Why did being frozen have to be so boring?! There wasn't any chaos, and laughter, any fun! All that can be done is think!
Of course, all Discord could do was think. It was all he could do as he was taken from his resting place in Ponyville into the palace gardens in Canterlot. It was a long and grueling journey, with nothing to do but stare at the blue sky with stone eyes. At least these eyes can still see and be used, allowing him to witness everything around him, to an extent. He still couldn't turn his head, but his eyes could still move. Along with his eyes, his only other sense he had left was his hearing. Though frozen, Discord could still hear and see, and he hated every moment of it. He'd rather be dead, really. If he died, there could be the possibility of an afterlife, where he could be free and cause all the chaos he wanted. But no. He had to suffer through the pain of living the rest of his life in the least fun conditions of his life. Again.
Well, he would have to stay this way for, who KNOWS how long. Forever, maybe? He didn't know. He hadn't managed to ask the Elements about it while he screamed in pain and agony. He didn't think anypony would think of asking while they were experiencing immense pain, so he didn't either. He kinda wished he could, but pain seems to block out any other thoughts.
After what seemed like weeks, Discord had finally arrived in Canterlot. Twilight and her friends make this trip quite a few times, and Discord couldn't imagine how they did it without dying of boredom. Discord would have, but Discord was currently a huge slab of stone.
With a few strong workponies, Discord was heaved up onto his "feet" and onto a wheeled platform. Slowly, he was dragged to his old standing ground outside the Royal Gardens, where he had defeated the Mane Six. Or so he thought. They had regained their personalities and rightful places as the Elements, and turned him back to stone. Funny to think that this all happened today...
The workponies removed the platform below Discord, ever so slowly so as to not damage the statue in anyway. Once finally in it's place, everypony left to go on with their lives.
"At least they still have lives," Discord thought to himself. "While they are off living their lives, I'm forced here against my will to stand in the same position with no sort of entertainment whatsoever!"
Discord couldn't help but get angry. There's probably worse creatures than him, why did he have to get locked in stone? Of course, the one creature that couldn't stand not doing anything just had to be the one that couldn't do anything but nothing! Did anyone realize how torturing this was? Did anyone, creature or pony, really deserve to be left with nothing but their thoughts? Discord could think straight, not after today's events. Might as well try to wait until the next day after some sleep. Well, if he could. Being a statue could change some things, especially relating to sleep. Hopefully, he could still sleep, or not get tired if he could not. He would only have to wait and see...
Discord couldn't sleep. Luckily, he didn't get tired either, just incredibly bored out of his mind. Nopony was out at night, which made it even less eventful. Ironically, Discord was starting to go crazy over his ability to do nothing. He tried everything he could think of to break out. He had an increasingly large list that brought him into the afternoon once he had tried everything. He longed for freedom, to fly...
...to laugh.
That's when he heard a laugh come from somewhere nearby. A light-hearted laugh, most likely a mare's. Or an alicorn's, in this case.
From behind him came Celestia. She spoke as she circled him.
"Well, Discord, looks like you're back in the Royal Gardens." She sighed. "Sometimes, I just wish you would learn your lesson. It never seems that way with you, though. Always with chaos, never order. You almost succeeded, though, so now I can't trust you. Or any Draconequus, for that matter. Which is why I came to talk to you, to update you on the effect of your chaos."
"Well, a least I'm being kept in the loop", thought Discord. "Maybe I'll have something else to think about other than my imprisonment here?"
"I've made a decision regarding the Draconequus population in Equestria. Because of your noncooperation, I've decided that the population as a whole must leave Equestria, or suffer the same fate you have. Any who are uncooperative will be turned to stone, just as you have. I know it may not be a worldly accepted decision, but it is the best for the whole of Equestria if these chaos causing creatures do not reside here any longer. I'm sorry, but it is the action I have chosen and I will stick with it."
Discord was awe-stricken, but that could also be because of his frozen face in his last moments of truly living. Once it finally sank in, he was furious. Why would the rest of the Draconequus race be forced to suffer because of him? It was his doing, only he should be punished! Celestia hadn't changed since when he met her as a filly...
Celestia's face was beginning to change, as if watching a horrible sight take place right before her. Discord began imagining what he would do to her once he got out of this prison, such horrible things...oh yes, SO horrible...if Discord could, he would be maniacally laughing right now, filling his soul with the happiness of laughter.
Celestia, however, had a much different emotion going through her. Her face had a look of dread, along with one Discord hadn't seen for a while.
Fear.
As if on cue, Celestia turned and sprinted off and taking to the skies, aiming straight for the castle, leaving Discord dumbfounded about what had just taken place. Celestia had looked frightened, more so than he had ever seen. It was almost as if she could read his thoughts...or maybe he was sending his thoughts to her?
Suddenly, an idea snapped into his head. Tormenting the other ponies with horrid thoughts would make for great entertainment! Oh, the fun to be had tomorrow! Unfortunately, Discord couldn't think of that right now. Instead, he could only think about the rest of his race, now being kicked out of their own homes or even being turned to stone. And all because of him! Maybe he was the bad guy after all. He never noticed how much his chaos had hurt others, and now he's hurting his own kind because of it! If any of them heard about this, it would be the end of him. He HAS to stop this, but cannot, of course. At least he doesn't have to witness the pain they have to go through, he wouldn't want to see the faces of Draconequus being solidified, as that might haunt him for the remainder of his life!
He suddenly thought of something. If Celestia's freezing the uncooperative Draconequus... then, where is she putting them?
It had been a couple days after his imprisonment, but Discord had found a way to keep himself entertained, and to keep his mind off things that had been popping up. Mainly the eviction of his race from Equestria. To make it worse, it was his entire fault, but he didn't want to try to think about that now. Now, he wanted to test out his new mind trick. All he had to do was wait until the ponies began to come out, and the fun could begin!
He didn't have to wait for too long, as some early birds began arriving early in the morning.
Time to try out my new addition to my bag of tricks, he thought. His first victim was none other than Soarin the Wonderbolt, most likely out for some early training. He was all alone, which was only going to make it all the more perfect. Discord waited until he was close enough (only for a better view), and started thinking. That's all he really needed to do, as long as he was making sure that he was thinking "towards" the nearby stallion. It was quite hard to describe it, but it almost seemed like a juvenile trick, something foals tried to do when they were "mind-reading". Except, he was sending thoughts, not reading them. Sounds simple, but most other creatures would be incapable of performing it, only stuck on the receiving end. Soarin was one of these creatures. The only ponies capable of such being alicorns and some stronger unicorns. Twilight, for example.
As for the nature of the thoughts...well, let's just say they were some more "suggestive" thoughts of a certain captain of the Wonderbolts team. One Soarin just HAPPENED to have a crush on.
Soarin's reaction was immediate. He became flustered as red as a beet, embarrassed that he could think of such things. After almost turning himself from blue to red, and so fast that a chameleon would've been proud, he rushed off and took to the air, hoping that no one had seen him.
Too bad for him, as Discord saw the whole thing. If he could've, he would have laughed so loudly that the ponies in Ponyville would have heard him! His lungs and vocal chords were frozen, however, and he could only laugh mentally. He hadn't had so much fun since Ponyville had been his plaything! He wanted more, oh so much more! Lucky for him, the day had only just begun...
It was almost sundown, and Discord was replaying the day's events in his head for the sixth time already. He just couldn't get enough of all of the thoughts he had shoved into other ponies' minds. He never knew something like this could ever be so much fun! If ONLY he had known about this power sooner...
It had been very fun for him indeed. There had been multiple mind tricks in that day; even ones that Discord had forgotten already and probably wouldn't get a kick out of until he remembered them tomorrow. The REAL fun began when he learned of another trick he had. Any place he had seen before could be brought up again from any angle, any height, almost like viewing the world as a deity. This allowed him to view the entirety of Canterlot, turning everypony into his puppet. Using his new "puppets", today's events consisted mainly of other ponies causing chaos, each performing its own role. Some causing fear, some humor, and some pure randomness. All of it ending and coming together in a riot about chocolate milk, and how the glass should be drank and not the milk itself. And Discord got a front seat, relatively speaking. The whole event was marvelous in his eyes. The whole thing being performed by the uptight Canterlot ponies made it all the better!
Sure, some of them went a little overboard, like when he forced a pony to hide in his house after being convinced that "the end was neigh", scaring him so badly he didn't take a step outside, or when he broke up a couple by convincing the mare that her coltfriend was cheating on her, effectively separating them. That one had been an accident, he wasn't even aiming at them. Or even trying to break up two ponies, for that matter. He WAS trying to separate a stallion from one of possessions, so he could try to use it as some sort of symbol for the chocolate milk riot, but had completely gone off track when he noticed a couple sitting on a bench not too far away, to distracted by each other's presence to care about the chaos in the horizon. Then the thought sent, straight into the young mare's brain, and she grew an immediate hatred for her ex-coltfriend. After smacking him so hard that it made him bleed, she galloped away from the poor, broken soul.
Discord didn't feel so happy anymore. Why did he keep hurting everyone he met!? He's just trying to have a little fun in a boring world! What's so bad about spicing up the life of some ponies? Maybe just the way he thought of it wasn't correct? Maybe his idea of fun is every other pony’s idea of suffering? Did he deserve this stone prison? The Elements sure did think so. They did put him here, right? It still wasn't working, though. He had hurt his own race when "alive", and now he's hurting another race in "death".
Discord couldn't think anymore. His mind was reeling with this internal war happening inside him, and he just couldn't think of anything else. Was he really, beneath everything, a monster? He sure looked like one, and he just proved to himself that he acted like one, what else was needed? He had all the evidence he, or anypony, needed to prove that. He deserved this, and he shouldn't make it worse for himself with the torturing of other innocent ponies. What else was he supposed to do, though?
Discord threw that thought away. "I don't care what it is", he thought. "Whatever it is, it's much better than what I had done today!"
"Well, Discord. I hope you're happy!"
That was not Discord's voice, not like he could speak anyway. Instead, Celestia had appeared before him undetected, most likely when he had been contemplating his actions.
"I'm very disappointed with you, Discord. Even in your new prison, you can't even give up chaos. You even managed to destroy most of Canterlot with that riot! I mean, chocolate milk? How could I not guess it was you behind it? Along with the town, you also destroyed some of the ponies internally, too! When will your reign of terror end? Have you no heart, you MONSTER!?"
Discord flinched at the use of that word. She had just given more evidence for a closed case, along with evidence he already knew. Like giving more evidence to a closed case. Discord was brought back to Celestia, who had significantly calmed down and composed herself.
"I still think I can change you, however. As we speak, I have a couple of new statues coming here, mainly castle decorations. Although, I'm sure you would like to have one of these put in the garden with you, so you can have at least SOMETHING to do besides terrorize my subjects! But you must excuse me, as I'm sure I have some royal duties to attend to. It's been nice having this one-sided conversation, Discord."
And with that, she was off again. No need for any threatening thoughts, even though they were in order. Discord was just unable to think of doing something like that. Maybe because it was the fact that Celestia was going to start putting statues up in her castle, like some sort of trophy! That was almost too sickening for him. He still had no idea why she was doing all of this. It wasn't like her, as far as he knew. There just wasn't something right here.
Why would Twilight even agree to do something like this? Did they all just hate him so badly that they thought this to be an appropriate punishment? He didn't think so. They didn't seem to hate his race, only him. Then, why even agree to do something like this at all? He couldn't make sense of it all!
Then he thought back to something Celestia said. Would there really be someone else here with him? A Draconequus? Hopefully it wouldn't be someone who knew him well; he didn't wish to feel the pain of hatred from one of his good friends...
Ah, who WAS he kidding. He wasn't always very favored among his race, thanks to his love of pranks. And he knew other race than the Draconequus, so who better to prank? Unfortunate for him, his "clan", as they called it, didn't look upon that fondly, and "discharged" him from the clan. Least to say, he woke up one morning to find the rest of the camp, food, supplies, and the Draconequus gone. Being forced into the wild alone only fueled his anger, which had been used during his first tangle with the princesses.
Life had been good then, with his original clan. Carefree, fun, and an excellent time to practice his chaos creating. He seemed to be the only Draconequus who cared about such things, but he could care less. All he cared for at the time was revenge and hatred, which he could care less about now. If only he could go back to his old life...
But now he could never go back, not while he could technically be considered a traitor. No, his life as he knew it was over. He would live in a world that despised him, a world filled with nothing but hatred. No one would care about him, or even remember who he was! Worst of all, there wouldn't be his favorite thing for him.
Laughter.
Discord did something he hadn't done since he was little. He cried. Or, at least felt so bad that he would've. He had fallen into a depression where he knew he was truly, truly alone. No one cared, and no one ever would. He was a monster, in every definition of the word. He could not be redeemed, no monster could. He was to remain this way until the rock that held him eroded away, thus causing his death and ending this nightmare.
Poor Discord, as a stone imbued with life, such as his, could not fade as he wished it to. Thus, forcing him to never die, and to never truly live.
Discord had fallen into a sense of half-consciousness, still awake and able to notice anything just as normally, but time seemed to pass much faster and he felt as if his mind was at rest. Maybe this was to be his new form of sleep here? He could care less about that, much less anything. Just his "new friend" Celestia promised him she would bring. He was pretty sure it had already arrived while he was in this state of sub-consciousness, because of all the noise he was hearing. They sounded somewhat similar to when he was placed here, so he knew that must be it. He couldn't break out of his state, however, so he had to be content with just listening. It wasn't until a few hours (he thought) after the sounds disappeared that he finally was released from his state, and was able to finally get a look at the newcomer to his left.
At first, he thought Celestia faked him out and placed a mirror, but then he realized that not all of the details were right.
To start, she was a female, or so he assumed, so that was a dead giveaway from the start. Her hair was much more widespread and longer, having hair where Discord had none. Her neck was quite short, perhaps half the length than Discord's. Her face was much more rounded, and along with her hair, gave a feminine look to her that Discord used in his assumption. Upon her head were her horn and antler, horn slimmer and straight, while her antler was shorter and thicker. Her torso was somewhat slimmer, as was her entire body itself. Finally, the tail, which is what Discord always believed to be the signature part of a Draconequus. The ridges on the back were smaller and more numerous, making up size in numbers. The hair at the end of her tail was condensed, not in individual strands like Discord's tail.
She reminded him of himself.
Although, that's not saying much. Most of the other details were exactly the same about him, as was the thing about Draconequus. Draconequus were unique in the fact that they weren't very unique. All Draconequus had multiple things in common, besides the usual things. Most Draconequus of the same gender looked quite similar, distinguishable only through specific details in which an individual could be recognized physically. Like a visual nametag. Although, it's much easier to just ask them, if you're not worried about offending them.
If this Draconequus was from his clan or any others he knew, Discord wouldn't have been able to tell who it was. Whoever this Draconequus was, he had no idea. He kinda felt as if he would like to know, however. Maybe she knew about the kinds of powers Draconequus are capable of?
"Hey, uh, you alive in there?"
That caught Discord off guard. She already knew how to perform the same form of mental communication he did? He only learned about how to do that yesterday! How long had she known how to do this? What else did she know how to do?
"Hello? Are you ok? I know you can't be dead."
Discord realized he had been sitting there for quite some time, and she had been trying to talk to him. Better say something before she believes you're just a lifeless slab of stone. Not like he really felt much better than one.
"Uh...hi." Yeah, nice first impressions.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was hoping you weren't a lifeless slab of stone!"
Discord was a little surprised. He just used that exact phrase! Great minds think alike, I guess? No, that phrase doesn't work here. Discord wasn't great or anything like that. He was just...wrong. A mistake. He shouldn't be here, not in a world where order rules. He didn't belong anywhere, not even with his own race. Why did he even-?
"Wow, you don't talk much...."
Discord had completely forgotten about her. "Sorry, I'm...thinking."
"Really? What about?"
Discord could feel himself becoming agitated, and tried relaxing himself to brush it away. "Nothing. Nothing important."
Still, she probed on. "Well, it HAS to be important if you're thinking about it, right?"
"No, it doesn't have to. Not what I'm thinking about."
"Anything worth thinking is worth something to you! My father always said that to me. It's kinda become somewhat of a slogan of ours!"
"You don't say..."
Discord had only a sliver of patience remaining, and could feel his anger beginning to take over. How he just wanted her to snap that mouth of hers shut! All she needed to do was open her mouth one last time until-
"So, if something's troubling you, it's alright to talk about it."
That was the last straw, or sliver in this case. Discord snapped.
"Talk about it? TALK ABOUT IT!? Talking about ANYTHING couldn't help now!"
"But-"
"NO! No buts! You can't help me. No one can possibly help me! You don't have any idea what I have on my conscious! You don't know what I have done, what I have caused!"
"I...don't understand..."
Discord could only feel the anger growing inside him, but it was also being extinguished.
"Then I'll MAKE you understand! I CAUSED THIS ENTIRE THING! I forced Celestia into action, only for a little chaos I caused! So, I get trapped here, and Celestia begins to evict every Draconequus citizen in Equestria. Can you guess what I do just to have a little fun? The exact same thing I did that got me here: causing chaos! To make it worse, I was actually harming ponies, ruining their lives! I'm exactly what everypony thinks I am. A monster. Nothing but a monster. Now I have nothing. No home, no clan, no friends...not even a family. I've only got myself, whom I hate, a nation that despises me, and this stone prison. So, I technically have nothing left to live for. Unfortunately for me, this stone prison is preventing me from doing what I wish to do with this life, and I'm sure you might be able to guess what that is." Some silence occurred. "Well, now do you understand why talking about my problems won't solve anything?"
There was no response. Discord never expected any. He was sure that as soon as she could process all of that information, she would think of him as a loser, just like the rest of the world. Probably not even talk to him anymore, not considering the way he had just spoke to her. Just great. Now, in addition to everything else, he was a jerk.
He's never heard of any other creature that acted like more of a monster than he had now.
He was sure of it. Everypony was right about him. He was the sickest creature in the land. He could tell that himself as much as he wanted, but it still would never be horrible enough to describe him now. Nothing ever would, or could. He could waste away, like he wanted to, and the world would rejoice and revel.
Unfortunately, like what he just told that poor Draconequus nearby, he could not end himself. Being stuck in stone had its many disadvantages, he guessed.
"I'm...so sorry, I never knew..."
It was her again. Why couldn't she just leave him alone!? Hadn't she done enough already...
"Don't try wasting your breath, I'm not worth it. I'm not worth anything in this world. Not anymore."
"I know someone who said the exact same thing, and I proved him wrong. I bet I could prove you wrong too."
Discord wasn't really impressed, but decided to let her tell her story anyway.
"Fine, go ahead. It won't do anything to change my mind."
"Let's see if you're saying the same thing once I'm done."
At that moment, she took a deep breath (metaphorically), and began to think.
"Well, it all started when I was younger. I was out wandering alone in the forest, against my own parents’ wishes. I didn't worry much about the creatures in the woods. My parents would always tell me stories about all sorts of dangerous creatures that lived in there, but I knew exactly what to do in order to get away from them. Most of them involved just flying away, which was simplistic enough, but others were not so easy to escape from. That's when I had to incorporate speed along with flying, therefor making me quite untouchable, if I say so myself."
Discord could have groaned. Here she was, acting so full of herself. Why wasn't she telling her story already? He didn't have time for...oh wait, he did.
"Anyway, I'm getting off topic here. I was out in the forest, as I usually was every day for most of the day. I had found a huge stash of Poison Joke! Being my favorite snack, I decided in a few milliseconds to stay for a while and dove right in. For the next hour or so I merely stuffed myself full of the delicious blue flowers, not caring about anything else but stuffing my face. It would prove to be a horrible mistake."
Finally! Discord was wondering when she would get to the exciting part. That was always the best part; the rest was usually pointless to him.
"I was in the middle of eating another flower, when I heard a roar behind me. I turned to find a hydra, standing right next to me. How I never heard it approach, I'll never know. One thing was for sure, I knew it was there at that moment! I immediately tried flying away, but this hydra was smart, and smacked me with its tail as soon as I had gained any height off the ground. I fell to the ground in a heap, and ended up damaging my wings in the process, rendering them useless. Now my escape plan was a bust, and all I could do, and did do, was run. Unfortunately for me, I was no runner. Using my wings 90% of the time really didn't improve my running speed, and the hydra quickly caught up."
"Once it was close enough, it grabbed me by my broken wings with one of its three heads. The bite on my injured wings counted as an overkill, damaging my wings even further than they needed to be. One of the free heads attempted to gobble me up whole, but was quickly shoved aside by the other free head. Soon, they had begun bickering about which head was to devour me, shoving each other aside while still trying to eat me. It was almost funny, actually! Just the fact that they were fighting over me, the afternoon snack."
"Well, once the two heads started to really go at it, the third head began trying to do something, possibly break them up. Of course, that just caused more injury to my wings, and began tearing them at the point where I was being held. Though the pain was excruciating, I tried to fight through it and think of an escape plan. Luckily, and also unluckily, I didn't have to. Instead, the left head jerked away hard, tearing part of my wings of completely, and I began to fall real quick. I landed with a thud, adding more pain to the masses already filling my nerves. However, I thought quickly, and began to make a run for it, the hydra to busy fighting with itself to even notice my absence."
Discord was quite finished. If that's all there was for the exciting bit, there was no point in listening to the rest of the story! So, he didn't. Of course, she didn't know that, so she just kept on going.
"With my luck, it was amazing I had escaped with my life. I could still tell which way I had to go in to get home, but I was losing too much blood from my torn wings, and was finding it harder and harder to stay standing and conscious. I ended up tripping over myself and onto the forest floor, lacking the strength to get back up and keep moving. Slowly, as the pool of blood became more widespread, I was drifting off and other predators were drifting closer to me, hoping for an easy meal. Their growls and shuffling noises kept growing in volume, getting much louder as they zoned in on me. I honestly believed that this was my end, lying in a pool of my own blood for all of the predators to eat. Then, something unexpected happened. Instead of their growls, the predators switched over to whimpers and yelps, quickly fleeing from my presence. The yelps and whimpers began to fade into the distance, and were replaced by the sound of flapping wings above me. I couldn't stay conscious for any longer; my last memory being what sounded like something landing next to me and being lifted into the air."
To pass the time from this BORING story, Discord decided to pass the time by watching the nearby wildlife, which were relaxing in the sunlight and grazing in the gardens. They looked so peaceful, as if they didn't know that the lord of chaos was standing not five feet away. He was not surprised at all, however. Who would fear anything that could not move, no matter how powerful they were when they could? Discord didn't feel like causing chaos, he felt as if he needed some peaceful time to himself. The other Draconequus, oblivious to whatever he was doing, kept right on going.
"I woke up next in an unfamiliar environment, a cave of sorts. There was a fire nearby, its warm glow and heat radiating from it and protecting me from the cave's dampness. I could see nothing else around furniture wise, but I could see another figure in the shallow cave. The shape made me believe that it was hunched over, but I couldn't tell what it was doing. It was just out of the light of the fire, and all I could see was its silhouette. Recalling what had happened earlier, I tried moving my damaged wings, but didn't even move them an inch before pain flooded my brain. I winced and instantly relaxed the muscles, attempting to dam the pain up. I must've gasped when I tried unfurling my wings, because the dark shape began to get up and move towards me."
"I had begun worrying about what this thing was and what it planned on doing with me. I had no idea if it was going to eat me or what else it might have wanted. I lightened up as soon as it stepped into the light of the fire, where I could see it.
Well, not it, but him. It was another Draconequus, a male by the look of it. He had a beard, which was a very dead giveaway. He was also technically bald, another hair related reason. Honestly though, I tried to remember as much about him as I could so I could identify him later, either for thanks or prosecution. I didn't have to remember much, because I started noticing him walking with a slight limp in his right leg. As he got closer, I could tell why. Around his right leg, below where it attaches to his body, was a makeshift bandage, and quite thick by the look of it. Although it looked thick, I could still see the blood that threatened to seep through the bandage and all over the cave. Even though I had NO IDEA who he was, his injury quite worried me."
"I didn’t get all that much time to examine his leg, as he moved behind me right then. Even when injured, he moved pretty quickly! I didn’t try moving over to get a look at what he was doing, in fear I would create more pain in my wings. Instead, I decided to lie still, and hope that the male Draconequus had good intentions on his mind…"
"That’s when I felt a claw brush against my wings, but it was followed by one unrecognizable. It felt as if something was being unwrapped around my wings, like a present or something. Then, it stopped on one wing and moved to the other, the same feeling as before. The unwrapping feeling ended much faster the second time, and a low grumbling noise came from behind me, along with the sound of him walking away. His steps stopped, and sounds of rummaging began for only a few moments, then his steps coming back towards me. After a little more mumbling under his breath, I was hit with the most relaxing feeling I could ever dream of. Every single ounce of pain was swept away and replaced with the relaxation of a day-long massage. As the feeling seeped further into my wings, I could feel something being wrapped around them, the exact opposite of what I had felt before."
"The feeling began spreading from my wings to the rest of my body, filling it with comfort and a sudden sense of tiredness. Once he had finished, he walked around me and took a seat in front of me."
'How do you feel?' He asked. 'They aren’t too tight, are they?'
"I was almost too relaxed to even move my mouth, but I somehow managed to answer him. “Oh, yes. It feels wonderful.” I finished with a sigh brought on from this pleasurable feeling flowing through me. "
He smiled. 'That means the ointment is taking effect, and doing a great job too!' He looked away for a moment, then back to me. 'Listen, you’ll need your rest. The most you rest, the more your wings can heal, and the faster we can get you back to your Clan.'
"A sudden realization hit me. Everyone would be so worried about me! They have no idea what could’ve happened to me, or where I was, or anything! What would my parents think? Would they believe I ran away, or got hurt, or worse?"
"Worried, I asked the other Draconequus, 'How long does it take for wings to normally heal?'"
"He shrugged. 'Maybe a week? But that’s not how long you’ll be staying. They should be able to begin healing on their own in one or two days.'"
"I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t expect to be getting out of here quickly, but now I’ll be leaving much earlier than I thought. Still, I was worried about my wings. I knew that they couldn’t grow back the other half of them, and I could possibly not ever fly again. Maybe the Clan knew what to do…"
"Alright, I think you need your sleep. They’ll heal faster that way, and I’m sure you want to get out of here as fast as possible."
"With that, he laid himself down on the other side of the fire, across from me. He did have a point there and surely felt that I needed some. Taking his advice, I tried curling up to the fire and sleep, letting all of my problems slip away as the relaxing ointment continued to ease up every part of me. Soon after, I slipped from consciousness myself and into a deep sleep I needed very much."
A Brief History Lesson (To be constantly updated as the story goes on.)
(This is not a true part of the story, but it is HIGHLY recommended to read if you want to understand the rest of the story.)
The main Draconequus hierarchy consisted of four steps: Royalty, the highest, Scholars, Scribes, and then every other Draconequus.
Royalty are exactly who you expect they are. They rule the Draconequus race, consisting of the High King, High Queen, and all members of the Parliament. All members of Royalty reside in the Draconequus home city of Draconold. Draconold was also the capitol of Draconia, which is conveniently placed just west of Equestria. Members of Royalty rule over the other Draconequus citizens, watching out and enforcing the laws of the country. The Parliament were the ones who came up with and voted on ideas, while the High King and Queen had the last say in if it was passed or not.
Scholars were Draconequus that resided in Draconold. All day, Scholars would stay in the Archives, which stored every detail of Draconequus history, and was constantly being added to. Anything the Draconequus considered history was placed here. This included family trees, records just waiting to be broken, famous creatures (mostly Draconequus), and famous events that altered the course of history to this day. Scholars rarely ever leave the Archives, due to old Draconequus tradition. They were only allowed to leave to eat, or to discuss with a Scribe. The Scholar’s main job was to keep the Archives perfectly organized, and to correctly place any new History Scrolls in their proper place in the Archives. They were treated very highly of, with only the Royalty being higher on social status than them.
Scribes were Draconequus who followed clans or stayed in towns most of the time, writing down anything worth noting on the History Scrolls. After certain periods of time, they would meet and discuss with a Scholar to decide what is deemed important enough to be written in the History Scrolls. Most Scribes preferred to travel with another Scribe, but others preferred just themselves. They usually wrote down more than necessary, mostly because they wanted to stay in the presence of someone so highly spoken of. Unfortunately for them, the Scholars could easily point out the notables from the nuisances, making their discussions with Scribes quick and simple.
Now, onto the topic of Clans. Clans are a small group of Draconequus, usually ranging from 3 to 15 Draconequus in one clan. They are usually family members that don’t wish for the city experience, but can also be friends that want that feeling of adventure, or just want to escape the city life for a while and relax. With every clan is a Scribe that follows along, taking notes of each day to report to Scholars. All Clans have a Clan Leader, which usually governs the action the Clan takes. The members of the clan don't have to follow the actions given, technically, because they can quit the Clan at any time they wish. They could also be kicked from the Clan by majority vote. Either way, they are left behind without care. This is not a desirable choice, obviously, and Draconequus will always try their hardest to keep to a Clan, unless near a city.
And that is your Draconequus society lesson! Thank you for reading!!
Discord had kept himself quite busy as the female was telling her little sob story. He had changed from observing the surrounding wildlife to using them as live practice dummies for chaos. Nothing to harmful or serious, just challenging himself to see how quickly he can create a hoard of long-legged rabbits, or an immense cloud cover of cotton candy clouds. He seemed to be getting better and better with every attempt, able to create a stampede of rabbits or a typhoon of cotton candy and chocolate milk with just a snap of his fingers. Metaphorically speaking, that is. After practicing to his contentment, Discord remembered the female Draconequus standing not five feet away. He decided to check up on her, to see if she was still telling her ridiculous story still or not.
He listened for any sign of life from her, but heard nothing. She must’ve finished that story of hers then! Thank Celestia; he didn’t want to have to hear any more of that story. He’d rather be frozen in a second layer of stone!
Wait, what if she wasn’t finished? She could just be pausing for a break and keep right on going! He better ask, just so that he can try to distract himself again when she started to continue. However, he didn’t take the time deciding HOW to ask her. Instead, he just blurted out his question.
“You already finished with that story of yours?” He imagined how that had to have sounded, and quickly tried to think up an apology quick. She beat him to it, and spoke her mind first.
“Wait, finished? You’re asking me if I’ve finished my story. The one that I told for YOUR sake, to try and be a good Draconequus and help out another who’s having trouble figuring themselves out! Obviously you weren’t listening to it at all, because you would KNOW that I hadn’t even finished. What kind of creature must you be to deny help that’s been offered to you, help that could lift up your spirits and convince you that you’re no monster?” Discord was quickly trying to patch up the situation as best as it could, as to not make an enemy he would have to live with possibly forever. “I’m sorry for the way that came out, but I-“
He didn’t seem to be making any progress, however. “But NOTHING! The nerve you must have to be as rude as what you have just displayed to me! Allowing me to try and help, then not giving a single BUCK to even listen to the story I had to offer you! You must have been having quite a good laugh listening to me pouring my heart out into that story! Everyone seems to have a good laugh when I do!”
Discord was shocked. He didn’t expect other Draconequus to think that someone’s sob story is funny! They enjoy a good laugh, but they don’t find humor is other’s pain, unless it’s some sort of practical joke. They don’t take REAL pain and turn it into something funny! That’s just cruel, and not something Draconequus enjoy doing. Well, except for one…but even HE doesn’t enjoy it when he learns that he goes too far with a prank or joke!
“They…think that your sob story is funny?!” He exclaimed.
There was silence, then her response. “No, not the one you failed to listen to!” She added extra emphasis on the last part. “The ones I’m talking about are written, ones that I write in my free time.”
“You’re a writer? I haven’t heard of a Draconequus writer since I was much younger!”
“Well, I’m not an official writer, but it’s what I do when I’m free. Most of my work is spent in the Archives, researching and writing history.”
Discord wasn’t so sure if he had heard that correctly. “Wait, the Archives…does that mean…?”
“Yeah, I’m a Scholar.”
Now, if Discord was capable of having a heart attack, he could’ve had one right now. A Scholar? In Equestria? What was she doing out of the Archives? There wasn’t a reason he knew of why she should even be here next to him! Scholars never leave Draconold, let alone Draconia. That is, if she WAS even caught here. Could Celestia have lied, and is also attacking Draconia? If she was, then the whole race could be in danger of extermination, not just eviction! But, would Celestia really do that? She’s the ruler of Equestria! Why would she go so far as to exterminate the entire Draconequus race? What could she gain from that? I was the bad one here, so kill me! Leave everyone else alone, but kill me instead! Why would she have to make everyone else suffer in my place? Is she trying to destroy me from the inside out?
Because it was working…
“Huh, so NOW you listen to me, since you know my ranking in society?”
Discord snapped back to reality. “No no, it's not that, it's-"
Instead, she cut him off. "No, I'm not going to listen to you if you won’t listen to me. Try again tomorrow with an apology, and MAYBE I'll listen."
She was silent for the rest of the day, and it wasn't even sunset yet. Discord felt as horrible as ever. First he brings upon the destruction of his race, and then he disrespects a Scholar! That's almost a crime; it's looked so down upon!! Then again, causing the extinction of his own race is pretty up there too, but he was already suffering punishment for that. Now her, he can't afford to anger her. Though he may be horrible and selfish, even the worst of creatures need someone else there they can interact with. Anyone who accomplished anything never did it alone, and all Discord was trying to do is not go insane. That wasn't that tremendous a feat, but it was for him. If he was going to survive another thousand years or so in his stone prison, he was going to use every advantage he could. And having someone to share this LOVELY experience with and to talk to was DEFINITELY an advantage!!
So for the rest of that day, he thought about how he could apologize to her in the least insulting way possible, since he knew he was going to somehow without his knowing. He thought long and hard, past when the sun had set in the evening, sometimes reconvincing himself that he, the Lord of Chaos, is actually apologizing to someone. Finally, he thought he was ready. That morning, he would try to regain the one sanctuary of sanity he could have left.
Nighttime went by quickly for Discord, as he was starting to get used to the idea of "consciously sleeping". He also had started feeling more refreshed after every night, and was starting to wake up in a better mood, only to realize where he was and why.
One thing that was different than all the others was the fact that there was another statue right next to him. It contained the spirit of a Draconequus with the second highest social status in the Draconequus society. And he had just insulted her. That only made him feel worse, and more determined to apologize to her.
Apologize. That's something Discord didn't think he ever would have to do before, or even planned on doing in his life. Now here he was, Lord of Chaos, actually APOLOGIZING to someone for his behavior! He never had to apologize to Twilight or the others for his behavior! Then again, he was sure that freezing him again was good enough for them...
Suddenly, he heard a sound nearby, to his left. It sounded almost like a yawn, but not exactly, since no sound could have actually come from the statue itself. It was probably just herself regaining consciousness, not breaking out of her statue. This would’ve been great for her, but would leave him all alone again. She wouldn't even try to help him break out himself, not after the way he treated her. No one would even dream about doing that.
Still, he could change that. If he could apologize correctly to her, he might have a chance to build a friendship! That'll be something new to him since his family has been gone. It'll be nice having someone to talk to again, even if they kinda hate you. What would they even talk about, though? Anything that comes up? Hopefully there's a lot, since they have PLENTY of time to kill!
Still, he could worry about that later. Right now, he had an apology to make, whether she accepts it or not.
Unable to figure out a better way to get her attention, he tried making a coughing sound, which seemed to work, as she responded unexcitingly.
"Well, good morning to you."
Obviously, she wasn't in a good mood, but he didn't want to focus on that right now.
"Uh, yeah, good morning to you too."
There was an awkward silence, and Discord couldn't stand it. He had to say something, before his nerves silenced him.
"Uh, listen..."
There was a short response, like a huff of some sort. Discord took that as she was listening, so he began.
"Look, I'm no good with apologies, but I'm sorry. Truly, I am sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you or anything, it's just that...I don't know...I have a lot on my conscious right now, and it seems to be taking over right now. Almost causing the extinction of two races weighs heavily on someone, you know? Especially when one of them was caused by accident..."
"Still, I know that shouldn't be an excuse for the actions I took towards you, and I know that they were inexcusable to someone of your status especially, and for that I am deeply sorry."
Discord sighed mentally, feeling as horrible as ever.
"I guess what everyone says about me is right, all the things they say about me. I'm a selfish, ruthless monster whose only objective in life is to ruin the lives of other's for my own enjoyment. How low is that, anyway? Causing pain to other's to entertain myself? That's almost sickens me know, how horrible of a Draconequus that must make me. I don't even have the decency to respect a single organism that resides here anymore! Why am I even here if that's all I can do? Why don't I just disappear? Why do I have to be stuck in this statue, forced to suffer this life and all its nightmares? Why doesn't Celestia just kill me now instead of destroying the entire Draconequus race in my place!? WHY DO I HAVE TO SCREW UP EVERYONE ELSE'S LIFE BUT MY OWN!?"
By this time, Discord was furious. With himself, with Celestia, with LIFE. He couldn't grasp at the situation anymore, just a shell of pure anger and hatred. Oh, the things he would do if he wasn't stuck in this Celestia-forsaken statue! He was lucky for that at least, since he was suddenly worried what he WOULD do.
That's also when he realized that she was still there, listening to the whole thing, his entire outburst. Hopefully, he didn't just scare her away just as he was about to get her back! Now he felt even worse, hating himself even more for ruining his chances of ever talking to someone else ever again. Now he was REALLY ruined. Nothing to do but stand here and watch time pass as everything he once knew is destroyed forever.
"I'm...so sorry..."
That took Discord off-guard. She actually spoke to him again! And...SHE was the one apologizing! But...why?
"E-Excuse me?"
He heard a sniffling sound, and then she spoke again.
"I-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I didn't...I didn't know you were carrying such a burden! The destruction of two races...I can't even fathom it! It must be so hard to deal with such a thing..."
Discord didn't want her to feel sorry for him. He wasn't worth her sympathy, or anyone else's.
"Please, don't be! I'm not worth your sadness, I don't deserve it after the way I treated you!"
Some more sniffling and another response.
"Draconequus react how they don't want to when they're upset! Everybody does that! You just lose your sense of mind, and everything starts to just spiral out of control! I don't blame you for how you acted; you were just caught up in your emotions!"
Discord didn't know what to think. At first, he thought she was just one of those Draconequus who tried rejecting the thought of abuse or something, but then he thought differently. She could actually be offering to try and HELP him! Him! The lowest of the low! THAT came as quite the shocker. Still, he wasn't one who rejected help when he could...
"I want to help you, Discord. I honestly do."
Again, he was taken aback, this time at the use of his name.
"H-How do you know who I am?!"
He could almost hear a giggle from her, a big contradiction from how she had acted just moments ago.
"Discord, I'm a Scholar, remember? I know A LOT about our history and what it's involved in! You don't think the Alicorn extinction isn't important in our history?"
This time, he DID hear a slight giggle. At least, he THOUGHT he heard one. He wasn't sure. Right now, he wasn't all that concentrated on that right now.
"Well, I guess it was somewhat important..."
"Are you kidding? That was HUGE! You left quite the mark in the fate of history, Discord! Even though it WAS the destruction of an entire people, which I shouldn't be ecstatic for at all..."
Discord laughed. It wasn't a real laugh, a laugh that could make your sides sore. It was more the sound itself, and not the actual feeling of that laugh. That was what he missed most, just the enjoyment of laughter. If only there was a way out of this stone prison for just a while...
"I have to admit though, Discord, it was quite impressive how you took the whole race down as a whole! Though victory didn't last long I suppose, huh?"
"No, I guess it didn't, did it? It feels like such a long time ago, even for a Draconequus of my age!"
Another slight giggle. "Well, it WAS at least a thousand years ago, so of course it'll feel like a long time!"
"You have a point there-"
Discord remembered he didn't even know her name at all, but she seemed to catch on to that pretty quickly.
"Eris. My name's Eris."
Eris. That was...the goddess of destruction, right? Something like that. How ironic that they both were to be named after similar concepts, but he thought little of it at the time.
"Well, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Eris! I hope you do not find that I should be thrown into a nuthouse anytime soon, with my drastic mood swings and all."
She had almost burst into giggles, but had barely contained herself, based upon the stifling noises she was making.
"Trust me, while you may be an 'interesting' specimen, I won't ever consider putting you in any sort of nuthouse!"
"Specimen, huh? Am I some sort of lab rat now? Am I just dreaming or something?"
"No no, this is very much real, Discord, and this is no test! I just have a...different vocabulary than you is all."
He chuckled. "That's not a fancy way of saying I'm stupid, right?"
Another giggle. "No Discord, of course not."
Discord was having a great time actually talking to someone other than his reeling brain. It was much more entertaining, and, as he then realized, more time consuming too!
"Jeez, is it nighttime already?"
After a few seconds of silence, she responded, "Yeah, we spent the whole day away just talking!"
"It sure did, didn't it...?"
There were a few minutes of silence between them, He was busy watching the night sky and noticing its beauty for the first time during his imprisonment. Counting the last time too, that is.
Finally, he heard her yawn.
"I think I'm dozing off. Goodnight, Discord!"
He yawned himself. After all, yawning is contagious!
"I think...I'm dozing away too. Goodnight, Eris!"
And with that, all was silent. Discord could not sleep, however. His thoughts were still roaming through his head, unable to be tamed. He thought about the situation he got himself into. He thought about Eris, Celestia, and the rest of his race...
And his family. He could only hope they were safe from the disaster he had caused...
Luckily, his desire for sleep pushed everything else out of the way, allowing him peace as he slowly drifted towards his unconscious state, fast-forwarding himself quickly to tomorrow.
Night flew by quickly in front of Discord, but it still allowed him to notice the fact that Princess Celestia had paid him a visit late that night, lasting for the rest of the night. She really didn't do anything as far as he could see, just shifted a bench over and sat down in front of him, staring straight into his eyes with a look of burning passion and anger, but in that short time he could almost make out a bit of sadness, of grief. He couldn't understand that at all, but before he got another chance, she had gotten up and left, leaving the bench there. Moments later, the sun rose quickly, slowing down as Discord began to "wake up".
The first thing Discord tried to do instinctively was stretch his body out. It took him a few moments to realize that he couldn't move, as he was still trapped. He could almost feel every muscle in his body aching for freedom, begging for release from this petrified position. As expected, nothing happened. Discord knew that just asking for something, even begging, wouldn't get you far, be he had to try something! As far as he knew, chaos had no end to the wonders it could perform! All he had to do was think of a new trick, give himself a few moments to figure out how to cause said event, and there! New trick up his sleeve! It was all in the imagination, simply.
He heard a creaking noise next to him, and immediately assumed Eris was waking up herself. Discord had never known himself to be an early bird, and surprised himself that he was waking up before someone else! Must have something to do with being frozen in stone that screwed with your mind clock or something, he didn't know. He DID know that his only companion in stone was waking up, so he should probably concentrate more on her than his own problems.
He waited and listened, hearing a few more creaking noises, followed by a grieving sigh. To what Discord could tell, she was trying to do the same thing he did this morning! He decided that it would be a great way to kick off a conversation.
"Well, seems you had the same idea I had today!" He lightly chuckled.
He heard a slight gasp come from her direction, followed by the same creaking of stone as she tried shifting herself around to no avail. Finally, after a little while, she spoke.
"Heh, tried to do the same thing then?"
He smiled. It was good to hear her voice again.
"Yeah, it's getting pretty cramped in these statues, isn't it?"
"Oh yes, the same position is getting quite old indeed. How did you ever survive living in stone like this for as long as you did?"
He chuckled a little. "Oh, it wasn't hard, seeing as I couldn't die anyway from the enchanted stone! But trying to keep entertained was much more difficult, seeing as I couldn't move at all! But, there was one thing I could do at least!"
She spoke with a curious hint to her voice, as expected with all Scholars. "What, what could you do? Was it writing? Or researching?"
He chuckled a little to himself at her excitement, which he hadn't seen at all since he met her. "Unfortunately, no. I could still use my power of chaos, thankfully! Though only able to use it in moderation to keep this loophole hidden, it was quite the entertainment to keep myself from losing my mind! I'm afraid Celestia is on my trail, however..."
She didn't say anything for a few moments, but eventually spoke up. "So, you can still use chaos at your whim, then? Can't you...make something with that?"
He was quite perplexed, and could not seem to put together what she was speaking of. "What do you mean, Eris? 'Make something'? Make what?"
She spoke slowly to try and describe it to the best of her ability, not really understanding completely what she was trying to attempt. "Well, can't you...I don't know, create something where...you can do whatever you want! Like, your own world, I guess! Couldn't you do that? I mean...chaos is at the control of the user, right?"
Discord understood what she was thinking of now. If he could create his own world exactly to his liking, affecting every last detail and surface with just his mind, just imagine the possibilities! He could do just what he wanted, no matter if he was stuck in a statue the rest of his life! How much fun it could be! And if she were there, she could help devise ideas on what they could do!
He immediately began processing the idea, imagining just how his world was to look, to feel like! He had never thought of creating his own world, but he sure didn't have any trouble creating it. He imagined every tree, every spec of dirt and blade of grass, every flower, everything! Though it may seem difficult to imagine everything, this process took him around two minutes, as everything just flashed past him for his own little world. For anyone else, this might have taken them much longer to try and figure out, but luckily for him, he had a template he already knew.
It took him even faster to figure out how the new spell was to be used. He couldn't create his new world as a physical one, as it would be much too large for their situation, and they wouldn't be able to use it anyway, being in stone and all. So instead, in had to be a mental world for them both, using their mental connections as a sort of bridge to both of them to access it. The world would act as a sort of chat room, allowing you to exit and enter as you please. Soon, it would be theirs and theirs alone! All he needed to do was activate it.
He stopped and listened, hearing nothing from Eris, who had been waiting patiently for the past half hour or so.
"Eris, you still there?"
He heard a slightly giggle. "Haven't moved and inch, of course! Did you figure it out?"
"I believe so! Ready to try it out?"
"Mmhmm! I want to see what this does! First-hand chaos sounds fascinating from all of the reports in the Archives!"
He chuckled a little. "I thought you were supposed to be WRITING Scrolls, not reading them!"
She giggled a little more. "Hey, it's boring in there sometimes! What else could I do?
He chuckled back. "Well, you have a point there, Eris! As far as I've heard, the Archives can be pretty boring without anything to do! Either way, ready to give it a try then?"
"Well, we won't learn anything without trying, won't we? I say let's give it a shot! Go ahead, Discord! Work your chaos!"
She giggled slightly as Discord prepared himself to work chaos to his will. With his mind wrapping around the spell and molding it, and finally sending it into effect mentally, since he could not snap his fingers to make the process of activation easier.
Both of them met with a sudden sharp pain in their minds, causing them to both cringe as their minds struggled to adapt to the changes being caused to them both, on the very verge of shutting down on itself and possibly never starting back up. Their minds eventually gave in and shut down, knocking them out cold inside their stone prisons as their minds continued to mold like putty in the hands of a master craftsman. Strengthened by the magic prisons, their minds survived the ordeal, their new world awaiting it's master's orders.
