XLIV : Overcast Reunion
The Steadfast Sky : Overcast Reunion
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com
~Discord~
Ruin…
He was just like the rest of them. No. No, he wasn’t like everybody down here. He wasn’t as violent. He was clever. Didn’t kill anybody because he was bored, didn’t fight if he didn’t have to. In any other case, other Draconequus would be all over him, beating him up in shows of power. But nobody messed with Ruin. No one.
I’m getting off track. Whether or not the Draconequus messed with the guy isn’t important.
I just don’t know if I can really trust him.
It’s stupid, really, why shouldn’t I trust him? He’s always looked out for me, always made sure to answer my questions. Though, I mean… All his answers, they’re like the answers the Illuminators gave: The alicorn in power is never to be questioned. Everything is the way it is, you’re the bottom of the food chain, and he’s at the top. Ruin’s loyalty was unwavering.
Then, why didn’t Ruin just take me to the cells? Why didn’t he just catch us all and be done with it? Because he didn’t know I had switched sides?
But those kids that passed by. The ones in the hiding tunnels… they knew I had turned. By name. The adults had told them to go get me… Ruin, smart as he is, how could he not have known?
I felt stupid when I realized what was going on. Really… really stupid.
Why would he possibly help? I mean, he’s just… he never liked me. I was just a burden to him. Yeah, I think maybe in a small spot in his black heart, I was probably a prized student. The only Draconequus that wasn’t an idiot… But he’d still snap at me! Smack me sometimes, try and get it in my skull what I am and who I serve!
Why would he help me?
Help me?
I got a stupid urge, sitting there in that dark room with Celestia and Luna. I got the stupid, stupid urge to go and talk to Ruin again.
I just had to. Once more before we get out of here. Not for Celestia, not especially. Maybe, if we’re lucky, he’ll help us with this escape thing. But this was for myself.
I noisily shoved his door open, and slipped myself inside.
And it immediately slammed shut after me.
Ruin loomed over me, almost standing at his full height, his arm outstretched and body taut. He looked like he had just thrown himself at the door, in a great hurry to snap it shut. Disturbed papers fluttered around his feet in the remnant of a gust. He looked down at me, face the same as always. Cold, distant, full of disdain.
Ruin eased off the door, and looked at the loose pages. He leaned over, picking everything up gently, piece by piece.
“Discord,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
I watched him gather his papers, silent as he was. I don’t think it mattered much what he asked. I didn’t have an answer.
He glanced up. “Speak.”
“Why do you care,” I started slowly, “What’s on my mind or not…”
Again, his eyes rose to mine. Steady this time. “And why would you think something like that?”
“Because, what I’m thinking, it’s usually the wrong idea. About stuff.”
“Your head certainly was full of the most foolish thoughts, Discord,” he grumbled, “Thinking you were better, smarter than everyone around you.”
“But I was smarter.”
“Yes, you were,” he said, “But it’s a dangerous thought to harbor.”
“Yeah, um…” I was smart? I mean, yeah, I knew I was smart. I was just never smart enough for big, dumb old Ruin. I snorted, “Yeah, I know.”
He gathered up the last of the papers on the floor, and moved the entire one step he needed to sit by his roughly hewn desk.
“Discord,” Ruin stated, meticulously piling the brown sheets. “How have you been?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I mumbled.
“I haven’t seen you for a very, very long time.” He reached up to his single shelf, palming a little pot. He placed it atop the modest stack of papers, weighing them down. He stared at them for a moment and then turned. Looked at me again. His face wasn’t quite as cold anymore.
“Um...”
“So how have you been?”
“Well it’s um… a bit of a mixed bag, I guess. Sometimes really, really great. Sometimes… kind’ve horrible.”
“Is your new life suiting you well?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.”
“You look thin.”
“Oh." I nervously laughed. "That part’s kind’ve sucked. I’m... working on it.” There was so much more to say, so many little details I could have told him. About not eating meat, killing the chicken, the Illuminators... but it just didn’t feel right. He doesn't have time for stories. For excuses.
“That’s all?” He asked.
“Yeah." I stopped. "Well, no. I’ve felt, really, really… ashamed of myself sometimes, for not living up to my ideals…” Ruin gave a small snort at that, and I moved on quickly. “But I’ve been happy too! It’s different outside the walls. It’s hard, but I can live out there. I can exist, and I can change to fit in. I’ve made friends...” I was rambling, I knew I was rambling. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I knew, I wanted him to understand.
“Although…” I admitted, laughing nervously “I actually came here, to see you, on a lie.” He still, still, still didn’t say a thing. Darn it... I just refused to just lift my head anymore. “Maybe I haven’t changed at all…”
Passively, “Tell me, Discord.”
“It’s a long story.” He wasn’t mad?
“Tell me.”
I peeked, no, actually craned my neck up to see my brother. My mentor. His face was almost soft now. Chiseled away and melted. No longer sharp, just… old, and tired. Strange…
“Tell me everything, Discord,” he said, “How have you wound up in my chambers once more?”
I went right up to him and sat by his side. And he made no motion to stop me. I looked back at the door, heard him shift a little beside me. Still no objections.
“Alright…” I started. My thoughts were jumbled. But, I started.
“A… A few months ago, I made some friends. Two ponies, one older than me, and the other younger. One named Celestia, and the other Luna. They, and ponies… they’re something else. So kind, so gentle… I just knew, I wanted to be with them! I felt like I… I don’t know. I’ve never felt like I fit in with them, per say. But I’m better off with them than I am down here. I always knew that. This um...” I couldn't see my mentor’s face, but I could see the tuft of his tail. I stared at it. “This isn’t too far back is it? Too much?”
“Continue.”
“Okay…
“After visiting them near nightly for, well, I suppose a month… I got this.” I tapped the Element on my chest. I wondered, could he see this movement? “It’s an Element of Harmony. The Element of Kindness.” Coming out of my mouth like that, it almost sounds ridiculous. “I guess I don’t have a way to prove it… but Celestia and Luna, they got Elements too. They’re Loyalty and Laughter. And we’re going to save Equestria. Somehow…” I took a deep breath. “Anyway… We ran from the city after I got this rock, and we wandered all around Equestria. Just going from town to town, not a care in the world, but for each other…”
I frowned, “But when Celestia got her Element… when we really first learned of our true burden… To rule Equestria as gods… She couldn’t take it. She said she had to come here, and save all the ponies inside. She wanted to fight the Stallion, Ruin!” I found my words harder to say. Just hard to talk, words tightening in my throat. “And I knew well enough that we weren’t anything compare to him! I knew that if we challenged Father now, he’d kill us! And he nearly did! But Celestia…
“She’s a friend!” I cried, voice creeping into a shout. “A good friend! I fight a ton with her, but I never want to see her hurt or anything! Her and Luna both, I, I was so relieved that we actually survived an encounter with Father! I thought, yeah, that’s it, we can go now! But, but she’s still not going to leave! She’s going to try and stay here, try and save somebody!
“So, so… I gotta do something horrible. I’ve got to lie to her, Ruin…
“To make sure she, Luna, and the whole city is safe again, I’ve got to lie to her face. And I feel absolutely awful, just knowing I’ve got to go out there… Tell her… well.” I stared at my heads, not even managing to look at the tuft of my mentor’s tail. “You’ve got to say that you’re going to help ponies escape while we’re gone. Tell her that, and maybe she’ll be satisfied enough to leave.
“Because if we don’t leave as soon as possible, Father is going to kill ponies. He’s going to rip apart the city to find us. He’s going to bust open houses, he’s going to, t-t-to let the Draconequus feast. He doesn’t care. I saw it myself, in his eyes. He doesn’t care! I just…!”
A heavy paw fell atop my head, gently weighing me down. I could feel heat radiating off of its leathery pads, trapped in the soft fur. Gently, more gently than I thought Ruin was capable of, he patted the tuft atop my head.
“Discord,” he muttered. “I understand.”
I reached up, and I grabbed his wrist.
“And," I babbled, "And I really, really wanted to talk to you one more time. I thought you’d just kill me, bring me in like everybody else… But, but you didn’t just take me in.”
“Stupid boy,” Ruin mumbled reassuringly, “You never belonged here. I always knew each time I saw you that it might be the last time. Our last meeting before I’d find your body somewhere, ripped to shreds. But I was proud of you. Of your ideals. You lived your own foolish way. The way I could not.
“You give me so much hope, Discord. Maybe Draconequus can be more then we are… More than just so much death, pain, and rage.” He gave a single low laugh. “You never realized that I was stupid too.” He pulled away, and this time, I let go. “For you and your friends, I will help you, Discord. Although… I must also ask of you a favor.”
“S-sure.” He turned to his desk. “What do you need?”
“Just one request…” He tapped his papers together, carefully, tenderly, and slipped them, along with the little pot, into a beat up, leathery bag. His satchel… yet, when he held it out to me, it was more a full backpack on a single, thick string. “I want you to take these notes. Take care of them, and see that they are bound into a proper volume.”
He dropped the hefty bag into my paws. Stuffed full of loose papers, it almost looked like a single, thick square. I immediately slung it over my shoulder, trying to tie it over my back.
“S’all I gotta do to win you over? Well…” I noticed Ruin’s look, and I stopped joking around. “Of course I will Ruin.”
He nodded down at me. “I suppose you have learned as much as you can from me.” He gave me a small warm smile. “You are my first student to ever fully graduate alive.”
~æ~
I spread my wings, maybe hoping I could glide right out of the exit we had blasted. But no matter what I would do, the numb feeling throughout my whole body would always mean my landing would be awkward. I made sure both Luna and Celestia had safely dropped and rolled away before letting myself fall. I clutched Ruin’s bag closed, lest the papers escape me.
I tumbled a little ways down the hill, and only righted myself as the wall snapped itself closed. I noticed Celestia staring, almost suspicious.
“Is... that really all?” she asked.
“It’s an illusion,” I quickly covered, “He’s got to hide it, doesn’t he?”
Celestia leered back at me. Or… was she really leering? Or was I simply paranoid that she had seen past our ruse?
“Of course,” she said at last, “I know that.”
I nodded, trying as hard as I could to keep my face blank. Or maybe I should look away, look at my feet and try to stand.
“I suppose…” Celestia said slowly. “What now?”
I shrugged, even though the answer was obvious. “Canterlot?”
“I…” Celestia stared back at the walls, the massive things looming over us once more. “It almost feels abrupt, you know? We’re just supposed to rely on Ruin now?”
“Yeah… he’s smart. And, I guess, a pretty good guy, for a Draconequus. Just let him do his thing.”
“I wish we could’ve done more.”
“There’s nothing more we can do now.”
Luna darted between us, fumbling on her feet and showing us her best smile.
“Okay then!” she said. “Let’s just get ourselves to Canterlot.”
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And suddenly, everything falls in place. But I wonder how they will fix Luna's element?
EDIT:
I just read the 500 fav special! You answered my question! Thanks. And I know I barely comment, but I really enjoy reading your story. I love the world-building and the interactions between the trio, (but I do think in the back of my head- when is Discord is going to betray them? When? When!?-) Cough. Back to the point, I really liked the chapter when it was from the point of view from the scribes. I'm a huge sucker for mythos!
I probably sound really dumb but still, I look forward to the next chapter.
1425126
I guess that's going through a LOT of people's heads!
Honestly, if this wasn't fanfiction and we didn't know their ultimate fate, would it even make sense to guess that Discord would betray the girls? There's certainly been no build-up for it, no hints at that possibility. Its strange to see just how often I get the question "is it the next one? how about the next one?"
Thank you for the question, as well as your comment!
If anything, I consider you one of my regular commenters 
1425302
Thanks for getting back to me.
As for the thing about Discord... Well, it's just the canon slipping its way through. Had it not been Discord or the fact this is a prequel, I wouldn't be double-thinking everything he does (I did it a lot in the beginning chapters) but now it's just a dull hum. I don't care if or even when he betrays them but how and why?
Couldn't help but overhear your conversation...
Well... I read Fostering intelligence...I know what Discord said and I like to see it my own way, even if it turns out to be not true... I'd like to try to guess at what's going to happen, but you shouldn't read the rest of this post if you haven't read Fostering intelligence. It's spoilers and it'll ruin it. Go on, shoo.
In Fostering Intelligence, Ruin describes Draconequus to Discord as, "A being that exists to perpetuate chaos. A creature that only knows how to destroy order and peace, tearing itself, and everything around it to pieces. You, and this society, is disorder, violence, and death."
He then says, when showing Discord a chunk of meat, “To perpetuate your own life, you must take others. Every single day of your life you have lived on the good grace of death. Violent and unwilling death. It is what defines you, and every other Draconequus living here. It is how we all live, and how most of us will die, in each other’s jaws, starved for destruction.”
Later on, Discord says to Ruin that maybe their species doesn't have to be cruel and violent. He says, "So what if we’re some chaos… avatar… things! Why does that have to include killing each other?"
"Maybe I’ll just use my destructive nature to destroy the destruction in my nature.”
So I like to think, that Discord isn't ever really going to betray his friends. With the Draconequus extinct and Equestria essentially a utopia, he knows that the Ponies will never really know anything as cruel. But it can still happen, and so he actually sets the bar himself. That last words of this story, which take place during The Return of Harmony pt. 2, right before he is frozen the second time, are:
"And now, with the Elements indisposed, this chaos, and his reign were supreme. Was he king now? Prince? Whatever he was, who was to say this destruction, his chaos, wasn’t the correct one? Who was going to tell him that chaos is all about killing each other? The candy-coated ponies? Those harmless beings?
A smirk peeled onto his lips. Was there anyone left to oppose his definition?
Of course not! He had won!
So he laughed, loud and clear.
“Chaos is a wonderful, wonderful thing!”
In a great show of character, Discord sacrifices himself in order to protect the Equestrians from their own possible, well, discord. He sets it in himself to define the meaning of Chaos into something that he knows is far more pleasant than what it could actually be! He protects everyone by becoming the bad guy! He reasons that if everyone believes that him and his chaos is about the worst and most terrible thing that could happen, the Ponies are never going to cause pain and murder, because that is totally unheard of.
I'm very attracted to this idea. But it is, just my headcanon....
Kinda sad but true and a great chapter totally worth the wait can't wait for more, and thank you for a great story.
oh my god, my questions got answered, and I feel kind of ashamed for aking them *laughs*
certainly forgot to ask the characters questions, will have to remember that for the next time!
Also: Manly tears!
(I think we won´t see Ruin again and what Discord has is his legacy)
Potato.
1428195
Potato?
:1428297 Yes. Potato.
And by the way, this is definately the best fanfic ive read...
So, Ruin can't let the prisoners escape and help them or is he going to do it even if Discord doesn't know?
P.s: love the fan fic and all but sorry if I don't comment, its just that I don't find anything to comment about
1433584
We'll see what Ruin actually does. Later. 
Personally... I don't really think that's Ruin's style, as it would pretty much be writing himself a death sentence.
1434659 I was thinking that was the case, but when it wasn't explain it was said that Discords eyes were puffy and red, so it looked like he cried
Oh god, kill me now Potter, every time you post something, be it a chapter or a blog, you have more evidence that I'm a plonker. Too bad we don't have time machines
I'm just going to sit, over here, in this corner, and read, and be quiet.
1438984
Because you... guess what's going to happen, and guess wrong?
Why in the world would you call yourself that?
I mean.
I had to look "plonker" up on urban dictionary, and I still dont see how it applies
1450457
Inspiration?
Hm...
Around chapter four? Medieval History and Theology Classes.
The Steadfast Sky inst exactly accurate to what I learned, I don't think
1425302 I actually havent even thought about Discord betraying them since at this part of the story they havent defeated the shadow stallion. The fallen hero has to become a hero first after all. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Twilight_pea.png
1454892 This is true.
1425302
I'm really not that afraid of him betraying them anytime soon. The way you've described the madness, or ''nightmare'' that has taken the former elements it feel like this will come a long time later. Hell, Luna going nightmare moon must have been quite a bit later.
first comment on the story, and its just amazing, the world building, the characters, it just couldn't be better you have done such a wonderful job with it
weirdly enough i don't question when will Discord betray them, i am wondering when will Celestia succumb to her nightmare, she is letting her element cloud his thoughts, i think that's how you lose yourself in the nightmare, Kindness become too "kind" i think he thought the way the city is functioning was kind, givin each a place, he couldn't turn down the Draconequus and let them die, but couldn't let them ran free and massacring ponies to feast on them, the walls he built, who is to say he didn't do it to protect the city from the nightmare of the other alicorns, i think the nightmare is not a dark force, but the extreme manifestation of the element, and i fear for Celestia, she is becoming too loyal, but doing it so its making her... bias? bias towards ponies, loyal to them, but most of all, loyal to her own loyalty? does that makes sense
?
sorry for not leaving comments along the way, i couldn't figure what to say before, but your special and this chapter finally gave me something to say
loving the story and i´m glad that i have quite a number of chapters ahead to read, so i can see what happens next, will Celestia be tainted by Loyalty, will they find the other elements, is Clover going to show up in the near future? for now once again i say great job, loving the story and everything about it
P.D. oh and the feels between Ruin and Discord, such warm and sad feels
Holy smokes this is awesome! I can't stop reading-read chapter 1-44 in one night!
This.. This lie is what breaks them apart isn't it? Poor Discord...
It's a sad thing when the soon-to-be god of chaos is the most level headed person in the whole damn party.