Chapters Author's Note
I know the prologue is very short. It looked longer while I was writing it. But almost everyone has told me I needed to have a prologue in my stories. So here it is. Chapter 1 makes up for this I promise
Prologue
Long ago, in the faraway land of Equestria. There was a golden age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes. The greatest and most powerful of these heroes, was the mighty Discord.
But our story begins long before Discord, many eons ago...
Back when the world was new, there were evil monsters called Titans that ran rampant and caused havoc to the equine citizens of Equestria. Where wildfires blazed throughout the land, a moon that brought nothing but everlasting nights, and all the magic that fueled the land with love and light were sucked dry.
Then along came Celestia, goddess of the sun. She intensified the brightness of the sun to temporary blind the Titans long enough for her sister, Luna, to lock them away in Tartarus forever.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. If there was one god you didn’t want to get steamed up, it was Sombra. Because he was concocting an evil plan...
A gondola was floating smoothly down a river. Not just any river, it was a river that led straight to the gates of the Underworld.
It was a river of souls. Literally.
Millions of souls from once living ponies made up this ghostly river. The souls flowed at a steady stream, pushing the gondola with its gentle current. All of a sudden, Sombra felt a slight rocking of the boat. He looked over and saw three souls emerge from their river of death and desperatly try to climb in alongside him. Without hesitation, Sombra quickly blasted them off the boat and back into the river. A thin trickle of smoke due to the force of the blasts, was rising from his horn. He easily blew it off.
The gates that led into the Underworld were vastly approaching. Long thin sharp rocks made up the monstrous gates. They slashed into each other, like claws from a cat striking out against its prey.
The claw like gates opened as the boat neared and closed as soon as they went through. They continued to float down the river until they reached a winding pair of stairs, which led to his lair. Sombra stepped out of the boat and onto the rock.
“SNIPS!”
A chubby dwarf-sized unicorn with a teal colored coat and a brown mane that could easily be mistaken for orange, came trotting down the stairs. "Coming your most moroseness.” He tripped over his own hooves and rolled the rest of the way down the rocky stairs, groaning in pain at Sombra's hooves.
"SNAILS!"
This time, a dark orange unicorn with a teal colored mane came trotting down the stairs. He was the opposite of his henchpony counterpart. This unicorn was tall and skinny, with a long neck, oversized ears, and freckles dotting his cheeks. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” He scrambled down the steps, hyperventilating all the way down. Snails came to stand beside Snips.
“Snips and Snails, reporting for duty!” They saluted.
Sombra rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he blew them off, “just let me know the instant Zecora arrives.”
“Oh, she’s already here,” Snails told him.
“WHAT! ZECORA IS HERE AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?!” he yelled.
Snips and Snails just looked at each other, confused. “Uh, I thought I just did,” Snails said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Sombra put a hoof to his head to massage his oncoming headache, “Remind me to strangle you after my meeting.”
Snips and Snails looked at each other with worry in their eyes, knowing their master wasn’t joking.
As Sombra entered the meeting hall, the soul of a very recently passed pony soured over his head and into another entrance to another chamber.
“Sorry I was late, Zecora. There was this party on Mt. Aris and I lost track of time...”
“I sensed you would be late, there was a lot to celebrate,” Zecora said without looking up from her cauldron.
“Right...” Sombra drawled out, “let’s cut to the chase. Is the new kid going to ruin my plans to take over Mt. Aris? What does your little stewpot tell you, eh?”
The zebra thought for a moment before she began to pour some potions and other ingredients into her cauldron. She beckoned Sombra to come closer. When he did, she gestured to the cauldron. When Sombra looked at the bubbling green liquid, he could see images starting to form.
“In eighteen years precisely, the planets will align ever so nicely.”
Sombra saw an image of what looked like stars, form a straight line in the night sky
“The time to act will be at hand, unleash the Titans, your monstrous band.”
An image of the Titans escaping Tartarus took over.
“Then the once proud Celestia will finally fall, and you; Sombra, will rule all.”
The last image was the best of all, it showed Celestia being defeated by Sombra himself!
“Yes!” he cheered, “Sombra rules, baby!”
“A word of caution to this tale,” the zebra interrupted.
Sombra stopped cheering. “Come again?”
“Should Discord fight, you will fail.”
What he thought was the last image, disappeared. In its place was an image of Sombra being defeated by a fully grown Discord...
“WHAAATTTT!!!!” he screamed in anger.
“Snips, Snails,” he directed his gaze on his two minions, “I have a little riddle for you. How do you kill a god?”
“I have no idea!” Snips said with excited sarcasm.
Snails was becoming restless with knowing excitement. “I know this one! You can’t! They are immortal, right?”
“Exactly, They’re immortal. So...” Sombra levitated a glass bottle full of sinister- looking bright pink liquid with a skull engraved on the cap.
“First you’ve got to turn the little devil...mortal...”
Author's Note
I am not working as many hours as before, so I will have more time to write and work on this story. Expect a new chapter every week!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you think!
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. It was tragic, Celestia and Luna sent all the Gods and Goddesses on Mt. Aris on a frantic search. By the time they found the baby, it was too late. Young Discord was mortal now, but since he did not drink the last drop of Sombra's potion, he still retained his God-like powers. Despite Sombra's horrid intentions, the draconequus grew more powerful with each passing day. Even though he technically wasn't either of their son, Celestia and Luna were still heartbroken at the loss. For now, all they could do was watch him as he grew up in the care of the jack and jenny.
16 years later
Somnambula was a small village in Southern Equestria located near the San Palomino Desert. Being near the desert, it surprisingly never got too hot. The temperature there never went above one hundred degrees.
It wasn’t an impressive settlement, but it had everything a small community would need. There were lots of small shops and bazaars that sold various goods, a water well in the Center Square, and a large pyramid shaped temple to worship the Gods at the far end of the village.
The houses were not a sight to behold either. Due to the constant heat of the sun, the walls and roofs were beginning to crumble, and the once brightly painted houses that were in every color of the rainbow have now all turned into the same faded dull gray.
The ponies native to Somnambula wore headscarves to protect them from the sun, and sandals to protect their hooves from the hot sand. The village of Somnambula consisted of a variety of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies all of different sizes and shapes.
It was also where two donkeys and a draconequus lived.
The said draconequus entered the Center Square and released his hold on the wooden cart he had been pulling, which was filled with tradable goods. Some of which were of great value.
“Thanks son.” The donkey said as he got down from where he was sitting on the cart, “When I threw my back out back there I thought I was a goner for sure.”
“Sure thing, Dad. Happy to help.” The draconequus said as he started to unload the cart of its contents.
“Don’t unload just yet, I need to see first if Trader Joe wants any of these goods in his shop. I won’t be long, but please stay by the cart until I come back, Discord.”
Discord sighed. “Ok.”
Cranky gave a soft smile, “That’s a good lad,” he said as he turned and walked away.
When his father was out of sight, Discord leaned against the cart in a bored manner. He glanced over and saw a couple of teenage stallions playing with a flying disk nearby. He thought of how funny it would be if the disk vanished in the middle of their game. When he made sure nopony was looking, he snapped his fingers.
As soon as he snapped his fingers, a blue parasprite appeared in the air above the team of stallions. It was as if it knew the aerial path the disk would take, for it disappeared into the parasprite's mouth almost as quickly as it appeared!
Discord could not hold back his laugh when he saw the confused and displeased looks the stallions had on their faces.
"You-you should've seen the looks on your faces!" Discord laughed as he approached the group, "Priceless!"
The stallions however, did not think it was funny at all.
Discord had been so wrapped up with the prank he pulled, that he forgot to snap the parasprite away...
Within those first few minutes, one parasprite had multiplied into three. They spread out and began eating the rest of the village. The more they ate, the more they multiplied. In the span of five minutes, it went from one parasprite, to thirty parasprites!
The villagers screamed and ran out of their homes and shops, clutching any items they wanted to save from being mercilessly destroyed. Discord tried snapping them away, but unfortunately, he only managed to snap away the original blue parasprite who started it all. He had no idea how to get rid of the rest of the twenty-nine!
Pretty soon the town was left with nothing except for the desert sand from under their feet. The only structure that survived was the pyramid shaped temple. Seeing as how it was mostly built from sand and rock, it did not appeal to the taste of the parasprites.
When the swarm saw that there was literally nothing left of the town, they flew off.
By the time they were gone completely, it was too late. The damage had been done.
A crowd of angry villagers surrounded Discord and his father, shouting insults at the draconequus.
"That boy is a menace!" shouted one villager.
"He's too dangerous to be around NORMAL ponies!" shouted another.
The donkey tried to reason with them, "He didn't mean any harm, he's just a kid. He just...just can't control his powers."
An earth stallion with a muddy brown coat and black mane marched angrily up to Cranky Doodle Donkey. This was Trader Joe, the shop owner Cranky went to see.
"This has been the last straw, Cranky! I'm warning you, you better keep that...that...THING away from me!" Trader Joe shouted in his face.
The crowd began to disperse, leaving the donkey and the draconequus alone.
Author's Note
Get it? Trader Joe (Trader Joe's the grocery store)
At least I thought it was a nice touch.
The chapters are taking longer to complete than I thought. Chapter 6 should be out in the beginning of next week.
Sonambula seemed like an ancient enough town to use for this story. Here's the pic
As always, please comment on what you thought of this chapter.
Author's Note
Finally! It’s up! Now I am no longer going to give you an estimate of when the next chapter will be up, seeing as how my luck has been the past few weeks, I am no longer going to trust my concept of time when it comes to publishing new chapters...
Sorry it’s short, I just wanted to get it up. Enjoy!
Chapter 6
Discord watched as the setting sun turned the sky pink. The rich evening light reflected off the tip of the pyramid temple, making it sparkle.
His father watched him with worry from the doorway of their home. Which was actually more of an entry way now. Their home had met the same fate as the Village Square. Fortunately, the majority of the home was made of sandstone. Other than the wooden door and a couple of shutters, the house was mostly spared.
“Your mother just finished making supper. She made cucumber sandwitchs, your favorite!” Cranky said, hoping that would cheer him up.
“Not hungry.” Discord mumbled glumly.
Cranky sighed in defeat. He slowly approached him from behind and put a comforting hoof on his shoulder
“You shouldn’t let those things they said get to ya...” Discord moved out of his hold and walked away from him.
“No, Dad they’re right! I am a freak! I’m not a pony,” He looked sadly at his father, “I’m not a donkey...” he sighed and flattened his ears. “I...I don’t know what I am....”
Cranky tried again to comfort his son. Discord...” but once again, he moved out of his hold.
“I know it doesn’t make any sense..” Discord said as he started to walk away. Hoping that a late night stroll will help clear his head and rid him of these troubled thoughts that plaqued his mind.
His father frowned as he watched him go. Thinking that perhaps it was time to tell Discord the truth about where he really came from.
It was well past dark when Discord returned. Cranky and Matilda were waiting for him at the entry way of their home. Matilda had tears shimmering in her eyes as she held her husband's hand in comfort.
Cranky swallowed nervously, "Discord, there's something your mother and I uh... have been... meaning to...to tell ya..."
"But if you found me, where did I come from? Why was I left here?"
Those were just a few of the questions reeling through Discord's head after his parents explained everything. He always knew he was adopted, for obvious reasons, but he had no idea he had been abandoned and left out in the middle of nowhere.
His mother unwrapped a handkerchief that was folded neatly on her lap and revealed a shining gold medallion. She gave it to Discord. "This was around your neck when we found you. It's the symbol of the Gods."
Discord stared at it in awe as he delicately traced his eagle claw across the majestically stretched sun, the cloth had done wonders in preserving the shine of the metal. Just by looking at it one could never tell it was fifteen years old. It looked brand new, like it was forged from a blacksmith the day before.
All of a sudden, Discord’s head turned into a literal lightbulb as an idea struck him. “This is it!” he said as he held up the medal, “They might have the answer! I’ll go to the Temple of Celestia and...” he noticed his parents looking sadly at him. His mother smiled at him with tears coming down her cheeks.
“Mom, Dad; you’re the greatest parents anyone could have but...I have to know.”
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Author's Note
I meant to upload this two weeks ago like I promised. But once again, my depressive mood swings got the best of my. Therefore, pushing the new chapter up 2 weeks...
I feel I did pretty well with this chapter! Let me know what you think in the comments!
Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Discord landed on the small island he was told by the Celestia statue was the home of Spikeartecuus, the Dragonlands. That only meant one thing, that the Trainer Of Heroes was none other than a dragon. The Dragonlands being called an island was an understatement, it was more like a barren wasteland of nothing but rocks and volcanoes.
As expected, the land of dragons was full of...well...dragons. Dragons of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Some were tall and lean, others were short and fat. There were purples, blues, yellows, reds, and greens; any color one could imagine.
As Discord looked around, he suddenly felt very overwhelmed. How was he supposed to know which one was Spikeartecuus? The Celestia statue didn’t mention any physical features the Trainer Of Heroes might have had that would’ve identified him from other dragons.
“Look out!”
Discord looked up just in time to see a purple and green blur crash into him and knock him to the ground. When he looked down to see what had crashed into him, he saw a small dragon laying on his stomach. He had green and purple scales covering his body . He had green spikes on the top of his head, going down the length of his spine and ending at the tip of his tail.
The little dragon got off of Discord. “ Sorry about that. New wings,” he spread a pair of leathery purple and green wings on his back for the draconequus to see, “I’m still trying to get the hang of them.”
“That’s alright, no harm done,” he said as he stood up. “I’m looking for a dragon named Spikeartecuus, do you know where I might be able to find him?”
“You’re lookin at him!” He pointed at himself, “and call me Spike.”
Discord held out his paw. “It’s so great to meet you, Spike! I’m Discord.” The young dragon grabbed his paw to shake it. But as soon as he touched it, he felt a ripple of electricity course through his whole body, shocking him.
“Hahaha!! You fell for the oldest trick in the book! You should’ve seen your face!”
Spike didn’t look amused.
“Spike, I really need your help. I want to become a hero, a true hero.”
The young drake raised an eyebrow. “You...you want to become...a hero?” He barely managed to hold in his laughter. “You’re joking, right?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Discord said with his arms crossed.
Spike looked him up and down, taking in all of the different animal parts on his body. “Yes, actually. Your whole appearance is a joke. What even are you anyway?”
Discord growled softly, “A God, actually.”
This time, Spike didn’t even bother to try to hold in his laughter. “You? A God?! Yeah, right! Then why aren’t you on Mt. Aris? Oh, great and powerful one!” He was rolling on the ground in a laughing fit, tears streaming down his face.
“I’ll prove it to you!”
With a quick snap of his fingers, Spike's wings vanished off his back!
The dragon quickly took notice when he felt a sudden lightless on his back. He turned around to look.
“Hey! My wings! I just got those! Give them back!” His eyes narrowed angrily at the draconequus, but slowly, they started to widen in shocking realization at what he just did. “How...how did you do that? The only beings that possess a magic that powerful would be-“
“A God?” Discord smirked at him, “Exactly.”
Spike’s mouth was agape, “BBBut....” He managed to stutter. Discord walked up to him and placed a claw under his purple chin to push his mouth closed. “Now will you help me?”
A worried look spread across the dragon’s face. “How will I know you won’t turn out like the others?”
“Others?”
Spike nodded, “Tirek, Nightmare Moon, Daybreaker, and Queen Chrysalis. Who do you think trained them to harness and control their powers? I trained all those would-be heroes that are now villains locked away in Tartarus, and what do they do, they betray me by using their gifts for the downfall of Equestria instead of the benefit. The only heroes they are now, are heroes of destruction. I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t train anybody again. A dragon can only take so much disappointment.” He sighed.
Discord was stunned speechless, Spike was the one who trained the Titans to what they are now? But wait, didn’t he say that the Titans turned their backs on heroism?
“I’m not like the Titans, Spike. I want to do good for Equestria.” He said with a hint of desperation.
Spike looked at him skeptically, an eyebrow raised in question, “Fine, I’ll help you on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Give me my wings back.”
2 years later
"Good. Now let's try one that you've particularly had a lot of trouble with; cloning yourself."
Discord was reluctant. He spent the last two years in the Dragonlands training with Spike on how to accurately hone in and curb his powers on a controlled level. During those two years, he has never been able to duplicate himself. Why would this time be any different? Sure, he was a God; but not even Celestia herself could make her mirror image or any of the other Gods for that matter. Discord was pretty sure that the Titans couldn't do it either, and Spike trained them! So what in Equestria made Spike think Discord could succeed in doing what none of the other most powerful beings could?
Discord threw his head back and groaned in exasperation, “Ugh! Come on, Spike. I have been stuck on this island with you for two years. And in those two years, I could never do it. Why can’t you just face facts and accept that I can’t...” he stopped mid-sentence, becoming aware that there was an echo of his voice after each word he spoke with uncanny precision.
Just like with words, the Discord copy echoed every movement the real Discord made. Making it seem more like the easier explanation of a reflection in a mirror, rather than magic.
"I...I don't..." he trailed off, too transfixed on his other half to continue his train of thought.
Spike was standing with his arms crossed and a knowing look on his face. "I knew you had it in you."
Discord didn't know how or what he did to duplicate himself, but whatever he did, he did again, because the Discord duplicate poofed away before his very eyes. “Yes!” He cheered, shooting fireworks into the air. “Next stop, Mt Aris!”
Spike chuckled at his enthusiasm, “Alright alright, slow down, Discord. Hold your horses for a minute.”
“Come on, Spike. I want to get off this hunk of rock and go do something heroic.”
The little dragon hesitated, “I don’t know...”
Discord made his eyes as big and shiny as possible, “Please, Spike?” He begged.
“Fine, you want a trial run? Pack your bags kid, we’re going to Manehatten!”
“What’s in Manehatten?” Discord asked as he flew alongside Spike as they flew above the Whitetail Woods.
“A lot of problems. Manehatten is the roughest and toughest city in Equestria. It’s a great place to start building a reputation.”
As soon as he said that, a scream pierced through the air. It wasn’t a loud scream, in fact, it was fairly quiet. It was loud enough for Discord to pick up with his acute hearing.
“You go on ahead, I’ll meet you there.” He said as he dove down in the direction in whence it came.
“Wait! Discord, where are you going?!” Spike shouted after him, but Discord was already long out of earshot. Annoyed with this unplanned set back, Spike had no choice but to dive down after him.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. Author's Note
Here is chapter 3. As always, please tell me what you think and please notify me of any errors you may see.
ps: does anyone know the difference between lie/lay? I can never tell which one to use, so I don't know if I used the correct 'version' of it so to speak, in the very last sentence.
Chapter 4 will be up next week!
Chapter 3
After a long and exciting day, the outside world was settling down for a quiet and restful night. Gliding softly through the sky was none other than the Goddess of the Night herself, who was bringing in the nighttime for all the citizens of Equestria and the lands beyond. As Luna gently trailed among the clouds, in her wake was a darkened sky dotted with thousands of twinkling stars. The full moon shone brightly, bathing Mt. Aris and the villages below in a pale glow.
But little did anypony know, the night was going to be anything but peaceful...
Back on Mt. Aris, all the gods and goddesses were settling in for the night and the nursery was no different. Little Discord was fast asleep in his crib, along with his other infant roommates. Even though Discord was asleep, that didn't mean his powers were. As he slept, little Z's trickled out of his mouth and dissipated into the air around him.
Luna just finished her nightly rounds when she entered the bedroom she and her sister shared. She and Celestia have always been very close, but when their parents were viciously murdered when they were fillies, they became closer than anypony thought possible.
Eyes drooping, she climbed into the bed across from the one Celestia occupied and was currently sleeping soundly in. Luna sighed as she let her eyes fall without protest.
Just as Luna felt herself starting to dream, she was interrupted by crashing sounds and babies crying out in distress. Thinking it was all a part of her dream, she slept on. She tossed and turned uncomfortably in her bed, until she finally woke up.
She was surprised to see Celestia had woken up as well. Although still groggy from sleep, Luna knew immediately that those disruptive sounds weren't in her head, but were in fact real...
Celestia seemed to realize this too, for she looked at Luna in alarm as the crashing and the crying continued.
"The baby!" they exclaimed.
They galloped as fast as their hooves could carry them. When the sisters finally reached their destination, they burst through the silk curtain that led into the nursery and gasped in shock at what they saw...
In front of their eyes was baby Discord's crib, that now lay broken and disheveled...
