Discord Rules

Chapter 5

Stonebreaker Castle

Rainbow Dash!!? Pinkie!? Applejack!? Rarity!? Fluttershy!? Where you all have gone!? Twilight called once more. She waited a few seconds, waited for someone, anyone to respond. She was about to mentally shout again, when she heard a small noise echo throughout her head, causing her to freeze in absolute, paralyzing fear.

Temporarily shaking off her fear, Twilight decided to call out once more. Hey, guys! You better respond, or else I’ll… I’ll… Twilight slowed, wondering what she would really do. And while she was at it, why she had been so afraid before. Before she could contemplate further, she heard a weak stream of thoughts bounce off her mind.

T… Twi? Is… is that you? Applejack’s voice entered Twilight’s mind. The relief that Twilight felt from discovering that at least one of her friends was still all right was strong enough to ease all the panic she had been feeling earlier.

Applejack! Are you okay? What happened to the others? Where were you? Why didn’t you respond to me earlier? Is there someone else here with us? Were you the one who made that scary noise earlier? Twilight’s questions seemed to visibly detract from Applejack’s thought strength. Applejack’s voice grew weaker, and it distorted. It almost sounded like five voices at once.

Sorry, but I can’t answer most of those. All I know is that you’re becoming the dominant personality, Applejack replied. Her voice, or maybe it would be voices, was becoming increasingly more dissonant, each separate tone becoming each of Twilight’s friends voices.

Wait, do you mean… you’re going to fade away? Is that what’s happening!? Twilight’s mind began to shift into overdrive, processing all the available information, and trying to create a way to fix this. Her friends’ voices got even weaker.

Twilight… if you keep on like this, you’ll kill us, Rainbow Dash’s voice rasped. The shock alone of hearing her arrogant friend sounding so pitiful caused almost all of Twilight’s mind to shut down, leaving only the bare minimum.

You’ll… you’ll die if I think too much? Twilight was in shock. It was just too much. There was no way her brilliant mind could be such a detriment. That… that can’t be true. It just can’t. I can’t accept it!

She’s right, darling, Rarity whispered, You’re thinking much more than we are, and doing much more in general. Our mind has decided that the five of us are unecessarily taking up resources. It’s going to get rid of us if we don’t start doing something.

Okay… I’ll… I’ll take a step back! You five can take the body! I’ll just be the mind! It’ll work perfectly! Twilight shouted, her mind crazed with the possiblity she might lose her friends.

T-twilight… you sound… scary… Fluttershy’s already soft voice was now almost imperceptable. She didn’t sound like she was holding together under the stress very well.

Twilight began to calm down. She needed to think calmly, rationally. She definitely couldn’t afford to lose herself, not at a time like this. Okay, I’’ll be the one who plans everything out… Rarity, you can be our voice. Everypony else, you get the same jobs as before. Is everyone okay with that?

All five of her friends agreed with her, not that they had the strength to disagree in the first place. Twilight then sat back, and let her friends take over for her.

The next morning, after saying goodbye to the townsfolk, who were noticeably more friendly when they noticed that nothing bad had happened overnight, Harmonia set off in the direction of the Venture Mountains. The rocky range seemed much closer than yesterday, only a couple hours away instead of days. The villagers attributed the phenomenon to Discord, saying that the mountain range had been moving back and forth since he had taken over.

After a few hours of travel, Harmonia arrived at the base of the first mountain. It was much taller than had been suggested from a distance. Near to the alicorn was a pass between this mountain and the next, with crumbling walls all over the slope.

Harmonia clambered through the ruins, heading toward the biggest, and surprisingly intact, structure in the entire pass. Stonebreaker Castle. Legend has it that the guardian of the Castle was the original King of Equestria, the one who crossed over the World’s Ocean from the ancient homeland of the ponies.

King Stonebreaker. The name alone chills the air around Harmonia. Or perhaps that is merely Discord trying to freeze clouds in midair. The old king was a cruel stallion, and he merely petrified his opponents, then crushed them, earning him his name. It is said that he was finally defeated when the Princesses, his daughters, petrified him, and, using the Elements of Harmony, sealed his soul into the castle he ruled from.

Stonebreaker Castle certainly had the feel of an ancient king’s soul. It was a decaying fortress, falling apart at the seams, yet unyielding to the forces of time as well. Harmonia reached the entrance of the castle, where all of Equestria’s heroes had passed through at one time or another, for more reasons than anyone could count.

Passing through the threshold, Harmonia shivered. The castle walls were literally screaming the word “Haunted!” at her. After Harmonia glared at them intensely, the walls shut up. She continued her walk through the entrance.

Beyond the entrance, everything seemed completely untouched. There were no spiderwebs, no dust, and most surprising of all, no sign of Discord’s mischief. It all looked the way it must have the day the Princesses defeated their father, and imprisoned him here.

What do you think, Twilight? Is there some kind of enchantment over the entire place? Pinkie asked, acting surprisingly solemn, perhaps realizing the seriousness of the situation.

I think that this place needs a good cleaning. What kind of king would live in a place this dirty? Twilight asked, before realizing what she just said, Wait, am I turning into Rarity or something? Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just, I don’t normally act like that.

I think all our minds are influencing each other, Fluttershy stated loudly, surprising everyone, Before, I could never do something like this. Now? I feel like it’s nothing. The only explanation for such a fast transition would be if somehow you all were influencing my thoughts.

An interesting observation, Fluttershy. You seem to be showing traits from Rainbow Dash and myself most strongly, though. I wonder why that is? Twilight thought, Pinkie also seems to be less, well, Pinkie, and Dash wasn’t boasting at the walls when they were yelling at us. It seems that you’re probably right, Fluttershy.

Somehow, during their conversation, they had ended up in front of the throne room. Harmonia couldn’t even remember walking during the dialogue. Opening the large doors, the alicorn strutted regally toward the throne. Upon it was a strange unicorn statue.

The statue was strangely shaped, with higher shoulders and a broader skull than modern-day ponies. It had a very long horn, and it was wearing a finely carved set of royal-looking clothes, with a massive, detailed crown upon its head.

Upon closer inspection, the statue seemed to be made out of an unknown mineral, with microscopic detail preserved in it. The statue seemed to have the same level of detail all over, as well. It must have been the petrified King Stonebreaker.

Harmonia backed away from it, and navigated around the back of the throne, searching for a way through to the other side of the fortress. Before she got very far, she heard a cracking sound, and the entire throne room shook. Moving to see what had happened, she spotted the empty space where King Stonebreaker had been, and the small pile of dust lying on his throne.

Harmonia turns around and looks around the room. There was no one there. A small noise echoed behind her. Spinning, she saw… absolutely nothing. There was nothing there. Sighing in relief, Harmonia turned back to the search for the escape route, and began fumbling around the back of the throne. This was going to be a long search.

Author's Note

Well, this chapter got a bit more shadowy. The Mane Six are doomed to mingle their minds together, eventually becoming one... or are they? The only way to find out is to continue reading.