wanted Discord back first; if worse comes to worst, we’ll need him on our side. Trixie is our friend; we owe it to her to try and help.” “It’s true and I keep hearing it, it’s just that…” Lightning grimaced and stood up, giving herself a quick shake. “Now that we actually seem to be doing it, I can’t help but worry.” “If there’s one pony I trust in matters of magic, it’s Twilight. The Element of Magic chose her for a reason after all, and I for one am not going to argue with it.” Lightning couldn’t help smiling at the little dragon, standing there tall and proud. “Alright, Spike. Now, come on. Let’s see if this specialist has any better ideas than the last seven.”