0-0-0-0-0
Slave.
This was the first word that Discord ever learned.
That he could remember, anyway.
He blinked, awaiting his master’s command. Surely there were memories before that. Of course there were. Or at least, there might have been. Not anymore.
Slave.
Obey.
Master.
Vaguely, he knew precisely what would happen should he display any form of consciousness or free will; it would happen again. Discord would be struck down with the accursed ‘obedience’ spell once more, obliterating his mind and forcing him to submit. Over and over and over again.
Just as it had been for…
How long?
How long had it been?
“Slave!”
“Yes, Master,” Discord bowed immediately before the visage of King Sombra, not daring to breathe. Not to give away a single sign that he was thinking, that he could feel something aside from the constant urge, the need to obey.
“I require a fresh batch of subjects; the latest installation of power cells failed. Again,” Sombra paced viciously before his throne, his elegant cloak flowing regally behind him as he did so.
A couple of memories flooded to the surface, and the draconequus struggled not to show emotion.
Ah.
That.
King Sombra had been rather unsuccessful in his attempts to increase his already powerful grip on the nation; his most recent attempts hadn’t garnered much fruit, to his dismay.
“… Well?!” Sombra screamed at Discord, who tried not to flinch. “What are you waiting for, slave?”
0-0-0-0-0
Obey.
Obey.
Obey.
Obey.
Discord felt numb, like his muscles were fighting against him. He could think, he could feel again; but his body refused to answer to his own commands. All he could do was watch as he was forced to comply to King Sombra’s demands.
A hint of guilt rose in him as he slowly traipsed down the halls of the dungeon, listening to the despondent wails of the most recently acquired ‘subjects’. Stallions, fillies, colts, mares. Discord was forced to amass all kinds for the collection.
“Bring in the next one!”
“Yes, Master.”
Discord trudged quietly down the dirty prison, the stone blocks as cold as ice around him. The foal he dragged toward the opulent testing chamber in the middle of the ornately designed testing chamber seemed hardly old enough to walk on her own, let alone screech so loudly for her mother. For a moment, Discord considered abandoning all pretense and fighting against the constant overwhelming urge to submit… but his rejection would not last long.
It would only be a short matter of time before he was forced beneath the yoke of the obedience spell once again, his mind ripped away from him.
The filly struggled and cried as Sombra strapped her to the swiveling steel gurney in the center of the platform, numerous tubes and bubbling devices surrounding it. Wordlessly, Sombra’s grey horn alit with a dirty glow as a pair of scalpels levitated beside him.
A growing sense of dread rose in Discord’s chest as he tried not to shy away from what he knew was about to happen.
He couldn’t look away.
Couldn’t let Sombra know.
The filly seemed to know the impending danger from the floating scalpels as well, and only screamed again. Discord tried not to scowl in disgust when King Sombra’s wicked grin only grew wider while he plunged the scalpels swiftly into her stomach as he levitated a large ruby, which glowed with an unhealthy light.
“Notes, slave,” Sombra said distractedly, and Discord felt his body scrambling for a quill and parchment. “Experiment number eight hundred and forty-three,” he stated loudly over the gurgling, choked scream of the filly as he roughly jammed the ruby inside her stomach. “Transmogrification from pegasus to crystalline life form, potentially increasing energy expenditure –”
No sooner had Sombra begun slowly stitching the filly back up than she began shaking violently in her bonds, a sickly red foam oozing from between her lips as she died.
It took everything Discord had not to vomit.
Sombra let out a genuine sigh of disappointment, and tapped his hooves against the gurney a couple of times in a calm, quiet fashion.
An instant later, he let out a scream of unbridled rage, magically jamming the scalpels into the filly’s head as hard as he could.
“FAILURE!” he bellowed, kicking over the gurney. Discord flinched, hoping and praying that Sombra hadn’t seen it. “How many is that today?”
“Six, Master.”
“Then that’s enough for one day, I suppose,” Sombra seethed, beginning the trek out of the dungeons and past the numerous heavy wooden doors, all of which muffled the cries of the starving captives. “Clean this mess up, slave. And be quick about it; I expect dinner soon.”
0-0-0-0-0
The village of Canterlot wasn’t a very big one, but it certainly looked lovely as the sun began to set over it.
Discord couldn’t help but watch in awe as the glowing sun began to set over the horizon, casting a warm and friendly glow over the little hamlet beneath the castle. It all seemed so cozy, so calm.
Such complete and utter contrast to what he knew was the truth.
The more Discord thought, the more his mind seemed to fall into place, and the sturdier his psyche became. He vaguely wondered if this was all he ever did before ‘waking up’.
What, just standing about the hallways?
My, that’s certainly not very helpful. Was that another one of Sombra’s orders? Stand in the hallway? How very droll. One would assume that he would find a better use for a draconequus that had no choice but to obey. Interesting.
“Good evening.”
Discord blanched, not realizing that he’d simply been staring out the window as the moon began to rise. He turned slowly toward the effeminate voice, forcing all emotion from his face. It took him a moment to realize the porcelain alicorn was speaking to him.
“Oh. Uh,” Discord’s mind raced nervously. “Good evening… Master.”
Celestia stood beside him for a long moment, watching as her younger sister began raising the moon. There was something a little off about its course, however; as if it were being raised at an odd angle.
“You don’t have to call me that,” she said quietly.
“Yes, Master,” Discord said emotionlessly.
“You aren’t fooling anypony,” Celestia deadpanned without looking at him. “I know for a fact that you retain at least some small measure of yourself.”
Discord paused, thinking.
“… I suppose that you’ll be off to inform King Sombra of my resistance, then,” he pronounced slowly. “Very well. It was a pleasant experience having a sliver of sentience while it lasted.”
Celestia gave him an odd look, tilting her head slightly.
“… Draconequus, I freed you from my father’s grasp.”
Well, that came as a bit of a surprise.
“… How?” he asked incredulously, suddenly peering around to ensure that they weren’t being watched. It seemed so impossible. Then again, he should be thanking his lucky stars that he could even think, let alone question the odds.
“That isn’t important, draconequus,” she said quickly, cutting him off. “All you need to know is that Father is distracted overseeing Luna’s convenient ‘difficulties’ with the moon, and that I freed you because I need your help.”
“If that’s the case,” Discord snorted. “I hope you realize that you didn’t exactly do a great job of ‘freeing’ me.”
Celestia cocked an eyebrow expectantly.
“Just because my mind is free doesn’t mean that I am not still suffering from compulsory obedience.”
“Very well,” Celestia said slowly. “Then I command you to obey me.”
“Yes, Master.” He replied automatically.
A pained look overcame her momentarily, but she wiped it away.
“… I’m sorry.” She bowed her head after a moment, her heart heavy.
“… I suppose that I should be thanking you, nonetheless,” Discord stated quietly.
“Good. Then –”
“Also,” Discord interrupted her, pointing out the window. “The moon is back on course.”
Celestia swore under her breath.
“Servant,” she breathed. “Father is growing closer by the day to achieving what Mother could not before she passed; and the closer he grows to his goal, the more innocents that shall be claimed in his name.”
“I wouldn’t happen to know exactly what ‘goal’ that might be,” Discord said honestly.
“Immortality.”
Discord stared at her in slight shock, the horror evident on his features.
The thought of one such as Sombra, immortal…
It made him shudder.
“And what do you expect me to do?” he frowned. “I cannot so much as say no.”
“Luna and I are concocting a ploy,” Celestia murmured excitedly, furrowing her light brows. “A scheme so devious that even Father would never see it coming.”
“Why do I suddenly get a bad feeling about this?” Discord asked.
“We shall need your help, servant,” Celestia stated again. “If we are to pull off such a coup, then my sister and I shall require all the assistance that we can manage.”
“You’re-you’re going to overthrow King Sombra?” the draconequus asked in disbelief.
She wasn’t just going to get his mind wiped again.
She was going to get him killed.
“Servant,” Celestia stood up more firmly, a light burning in her magenta eyes. “Should you perform this task, not out of compulsion, but of loyalty, then I shall personally grant you absolute freedom.”
“I doubt that,” he said dryly. “Almost as much as I doubt that you can actually manage to instigate the necessary revolution to overthrow King Frickin’ Sombra, before –”
“I shall also personally grant you the same immortality that my sister and I are going to claim before Father can.”
“… You have my undivided attention.”
0-0-0-0-0
Author's Note
Evidently, this story shall be straying from canon from time to time.
I do hope that you'll forgive me just this once for such a heinous act for the sake of story.
0-0-0-0-0
Draconequui, or the few that were left, while not especially powerful or intimidating on their own, possessed an innate talent for magic; always were their kind a little closer to the chaotic energies of the universe than any other living creature. Their amalgamation of mythological pieces that comprised the sum of their bodies may lend to this fact, and Discord was no exception.
However, to Discord, magic was also something that did not come at his beck and call.
It answered occasionally, or whimsically, and sometimes not at all.
Unless his Master commanded it, of course.
“Again, slave.”
Discord felt the flow of magic drain from him and into the crystal receptacle, until merely a trickle emanated from his talons. A constant pressure built atop him as he did so, and as he began to sweat, Discord was afraid that he would display emotion from the immense strain of being magically emaciated.
Back to living with a broken mind.
Back to the thoughtless, empty void.
The thought alone made the despair in him grow even more.
“Good enough,” Sombra said leisurely, and Discord had to force his gasp of relief down as he dropped the dimly glowing hoof sized emerald onto the examination table. It wasn’t as if King Sombra was going to waste his own precious energy, after all. In all likelihood, Sombra just didn’t want to expend the extra energy. Or, at the very least, that was Discord’s theory. The unicorn trotted around to the opposite side, the quivering stallion strapped atop the stained steel gurney staring in horror with his mouth agape.
Not of his own free will, as was the custom of Sombra, of course.
The earth pony’s mouth was forced open by a rather cruelly sharp slew of hooks attached to multiple wires, ensuring that his teeth remained bared as he panted in panic. Sombra silently levitated the glowing emerald, admiring the craftsmanship and shine of the gem for a few moments. For a split second, the grey coated king almost appeared serene. He held his peaceful posture as he turned toward the stallion, and tugged at the strings until he began to scream.
He then jammed the entire emerald into the stallion’s throat, effectively cutting off the screams.
Discord tried not to cringe as the gurgling grew more choked when Sombra magically shoved the emerald further and further down the pony’s throat, tears streaming down his face as the hooks cut into his flesh.
Why did they always have to die horribly?
Sombra seemed relatively pleased as the stallion convulsed, and an eerie lime light started to ooze from the corpse’s eyes.
“Notes, slave. Breakthrough number seventeen; magically enhanced crystalline polymers appear to possess a significantly higher conversion rate over naturally synthesized crystals.”
… Interesting.
Horrible, monstrous methods. But an interesting observation.
I wonder…
“… Well?” Sombra barked, and Discord realized that he had begun to lose himself in thought over the implications instead of scribbling faster. He recorded Sombra’s every word, his face blank. “Get this one onto the refuse pile; and be quick about it.”
Discord wordlessly obeyed, his limbs moving regardless of his personal will.
Fascinatingly, he found that the more that he focused on himself and concentrated what miniscule shred of magic he still retained, he could almost begin to move them of his own volition…
However, when he did so, the overwhelming compulsion to obey crushed his every thought, leaving his head fuzzy and aching. Evidently, there seemed to be more to the obedience spell than a simple matter of willpower. Perhaps that was what Celestia had done… partially circumvented a portion of the spell, allowing him to think clearly again.
It was obvious that she required a willing ally instead of merely another servant, although to what end baffled him. Maybe the young alicorn was a tad more devious than he had previously thought.
“Faster, slave!” Sombra bellowed, and Discord dropped the unfortunate pony down a small shaft at the end of the stony hall.
“Yes, Master,” Discord mumbled instantly, hurrying his shuffling pace. Oh, what he would give to escape the horrors of this prison for only a short while.
Fortunately, Sombra seemed to have grown content with his grim research for the time being. However, a look of deep agitation settled across his features as he pored over his numerous notes, and he rapped his hooves against the floor.
He silently but steadily grew more and more angry as his eyes flew over the notes, and for a moment, Discord was afraid Sombra would simply instruct him to kill a few more of the ill-fated souls trapped within the many stone chambers to alleviate his stress.
Oh, that had been a dark, dark day for Discord.
Instead, Sombra merely stacked his notes and breathed quietly through clenched teeth, rubbing his temples tenderly.
“Slave.”
“Yes, Master,” Discord replied promptly, standing stock still.
“I grow restless as of late. Tell me, what is the inhabitant of cell number twenty-four?”
The draconequus froze, thinking quickly. What was he supposed to reply to that?
“… Well?” Sombra shouted. “Don’t just stand there, you disgusting, useless oaf! Go find out!”
Discord held back a sigh of reprieve, thankful that Sombra hadn’t expected Discord to have some form of bolstered memory process due to the obedience spell. He trudged in monotone steps down the poorly lit halls, a couple of dispersed torches here and there barely lit. The moans of the entrapped and enslaved besieged him, but Discord could do no more for them than he could himself.
Yet, anyway.
When he finally arrived at the heavyset wooden door with the number 24 inscribed in fresh ink beside it, Discord peered through the small set of iron bars high into the door to discover its inhabitants.
“Hurry up, will you? Just bring her, already!”
How Discord tired of Sombra’s incessant impatience.
He bit back a groan before catching up to Sombra’s words.
Her?
He must have catalogued each one individually…
The clink of keys filled the air as Discord assumed the mantle of warden, heaving open the immensely heavy wooden door to allow some small measure of light to pour in over the shaking, thin filly.
A sliver of pity arose in Discord as he watched the underfed teal unicorn shy away from him, her eyes wide with fear. The heavy chain around her neck kept her from cringing away too far, and she looked to be on the verge of tears as Discord drew nearer, her breathing fast and shallow.
He hated it the most when the young ones died.
Simply because these were her last moments didn’t mean that she couldn’t have an inkling of solace, however.
Discord, with a hint of rebelliousness, knelt beside her as he undid the iron lock around her neck.
“Shhh,” he whispered conspiratorially. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay,” he lied guiltily. So long as she went out with a little hope. Something, anything other than this wretched dismay.
The filly stared tearfully at him for a moment, but nodded shakily as he gave her a tiny hug.
“WHAT’S TAKING SO LONG?!”
Discord swiftly scooped the filly up in his arms, carrying her quietly toward the far end of the hall, where Sombra paced furiously.
He sincerely hoped he wouldn’t be forced to watch this one.
Especially if Sombra decided to use the corkscrew again.
Discord fought the urge to shudder.
However, to his surprise, Sombra quietly instructed Discord to place the teal filly on the stone block floor before him, where Sombra towered over her. He tilted her small head up with the bottom of his hoof, staring deeply into her eyes.
“Hello there, little one,” Sombra grinned. “What is your name?”
She blinked, staring back up at him in dread and confusion.
“M-my name? Um, my-my name is –”
“No,” Sombra cut her off with an unnaturally large smile. “No, you don’t have a name.”
She frowned, giving him a look mixed between dismay at unfairness and befuddlement.
“Yeah huh!” the filly insisted.
For a moment, Discord thought that he would kill her outright for disagreeing.
He sincerely wished that such were the case.
“No,” Sombra lowered his head a little, a small spark appearing on the tip of his grey horn. “You don’t have a name. You aren’t anything. You’re nothing.”
And for the first time, Discord witnessed as the obedience spell was performed on another living creature, and it haunted him for the rest of his life.
A sickly black beam struck the filly in the face, casting her to the floor. Discord flinched, freezing in place. Fortunately, Sombra seemed fairly more intent on the stricken filly rather than his servant. The filly laid in place for a while, neither breathing nor moving.
“Rise, slave.”
Discord’s first instinct was to react, before he realized that he wasn’t the one being spoken to. The teal filly ever so slowly dragged herself upward, a sliver of drool leaking from her mouth as she did so.
Sombra, rather pleased with himself, patted her warmly atop the head before he began lazily exiting his dank laboratory and trotting up the stairs.
“Come,” he said without looking back. “To my chambers with you, slave. You shall appease me for a while.”
Discord suddenly felt the urge to vomit again.
“Yes, Master,” the filly mumbled, her eyes colorless and hollow.
“There’s a good girl.”
0-0-0-0-0
Discord sullenly followed the grey king through the castle, trudging quietly behind him and his newest retainer.
He hoped that Celestia and her sister began the revolution swiftly. Discord didn’t think he could bear the thought of Sombra’s rule any longer. Like clockwork, the trotting of yet another set of hooves filled the air in the vast hallways as Celestia conveniently departed from a side hall. She kept up pace alongside Sombra, to better speak to him.
“Good evening, Father,” Celestia said quietly, almost faltering when she saw the blank eyed young filly following submissively behind him. A flicker of something dark passed over her features, but she hid it quickly.
“Ah, shouldn’t you be sleeping at this time of night, Celestia?” Sombra said warmly to her, giving her a sharp toothed smile.
“Absolutely right, Father, as always,” Celestia nodded, evidently rehearsed. She opened her mouth to give him the next line she had practiced, but she was cut off.
“Then why aren’t you resting for your daily duties?”
Quickly, Celestia improvised.
“Regrettably, I find that sleep once again eludes me. I find myself in dire need of… companionship,” she said slowly, eying Discord.
“Ahh,” King Sombra nodded pensively. “Understandable, for a mare your age. What happened to the all stallions you were provided with?”
“They proved… unsatisfactory,” Celestia stated carefully.
“Well,” Sombra chortled good naturedly, pushing the teal filly toward his daughter. “Perhaps you should try a different course now and again instead of a single meal, hmm?”
“No!” Celestia looked horrified, but rapidly covered her tracks. “I-no, that is not quite what I meant, F-Father; however, I greatly appreciate your generosity.”
Sombra gave her an odd look for a moment, but Celestia recovered with incredible haste.
“You are, as always, correct about my need in change of taste palette,” Celestia nodded respectfully toward him in an attempt to soothe his ego. “However, I find that I have developed rather… exotic tastes quite recently.”
She eyed Discord meaningfully, awaiting a response from King Sombra.
After a long, uncomfortable silence, in which Discord fretfully awaited his fate, Sombra finally let out a grunt.
“Fine,” he rolled his eyes. “Just bring it back when you’re done with it. And wash it. I don’t need it stinking up my laboratory.”
“Thank you ever so much for you graciousness, Father,” Celestia bowed deeply, hiding her grin of success.
“Yeah, great,” Sombra continued along his way distractedly, the sound of clopping hooves filling the empty hall once again. “Try not to break this one.”
They watched him leave for a few moments, after which Celestia let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Really?” Discord asked with a smirk. “That was your plan? ‘Daddy, can I have this one?’”
“Not now,” Celestia hissed nervously out of the side of her mouth. “Follow me closely, servant.”
With that, she took off in the opposite direction, leading Discord toward yet another wing of the palace. With the numerous amount of armored guards that they passed, it was no wonder that she wished him to keep his silence. Again, to Discord’s surprise, not a single one of them seemed to be under any kind of obedience spell; meaning that they served either out of loyalty, or outright fear.
He supposed it made a sort of sense. Easier to brainwash only a vital few rather than an entire kingdom.
Then again, Discord wouldn’t put it past Sombra to actually try to brainwash an entire kingdom.
Celestia eventually steered Discord toward her personal sleeping quarters, which was located at the top of a tall, spiraling tower on one end of the palace. She latched the door quietly behind them, relief again flooding her features as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
Her room was rather small, in comparison to the rest of the palace’s rooms; a quaint, round bed and a small fireplace, with an open window.
“Now,” she said breathlessly, beginning to pace. “Now comes the dangerous part.”
“Oh, joy,” Discord said sarcastically. “Just what I wanted; to put my own life in mortal peril.”
“Would you prefer to remain my father’s servant for the rest of your days?” Celestia quipped, leaving him feeling rather inadequate with no comeback.
Ergo, he improvised.
“So…” Discord tapped his talons together, grinning. “… ‘All the stallions you were provided with’ hmm?”
Celestia actually flushed upon his remark, but silently pulled a small gem from a hidden bag beneath her bed.
“Belay that,” Celestia frowned, levitating the small crystal before Discord so that he could more closely inspect it. “Tell me, servant; do you know what this is?”
“I have a name, you know,” he replied grumpily, but clutched the colorless crystal in his paw regardless. Celestia paused, staring at him for a moment.
“I-I was, well. I see. And… what, may I ask, is your name?” Celestia asked quietly.
“Sweet Sassy Molassy.”
“What a peculiar name,” she furrowed her brows.
“Yeah, I’m lying,” he scoffed. “It’s Discord.”
Celestia nodded.
“Very well… ‘Discord’. To business. Do you know what this is?” she eyed the crystal he held.
“Let me guess,” Discord shifted uncomfortably. “You stole one of your father’s gems?”
“Not quite,” Celestia paced excitedly. “Discord, did you know that beneath this very castle lies an enormous cavern, completely filled to the brim with identical crystals of enormous size?”
… Oh, I do NOT like where this is going.
“Well, I do now,” Discord deadpanned.
“My father has been interested – no, obsessed – with discovering a method to convert matter into raw energy,” Celestia said breathlessly. “He has gained such tunnel-vision that he fails to see the impending doom that draws upon him, even now. Father believes that, should he finally attain the power to do so, he shall obtain the potential to make himself virtually immortal.”
“I don’t know what that has to do with me,” Discord said honestly.
“I’m getting there,” Celestia paced back and forth. “It was Father that discovered this crystal cavern in the first place, prompting his research into the exchange of magical energies between crystals. What he does not know, however,” she said slowly, ceasing her pacing. “Is that deep within his mines, there was discovered… an artifact.”
“Dramatic,” Discord replied in a bored tone, leaning against Celestia’s small writing desk. “And I suppose you’re going to pull some Deus Ex Machina out of your flank?”
“… For a draconequus, you are quite rude,” Celestia frowned at him.
“Hey,” Discord shrugged. “If I have the freedom to speak, I’m going to exercise it. It feels good.”
Celestia snorted.
“Freedom of speech,” she chuckled. “Such an inane notion.”
“Still don’t know what this has to do with me,” Discord pointed at the small crystal.
“Quite simple, actually,” Celestia stated. “You see, Luna and I have secretly begun collecting these artifacts one by one, and through much research through archives, have discovered what they might be. In some texts, they are holy relics, claimed to be gifts from the Titans themselves. Other speculations claim that they are referred to as the ‘Elements of Harmony’.”
“Sounds stupid,” Discord shrugged again. “I’m not exactly looking forward to betting my life on some dusty old books.”
“… You certainly aren’t very optimistic, are you?”
“You could just command me to be,” Discord responded dryly. “And I still don’t know what you’re getting at.”
“… By the Night, I swear that you’re as impatient as my father.”
“Sometime tonight, Princess,” Discord tapped his tail against the desk.
Celestia drew in a deep breath through her teeth, thinking.
“Obviously, Lulu and I are incapable of activating these ‘Elements’ without a proper catalyst,” she continued. “I have yet to discover precisely what that may be, but it appears to relate to the energy conversion of these crystals.”
“But what does that have to do with me?” Discord asked in honest confusion.
“… Discord, do you know why father keeps a draconequus for his magical research?” Celestia asked softly.
“Not a clue.”
“Because,” she explained. “The jewels from the crystal cavern bear great similarities to the artifacts that we recovered. In that aspect, they can only be fueled by a draconequus.”
“… Interesting,” he tapped his chin, genuinely attentive. “Any theories as to why that is?”
“I am uncertain, although Luna speculates that it may be because these ‘Elements’ also seem to maintain a form of… ‘duality’, if you will. There appears to be something that we are still missing, some element that is required to offset the supposed harmony of these artifacts. Regardless, every single piece of information we have recovered refers to these artifacts as a form of gateway to life eternal.”
“And you expect me to… activate these ‘Elements’ for you?” Discord asked.
“Yes,” Celestia bowed her head. “Should you do so, not only shall we finally usurp Father from his throne and free this land from his chokehold, but the idea of eternal life is… most appealing to me,” she admitted.
Discord had to acknowledge the possibility behind living forever. However, the thought that immediately followed that one was the obedience spell.
Forced to remain a mindless servant.
Forever.
Discord shuddered, repulsed.
“I suppose I don’t really have much of a choice in the matter, now do I?” he said finally.
Celestia stood on the balcony in silence, watching the moon as it slowly danced across the sky.
“… Discord,” Celestia said with some difficulty, brushing a lock of rosy mane from her face. “There is a great chance that neither of us shall survive this venture.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that,” he crossed his arms as he stood next to her. “A shame. I was just starting to enjoy your company, too.”
Celestia stared at him for a long moment, and he met her eyes.
After a few moments, she simply shook her head and smiled.
“Would you care for a potential last meal?”
Discord blinked incredulously as she slowly led him back inside.
“Come. Satisfy some of my… exotic tastes.”
0-0-0-0-0
0-0-0-0-0
“Quickly, Discord! Quickly!”
“Oh, but I’m the impatient one,” Discord rattled, the magic draining out of him in larger and heavier bursts.
“Time is of the essence! You must make haste!” Celestia frowned, ruffling her wings.
“Y-yes M-Mast-er,” he wheezed, the constant magical drain taking an enormous toll on him. Celestia gave him a saddened, pained look, but bowed her head.
The hefty stones inscribed with strange insignias levitated around them, each rock individually emanating a brilliant, blinding glow. The light struck nearly every crystal in the enormous cavern, reflecting and singing through the air with so many beams of light that Discord lost track.
Six stones in total, whirling and dancing through the air as they steadily picked up speed. Celestia was awestruck at the sudden reaction from Discord’s magic, but Luna was the most fascinated with observing the Elements of Harmony sashaying about them, waltzing amongst the air as if the heavy stones weighed no more than a butterfly’s breath.
Discord was significantly less enchanted.
“It’s not working…!” he grunted in panic, straining to keep the trickle of magic flowing into the Elements as they began to falter.
“Very well,” Celestia nodded, signaling to Luna. “We shall lend you our strength; however much that we may. Sister?”
“Ready,” Luna braced herself eagerly, the azure mare’s horn tip alighting as she summoned as much power as she could. She held her breath unconsciously, lowering her head and dispersing burst after burst of magic, alongside Celestia, who in turn transferred it all to Discord.
The more magic that was conveyed to the draconequus, the faster that the stones flew around them; spurting erratically back and forth as the multicolored lights they emitted began to blur, a whirlwind blossoming forth. Intermittent gusts of wind billowed and buffeted the trio, barely keeping the Elements from turning inward and transforming the high speed light show into a slew of deadly projectiles.
“Just a – hnng! – a little more!” Celestia shouted over the roar of the tempest, her strained voice drowned out by the titanic bellow beginning to spout from the Elements as they grew brighter and brighter.
“Tia!” Luna gasped, wavering as the course of the stones steadily became more wild and unpredictable. “Something is wrong!”
Celestia attempted to reply, but was interrupted when the entire cavern shuddered, a gargantuan rumbled echoing deep from within its depths and straight to the miniscule entrance from which they had scrambled into. A couple of crystalline stalactites splintered with the force of the earthquake, splintering at the roots and plummeting to the ground, where they shattered with violent explosions of glittering rain.
“Faster… faster…!” Discord grinned fervently, the unprecedented amounts of power pumping through him filling him with an elation the likes of which he had never known. So much power…!
It was incredible to him; the raw, snapping chords of power rippling through the Elements as their dance became more and more acrimonious and anarchic. The sheer, unfathomable depths of unbridled, barely contained pandemonium. It was vast, eternal; such a flowing and impossible thing, permeating the very air. And more than that – it responded to his touch, to his will – his will – it called his name.
It called to Discord.
It was alive.
… Interesting.
And to Discord, it was a beautiful, tear jerking and awe inspiring thing.
At least, until the intense rush of coursing magic wore off, and the infinite well of chaos suddenly became a predominately gaping maw of terror rather than a thing of beauty.
The Elements whizzed about, bashing back and forth into each other as polychrome sparks erupted from the whirlwind around them, sizzling into the floor as the maelstrom grew. Celestia seemed to have understood the impending danger, even more so than Luna.
“Discord, stop!” Celestia shouted to make herself heard, ceasing her flow of magic into him. Her mane began glowing with a dim light, echoing along with her sister’s sudden sheen. However, Discord no longer required assistance; crackling, shuddering waves of strength emanated from somewhere else, and a bizarre red tint burned in his eyes.
All that power.
So… much… POWER!
“Stop?” he cackled, casting out his arms and displaying the bedlam and turmoil brewing larger around them. “I can’t stop this! We can’t stop it now!”
“Tia-Celestia, what’s happening?” Luna shrieked as the Elements blasted through the air, cracking from their stony prisons and burning lasting images into the sky.
“The Elements are conflicting,” Celestia replied quietly, thoroughly unheard by her sister as she finally understood. “They cannot exist in conjunction with –”
“Chaos,” Discord beamed at her, lightning rippling across his talons.
“Discord,” Celestia began cautiously, aware of what he was about to attempt. “You cannot attempt such a feat; such a thing is too destructive – you won’t survive!”
“Well?” the draconequus beamed at her as another of the Elements settled over her, silently sidling into her as her mane began to alight with numerous brilliant colors. Oddly, he still managed to make himself heard, regardless of the violent gale. “What’s the matter, Princess? Is this not what you wanted?”
“Discord, I – said – stop!” Celestia panicked, the burning lights of the Elements fully settling into them as the cyclone ripped into the floor and walls around them, shredding crystals like so much paper.
“… No.”
And with that, Discord cupped her face in his talons, kissed her as passionately as he could, and leapt directly into the very maw of chaos itself.
0-0-0-0-0
Discord occasionally speculated as to whether or not it could have been his embrace of unfathomable power that led to his recovery of memory. Maybe the powers of chaos had seen fit to grant him something that had been utterly destroyed, simply to balk at the rules of reality.
Or perhaps he made them all up in his head, and he was even madder than he thought.
Regardless, Discord gazed from everywhere and nowhere upon memories that might not have ever been, pondering.
How long had it been since he’d done so; or, rather, how long had he been doing so?
Chaos was a tricky thing.
Even to Discord, it was something nigh imperceptible. Even attempting to reason or make sense of it was lunacy.
But to Discord, such a thing was bliss. Unwarranted, unrestrained, completely flawed and unstable mayhem. It was joy itself.
It was freedom.
0-0-0-0-0
Rainbow Dash could be seen holding Pinkie Pie closely on the steps to the palace, each of them sitting silently as the sun rose higher into the sky.
Fluttershy endeavored to make toward her friends to comfort them, but Applejack cut her off. She and Rarity, the pair having left Twilight to her ‘discussion’ with Princess Celestia in the throne room, stood at the entrance to the castle.
“Um, excuse me, Applejack,” Fluttershy nodded politely. “But I’d really –”
“Best t’just let ‘em heal on their own, darlin’,” Applejack said somberly.
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Applejack on this one, darling,” Rarity tutted. “A little space is just what they need for the moment.”
Fluttershy, conflicted, rubbed her foreleg uncomfortably.
“I-I know you think so,” she said guardedly. “But I would personally feel much better if I could let them know that they still have friends that are here for them, and care very much.”
Ever so slowly, Rainbow Dash raised a single hoof without looking back.
“Good to know,” she said lowly, but loudly enough for them to hear before returning to holding her friend.
Rarity snorted, and Applejack chortled quietly as a heat rose in Fluttershy’s cheeks.
As for Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, their conversation took place in a much quieter tone.
“Pinkie,” Dash continued, rustling uncomfortably. “Why didn’t you just tell me how you felt before?”
The dismayed mare failed to answer immediately.
“I –” Pinkie choked. “… I tried to.”
Rainbow Dash was thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded pensively.
“… I’m sorry I didn’t listen,” Dash whispered, hugging her tighter.
“… Does this mean that we can spend more time together?” Pinkie asked hopefully.
“I don’t see why not,” Rainbow Dash grinned. “But only if you stop beating yourself up. Okay?”
“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Pinkie Promise.”
After a moment, in which Dash could have sworn she saw Pinkie’s mane… inflate slightly, Pinkie Pie poked her gently in the chest.
“Okay, but you have to stop being mad at Twi and refusing to forgive her. That’s not a good thing.”
A gloomy look passed over Rainbow Dash’s face, and her expression went blank. After a few moments, she struggled for words.
“Forgive her? She’s my friend,” Rainbow Dash shook her head slowly. “She did what she thought she had to do to protect me, even if she was wrong; Twilight thought that she was doing the right thing, looking out for a friend. I can forgive her for that, I guess... But stop being mad?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled darkly, somber and serious expression returning.
“No. No, I think I’m still going to be mad at Twilight for a long, long time.”
Pinkie frowned. “Holding grudges is bad for your health.”
“So is suicide,” Rainbow Dash quipped quietly, and Pinkie regretfully hung her head. Dash only hugged her more closely, though, and they both fell silent for a while and listened to the birds chirping.
0-0-0-0-0
Rainbow Dash waited every day for Discord’s return.
Every day that dragged by, every night spent wondering injured her and scratched at the back of her mind. Dash continuously half expected Discord to simply leap out of thin air with a flash, a bang and a maniacal grin, that everything would go back to the way it was and she wouldn’t hurt so much anymore.
At first, they all feared that he would indeed return, and it would be an absolute repeat of the last time he wreaked havoc across Equestria. But there were no cotton candy clouds, no chocolate rainstorms or wild spasms of unexpected everything running rampant through the land.
Discord didn’t come back to her.
Not even Twilight, with the assistance of Princess Celestia herself, managed to track him down. Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash never truly stopped missing him, even though Pinkie Pie was bound and determined to help her forget about him.
In lieu of lending more of her attention to Pinkie Pie, of course, which Pinkie was all too happy to accept.
As such, life for Rainbow Dash slowly but surely began to return to normal. She performed Sonic Rainbooms on a regular basis, much to the annoyance of several of Ponyville’s inhabitants. She gradually became more accustomed to Pinkie Pie as the two grew closer, and for the first time in a long, long time, Rainbow Dash was finally at a sort of peace again. For once, everything seemed like it was going to turn out alright, and the light within her burned just as bright as before.
At least, Rainbow Dash believed so, until she found herself staring in horror once again into the cold, unforgiving eyes of Master.
0-0-0-0-0
Oh, yeah.
There's a sequel.
Author's Note
There is a light in the heart of all things.
In the absence of light, it is a simple matter for darkness to overwhelm even the vastest reaches.
However, shed but a little light, and one finds that even the greatest of shadows is dispelled in a single instant.
