//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Hercules/Discord AU // by fluttercordlover232 //------------------------------// It was tragic, Celestia and Luna sent all the Gods and Goddesses on Mt. Aris on a frantic search. By the time they found the baby, it was too late. Young Discord was mortal now, but since he did not drink the last drop of Sombra's potion, he still retained his God-like powers. Despite Sombra's horrid intentions, the draconequus grew more powerful with each passing day. Even though he technically wasn't either of their son, Celestia and Luna were still heartbroken at the loss. For now, all they could do was watch him as he grew up in the care of the jack and jenny. 16 years later Somnambula was a small village in Southern Equestria located near the San Palomino Desert. Being near the desert, it surprisingly never got too hot. The temperature there never went above one hundred degrees. It wasn’t an impressive settlement, but it had everything a small community would need. There were lots of small shops and bazaars that sold various goods, a water well in the Center Square, and a large pyramid shaped temple to worship the Gods at the far end of the village. The houses were not a sight to behold either. Due to the constant heat of the sun, the walls and roofs were beginning to crumble, and the once brightly painted houses that were in every color of the rainbow have now all turned into the same faded dull gray. The ponies native to Somnambula wore headscarves to protect them from the sun, and sandals to protect their hooves from the hot sand. The village of Somnambula consisted of a variety of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies all of different sizes and shapes. It was also where two donkeys and a draconequus lived. The said draconequus entered the Center Square and released his hold on the wooden cart he had been pulling, which was filled with tradable goods. Some of which were of great value. “Thanks son.” The donkey said as he got down from where he was sitting on the cart, “When I threw my back out back there I thought I was a goner for sure.” “Sure thing, Dad. Happy to help.” The draconequus said as he started to unload the cart of its contents. “Don’t unload just yet, I need to see first if Trader Joe wants any of these goods in his shop. I won’t be long, but please stay by the cart until I come back, Discord.” Discord sighed. “Ok.” Cranky gave a soft smile, “That’s a good lad,” he said as he turned and walked away. When his father was out of sight, Discord leaned against the cart in a bored manner. He glanced over and saw a couple of teenage stallions playing with a flying disk nearby. He thought of how funny it would be if the disk vanished in the middle of their game. When he made sure nopony was looking, he snapped his fingers. As soon as he snapped his fingers, a blue parasprite appeared in the air above the team of stallions. It was as if it knew the aerial path the disk would take, for it disappeared into the parasprite's mouth almost as quickly as it appeared! Discord could not hold back his laugh when he saw the confused and displeased looks the stallions had on their faces. "You-you should've seen the looks on your faces!" Discord laughed as he approached the group, "Priceless!" The stallions however, did not think it was funny at all. Discord had been so wrapped up with the prank he pulled, that he forgot to snap the parasprite away... Within those first few minutes, one parasprite had multiplied into three. They spread out and began eating the rest of the village. The more they ate, the more they multiplied. In the span of five minutes, it went from one parasprite, to thirty parasprites! The villagers screamed and ran out of their homes and shops, clutching any items they wanted to save from being mercilessly destroyed. Discord tried snapping them away, but unfortunately, he only managed to snap away the original blue parasprite who started it all. He had no idea how to get rid of the rest of the twenty-nine! Pretty soon the town was left with nothing except for the desert sand from under their feet. The only structure that survived was the pyramid shaped temple. Seeing as how it was mostly built from sand and rock, it did not appeal to the taste of the parasprites. When the swarm saw that there was literally nothing left of the town, they flew off. By the time they were gone completely, it was too late. The damage had been done. A crowd of angry villagers surrounded Discord and his father, shouting insults at the draconequus. "That boy is a menace!" shouted one villager. "He's too dangerous to be around NORMAL ponies!" shouted another. The donkey tried to reason with them, "He didn't mean any harm, he's just a kid. He just...just can't control his powers." An earth stallion with a muddy brown coat and black mane marched angrily up to Cranky Doodle Donkey. This was Trader Joe, the shop owner Cranky went to see. "This has been the last straw, Cranky! I'm warning you, you better keep that...that...THING away from me!" Trader Joe shouted in his face. The crowd began to disperse, leaving the donkey and the draconequus alone.