Chapter 37: Fissures Forming
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A few whole minutes had passed since the end of the attack in Ponyville. The zebra, unicorn, and dragon had made their way back to the library, finding refuge there.

"The swarm has finally receded," Zecora commented, "Their attack has not succeeded."

"Well, it wasn't a complete failure..." Rarity said, "They still did a fair amount of damage to the town in the time they had."

"Undoubtedly, Spike," Rarity commented, "Anypony could see the ongoing attack in Canterlot if they looked up long enough."

Spike shifted uncomfortably atop Rarity's back, and Rarity could only guess what his concern was--Twilight's safety. After all, it had been compromised once before by the very same creatures.

"It's not like Twilight was left to herself," Rarity continued, "Azure Courage would never consciously abandon his friends, much less a mare so dear to him..."

"It's part of his promise!" The voice was high-energy; the three could only turn around, seeing Pinkie pop in through...the window, which inexplicably bent backwards on its hinges to let her in that way.

"Pinkie, you realize there is a door, right?" Rarity asked, "But where were you in all this? Are the Cakes alright?"

"They're just fine! When those bugs came they started freaking out since we told them what they were and then there was a fight and..."

Pinkie couldn't quite finish her story. Spike put his hand to his mouth, and belched loudly, burping up a letter for the second time that day. All heads turned to the drake, who held yet another scroll from the princess.

"Should I open it?" Spike wasn't quite so used to reading Twilight's mail to others unannounced, but like the last one, the scroll was marked as urgent. However, with the crisis now over, Spike wondered if he needed to wait.

"It must be important, Spike," Rarity started, turning to him, "Like the last letter she sent, she must have something important she wants to tell us about this whole mess..."

Spike nodded, not even waiting for the others gathered to pitch in their own two cents. He opened the parchment quickly, clearing his throat and reading aloud:
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"To my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle:

You may already be aware of this, but both Canterlot and Ponyville were simultaneously attacked by the creatures you mentioned before, along with more supporting ponies. While their attacks seem to have failed, there has been a lot of damage. I hope that none of you all are hurt because of this...

While nopony knows exactly what this unknown organization is up to, it is clear they pose a threat to harmony. If this attack has shown us anything, we must remain vigilant. We can not allow ourselves to become lax in times like this with these ponies running around and causing chaos...

If you must leave your abodes for more than a few minutes, I highly recommend you must not be alone. We had a close call, and your safety is always a top concern.."

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As Spike began to scan the rest of the letter, there was a heavy silence over the room. Rarity was the one that broke it.

"Oh my, this is really getting serious..." Rarity said, "If their repeated assaults are any indication..."

The door creaked open, and all heads minus Spike turned to the noise. The dragon continued to scan the letter, namely the point past where he read. If anypony looked at him, they might have seen the growing look of confusion on his face.

"H-hello?" asked Fluttershy, poking her head out from behind the door as Rainbow Dash walked past, clearly much worse for the wear than she was; not saying a lot given Fluttershy wasn't hurt at all.

"Nothing to it," Rainbow said, smirking, as she polished her hoof on her chest. Fluttershy, meanwhile, looked around, clearly confused.

"There's more on the letter..." Spike announced, his voice showing a slight level of confusion. "She's specifically asking for...?"

"I request Azure come see me alone as soon as possible. I need to discuss something important with him after his recent actions against these attacks. A chariot will be arriving shortly for him. I advise he doesn't keep them waiting..."

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"But why?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Any of us could tell her, so why does she want to talk to Az about it?"

"Who wants to talk about Az?" Applejack seemingly materialized at the front door, walking through, followed closely by a similarly unhurt Twilight...and an Azure who looked like he just got in a fight with a razorblade and lost. Needless to say, upon seeing his condition, those who hadn't already seen him let out a collective gasp.

"Are you okay, Azie?" Pinkie asked, walking up to him with Rarity, Rainbow and Fluttershy close behind. Spike, meanwhile, had finally gotten off Rarity's back and now looked ahead, back to the letter.

"Yeah, just a few cuts. None of them are deep..." Azure assured them, right as a pinch came from one on the left side of his torso. "So...what was that about somepony wanting to talk to me?"

Spike went back over all parts of the letter again, but it wasn't until they got to the postscript that the room once more fell into a silence, confused as to what the letter meant. Azure, however, was especially confused.

Okay, if she wanted to hear what happened over here from me, she'd be wasting her time with sending someone after me. Twilight, or anypony else, could just as easily tell her in writing or in person, so what could she want to talk about? Azure thought to himself, keeping calm in the face of the fact Princess Celestia may have put him in a position to remain clammed up or squeal about his role. The others had no idea of the raging paranoia surging through him, that they might have connected some of the dots.

"Well, it's obvious what she wants to talk about," Rarity cut into his thoughts, sounding like she had an answer.

"Of course! It all makes sense," she said, "Azure Courage has put his own well-being on the line to protect not only the five of us, but also to protect her personal student and the mare of his dreams." She walked to Azure, who fought every urge to show panic in his expression or body.

Did she figure it out?! he thought to himself, Rarity maybe a few centimeters away.

"Is going to be knighted!" Rarity smiled, dodging Azure's paranoia so sharply that Azure had to pause to make sure he was going to say the right question.

"Well of course!" Rarity said, taking Azure's confusion as genuine, "You heard what she wrote. Why else would she wish to discuss your recent heroic deeds?"

"That would be awesome!" Rainbow immediately took all the focus off the confused Azure, "With a title like that you could boss around the Royal Guards!"

"I ain't sure it works that way..." Applejack stated. As the others began to chat among themselves, Twilight turned to Azure, ready to let him know of her pride. She did certainly think it was possible, but she could clearly see relief in his eyes. As soon as she saw it, she remembered the parting words of the batpony.

"Have fun being Celestia's lapdog in the meantime..." Twilight remembered clearly, No. Just the words of a hateful pony and nothing more. He obviously refuses to understand actions other than his own...

Within a few minutes, the others began to disperse, Zecora heading back to her home, Fluttershy and Rainbow leaving together since the former was still slightly shellshocked from the whole ordeal, Applejack and Pinkie also leaving together due to the letter's instructions and not wanting to take any chances. Rarity remained behind for the moment, but Azure wasn't sure why specifically. Twilight and Spike were also there--it was their home after all.

True to the letter, a chariot arrived, being pulled by ponies; Twilight and Azure standing next to a window.

"Should I really leave at a time like this? The town was just attacked..." Azure said, only to receive a nuzzle under the chin for his doubts.

"We'll be fine," Twilight assured, as one of the Royal Guards approached the door, "You won't be gone long, right?"

Azure wanted to tell Twilight he didn't even want to leave, but to do so would ignore Celestia's call. To voice his doubt now might give him away anyway, so he didn't do it yet.

"I'll be back as soon as I can be..." Azure said, turning to Twilight and planting a quick kiss on her lips. After the moment ended, Azure looked into Twilight's eyes. He just wanted to say something, really quick. "I--"

"Azure Courage, you were summoned to Canterlot Castle," the commanding voice of an unfamiliar Royal Guard came from the other side of the door. "We saw you through the window..." It was a deadpan addition to the command, but it certainly got Azure's attention. Azure turned to Twilight, his thought train all but derailed.

"Be safe..." Azure said, once again leaning in to kiss her on the cheek before quickly heading for the door, "I'm ready now..."

And with that, Azure left. The two ponies and baby dragon crowded around the door, watching them leave into the distance towards Canterlot. Twilight looked up towards the chariot, feeling just a little confused.

"Don't worry, Twilight," Rarity assured. "I'm pretty sure we both know what he was about to say..."

"O-of course..." Twilight stuttered. She didn't know why, but once more, she felt a pain in her chest at his departure. It wasn't as bad as last winter's pains, sure, but she just couldn't name the degree of pain she now felt at this.
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The Shadow Ghouls were still undergoing cleanup from the city. The Royal Guards were less needed now, hence why they could spare a few to go pick up Azure. However, the confusion the normal ponies were experiencing, the mayhem that had just been inflicted on the city, and the waning havoc going on now, was causing something to be stirred.

At the statue garden, the singing statue of the animal mixture was considerably more littered with cracks. At the same time, a purplish glow began to slowly expand, like ink, from the statue. All at once, however, the statue fully cracked. A purplish ooze began to seep slowly from within the statue, pooling at the base of the statue. The more came out, the more the statue began to slowly crumble.

If anypony were around to listen, they might have heard the ooze chuckle to itself, as the statue fully crumbled away. Furthermore, they might have heard it seemingly talk to itself as it left behind a trail...remarkably akin to graham crackers...in a zig-zag trail along the walkway and into the grass.

"I'm free at last..." the blob said to itself. "Sure, I could wind up back to my old tricks, but there are a few formalities I need to take care of first..."

"I guess I'd better give my...rescuers...a proper introduction..."
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"Noct, Torpal, get back to base immediately! The stone has cracked! From here, we lay low again..."

"Fine, let's get out of here..." Noct said. "It's a shame, really...From what I've heard, it seemed like he's really able to put those lapdogs...and the queens...where they belong..."

"Save the rhetoric for later, Noct," Torpal stated, "Boss said we didn't want to hang around. C'mon, I'll warp us back..."

Torpal prepared to warp away, fully intent on adhering to his boss's command. However...

Torpal and Noct froze. Both turned around, clearly alarmed by the unexpected voice. What they saw surprised them. It was a purple blob that seemed to be oozing...well, nonsense was one word for it. The ground literally appeared to be altering in its wake. However, the blob appeared to be forming into something.

"One thousand years in stone, and I appear to have lost my form..." the blob asked, its voice distinctly male, "Hold on one moment..."

The blob suddenly appeared to float, growing talons, a tail, what looked like arms, horns...wings...

It then emitted a bright purple glow, forcing Noct and Torpal to turn away for a moment. When they looked back to where the blob was, the two ponies quickly realized what they were looking at. Pony-like head, one horn an antler, the other the horn of a goat; oddly colored blue. The wings were similarly mismatched: one pegasus wing, one bat wing. One leg was a goat's leg, the other lizard-like, like the snake tail that looked significantly draconic in nature. He had a lion's arm on his right and a eagle's claw on the left. He had a horse-like mane, black; white bushy brows, a small white beard with a matching tail tuft. His entire body shape was more like a snake.

"It would appear my reputation precedes me..." Discord responded, "But yes, you are correct..."

Torpal remained silent. He looked around. This "Discord" certainly lived up to his legacy; he hadn't even fully exerted his influence and already he could see things...not behaving like they should. The ground completely changing was just a small part of it.

"I must say, gentlecolts, I thank you for releasing me..." The mismatched pupil size; yellow eyeballs, red eyes, seemed to be focused elsewhere. "You know, before Princess Celestia turned me to stone, I never bothered with turning ponies to stone..."

"I see," Noct said, completely unbothered, "I can see why you'd be angry about that. The fact ponies don't see her for what she is baffles me, to say the least..."

"Ah, ah, ah, I'm not done..." Discord continued, "But being imprisoned in stone has taught me something, something very important..."

Torpal braced himself. He tried again to get his portal going, but suddenly, he realized something important.

Torpal put his hand to his chest, and discovered something important. His eyes widened. My gem is missing!?

"And that would be...?" Noct continued his line of questions, seemingly not aware that his gem might have disappeared too.

"Being in stone doesn't pull away all your senses. I got to see the evolution of a boring society for the past millennium, with no real chaos to it for that time..." Discord grinned wickedly, his single fang totally visible. "So...I think I know how to reward you two for helping to free me..."

"That being...?" Noct sounded eager. Torpal snuck a look to his friend's chest. For some reason, Noct had discarded his cloak before they met up again.

"Noct, your gem...!" Torpal tried to warn him, but nothing could prepare him for what came next.

Torpal's head was forcibly turned towards Discord. Noct hadn't removed his eyes from the creature of chaos, and seemed almost distant from what was happening.

"Eyes on me..." Discord's grin didn't leave him. "You two, my fine gentlecolts, will get a front row seat for the storm to come!!"

Torpal felt himself starting to stiffen, but he couldn't even move his eyeballs to check Noct's status. However, the rest of his face moved into position. He was able to think well enough, even as the rest of his body began to fail to respond to his will, stiffened into a permanent position.

What...kind...of reward...is this...?
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Discord could only feel satisfaction at what he'd done. Sure, those ponies would certainly get the show they wanted, but now he completely understood it. Turning living creatures to stone was certainly a good stress-reliever. He looked at the stoned forms of the ponies that had helped to free him, feeling absolutely zero remorse for putting them in that position himself.

"Sorry I can't hear your applause, though," Discord said, "I've got problems to resolve, ponies to torment..."

The dragonequus began to coil on himself as he made for Canterlot, leaving the statues at the Ghastly Gorge, not caring if they were broken or not by what was to come. He absolutely did not care what happened to his "rescuers"; he had much more important things to take care of. Revenge was on his mind.

"Problem one: neutralize those stupid Elements so they can't be used against me," Discord said. "Sure, it would be simple to just turn those ponies to stone too. That's the problem...it's too simple for my taste...I want to see those prissy princesses squirm for what they did to me..."

Discord's eyes became bloodshot, blue veins sticking out in the yellow eyeballs, "I'm going to torment those little ponies they care about...slowly, surely...They...will...be...broken... I will make them rue the day they tossed the true ruler of this land into a stone encasement!"
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The chariot ride was unbearably long to Azure, but it had taken maybe five minutes, tops, for Azure to get to Canterlot. He could see Shadow Ghouls still being cleaned up here and there, but he was practically landed on the front walk of the Canterlot Castle's courtyard. Princess Celestia was practically waiting for him already. He didn't know why, but she seemed particularly troubled; a look that he hadn't seen her have, not even on the night of the wrecked Grand Galloping Gala. Then again, the city was just attacked full-scale; perhaps that was why.

Azure quickly followed the solar princess into the castle. The inside was void of Royal Guards, save for a few running through the halls. It wasn't that surprising, considering the cleanup work still going on. Azure felt a handful of the cuts on his side begin to sting.

"Would you like to have your wounds treated first?" asked Princess Celestia, now fully seeing the extent of his injuries after turning to him.

"No, I'll be fine..." Azure responded. "This isn't the worst I've gotten from them..."

"Of that, I am sure," Celestia smiled, "But I must apologize..." The two had finally stepped into her throne room. "Had I known what kind of dangers would follow, I wouldn't have asked you to protect the Bearers. But you have my never-ending gratitude that you have done so without hesitation."

"Don't worry about it, Princess Celestia..." Azure started, "Actually, can I be honest with you about something?"

"I'd like nothing more than for my little ponies to be honest with me," Celestia smiled still. He'd only been in her presence a handful of times in his life, but he still couldn't believe how it felt around her. She may have been one of the most powerful beings on the planet, but she clearly never let it get to her. The princess of the sun gave off an aura of warmth that couldn't be defined; it wasn't stiff and upright like the city around her; and he hadn't heard of an actual incident where Celestia misused her powers. It absolutely baffled him, how ponies could possibly think she was anything other than this nice pony.

Azure nodded, "You don't have to apologize or thank me. Everything I've done, I would have done even if I hadn't been asked. As a matter of fact, even if you had told me to stay away from them that night I still would have done the same as I have."

"I don't know," Azure was at a loss--even before he met Twilight, he felt like he couldn't separate from the other five, "I mean, they're my friends, of course I'd want to protect them. But even before Twilight moved into town, I had always felt...pulled, towards them. I don't know how or why, but I know this much: it doesn't matter what happens to me as long as I ensure they see another day. I wish I had a better answer than that, but I don't care what the feeling is or why I act on it, the important part is, as long as I can protect them while I draw breath, I will be happy."

The princess remained speechless for several seconds. Azure could see it in her eyes. At the same time, he could almost see a sort of longing in them--perhaps for days gone by? He couldn't tell.

"You are true to your name, Azure Courage..." Celestia quickly grew serious, seemingly looking around. Azure noted the change; it was almost the same look she had before he even landed. "Now, we must get into the situation at hoof..."
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As the two talked about the state of affairs, there was something watching them. Unbeknownst to either the solar princess or the azure unicorn, something was watching them. If a pony were next to the wall, they could just make out a whisper.

"Keeping secrets, I see?" a voice said, "What a shame. I already gave up on Celly, but apparently her bad habits have rubbed off on a new generation. Oh well...I guess I'll just have to mix things right..."

The voice faded away, laughing maniacally, knowing precisely where to hit now...

Harmony and Courage: Running Parallel

by SSJRandomMaster

Chapter 37: Fissures Forming