Chapter One: A chaotic house call.
The small house shuddered as the lightning cracked the heavens, briefly ending Luna’s night and illuminating the chaos that was going on above. Pink clouds had started down pouring chocolate milk all across an isolated section Ponyville. The rest held onto the inky darkness on the night. This small corner of our land was home to a one Sunny Daze. A young Earth pony filly that was supposedly causing all this commotion. During a field trip to Canterlot gardens one of the prisoners had managed to escape. However leaving the stone prison which kept him at bay in perfect condition.
A lone figure stood at the door to the house and knocked loudly on the door. All the window shutters were latched shut and a soft nonsensical could be heard on the wind. The door slowly opened to reveal a small face peering around the door, Peachy Pie looked into the chaotic outside world trying to see who was there. The sky bellowed once again as the thunder drowned out the world around her swiftly followed by the lightning which revealed her visitor. A unicorn wearing heavy mud covered boots, a thick black overcoat and strangest of all a bird mask with little glass eye holes that hid their face. A black hat sat on top of this strange mask and was dealing with the chocolate rain quite well. The stranger stared down on Peachy Pie and tilted their head slightly, examining the filly stood there. Peachy just looked back gazing into that horrifying white mask.
“Good evening young filly, I was summoned here to deal with a paranormal oddity. May I come in?” Said what was obviously a mare much older than Peachy Pie.
She nodded and opened the door fully allowing the candle light to illuminate the door step. The masked figure wiped her muddy boots on the mat and walked inside the house. Peachy shut the door behind her. The older mare’s horn glowed a delightfully coloured purple and began removing her dripping wet attire. A few seconds later a pair of worn saddle bags had appeared from under her overcoat and were levitating in the air.
“What’s your name?” Asked a very shaky Peachy Pie who was standing behind the mysterious mare.
“Call me Medicus.” She said, turning around to look at the filly. “I believe your name is Peachy Pie? Friend of Sunny Daze?”
Peachy’s faced looked even more alarmed. “How do you know my name?” She asked in a cautious and concerned manor.
Medicus levitated the saddle bags towards her and out floated a scroll. She unravelled it and gave it to Peachy. “Is there perhaps somewhere we can sit down and discuss this? It is a rather complicated and delicate matter.”
Peachy once again nodded and lead Medicus down the hall. From upstairs a loud thud caused the ceiling to shake, some pieces flaked off and floated down onto the floor. The young filly’s pace quickened to what was a dining room. It was a cramped room with barely enough room to squeeze in a table and a couple chairs let alone any pony else. The two mares sat down at the table and Medicus began to explain her reason for being here. She pointed a hoof to the scroll in Peachy Pie’s grasp.
“Please be aware what I am about to tell you is highly secret information and could cause panic across Equestria if the public was to learn of it.” Medicus said in a muffled voice as she was still wearing the ghost white mask. “I was summoned here by Princess Celestia to recapture an escaped paranormal convict from Canterlot gardens. Earlier this week when your class visited the gardens for a field trip the prisoner named Discord escaped his stone prison without damaging it. Based on the strange weather patterns and absence of Sunny Daze I have been sent to investigate and deal with the situation. I suspect Discord has managed to release his spirit from his prison and attach it to Sunny Daze.”
Peachy was entranced by the scroll in her hoof. Reading along to what Medicus was telling her. She raised her head up from the parchment and was white as a sheet. The room remained deathly silent for a few moments, the only noise coming from the rain outside and the occasional howl of the wind.
Medicus levitated her saddle bag up onto the table and took the scroll from Peachy Pie. She packed it back into the bag and turned to the second bag, it was locked. “I take it from your expression that my information and theory is correct.” She took out a key from her pocket and unlocked the bag. Out of it flew a dusty battered brown book with a gold symbol on the front. The entire front cover was shredded and had red splodges dotted across it. There was writing on it but nothing even closely resembling English or any language Peachy had seen before.
Noticing Peachy’s curiosity with the old book Medicus said “Best to forget you saw this book, it’s not to be trifled with.” She said whilst flicking through the pages.”
Medicus’s white beak was inches from the faded pages of the book, she poured over it for a while and mumbled before snapping it shut again. “Okay, where is Sunny? I need to examine her to make sure the spirit of Discord is here.”
Peachy looked up at the ceiling and pointed with a shaking hoof. “She’s upstairs, in her room. I... I had to bar the door.”
Medicus got to her hoofs and gestured to Peachy to take the lead. She got up and began to lead the way up to Sunny’s room. The stairs creaked and cracked as they moved up them. A heavy almost insane laughter echoed through the upstairs landing and just made it downstairs before dying out. The candles lighting the way shivered as the sound passed by, some dying out completely. A strong few remained lit and showed the way up the staircase.
The upstairs of the house was striking to say the least. The walls were covered in what looked like black ivy except with thorns and no leaves. It crept along from bottom of the hall all the way towards the staircase that Medicus and Peachy had just come up.
“Oh no, no, no! Its spreading! No!” Shouted Peachy. Her eyes darting back and forth across the hall. “It was only half this size earlier!”
Medicus walked up to the wall and examined it through her mask. She reached out a hoof and pressed it against the plant like substance. A blood red coloured pulse shot through it, the limbs of the plant began to disintegrate. Peachy looked on in amazement. This substance was just melting away at the touch of this mares hoof.
“Vine creep” Said Medicus. “He’s here.” A fire had been lit in the mares eyes as they followed the creep to one of the doors down the hall. She walked down the hallway towards Sunny’s room. Peachy quickly followed and watched as the vines ran and cowered as Medicus waved it away.
The door was barricaded shut with a long iron bar and a chair propped up against the door handle. A few strands of the black vine had forced their way out through the gaps in the door frame into the hall. Medicus knelt down in front of the bar and using magic quickly raised herself up. The movement caused the barrier to snap in two as though it was a twig. She then turned to face Peachy.
“When I go inside I need you to bar the door again and wait for me to say it’s safe. There is no telling what Discord may try and do once he learns I am here.”
Peachy put on a brave face and looked Medicus right in the eyes through the mask. “Okay. I can do that.” This was followed by a deep breath.
“Okay, I’m going to open the door.” Said Medicus. “1, 2, 3. Go!”
The door swung open, Medicus darted inside and slammed it shut again. A thud echoed through the wood as Peachy pushed the back of the chair under the handle and sat on it.
Upon first inspection of Sunny’s room Medicus couldn’t see anything. It was darker than it was outside in the rain! She lit the tip of her horn and scanned the room for Sunny. It was a big room adorned with all the things you would expect a filly to have. It suddenly hit her, a pair of big yellow eyes with red pupils was maniacally glaring down at her from what seemed to be a wardrobe in the corner of the room.
“Sunny?” Inquired Medicus, assuming that this was the pony she had been sent to help.
“Sunny? Sunny is no longer with us my dear.” Replied the eyes on the wardrobe. “All that remains of her is this body that I, Discord now inhabit and call my home!”
The possessed Sunny slowly slinked off the peak of the wardrobe, his eyes not moving from Medicus’s position. Medicus remained steadfast and continued to eye Discord right back, watching his every move as he continued his decent onto the floor.
“Who might you be? I wasn’t expecting company.” Said Discord. “He waved Sunny’s hoof in front of himself and the room melted away into the blackness of night. Leaving only the two ponies in a spotlight.
“My name is Medicus. I am here to bring you in Discord. Your going back to prison!” A bright orange fire was once again lit in her eyes.
Discord burst out laughing and began to float up into the air. “You? You are going to take ME back to that poor excuse of a sculpture garden?” He said laughing even harder. “You do know who you are dealing with don’t you? The lord of chaos, the master of anarchy. Do you really think you have a chance against me, Medicus?”
“Oh I believe I do.” She replied. “The way I see it you have two choices. You either release Sunny and go back to your prison cell. Or, I destroy you here and now. It’s really all up to you.”
The chaos God stopped his laughter and looked at Medicus with thought, considering his options. He grinned. “Well by all means go ahead.” He said. “But I won’t make it easy for you.”
The room in which they were in suddenly materialised back around them swiftly followed by a purple and yellow vortex where the floor once was. It began swirling everything in the room around and around in a great chaotic hurricane. The bed, lamps even the carpet had taken flight and was swirling around the room. Medicus levitated herself off the ground and began floating towards the possessed Sunny.
“You are weak Discord.” Medicus said as she made her way to his floating body. “In this form you have only cheap tricks. That won’t be enough to spare your judgement!”
Her horn grew even brighter as she formed a firm grasp around Sunny’s body. The lord of chaos began thrashing around in midair trying to break free of Medicus’s hold on him.
The mare began chanting loudly in the unknown language from the book. As she did this Sunny’s eyes turned a bright light blue and began to burn.
“AHHHH!” Discord shrieked. “No! I refuse to go back there!”
The fire began to grow brighter. Discord could feel his control on Sunny’s body weakening. He mustered all the magical energy he had left in his stolen body and managed to teleport out of Medicus’s grasp. The beautiful chaos that he had created faded from the room. The objects whipping around the room crashed back down onto the floor swiftly. He lay on the floor drenched in sweat and panting. Medicus returned herself to the floor also and looked down on Discord.
“I told you, you are no match for me in this form.” She said through her expressionless mask. “Now come along, make your choice.”
Sunny’s head looked up at Medicus, Discord’s wild eyes still present. “In that case” He panted, gasping for breath. “I shall take on a new form. How about... YOURS!”
Sunny’s mouth flew open and a large cloud of endless smoke began funnelling out of it towards Medicus. The mare attempted to dart away from the smoke but it was no use. Discord had her in his grasp now. His spirit began invading her body just as he had done to Sunny’s.
“This, This won’t work!” Medicus shouted. “I won’t let you shut away my mind and steal my body!” Her horn turned an evil dark green and began intensifying. The smoke kept pouring out of Sunny and into Medicus.
She could hear Discord’s voice inside her head. “It’s too late Medicus! I am already here! I am in control!”
Suddenly her horn shot out a huge dark green orb that engulfed them both. The room was bathed in light for a few short seconds. Once reasonable visibility was restored she looked down at Sunny’s body. The smoke was not moving and began burning away, only leaving tiny piles of ash as a reminder of what happened here.
“Looks like you made your choice. I made mine. I wish you luck in your final judgement spirit.” Medicus said to herself proudly.
She turned around to face the door when suddenly a shrill laughter filled her mind. Her vision went cloudy and a loud ringing noise could be heard for miles. Medicus fell to her knees and onto the floor in pain.
“I shall always be a part of you...”