Humani Victoria

Chapter 19- Mind of Madness

"It is madness for sheep to talk peace with a wolf."

                                                                                    ~Thomas Fuller

Jason screamed his throat sore as the seventh lash came down on his back, at this point his torturer was lashing at a hound of ripped flesh that used to be Jason's spinal area. Tearfully Jason managed to moan out a plea for mercy.

"Please.. I've had enough." He said.

"Oh no Pony-Friend-Thing!" The torturer rasped "You need to be lesson-learning!"

Another lash.

"But you'll kill me." Jason pleaded.

"No I won't, I know your limits, this will only make you stronger." The voice had changed, becoming less raspy and more deep-tones.

Jason looked behind him and confirmed it: The Diamond Dog was now his father, holding the bloody whip and looking at him with an expressionless look.

"You need to learn how to endure pain if you going to get anywhere in life." His father said, hefting the wipe up and cracking it towards his face.

Mystics Mirror Inn, Canterlot, Equestria, Thursday, 2nd of October, 8:25am, 2205 AC

Jason snapped away with a yelp of terror, his forehead was drenched in sweat and his heart was thumping. Breathing heavily he lowered his head between his legs and held them tight, he shuttered and gasped in the fetal position for several minutes.

When Jason had left Celestia's room a guard had been awaiting him, apparently Twilight and the rest had gotten rooms for the night in the Mystics Mirror Inn and had taken the library of getting him a room. The Guard had lead him there.

Inside the small room there had been a small bundle of his cloths and his combats (Pack Jason a change on clothes, check! the note had read.) Jason opted to just slip out of his Gala outfit and into bed.

Unfortunately for him, his sleep was not to be restful.

He had regained control of his breathing at this point and unfurled from his position. Sunlight streamed through the window's curtains so it was indeed morning, taking a few calming breaths and pushing any thoughts of the dream out of his mind Jason slipped out of the bed and onto the floor. He stretched his back out, receiving several satisfying cracks and pops in return.

Methodically he put on the clothes laid out for him, a pair of brown pants and a grey t-shirt with a collar, there was also a simple brown long coat that fell to his above his ankles, he put that on too. Finally he strapped on his boots, the comfortable weight of leather and steel combined with the moulded shape of the boot gave him comfort. He strapped on his sword and knife (Not willing to leave them there) and headed out of the room.

The hall was empty and when Jason headed down the stairs the main room was empty too, even the innkeeper was missing. Shrugging it off Jason decided he would go for a short walk before finding his friends, he walked over to the door and opened it.

The street was covered in shiny pink bubbles, several houses and building were floating off their foundation and spinning slowly in the air, the sky seemed to be switching perpetually in between states: Cloudy, sunny, rainy, snowy, day, dusk, night, dawn. Several random Ponies were floating hopelessly through the air, occasionally numbing into fluffy pink clouds in which they stuck to, the could raining down a brown liquid that could only be chocolate milk.

Jason took all of this in and decided his course of action "Nope." He stated, before closing the door.

"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope." He continued, shaking his head and walking over to the bar. There was a jug there full of pre-brewed coffee but it was cold, he lite a fire in the kitchen stove and reheated the coffee. Pouring himself a mug Jason sat down at the bar and slowly took sips from his cup.

The coffee pushed out and kinks that were still lurking around and left a warm felling in his stomach, he could feel the caffein entering his system and jump-starting his body. He managed to make the drink last for about ten minutes before he was forced to kick back the dregs and get up.

Opening the front door again Jason had to resist the urge to go drown himself in coffee and instead stepped out, in addition to what was already going on today there were now what appeared to be several hippos skating down the soapy street.

Jason pinched his arm.

Stepping out into the street he found it oddly non-slippery, then again it wasn't really odd in perspective of everything else. Sticking his hands in his pockets he strolled towards, trying his hardest to ignore everything around him and get to the castle.

Don't look at anything he chanted in his head If you don't look at anything, then nothing will happen.

As he walked the sun and moon continued to switch placements, sometimes occupying the same spot. Objects would float by Jason or sometimes a Pony would run past but he ignored them. Definitely a dream he thought as the shadow of what looked like a giraffe passed by him Even though I don't dream usually, and certainly never had a dream within a dream... This is some Inception bullshit going on here. Then again I have been living in a world of magical Ponies for the past couple months so who am I to question reality? Although this may conclude that I have, in fact, been dreaming this entire time.... I don't know how I feel about that.

Eventually Jason made it to the castle gates, which at the time were unguarded, pushing the heavy metal gate open he stepped inside. The courtyard, at least, seemed to be normal, in fact the entirety of the castle grounds seemed to be up effected by the day's insanity. Safe on the knowledge that all the strangeness what safely behind him Jason purposefully strode up to the main doors and entered the main hall.

Naturally, the main hall was empty, and upon inspection so was the throne room. Jason sighed, resting his weight on one foot, he only vaguely knew the layout of the castle and finding Celestia or anyone would take hours and he might get lost.

Maybe I should..., the thought died as he heard voices- that sounded like the Princess, and maybe Twilight -echoing from the hall to his left. He jogged over and turned a corner, there, in the middle of a long hall flanked by stain glass windows, was Celestia and the Mane Six.

As Jason entered the hall he slowed down, he could of sworn he heard dark laughter fading away as he approached.

The group hadn't noticed him, until he spoke that is "Seems I've missed some things." Celestia's head snapped towards him along with six other Pony heads.

"Jason... Actually, your perfect." Celestia said.

"Perfect? Perfect for what? What's going on?" Jason asked, Celestia pursed her lips and looked at the group of Ponies at her hooves.

"Twilight? Why don't you and your friends get a head start on the Labyrinth? I shall get Jason up to speed." She was obviously dismissing them but Twilight ate it up.

"Of course Princess! Let's go girls!" One by one they galloped past Jason.

"Hello Jason, see you Jason!" Twilight said.

"Hey hotshot! See ya' later!" Rainbow called.

"Howdy sugar cube, I'll see ya'll later." Applejack said.

"Um, I guess, we'll see you later." Fluttershy.

"Hi Jason! Bye Jason!" Pinkie zoomed past.

"A good morning Jason, try to make haste when you catch up, we may need you." Rarity didn't run, rather she pranced in the most dignified way after her friends.

As the sounds of hoofbeats faded Jason crocked an eyebrow at Celestia.

"You know one of these day's your going to have to start telling them the truth."

"You are right, but that day has not come yet."

Jason sighed and shook his head "What's the situation?"

"An old enemy has arisen, a spirit known as Discord has escaped his prison, no doubt you've already seen his handiwork throughout Canterlot."

Jason nodded "I did, now what is the part you didn't tell them?"

Celestia looked away, at one of the stain glass windows before meeting his gaze again "If or when you see him, he will most likely be taking the form of a Draconequus, a mixture of different animals into one. This is not how he always was."

Celestia took a breath "Originally, Discord was an Alicorn... His name was Dispono, he was the Alicorn God of Order."

Jason was a bit taken aback "So... You mean to say there is a third Alicorn? And he is loose?"

Celestia thought for a second "Well technically he is the fourth Alicorn, there was already three."

Jason rubbed the spot just above his eyebrow and sighed "So what happened to... Dispono was it?"

Celestia nodded "Yes, you see he was a active general throughout the majority of the war and thus was a prime target, so it was only a matter of time before they got to him." Celestia shuttered "I don't know what they did to him, what experiments or torture's they performed but the next time I say him he had gone mad, plunging the land into chaos with his reality-altering magic."

"So why do you think I can do anything to stop him?"

"I don't, however Twilight and her friends can if they can find the Elements of Harmony, however, Discord's magic cannot effect you. At least not directly, so you may be able to but them time, no doubt he will try and manipulate and mislead them from their path."

Celestia placed her hoof on Jason's shoulder "I hate to ask this of you but I need your help, travel with the Element Bearers, help them find the Elements, and send that demon back to Tartarus."

"Alright." Jason said "I'll see you later." As an after thought he patted Celestia's hoof before gently moving out of her grip and running off.

                                                                      ~~*~~

Celestia had told Twilight to head to the Labyrinth, so that's where Jason went. He had seen the tall hedge walls from a distance during his time in Canterlot and he knew the general direction. Speeding up to a swift run he nimbly avoided every anomaly he encountered, everything to a watch badly singing pop to a shark making loud vehicle-like beep's as it swam backwards slowly.

Eventually he made it to the entrance of the Labyrinth, where the six mares stood looking up at the imposing hedge walls. They seemed a bit shaken, as Jason approached he noticed something off, several things off. Twilight and Rarity were missing their horns and both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's wings were gone, leaving the lot of them looking like Earth Ponies. Applejack and Pinkie Pie seemed unaffected though.

Jason approached cautiously "Twilight?" He called, unsure it this was another anomaly or not.

'Twilight' turned immediately "Jason!" She said, running over to him and hugging his legs "You just missed him!"

"Discord!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash said, her voiced edged in frustration and slight panic "He just showed up and took my wings!" She stared at her back longingly, no doubt trying to move the muscles that she no longer had.

Jason pried Twilight off of his legs "Well then, what are we waiting for?"

Twilight nodded eagerly and gestured towards the entrance to the maze "Discord's riddle lead us here, the elements must be inside." She gestured to where her horn used to be "He showed up and told us that magic and flying weren't allowed, and then he took our horns and wings."

Jason patted Twilight on the head "You'll survive." He said "Let's get searching then."

Twilight nodded "Come on girls we'll do this.." They all lined up at the edge of the maze "Together!" They chanted, all taking a step into the Labyrinth.

Immediately large bush walls sprouted in between and behind the girls, cutting them if from the exit and each other. Jason- who was standing in between Twilight and Applejack -reacted swiftly and stepped towards Twilight, the hedge missing him by a hairs breath.

His sight full of thick hedges Jason offered his wisdom "Well then..." He said "I guess we'll do this separately."

"Hello? Girls? Can you hear me?" Twilight called.

No answer.

"We should get moving, I'm sure the others will be fine." Jason put his hand on Twilight's back and gently pulled her away "Come on." He said soothingly, Twilight nodded but still stared behind her once they got moving.

At Twilight's suggestion, they hugged the left side of the maze. Even then they twisted and turned through identical paths. They had remained silent for an hour or so, before Jason could stand it anymore.

"Sooo.." He said suddenly "Where's Rose and Spike?"

"Once the anomalies started appearing I told them both to head back to Ponyville so they would be safe." Twilight said.

Jason chuckled "Roseluck loved that I bet."

Twilight giggled a bit "Oh she argued hoof and mane but I managed to convince her it was for the best."

"It was." Jason agreed but then a thought occurred to him "Wait, so why didn't you wake me up?"

Twilight suddenly seemed to become really interested in the sky all of a sudden.

"Twilight..." Jason said slowly.

"Um... We may have... Wanted to... Um... Keep you out of this, I thought maybe you would just... Um... Sleep through it?"

Jason gave Twilight a look "Twilight, did you drink stupid juice this morning?"

"Hey!" Twilight said, offended.

Jason just shook his head and took the lead, turning a corner to a dead end.

"Shit, well we'll just turn-" He was interrupted as the hedge wall shuttered and seemed to grow backwards into the ground, revealing a small clearing with an apple tree and a pond.

And Applejack.

Before Jason could say anything, Twilight sped past him "Applejack!" She said happily, running over and nuzzling her friend.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Applejack bit her lip and looked around frantically before speaking.

"I'm... I'm fine! Really!" She said nervously "I'm totally normal and haven't seen or heard any strange apple-pile monsters or anything?"

By it's own accord, Jason's eyebrow reached for the sky. Applejack was lying but why, or how, was a mystery.

Twilight seemed to notice something off too but played along "Well... That's great!" She said "Come on, we need to find everyone else."

"No! We don't need to find any of them!" Applejack said and then started trotting purposefully into the maze proper.

Twilight and Jason exchanged glances before following her, keeping a bit behind her so they could talk.

"Sooo... She's obviously not the real Applejack." Jason said.

Twilight shook her head "No, it's her, it's just... I don't know, she's changed, under some sort of spell."

Jason sighed a bit "I can't tell what's real and what's not." He said in frustration.

"I know how you feel."

They continued on for what seemed hours, although Jason couldn't tell as the sun and moon were still dancing. The entire time he felt this growing sense of confusion, several times he though he saw the hedges moving and shifting as if liquid but once he focused closely on them they were as ridged as ever.

They followed their left-dominant route for a while before coming to another clearing, this one full of nothing of interest, except Fluttershy.

Twilight approached more cautiously this time "Fluttershy?" She said.

The de-winged Pegasus turned and smiled, but this smile was cruel and full of contempt. "Well isn't it the Unicorn who can't do magic, Twilight Sporkle." The mean spirited tone did not fit with Fluttershy's soft voice. "And look, she brought her pet monster."

Both Jason and Twilight's jaws dropped simultaneously, the disbelief that Fluttershy could say such things was written all over their faces.

Fluttershy seemed to delight in their astonishment and walked past them, shoving Twilight into Jason's legs.

Jason looked down at Twilight to see her eyes filled with confusion, and fear.

"That's not Fluttershy." She said quietly.

"Or is it?" Jason said back "Let's just keep going."

The next hour or so was worse, with Fluttershy making every insult in the book and Applejack lying through her teeth. Jason was developing a sizeable migraine.

They turned a corner and came across a peculiar sight, Rarity, carrying a large boulder on her back. While Jason was contemplating the physics of that Twilight asked the obvious question.

"Rarity, why do you have a boulder on your back?" She asked.

Rarity seemed offended "Boulder! This is a sic carrot Diamond!"

Twilight blinked "Rrrright."

"Don't think I don't see you eyeing him! Back off! He belongs to me!"

Jason raised an eyebrow "Him?"

Rarity nodded "Yes! Him! His name is Tom! And he's mine! Nopony else's!" She glared suspiciously at all of them.

Jason right hand met with his forehead and walked around the boulder "Let's just keep going." He said, Twilight caught up with him quickly.

"Have you noticed they all seem a bit... Grey?" She commented, Jason glanced behind them at the three mares, who had already begin bickering.

"Yeah, their coats and manes seem a bit... Muted." He said, they lapsed into silence after that and navigated the twists and turns of the maze for another ten minutes or so. It was hard to judge because of the shifting sky.

Once again they turned a corner into a clearing, this one full to the brim with balloons of all colours. As they stepped forward the balloons began popping one by one, to reveal a very grey looking Pinkie Pie.

She glared at them "Well it's about time! I hope you guys haven't been laughing without me! And don't think you'll laugh with me either!" She stuck her snout up in the air.

Just as Jason was considering joining his hand and forehead once again Applejack voice could be heard.

"Look, Rainbow Dash is flying off, she's abandoning us!" She said.

Jason snorted "Yeah rig-" Yep, she was, flying, in the opposite direction, away from them. Jason barely had time to sigh before dark laughter filled the air and the hedges began shuttering, growing backwards into the ground.

"Looks like someone broke the no magic no flying rule!" In a flash of light came Discord, head of Pony, hands of both eagle and lion, body of a serpent. His eyes were red and filled with madness.

"Oooooooh." He said, his eyes alighting on Jason "What do we have here?" He slithered over and circled around Jason, bringing his ugly face centimetres away from Jason.

"So what is one of the Old Gods doing in Equestria? So well, so alive" the Monster's eagle claw reached up and grabbed Jason's throat, despite the Human's struggling.

"Oh how I want to rip your heart from your chest and feed it to a pack of Lesser Demons." Discord said, his voice dripping with malice "But, what's the fun in that?" The Chaos Spirit looked at the five

mares who stood in useless shock at him.

"You girls run along, we have some old war stories to swap." Discord looked back at Jason "And you need to tell me how a Human came back from the dead." He smiled a snaggle-tooth smile before snapping his fingers. Jason got one last look at Twilight and her corrupted friends before reality faded away.