Heart of Stone: Prologue
"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
- Helen Keller
Thousands of years ago…
All was dark. He could not see a thing, nor could he move. But he could still hear. He could hear the voices of the Olympian gods.
"Is he…dead?" asked the perpetually drunken voice of Dionysus.
"Not dead," said the cool voice of Hera. "Just stone."
Stone? They had turned him to stone?! He wanted to shout, but his jaw would not budge from its wide-open position. Perhaps he should not have laughed so cockily at the gods' threat. Even if he had not given in to their demands and relinquished his control over the mortal realm, which he would have greatly preferred, he could have at least ran or attempted a counter spell.
Well, how was he to know their attack would actually be successful?
"I must say," said the voice of Aphrodite, "if nothing else, he will make a lovely lawn ornament."
"Or paperweight," said the voice of Athena.
He wanted to groan in fury. He did not know which goddess he found more annoying: prissy Aphrodite or bookish Athena.
"I am afraid none of us should make a trophy of him," said the youthful voice of Apollo. "I have just received a premonition."
He could hear the gods gathering around to hear Apollo's latest prophecy. He too listened intently.
"Then he will one day be freed," said Hephaestus after hearing the prophecy.
"By a mortal pony," said Apollo.
"But not for a long, long time," said Poseidon.
"No matter how far in the future this will be," said Demeter, "if he were ever to be set free, the mortal realm will be worse than Tartarus."
"Demeter is right," said Athena. "We must put the mortals' safety first."
"I say we shatter that confounded sculpture!" said Ares.
"Works for me," said Artemis.
He could hear a sword being drawn and a bowstring tightening.
"Shattering it will only make things worse," said Hera. "The stone seals his essence. If any part of this statue were to be broken, his essence would be freed."
"Then we must put him someplace no mortal will ever find him," said Zeus.
"I know a place across the sea that has yet to be discovered by mortal ponies," said Athena. "No pony will ever find him there."
The gods muttered to each other and came to an agreement. He heard the sounds of their weapons charging up. The sounds grew louder and louder, ultimately forming into a powerful blast.
Then all was silent.
He listened carefully as he tried to make sense of where he was. The only sound was that of a water droplet. Drip! Drip! Drip!
Where had they sent him? Some silent torture chamber in Tartarus?
Then another sound broke through the silence. A high-pitched shriek, like that of a bat. They had placed him in a cave of some sort.
If he had understood Apollo's prophecy correctly, he would not be condemned to this prison forever. The gods could try to cheat fate all they wanted, but they knew as well as he did that Apollo's prophecies were always fulfilled. A mortal pony would come one day to free him, though he honestly could not think of any pony stupid enough to do such a thing. However, it would not happen for many years, centuries even.
So there was nothing left for him to do but wait.
A cell in Tartarus would have been much more entertaining. At least then some of the horrified screams from the other cells would break through to his ears. In this cave of isolation, there was nothing to listen to but water dripping from the ceiling, the squeaky bats, and the occasional scurry of a rodent he could not determine. He could feel insects crawling all over his body, even over his jaw. He wished they had blasted him while his mouth had been closed.
All this waiting in silence gave the opportunity for deep thought. As time went on, he thought about how he would torture each and every one of the Olympian gods once he got out. Poseidon, he would place in a hot desert, barren of any water. Dionysus would not be given anything to drink but water. Artemis would be stuffed like her hunting trophies. Aphrodite, he would make absolutely hideous. Or, even worse, he would curse every mirror so she would never revel in her reflection again. The list went on.
He also reviewed his hostile takeover to pinpoint where he had gone wrong. His biggest mistake had been underestimating the Olympians. Next time, he would not act so cocky to a point where he would let his guard down.
He also discovered the answer to life, the universe, and everything. Who knew it was "forty-two" all along?
Whenever he was tired of thinking, he would count the drops of water that came from the ceiling. Drip! Drip! Drip! It would take at least five-thousand and twenty-seven drops to put him in a deep trance. Gods did not require sleep, but it was refreshing to completely zone out for a while, and it made the time go by quicker.
He did not know how long he had been here. Any longer in this void and he would have gone mad. Well, madder than he already was. Where was this Keeper when he needed them?
One day—or night, he could not tell—he heard a gust of wind blow through the cave. There must have been some storm outside for that much wind to come through. If he could move, he would shiver from the sting of the cold. Of course, after being encased in stone all this time, he had gotten used to the cold.
Suddenly, there was a sound. It was new, yet familiar. A sound he had not heard for a very long time. It was low and soft, but it cut through the silence like a knife.
It was the sound of hoofsteps, accompanied by heavy panting. The sounds came closer, closer, until they stopped. There was a high squeak, much different from that of a bat. It sounded…clearer, like the ting of a silver bell. This was followed by a soft sigh.
"Oh," said a voice. "It's just a statue."
The voice was shrill, but soft. Based on the fact that he had heard hoofsteps, he concluded that this was a young filly. She was not speaking Gracian, but being a god, he could understand any language. At least he knew now that he was not somewhere in Grace.
He wanted the filly to keep talking. He had not had any contact with the outside world for such a long while, and her sweet voice was music to his ears.
There were hoofsteps again. The filly was close enough that he could hear her rapid breathing. Does she know who I am? He thought. Even if not, will she turn and run from my…unique appearance?
He was caught by surprise when he felt something warm at his frozen foot and hoof. It was fur. Not filthy rodent fur, but soft, clean pony fur. Well, not entirely clean as it was also soaked. The filly must have gotten caught in the storm outside and had come in here for shelter.
He heard her tiny whimper as she curled her small body around his foot and hoof. After years of being subjected to this cold stone prison, this was the first bit of warmth he had felt. Even as she shivered, her warmth spread from his feet, up his legs, and to his heart.
It was…relieving.
He heard a sniff, and soon he realized the filly was not only shivering, but crying. His heart stopped, having the sudden urge to scoop the filly up in his arms, cradle her and shield her from the cold. He was not sure why he was feeling this way. Perhaps it was because being imprisoned here had developed a sort of…loneliness inside him.
He was used to being alone. Everyone feared him, even the fiercest of gods, titans and demons. And he had never complained, for he had had no interest in making friends when his magic allowed him to do whatever he wanted. But at least while he had been free, he could still make contact with others, albeit with malicious intent. He had no one to torture here, no one to tease, no one to play with.
That still did not explain where this sudden compassion for a crying filly was coming from. It was not like he had not heard a filly cry before. He had caused many fillies to cry. Why was this time any different?
Then she spoke again in that tiny voice, "Oh why, why, why am I so weak?"
She sniffed hard. He wished he could snap up a handkerchief for her.
"If only I could fly, if only I didn't have these tiny wings, then I wouldn't've fallen off that cloud!"
So she was a pegasus. One who had difficulty flying, apparently. A pegasus who cannot fly, he thought. How delightfully bizarre.
And he reveled in all things bizarre.
"All the ponies at Flight Camp make fun of me, you know?" she said in a strained voice. "Two colts were making fun of me this morning, because I tripped over a hoop and crashed into a flag. They called me," she whimpered, "Cluttershy. One colt said his baby brother could fly better than me." He felt her small face upon the toe of his dragon foot. "It was the most humiliating moment of my life!"
The warmth welling up inside him now was not due to her fur anymore, but due to his anger towards those colts. Of course, he had been guilty of making fun of others, but this filly had been made fun of for being different. And he knew better than anyone what it was like to be different.
"I don't know what I would've done had Rainbow Dash not stood up for me," she said, a hint of hope in her voice. "Oh, but she just had to challenge those colts to a race. The colts flew by me so fast that I fell out of the sky! Oh, I'm okay. Thankfully, those butterflies were there to catch me."
It was as if she knew he was listening. He had felt like screaming over her being injured, until she had assured him that that was not the case. And the circumstances of her safety were remarkable! Caught by butterflies? Could a mortal have that kind of magnetism?
His little black heart beat against the stone surface of his chest. She might as well have fallen from Mount Olympus itself.
"I wonder if any pony even knows I'm here," she said, her voice becoming sad again, "or if they even miss me. Even if they do miss me, how will they even know where to find me? Who knows how long you have been here."
I know what it is like to feel forgotten, little one, he thought. I wonder if anyone misses me as well.
"Oh, why couldn't I be brave? If I had stood up to those colts myself instead of let some pony else do it for me, I wouldn't be in this mess!"
If I had been there, I would not have been so merciful as to challenge those brats to a race. If he could, he would be growling. I would have wrung their necks, turned them inside out and worn them as shawls!
"I wish I were stronger."
Her tears were hot as they plopped onto his foot. Oh, how he longed to reach his claw down and wipe the tears from her eyes.
It simply was not right, a sweet little thing like her crying because some colts had made her feel inferior. Others had said awful things about himself, once upon a time, but he had learned to accept that he was despised. This filly, however, did not have such resilience. She was just a youngling with a terrible disadvantage.
I wish I could move. I wish I could speak. I wish I were able to lift your sorrows, or at least teach those brats a lesson! Or, I could teach you to teach them a lesson! If I still had my powers, I would not only make your wings stronger. I would make you the strongest mortal alive, a worthy rival of Heracles!
Suddenly, there was a burning sensation on his chest. It did not take him long to realize what it was.
My amulet. My anger must have awoken it!
"Huh?" said the filly.
He could feel her body lift itself from his foot and her hooves go to his stomach. He feared at what she was about to do.
No, little one! He wanted to shout. Keep away, please! There's no telling what…
The filly squealed as he heard an explosion, followed by a thump. His fear increased dramatically.
Oh, no, no, no, no! Tell me she did not touch it! Tell me I did not kill her! Please, Hades old boy, grant me this one wish!
He heard a whimper and he wanted to sigh in relief. She was not dead, but she must have been badly injured. He listened in suspense, counting the seconds between each breath. Five…four…five again…seven…why is her breathing so slow?!
She said nothing for a long time, but her breath never ceased.
"Hello?" a voice called from a distance. "Is any pony in here?"
"Yes!" the filly shouted, grunting. He pictured her attempting to rise. "I'm in here! Help!"
There were hoofsteps and he could make out three distinctive adult voices.
"There's a filly in here!"
"Is it the filly we're looking for?"
"Must be!"
"Gah! What is that ugly thing?"
He wanted to roll his eyes as the newcomers made comments on his appearance.
"Look at that jewel around his neck!"
"Don't touch it!" the filly yelled. "It's cursed! I touched it and it exploded!"
His heart sank at the fear in her voice. Eventually, all beings learned to fear him. Why should she be any different?
"I know some archaeologists who would be interested in this little beauty."
"Come on, sweetheart. Your parents have been worried sick about you."
No! He tried to shout. Do not take her away! Please! At least let me explain what happened!
But how could he explain? He was trapped.
He had hurt ponies before. Killed a few even. But this was the first time he had hurt some pony he was actually beginning to like. And it had been unintentional.
It is just as well she thinks me a monster. Every other injury I had inflicted had been intentional.
Once the hoofsteps of the ponies had faded away, there was silence again. He did not know how long it was before hoofsteps approached once again. There were many new voices murmuring amongst each other.
"Amazing," said a stallion's voice in an accent he did not recognize.
"What do you make of it, Dr. Caballeron?" asked a young mare's voice.
"It is impossible," said Dr. Caballeron, "but this statue appears to be Gracian in origin."
"Gracian?"
"It would seem so, my young apprentice."
He felt a hoof on his goat leg. It was not as soft as the sweet filly's had been, but hard and rough.
"It's definitely similar in style," said the young mare. "A statue with this much patchwork can only be a tribute to the God of Chaos, Discord."
"You would be correct, Miss Yearling," said Caballeron. "But how an ancient Gracian statue came to be in a cave a few miles outside of Cloudsdale is a mystery."
Cloudsdale. I have not heard of this city.
"Do not touch the jewel, Miss Yearling. The filly who came across this statue was severely injured after touching it. Rumors have it she experiences side effects even now."
What side effects? What did I do to her? Tell me!
"Legend has it the evil God of Chaos was turned to stone," said Miss Yearling, "and that he wielded a powerful jeweled pendant called the Amulet of Chaos. You don't think…?"
Whoever this Miss Yearling was, she was a clever one. After the two ponies talked some more, he felt himself being lifted up onto something.
Next thing he knew, he was somewhere out in the open. He could tell from the warm heat of the sun and the birds tweeting all around. Soon he heard voices. Several of them. So many that he could not follow every single conversation.
There was a stallion's voice close by that spoke, "And this, children, is our latest addition to our museum's sculpture garden. Discord, the God of Chaos!"
He could hear the cringes and moans of several foals.
"He's ugly!"
"He's scary!"
"He's cool!"
"Legend has it," said the stallion, "that thousands of years ago, the gods of Ancient Grace sealed the God of Chaos in a stone prison and shut him away somewhere mortals would never find him…until today, that is."
"Is this him, Mr. Fetlock?" a colt asked.
"If it is," said Mr. Fetlock, "he can't do any harm in there. He's just a statue. Hey! The sign says 'Do Not Touch!'"
So. This is how I am remembered? I, the god who struck fear into the hearts of titans, now reduced to a harmless statue put on display like an animal?
He would bet his amulet that the gods were laughing down at him from Mount Olympus this very moment.
Despite the shame, the museum beat the cave. At least here the sounds were always changing. Listening to mortals' conversations made it harder for him to become bored. Eventually, he picked up on the modern dialect, learning new words like "swell" and "dontcha."
But there was a downside to hearing all these conversations. The ponies who came to visit him would comment on how funny-looking he was. Some would laugh and taunt him for being so stupid as to let himself be turned to stone. He was lucky the curator Mr. Fetlock did not tolerate vandalism.
Then one day, some pony said, "Hello?"
He tuned out all the other sounds around him and focused on this one voice. It was her voice.
"I…" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know if you can hear me in there, but…you should know…I dropped out of Flight Camp. Those colts don't bother me anymore."
All these ponies visiting his statue, and she was still the only one who spoke to him as if he were a living, breathing being.
"Your name is Discord, isn't it? I mean…that's what the plaque says."
He smiled internally at hearing her speak his name. There was no sense of condescendence, revulsion or fear in it. She said it calmly, casually, as if the name carried no weight with it at all.
"So I guess…that's really you in there, isn't it? You're not just a statue, are you? I mean you couldn't just be an ordinary statue if that necklace of yours…"
She paused. No, don't stop talking. Please, please, go on.
"Why did you do this to me?" she said, her voice cracking. "Why did you make me a monster?"
He was stunned by her words. Monster? Had I really hurt her that much?
"I can't go to school with other ponies anymore. I'm afraid…" She sniffed. "I'm afraid of hurting ponies."
Please, don't cry. Whatever I did, I didn't mean to do it!
Oh, how he longed for her to hear him.
"The plaque calls you evil," she said. "What did you do to deserve being put in stone though? It can't be very comfortable in there."
Little one, you have no idea.
"How do you eat? How do you drink? How do you go to the bathroom?"
It amused him that this filly thought gods had the same needs as mortals. Still, her concern was admirable. He did miss indulging in food and drink, and his mouth was feeling dry from being open for so long.
"Can you see? Can you hear? I know you can't move. What if you have an itchy nose? That can't be very fun."
His eyes suddenly itched, and he wondered if there was a bird pecking at them. She gets me.
"Well, whatever you did, I don't think you deserve this."
He wanted to embrace her. He wanted to hold her close. He wanted to thank her a million times over. More importantly, he wanted to see her.
He tried to put a face to the voice. She was a pegasus, and a child, that much he knew. But was she plain? Was she beautiful? Not that it really mattered, as what was beautiful to ponies was usually hideous to him.
He wondered what she had meant by "monster." Had she been literally scarred by her injury? Was she so deformed that she felt like a monster? If so, then that just made her all the more interesting.
On the other hand, knowing he had been the cause of such deformity made him feel…bad. He had been born repulsive. While he could deal with it, he had not wanted to force the same fate onto another. It was bad enough she was teased for her inability to fly.
"I don't know why you've cursed me," she said, "but…I forgive you."
Forgiveness. No one had ever offered him forgiveness.
"Fluttershy!" a mare's voice called. "Your brother wants to see the next exhibit. Are you coming?"
"Yes, Mom! In a minute!" The filly then whispered to him, "I'll come see you again."
He listened to the delicate sound of her hoofsteps as they faded away.
Fluttershy. The name sounds just as sweet as her voice.
He repeated the name over and over again in his head, enjoying the sound of it more and more each time. Never had he felt this way towards another, never had his heart been so warm, never had he the compulsion to do anything…pleasant to another.
I will not forget the kindness you've shown me, dearest Fluttershy, he vowed. If you are still living when I get out, I will give you the greatest reward worthy of a goddess.
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Very interesting. Can't wait for more.
Oh, wow. Surprisingly, I loved this. Never thought I would love something related to Discord
Huh.
I'm beginning to think the Gracian Gods are in for a shock when Discord gets free. Whether she knows it or not, Fluttershy's already unwittingly tamed Discord...simply by not judging him for being himself.
Oddly, I could easily see him making a bargain with the Gracian Gods which limits his ability to influence the world to the same level the other gods have limited themselves to, in exchange for being able to pop in on Fluttershy and be her friend.
An interesting background and character development! I feel this story is going to the right direction.
This prologue was beautiful! We see Discord's POV when he was turned to stone and gave Fluttershy her powers.
I'm surprised that this was all an accident! That's a GREAT twist to the story!
Nice. XD
This is going to make the scenes with Discord after he is released VERY interesting. Especially, interactions with the Power Ponies.
..... wait a.... a Discord that's NOT just chaotically evil when he's going to break free?!
Good chapter, nice to have some insight on Discord from his perspective.
Two questions though...
1) Are any of the quotes you use for the start of the chapter going to be superhero quotes from comics, movies, or TV shows, cause I know a good one that could fit for Fluttershy later on, possibly?
2) Is there going to be a Poison Ivy type story arc later? Because I realized earlier that you've practically be given a Poison Ivy Stand In to use whenever you want to.
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You're talking about Gloriosa Daisy, aren't you?
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Yes, because that song of hers from Legend of Everfree just screamed I'm Poison Ivy too me. You basically got one of Batman's villains handed to you gift wrapped, so why not I thought?
I loved this chapter! Did you get my PM? I'm serious about a collab chapter
Yes! This was a great chapter, though, I wonder what Discord's reward for Fluttershy is.
I'm glad you updated. I love that this chapter was mainly in Discord's point of view.
I'm eagerly awaiting the King Kong / Fay Wray sendup. You know you want to...
So, he didn't mean to give her this power. I have doubts what he wants to give her, when he gets free, may not be in her liking.
That's a deep thought, man.
Sarongs are superior! I lounge in mine all the time!
Discord is hip to the modern swag, yo.
Whether she wants it is another matter entirely.
All in all, hype train is halfway to destination. Ledsdodis.
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It could work for later villain Gloriosa Daisy being kind of a Poison Ivy. But maybe don't go the seclusion route because that would too close the Poison Ivy. (It could conflict for Fluttershy she's doing for the animals kind of thing)
I'm pretty interested this version of Discord and Fluttershy being together.
This arc should be fun. After all, it's Discord, and besides the season two premiere, he has always been fun.
. I think you mean 'desert'.
Other than, I think Zeus should not have said anything as he was viewed as a god with omniscience..., but all and all an interesting start to the Discord Arch, maybe Longhorn will play a role... Yes, I remember Chekov's Gun. Heck, Fluttershy's motives to set Discord free are because that's the only way to stop Applejack from murdering Longhorn... just spitballing here.
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Whoops. Somehow I ALWAYS miss that one!
So question, are we going to get a Darksied-esque character at some point? Because I want to hear a "World of Cardboard" speech at some point. IMHO, one of the BEST quotes in superhero history!
i'm curious as to whether other Olympian artifacts will pop up
Assuming Discord isn't permanently banished, and his tie to Fluttershy suggests a possible route to redemption, or at least avoiding a permanent exit, I could see him taking up a role similar to Mr Mxyztplk from the Superman comics.
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Ah I made that mistake several times. Here's trick I use to remember, which pointed to me in high school. Dessert has two s so you'll want seconds of dessert ( like a second helping) over desert you know cause you know it's hot and full of sand. Hope that helped
This chapter was beautiful written
Well, way to go, Deep Thought. Now, can you tell us what the question is, or are we going to have to go somewhere else to get that?
If I may take a guess, I suspect this is going to play out not unlike how "Keep Calm and Flutter On" did...except better and not so rushed.
I liked some of the methods of torture Discord came up for the gods, so for fun, I'm gonna list a few of my own that I came up for the remainders. (Note, this is just as a joke, so if some of these ideas sound horrible, I apologize.)
Athena--Forced to sit in the chair of forgetfulness or become a bookend that holds up books up is unable to read them.
Demeter--Turned into a tree (kinda like Hexus from Ferngully)
Apollo--Turn him into a beam of light or a sun dial or a crystal ball.
Hermes--Forced to be unbelievably slow or not be able to move his feet at all.
Hera--???
Zeus--Turn him into a cloud?
Ares--Chain him to a chair and force him to watch wholesome and or romantic sitcoms.
Hephestus--Make everything he touches burst into flames or turn into metal.
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It would be nice to see, I doubt we will see them actually join the Power Ponies proper, maybe they and Applejack and Rainbow Dash form another group, you see a lot of that in Marvel, superheroes of one group also being members of different groups.
Then again the others might show up in this arc and force Applejack and Rainbow Dash into either stopping Discord by killing his heart or turn their backs on the Olympians... or present it as a mutually exclusive situation.
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Had a thought, normally we would expect Discord to be the villain of this arch, but what if he's not. Here me out, the god Ares while is viewed as a god of war, is more of a god of slaughter, raiding, pillaging, plundering, r#p# that takes place if a besieging forces breaks through the wall, basically the closest thing to a god of destruction the Greeks had. Given so much time of peace has accord since Discord's sealing, for a god like Ares, it must be boring beyond belief. What if he says takes the form of a bullying colt, (and Ares was a bully) and sends Fluttershy falling, she meets Discord becomes his vessel, she sets him free and there is war, he might even trick the Olpyian vassals into capturing Fluttershy faking being the vassal for, let's say Hades, and he takes Discord's rage that has infected Fluttershy and the only way to stop him from doing more harm than Discord ever could is to set Discord free. Just a thought.
This beginning chapter is interesting.
It reminds me of Keepers of Discord which I recommend you read for some inspiration.
As for ideas to write in the next chapter. Perhaps explain how Discord can see into Fluttershy's dreams and his reactions to future interactions with Fluttershy from the previous story arcs
Hopefully this is not a rehash of BOD as I've seen you done better than that in Precious Blood
Hey, I am a TVtroper, and letting you guys know that I set up a TVtropes page for this fanfic. As you will see, it is currently barebones, but I hope to add more as well as get you guys input into the fanfic
Here is the Link:
The Alternate Adventures of the Power Ponies - TVtropes
I feel like a Changeling.
I'm just feeding off of all this FlutterCord!
I just realized that THIS is why her power is like that! He DID make her as strong as Heracles, albeit in a chaotic way.
Y'know, at first I thought Discord may have been just sweet talking Fluttershy in earlier chapters, and using her as a tool just so she can get him out.
But now we se that any of his sweet talk to her is entirely genuine as he cares for her. And I guess it does make sense, given their relationship in the show.