//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Mind of a Mage // Story: The Awakening of a Tactician // by Mountainmanmad //------------------------------// When I finally shed my stone mold I’m going to have to really hold myself back from shoving my foot up the royal sisters’ royal asses. Have you ever had a moment where after you made a decision you wonder if it was the right one to make? Said moment has been plaguing my mind for the past 20 odd years now. You see, the reason I’m encased in stone right now is because I let the royal sisters use the elements of harmony on me. Now, you may be asking yourself why I would let myself get imprisoned. Well… it was actually the best course of action. It all started back wh- “Ms. Cherilee, what’s this statue?” said a rather obnoxiously squeaky voice. Well I’ll be dammed, my 1500 plus some odd years plan might actually yield something. I wonder if they quarreled in front of Discord yet. Quickly shifting my attention to the resident draconequus, I was happy to find cracks beginning to form along Discord’s frame. It would only be a matter of time before he could finally escape. Returning my attention to the squeaky voice I found Cherilee’s class gathered around my statue. “This statue, Sweetie Bell, is Tactician. He was once a powerful user of elemental magic, able to bend wind and fire as well as other elements,” Explained the teacher You make it sound like I’m from that weird anime, what’s it called… Avalar I think? Something like that. “What truly made Tactician so dangerous, however, was not his magic, but his mind. He was considered to have one of the most brilliant minds of the era. In the past, he time and time again outwitted both of the princesses and the entirety of the royal guard,” continued Cherilee. The entire class gazed upon my statue with awe, amazed that something could be smarter than their princesses. It really wasn’t that hard to outthink them actually. They had a surprisingly one track mind during most of our early encounters. Wait… I just realized my statue is named after my field of expertise. … Well… I suppose it could be worse. Just goes to show how lazy Sun Butt and Moony are though. “What’s that thing he’s holding?” Asked a random background pony nobody really cares about. “That,” Cherilee began, “Is his weapon of choice. It supposedly holds the power of lightning within its metal.” Ah yes, the Levin sword. It was currently pointed outwards towards the distance, the entire blade jagged, made to look like a bolt of lightning. Of course, the sword wasn’t the only thing I currently had on my person. I also had one of my tomes open in my palm, a seemingly random page selected. I was wearing a robe over of a plain looking shirt. The robe itself was black in color and reached just a little past my knees. I was also wearing some heavy duty boots, the kind perfectly suited for uneven terrain. I personally loved my look and wouldn’t change it for anything. The teacher suddenly stomped on the ground with her front hooves, getting the attention of her students, “Alright class, this concludes our tour of the gardens. Let’s head on over to Donut Joe’s for a snack before taking the train back to Ponyville.” A bunch of happy foals soon left the gardens, allowing silence to permeate the air once more. Said silence didn’t last long though as the audible sounds of cracking begin to pierce the air. *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* Well, time for the moment of truth. Let’s see if I can pull this off and not screw it up. I never was the best at conversing. Stone shards began raining down upon the wildlife as Discord finally broke free of his stony home. I mentally rolled my eyes at his antics, watching as he began stretching his body at odd angles that would normally kill a… well… normal being. Chaos soon followed with a snap of the draconequus’s claws as the grass suddenly became a checkerboard of mismatched colors. Trying to ignore the eye strain I mentally shouted in the direction of Discord. Oi, Discord! I have a proposition for you I think you’ll want to hear! I got the reaction I wanted as Discord’s head turned a full 180 towards my statue. He disappeared in a flash of white only to re-materialize before me, examining me closely. “Well now… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a creature like you before!” He concluded, pulling out a pair of glasses from somewhere and placing them on his face. I’m not exactly from around here. I, however, know quite a lot about you, master of chaos, and deity of bedlam. “Oh stop it, you’re making me blush!” He exclaimed, fluttering his eyes at me. I internally grinned; glad to see I was making some progress. What can I say, I respect your work. Which is why I wish to present a deal that is simply too sweet for you to refuse. I could see the gears turning behind his eyes. He was most likely wondering if he should take me seriously or not. I need him to take the bait; it could be my only chance out of this hell. “I suppose I can listen to whatever deal you have to offer me. Please do make it quick though, I have some wonderful chaos I need to spread,” He exclaimed, showering the area with confetti and cotton candy. Let me free, if you should fall. Discord furrowed his brow, my so called deal making little sense to him. I needed to pursue this, the time frame isn’t large and I can’t afford any mistakes. Let’s say you make a mistake in your quest for spreading chaos. Use me as the backup plan. Should you be defeated, release me from my stone prison. I can promise you that my presence alone will cause panic among both the royal sisters and the guard. It will be quite… chaotic. Discord's eyes were practically glowing with mischief as I finished my explanation. I had hooked him, now all I needed to do was reel in the prize. “I must say I like you line of thinking. Usually I just wing it,” I cringed a bit when he said that, “But perhaps some insurance would be helpful this time.” With that he snapped his fingers and I began to feel chaos magic settle against my statue. I shuddered as the magic film set and hardened, locking on to my own magical identity. Proud with his work Discord waved goodbye before exploding into a shower of toads, the croaking mass scattering among the foliage. Because of the wonderful karma I have, I was horribly surprised when one latched onto my statue’s face, rending my vision useless. … I think he’s mocking me… As I suspected, Discord’s lack of planning and strategizing resulted him in being returned to stone. He was carted back to the gardens only two days after achieving freedom. I mentally facepalmed as I saw the horror etched onto Discord’s face. He had several millennia to make a plan and he screws up so quickly. I promised myself I wouldn’t make the same mistake. Shortly after small cracks had begun to puncture my statue and I knew Discord kept his deal. I spent the next several hours recalling every plan I had thought up during my time of imprisonment. Several of them I scrapped right away as they would either result in unwanted deaths or send me back into stone. All my plans boiled down to two decisions: I could either return to solitude or I could make peace with the crown. Normally I would jump at the chance of being alone, but I was surprised to find myself shying away from the option. It would seem 1500 years of solitude had been enough for me. Happy that I could finally decide on a course of action I simply waited for my freedom. The day after Discord's defeat there was a celebration at the castle, no doubt honoring the six mares that saved the day. I couldn’t help but feel giddy at the prospect of potentially meeting the six main characters of My Little Pony. I wasn’t a diehard brony, but I did watch the episodes. Believe me I had a friend who was obsessed with the show. I never saw so many plushies and dolls in my life! It was around noon of the celebration when I finally felt the cracks begin to deepen. I had learned beforehand that the mane six were staying for the night in Canterlot. I couldn’t be happier with my stroke of good fortune. Hopefully Celestia and Luna would be distracted long enough for me to escape the city without incident. They were the only ones who made me nervous. While I may be able to overpower one of the sisters, together they could prove a problem. Not to mention they would have an edge of not being immobile for a millennia and a half. I wasn’t immobile for much longer. Stone fell off my body like flaked paint as more and more of my skin was revealed. Within a minute I was finally free and able to breathe fresh air once more. Well, I would if the first thing I didn’t inhale was the dust from the falling rocks, so instead I was subjected to a fit of coughing. Turns out the second times the charm as I successfully took my first full breathe of fresh air after 1500 years. With shaking hands I sheathed my blade and secured my tome within my robe. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my silver hair, brushing away any pebbles that remained. I enjoyed the cool mountain air, a small gust of wind dancing across my skin and causing my robe to flutter. My eyes snapped open, the irises glowing faintly before dimming to a natural brown. The corners of my lips twitched upwards into a smile as I looked towards the city of Canterlot. Let’s see if Celly is still any good at playing ‘chess’.