The Vile Knife

Chapter three.

The kingdom of the mind.

In the depths of your tortured mind, strange shapes and sounds race around your head, like dry leaves caught in a strong wind. A series of disjointed images flash before your eyes: A blue box. A burning city. A ticking clock. A black cat. A white raven. A pale corpse impaled on a barbed spear. These images whirl away before you can discern any detail from them. A war-horn sounds, long and loud. Steel clashes against steel. And suddenly it goes deathly quiet, and an unfamiliar voice whispers: Are you ready?

With a brilliant flash of light, and an ear-splitting bang, you suddenly find yourself lying on the ground in an immense room. The high, arched ceiling reminds you of a cathedral. But no cathedral you've ever seen is made entirely out of black marble. An imposing throne, constructed out of blood red stone, is sat on a raised platform, directly in front of you. The thing that really surprises you, however, is the strange being occupying it.

Lounging lazily in the chair is an young man with short, white hair, and a small, pointed beard, which is also white. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't really be that unusual. However, the man possesses some more... Unusual features. Firstly, his left arm seems to be totally encased in steel plates, along with several pistons to facilitate movement. The fingers of the gauntlet taper down to razor-sharp points, forming vicious talons. His right eye seems to have been replaced with a glowing green light. The area surrounding his eye has been replaced with metallic plates. His left eye, however, is perfectly normal, except that it is yellow and has a vertical pupil, giving him a snake-like appearance. The clothes that he wears look like they have been constructed by stitching together various rags and pieces of fabric, making it look like a multi-coloured patchwork quilt. Finally, and perhaps most bizarrely, an impossibly long, thin, dagger-like tooth protrudes from the left hand side of his mouth.

He raises his left arm and begins to inspect the deadly talons with a detached, almost bored air. He flexes his fingers experimentally. As he moves, the pistons emit short jets of steam. Finally, he slowly turns his head, and looks down at you from his elevated position upon his throne.

"Oh, good. You're here." He drawls. His voice is warm and richly layered, with a slight accent that you just can't quite place.

"Are you going to stand up, or do you intend to spend the rest of your life lying on the ground?"

It is an innocent enough question, but you can't help but notice the malicious intent lurking behind it. Slowly, you struggle to your feet.

"There we go! Much better!" He cries. Suddenly, he leaps upwards, landing a moment later with cat-like grace. He clasps his hands together benind his back, and begins to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Obviously, you're wondering where you are, and why you're here." He declares, with a touch of pomposity in his voice.

"As a reply to the first part of your question, you are nowhere and everywhere at the same time". He continues. "And as to why you're here, it's really rather simple. You're here because I wanted you to be." He smiles wickedly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

You open your mouth to speak, but he waves an imperious hand in the air, and continues: "No need to thank me, I'm just doing what I do best. I don't need your name either; I've been watching you for some time. However, you know nothing about me, so allow me to introduce myself: Discord, God of Chaos, at your service."

He bows majestically, and raucous applause echoes around the chamber, as thousands of unseen hands clap enthusiastically. Discord straightens up, and the sound vanishes.

"Thank you, thank you! You're too kind, I'm sure. Anyway, where was I? ...Ah, yes. I'm have... A particular problem that I want you to help me with. Let me explain my predicament." He snaps his fingers, and a large armchair suddenly appears behind you. In the blink of an eye, he is sat back down on his throne, almost as if he hadn't even moved in the first place.

"Please, sit down." You don't move, but you sway on your feet as you are suddenly assailed by the urge to sit. He stares at you blankly for a second, and then narrows his eyes. His gleeful smile fades suddenly

"Sit." He growls. After a few seconds, you plant yourself heavily in the armchair. He smiles brightly, clearly pleased with himself.

He leans backward into his throne, placing his feet on a footrest that has appeared out of thin air. He folds his arms behind his head, and looks at you contemptuously. Then he begins to talk.

"As you may or may not know, I am currently imprisoned against my will. My physical form is currently trapped inside a stone statue, and my current surroundings reflect this fact. You think I stay here because I like it? Of course not!" He gestures with one hand at his surroundings, before continuing.

"Now, whilst I may be imprisoned physically, I can still reach out mentally. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now. What I need is for somebody to set me free. Normally, you'd simply have to cause a minor case of chaos in the vicinity of the prison of my physical form. However, the statue I am attached to is currently locked away in a secret underground vault, that only Celestia and Luna themselves can open, and I doubt that you could persuade either of them to allow you access. So, what I need is more chaos. And lots of it. Something like a small war should do the trick. Or murdering some important political figures. That always gets them panicking..."

He laughs quietly, coughs, and begins to speak again.

"...And that's exactly what I want you to do. You already know the elements of harmony, am I right? I want you to kill them. You don't need to kill them all; Two or three should be more than enough. Plus, I have a personal grudge against the elements, they die, I get free, It's all good. And you, my friend, can have anything you want in return for this service. Wealth. Power. Fame. It's all yours, as long as you agree to my deal..."

He pauses for a few seconds, and puts a finger to his lips, as if contemplating something.

"...Of course, I'll need some kind of collateral. Just for security, you understand... Ah, yes, I'll take your sanity. You'll be unconsciously drawn to the elements, and you'll also be filled with murderous rage. Other than that, you won't remember a thing about this conversation. Oh, and the longer you take doing the job, the more things you'll forget. Just to keep you on your toes, you understand. Now, do we have a deal?"

You stand there, your head buzzing with thoughts. Wealth. Power. Fame. At the cost of temporary insanity... Seems like a tough choice. You ponder the question for what seems like hours. Finally, the most basic feeling of humankind takes over: Greed. You stand up, and ascend the steps to the throne. Grasping Discord's outstretched hand, you shake it gladly.

"It's a deal." You say.

He smiles happily, his teeth flashing, and replies: "Excellent..."

And then the vision is suddenly swallowed by the inky blackness once again.