Celestia has seen a lot of things in her time. She’s seen creatures that most have only heard of in legends. She’s seen entire cities made up entirely of crystals. She’s faced evils that none dared to oppose, and she won. She has seen much in her long life, and it seemed to her that nothing could surprise her. Until she saw this thing, that is.
She stood in Canterlot Garden, looking at a statue. She used to come down to this spot to think, and to remember just what she fought for. She would come here, and remember the time when Discord ruled.
Only, she can’t do that now. The statue of Discord was replaced with the statue of a creature she had never seen before. The thing sat on a stone stool, and by the way it sat, she guessed it was bipedal. The thing was hunched forward, with one of its arms on its knee, the other having its hand just under its chin.
When she followed the trail to the face, she most definitely could tell that it was some kind of primate, if the hands weren’t an indication. It was flat faced, its mouth just under its nose. The eyes were just above, and on either side of, the nose. There was a mop of hair just on top of the things head, the style short, but spiky on top. It definitely had an interesting face.
When she did a second look over the creature, she noticed it wore clothes. It had shoes, pants, and what looked like a jacket with a hood. So apparently this thing would have been sentient.
She continued to stare at the statue, wondering just what it was. Or better yet, why did it replace the Discord statue? Things of this significance don’t just happen, they have to mean something. But what? What did this mean?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. She looked over her shoulder and, as she had guessed, saw her sister, Luna, flying towards her.
“Good afternoon, Luna.” Celestia said with a warm smile.
Luna returned the smile, “Greetings, Sister. I had thought I would find thee here.”
Celestia gave a small smile to that. “Yes, well, I suppose I just needed to remember some things.” She frowned,”But when I got here, I found this instead of Discord.” She waved a hoof at the strange statue.
Luna tilted her head to the side. “It appears to be some kind of primate. What does thou think it is?
Celestia shook her head. “I don’t know. I have never seen something quite like this before. But that isn’t what I’m concerned about. What concerns me is that it took Discords place on the pedestal.”
“Indeed,” Luna agreed. “Perhaps, since it tooks Discords prison, we could release it. Once released, we could ask it questions, if it can answer.”
Celestia thought about that for a moment. Finally she shook her head. “I think that would be a good idea, if we had the Elements of Harmony with us. Currently, the Bearers are in Ponyville.”
“We could summon them to us. ‘Tis a three hour train ride from Ponyville. Less if we send a chariot to them.”
“Perhaps that would be wise.” Celestia looked a little unsure, but after a moment, she nodded her head firmly. “Send a letter to Twilight Sparkle, if you please, Sister. We can remove the creature from its stone prison tomorrow.”
Luna nodded and spread her wings. She was about to take off, when she heard an odd noise. “Sister,” she said,”did thou hear that as well?”
Celestia tilted her head. “Hear what?”
Luna surveyed the area around her, looking for the source of the noise. When the sound didn’t repeat itself, Luna shook her head. “Mayhaps it was my imagina-”
The sound was heard again. This time Celestia heard it as well.
“There!” Luna said,”That noise! What does thou think it is?”
The two looked around the area, trying to find the source of the noise. When it was heard again, both sisters looked straight at the statue.
Celestia cautiously trotted forward, examining the stone for the source of the noise.
When she heard it again, her eyes were drawn the the chest of the being. Thats when she noticed something that made her more than a little scared.
Inside that statue, was a being of unknown origin, with unknown power, and unknown intent. If she could, she would only release the creature when she was sure that the situation could be contained. She would only face it with her sister and all Elements of Harmony at her side. But she wouldn’t be able to do that.
Because cracks started to form on the statue.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Being stone sucks.
That’s the best way to describe it. It sucks.
Really, it makes sense when you think about it. I mean, the human body is almost fifty to sixty percent water, depending on body fat. Turning all that water into a solid object is an incredibly uncomfortable experience. It’s like having all of your bones lock together. Your blood feels like it should be pushed around, but when your heart pumps, all you get is this weird thruming feeling throughout your body. You’re also stuck in the same position you were frozen in. For me, that was the Thinker. When I stuck the pose, my left foot was twisted in a bit of an uncomfortable way. When I was frozen, my foot got stuck like that. Now, I can’t move it to make myself comfortable! I also had an itch on my nose that, now, I can’t scratch.
So, I reiterate. Being stone sucks.
“I can imagine.” said a warm, deep voice in my head.
One second my thoughts were of destroying all stone everywhere, and the next my thoughts were filled with the image of a man.
He was about medium height, and had the build of a long distance runner. All lean muscle. He wore all white clothes. White shirt, white jeans, and white sneakers, all of which matched his hair. When I saw (thought-saw) his eyes, I was filled with an inner warmth I had never felt before. Its was the kind of warmth you got from a hot shower after a long day of work, or the feeling of a soft puppy curling against your stomach. It felt like both those things, only more. When I looked into those eyes, I saw a vastness that I had never seen before. That no mortal mind had ever seen before, without being turned into a babbling wreck. Those were the eyes of someone who has truly seen all that has, and all that will.
The man smirked at me. “Truly, a poetic way of describing me. Though, I feel I should point out that I haven’t everything. Just a lot.”
He had heard that? Man, this guy must be in my head, or something.
The man put a finger to his nose. “Got it in one, my friend. Yes, I can, in fact, hear your thoughts. Your vocal cords aren’t working at the moment, being stone and all, so this is how we have to communicate. I take it you know who I am?”
I had a few guesses. He was that associate Discord had talked about.
He nodded. “Indeed. I owed him a favor, and this is how he decided to cash it in. I had me be your adviser for the time being. At least until you get a handle on your newfound power.”
Okay, so Discord decided to set me up with a little helper, so I wouldn’t end up destroying all of Equestria.
“The physical Equestria, at any rate. You do not have the power to destroy the fabric of this reality, thankfully. You do, however, have enough power to be a danger to yourself, as well as Equestria. That point actually brings me to why I am here. You need to know the rules.”
Yeah, Discord mentioned rules. But before you teach me what I need, I would like to know the name of the mentor teaching me.
He blinked. “Child, you don’t know? I thought you had already figured it out.”
I think I did, but I want to be sure, so I don’t insult you or something.
He let out a rich little laugh. “Trust me, it will take more than getting my name wrong to insult or anger me. But I suppose I understand your request. I’ve got a lot of names, my friend, but recently I have been going by the name of Isaac.” He did a curt little bow. “At your service.”
Not the name I would have suspected, but I suppose it fits.
He smiled at me. “Now that we have introductions out of the way, we need to get down to business.” He looked at me speculatively. “I assume Discord has told you some of what you are meant to do?”
I would have nodded, if my head weren’t stone.
He chuckled. “I can imagine it isn’t fun being stone. Anyway, on topic. We, as Guardians, are meant to protect our charges from those that would destroy all of reality. Many do this in different ways. I did it by just being as powerful as I can be to scare the enemy away. Some others that I know have made their reality seem unappealing to the entities, to make it seem it isn’t worth attacking just yet. How you do it, doesn’t matter. What does matter, though, are the rules that every Guardian must follow. Rule one: you are not allowed to kill. Not a thing. Be it animal, monster, demon, or person, you are not allowed to kill a thing. Breaking this offense will lead to being cast out from your reality, and all your power being striped from you. Understood?”
Ok, no killing. I can work with that. What about the other rules?
“Rule two: No conquest.”
If I could move, I’d be looking at him speculatively. What do you mean ‘No Conquest’?
“You are not allowed to use your power to rule or dominate your reality.” He explained, “You can make yourself to be a god and have the people value your word, but you can not, under any circumstances, use your power to directly lead or rule. Breaking this rule will result in imprisonment, or a loss of your power.”
I would have quirked an eyebrow. Didn’t Discord do exactly that?
Isaac looked down for a moment, before responding,”Discord was growing old. The power you carry influences its holder, but we can never tell how they react to it until they have it. The influence is usually the worst near the end of a Guardians life span. For Discord, it drove him mad. He tried to conquer Equestria, and would have, if not for the fail safe he put in place.”
Fail safe?
He nodded,”I believe he called them the Elements of Harmony. He created them for when he would be gone. It is a means for the peoples of the realm to be able to have a passing chance of defending themselves against the monsters we Guardians face. He also had them made for when the power got to him. He knew it would, eventually. He just didn’t know in what way. So, he made the Elements of Harmony just in case the worst came to pass.” He looked sad for a moment. “Like it has…”
I didn’t comment on the sad look. So, this power will influence my personality?
His face lifted,”And your appearance. Any clothes you might wear will change themselves to fit a more ‘chaotic’ look. And don’t worry about the personality changes. This early on, they are hardly noticeable, and never a bad thing. You might end up speaking your mind more than you used too. Or maybe doing more erratic things. But for now, you don’t need to worry.”
Ok, I can live with that. Any more rules I need to know?
He thought about it for a second. Then he said,”Only one more for the time being. You might run into a situation where another rule comes into play, but for now you need to only worry about the main three.”
I would have nodded, but stone, y’know?
He got a small smile out of that. “The third rule is this: anything you do with your power must be reversible. Say if you spawn a rubber chicken, you need to be able to make it disappear. If you uproot a tree, you need to be able to replace said tree. Basically, whatever you do, you need to be able to undo it. You don’t necessarily have to all the time, but sometimes big things need to be undone.”
Ok, so the rules are no killing, no ruling, and be able to undo everything that I do with my power. That right?
He smiled. “Yes, that’s about it. If you ever need advice, be sure to contact me, and I’ll help however I can.”
Well, it would be nice if I could get out of this stone prison…
His smile widened. “Ah, that I can’t help with. Only you can get out of it yourself. But I can offer some advice before I go.”
Oh? And what’s that?
“Will yourself to be.”
And with that cryptic bit of advice, he disappeared from my mental landscape.
Will myself to be… What the Hell does that mean? This is probably just a test to see if I can get up the power to break out.
I thought about the statement a bit. Will myself to be… Well, to be able to do that, I first need to find myself. So, I searched my head, calling up every memory I remember. After I did that, call summoned every feeling that I’ve felt, and relived it. All the aches and pains of life. Bad tasting foods. Good tasting foods. All the comforts and discomforts I have ever felt, and eventually, I came across something new. It was power, plain and simple. It wanted nothing more than to be used, to see the user’s will be fulfilled. This was the power Discord gave me, and I needed to use it to get out of my new stony home.
I brought forth that will, and forced myself to be.
And cracks started to form on the statue.