(Content Note: Violence and gore)
Thunder boomed from a cloudless sky. The land shuddered from above and below. The sky flashed through colors nothing had ever seen before, and hopefully never would again.
Every creature on the savannah fled for their lives, though few ran in the same direction. Herds scattered every which way, slowly burgeoning intellect abandoned for the speed of fear. Birds plummeted while wracked with indecision. Predators twitched, eyes darting about as their instincts perched on the knife’s edge between fight and flight.
An old he-lion, grizzled from a lifetime of scars and struggle, was the first victim. He slowed even as the rest of the pride ran from the disturbance, wincing as old pains became fresh. His body began to bulge and shift, making him stumble into the dirt. An attempt at a growl, something to scare off the threat, came out as a strangled gurgle.
Then came the tearing sounds of flesh twisting past its breaking point, the snap of bone and the wheeze of air forced from rebelling lungs. The body was long dead by the time it fell still.
That hadn't changed when it rose again.
Blood and fouler fluids oozed from most of the openings in the body. It flopped about aimlessly at first, a confused pile of meat moving like nothing alive could or should, churning the dry earth and its own ruddy filth into a rank mud.
Then the mud joined in, its own flailing unconstrained by the limits of joints and skin. It snatched up grass, dust, even bubbles of air in its blind flailing before settling down and enveloping much of the lion’s body. Only the head and one foreleg, both largely intact despite the inhabitant’s best efforts, remained free of the earthen embrace.
Flies began to settle on the lolling tongue. They stuck there and slowly dissolved, spreading across its surface like melting candies.
The head tilted, slowly drawing the tongue back in and, after a few false starts, smacking its lips.
The legs moved, or were moved. The corpse lurched onward, aimless but inexorable. The tuft of its limp tail trailed color behind it like a paintbrush crafting an abstract masterpiece, or just an oil leak. The color boiled in the sun, leaving hallucinogenic vapors of pure magic.
After night fell, the corpse’s inhabitant learned what its nose was for. The sound of screams split the humid air shortly thereafter.
Fluttershy looked at the cave painting for a long time. To be fair, there was a lot to take in. The central figure was… Well, hoof-applied ochre could only communicate so much, but it still got across the idea of a tangle of limbs, heads, and other appendages. She wasn’t sure if the hoofprints over the sprawling heap of anatomy were part of the design or meant to act as a sort of warding or sealing measure.
The rest of the painting also communicated the intended message very clearly. There were only so many ways to interpret every species imaginable fleeing from the central figure, mouths opened wide. Especially given how some the lower figures either had body parts that seemed out of place, or were missing pieces altogether.
She looked at Discord, who was looking everywhere except the painting. He’d even grown extra heads to do so. Three of them were trying to whistle nonchalantly, all out of tune with each other and themselves. More smoke drifted down to the torch unburning in his lion paw.
“You know…”
Discord jumped like he’d been stung, pulling himself together to focus all of his attention on her. “Yes?”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile. “When I showed you my baby photos, I hadn’t expected you to return the favor.”
“Ahem. Yes. Well. It’s not exactly a part of my history that I’m proud of, but you deserve to know it.” Discord finally looked at the painting and winced. “I wasn’t exactly a well-behaved child. Making messes, breaking my toys, sticking everything in my mouth to try to understand it. And, well, when you’re curious and you can grow more mouths—”
A forehoof on his lion paw stopped the babble. Fluttershy idly noted the fine old scars on that paw for a moment before she smiled at Discord. “Honestly? Most foals are horrible little monsters.”
He blinked, removed an ear, and looked through it like a spyglass before wincing and screwing it back on. “I’m sorry, I had something crazier than usual in my ear. What did you just say?”
Fluttershy gave the smirk she'd learned from Discord and used most with him, the one that showed amusement at a mind encountering new vistas of possibility it had never considered. “Discord, I grew up with Zephyr Breeze, was bullied throughout my foalhood, and then I had to foalsit the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I know there can be considerate, thoughtful, empathetic foals. I was one of them. But I also know that most of them aren’t." She flew around the torch and gave him a hug around his neck. "Feeling bad about the way you behaved when you were young means you’ve grown as a person since then. Like the Crusaders.”
His neck snaked out, letting him turn his head upside down to look back at her. “What about your brother or the bullies?”
“I know what I said.”
His head twisted around so she could properly appreciate his grin. “There are days where I worry I might be a bad influence on you.”
“You’re a chaotic influence on me." She patted him on the head. "And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
“You always know just what to say. Shall we return to our tea?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I’d love nothing more.”
And they vanished in a flash of light, not forgetting the past, but still letting it go.
Honestly, I don't see this exercise having another pair of prompts that stays this open-ended when you try to do them both at once. Having transformation result in screaming is... common.
"This is how I remember Twilight's baby years."
"No it isn't, Shining."
"Is this not what all pony nymphs are like?"
"No it isn't, Pharynx."
"Big brother vote? Aye."
"Aye!"
"Eeyup."
"Big Mac! ...Yanno what, I can't really argue with that one."
Whoa This was intense. But also very heartwarming by the end. You sure know how to bring a picture to life
Excellent exchange.
Excellent overall, as well! Terrifying and all-devouring body horror eldritch beings that develop into slightly embarrassed and personable eldritch beings are the best characters as far as I'm concerned.
Given the title and the tone of the opening segment, I was wondering if you'd been inspired by Primal, the show. This version of the infant spirit of chaos wouldn't even be out of place in that setting, given the presence of zombies and other ancient magics:
11209926
Agreed!
...
Aww! He worries!
...
Huh, that final line makes me think of how EQG has a theme of that, sorta, what with "My Past Is Not Today", and Twilight dealing with having been Midnight...
And somehow these paintings are still
alive anduntouched and stuff in some unknown part of the world. Or Discord made an effort to preserve them. hmm......
Nice Art Link! Cool!
God-like powers are often at their scariest in the hands of little kids.
(See, It's a Good Life!)
11209817
The Crusaders' older siblings deserve medals. (Other than Rainbow Dash. Let us not forget that the Crusade was her idea in the first place.)
And yes, I'm sure Twilight's early years were comparable to those of her niece.
11209926
Agreed. Eldritch horror is overplayed these days. Eldritch comedy, eldritch romance, eldritch coming-of-age stories, those are where the real potential lies.
11210008
I've honestly never seen the show, but it does line up neatly with Discord's early actions.
11210697
Or they went back to when the paintings were relatively fresh. Though cave paintings have certainly been preserved in our own world. Yes, Equestria's been a bit more eventful, but it's a big world out there. Parts of it can be lost, found, and lost again several times a millennium.
11211983
Discord never had a reason to grow up for much of his existence, making him all the more terrifying. Then Fluttershy came around and, if you think about it, was even scarier.
I love Fluttershy's perspective, and that's some great art.
Seeing the lion paw scars. You know, it always strikes me as strange that Discord is so consistent in his form. But now I'm imaging him kind of like Bartimaeus, who often picks forms based on events that were important to him. Discord is the same, just all at once.
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Eldritch other-genres, if you haven't you should check out Ruthana Emrys and Winter Tide.