LXXIII : Discord
The Steadfast Sky : Chapter 73
The Grey Potter
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/11495/The-Steadfast-Sky
http://cosmicponyfiction.tumblr.com
~Discord~
We cut through the rain with ease, batting it away with our combined magical power. I had created a sail above our heads, and Luna had drawn shadows from it, rippling around us. In the early hours of night, it was nothing to sail through the sky, invisible and undetected. The only sound was the constant pattering rain, and the flap of our cloaks whipping in the wind. Luna even seemed overjoyed to guide us, drifting and floating with her horn alight in the air.
My shoulders ached, my hands were going numb from cold and magical exertion, and I felt like my fur was just going to be permanently soggy for the rest of my life. And yet, the long flight, the magical exertion, it was like nothing to the girls. One hour in the air and boom. They’ll never want to go back down again. And insanely, I wondered if they never had to land...
Life.
If that was the case, then it’s crazy how far they’ve gone on ahead of me.
I can’t take this anymore. Through the rain, I shouted, “Shouldn’t we be landing soon?!”
“No!” Celestia yelled back. “Or… yes!”
“No or yes?!”
“Soon, I think?!” Celestia called, “We’ll just be following these hills for a while! But once we get beyond the um— Oh!”
I didn’t need to guess at what distracted her. The trees fell away, dipping sharply into a wide, shallow valley. Open sky spread out in front of us, the land below spreading out into sprawling farmland, vanishing rapidly into the dark. Specks of light lit up a small huddle of houses far in the distance. They flickered in the rain, the only light in the black sea of night.
“Here!” Celestia shouted again, “We’ve got to follow these hills further west!” She trailed off. And yet, I still heard her mumble, “Um, landing…”
Celestia’s wings billowed out, mane streaming between them. Her pure white form was practically glowing in the dreary night rain. And her form was already so perfect…
“So… like this!”
Aaaand then Celestia flung her wings up at a sharp angle. Predictably, she soared downward like a dropped stone.
“Oh! Oh wait!”
She started to beat her wings furiously, but it was too late. Momentum dragged her through the upper branches of the sparse trees. And judging by the the crashing and shrieking, she probably hit the sloped ground soon after.
“Wow,” I said, turning to Luna, “Maybe I should’ve given her a parachute.”
She giggled, “Or a cushion to land on!”
“Nah. Ground’s pretty soft right now.”
Luna laughed again, “I sure hope it is!”
Luna’s wings opened properly at her sides, just as Celestia’s had, initially at least. With a casual grace, Luna banked to her left, and quietly dipped under my legs, gliding towards the ground with her mane trailing elegantly between her wings, tail curling in the currents of air—
I hastily looked away, and flung open my own mismatched wings. Maintaining the sail and shadows around us, we spun and circled downward, darting through the branches and eventually sliding down a slope of mud and wet grass. Celestia was waiting for us at the end of a wide skid mark. She was standing, shivering, wet, and coated in mud, wings still wide open and cloak askew.
“In a hurry to land first, Celestia?” I said.
She shot me a glare, “I could have been seriously injured, you know!”
“Not at the speed you were going,” I replied, “Um, unless you twisted a leg or something. Are you alright?”
“Fine. Fine…” she mumbled.
That was apparently the end of that. Without another word, she stood up straight and shook her drippy mane out of her eyes. Her horn suddenly lit up, and the shadows around us bulged outward, like sails filling with air.
“Celestia!” Luna cried.
“Just one moment!” Celestia huffed audibly, and with a quick shake of her head, the mud and sticks peeled off her and fell away.
“Oh,” Luna said, “Okay?”
“No cleaning for us?” I joked.
Smiling faintly, Celestia said, “I already did.”
“Oh.”
I checked my paw. Except for the palm, all the mud was gone from my leg. Even the space between my fingers was clean.
“Now,” Celestia said, trying to pull her sopping, heavy cloak over her wings, “Perhaps you could make a walkway, so we can remain presentable when we approach the final tomb? I wouldn’t want you to be a mess when you receive your Element, Discord.”
“My Element?” I yapped. “Oh. Magic? Me?”
“What?” Celestia asked, “Are you surprised?”
“Fits you perfectly, doesn’t it?” Luna said.
I shrugged, “Just hadn’t thought of it like that. Two apiece, huh…?”
Celestia nodded. “Of course. Now, the path, if you will.”
“Sure, uh, one second…”
The path was nothing complicated. Gray stone with the flying sail stretched over top, held up by sticks. and we walked, I deconstructed the end, and pushed it ahead of us. It was just enough to keep our hooves clean and our heads from getting rained on, and just enough effort that I didn’t feel like I was taxing myself.
It’s strange though. I’ve had so much energy lately. Was that just diet, or a transformation of my own? I wasn’t an alicorn, that’s for certain. But something that would’ve taxed me so badly a year ago was now a breeze. I’ve always been able to fly and use magic, so maybe Kindness didn’t think it needed to transform me?
But both of the girls transformed right before their second Elements…
Was I due for something?
I let the girls lead as I rested my aching wings. They quietly colluded over the map, calling the occasional direction back over their shoulder. We hugged the hills south of the distant town, following a road that seemed rarely used, or just washed away from the rain. The sides of the dirt path almost seemed to spill down the slope, mud rolling over plants and rocks tumbling down into the farm plots. Mudslides, Celestia explained. Small ones. But worse could come. Would, if the rain kept up…
“When we become in charge, or whatever,” Luna said quietly, “Should we get the Pegasus to stop the rain?”
“Should we?” I asked quietly, rising slowly from my own thoughts. “Would we have to use force?”
“We’re not keeping them as slaves,” Celestia asserted.
“Of course not,” Luna quickly said. “But how will we control the weather? Without the Pegasi, would we have to do it all ourselves?”
“Don’t forget the griffins,” I said, offhand, “Will they just up and leave?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way,” Celestia calmly declared, “Let’s just focus on one issue at a time. Magic first, then the Stallion.”
For a little while, we were quiet, as if the matter was actually settled. I wrapped my little stone path around a boulder that either slid down the hill, or became exposed as the mud washed away.
“When we become Gods, and they crown us or whatever. Take us seriously,” I said, barely louder than the rain. “What’re we going to do about Canterbury?”
“Well… well we can’t just let it be of course,” Celestia said, “Hopefully, enough ponies will have evacuated in a year’s time that we’ll be able to get the rest out with ease.”
I inhaled sharply. My little path split open, chipping and sinking into the mud.
“Discord,” Luna said urgently, turning back to me, “You’re not at your limit, are you?”
“N-no… Just lost focus.”
I quickly fixed the path and we continued on. She, Celestia, she doesn’t know. I had forgotten to tell her, no, I had never dared to tell her that the city wasn’t being evacuated. Her plan was dumb, of course, and it was just a little lie at the time. But that city still stood, and it was still full of ponies. And other, worse things… All of it would have to be unearthed, dealt with at the Stallion’s fall…
“And what about the Draconequus?” I mumbled.
“Hm?” Celestia asked, “What about them?”
“They’re not going to have The Stallion controlling them,” I said, “They’ll have free reign. They’ll be able to go anywhere. And anything still inside the city…”
She turned away from me, silent.
“Will we have to kill—“
“We will turn them to stone,” Celestia snapped, “We can easily trap them in stone.”
“Is that really much better?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” I said, “They can be revived from stone.”
“That just makes it worse!” Luna cried, “We can’t risk them being brought back, can we?”
I stared at Luna, filled with weird, alien feeling. She was right, really. Why risk even the remote possibility of a Draconequus running around?
“One thing at a time! Please!” Celestia cried, “There’s a lot to consider, yes. But we can’t lose our heads in a tizzy about everything that’s going to happen.”
Absentmindedly, I said, “What happens will happen, I guess…”
“Exactly!” Celestia asserted, “These are situations to be aware of, but it won’t do us any good to take shots in the dark, guessing at possibilities that may not even comes to be! Here, now… We worry about the last Element. We think about what it will take to attain Magic. That is all.”
Luna fell silent, and, looking back at me, I couldn’t think of anything else to say either. Guess that really was all.
But I couldn’t stop thinking about it, no freaking way.
That lie.
That huge, freaking lie.
I thought it would’ve just made things easier. Got Celestia out of the city, allowed us to go forward, forget about the impossible task.
But now I was terrified. We stop the stallion, and the Draconequus would tear apart that city, so full of ponies, packed with life… Would we be forced to jump in, to kill off the Draconequus before they destroyed everything? I shivered, tips of my wings twitching under my cloak. Could I, or any one of us, really do that? Would the Elements even help us commit such an atrocity—
Atrocity? Killing purebred murderers is an atrocity now?
But there it was again. A strange, gut instinct that I couldn’t quite place. Not sympathy, not loyalty…
“Look,” Luna said, jolting me from my thoughts, “Up ahead.”
I step forward and peered around the girl’s shoulders. Through the rain, I could make out the faint orange glow, light reflecting on the dozens of puddles along the water-soaked road. I didn’t see anything holding said lantern, or where the light could be coming from at all. But it was there, all the same.
“The tomb?” Celestia said.
“A hut, maybe.”
I stared up at the two of them, “Just looks like the side of a hill to me.”
“Well it’s definitely an occupied side of the hill” Luna said, “Who would come all the way out here on a rainy day to light a lamp nobody would use?”
I replied, “I’m not doubting it’s something or somebody, but…”
“Oh, just make the path, Discord!” Celestia huffed, “Um. Please, will you Discord? We can see what it is once we get there.”
I nodded. With a click of my claws, the gray stone shot ahead, tossing up mud and water as it bolted through the wrecked dirt road.
Luna and Celestia immediately trotted ahead, but I didn’t want to see. I didn’t want to know. I wasn’t done thinking. I wasn’t done sorting myself out. How could I be excited about getting magic if I was still such a mess on the inside...
But there was no point in stopping them now. They had already run right around the slope of the hill, to whatever was beyond it. If I didn’t run after them, they’d just come right back and drag me. So, begrudgingly, I followed the path right to where the girls stood, staring.
Our assumptions were correct. Sort’ve. The lantern did mark the edge of something alright. But, like Celestia and Luna, I had to take a moment to figure out just what I was looking at.
It was like a little hill, on the hill. A lump of grass, dirt, vines, with a hollowed-out front. The lantern seemed to hang off a kind’ve frame, black metal digging into an exposed lump of cold granite stone… I blinked a few time, squinted through the rain. No, it was an archway, made of that gray granite. But mud had slipped over it, grass and vines effectively making it part of the hillside.
I spread the path a little further forward, and we all walked closer. The arch looked grungy, like it was falling apart. Stone chips mixed with dead leaves. We saw that there was tile under the arch, but it was warped, with grass creeping through the cracks. There was almost no decoration to speak of.
And sitting there, on a lump of rock that could hardly be called a bench, was a stone-gray stallion wrapped tightly in a tattered, fraying cloak.
“Oh!” Celestia said, “Hello there, sir.”
The stallion barely seemed to move at all. I mean, I would’ve assumed that he was part of the rock if his cloak wasn’t obviously flapping in the breeze. But I still saw as the bald stallion, an earth pony, turned his neck just slightly. His yellow eyes set into a firm, unblinking glare, gaze locked on Celestia.
“Um,” Celestia continued, “I’m sorry to intrude on you, sir, but um… Might you know where the Tomb of Magic is?”
The stallion exhaled through his snout, a long, agitated sigh. He stood slowly, cracked hooves snapping more stone chips as he dropped heavily off his shapeless seat.
“So,” he growled, “Finally here, are you?”
“Yes? Is this…?”
“His tomb,” the stallion said, in a sickly, guttering voice that snapped like a whip. “And I, the Gravekeeper.”
“It is wonderful to finally meet you, Gravekeeper,” Celestia said quickly with a small bow.
“Raise your head, girl, I don’t need your groveling,” the Gravekeeper snapped. Celestia stumbled upright, mouth a hard line. “Now where are the rest of you? Do not tell me you only brought three!”
“We only ever were three,” I spoke up.
Another long, agitated sigh slipped out of his snout, swirling with mist.
“How in the hell do you expect the Elements to work with just the three of—“
The Gravekeeper’s gaze drifted towards me. It froze the moment his eyes locked with mine. The grubby yellow things shivered up and down, roving over my face and body. His forehead creased into a deeper frown.
“And what, might I ask,” The Gravekeeper snapped, “Is a beast of the dog breeder’s doing here?”
“I am Prince Discord,” I shot back automatically, “Element of Kindness.”
“Kindness!” he heaved. “You’re the new Kindness, are you? Is this some kind of sick joke?”
“I’ve been Kindness for a year. Everyone in Canterlot has accepted me,” I replied firmly, temporarily discounting everyone who hated me there. “And we’ve come to receive the Element of Magic, so we can save Equestria. Do you have a problem with that?”
Again, The Gravekeeper froze. He stood tall and straight, like an angry, stiff statue, eyes glued directly on me.
“Two Unicorns. Two Pegasi. Two Earth Ponies,” he said slowly. “That is the way things are done. Or perhaps, were done.” He snorted. “Did it not work to well enough the first time? But really, who am I to judge? Hm?”
He finally turned away, eyes raking hungrily across Luna and Celestia now. Judging them like slabs of meat, or bundles of apples he wasn’t going to purchase.
“A Draconequus Element,” he grunted, “Of all things... Starswirl help us all…”
“Oh,” Luna said softly.
“Luna?” I asked, looking her way.
“He’s the one we heard through the Element,” she mumbled, “The one who told us to run from the stallion.”
“Makes sense. If this is Magic’s tomb, he must have heard us through the Element.”
A loud scraping sound made us both jump. The Gravekeeper was at the entrance of the tomb now, deeper under the buckling archway. He was dragging open a massive stone door with a hemp rope in his teeth. The Gravekeeper strained against it. His hooves kept slipping on stone chips, nearly tripping him several time. His neck and upper body were bent low, twisting this way and that, as if he didn’t know the right angle to drag it open. I got the sudden impression of a dog, or a puppy playing tug of war with a larger, stronger pony.
Slowly, the heavy granite ground open, exposing the shadowy insides of the tomb. I frowned as the girls peered into the darkness. Unless Luna’s eyes were permanently scrubbed of shadows now, I probably was the only one who could see the horrible mess right now. Stone chips littered the ground, in big broken clumps. There was a pile of rags in one corner. The black, stained scuff of a firepit in the center. Dented pots were scattered around the space, and the whole thing smelled strongly of rotten vegetables and stone dust.
This seemed like no resting place, especially not for a god.
“Do you live in there?” I asked, incredulous.
“Sure as the sun shines,” The Gravekeeper replied, “Obscuring clouds or no.”
“Pardon?” Celestia scoffed. Luna quickly rubbed the shadows from her eyes, doing the same for her sister.
The Gravekeeper didn’t even care. He just casually walked by me, towards the rain-soaked path, picking up a black, hooked stick in his mouth along the way. Crook wobbling uncertainly in his teeth, he poked at the lantern, trying to pull it off its stand. It took him a few tries… three, four, five… before his finally managed to drag it down. And only with the help of his hoof, too
I said, “Do you…?”
“Living here?!” Celestia cried, “Living, in such a sacred place?! What kind of… I mean…!” I turned back. Celestia was taking deep breaths, staring at the ceiling and clearly trying to compose herself. “Perhaps, yes. Alright. Do the townsfolk not provide for you? Are you in need of living assistance, good Gravekeeper?”
“I am in no need of your pity either,” the Gravekeeper grunted, crook held awkwardly in his teeth.
“It is not pity,” Celestia asserted, “Magic, and yourself, deserve a respectful—“
“I am in no need of respect!” he snapped, spinning on us. Celestia ducked as the lantern swooped over her head. “This is exactly as I deserve! And all Magic deserves as well! Now! Follow me, and shut your blithering yaps, you imbecilic children!”
Luna’s feathers ruffled. “You can’t talk to us like that!”
“I can and I shall!” The Gravekeeper shouted. “Are you going to stop me? Leave the Element buried forever with my corpse?”
“Woah now,” I spoke up, “We never said anything about killing…”
“Good! You have more sense than I thought a monstrosity could hold!” The lantern swooped back over our heads, “Inside! Immediately!”
He stalked off into the darkness, lamp wobbling on his shoulder, stone chips crumbling under his cracked hooves.
I turned to Luna, “Bit of a different treatment after those Illuminators, huh?”
She smiled, “Yeah… Do you think he’s even with the Illuminators?”
“They talked of him,” Celestia whispered, “The Illuminators definitely knew he was here, at the tomb. As for what he was doing… Who can say?”
“At least he’s willing to let the Element go,” I said, “Somewhat.”
“Either that,” Luna said, “Or he’s leading us somewhere where he can kill us quietly.”
Celestia quietly balked, “Luna!”
“What?!” Luna cried, “Just saying!”
“We can take him, if it comes down to that,” I said, “He’s one old stallion. We’re the Elements of Harmony. I think we win by default.”
“I can hear you, chattering mice,” The Gravekeeper shouted over his shoulder. The lantern wobbled as he waved deeper into the tomb, down a flight of faded white stairs. “Down here. It is not far.”
Automatically, Celestia stepped forward. Luna and I followed after her, following in her footsteps as she avoided the burned-out firepit and the scattered pots. We started to descend. Three sets of hooves around me clapped on the stone steps, and snapped apart fallen stone fragments. It was all fine and dandy that the ponies had tough hooves, but I was not so lucky. Every time I pressed my palm on one of the thin shards they’d shatter like dried clay, and cut up my hands.
“Augh! Geez! Ow!” I cradled my hand after a nasty shard had jabbed into the tender joint between my fingers. “Is the stone falling apart that quickly? What is all this stuff?”
“Something akin to that,” The Gravekeeper said, “I will explain when we reach the bottom.”
“Why are these things always underground, too?” I grumbled, “Every single Element, down in a hole. I swear…”
“Loyalty wasn’t,” Celestia offered, “His was in a shrine above ground.”
“At the bottom of a sunken atrium,” Luna said.
“Hm. So it was.”
The Gravekeeper huffed, steam billowing from his snout. “Can you honestly not think of a better place to bury the dead, than underground?”
“But they’re not quite dead, are they?” Luna asked, “Not literally.”
“May as well be,” he retorted, “They are dead in the eyes of the world. Everything moves on while their corpses gather moss. I just hope their crazed minds find some solace in the quiet of the dark…”
He trailed off. All we were left with was the crunch of stone and the squeak of his rattling lantern.
I mumbled, “Geez…”
“What did I say about not offering pity?” The Gravekeeper snapped.
“It’s not like I’m pitying you,” I shot back.
“You pity fallen gods,” The Gravekeeper growled.
“Yes?” I asked, confused.
“They fell before the Elements could find a way to help them,” Celestia said, “If the First Gods had learned sooner that friendship was the cure for Nightmares—“
“Friendship?” The Gravekeeper asked. “The cure?”
He stopped, stock still, on the bottom floor. His lantern wobbled on the end of its crook, the squeal of wet metal on metal the only sound, and its waving the only movement. Once more, I got the impression that he was a statue, and would never move again.
“Friendship would not have saved them,” the stallion suddenly spoke. “Even if such a solution was discovered the moment they had transformed. They were all weak, fragile, egotistical, and they bore a burden so much greater than any of you clearly understand.”
“We’ve learned a lot this past year,” I retorted, “How about you try us?”
He didn’t reply. With a great heaving motion, the Gravekeeper lifted his crook into the air, then slammed it into the ground. There was a mad squealing as the metal jammed it between two stones slabs. For a moment, I wondered if it had activated something. A spell, a door, something that was making the shadows and light dance so rapidly.
But no. It was just the swaying of the lantern as it vaguely illuminated the room. It rattled to a stop, and nothing more became of the action. In the dim light of the single candle, we could all clearly see.
There was nothing there. Nothing but a bare pedestal and mounds of chipped stone.
“Of course he’s not here…” Celestia mumbled.
“Who? The God of Magic?” The Gravekeeper scoffed, “No, he is not. Not anymore. Look here.” Back to us, he waved a stiff hoof at the poorly lit ground. “Look at the stones you have so idly been treading upon.”
Automatically, not even wanting to follow what he was saying, I looked at my hands. Yep. Stone chips. Broken rock. Some of them were curved, like broken bits of pottery. Thick, thin, some with little lines etched across the surface.
One caught my eye. A long shard with lots of lines up and down its length. The two sides were covered in thin, parallel and uncountable ridges, all cutting off at a thick center stem. It wasn’t curved or bowl-shaped like the others, but straight. Like a knife, but with a tapering, quill-like end…
I picked it up. Turned it over in my hands. It was a feather. An immaculate stone feather.
It dropped and shattered as it hit the floor.
I cried, “Magic’s statue broke?”
“He never was a statue,” The Gravekeeper grunted, stiff back and bald head still turned to us, “Who would trap him? The healer? The dog breeder? The unborn Second Elements? All Magic could do is wait for his own Nightmare to overtake him. To overtake the most powerful of the First Six…”
He continued, “I don’t know if it was a blessing, or a curse. If it was his own ego, or the will of the Element of Magic. But he, or his body, refused to turn to the solace of his Nightmare. Instead, the result you see here.” Stiffly, he waved again at the stone chips on the floor. “He crumbled away. No pony could, or would ever be harmed by him.”
“I thought the alicorns were immortal,” I said.
Instead of an answer, The Gravekeeper just heaved his shoulders up, and shrugged.
“Don’t you just shrug at me!” I huffed, “You’ve done nothing but treat us like idiots, but you’re the one with a story that doesn’t add up!” I slapped at some chips. “I don’t believe this is Magic! We tried damaging those statues, and, and I’ve only seen it done once by some very powerful pony.”
“Well there you have it,” The Gravekeeper grunted, “Magic did this to himself. Made himself fragile enough to break.”
“And that’s another thing!” I continued, “Why don’t the Illuminators know about this?”
“Know about what?” The Gravekeeper shot.
“They said that Magic was ‘out there somewhere.’ Like he had fled the country or something! And yet you’re here, and you say with certainty that Four-Clover broke himself up—”
The Gravekeeper inhaled sharply, nearly hissing. “Do not use his birth name, boy.”
“He deserves the respect of his birth name!” I shot back. “Because he was a pony, and a person, not some untouchable, incorruptible cog in a cosmic wheel!”
Luna nodded with me, standing firmly by my side. Celestia just looked nervous, in her own way. She was stiff, biting her lip and looking between me and the Gravekeeper. Did she think would offend him? That he’d hurt me? Both were impossible.
So I just kept going.
“I’ve heard enough,” I said. “I’ve learned enough about The Elements, the people who bore them, to know that your story’s bunk. So is this some kind of test? Or are you just yanking our chains? Because it’s not funny. We’ve got a whole freaking country to save, so you better not be screwing with us. Got it?”
Finally, he moved. The Gravekeeper turned in place, just slightly. His hooves lifted and placed themselves mechanically as he pivoted around to look me in the eye. He watched me in silence, with those same angry yellow eyes, same stony posture.
“Kindness…”
“Discord.”
“I should have known your bite would have fangs.”
“Literally or figuratively?”
“Both.” He turned away, as if that was the end of that. “Well, I will tell you this. The Element of Magic is here, but not as a stone.”
He kicked aside some chips and settled down on the floor. His back to the pedestal, he watched all of us with one foreleg wrapped around the lantern crook.
“A test of bonds is required to receive it,” The Gravekeeper continued, “You see, the Element of Magic vanishes until it determines that it has been earned. What you fail to understand is that the Elements don’t care about your positivity, they care about the connection.”
He nodded slowly, eyes drifting to the floor. In a droning, lecture-like tone, he said, “The ‘spark’ as we came to call it. It is the combined will to move forward as one, despite all things in your path. The original Elements of Harmony were not friends, but they most certainly were unified by duty, and by the shared responsibility of the country. When all the Elements had finally gathered, they spoke only for the sake of the country. Their leader was the last spark that truly united them, and thusly, he granted the Element of Magic.”
“But each Element responds to a certain emotion, don’t they?”Celestia asked, taking a few tentative steps forward. “Or to positive traits…”
“Certainly,” The Gravekeeper grunted, “The stones called the Elements of Harmony grow attached to people who show the qualities observed at their formation. Generosity was born in a healer’s tent, so it was brought to a healer. Loyalty was born from the battle of noble troops, so it was brought to a general.”
I glanced at Celestia. Healer? Solider…? I would never describe her as either of those things. And if I did, it would only vaguely described her, in some sort of lofty, removed sense. Did the Elements see something like that in her? Or was the Gravekeeper just as deluded as the Illuminators?
“Perhaps your friendship does offer you healing and respite from the darkness,” The Gravekeeper droned on, “But I know with an utmost certainty that it is just the Elements forming bonds on your bonds. And just the same as the First Gods, it is inevitable that this spark of friendship will eventually fade, you will fall into your own mortal flaws.
“Please,” The Gravekeeper snapped, voice cracking, “If you take any wisdom from the First Gods, let it be that. Friendship, bonds, whatever spark there is between you all. You will fall to nightmare. Plan accordingly, so that none of you replace this idiot’s reign of terror.”
I looked at Luna, and gave her a raised eyebrow. She remained quiet, looking back at me.
Suddenly, Celestia stepped forward.
“I promise, Keeper of Magic’s grave. I’ve found my own way through my nightmares… I know I have the strength to see all of us through what is to come.”
Gravekeeper watched her quietly. Then he glanced at the ceiling, as if he expected the revelation to activate that intangible spark.
“As for you two?” he asked, turning his yellow eyes on the two of us.
Luna took a step towards me, “I don’t know,” she said dreamily, “I’d see if there was some way to help him through it, but…”
“You know it will come to that point,” the Gravekeeper shot, without even letting her finish.
“Geez-us!” she replied, “That’s like asking what I’d do if Discord died! I haven’t even thought of answering that question!”
“I’d do the best I could for you, Luna,” I said. I wanted to put a hand on her shoulder, but I decided against it. I don’t need more excuses for The Gravekeeper to go ballistic. Instead, I continued.
“Can you do the same for me?”
“Well duh,” Luna said, “Of course I’d do that…”
I nodded, “That’s all we need right now, then.”
“If that is what you think, certainly,” The Gravekeeper snapped, “But heed the First God’s warning. Remember their tale. Learn, and for all our sakes, and grow wise.”
For a moment, his stony expression slipped, eyes drifting downward.
He said, “Oh, if the gods had thought ahead, there would be so much to tell, to share…”
“Fine, fine, we get it…” I mumbled.
And in a flash, he was back to looking like a statue, staring at us coldly.
“Soooo,” I started, “Is that enough to unlock Magic?”
“Apparently not,” he replied, “But I doubted it would. When the first gods gathered, a full ceremony was given to the awakening of Magic, and a mantra recited in unison to ignite its spark.”
“Really?” Celestia asked, “I don’t remember that from my lessons.”
“Yeah,” I said, “When my tutors talked history, it was older stuff than that.”
The Gravekeeper shook a hoof. Flakes of rock that clung to his fetlock clattered to the floor. “Irrelevant,” he said, “You are not here to judge the veracity of my words now, are you?”
I snorted, “Yes?”
“Oh, thank you Kindness,” the Gravekeeper shot back, “Your sharp tongue obviously serves a great purpose in this current situation. Now if I may continue, my prince?”
I fell quiet. The more and more I pushed, the more and more he pushed back… I mean, I’m used to disrespect, no doubt. But at least the Illuminators pretended like I was important. This stallion just did not care. Not about me, or either of my friends. Did he just think we were a bad replacement? No, no, he didn’t talk about the First Gods very respectfully either. Did he think that the entire system was stupid? Then why the crap was he here, trying to help us?
The only reason, to me, was that he was here to lead us astray. If he didn’t outright work for the Shadow Stallion himself…
“While friendship so obviously binds you,” The Gravekeeper curtly continued, “An ignition of your bonds, a reminder of that connection may be in order to kindle Magic’s appearance. While we can’t do a full ceremony, reciting the First God’s Mantra may be good enough for you three ‘friends’.”
He clapped his dusty, chipped hooves. “Go on. Form a circle. Makes sure the other two are in your sight.”
I did so. Quickly, in fact. Almost as soon as Luna and Celestia turned, I mumbled, “What do you think of this guy?”
Celestia stared at me blankly. Luna frowned.
“Do you think he’s lying? Do you think he works for the Shadow Stallion?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, no!” Celestia whispered back, “He’s just an old stallion…”
“An old stallion that hates the First Gods and hates us just as much.”
“I wouldn’t say hate…”
Luna piped in, “The Illuminators mentioned him plenty of times!”
“They said there was somebody here,” I retorted, “That’s it.”
The hooves snapped together again, so loud I could’ve sworn he cracked them open.
“Stop fidgeting, you three! Honestly, are you mice, or are you gods?! Now! Recite these words!”
He cleared his throat, and in that same, droning lecture voice, he recited:
Elements of Harmony
Whose power art among us
Hear these ponies cry
~
Unity we desire, and unity thou grants
Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia
And deliver us from unending strife
~
Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter
Bind Honesty and Loyalty
Bind all, and grant Magic at last before us.
He stopped abruptly, and his eyes returned to each of us.
“Well?” he snapped, “Go on then!”
We stumbled to a start, repeating the half-remembered lines in unison. Our voices blended together as our eyes flicked back and forth, trying to figure out when to start and stop each stanza.
“Elements of Harmony
Whose power art among us
Hear these ponies cry.”
Our Elements began to hum. I had the urge to hum along, resonate with the other two. That’s how we do things. And so far, we’ve been doing them way better than the First Gods. We didn’t need some poem to connect to one another.
“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants
Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia
And deliver us from unending strife.”
This didn’t even have anything to do with anything. It was just words they recited to get in tune. We were better than that. We didn’t need ritual and song to feel connected at all.
“Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter
Bind Honesty and Loyalty
Bind all, and grant Magic at last before us.”
“Good!” Gravekeeper snapped, “Now, again!”
So, again, we chanted the old hymn. Celestia was fully into it, eyes closed. Loyalty atop her head was glowing brightly, multicolored light swirling gently around Generosity. Luna’s eyes were diverted to the ceiling, waiting for the moment Magic would appear, I guess. Or maybe just trying to remember the words. I could hear the hum of her Elements, but they weren’t nearly as vibrant as Celestia’s had become.
Me. I watched. I waited. I doubted.
“Again!” the Gravekeeper barked, “There is no ceremony to assist your spark here! Truly reach for each other, with all of your mind, body, and spirit!”
I rolled my eyes, glad my back was turned to the old coot. If it was just a spark we needed…
I took a breath, and spoke with my friends.
“Elements of Harmony
Whose power art among us
Hear these ponies cry.”
I didn’t need to say this junk. We were better, closer than whatever words we said. So I let that be my guide. I let myself feel, let those bonds flow through me. I let myself remember friendship… and more.
“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants
Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia
And deliver us from unending strife.”
Luna was easy. I know her. She knows me. She knows every bit of me and still stood by my side. Accepted, embraced, joked, laughed…
Loved…
Without words, I felt Kindness flare.
“Are you feeling it now, Second Gods?” The Gravekeeper croaked, “Complete your bonds! Ignite the spark of Magic!”
“Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter
Bind Honesty and Loyalty
Bind all, and grant Magic at last before us.”
And Celestia!
Her, below me, hooves atop my hand and seeking my forgiveness. Asking to start again. Sitting in the moonlight. Proud. Tall. Complete. No longer tormented by her own stupid flaws…
I stumbled over the poem as it began anew.
“Keep in time, Draconequus! Again!”
Okay, Discord. Not the time. Yes, you’re a bit jealous. Happens. Not her fault. Just a little kink that you can smooth over. That’s what friends do! Just look past it, accept each other. It’s fine.
Everything’s fine.
“Elements of Harmony
Whose power art among us
Hear these ponies cry.”
Of course, how is she going to react when she learns about that lie. Canterbury. Occupied.
I wonder if she’ll be so forgiving then. If she’ll accept me then.
“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants”
And um… Bind us to…
The Gravekeeper’s voice snapped out like a whip. “Do you think you should be stopping, son of the dog breeder?! Repeat the mantra, welp! Your Elements have not fully banded!”
Banded? My eyes fluttered open, and I stumbled over even more of the mantra.
Wavering light, solid light weaved among our Elements. They curled and fluttered through the air, faintly twisting into a braided circle of rainbows. From Generosity to Laughter to Kindness.
I looked to my right. Faint strands of silver and red drifted from Kindness. Faint lines of orange and purple drifted from Generosity. But they didn’t even come close to touching. They hung like hairs of a cut rope, wavering in an invisible breeze.
“Draconequus!” The Gravekeeper growled, “Strengthen your bond!”
Fine. I’ll do this the better way. With hardly a thought, I pushed my magic through the stone, and sent a silvery beam straight at Celestia’s Element.
“Do you think raw or wild magic offers an adequate substitute for your personal connections?!” Gravekeeper snapped, gravelly voice cracking. “You must focus with a single intended effect, or all you will do is spew directionless purification! Return to the mantra! Remember your duty, not just to each other, but to the country you wish to save!”
Fine. Country saving? I can give a shit about country saving.
“Elements of Harmony
Whose power art among us
Hear these ponies cry.”
My voice was no longer in tune with the girl’s. Mine was louder, more forceful. Think of the country. Think of the sunlight. Think of all the Pegasi in slavery. And all the unicorns trapped in cities.
Controlled.
Oppressed.
Devoured by beasts.
With more destruction to come.
“Unity we desire, and unity thou grants
Bind us all in the name of our new Utopia
And deliver us from unending strife.”
I was shouting now. I didn’t even have to look to see that the light reaching for Celestia was failing. And my connection to Luna might not have been much better. The bond that we had was already faltering. I don’t think an old man shouting at us was helping the matter at all.
“Bind Kindness, bind Generosity, bind Laughter
Bind Honesty and Loyalty
Bind all, and grant—”
A splitting pain shot through the back of my head. Something sharp and hard, right in the middle of my skull. Celestia screeched. I reeled forward. Smacked into the ground. Stone fragments dug into my skin, breaking open. All the Element’s light in the room vanished in an instant.
And there was the Gravekeeper, hanging above me with hoof outstretched and eyes livid.
“What the hell?!” I screamed, clutching at the back of my head.
“I knew it,” he growled, “A creature of failed Kindness’, holding his fallen father’s Element? No wonder you can’t use it fully! Did he give it to you as some sort of sick joke?! A mockery of lineage?!”
“Why the hell did you hit me?!”
“Sir Gravekeeper, it’s my fault!” Celestia stepped forward, “Discord has nothing to do with this! Our friendship has just been tested lately, that’s all…!”
“Friendship! Were you thinking about that weak bond while you chanted?!”
“Well it is the strongest bond we have—!”
“It is NOT!” the Gravekeeper roared, “It is because you cling to your foolish ideal that you were unable to create the bond in the first place! Now turn to each other, repeat the mantra, and form your spark on a more adult ideal!”
“Shut up, old man!” I screamed. I was fuming, the back of my head throbbed, and this entire setup, this entire tomb, a big, stupid joke!
I was on my feet in a moment, roaring at the top of my lungs, “You blame me for not caring about the country! Then you just forget about that and yell at us for being friends! You said friendship was a bond and it would work! Now you say it’s stupid and we should forget it! You keep finding thing after thing after thing wrong with us, and not everything you say even adds up!” I swiped at the rocks at my feet. “This broken rocks are Four-Clover! The First Gods chanted something to connect to one another! The nightmare is inevitable, except for Four-Clover, oh no, he was special! You’re just, just all over the place! What the hell are we supposed to believe?!”
Luna stammered, “A-and then you hit Discord…”
“And then you HIT ME!”
The Gravekeeper watched us, eyes narrowed, stiff and still as a statue.
He said, “Such anger—”
“RIGHT BACK AT YOU, BUDDY!” I shouted.
“You Second Gods,” The Gravekeeper scoffed, “You’re going to fall faster than the First.”
“And that’s another thing I can’t trust you on! What are we up to now? Twenty of those?!”
Luna giggled weakly, and the stone-cold eyes shot in her direction.
No! His attention stays right here!
“So you hate us,” I shot, “So you hate the First Gods. You hate this whole system. And you definitely hate me bearing Kindness,” I took a breath, and finally shouted, my snout inches from his, “Then why the hell are you here?”
For a long time, he stood there. Stiff and still, unnaturally so. I don’t even think he was breathing. close as I was, I certainly couldn’t smell his breath, or feel anything coming from his snout. All I could smell was cold stone and dust in this empty, forsaken tomb.
“Because I deserve to be here,” The Gravekeeper finally hissed, “Thank you for reminding me that all my hard work and sacrifice earned me this dirty hole in the ground.”
“How?” I barked, “Why?”
“You do not care, and I do not especially want to tell you either,” The Gravekeeper snapped, “Come up with whatever reason you like. I honestly could give half a copper bit.”
And that was that. He grabbed the crook of the lantern in his teeth, and tried to wrench it from the ground. It wobbled oddly, nearly fell several time, and it was only by the effort of hoof that he was able to slam it back down on his shoulder with a dull ‘tunk.’
“That’s it?” I shot, “You’re done with us?”
He spun mechanically around, lantern wobbling wildly, and snorted a heavy, dusty breath. Without another word, he marched right up the steps and out of sight.
“Discord,” Celestia squeaked lightly.
I spun on her. She was silent all through that argument. She almost looked pathetic, small and shivering.
“What?” I asked, more harshly than I meant.
She shook her head, “I’m sorry he had to put you through that.”
“Okay.”
Silence fell between us. We were just a bunch of kids standing in a cold, dark tomb. I realized that she might not be able to even see me right now.
“Luna, shadows…?”
“Oh, right?”
I watched as she moved to her sister, hooves cracking as she stumbled on small fragments of stone.
“Now what?” Luna asked quietly, rubbing the shadows from my sister’s eyes.
“Magic appears when it’s needed,” Celestia said softly, “I don’t think we need to remain here to receive it.”
“According to him.”
“According to history,” Celestia said, “If it vanished after Starswirl used it, how could they have gotten it down to Equestria? It could just go where the Elements go. All we need is an ignition event.” She looked quietly up the worn stone steps. “I… suppose we don’t need to remain here for that to happen.”
I nodded firmly. “I’m for any plan that means we don’t have to be anywhere near this kook. Let’s go.”
“But to where…?”
“Down to the town for the night, I don’t care,” I huffed, “We can think tomorrow. And spark Magic our own way.”
Luna nodded along with me, determination in her eyes. Together, we ascended the stairs. Celestia soon came after us. I don’t know why she lingered. Maybe she had something else to say.
“What do you think he wanted anyway?” Celestia asked, “Why is he here?”
“To see the new gods?” Luna offered, “I don’t think he was impressed though.”
“I don’t know…” I mumbled, “And I don’t think he does either. He’s just directionless hate and rage and spite. And we don’t need his help any more than he needs ours.”
“Well…” Celestia said, “Alright.”
We walked up the short flight of stairs, passed through the rat hole of a home, and exited the tomb. The Gravekeeper was already back outside. He was just sitting on his stone bench and looking as much as a living statue as could be. He ignored us, we ignored him. Just went right into the rain without another word.
I had another night to come up with some plan to unlock Magic.
Another night to think around all the lies I’d told.
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Wow, Discord.... maybe you should read between the lines?
4148448
He's the one who's been most dedicated to experimenting with and understanding his own magic; he's also the most powerful of the three of them, magically. So in that regard it makes sense.
There also seems to be a certain twisted logic to it -- Fluttershy resisted him and he never tried to directly corrupt Twilight. And despite Pinkie Pie obviously having stronger ties to Chaos, Discord has consistently in canon shown stronger emotional connections to Fluttershy and Twilight.
This whole business with the Nightmare being an inevitable result of being a Bearer if you don't have friendship makes what Discord did in Return of Harmony much, much darker, if you think about it. Or, perhaps, more merciful, depending. If you break the bonds of friendship and their ties to their own Elements before alicornification, maybe they can never succumb to the Nightmare because they just lose their connection and the Elements go to someone else. Or maybe it would have set them up to go Nightmare much much sooner if Twilight hadn't found it in herself to resist and save them all. I wonder which way Discord thought it would go?
In "Fostering Intelligence" he seems to strongly believe that what he's doing is promoting a form of chaos that doesn't hurt anyone, even though at the same time he's screwing with ponies' heads, so it's clear he won't actually go quite the same way the Shadow Stallion, or for that matter Luna, did. Maybe because he's a draconequus and he learned to resist temptation to violence and brutality before he even met his friends, he's spent his whole life playing judo with those desires and trying to turn his impulses to chaos into something that's funny rather than brutal... so he didn't become a brutal tyrant, or try to become one like Luna did, he became a thoughtless jerk who didn't so much rule anything as make it impossible for anyone else to rule. Chaos is a wonderful thing, so I'm going to shove it down your throat and make you accept it, because the alternative is I go crazy and eat you all and I'm much too nice to do that. See, I didn't turn into a Nightmare, Celestia and Luna! I'm still me, I'm just having fun! And making sure everyone else has fun the same way, they'll learn to like it eventually, it's better than tyranny and murder right?... what are you doing with those Elements?
Okay, now We're starting to see Discord fall apart. This cannot end well, but I guess we knew that from the start...
Can te=he elements turn anyone the bearers want into stone or does it have to be for a good reason?
I'm pretty sure the Gravekeeper is Four-Clover, could be wrong, but that's my guess. Good chapter, I'm very worried for Discord. His best option is to come clean with Celestia NOW, cause it'll only be worse later. But then, I guess we all know what lays ahead for Discord's fate o.O
He's Four Clover. He destroyed the parts of him that made him an alicorn.
4183351 I'm sure you're not wrong.
4184697 Oh, that is clever. I think you may have nailed it. I hadn't come up with anything satisfactory beyond "oh that is totally him".
How dumb are they? It's way too obvious that he is Four Clover, how could they not realize that?
4187134
Clarification : Discord did not come to that conclusion.
As many other have said: The stallion is probably Four-Clover.
We know that "Magic" shattered himself. What if he only shattered his Alicorn-layer, and returned to being what he once was? An Earth Pony. Or if he was forced to do so by expelling all pegasi and unicorn magic from his body.
I also think that what Discord said about him being directionless hate and spite is on purpose. He's the biggest enemy of friendship, what ultimately binds the elements together the strongest. I think he's taking on that role (if it even is a role) with the purpose of trying to hinder them, to see if they can get past that hatred and spite he forces in between them.
He also says that he deserves to be there. For what? For the failure he was as a God, I assume.
4216376
I do hope you keep reading, because I completely agree with you.
In this case, the underlying and root causes for Celestia's stress are being exacerbated by "magic." But that doesn't mean those innate problems cease to be if her symptoms are "magicked away."
I'd continue, but I don't want to spoil. Feel free to bring up any additional concerns with me when/if you continue reading.
4219555
Well you're in luck! I was near the end of my binge. Now that I've read it all I feel nothing but pain for Discord and Celestia. Especially Discord. The poor soul, he's so crippled by self-doubt and self-hatred that he can't see the good in him. He had pointed out previously why letting the Stallion believe they were in the city was a bad idea, and likely saved more lives by doing so. I hope you're leading into his arc, because he's in such a deep, dark place, and I'd love nothing more than to see him heal.
In other words, you're one of the few people who make me want to give a fictional character a big hug. You devious bastard.
I'm starting to consider this a tragedy more than an adventure, because it seems like everything is continuously spiraling downwards. It's as they say however - the night is darkest before the dawn. And this dawn has been long, long overdue.
Also, my... Roughly sixteen hour binge has made me eager to write some kind of follow-up. This fic is a long ways from over however, and it simply wouldn't be right to do so before it ended. Even then, I would be wary to tack on anything. It's your story, not mine. Regardless, the way they mesh... Add in this backstory as context, and I can see an utterly heartwarming tie-in to the show. I wouldn't dare divulge it on the comment section however, as I'm unsure as to what you're planning.
4220884
A "long ways from over" is subjective, in this case. I'm pretty much writing the final few chapters right now, but the first won't see the light of day for at least... *checks calendar* two... three weeks? So if you want to write something, I can't stop you. In fact, I encourage it! Fanfiction is all about building up the unadressed and interesting sides of a story. Even if the unadressed part is "the end of the story," that doesn't stop the overwhelming power of GOTTA WRITE THIS ONE THING!
And I can't really call this story a tragedy, because it'd SPOIL THE ENDING, GEEZ!
But seriously, I think everybody sees the tragedy train a-rolling out of the station the moment they open up the first chapter. Labeling it as such would undermine all the cute, funny, happy things that happened among all the sad, depressing, and more sad things. 
All in all, thank you so much for your positive comments about my hopelessly depressing character and story
4221716
Oh, most certainly. Unless you were to present an alternate universe, what happens after this is just about set in stone. The optimist in me does however see a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the show's events.
Also, thank you for the encouragement! I'm eager to hear that the end is near, however I think I will refrain nevertheless. If I take on the project, I'd prefer to have everything laid out before me. Inconsistencies are a pain. I must ask though, is there a sequel planned? I remember there being talk of a second part to this story, set about a thousand years afterwards - showing their fall from grace, I believe.
And no problem! Though I notice constant spelling errors (I could compile a list, but that's an extremely intimidating task), the Grammar Nazism within me is more than appeased by the superb writing and, most of all, story! Honestly, if this weren't fan fiction, I would suggest publishing it.
4223089
Two more parts to the "Arcs of Harmony" were planned, one after Steadfast, and one after Sunset Looms. But I don't think I have it in me to keep writing overlong and epic fanfiction stories much longer.
I've gained enough skill that, after this story is complete, I want to focus on writing an original work.