//------------------------------// // CH-5: The Statue // Story: A Discorded Love (My Little Pony/Discord) // by JasminePosey //------------------------------// I refused to look up at the stone draconequus. A billion thoughts ran through my head. How was Discord able to talk to me? Why is he talking to me? Am I losing my mind? The answer to that last question, dear reader, is yes. "What do you want...Discord?" I demanded quietly. "Ahh, so you are the one," he purred. I shivered involuntarily. My control was long gone. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "I'm sure you want to know why you're here, right?" "Yeah...but how did you know?" "I know a lot of things about you Ms. Firestone." "I'm sure. If I may ask, how in Equestria are you speaking to me?" I asked. I was tempted to look up, but I didn't know if that was the right choice. He tisked. "Maria, do you not know me? *sigh* I guess I'll explain," he paused. "You are a draconequus, right? Of course you are. And that means that I can communicate with you without having to speak aloud. It's rather complicated. But I'll admit, it has been lonely without someone to talk to," "Is there a point to all this? I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be speaking to your...statue, I guess." "My dear, you wound me. I brought you here, and you won't even have a nice chat with me. Isn't that just rude?" I snickered. "I apologize, Mr. Cotton Candy Clouds," "Don't diss the clouds!" he said. "At least not until you have had the chocolate milk. Very delicious if you ask me," I snorted. "You're more hilarious in person," "I have no clue what you mean by that. But listen Maria, I need your...assistance. I brought you here because you are the single pony, or draconequus if you want to be technical about it, that can help me escape," My body went ridgid. Discord needed my help? "What do you mean?" "You know what I mean." "Well, sure I do, but I can't. I don't know how," I recalled the TV series. "However, you will be released, but not by me." "I'm listening..." "Pretty soon--" "Maria!" I cringed. Silver had come looking for me. "I'll come back later and explain. Okay?" I said lowly He sighed, sounding irritated."Very well. Till then," "Till then," I said. I still refused to look up at him as I turned and went to find Silver. He was at the fountain like Luna had said. "Hey Silver!" I greeted. "Sorry about the delay, I just love the statues!" "Oh. Well I'm glad. I see you have also found a Fire Rose. Those are very rare you know," Silver continued, and I was so glad that he did. I glanced behind me, then followed the pony through the garden. I had to find a way to get back to Discord. As the minutes ticked by, I pondered numerous ideas. I could try to sneak past Silver -- he was so caught up in his speech. Perhaps he wouldn't notice that I was gone. And it would only take a few minutes. "Did you know the rose hedge you took the Fire Rose from represents the harmony of Equestria? It's not so impressive as the Elements of Harmony themselves, but you have to admit; they are beautiful," "Huh?" I asked, then recovered, pretending to listen. "Oh yeah. The roses. Just dazzling," "I know, right? I'm surprised that you picked one of the roses," "Was that a bad thing?" I asked carefully. "Well, not that I know of. However, there's a rumor about the roses. If a rose is picked, although it has been taken from the hedge, it will last for years without losing its color," "Wow," I whispered. "That's...impressive," Silver nodded. He tried to continue on with the tour, but I stopped him. "Um, Silver. Do you mind going back to the roses? I want to take another look at them," The male pony smiled. "Now that you ask, I think we should go back." I returned the friendly smile, letting him lead the way back to the entrance. I kept thinking about how I was going to tell Discord about his release. I knew exactly what was to happen, but with Silver Knight here, I couldn't tell him right now in full detail. So when would a good time to come back be? As we reentered the stone garden, my eyes flickered to Discord. His stony posture was joyful, as if the Lord Of Chaos was breaking into song. I remembered that the first time he was imprisoned, he was laughing at yhe two Princesses, Celestia and Luna, when they declared his capture. I slowed my steps as I walked beside Discord. "When shall our next little talk be? I'm looking forward to it," I smiled, then frowned with thought. The only time I would be able to come back would be if I... Wait a second. "I'll be back tonight," I whispered, making sure it was loud enough for Discord, but soft enough for Silver to think it was nothing more than the gentle breeze around us. "See you then, Ms. Firestone," came his satisfied farewell. We approached the delightful flowers soon after that. I pretended to be interested in a rose the color of buttermilk and honey when a voice interrupted us. "I am sure the garden was to your liking, Maria?" I turned to see Celestia, her mane flowing gently as it always did, regardless if there was a breeze or not. I smiled, nodding. Her violet orbs locked onto the fiery rose that was in my hair -- or is it a mane? I guess since I'm not a pony, it would be hair, but considering that all the normal human terms are pony terms, I guess mane would be the best. "You have taken a liking to the Fire Rose, I assume?" I looked away, regretting my decision to pick it. "Yes, Princess. I apologize for picking it," She smiled daintily. "You don't need to apologize, Maria. I shall let you keep the rose as a parting gift," "Parting gift? What do you mean, Princess Celestia?" I asked. "I should apologize, for I was not in Sattle Arabia like I said. I was in Ponyville, discussing with Twilight's friends about your progress. I believe you are ready to travel to Ponyville," I stared at her. "Really? I'll be living in Ponyville?" I cleared my throat and composed myself. "I mean, I am grateful that you believe I am ready. When am I leaving?" "It has been decided that you will leave first thing in the morning. Twilight will meet you at the train station to escort you to Ponyville. What happens next is up to you," I nodded happily. I could still relay the message to Discord tonight, then leave for Ponyville in the morning. This is so exciting! That evening, after supper, I waited until Luna had raised the moon and went to scout Equestria, as she did most every night, to scout for night terrors. She confided in me that she hated to see her subjects unhappy in their dreams, so she appeared in pony's dreams to calm them and let them dream peacefully. I admired her kind heart, which was very different from when she was Nightmare Moon. I could only imagine how it would be if I appeared in that time arc. I watched the skies for Luna, awaiting the chance to sneak out. If I was caught by any of the guards, I would simply say that I was going out for a stroll. A decent cover story, though most of them may not believe me. Soon, the dark blue pony flew out into her beautiful, starry night. I grinned, leaving my window and approaching the exit. The door creaked softly as I opened it, but it didn't concern me -- I had no intention to harm anypony. My so-called feet padded against the rug. I kept my ears open for any sounds. I heard some of the guards at their post chatting amongst themselves, but, once again, were of no concern to me. I took an immediate left, coming to the bridge. There wasn't a pony in sight, so I opened my mismatched wings, flapping them a few times to test them, then taking off. I had never flown outside before, only in the privacy in my room. It was quite different, with an exhilarating feeling of freedom. I had always wanted to fly, even when I was human. I was FAR from disappointed. However, I couldn't fly for long. I had to meet a certain draconequus. I hovered above the garden for a few minutes, trying to calm myself. I felt a little guilty for giving Discord a heads up on his escape, but at the same time, I knew how everything would play out; Discord would hide the Elements of Harmony, Twilight and her friends would be turned to their opposite personality, making Discord believe he succeeded, but the Mane 6 would eventually turn him back to stone. I had the advantage. I lowered myself down, besides his statue. Instead of landing on the ground; however, I poofed up a floating couch. I laid on it comfortably as he addressed me. "Enjoying your powers?" he asked. "I never knew floating couches were more comfortable than regular couches," I sighed. "Excellent. I'm glad to hear it. So...about my escape?" "What about it?" I asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. "If you aren't going to release me, then who will?" "Well actually, you're going to release yourself. From what I heard, there will soon be a school field trip to these very gardens. When they approach your statue, they'll start to fight amongst each other. You can use that small amount of chaos to break free," "Brilliant! How had I not thought of it before?" I shrugged. "Beats me. It was probably one of those things that could happen under certain circumstances or something. So...what's the plan for when you're free?" "Why do you ask?" "Surely you don't expect me to simply go on my way? I gave you your ticket to freedom, and you expect me to not want anything in return?" "I brought you here, didn't I? Isn't that enough?" he demanded irritably. I pretended to think about it. "No, it's not. In fact, I feel used," "Your point? What else do you want from me?" "Simple," I said. "I want to be your partner," "What? Absolutely not! Do you even hear yourself?!" I pretended to be offended. "Why, Discord, that is just mean. I want to aid your rule over Equestria and you reject me. Now how rude is that?" "Rude, shmude. I can rule Equestria on my own. I don't need you," "Strange, cause you needed me a few minutes ago," I snapped, poofing away the couch and hovering in the air. Dramatically, I covered my eyes with my arm and turned away from his statue. "Woe is me! Used by a statue! Oh well, I'll just warn Celestia about your escape and remove you from the garden so you can't," "Now hold up," he said quickly with a nervous chuckle. "There's no need for that! I guess I can make an exception for a partner," I grinned, turning back to him. "Great! We can split profits-I get 90%, and you get 5%." "First off, there aren't any profits, except for glorious chaos. Second, if there were profits, wouldn't I get 10%? That would make more sense," "Ah, but what fun is it to make sense?" his silence was thoughtful. "Besides, in reality, it'd be the other way around." "Good point, but there's still no profits," I laughed. "I'm just messing with you," I went silent for a moment. "I'm afraid that this is the last time we can meet before you're free," "Ah, that's right. Celestia believes that you're ready to live in Ponyville," "So you heard?" "Of course I did. I am a bit disappointed to lose my one source of communication, but this could work. Befriend those ponies, earn their trust. If they believe that you're on their side, they'll be quick to ask you to assist them," "Brilliant. I'll certainly do that. I can't wait for this!" I chuckled. "This is going to be fun,"