//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Statues of Chaos and Greed // Story: The Moros Project // by Navar //------------------------------// The crack spread across Discord’s stone head as he began to work away at his prison, not that he’d ever use the word work for something HE was doing. Work was too constraining. So, no, he wasn’t working at it. He was… getting rid of it! Or maybe you could say he was convincing it to sod off. Although, he really didn’t have any care to think about this little issue of vocabulary, to get out of his own statue he had to focus, at least a little. The ponies who had been talking about Discord wandered off and away from his statue, the three little fillies that had brought him such joy only moments ago had their heads hung low, already dreading their punishment for spreading a little chaos in the world. Really quite detestable form from that teacher. But then, all teachers were just killjoys anyway. Discord felt bad for the little fillies, but more importantly, he would personally thank them once that crack spread out from just his head! He chuckled to himself, the crack spreading as he worked his magic through the new seams in the stonework. Oh, the feeling! Movement! Flexibility! A breath of fresh air! Oh thank the primordial seas for little fillies like those three! He felt like he’d been trapped as a statue for eons, when it had only been, what? A thousand or so years? But thankfully those Princesses had a little spat at some point, and the spell weakened ever so slightly after Celestia had won. Discord had tried to force his way out of the spell cast by the Princesses but found that Celestia still had some elements under her favor. So, for however long since then, Discord had been silently fuming, scheming, and dreaming about his eventual escape from the monotonous prison he was trapped in. But then, oh ho ho, but then, those pesky elements had chosen new bearers to wield them! Oh it was an exciting feeling to have those constant magical restraints removed from his prison. He’d set to work immediately, pushing against the rock that encased him, but found himself… weaker than he was last time he was out. Too much peace and order in the world, he blamed. Well, Discord’s plans would change that! A dash of havoc, a smidgen of worry, a whole ton of chaos! Oh, he was getting giddy just thinking about it. But, even then, he still had to escape, and it wasn’t as easy going as Discord would have liked. Or, it wasn’t going well until that class had rolled in, causing a little storm of chaos Discord found absolutely refreshing, and oh so filling! During the past few centuries in the stupid garden he’d only been visited by stuffy nobility, some ever orderly gardeners, and rarely by Celestia, although last week she had been joined by Luna. He’d stopped pushing at the walls of his prison when they showed up. Wasn’t Luna on the moon or something? Bah, no matter. She was more a mare after Discord’s own heart if she had to be banished all the way to the moon! Or maybe she wasn’t, Discord didn’t really know. Being stuck in a rock doesn’t really help you keep up with the current going ons in the world. But still, he knew enough, exactly enough. Just as much as he would’ve cared to have known had he been out of this prison a hundred years ago! Discord grumbled half-heartedly to himself, startling a bird off his head as hairline fractures began snaking across his body. It was now or never! Discord howled as he let his power out, the sound of magic whistling through the cracks in the statue like some filly’s first recorder. It raised in pitch as more cracks ran across the statue, a disco pattern of light flickering through the gaps in stone as his howl turned to laughter. And one by one, stone shards fell away from his body. In one last push, the statue exploded, pebbles raining down from the sky. Discord rose into the air, laughing in triumph at his newfound freedom. “At last! Fresh air! Freedom! Oh, how I have missed this feeling!” Discord spiraled into the air, turning into a bird briefly, then a leaf, then a boulder with wings. All the while laughing giddily. Relinquishing his wings, he fell back to the earth, smashing through a statue of some pony who probably wasn’t even real anyway. An arm extending from the large rock, Discord snapped his rocky fingers. Little bits of marble from the broken statue re-assembled themselves, this time in the shape of Discord, standing in triumph where his own prison once stood. Discord laughed as he reverted to his draconequus form, slinking across the garden like a snake. Where he moved various plants from all over the world grew, making a veritable forest of insanity. “Lets see those gardeners trim a palm tree!” Discord chuckled, patting the side of a new, and rather impressive, tropical tree. There were also cacti, seaweed, some moss, several types of weeping willows, and a pear tree. Discord even grew a large pine tree, complete with a layer of snow. He laughed again, growing smaller and sitting on the head of a nearby statue, the only one still sitting in the sun. Clapping his hands, a bright green lawn chair appeared on the statue’s head, complete with a bright red, floral pattern umbrella. Discord sat back with a newly-created cup of mish-mash, his own recipe. Adjusting a set of sunglasses on his face, he moved a layer of clouds away from the sky, clearing up a larger ray of sunshine. “Now this, this is how to live.” He said to himself, sipping from his glass. As he sipped, the mish mash rose and it began overflowing immediately. He tossed it over his shoulder with a snort of laughter, conjuring up some mirrors for a quick tan. “You wouldn’t believe how pale one gets when your stuck in stone for a thousand years, ey statue?” As he said that his body turned a shade of golden brown, from his eyes to his horns, to his various appendages and even his tail. Discord snapped again, bringing life to the statue, making it agree with him. He waited a moment, before lowering his shades a bit. “That’s where you say ‘oh yes Discord, but you don’t wanna burn!’ then I light on fire. So, let’s try that again!” Discord supposed he was a bit rusty, maybe he’d made some random statue elsewhere come to life to say that. He laughed at the thought of confusing some random pony, so maybe it was a small blessing. Discord snapped a second time, raising his shades back up to his face, bringing the statue to life this time. Or… maybe not. Discord stood up, his chair and umbrella snapping onto themselves until they vanished with a pop. Tossing his shades off, along with four other pairs of glasses he had hidden below them, Discord lowered himself head-level with the statue, squinting. “I don’t appreciate your lack of cooperation, statue, though I enjoy how unexpected this whole issue is. Tell you what,” he continued, talking to the statue as he paced in front of it’s face, “I’ll forget this ever happened IF you say what I want you to. Deal?” He grew back to full size, grabbing the statue’s outstretched hand, shaking the whole statue vigorously as they “agreed”. As he did so, a memory wormed its way into his thoughts, causing him to stop. Wait a minute… Discord stopped shaking the statue, bringing it closer for a quick scrutinizing. It looked… familiar. Now why was that… oh! A human! He set the statue back on its pedestal, looming over it with a magnifying glass. The last time Discord had seen a human, namely a stone human, he’d been… well it had to have been when he forced the ponies to move the sun and moon that first time! Yes, that had to have been the time. Though, the statues back then had no clothes, those were destroyed by age, while this one’s clothes were part of the stonework itself. Looked identical to all those statues the humans had built, though it had one of those coats on, some of the humans he’d first seen had been wearing those. Of course, even those humans were statues. It was honestly surprising that even one of those humans survived Discord’s experimentation with a world of chaos! Discord smiled fondly, remembering those times. Truly the best of times. It was only after the ponies got those “Elements of Harmony” that he’d been knocked off his chaotic throne. Then he’d come back! Then knocked back down. Then Discord came back again, this time with renewed vigor! Then stone statue. Now he was back again! Still though, Discord thought as he pulled a stethoscope out of the air, pressing it against the statue’s chest. He listened for a moment, smoothing out his goatee. Pulling off the stethoscope and tossing it behind him, he pulled a little rubber hammer from out behind him, raising it above his head. “Now to check for reflexes!” Discord chortled, swinging the rubber mallet down full force on the statue’s head, only to stop mere millimeters away to tap it lightly. Cracks spread out over the dark statue’s head, stopping just below the closed eyes. “Of course, I would expect you to remain here for further treatment, no strenuous activities for whatever reason, you understand?” Discord said, wiggling his finger at the statue’s face. He put his arm over the statue’s shoulder, gesturing out at the horizon with a large smile. “We’ll have you right as rain in no time at all!” With a snap of his fingers, and a small laugh at his own joke, Discord summoned a small storm cloud over the statue’s head, rain already pouring heavily. Discord stepped back, admiring his handiwork, before frowning. He closed an eye, extending his hands, or rather his claw and paw, and making a window through his digits. He stuck a tongue out, then another, feigning deep thought. He snapped his fingers, straightening up. “Eureka, of course!” Clapping his hands, the cloud turned a violent shade of pink, raining down chocolate instead of rainwater. “Now, that is a raincloud that people could really enjoy. And by people, I mean me! So long human, I’m off to better the world!” With a quick wave, he spiraled off into the distance, vanishing with a burst of bubbles. The statue stood silent, as statues do, chocolate pouring across the cracks on its head and down the body, pooling in its outstretched hand. It was a few hours later that two gardeners would arrive to find their wonderful statue garden missing a statue, filled with random plants, and with a damaged statue covered in chocolate. The two ponies gawked at the scene. “W-where’s the victory statue? Where’d these plants come from? What in Celestia’s name is going on here?” The older pony spoke shakily, staring blankly at her once beautiful garden. Her assistant stood silent, shaking his head at the palm tree that had popped up in the sunflower bed. Behind the two of them, a statue loomed, hooking them it it’s arms and pulling them close. The startled ponies shouted in alarm as the statue’s face broke out in a massive smile. “How ‘bout you take some time to admire my handiwork! Really an upgrade if you ask me.” The statue of Discord said, smiling through cracked teeth. The stallion screamed in shock, passing out immediately. The statue laughed as the other gardener simply stood stiff in Discord’s embrace, unable to think or move. Just too much to process. “If you sleep, you’re going to miss all the fun!” The statue chastised as it straightened up, dropping the ponies to the ground. It raised its mismatched stone hands above its head, laughing all the while. “Truly a spectacle of chaos!” His laughter echoed off the statues, loud and filled with a gleeful malice. “I won’t be knocked down again!” “I still cannot believe you just left Discord’s statue to sit in the garden, Celie.” Luna said after taking a sip of her tea, watching her sister shift through a pile of paperwork at the table, where she was supposed to be eating instead of working. “It was irresponsible of you to just let him sit outside, where any pony could get to him, or vice versa.” Celestia didn’t seem to hear, reading through and signing another document with a flourish. She did nod her head though, showing she clearly heard Luna, just wasn’t paying attention to what her sister was saying. Celestia still hadn’t touched her salad, and Luna was getting irritated at her sister’s continued efforts to ignore what Luna had to say. Luna smacked the table with her hoof, making Celestia’s current signature slide up and off the paper as she jumped at the sudden clattering of porcelain and forks on the table. She looked up from the paper to Luna, sighing, as she wiped the ink away before it dried, leaving a dark smudge on the paper. “That was for the Duke of Shoeburn, Luna. They only just started recovering from the flood, then with Discord’s escape-” Luna cut off Celestia’s attempt to turn the conversation, staring intently at her sister. “If the elements had not selected new bearers when they had, we might not have been able to contain him again!” Luna gestured out the window where a few teams of pegasai were still scrubbing the clouds clean of sugar. “We should be thankful the Elements were able to stop him this quickly! I doubt they would have let you or I wield them as we did before, even if someone like Discord was wreaking havoc as he was.” Celestia smiled tiredly, re-signing the letter. “Oh, hush Luna. I can understand why you’re upset about Discord’s statue staying outside instead of under the castle, but I believe the Elements would have let us wield them if a crisis like Discord was running rampant.” Celestia returned her feather to the inkwell, moving the letter to her stack of signed papers. She smiled brightly towards her sister who still looked serious, but Luna did not return Celestia’s smile when she continued talking. “Nevertheless, if Discord had been released before the new bearers were chosen, or-” “Stop doubting yourself and the Elements, Luna.” Celestia stood up, picking up her plate in her magic as she did so, walking over to sit next to her sister. “You’ve lost yourself in situations that aren’t ever going to happen, seeing as they’ve already had a chance to happen, and did not.” She smiled at Luna, who smiled slightly, returning her attention to her plate. “I guess I am just working myself up, but the matter still remains that Discord was out from under our watch while in the statue garden.” She paused to take a bite of her salad before continuing her thought. “We need to keep an eye on him this time.” Luna took another bite, her fork hovering in the air over the plate. “We don’t want a repeat of this situation, right?” Celestia nodded, picking up her own fork with magic, letting Luna continue planning aloud. “I think we should move him to the catacombs, lay down some wards in his cell to keep him in his new statue, as well as under our tabs.” Celestia ate her salad, nodding to her sister’s plans. “I had planned on returning him to the cellars as well, but we can have some mages from the Arcanum set up potent containment wards, as well as some surveillance runes to make sure we have tabs on the chaos spirit.” She activated her magic, pulling another parchment from the stack where she had been sitting, sliding her ink and pen as well. “Unfortunately, Discord’s new cell will have to wait. This is a letter from Free Wind, Mayor of Manehattan.” She set it in front of her sister, turning to take a sip of tea. Luna read the letter, initially huffing at Celestia’s attempts to once again change the subject. Instead she found herself reading, frowning at the news. “To think Discord was able to turn the two rivers into undrinkable sludge in only a day. If the Elements had not acted as swiftly as they did, I’m sure the world would be in complete disarray within the week.” Luna returned the letter to Celestia’s stack of papers. “I take it you already requested mages from Canterlot to help fix the damages in the city?” Celestia nodded, patting the rest of the stack with her hoof. “To Manehattan, Cloudsdale, Shoeburn, and Phillydelphia among others. I’ve sent out more mages than I think we actually have, or at least more than are volunteering. I’ve even sent some to the Griffon Kingdoms, since Discord hit their borders as well.” She pulled out another letter, staring at it. “We also received condolences from the Dogland Republic, followed by further requests for our human artifacts.” She shook her head as she moved that letter to her “nothing to sign” pile. Celestia took a halfhearted bite of her salad, pulling more papers from the stack, but not reading them. “Of course, once their dignitary sends word about the statue Discord damaged, we’ll have Dogs on our doorstep campaigning for new legislature to defend what human relics we have.” She ended her thought with another sip of tea, pushing away her unfinished meal. She wasn’t really hungry anyway. “And, of course, they’ll probably just ask to take the statue again. They don’t seem to understand you can’t just give away a gift from a dragon. And I don’t understand their almost religious fascination with those ancient myths.” Celestia finished with a grumble, and another sip of tea. Luna smiled. “I believe I was one of those “ancient myths” until a few months ago. And, from some of the letters I’ve received, some still don’t believe I’m real.” The two of them shared a small chuckle at the expense of those who still thought Nightmare Moon, and by extent Princess Luna, was simply the shadowy shape on the moon. Celestia finished off her tea, pouring more into her cup as she lifted up her pen to sign a few more forms. Despite Discord’s chaos being a problem, some ponies just kept trivial issues ticking as if nothing had changed. Bureaucracy at its finest. Luna watched out the window as the pegasai moved from cloud to cloud, nearly done with the leftover cotton candy clouds near the castle. Most of the garish pink clouds had simply disappeared once the Elements of Harmony blasted Discord back to stone. Unfortunately, some of Discord’s tricks still lingered. She sipped her tea as Celestia signed a few more papers next to her, the two of them enjoying a moment of peace and quiet. “’When Discord reigned, the world was dark. The oceans churned, the sky fell upwards. The land upheaved, the animals were twisted. When at last chaos settled, it changed again into something new and grotesque.’” Celestia recited from memory as she signed another form. “’Those who lived, lived alone. None who saw the face of chaos lived to tell the tale. The primordial sea bubbled and boiled, threatening to return the world to its endless depths.’” Celestia paused a moment, dipping her pen back in its inkwell. Luna interjected before Celestia could continue her recitation. “Celi, I know Star Swirl’s writings on the time before the Elements were formed. I translated them, after all.” Celestia glanced at Luna, smiling as she clarified herself. “What I’m trying to get at is that we should not be dwelling on Discord’s attempts to throw the world into chaos, and instead focus on how we better the world as it is today.” She took another sip of tea as she signed another form. “Everyone is working hard to return things back to normal, and if we keep reminding them of what-ifs and could’ve-beens, the peace will shatter, and Discord will win anyway.” Luna nodded, finishing off her salad. “Of course.” She stood up, taking her tea with her. “Though I do hope we are able to do so quickly. I’d like to see a month go by without something massive shaking apart Equestria.” She walked off towards the door, before stopping and turning back to her sister, a worried look on her face. “Is the world falling into peril every few months considered normal since my banishment?” Celestia laughed, dropping her pen back in it’s inkwell. Luna’s concerned stare at Celestia made it difficult for the mare to reply. “Of course not! I think I would have stepped down long ago if I was always as stressed as I am when these crises occur.” She covered up the last of her laughter with a drink of her tea, finishing it off. Luna looked less worried, but still had some lingering doubts. “Very well then. I must go raise the Moon, sister. I’ll be off to the dreamlands shortly thereafter, so if you need me…” She let her thoughts trail off as her sister nodded, having already returned to her various letters and forms. “Be sure to hold night court though, Luna. You can’t keep avoiding that part of your responsibilities.” Celestia waited for her sister’s response, instead she only heard the door close as her Luna left the dining room. She sighed, pushing some of the papers away as she let her head rest on the table. It had been a long few months, what with her sister returning, new elements being chosen, Twilight’s shenanigans in Ponyville, the Gala, then Discord’s return. Maybe Luna had been onto something after all. Taking a few more seconds to gather her composure, she stood up with her papers and pen. Celestia opened the side door, stepping through to the stairwell that led up to her and her sister’s wing of the castle. “Marble? Please have a pot of Chamomile brought to my chambers as soon as you can.” From a door to her side, a unicorn, Marble Cake, appeared and bowed to the princess. “Should I have anything else brought up, my Princess?” She smiled as Celestia stopped a moment, thinking. “Velvet has made some fresh vanilla cakes, if you’d like to have some.” Celestia sighed, a smile betraying her thoughts. “If Velvet has made some, I shouldn’t let them go to waste. Only one though, with the tea, Miss Marble.” Celestia nodded politely to the young unicorn before climbing the steps. Marble bowed again, slipping back into the kitchen to get a busser to clear the dining room. Celestia, meanwhile, chuckled as she climbed the steps to her and her sister’s wing. Celestia’s new head chef already knew her tastes, it seemed. Gilded Hammer, or just Gild muttered a quick curse under his breath, looking back at the photograph of the statue Greed he’d been tasked to repair. First, the picture of Greed was horrible, really. Somepony must have moved as it was taken and knocked the whole image into a slight blur. That, combined with the grain from the age of the film, meant that his efforts to see what the statue had looked like before Discord had cracked it, then poured chocolate on it for a day, had been entirely fruitless. If the statue had been any other piece of artwork in the garden, Gild would have already fixed it up and sent it back to the castle. Heck, he already finished the replacement for the Victory statue in the garden, which Discord had shattered and replaced with a statue of himself. Honestly, the nerve. Gild had taken the entirety of yesterday to chisel out the new statue, which he dubbed Order, trying his hardest to ignore the other statue in his workshop. It was hardly his favorite, that Greed statue. It was a human statue, like the ones the Dogs had him make for their embassy in Canterlot. Gild didn’t care for the Dog’s fascination with humans, it just didn’t sit well with him. But, its craftsmanship was far better than nearly every statue Flint had ever seen or created. He admired it from that angle at least. Gild had originally drafted up plans to replace the statue entirely, his design including the new Elements of Harmony and their recent victory over Discord. But, his plans had been shot down by Princess Celestia. The statue had been a gift from the Dragon Lord, Oromanidoranitrius (or something as lengthy, Gild hadn’t bothered to remember), and you don’t simply discard a gift from a dragon, unless you want a war with the fire-breathing clans. So, Gild had to fix the human statue. He didn’t doubt he could at least patch the head, but sometimes the fractures run deeper, and those were harder to patch up. Flint didn’t even like patchwork, there was no art in it. But, he was the Royal Sculptor, though he did prefer a chunk of marble to a lump of clay. That was his cutie-mark after all. A block of stone. The statue was simple, two legs covered in cloth leading to a torso, also covered in cloth. From its torso hung a coat that looked like someone had simply painted fabric with that weird dark gray stone the statue was carved from. One of its arms was held out, like it was asking for a bunch of bits, hence the name Gild called the statue: Greed. Its eyes were closed, and its head was weird. All flat, no muzzle or even a beak to break up the monotony. It only had this tiny nose in the center of its face. The cracks started at the top, fractures leading down to its closed eyes. Flakes of dried chocolate were still stuck in some of the deeper crevices. Funny, almost made it look like the statue had hair, but at the same time, was rather disgusting. “Well, that is a place to start though.” Gild muttered to himself. He lifted a hose in his magic, something he mainly used for cleanup of stone dust, but it would get the job done. A burst of water, and he set to work cleaning it off. Aiming it at Greed’s head, Gild took out some frustration on the statue. It’s not like it chose to be cracked and covered in chocolate, but it was Gild who was stuck cleaning up the mess. Discord was to blame, but he was already in stone. That was a thought, Gild mused. Maybe he could convince the Princesses to coat Discord in something… maybe tar? Oh, or maybe honey? Maybe they could just dump the statue into a tarpit and be done with it altogether. He sighed, turning up the water. The princesses would never agree to that, no matter how well he did on his statues. Much better, Gild thought, looking at the lack of chocolate in the cracks. Or no, mostly gone. He got closer, angling the nozzle at the stubborn bits. He checked it again and frowned. Still there. He hovered the nozzle closer, grabbing a stool from a corner of the workshop in his magic as he did so. Setting it down at the foot of the statue, he moved the hose back, now scowling. Just a stubborn chunk deeper in the crack, taunting him. Pressing the hose against the head, his scowl deepened. He wasn’t about to be beaten by some piece of chocolate, he was Gilded Hammer! Renowned artist, with statues the world over! And he was stuck repairing this stupid statue! He yelled, throwing the hose to the side, glaring into the crack. It. Was. Still. There. Glaring at the accursed chocolate, he moved a pair of tweezers from his work desk, hovering them over the crack. “If you can’t be washed out, you will be pulled out!” Gild shouted, jabbing at the chocolate with his tweezers. Squeezing them tight, he pulled as hard as he could with his tweezers. It didn’t even budge. Gild, now incredibly fuming, stepped down from his stool and threw the tweezers at the now open door to his workshop, causing the pony standing in the doorway to hop back. “Gild! I knew you were upset but watch it!” Said the mare, Moonlight. She was his boss, though they were technically equals if you were talking titles. Gild collected himself somewhat, turning off the water from the leaking hose. He shuffled from hoof to hoof, looking at his shop which was now sopping wet and smelled somewhere between chalk and chocolate. “Ah, Moonlight! I didn’t hear you come in.” He said, trying to save a little face, but the mare simply gave him a sideways look. “What can I do for you? I’m quite busy with this order from the princess, you know…” He finished, forcing a smile. On the inside Gild was still seething, but it wouldn’t do to take it out on the Royal Gardener. Moonlight smirked, walking up and examining the statue. “What’s got you in such a fit, Gild? Looks like you’ve cleaned it off, if a tad bit aggressively.” She stepped up on the step, looking over the damage. Gild stepped over to the gardener, clearing his throat. “There’s still a bit of chocolate wedged in a crack. I was trying to get it out with the tweezers before you came in, although it was being a bit tough.” Moonlight laughed, finding the offending chocolate. She waved he hoof at Gild. “Hand me the tweezers, I’ll give it a pull so you can get on with the repairs.” Gild muttered under his breath about not needing assistance while handing her the tweezers from the door. She stuck the tweezers in the crack, angling her hoof to pinch the chunk. Pulling quick, it didn’t budge. “Huh, you weren’t kidding.” Moonlight grunted, giving a few tugs. She braced her hoof against the statue’s shoulder, trying to pull the chocolate out. “It... really… is... stuck!” She grunted as she struggled with the chocolate. Gild scoffed, looking back at his workstation, already tidying it up with his magic. Not that he’d be saving any more face, but he preferred a tidy workplace. “Of course it is, I wouldn’t have been as frustra- Moonlight, be careful!” He interrupted himself, looking back at the Royal Gardener, who was shaking the statue, herself, and her stool. “I think I… almost…” She muttered, ignoring Gild’s warning. The stool slipped on the wet floor, Moonlight losing her grip on the statue and tweezers, falling to the floor with a resounding thud. “Oooh...” She hissed, moving up onto her haunches, Gild walking up to her with a smug, but concerned, look on his face. He offered her a hoof. “Oh tan it, statue stallion.” She grumbled, accepting his help in standing. They both chuckled at her expense. “Did you get it out though?” Gild asked her. She simply shook her head, but before she could speak, the statue crashed to the stone floor with a resounding crack. Moonlight smiled sheepishly as Gild swore, moving to check the damages. “Oh damn it, I didn’t think it was going to topple.” She rose to her hooves, cracking her neck. “You can fix it though, right? If not… well.” She laughed nervously, glancing over at Gild, expecting an angry response from the stallion. “Gild?” She asked, concerned. “Moonlight… what in Tartarus, is this.” Gild said, his voice… trembling? Moonlight stepped around the statue, following Gild’s stare. She almost immediately stopped, stepping back slightly. No wonder he wasn’t responding. The head had cracked open, completely, right down to the neck of the statue. But instead of just missing, it was like a shell had cracked open, revealing a pale face, with chocolate-brown hair. Its eyes were closed, not like it was asleep though. More like it was waiting for something, expectantly... Just like the statue had been, but no longer stone. “I-I’m going to get the guards.” Moonlight stammered. “You explain to them, because I’m taking this right to the princesses.” She didn’t wait for his reply, which was just an endless stammering of questions directed at no one. All about what was in that statue. It was… disturbing. For so many reasons. But it also wasn’t exactly disturbing, per say. More curious, or intriguing. But at the same time, they’d had the statue for years, centuries even, and had somehow never noticed it’s secret. That unsettled Celestia, leading to her disturbed demeanor. It was late, and Celestia was awake long before she would be raising the sun, still Luna had insisted on this urgent meeting. She stared at what had once been a statue, still getting used to the revealed interior of what had once been called by her and her sister as The Human. To think a dragon had given it to them as a peace offering… When she had been awoken, then notified of the discovery by her guards, then her Royal Gardener, then her Royal Sculptor (though he was a stuttering mess), She’d ordered the rest of the stone “shell” removed from the Human, before having it transferred to the throne room where she and her sister, along with Moonlight and one of Luna’s Nightmages, Crescent Moon, were now scrutinizing it. Luna had sent Gilded to retire for the evening, making it an order due to his endless stuttering and muttering in confusion. Even without the dark stone that had covered its surface, it looked nearly the same. It stood rather tall, almost as tall as Celestia. It wore a long white coat, and under that a blue and red plaid shirt. The pants were jean, a dark blue, leading down to brown shoes. On its right hand was a black glove, still held out in front of the Human expectantly. The Human was as still as a statue and didn’t show any signs of damage despite the Royal Sculptor’s hap hazardous way of removing the stone shell. Despite Gilded Hammer’s chisel hitting through the stone numerous times, there wasn’t even a scratch on the Human. “Sister, Discord was the one to crack the statue… could he have known?” Luna asked, squinting at the closed face of the Human. “Or could he have simply brought this statue to life with his chaos magic?” “It’s unlikely, Princess Luna.” Crescent Moon said, stepping up to the Human and Luna. “Everything Discord brought to life, including some of the garden statues, returned to normal after he was defeated.” He adjusted his glasses before continuing. “My current thought on the matter is that he simply revealed him to us.” Luna glanced at the Nightmage, though it was Celestia that spoke next. “I would have to agree with Crescent, Discord wouldn’t have been this patient, especially since it was one of the first things he did once he got out.” She stepped up next to her sister. “He also probably would have given it proper life, or at least movement.” Celestia’s horn glowed for a moment, her eyes closed. “I can sense that the Human is alive, quite fine in fact. Discord never had a talent for creating life, and I doubt he could have re-created it to this level.” She opened her eyes, looking at the gathered ponies. “He is trapped in something, the Human. A barrier that might just be keeping him like this. We’ll need to break that barrier if we hope to learn anything past speculation.” Luna frowned, looking to Moonlight, who was swaying on her hooves, nearly asleep. “Miss Moonlight,” Luna began, startling the earth pony awake. “you are dismissed, please ask the Nightguard outside to fetch what Human relics we have and send them to the Canterlot Arcanum.” Luna smiled softly. “And do try and get some rest.” Moonlight nodded, then stood up and bowed before the princesses, taking her exit. Crescent huffed, staring at the statue. “I’ll gather some Human centric colleagues and check up on some other ponies that might know a thing or two on them. I should head back to my office to begin gathering information and assembling a team to look into this.” He turned to the princesses and bowed. “With your leave, I shall get to work.” Luna nodded, and the old stallion trotted out the main doors of the throne room, giving a final bow before exiting. The two sisters turned back to the statue, enjoying the momentary pause. They weren’t finished though. Luna sighed as she continued the conversation, looking at her sister. “You sense the energies, yes?” Celestia nodded, hoof tapping nervously since the Nightmage left the throne room. “Chaos magic, but very different from Discord’s.” Luna nodded, her horn glowing as she reached out her magical senses to the Human. “The difference is subtle, but it feels like a deeper form of chaos, like Discord used to use before we turned him to stone.” Luna said, voice grave. “We know so little of humans, could they have been creatures of chaos, like Discord?” Celestia moved over to Luna, sitting down with her near the statue. “As I said before, Chaos magic can’t create, or even sustain, life. Discord is an enigma with a soul, but this one in front of us is… defined. Within the realm of order.” They stared at the statue a moment longer, before Celestia sighed. “I think I have an idea on how we could free the Human from the barrier, but we’ll have to run it through the Arcanum to see what they can do about it.” Luna nodded in agreement. “One of us, or the elements, will have to be on hand to contain the chaos energy. Or maybe some magic circles…” Her head had already lowered in thought as Celestia stifled a yawn. “Well Luna, move the statue when you have finished. I must be off to bed if I want to be able to raise the sun in the morning.” With that Celestia stood up, walking out of the throne room as Luna was lost in her thoughts. Luna didn’t even notice her sister leave, designing the make-up of the magic circles they would need to contain the chaos magic. Silver would be the best medium, maybe lapis lazuli dust for the runes. This would be a useful test in her designs for containing Discord’s statue, and the Arcanum would be obligated to help, to refine her designs. The night princess stood from the floor, leaving the throne room. She ordered the Human moved to the tower vault, her guards saluting and stepping into the throne room. Luna didn’t stay to see them work, she had some planning to do.