Madness and Chaos

Chapter Two

"Wait, what about the statue?" asked the draconequus, walking into the swirling vortex.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've got it covered," replied the mysterious Unicorn who was just moments ago speaking to the air. As he and Discord left the sight of the guard that was cowering behind the edge of the hedge wall, a new statue materialized on the pedestal that the recently released spirit once stood on, only oddly posed.

As the portal closed, the guard dropped to his knees in shock, not sure if what he saw had truly happened.

"Discord, free, again? That can't be, it's impossible, no way it should be. I, I have, have to...," his ears perked up as his ears tuned back to the regal trumpets sounding from Canterlot Tower. He turned his head to gaze upon the massive spire, and a look of determination grew in his eyes. "I warn Princess Celestia."

Struggling, he got this hooves, still weak from the shock, and he sped into Canterlot Castle. He blazed through the halls, nearly missing turns and occasionally tripping up the palace staff. He ran so hard his hooves ached, but he ignored the pain knowing the princess need this news right away.

As he came up to the massive doors to the tower, he threw all his weight against them and forced them open. Lying on the ground, tired from his sprint through the castle, being greeted by the eyes and gasps of the hundreds of attendants and the Princess herself, he gathered his breath to deliver his message.

"Princess... Celestia, we have... *gasp* a problem!" panted the guard.

"What is it?" asked the princess, curious to know what had this guard so worried.

"It's Discord: HE'S ESCAPED!" cried the guard in panic.

There was a brief pause in the room before everypony in attendance burst out in laughter. "Yeah, sure bud." "How long have you been asleep?" "Were you in a coma or something?" "What an idiot." The more the crowd laughed and mocked the guard, the more he sunk closer the ground, and the more Celestia's gaze became serious.

"Silence!" commanded Celestia in her royal canterlot voice, which quickly silenced the crowd's jeering. She then cleared her throat and looked back at the guard, who had become a small quivering ball of gold armor and white fur with eyes. "Now then, you were saying?"

"Discord, your highness, he escaped again."

"How is that possible? He was just sealed away not a few days ago," questioned Twilight Sparkle, trying to make sense of the guards news.

"Everypony, stay here. The guards will keep you safe in here while we try to sort this out. Twilight, you and your friends come with me," commanded Celestia in a serious voice. "You as well, guardsmen. We will need to know what exactly happened."

"Yes, your majesty," nodded the guard, once again getting to his hooves.

"Yes, Princess," nodded Twilight, "Alright ladies, lets go!"

As Celestia, the guard, Twilight and her friends made their way to the sculpture gardens, a feeling of dread began to settle in the pit of Celestia's stomach. She had no idea how Discord had escaped his prison prematurely, nor did she want to accept the fact he had, but he needed to be found and sealed again before he began his evil reign again, no matter the cost.

***

Celestia, the guard, and the bearers of the Elements stood in the sculpture garden where Discord's new statue stood. As Twilight and her friends examined the area, the princess trotted over to the unnerved guard, "Now, would you please tell me what exactly happened here? Did you see anything? Such how Discord escaped or where he went?" asked Celestia in her normal, reassuring tone.

"I was just patrolling the gardens, as usual, when I over heard somepony talking," stammered the guard with Celestia listening intently, "I went to examine who was there, since nopony is supposed to be in the gardens until further notice. As I followed the voice, it seemed like he was talking to the wind. As I approached the clearing here, I saw Discord fly above the hedge walls, only to fall down seconds later."

"So you're saying Discord does not possess the ability to fly anymore?" inquired the princess.

"No, it was like he was turned back to stone mid-flight," explained the guard, "I quickly trotted over to where I saw Discord fall and that's when I saw the pony I heard talking to his statue, which was then lying on the ground."

"What did this pony look like?" asked Celestia.

"He was a  brown unicorn with a white mane and beard, and wore this odd purple and gold suit."

"Go on."

"I was about to approach him and tell him the gardens were currently off limits when I saw his horn glow. Seconds later, Discord was free again," explained the guard, "He then opened this swirling, purple, thing and they both left through it but not before leaving that in Discord's place," he motioned to the new statue, which Pinkie was lying on the ground next to giggling her tail off, "I didn't see anything else after that, I then ran to warn you of what happened."

"A swirling thing, you mean a vortex?" ask Twilight as she over heard the guard regaling the princess of what transpired. "Are you sure that's what you saw?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"Can you show me where it was?"

"It was over there," motioned the guard with his hoof.

Twilight lit up her horn and walked over to where the guard said the vortex was, tracing her horn through the air.  Her horn grew i bright lavender color which pulsated violently, which gave her a mild headache. "Oh no, this can't be good."

"What's wrong, sugar cube?" asked Applejack, knowing if Twilight thinks something magical is trouble, it likely is.

"From what I can tell, the vortex that was here left a massive magical imprint here. It's almost overwhelming," said Twilight, bringing her head back up and shaking off her headache. "The power used to create this portal ripped a hole in our dimensional wall creating a link between our world and another," explained Twilight with a worried look on her face..

"Um, could you explain that in English, please?" groaned Rainbow Dash as she crossed her hooves.

Rolling her eyes in frustration, Twilight let out loud sigh and looked at Rainbow Dash. "It means who ever set Discord free is powerful enough to cancel the effects of the Elements, and possibly rip our world apart."

"Oh...," said Rainbow with a look of horror about her. She then looked to Celestia nervously, "Princess, um, do you know of anyone that could do that? I mean, you are the ruler of our land and all."

Celestia looked back at the blue pegasus, "I'm afraid I don't, Ms. Dash. In all my years of ruling Equestria, very few ponies have even come close to rivaling my power, and my power pales in comparison to what the Elements of Harmony can do."

"What do you mean your power only rivals the Elements?" asked Applejack.

"From what I know, the Elements themselves are the embodiment of Harmony and Order, and their power is sustained by the will of their wielders," she stated wholesomely, "However, if their users become disconnected, their power diminishes, just like when Discord escaped the first time."

"But we can still use the Elements," stated Twilight

"I know, Twilight, this is extremely concerning. There is no one I can think of who could do anything like..." Celestia stopped, remembering something from long ago.

"What is it?" asked Twilight.

"Perhaps, who ever set Discord free, was the one who brought him here to begin with."

"Whaa...?" asked the six mares collectively.

"Follow me and I will explain. Guard, you can have the rest of the day off," Celestia said, adressing their confused looks.

"Thank you, Princess," thanked the guard, making a quick kneel and then trotting off to the barracks.

As the guard left, Celestia led Twilight and her friends back into the castle and into Celestia's private library. Celestia move a few books around revealing a far more ancient tome. She opened it to a page showing a scene of ancient Equestria. "Thousands of years ago, around when Luna and myself had just been accepted as the rulers of Equestria, came a mysterious being from far-away," she turned the page to reveal a picture of a Unicorn with a grey mane and wearing purple regalia, "He addressed himself as Sheogorath, God of Madness"

"Ugh," Scoffed Rarity as she looked at the depiction of the oddly dressed pony, "God of Madness, more like God of Tackiness."

"Sheogorath? You mean Sheo the trickster? I thought he was just an old mare's-tale to teach children not to pull pranks." asked Twilight, rubbing her hoof against the side of her head in thought.

"A prankster huh? Looks like me and Pinkie have got some competition Oof!" began Rainbow jokingly before Applejack hoofed her in the side.

"Now's not the time, Dash."

"You are right, Twilight, that Sheo and Shoegorath are one in the same, but he is far from just a mare's-tale." Celestia stated seriously, turning the page again depicting scenes of chaos. "When he first arrived, he simply pulled tricks here and there, but over time his "pranks" became more aggressive. What started as water replaced with cheese or cotton candy quickly escalated to burning animals, maddening visions, and even murders." At the mentioning of murder, the six mares gasped in astonishment, especially Fluttershy, who nearly fainted. "Indeed, Sheogorath was quickly becoming a menace. Many tried various methods of subduing him, even magic, but nothing seemed to work. Luna and I were forced to use the one thing we were sure would work."

Celestia turned the page again showing her and Luna wielding the Elements and attempting to use them against Sheogorath. "My sister and I tried to use the power of the Elements of Harmony to banish Sheogorath, forcing him out of our dimension. Unfortunately, the beam simply died out as it hit him. He then opened a vortex, much like the one the guard described, and left willingly."

"Wait, he left? Even though the Elements didn't work?" ask Rainbow in confusion. "Why'd he do that?"

"It was likely because he became bored and he left Discord to rule in his stead." Celestia further explained as she turned the page to show Sheogorath leaving and Discord's rise to power. "Why he chose to return and release Discord now, I don't know."

"But why didn't the Elements work on him?"

"That I don't have an answer to, to this day it confounds me. It also makes him and Discord even greater threats. I don't know if they have any plans for Equestria, but we can't just wait idly by and see if they comes again to disrupt the peace we just reestablished." stated Celestia with an uncharacteristically aggressive tone. "I need you six to once again wield the Elements to preserve Equestria, but I fear you may have to leave here to do so."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" asked Applejack with a concerned look in her eyes.

"I'm afraid so, Applejack. You need to follow Sheogorath and Discord to where they went. A place, if I remember correctly, he called the Shivering Isles."

Okay, I want to apologize for the long gap in updates, things have been getting really busy for me and I've been too tired to do much writing. Also you'll notice I've edited this chapter a bit to help the flow of the story, but don't worry, the next chapter will be all about Discord and Sheogorath. I hope you're all still reading this and I hope you enjoy what I have in store.