Stone Cold

by M_D_Quill

Chapter 4

There is something different now... as if something gave in... but I just can't put my finger on it!

Hours have passed since I 'cracked'. There is a change in the air and I have been trying to figure out what it was, and if it is an improvement to my situation. Let me clarify; the stone does not feel quite as confining as it did before those mares arrived... it is almost like I was at the bottom of a dog-pile and the top layer of people just got off. The downside is I can feel... wind again. You are probably wondering how that is a bad thing... well it is. I had forgotten you can feel wind. I am starting to realize how long I have been trapped in here (a very, very long time...)... what worries me is how I forgot something this important... I mean, how can someone forget a feeling...

How much have I lost? What is this feeling of panic? I can't recall the last time I have felt this way... actually... I can't recall much before I became stone now that I think about it. Where exactly did I come from? Have I always been here?

Am I really just a stupid rock?

I refuse to acknowledge that train of thought! I am more than a rock, I am a human!

Rocks also don't feel cold. They also don't feel cramped, or tired. They don't feel... lonely...

I crave moving, but I don't remember what it was like to do so. I just know that I should be able to lower my arms to my sides. I know my face shouldn't always feel this way. When I talk I should feel my mouth moving, and be able to blink. What is blinking anyway?

Now knowing that I have forgotten such... important and basic stuff is a shock. I am now thankful for the cold, it is helping me keep my mind focused. My mind seems to wander all too easily nowadays. I have found myself comparing everything around me to were I am from... but I can't recall where that is. It is somewhere far away, that much I know. It is a place where there are no unicorns, no pegasus, and no flying serpents...

I should of hit him in the head harder.

I can remember his face! I remember that mocking laugh! It was that serpent who did this to me. This is his prison, his cage, his body, his rock... and he forced me into it! Now everyone thinks I am him... but I am not! I am not Discord, I am...

I am...

... who am I?

When was the last time I have heard my name? When was the last time I thought of my name? What is my name?

Have I forgotten myself...

Am I nobody...

That can't be true! I am obviously someone. Nobody can be no one. If they were no one, then they would be a someone? Someone without an identity obviously, but that is still someone... but if they are someone without an identity, is that their identity? Their identity would be to have no identity...

What is that called? A Paradox?

That is who I am! I am Paradox!

I am the living embodiment of what cannot be. I am a living manifestation of the bane of logic...

Or I would be if I was not made of rock...

I am still trapped in stone, but the bonds that are holding me in feel... looser than before. Whatever broke earlier must have weakened the barrier between me and this world. So if I want it to loosen them up some more, I need to do what I did before... What did I do before?

I focused on those mares. They were leaving. I didn't want them to leave. I tried to stop them, I wanted them to stay. I broke something by my wanting. So if I want to break more of that 'something', then I need to want something even more than the company of those mares.

But what?

Twilight Sparkle

Yes... I need to focus my 'want' on the only horse to show interest in me. She is the only one who has believed I am something more than a statue. The only one to care about what I am thinking about. She is the one I have had a child with... I want Twilight Sparkle!

x.X.x

"No is no Vinyl!" Octavia growled to her friend.

"Oh come on!" the white mare grumbled, "That statue is probably the most interesting thing in this whole boring city!"

"We are not going back."

Vinyl smacked her head on the cafe table with a groan. She had been trying to convince her friend to go back to that weird statue. There was just something that felt... interesting about it but Vinyl couldn't put her hoof on it. She would have gone back on her own except the castle guards wouldn't let her into the castle without Octavia with her... some stupid rule about non-court members crowding up the halls and such.

"Can't you just come with me until we get through the castle?" Vinyl begged, "Once I am in then you can leave! You don't have to see the statue at all!"

The gray mare glared, "Absolutely not! I won't risk my place in the royal symphony just because you want to look at that weird rock in the gardens. What is so interesting about it anyway?"

Vinyl combed her hoof through her mane, "I'm not sure really... It was a feeling... I felt something different in the air when I was near it. I can't really explain it..." She looked at her friend, "Some weird unnatural vibe surrounded it. I need to find out what that vibe means..."

"Vinyl..." Octavia began.

"Octavia? Is that you?" Octavia turned and looked at a purple unicorn mare with a pink strip flowing through her dark purple mane walking toward them. When she got close enough, Octavia gasped.

"Twilight?" She jumped out of her seat and gave Twilight a hug. "Oh Twilight! Where have you been for the past year! Everypony has been worried about you."

The purple mare blushed. "Oh, sorry Octavia. I have been doing some advanced studies down in Ponyville. I have not had too much time to come up here and say hi to anypony except my family..."

Octavia laughed. "Well do you have time now? Pull up a seat. How have you been? What kind of advanced studies are you doing? What is Spike up to nowadays? "

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Vinyl. "Hey Octy? You going to introduce us?"

"Oh sorry!" Octavia stammered. "Twilight, this is Vinyl Scratch, a good friend of mine in the music business. Vinyl, this is Twilight Sparkle, she is the protege of Princess Celestia. We met at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Hold it?" Vinyl jumped up. She pointed her hoof at the her friend. "Are you telling me you, an earth pony, got into a school for 'Gifted Unicorns?'" the white mare asked.

Twilight giggled. "Celestia's school teaches a lot more than just magic; It is also the center for all musically gifted ponies, as well as astronomical and geothermal research." She gave Octavia a small smile. "I am sorry Octavia. I would love to stay and chat, but I have an appointment to keep. It's great to see you again though."

"Where are you off too, if you don't mind me asking?" the gray mare inquired.

"I am off to meet somepony in the Canterlot gardens-"

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Vinyl shouted causing Twilight to jump back.

"Um... Excuse me?" Twilight asked, clearly nervous.

Octavia facehoofed. "Sorry Twilight, but I took her to the gardens earlier today. She wants to go back and look at some weird statue." the gray mare glared at her friend. "Something about it having an 'interesting vibe'."

"Oh. If that is all, I don't see what the problem is." Twilight looked at Vinyl. "You're welcome to follow me to the gardens. I will make sure the guards will allow you access, at least for today."

"YES!!!" Vinyl cried out as she did a little dance around the table. She is going to be going back to see the statue!

Octavia leaned in toward the purple mare, "Good luck." she whispered. "You're stuck with her now whether you want her or not."

Twilight groaned. What did she get herself into?

x.X.x

From the roof of the cafe, a pony in a beanie was watching the two ponies who visited her Dad. She watched as the white one bounced away with a purple unicorn. The gray one sat at the table for a few more minutes, then she stood up and began to walk down the street.

She floated down behind the cafe and walked around the building onto the streets. She carefully weaved through crowds keeping the gray mare within her site.

She didn't know who this mare was, but for some reason she was able to hear her Daddy. And more than anything else, she wanted to be able to talk to her Dad again, and this mare was her ticket to do so.

Comments

[M_D_Quill]

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I was hit with a major writer's block, then a creative slump. This chapter might be a little rough due to my unwillingness to write anything (I forced myself to do it anyway), and a couple of my editors not responding back for a couple days. My impatience has gotten the better of me.

Hope y'all enjoy!

[Knighthawker]

So if he breaks free, hes gonna have Discords body?

[Ozymandias]

It's pretty interesting. Glad to see it's not dead.

[M_D_Quill]

532027 Nah, he will still have his human body. Discord literally stuffed him into the statue... it's pretty uncomfortable.

532028 Same. I plan on finishing this fic before I continue my other stories to avoid more long delays. Glad to see you enjoying it!

[MyLittleBurger]

Hmmm will he be a regular ol' human though.... Paradox.... pair of docks..... pair of socks..... white..... knee high socks....

[M_D_Quill]

532223 He will also have flipflops, short-shorts, and a plaid button up shirt, with large sideburns...

Dear god, I have just given myself a nightmarish image... Scratch that description!

[MyLittleBurger]

532234 No short-shorts and sideburns.... let them etch their way into your consciousness....

[Kurri]

"How much have I lost?"
"I refuse to acknowledge that train of thought!"
" When I talk I should..." (Capitalize 'i' )
"...where there are no unicorns..."
"Have I forgotten myself..."
""Some some weird unnatural vibe ..." (I believe you only wanted a single 'some' here.)
"What is Spike up to nowadays? " (remove the 's' on 'Spikes')
"She wants to go back and see at some weird statue." (Slight reword such as 'see some weird statue' or 'look at some weird statue')
"She watched as a the white one bounced away with a purple unicorn." (Remove 'a')
"...keeping the gray mare stayed in her sight." (Reword such as 'within her sight')
"...and this mare was her ticket to do so."

Some errors I came across while reading. If my posting it seems bothersome I shall refrain from doing so any further. I just like to get them out of my mind.

[M_D_Quill]

534114 Nah, your posting is a lifesaver! Any edits and corrections are always welcome. Thanks!

[The Gargoyle]

AAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnd I'm calling it.
He, Ladies and Gentlemen, is offically insane.
Poor guy.

[kajisora]

She is the one I have had a child with... I want Twilight Sparkle!

I am NOT going to joke about this! Must...Resist...
whew..

Wow, just how long has he been trapped in there now?
If Twilight has been too busy to go to canterlot for the past year, and she last visited the statue around the time of the dragon migration....
A year and a half? assuming the episodes run at about the same pace as "real time" and discord trapped the poor sod almost immediately.
That is one LONG session of boredom

[TimeLordVictorious]

925299
That's what happens when your trapped in a confined space.

[Marowak47]

So "Paradox" is about to meet his "daughter," his "wife," and DJPON3. I am exited.

[Pinklestia]

Well, Paradox will have an interesting meeting if he ever gets free.