Chapters We're Trapped in Stone, and We Must Scream
I lunge forward as the light crashes upon us; a defiant snarl in my throat that is cut short. As the light fades, I find I am unable to move. My eyes stare straight ahead, unblinking; my mouth is open, but no sound comes out. Every fiber of my being immediately cries out in numb agony; the need to move is instantaneous, but for all my will, I do not budge.
I see him; Discord; he strolls right up to me with a smug look on his face. He taunts us; I'm sure he flicks my horn, but I cannot feel it. The reality sets in. I have been turned to stone, along with that centaur and filly. And yet, I am aware. I see and hear, yet I cannot move; cannot feel anything upon my body.
They leave us here. For a long time, I try so hard to move just one tiny bit. I try to make the slightest noise. Nothing. I am trapped here in this stone cocoon, forced to watch as the world moves by. I wonder if they knew I would be yet awake. He must've known. Discord. Damn him. That sadistic bastard; he must've known. For a thousand years, he stood still in the garden of those self-righteous Alicorns, yet I wonder what a thousand years is to an eons-old god. Regardless, he knew. He set us up. All that time, posing as Grogar. All those aspirations of taking over Equestria. It was all a set up and now he gives us his fate. Damn him. Damn him to the darkest pits of the Neither Realm.
I must move. I must move.
I watch as snowy winters give way to spring; as the bright summers give way to autumn. Years give to decades. Decades give to centuries.
How long have I been here; trapped in this skin of stone? Do the other two see the same as me? Do they hear as me? I would assume so, but how can I know? I do not see them. I cannot ask them. I lose track of the seasons. There is not much point in it. They will never release us. Damn them.
My body constantly cries out; an unending ache in the numb paralysis. My mouth ever remains open in the desire to cry out; yet no sound ever arises. I would give anything just to scream, but I cannot. My inane hope of freedom fades as the years go by. So fast they go, in yet, so slow. But I do have one thing that does not fade; something they could not take from me: Hate. My hatred for them is a constant burning in my mind; never fading for my state of life, if one can call it that, is a constant reminder of it. A burning hole in my mind that demands vengeance. It is the one thing I have. I hate them.
I watch as the seasons pass. Every rise of the sun is like a blink of an eye that lasts an age. The land forms around us; changing as we stand still. Alone, I have only memories to accompany me. Sometimes something major that redirected my life; a success, a defeat, an achievement, a failure. Sometimes something small; insignificant. I recall memories from long ago. I recall memories from a time when the world was so vibrant and yet so dark. I recall memories of my mother; of my sister.
I do not feel shame nor guilt for what I did, but I am forced to wonder. If I had chosen a different path, could I have avoided this fate? What many things could have happened; could have been changed? What a ridiculous sentiment. Nothing can change what has been done, so what point is there in wondering the impossible? Yet wonder I do. My mind is the only thing free of the agonizing stillness; the only thing I have that may wander. This fact only increases my pain.
I find my rage ever boiling in my mind. The memories of every low point spurs my everlasting anger. My forced flight from Canterlot. The betrayal of my own Hive that I had bred for myself; that I had sacrificed everything for. Sacrificed. My old home from long ago. My banishment to the forsaken lands. The destruction of all I once knew. And of course, Discord.
Discord, who had set us up; who had damned us to this fate while those complacent bitches let him roam free to his twisted heart's delight.
The irony is not lost on me. A changeling; a creature that feeds on love; is now fueled only by hate. It is the one thing that my exhausted mind can find any focus on. Every memory a reminder; every thought kindle to feed the fire that burns inside me. The one thing I have to accompany me in my everlasting solitude.
Hate. Hate. Hate.
We're Trapped in Stone, and We Must Scream
As I watch as the rays of magic overcome us; as my body is trapped and consumed; I close my eyes for what I think is the end. But as it all too soon turns out, it is not the end. I cannot open my eyes, but I am indeed awake and I can hear all around me. The rejoicing of the ponies. The snide remarks of Discord. Discord; I've been a fool. I allowed myself to fall for his manipulations. Now, I am trapped here, in this darkness.
For so long, I festered within the walls of Tartarus; I thought no greater suffering could be done to me. In yet, even in Tartarus, I could move, even if only within my cell. I could see, even if only within the unholy prison. I was bound in chains, yet here I find a far more constricting manacle. I stand here incased in stone; unmoving and unseeing. I can only hear as the voices fade and we are abandoned here.
I too quickly lose memory of where we are or what sights lay ahead. All too soon, the passage of time is lost on me. I cannot feel any change in temperature to signal the changing of seasons. I do not feel the chill of snow; the touch of rain; the heat of the sun. I do not see the changes in the world; the cycle of evolution to the land. I feel nothing but a numbness filled with unending phantom pain and I see nothing but darkness.
I should've been more cautious; I should've been wary. Grogar. What a sham. I allowed myself to think better of a child. A talented child, yes; but for all her intelligence and skill, she was all too naive. I agreed to team with that wretched insect; I almost would've preferred the company of Sombra to that arrogant bug. It was all a set up; a game rigged to be won by our enemies. A trap that has left us in this sarcophagus; left me without the ability to see or feel, to taste or smell. I have only my hearing to act as a taunting reminder of what I once had. I have only my hearing to give me signal of what changes occur around us; to let me know of what passes by as I stand here. Blind. Still. Anguished.
I wonder if the others feel it too. I wonder if they closed their eyes. If not, can they see? But indeed, would that lessen or worsen this torment? Such an ideal thing to wonder, but what else can one too? I am lost in darkness with only my thoughts to keep me company. All because of the machinations of that diabolical demon.
Is this my punishment for my betrayal? Has he planned this since that very day; since I took from him his magic? Did he seek vengeance all this time; retribution for my own manipulations? If so, I cannot fault him. I will not pretend I would not seek likewise in his stead, though I question why bring the parasite and an ill-minded filly into it? Perhaps this was meant to be part of something bigger, though what this could be, I cannot guess. I do not pretend to understand the mind of an idiot god; a perpetual child in the skin of an immortal warper of realities; a being of chaos and nonsense that has somehow befriended beings of harmony and stability. Indeed, it is quite ludicrous to think on.
Though all these questions seem inane in the darkness I find myself in, it is what I'm left with to ponder as the outside moves on. I can only stand in my shell and listen to the world as it evolves while I remain stagnate.
No great force of will can create any change in me. I have exhorted every bit of perceived power within me to create some form of change in my torturous solitude. I would voluntarily return to my prison in Tartarus if I would be allowed to so much as crack open my eyes only a mere centimeter or move a limb only slightly, but even that is denied to me.
I have no way of knowing how much time has passed; it feels like an eternity.
In the darkness, my mind creates many things. I find myself reliving many moments in my life. I get lost sometimes in the memories; whether it be for good or bad, it is a relief to find respite in my constricting prison. In yet, this makes it all the more painful when I am reminded of my reality.
I am reminded of many things in my solitude. Things as far back as when I was a child, so very long ago. Sparring with Scorpan. Gram-Gram telling us stories of days far past. Such simple things; I enjoyed those times. I remember my father. King Vorak; mighty as a storm and stern as a mountain. I never was good enough for him. Nothing I did was ever good enough. And then, when I sought out to gain the power to prove myself at long last, Scorpan betrayed me. My own brother; he chose those pathetic ponies over his own flesh and blood. I rotted in that sulfric prison for a millennium because of him.
Has it been longer here already? How much time can pass over closed eyes undetected? I wonder, even if my eyes would someday open once again, could they withstand the light?
I am lost to this endless darkness. I can no longer tell dreams from memories. I no longer understand my past nor my present. I feel deep down the stinging numbness of my unmoving body; the near forgotten drive to move. This is all that remains of my pitiful reality. So, I continue to drown myself in the void; uncaring of the outside and unknowing of the truth of what came before.
I still see the ghosts of my family, whispers in the dark of what I once knew. I see segments of an unknown life I once had or may have had. Fact and fiction mesh into incoherent madness in a fake light made of memory in the ever present void from which I cannot escape. What once was is gone. What is does not exist. What will be will bring no change.
I wish my eyes would open.
We're Trapped in Stone, and We Must Scream
I see it happening. I watch in horror as my body is turned to granite. My hooves reach for my face as a scream builds in my throat, but in a blinding flash, I am rendered immobile. I quickly find my eyes set in one direction and my limbs locked in place; every muscle in my body is rendered obsolete. I am trapped here.
I watch as the other ponies celebrate their victory. I watch as that monster gloats over our fate. He knew this would happen. He knew we would see and hear everything. I catch his gaze. Monster. I try to scream out, but I can't.
They all leave soon and we are left here. I stare out into the distance, unable to blink. My hooves grasp at my face, but I cannot feel anything. Surely, they won't just leave us here. What about the Power of Friendship? What about forgiveness? What about mercy? Even if they don't give it to Chrysalis or Tirek, they'll give it to me, right? I mean, I'm just a kid; I deserve another chance, right? Though they did send me to Tartarus before. Were they going to leave me there? What did Luna see in my mind? I don't really know, myself. Was it too dark? No, they can't just leave me here. They will come.
They have to come.
They left me here. For so long, they have left me here. As days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months and months turn to years, I stay here. I stand here, watching as the seasons change, unable to feel it. Unable to feel the bite of the cold air of winter nor the burn of the summer sun. I watch as rain runs down my face while I am unable to feel or taste it. I watch birds fly in the distance and I yearn to be able to stretch my wings once more.
Is this to be my eternal punishment? To stand here, forced to watch the world as it passes by; to listen as it moves around us, while I am unable to feel a thing? Unable to move even an inch of my excruciatingly stagnate muscles? Is this what I deserve? I would've done anything to avoid this. I would've been the good little filly they wanted me to be. I would've behaved. I would've taken a thousand beatings to spare myself this unending agony.
But then, I have to wonder, would I? The truth is, I don't know. I never understood friendship beyond a way to use others; to gain power through trust. I never understood things like love and empathy; no one ever taught me. No one ever showed me. And now, it is too late. I am stuck here; abandoned to my fate. I wonder if they even remember us. I wonder what Chrysalis and Tirek are thinking; surely, they are as awake as me. Of course, I can't exactly ask them. In any case, we're stuck together; a living monument to our greatest blunder.
I keep trying to scream out. That last sound from my throat that never came. I don't even know what I would be screaming for; pain, fear, anger, relief? I just want something. I just want the air to pass through my lungs once again. Something. Anything. I would do anything.
So much time has passed. I dare not even guess how long we've been here. The entire world seems to have changed. The once flat, grassy field has fallen and formed into a desolate cave. Walled up in the rocky growth on the Earth as it shifts around us; a house for the damned. Now, I have not even the luxury of light for so little of it comes down this way. Hidden from the sun; I feel this is somehow fitting, though I can't quite remember how.
I have not seen a living thing for so long. There may be some rodents or other small things below us, but I cannot see nor hear them. I do not know how deep we are hidden within the Earth, but I fail to see how that matters. No one is coming; pony or not. They never did. They never will.
...
Wait. What's that noise?
There is something coming near us. I can't see them. Two voices.
I see them now. An Earth Pony and a Unicorn. Great Creator above, it's an Earth Pony and a Unicorn!
They're talking to each other. They seem to be on some sort of expedition. Will they see us? They do!
The unicorn, an excitable, mangy-maned filly, trots up to us and out of my view. "Woah, who are these guys?"
The Earth Pony, a much calmer mare, followed. "I... I have no idea." She passes from sight under me. "It seems to be some kind of statue. It's very... lifelike."
"Ooh, is that a centaur? I've only heard a couple of stories about centaurs! And that is the creepiest looking Alicorn I have ever seen. Then again, I've never seen another Alicorn. Well, aside from you. Kinda. Sorta."
"I'm not so sure that's an Alicorn."
"Oh? And what's with the little Pegasus filly? She seems kinda outta place here."
"I don't know, Izzy."
I feel a sense of urgency. I have no idea who these ponies are, but I feel something inside me. Something that tells me that these two could be my chance. I try so hard to say something. Nothing. I have to keep trying. I have to. I have to escape.
"There's something really strange about this statue. It feels... alive."
"Looks pretty stoney to me."
"I... I'm getting a weird feeling."
Does she sense my pleas? Can she somehow understand? Please understand! Please do something!
"...I'm gonna try something. Izzy, stand back."
A great, golden light appears in front of me. The Earth Pony floats up within my sight; an ethereal horn and set of wings is upon her giving her the appearance of an Alicorn. A magic that I have not felt since long before in a time long forgotten envelops me and with a startling realization, I realize that I feel it! A warmth flows over my body and there is a tremendous crack as a blinding light flashes within us.
I fall onto the ground. I don't even realize this until the Earth Pony, now without her ethereal Alicorn attributes, comes up to me.
"Uh, are-are you okay?"
I look up in a daze; every muscle in my body cracking as I find myself moving for the first time in ages. Dumbfounded, I look to my sides and find Tirek and Chrysalis also free and in a similar daze. I look back to the Earth Pony as she repeats her question.
"Um, sweetie, are you okay?"
I have no answer, but I open my mouth regardless.
I open my mouth and I finally scream.
