//------------------------------// // Of Shattered Promises And Broken Minds // Story: Discordian Revelations // by LemonDrizzle //------------------------------// Of Shattered Promises And Broken Minds Anger. Malice. Hate. Dark, tortured feelings screamed and flew around the mind of the newly infected king of chaos, blood red light pouring from the massive, swirling crimson cloud that smothered the mind of the draconequus. Spikes of twisted feelings drilled into his conscious every second, driving the corrupt thoughts further and further into the horribly writhing mind and pouring molten lead into the single, rebellious corner of his mind that was screaming and shrieking to be free, similar to the actions of the chaos influence before it had consumed him entirely. Still the disobedient, cawing psyche continued to pound ferociously against the mass of seething spoilt apple red storm of dark chaos, attempting to push back the crawling wall of sheer evil with little effect. Soon the darkness and the malice and the anger began to form into something, something monstrous and mismatched and chaotic. Cloudy, twirling apparitions of vapour descended upon the once black floor of the mind confinements, dark seeping red spreading out along the floor from the first touch. Slowly, the misty cloud began to take shape, twisted form hazily visible inside the sparking, dinning storm of rotten magic. One large, dulled green, scaly leg protruded from the smoke, talons clicking sharply against the still pooling floor. Another cloven, similarly dulled goat leg stepped out, lice and spiders running down its length before hitting the floor and disappearing, the illusion spent. The figure almost seemed to materialize as it pulled itself out of the still spinning vapour with a loud hiss and a low, dark, vomit inducing chuckle. It was like Discord but worse, so much worse. Bile would rise up at the mere sight of Discord but this, this monstrosity would cause eyeballs to burn and wither, throats to convulse and gag and noses to scrunch up and burst blood from the slits, brutally assaulted by the horrendous leaking smell that trickled from the mouth. The golden eyes had altered, humanity lost in a dark void of shining gold flames, the red pinpricked pupils even smaller then before and veins of bright red snaking across the blazing orbs. The single snaggletooth was curved and a horrible,a rotting banana colour that had a ring of dark brown enamel near the top that seemed to perfectly form around the bent tooth. The white eyebrows and beard were now crawling with lice and a fine layer of dandruff flickered across their surfaces like snow laying on a clearing. The usually vivid blue goat horn was now a grey shaded twisted creation, jutting out of his head with an abnormally large curl that was surprising even compared to the draconequus's old horn. The once bone white deer horn was now snapped along the tips, brown bone caked with dirt and grime and decay. Each breath exhaled reeked off death and atrophy, a foul smell that littered the dark red void before him. His usually sleek, groomed hair was now spiking up at all angles, small lice crawling along its surface like the soldiers of an army marching to war. His once dark chocolate coloured coat was now a deep black colour, drawing in all the light around him so that it looked like he was the eater of the sun, light bending towards him at an impossible angle. His furry lion paw was now bone think as a tight, taut mucky yellow coat lay over it like a blanket covering a festering wound. His long, banana coloured eagle talon now hung limply at his side, deep swathes of red rings coating around its edge, spiralling downwards until it reached the broken, peeling brown talons. His mismatched legs were their abnormal grey colour, the bright green scales smothered in a choking dull hold. His once long, red tail was now an even darker red colour that simulated a rich copper like tinge, curling and twisting as if it had a mind of its own. Instead of ending in its usual feathery, winged flaps it ended in a raw, bloody stump that was pulsing a sickly green colour. The bat wing was stretched to breaking point, holes punctured in the leathery folds like violent stab wounds. The bright blue pegasus wing was now limp and drooping, a sheen of darkness wrapping itself tightly around it like a snake squeezing the life of its helpless prey. This new, hopelessly morphed Discord stepped forward, a slight smile playing across his lips creating a vivid and petrifying visage of yellowing, rotting teeth. He laughed in an abysmally cruel way, stretching his broken limbs out in front of him with a loud, bile inducing crack that resonated horribly through the darkening mind, acoustics allowing the sound to continue long after it should have faded. The dark spirit of chaos raised his quivering taloned hand and snapped his fingers, his scenery morphing into a new clear picture, a picture that would plague the nightmares of ponies for as long as the slept. A scene that would cause God's to weep and the stars themselves to plummet from the skies. It was Canterlot but a horribly warped, sick version of Canterlot. Houses burnt with blinding, scorching blue and green flames in the background, cracked walls opening up like the gaping mouth of a monster. Ponies of every colour and ethnicity tearing across the scene, screaming and crying and flailing, their limp bodies hitting the ground with a loud thump as the unquenchable flames raced up the length of their filthy equine bodies. The trees were upside down, roots hanging upwards towards the sky like gnarled fingers clawing for the clouds. The once green, luscious ground was scorched and brown, great poka-dots of red and grey and black spreading across the floor almost like a horribly mutated game of Twister. Feral woodland creatures ravished across the demonic sight, sickeningly elongated legs pushing their heads upward towards the skies, trampling and stamping the still laying forms of ponies. The sky was a deep, dark gold and red colour, flashing blue lightning streaking across its length regularly like the first sign of the Apocalypse. Canterlot castle was decadent, decrepit and hopelessly obliterated. Smoke poured from the smashed roof of the tallest tower, flames licking up its side with startling speed. The castle itself was criss-crossed with dark green ivy that tightened and choked the walls, cracks forming around the parasitic plant like the opening of a sadistic gateway, the walls nearly crumbling under the smothering strain. Shards of broken glass littered the grounds, the gardens horribly scorched with unreal, green flames. Flowers wilted in the dead air, violent shades of bright yellow flickering across their bodies like a fireplace. The large doors to the great castle entrance had been blown apart. Frail, broken wood lay on the large steel rimmed hinges, clutching to the sides like a drowning pony clutching to the side of a life raft. Canterlot had been razed, torn asunder. Burnt and crushed and terminated with shocking clarity. That, however, was not the worst sight. Before the broken draconequus, there stood two dull, ivy covered statues that clung to the granite with an iron grip. The first statue was of a large, once blue Alicorn with a starry mane. The once beautiful Princess of the Night now lay smothered in stone, midnight blue coat choking under the sea of cold rock. Her once flowing mane now hung straight at her side, the rock forcing it downwards in a stunning reflection of the mane of one Pinkamena Dianne Pie. Her gorgeous, regal wings now lay coated in the stone, feathers turned into brittle, freezing material and plumage being carved into the rocky surface. Her horseshoes and tiara were broken, sharp shards of what once was moonlit glass stabbing in all directions like a slicing, broken bottle. The most shocking factor though was the face. There was such terror in those eyes, such pain. Cold, hard stone tears trickled down her cheeks, solidifying in place for all eternity. Her mouth was open in what should have been a painfilled scream, a sound that had been cut short by the crawling rock. Her once twisting, sparkling, majestic horn was snapped and shattered. The base remained but the horn itself lay on the floor beside the statue, a sick reminder to those who would dare disobey the uncontrollable king of chaos. The second statue was of similar texture. The large, pure white Alicorn goddess of the sun now encased in the very stone that she had used to imprison him. Her once infuriatingly dove white body was now swirled in chilling granite, deep notches carved into the rock. Her watermelon coloured mane was stretched behind her looking painfully tight as if she had been blown by an exceedingly strong wind before being petrified. Her beautiful, spread wings were weighed down to her sides with the unbridled weight of the stone that surrounded her, forcing her wings to curl tightly into her Alicornian body. Similarly to her little Alicorn sister, Celestia's horseshoes, necklace and tiara were segmented and smashed, jutting edges striking into the coat of the Princess of the Sun. Her face told the whole story, the story of her utterly destroyed hope for him. Her eyes were wide with guilt and anger and sadness and, most astonishingly, betrayal. Tears that had yet to spill had formed into stone whilst they lay in the corners of her eyes, a feeble, depressing sight for the great Alicorn. Her mouth was cut into the dark silhouette of unrepairable pain, her mouth biting down on her bottom lip with the unknown reaction to cease her needless shrieking. Oh, and her horn. Her once great, long, powerful, radiating horn was torn from the head of the wonderful Princess. It lay before her forelegs, a horrible sight to behold, long white tip still faintly glowing with a holy light. The statues of the Princesses of Equestria, the rulers of the land and the protectors of the ponies lay before Discord, ruler of everything and anything. Discord felt a slight drill against his mind as his gaze fell upon the petrified Celestia, a slight scream just distinguishable before it faded into the dark clouds of thought. Discord sighed in utter bliss once before he snapped his fingers, the scene sinking into the ground like swirling of a whirlpool, the future passing before him with a loud slurp. Soon, my dearest Celestia, Discord thought to himself as he watched his diabolical plan disappear from sight, a malevolent smile crossing his features, so very, very soon. And with that the rotting, blackening, abominable visage of chaos gave off a loud, awful laugh and vanished, patiently waiting for the moment that Celestia would enact her plan. Waiting for the moment when he would take his revenge. [.] Three days had passed, three long, arduous days that ticked by slowly like the falling of sand into an hourglass. But on that fourth day, on that fourth day Celestia arrived at the gardens once more, a large smile across her face as she anticipated the return of the newly freed Discord. The day that everything changed. He watched her through his blind, magical eyes. Great juicy rolls of joy and glee rolled off of her in great clouds of happiness, bringing the bile to the throat of the erroneous draconequus. Such bright, happy emotions that plagued his dark thoughts like flies over a carcass. How he wished to pummel and crush them beneath his feet, how he wished to rid that pitiful world of all of their needless, never-ending joy. Celestia stepped forward towards the statue, excitement and nerves pouring out of her as she cleared her throat and began her rehearsed speech. “I have accomplished it Discord. The spell to rid you of your terrible burden. Oh, it was difficult to find, secrets hidden within the darkest books of the Canterlot archives but I found it nonetheless. Now, the spell does require a living creature to perform upon, so I shall rid you of your stone prison for merely a second to allow the spell to take effect...” Mistake number one. Discord muttered to Celestia, his voice going unheard. “...but I trust you enough to know that you won't do anything stupid when you are freed. After all, I am about to save you from years of torment...” Number two. “...Once the spell takes effect it will, if all goes according to plan, rid you of that drilling voice of chaos. And then, you can start a whole new, useful, happy life.” Number three, you're out Celestia! Discord roared to himself, conjuring a field of spectators to himself before shrouding himself in a rich gold and red baseball uniform. Celestia took a hesitant step back, the magical energy gathering up into the base of her horn with a light crackling. He felt her smile at him and, just for a moment, he felt the clawing feeling return to his mind, the effect little more then the bite of a gnat to his godly form. “Ok Discord, I'm going to begin the depetrification now.” Celestia let loose a small bolt of shining yellow magic that slammed into the chest of the statue of chaos. The golden light struck and stuck to the statue like a spider clinging to a web before the yellowy blaze began to spread across the whole body, cracks splitting along the edges of the statue. And here. We. Go! Discord thought to himself as the feeling returned to his limbs, the bright light spreading across his body in a glorious, warm feeling that kindled his body in buttery joy. It was quickly squashed however as Discord enacted his simple and yet elegant plan. Once she had seen the bolt stick to the statue, Celestia had immediately began to concentrate on the second matter, the removal of his chaos energy. She closed her eyes as she felt the hidden, forgotten magic twirl around her horn with a brilliant tingly, fuzzy feeling. Feeling the last pieces of the magical puzzle falling into place, Celestia opened her now shining eyes and blasted the uncensored spell at the now freed, rejuvenated king of chaos. The spell hit his body with a loud crack, brilliant purple light exploding outwards as the blazing orb of purple, arcane magic dug into his body. Soon though, something began to go horribly, horribly wrong. Large cracks had appeared in his body, stretching along his chest in a gaping, pitch black tear that spread for too long a distance. Celestia could only watch in absolute, unrivalled horror as the king of chaos, the lord of all things unnatural, the spirit of mayhem, cracked and tore into a million tiny pieces that blew across the clearing. Celestia screamed, a heart wrenching, sorrow filled explosion of a scream that shattered the windows of the castle with a loud splintering sound. Her eyes were wide with undiluted horror, tears pouring down her face as she beheld the scattered segments of the creature she had sworn to help laying across the floor. Her mane and tail flared wickedly, emotions claiming her for their own as she howled and cursed and shrieked at the sky and the ground, and at the order and the reason and her own stubbornness to perform such a reckless, deadly spell. Her self belittling curses were soon smothered as a much more powerful, loud sound roared from behind her, cold, hard laughter tearing across the garden grounds. Celestia wheeled around, mouth still open in a silent scream before her gaze grazed the beast before her. Discord lay curled up on the floor, laughing his imbecilic head off, great tears streaming down his face as he clutched at his stomach in giggled pain. Celestia blinked slowly before wheeling around once more to stare at the remains of the chaotic demon. Her site found the pieces of him, the shattered segments and slowly, slowly she began to realize what had happened. What lay before her was not the chunks of the draconequus, it was instead dark, deep rich chocolate that layered the clearing. Without her realization, Discord had teleported out of his tomb long before the final crack had spread and allowed his body to burst forth, changing the figure inside the prison into an exact replica of him, except this was a dark black chocolate colour with a delicious taste. So, when she had seemingly blown him apart she had only shot her spell at the chocolatey god, the arcane magic destroying the dead material with a loud explosion. Celestia turned, slowly this time, to face the still guffawing Discord. Anger blazed in her eyes but as a soft wave of happiness and joy at not having obliterated him rolled through her she began to relax. Celestia chuckled slightly before fixing her full attention onto the spirit of chaos. The laugh caught in her throat, breath wheezed out of her as she took in the dark sight before her. He was Discord but not at the same time. Something had gone wrong with his revival. He was monstrous, beastly and broken. There was a strong smell of rot in the air the seemed to rise off of his shaking body, the once beautiful brown coat now a dark grey and black as though all of the colour had been washed out. Celestia stopped the bile from rising in her throat as she raked her gaze across hid whole body, guilt bubbling up within her like a fountain. “Discord...what did...how did..”, Celestia started talking softly, grief welling up in her voice as she took in the sight of the draconequus that she and her sister had morphed so cruelly, “Oh Discord, I'm so, so sorry! What did we do to you!?” Discord stopped his chuckling rolling to rise from the ground, stretching out to his whole height so that he towered before Celestia, coating her in his shadow. “You, Celestia, trapped me in stone for a thousand years. And when I finally got out, finally had a bit of fun you threw me straight back into that cold hell”, Discord whispered softly, voice carrying loud hints of anger and hatred, “but don't you worry, my dear, because soon, very, very soon you shall know the feeling.” Discord cartwheeled into the air, spreading out his long body in such a glorious way, back cracking from the year of imprisonment. He rose into the air until he could clearly see the whole of Canterlot. “Now, where was I?”, Discord chuckled mischievously cold, voice dripping with malice, “Ah yes, complete and utter chaos. Watch, Celestia, as I raze your beautiful city to the ground.” Discord turned his gaze back to the city before he clicked his fingers, the crack echoing loudly across the gardens. Immediately, ten bright blue fireworks blazed into life behind him and climbed into the sky, punching through the clouds. They soared to higher altitudes before exploding with a bright, gold message that shimmered in the bright, blue sky. Discord's Back Baby! The writing began to fizzle before falling to the earth as light twitches of embers dotted the sky. Instead of being put out by the air though the embers roared to life as ten inhumanely large fireballs shrieked through the air, the heat causing the remaining clouds to disappear in great wafts of vapour. The blazing fireballs descended rapidly, glowing an icy blue colour before they exploded across Canterlot with a series of bright, lightning coloured explosions. Great licks of fire tore through the city, houses engulfed by the great blue flare as the trees and the grass were caught ablaze. Almost immediately, screams rocketed around the great capitol as ponies desperately raced away from the onrushing flames. Celestia could only stare in growing horror as the town, the greenery and the castle were consumed by the growing mass of ice blue flames. Suddenly, a soft voice whispered into her ear, the wreak of carrion wafting across her face as Discord spoke softly to her. “Do not fret my dear. T'is a new creation of mine named cold fire. Fitting right, considering the colour. The fire consumes all non sentient and dead or inactive organisms but leaves the others alone. Whilst the joy of burning ponies just thrills me to the very core I would much prefer to have their worlds melt away before them so I can hear them beg for their deaths, their lives ruined by my torrential storm of fire.” Now Celestia altered her gaze to stare into the raging gold eyes of the monster who had caused such misery, such uncontrollable hatred flickering in his red pupils. “You see Celly, something happened to me in that abysmally cold statue. I broke. Simply put it, I broke. You broke me Celestia. So, in a way, this whole thing is your fault.” Discord spread his arms outwards in a gesture that simply spoke of his “reluctance” to the situation at hand, sarcastic and cruel. Celestia couldn't breathe, couldn't move as she watched her castle, her town crumble around her, the sounds of crying wood and burning trees searing through her ears, the sound shattering her age old heart. Tears bubbled in the corner of her eyes as she took in the whole scene before her. Once more, the wrenching stench wafted into her nose as Discord pulled himself closer to her, whispering softly into her ear. “This, you foolish pony, is merely the beginning.” Discord rose up, his figure blotting out the sun and snapped his fingers once more, the sound of breaking bones bouncing across the gardens as his magic burst outwards. Skies morphed, animals altered, Canterlot razed, the castle brought to cinders. All had happened and were still happening, such delicious misery lacing the air as those pitiful, snivelling ponies weeped openly at the atrocious site before them. It was so brilliantly revitalizing, strength flooding through his blotted veins as he absorbed the dark thoughts around him. Celestia turned towards the sickening monster that stood before her as he took his fill of these dark, sad, morbidly terrifying thoughts. Her eyes never lost their dulled, depressed, guilty look but her voice rose loud and clear across the gardens. “This...this is not the work of Discord.” “This is very much the work of Discord! This is the work of the Discord that simply refuses to play by anyponies rules anymore! This is the work of Discord who is so sick and tired of your priggish attitude! This is the work of Discord who has simply had enough!” Spittle flew from the draconequus's lips as he wheeled around to face the solar princess, anger and hate bubbling up inside of him. Rage poured through his veins as he took in the sight of the creature that had made his life miserable, turning his beautifully uncontrollable body to stone. A sharp spike of pain tore through his head as the screaming voice from earlier shrieked like a banshee again before it faded. She did not even flinch as she regarded him with those sorrowful, teary eyes, the look boring into him with a force strong enough to melt steel. “I will give you one chance Discord, stop this madness now before you hurt somepony.” Discord growled a terrible growl, the sound reverberating across the short distance between the two deities of order and chaos. “Or what!?” He spat at her, contempt lacing his voice like poison. Celestia closed her eyes for a mere second but so many loud, clamorous thoughts raced through her mind as she did. He was too far gone now, too far down the dark path. She had no other choice, just like before. The lesser of two evils. When she opened her eyes again they were hard and devoid of all emotion, terrifyingly blank as she burned into the eyes of the draconequus. “Or I will have to stop you.” Discord smirked slightly before he belched out a loud laugh that radiated defective, deficient humour, dark bubbling mirth dripping from the sound. He clutched his rotting sides as he beheld the solar princess take a step towards him, defiance written across her face. Celestia watched in a detached manner as the spirit of chaos dissolved into a pool of dark, malicious laughter. She stepped forward, horn glowing with an eerily powerful light as she began to bring the offence to the large, beastly, sadistic antagonist before her. Just as she was about to fire off a brilliant ball of arcane magic, as she was about to start the bloody battle a loud sound tore through the sky. “TIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAA!” A midnight blue blur streaked through the skies towards her, wings flapping so fast that they were a blur of movement. Still the figure soared towards her, a bright vivid spectrum of dark blues, purples and twinkling stars bursting out from behind her as she increased her speed. The midnight blur soon grew bigger and bigger, closer and closer before the lunar princess hit the ground beside her older sister with a loud thump that caused a shockwave of sound and dust to blast across the gardens, blue energy crackling on the very tips. Princess Luna strode from the dust of her arrival to stand beside her sister, a hard, cold look in her eyes as she beheld the gruesome figure before her. “This time, sister, we fight him together.” Celestia turned to stare at her younger sister, the magnificent blue coat now spiked with angered, frustrated hairs that rose to attention like soldiers. How she had grown from the little filly that Celestia knew so long ago, the little filly that had been scared of her own shadow. Celestia nodded her approval before turning to face the now quiet monstrosity who was silently regarding both sisters with an inquisitive eye. “Oh goodie”, Discord cawed, a horrid yellow teethed smile breaking across his face as his carrion breath wafted around the area, “the fight!” Celestia's horn exploded in a bright orange light as an orb of similarly orange light burst from her appendage, burning with the heat of the sun. Luna's horn had also lit and fused, a vivid dark blue beam of immovable light streaming towards the age old enemy. Discord jumped high and vaulted the orange ball of unrepressed solar energy before dropping to the ground and, snapping his fingers, the blue arcane bolt now fizzling out of existence mere seconds before it struck him. Discord growled with inconceivable pleasure at the feeling of finally getting his hands dirty. He snapped his taloned hand and a cotton candy pink cloud descended around Luna, wrapping her tightly in the sticky goodness before starting to choke the life out of her, constricting its grip on her lungs. Celestia flew towards him, wings beating tirelessly against the air as she crossed the distance in seconds and smashed into Discord, sending them both flying across the garden and through a deep grey hedge. Luna burst from her sweet prison with a fantastic explosion of blue light before she to vaulted across the clearing using her wings and tore through the hedge. Celestia remained grappling with the draconequus, snaking one hoof down to pound his jaw with enough force to crack marble. The spirit merely chuckled at the strike before leaning towards her face and expelling his foetid breath onto her face, malodorous smells wafting through her nose. Celestia became green before Discord raised one leg and, kicking her, sent her flying across the new clearing and into a rosebush, where she proceeded to vomit. Just as he got up, Luna exploded from the hedge edge and spun forward, facing Discord in front of her sister, desperately trying to defend her. She closed her eyes for a split second and when they opened they were the shining reflection of the moon itself, power crackling out of them with unbelievable force. Luna opened her mouth and roared at Discord, the ground tearing itself apart as the sound raced across its surface. Discord was sent careening backwards as the magic fuelled soundwave smashed into him, tossing him into the wind. Discord fell onto his back and rolled backwards skilfully before raising both of his arms, palms out as he tossed a dark grey bolt of magic out of the mismatched hands. Luna, still slightly dazed from her previous spell was struck in the chest by the dark grey bolt as she flew backwards to land in a crumpled heap beside her sister. Discord marched forward just as the twin Alicorn's rose and gave each other a slight look and then a knowing nod. Swiftly the two princesses bolted, one to the left and one to the right until they surrounded him on both sides. Discord merely smirked at the attempt to distract his thoughts towards which princess to attack or defend against first. He twisted sideways so that his left side faced Celestia and his right side faced Luna. He raised his taloned hand at Celestia and brought two talons towards himself, beckoning her onwards. Celestia smiled slightly, the spell she had been holding in now flaring to life as she blew a sharp streak of dark yellow and red lightning towards Discord, hoping to catch him in the chest, wind him and finish the battle up quickly. The lightning streak tore towards him as he opened his taloned palm and, as its tip impacted, merely tossed it back towards Celestia with the ease of batting away a ball with a metre wide club. Celestia's eyes widened in astonishment as she saw her own vibrant lightning dart back towards her. She just had time to mutter a soft curse under her breath before the lightning caught her in the chest, sending her zooming backwards, red and yellow sparks twisting around her form. Discord's eyes darted back to Luna as he saw her blast a scribbly, exceedingly grey spell at him. A spell that he remembered all too well. Discord waited until it was in reach before raising his hand up with lightning fast speed and snatched it out of the air, cupping it with his lion paw hand and gazing at it with an unreadable expression. His eyes slowly rolled upwards to face Luna who was staring with bafflement at Discord's disregard for her magic, simply catching one of her most powerful spells as easily as plucking a leaf from the ground. Discord smiled a rotten smile as he looked Luna straight in the eyes, hate and anger and surprise glittering in his golden eyes. “My, my, my Luna. You have been gone for some time now but I thought even you would know that petrification spells are among one of the darkest magic’s known to ponykind. I'm a little bit disappointed in you really.” Discord gazed into Luna's eyes as they filled with a tinge of guilt before resetting back to her hardened, battle ready expression. He smiled slightly before tossing the unadulterated dark magic behind him where it seemingly vanished. Luna's eyes widened considerably as he did this and immediately she bolted towards him, travelling at an unbelievably fast pace that would put Rainbow Dash to shame. Discord waited as she drew closer and closer, pulling his cupped lion fist back slightly to smash into her head just as she pulled closer and- Moved right past him, disappearing behind his back with the thudding vibrations of her hooves hitting the ground continuing. Discord heard a slight sob from behind him, a whimper of pain that brought happiness to his heart. Or it would have if it were not interrupted by the shriek that echoed around his mind once more, aggravating the draconequus further as he slowly turned to face the princesses. He turned and as his face fell upon the scene before him, shock and worry without consent exploded from within him. Luna was on the floor, large fat tears dripping down her face as she knelt next to the downed figure beside her, the figure that Discord recognized all too well. Celestia lay on the floor, tears falling out of her eyes, soft whimpering escaping her clenched, pained lips as she desperately tried to keep her pride. Below her, from the waist down the gleaming, pristine white coat was a steady grey of cold, hard granite. As he watched, the stone began to creep up her body converting all it touched into frozen rock. Celestia screamed just once as it passed across her chest, her perfectly moulded necklace shattering from the effects of the petrification spell that Discord had so haphazardly thrown behind him. The spell that had struck Celestia, who had attempted to sneak up on him. The spell that had turned her lower body to granite. The spell that was now making its way up the length of her body. The stone was on her neck now, cutting off all sounds as the throat closed and convulsed, clawing for breath that wouldn't come. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as the stone encompassed, first, her rainbow coloured mane and then her mouth. The eyes shone with tears, pain and guilt and misery and betrayal aching across the gardens, directed at Discord. Slowly, the eyes themselves folded from the still seeping stone, the last trace of Celestia vanishing in the blink of an eye. Discord should have been smiling, smirking, cawing triumphantly. He had achieved his final goal, the petrification of the princess. He should have felt joy and happiness and retribution burst from him. He should have walked over there and turned silly little Luna to stone, to encase her for all eternity with her sister. But Discord did none of these things. Discord simply stood stone still as something horrible and wonderful, dreadful and blissful , horrifying and astounding happened. The shrieking of the banshee like voice grew louder and louder, the words now distinguishable as the force and pain started to explode inside of him. Still the voice carried across his head, the pain ready to erupt. No, no, no, no, no, NO! The banshee scream suddenly changed, Discord's own voice occupying the voice as his conscious roared at itself, as it battled for control from the chaos influence that was now recoiling in fear. The voice continued to roar and scream and shriek as Discord's mind tore itself in two. Authors note: I know that with Discord's battle and the petrification of Celestia that this chapter closely resembles one of the newest chapters of When The Wind Changes (which if you haven't read before then shame on you) but I have something quite large planned for the next chapter. When a God's mind tears in half something very powerful happens, something very interesting. You could even say that the fun will be doubled.