//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Hercules/Discord AU // by fluttercordlover232 //------------------------------// At dawn the next morning, Discord stood outside his home, preparing to leave for his journey of self discovery. His mother placed a shawl around his shoulders to keep him warm. Once it was secure, she pulled him in for one final hug before letting him slip away from her grasp. Before he completely vanished from sight, he turned back to wave a final farewell to his donkey parents. Matilda waved back with a handkerchief in her hoof, and tears were gently rolling down her cheeks. He arrived at the Temple of Celestia before the sun rose the next day. When he stepped inside, he was surprised to discover that it looked much larger in the inside than it did on the outside. It was very spacious, with marble pillars stretching from the floor to the ceiling. At the end of the long hall stood a proud and regal statue of the Goddess Celestia. Discord snapped his fingers and the gold medallion appeared in his hands. He kneeled in front of the great statue and bowed his head in respectful prayer. “Oh mighty Celestia, hear me and answer my prayer. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where do I belong?” At the exact moment he ended his prayer, the sun began to rise in the sky. The early morning rays penetrated through the window and stretched it’s light down the temple hallway until it reached the statue. The instant the sunlight hit the statue, it immediately began to “melt”. It made it seem as if it was entirely made out of ice instead of rock! The Celestia statue began to twist and move until its eyes popped opened and laid eyes on Discord. It smiled tenderly down at him. “It’s been a long time, Discord.” It said in Celestia’s voice For the first time in his life, Discord was speechless. His jaw literally dropped to the floor! However, even though the statue looked and spoke like the real Goddess Celestia, it wasn’t truly her. The real Goddess’ mane were the colors of a morning sky and flowed like a gentle breeze in the wind, with a tail to match. This Celestia’s mane and tail were the color of the ivory she was carved of, and the constant breeze that made her hair flow was frozen in the stone. The statue chuckled lightly to itself, “Still as amusing as ever I see. Even after all these years.” Discord picked his jaw up from the floor and twisted it back in the right position. “I know, I’m thinking of doing stand up.” He stroked his beard in thought. He paused in his stroking and his eyes widened, just now realizing what “she” had said prior. “You say that as if you’ve known me for a long time...” “Celestia” smiled. “That is because I do know you. Since the day you appeared on Mt Aris as a baby actually.” Once again, Discord’s jaw dropped to the floor. Literally. The statue chuckled again, “Why so shocked? Surely you must’ve known your powers weren’t of this earth, didn’t you?” Discord once again picked up his jaw and put it back into place. “Woah, woah, back up Sunbutt—“ “EXCUSE ME?!” “She” said in shocked disbelief at the offensive name this mortal called “her” “What?” he said, clearly not seeing the problem. “How DARE you say something so disrespectful and rude to the Goddess Of The Sun!” Discord only scoffed, “You are not the Goddess Of The Sun, just a mere ivory replica of her. Besides, I think ‘SunButt’ is a rather fitting nickname. After all, you do have an image of the sun on your butt.” He said with common logic. “Anyway, back to what I was saying before. If ‘you’ have known me since I was a baby, and I was once on Mt Aris; that can only mean I’m a....” beginning to put two and two together. “A God” the statue finished for him. “A God...” he repeated to himself. It took everything he had to not will his jaw to drop on the floor for the third time. “Why am I here on earth then? Shouldn’t I be up there with the other Gods?” He asked when he got over the initial shock. “Yes, you should be. But someone took you from your crib one night and turned you mortal. And only Gods can live on Mt Aris.” Discord sighed dejectedly, “There’s nothing you can do?” “I can’t Discord, but you can!” New hope flared within the draconequus, “Really? What is it? What is it that I can do?” “Discord, your chaos powers are as much of a curse as they are a blessing. If you can prove that you can use them for good and become a true hero on earth, your Godhood will be restored!” Discord smiled, “That’s it? That doesn’t seem too hard. How do I begin?” “First, you must seek out Spikeartecuus, the trainer of heroes.” The Celestia statue told him where the trainer lived and how to find him. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t train me at all. I’m already so incredible I should just be on Mt Aris now.” Discord boasted. “There is more to being a hero than just being incredible.” ‘She’ said wisely. Discord only brushed it off, “Whatever, Sunbutt.” Little did Discord realize that becoming a true hero wouldn’t be as easy as he thought...