Black murky clouds cover the dusk sky over the Badlands. A castle made of stone connects atop the highest mountain there, ruled by the god of chaos himself. He sits about twenty feet from said castle on a lower area on a large, throne-like stone. He sighs contentedly, sticking his chest out with pride as he gazed at his accomplishment. All of this land was his, and soon enough he will be controlling perhaps even the griffon kingdom. Two mares he had brainwashed are catering to him hand and foot.
“What a fine day for chaos, wouldn't you say ladies?” he sighs whimsically.
"It sure is, master Discord," moans the mint colored mare.
"Indeed, master Discord," groans the grey one. Discord looks over at a pony covered in a large cloak, a hood covering her eyes and mane. She stood on a large boulder about ten feet away that peaked over Macintosh hills, her gaze fixtures on a far away place.
"Are you feeling the chaos?" he smirks
"Yes master Discord..." she murmurs. Discord pouts and leans onto one arm.
"You really need to lighten up. It's been over ten years and you still stand there like a statue."
"Sorry master Discord."
“Could you at least get me a pillow? These stone chairs are a disaster for your back,” he groaned in slight pain, his long, snake-like body stretching as his joints cracked loudly.
“Yes, master Discord,” the mare mumbled and took flight towards the castle doors.
Just then, Discord catches a small group of ponies headed right for their grounds. He spat out a magnifying glass from his mouth strangely, and looked into it. It provided a perfect closeup, as if looking through binoculars. Through them, he saw a familiar dark gray stallion with black and green hair, with his comrades.
“What's this?” Discord questioned, a small but curious smirk on his face. The cloaked mare paused to look over her shoulder, catching sight of them as well. She landed once again and caught up to Discord. The chaos maker could only grin, as he found his source of fun for the day.
“We have guests! Oh it's been a while since we've had company!” he waves his hand, and a large group of shadow ponies appear in front of them, some donning wings while others have horns. Their bodies seemed almost as if they were a dream, their silhouettes waving and altering like water. Their only physical differences are the sets of horns or wings protruding from each one. They all stand in line and salute their master. Discord waves at them and smiles bashfully.
“Oh you,” Discord giggled with red cheeks, “Make sure our guests are... entertained.”
Charcoal and Scootaloo stand in front of the castle entrance with four other pegasi and unicorns. She looks at him and repositions the feather launcher in her hoof.
"You think we may be able to stop him?" she looks at the castle, a bit intimidated.
"We've come this far, and weeks of scouting showed that he was alone the whole time he was holed up in there." Charcoal stamps his hoof onto the ground. "If we're going to put an end to this, we have to do it now." The six of them began their trek up the mountain-like stones which used to belong to the dragons during migration. Trotting through the steep cliffs, the ponies could feel the dark ambiance thicken as they get closer to their destination. A loud boom echoes from the outside as lightning strikes near their position and the clouds darken as thick fog rolled in. Scootaloo jumps a bit and looks around.
"Yikes! That was close! I didn't know weather changed that quickly now." she observed. As she struggled to see through the fog.
"I don't think it was the weather..." Charcoal grunted, gritting his teeth.
"Right again, Charcoal Shift." chuckled a dark, familiar voice, with which they could not pinpoint the source. There was a childish laughter, followed by another, and another. The sounds begin to mix and form an ensamble of laughing children that messed with the group's psyche. The fog thins out a bit and the small group were confronted with two rows of what seemed to be ponies covered in a thick, dark aura. Charcoal stands firm, though nervous, as the rest of them take a short step back.
"What the hell are those things?!" Scootaloo shook.
"You like them? They're my own personal brand of shadow ponies," a voice echoed.
"Still a coward after all these years, aren't you?" The dark stallion smirks.
"Au contraire my little pony, I'm just playing a little game. It's like chess, only I have more pieces."
"And you think that can stop us?"
"Well it's certainly intimidating your little soldiers."
Charcoal turned to see the rest of them shaking slightly. However, Scootaloo starts to chuckle, and slowly builds to a loud laughter.
"What's so funny? Did I miss the joke?" The voice sounded a bit perplexed
"I'm not shaking out of fear." She grins "I'm shaking out of anticipation." The orange pegasus pointed her feather launcher at the large group of shadow ponies and fired off a round. An orange feather shot out of the large barrel and stuck to the ground right in front of them. There was a short silence, followed by laughter from the opposing team.
"Boom..." Scootaloo whispered as the feather begun to shine and detonate in front of the shadow ponies, killing two immediately and leaving a few others injured. The rest began to charge towards the six of them. Charcoal brushed off the first one that flanked him from the left and took down the diving pegasus with his mechanical leg. He quickly grabbed the distracted pony by the neck and chucked it towards a few others, knocking them off their hooves. Scootaloo's wings spread and she jumped up and hovered in the air, scoping out any shadow pegasi and taking them out with a shot from her launcher. The rest were able to hold their own, but were easily outnumbered. Two of the shadow ponies pinned a unicorn and had the others beat it senseless. A yellow pegasi began to clash with the enemy, only to have her wing clipped and sent spiraling into the ground, leaving Scootaloo in the air to fend for herself.
“Raindrops!” The other pegasus, Cloudchaser, yelled as she runs to the hurt pony.
“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Raindrops grunted as she rubbed her clipped wing. The two turned to see shadow ponies surrounding them with wicked grins, closing in. A blue unicorn caught sight of this and casted his magic, sending the shadow ponies away from his teammates. He rushes to them and he sees they've already gotten their hooves on the two. They were alive, but badly injured.
"I don't know how much longer this is gonna last, Charcoal!" Scootaloo yelled, picking off any shadow pegasi that dared to go airborne.
"What are you talking about? We're handling ourselves just fine!" He grunted, jabbing his broken horn into one of the shadows and tossing it across the battlefield.
"We are, but not the others!" As he was blocking an attack, Charcoal looked back to see one of the unicorns dead, both pegasi injured, and the last unicorn heavily surrounded while he was protecting the two that were still alive. The dark grey stallion knocked him off guard, sending him backwards a bit. He quickly gets to his feet and bucks the shadow that was trying to attack him, sending him flying back about five feet. His days working at the orchard had come through in the end.
“Damn,” he tisked under his breath, watching the three ponies get bombarded by their enemies.
"Scootaloo, change tactics. Protect them!" He gallops and tackles through the shadows, knocking them aside. The unicorn looks at him with relief, but his expression changes to shame and he lowers his head.
"You did what you could, Pokey. Just put a shield around the three of you and back me up."
Discord yawned and tapped on the arm rest. He was getting quite bored of the show, and wanted something more thrilling to happen. He snapped his claws and a bowl of cotton candy appears on his lap.
"I didn't think the tables would turn on them so quickly. It's a shame." he sighed.
The same hooded mare from before stepped up. "Allow me to take care of them master Discord."
"Well, that'll liven things up a bit. Take care of them, and be sure to bring back the dark one, and the pegasus will you?"
"As you wish master Discord." she gallops quickly into the battle. She looks at the two ponies guarding the rest of the group and chuckles. They managed to fight off most of the shadow ponies and only a handful are left. As they spot the hooded mare, they back off and line up in front of her in rows of two. Charcoal looks up and cringes.
"I already wasted my stamina dealing with these guys, and now there's another?" He huffed
"I'll make this quick." The mare lowered her head and sped forward. It was as if her hooves never touched the ground as she appeared behind the dark stallion and kicked him towards the center of the hall. Scootaloo returned fire with her feather launcher, but she disappeared before the feather exploded.
"Where the heck did she--" The pegasus was cut off by a swift hit to the back. She spiraled out of control and crashed next to Charcoal. They both look up to see the mare hovering in the air. She lands in front of the ponies covered in the shield and starts to pound on it with her hoof.
"Figures..." Charcoal stumbles to his hooves and rushed towards her. She sidesteps and kicks him back across the hall.
The shadow ponies dash past the the grounded ponies and begun to force their way through the shield. The unicorn grunts and tries to hold his stance.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up..." Pokey groans. Both Charcoal and Scootaloo jump up, the dark stallion charging forward while the orange pegasus provides covering fire from the back. The mare deflects the feathers and pushes back Charcoal once more. Pokey buckles under the pressure and the shield fades, giving the shadow ponies the chance to overwhelm them. Charcoal tries to fight his way through as the wounded trio are torn limb from limb by the shadows, screaming in pain. The hooded mare grins as she toys with the distressed stallion and tosses him back and forth by his tail. Scootaloo couldn't get a clear shot as she tosses him across the rocky field and uses him as meat shield. The screams dull to a murmur, and then a cold silence. The shadow ponies back off to reveal the maimed group, covered in blood and their joints bent in all the wrong places. Charcoal grits his teeth and tries to stand, but being tossed about finally wore him out.
"Have fun with them, but keep them alive, master Discord wants to deal with them first hoof." The mare smirks.
Discord laughs as the two ponies are beaten senseless and leans back onto his throne. The hooded mare returns with the two of them chained by their hooves and dragged across the floor. Both are covered in cuts and bruises and Scootaloo is unconscious from all the trauma.
"I have brought you the two that you have requested." The mare spoke.
"Very good. Remind me to reward you later, after I deal with them that is." he looks at them and grins evilly. Charcoal looks up and spits a bit of blood from his mouth.
"This isn't over Discord! You and I have a score to settle!" he roars.
"My, still holding that grudge I see? How long has it been? I've lost count."
"You're gonna pay for this... You're gonna pay!" Charcoal struggles with all his might to try and break free from the chains. Discord shakes his head and sighs.
"Ah the young and the restless..." he swipes at his chest, cutting two gashes into the stallion's chest. He grunts in pain as his blood spills onto the ground.
"This is why I have my throne outside." Discord shrugs. He releases Charcoal's chains and lifts him up by his mechanical leg.
"I love this new attachment you put on yourself." He glances at the workings of the metallic leg and proceeds to crush it within his claws. The leg short-circuits and becomes useless. He drops the semi-conscious pony to the ground and sighs in satisfaction.
"Take them to the dungeon. I'm going to enjoy torturing them." The hooded mare grabs the two of them and drags them off to the dungeon below.
Pains From The Past and The Present
The walls of the dungeon are craggy and damp, tiny droplets of water falling from the stalactites. There were several small cells in the dark room that had rusting iron bars to keep prisoners from escaping. The air was thick and had a subtle rotten smell to it. The hooded mare tossed the two of them in the cell furthest from the exit and locked the cell door before leaving. Scootaloo pushed against the bars, watching the mare disappear behind the large prison door. She looked over and saw Charcoal partially covered in his own blood. His mechanical leg was crushed at the joint, making it immobile. She tried to sit him up, which only resulted in a sharp pain shooting into his chest. The dark stallion cringed and groaned before being set back down to the floor.
"What are we going to do?" Scootaloo panicked, shaking. "There's no way out of this...We're going to die!"
Charcoal opened his mouth to tell her to calm down, but a sudden voice spooked him.
"You just gotta have hope..." a soft voice echoed from the corner of the cell. Stepping into the light was a mare covered in dirt, as if she was down here alone for weeks. She had gray fur and a messy, blond mane, with deep amber eyes staring at them through the darkness. Scootaloo took a closer look, squinting, and gasped to see it was none other than Ditzy Doo, or more famously known as Derpy Hooves for her slight eye coordination problem.
"D-Derpy? What happened to you?! We thought you were dead when you went missing for so long!" Scootaloo's face brightened up a bit.
"I, um...” Ditzy mumbled, looking down shamefully. “I snuck away during when we were on lookout around Dodge City. I...” she decided it was best to stretch the truth a little bit. “I was chased by a shadow pony! Into the Badlands.”
Though in reality she really just chased a cute bunny, either way she was in Badlands. She thought she could handle taking a little look around on her own. Charcoal's been raving about Discord being alone the whole time, so it wouldn't be a big deal, right? She could prove to Scootaloo, Charcoal, and Spike that she wasn't useless this way. Maybe save Equestria, or at least find something. By then, it was too late to go back.
“...and that's when Discord found me and locked me up in here..." the bubbly mare looked down sadly. When she tried to make herself useful, she just doomed herself. Scootaloo was unsure of what to say, she just stared at Ditzy with a dismayed expression. She looks at Charcoal and trots over to a small bucket filled with cool, slightly dirtied water and a small cloth.
"We need to clean off that wound, can you bring him over?"
Scootaloo nods and gently moves Charcoal towards her and leans him against the wall. Ditzy began cleaning the stallion's wounds. He yelled in pain as the wet cloth sent surges of pain from the exposed flesh in his chest. The cross-eyed mare scrunched her face and looked at him with a serious expression.
"I know this hurts, but it's the only way to make sure the wound heals properly." she sighed. Scootaloo was looking at her the whole time and had a feeling of relief and concern, and even regret.
"How were you able to survive down here for weeks?" she asked in curiosity.
"They sent scraps of food from time to time, and the small droplets of water from the ceiling as well as the rain was my only source of hydration."
"I see." Scootaloo was surprised by her innovative thinking.
"So how did you two get here?"
"We tried to stop Discord once and for all. It sorta backfired..." The orange pegasus looked away.
"You two made a lot of commotion up there."
Scootaloo looked at her, a bit surprised. "You heard everything from here?"
"The sound echoes down here, so I heard the whole thing." she smiles. There was the sound of a large door opening and the sound of hooves walking in their direction. It was the hooded mare, and she stood in front of the cell, flanked by two shadow-like stallions. She points her hoof at Scootaloo and glares at her from under the hood.
"There, the orange one. The master requests her presence." she ordered sternly.
"No way in hell am I going with you!" Scootaloo spat.
There was something...familiar about the mare's voice to Charcoal, and he couldn't help but feel a vague sense of deja vu.
Ditzy quickly trots up to the two of them and holds the iron bars with her hooves desperately.
"Shadow Blast? Shadow! I knew I recognized you from earlier! What are you doing here? Why did you go to Discord?"
The mare froze and suspiciously eyed the grey pegasus, her dark, sunset-colored eyes narrowing.
“I bet it was Discord! He brain-washed you, didn't he?”
Without answering, the mare opened the gate as the two stallions grabbed Scootaloo by force, much to Ditzy and Charcoal's horror. Scootaloo kicked and screamed, but they did not loose their grip. The mare glanced once more at Ditzy, a disturbed suspicious expression glued to her face, or at least what she could see of her face. The hooded mare looked back and commanded the soldiers to take Scootaloo out, this time using a cuff big enough to snugly hug her neck with two chains attached which with the stallions can hold in their teeth. Scootaloo gulped and eventually accepted her fate, her head hanging low as they dragged her to their king.
Discord waits in anticipation as his little ponies bring his prize into the throne room. He could hear struggling and yelling from the stairs as she brings his next meal into the room.
"Excellent! Excellent!" Discord was giddy for the plans he had for her. "Tie her onto that circular platform!" The struggling pegasus was hoisted on, and the circular platform stood upright. Discord casts a spell that spun it involuntarilly. He summons a box-shaped ring box and takes out a small dagger that had sat inside. Upon seeing the sharp object, Scootaloo begins to struggle between the bindings frantically and yelled to be let down.
"Keep moving like that and you'll be an easier target to hit." He chuckles as he beams the dagger in her direction, barely clipping the side of her wing. She yelps in surprise as the dagger sticks to the wooden platform with a large 'thud'.
"This is only just the beginning of what's to come my little prisoner. I have an even better idea I'm going to use for your friend down in the cell." He chucks another dagger, hitting her in the right foreleg. She screams in agony as the blade digs into her skin a few inches. Discord could only laugh as the sounds of pain amused him. The hooded mare stood beside him, watching in silent horror. She would never be able to grow used to Discord's murderous ways. She turns to leave.
“Where are you going? Don't you want to admire the fruits of your labor?” Discord said, looking to her with a smirk.
She cringed and froze. “Come, play with me, my little pony. Soon, you'll be rewarded, I promise.” he reassured, quite bent on her not disobeying him like last time, which resulted her in receiving a nasty burn on her foreleg. The mare looked at her hooves, sighing, and turned to join her king, for she couldn't dare turn him down.
"Now let's see if I can get this one to where I want it to go." He cooed, and chucks another dagger.
There was a brief silence down in the dungeon as Charcoal recovers from his wounds. Then there was an earth-shattering cry followed by Discord's menacing laughter.
"Ha! Right in the eye!" his voice echoed into the cell. Ditzy flinched at the sound of the screams and Charcoal sat there, staring at the ceiling, numb to the sounds.
He thinks back to how all of this mess started fifteen years ago. Nopony saw it coming and everyone suffered. Honestly, it only hit closer to home for Charcoal when his own family, the one he grew to love after all these years, were stolen from him by Discord.
It was a normal day in Ponyville, the skies were blue, and the ponies were going about their daily grind. Weeks have passed since the incident with Discord, and all seemed to return to normal. Everypony just figured it was over, and they won.
Charcoal adjusted to living with only three legs instead of four, and it didn't hinder him much when it came to his work, after much getting used to. Applejack would stop by from time to time and check up on him, occasionally bringing him some home made apple fritters or apple pies. It was back to a regular, under-appreciated morning.
“Anypony home?” A feminine voice called through the small cottage that stood just outside Town Square.
“In the basement!” a muffled voice called from the staircase just by the back door.
Applejack looked towards the staircase and shut the door behind her with a back leg, her mouth full of a basket. The basket adorned a red checkerboard colored bandanna. She trotted down the steps with a cheery smile on her face. It was a bright day that morning, and she had an umbrella attached to her back, hiding her from the sunlight. She insisted she was fine, but Rarity said she simply had to stay out of the sun right now. Applejack shouldn't have even left today, but what's a little walk going to hurt? Charcoal lifted himself from his large working desk, a strange mechanical doohicky sitting on top of it, with various bolts and wires layed about. His face, hooves, and mane had patches of black oil stains. He grinned at her.
“Hey Applejack!” he said excitedly, as he did every time he saw her.
Applejack grinned just the same once she set down the basket. “I brought you some lunch, on account'a you always forget to eat.”
Charcoal blushed as he remembered his hunger; she was right, he never ate when he was working. She pulled an apple fritter out and some cider for him. Charcoal took a bite out of the fritter, chewing it carefully, taking in its sweetness.
“You okay, Hun? You look stressed about something,” Charcoal said through a full mouth. Applejack grew nervous instantly.
“Uh, yeah! I'm totally fine.” she stuttered, giving a nervous grin. Charcoal stared at her with half closed, unamused eyes as he swallowed a mouth of fritter mush.
“Okay,” Applejack admitted, looking at everything but Charcoal. “I've been meanin' to tell you this for a while, but I've...I've been too nervous. Rarity said ah needed to tell you soon, because you'd notice sooner or later anyway.”
Charcoal stared with a curious, concerned face as he took another suspicious bite, eyes narrowed. There was a small thought at the very back of his mind that he wasn't able to admit.
“Charcoal, I'm... I'm pregnant! There, I said it! I'm pregnant!”
Applejack hid her face behind her hat as tears welled up in her eyes. Surely he would leave her now, they were too young to start a family! Well, they weren't too young, but Charcoal couldn't be ready to raise a filly or colt, could he? She felt so stupid now, but it's out in the open, and Applejack braced for her heartbreaking fate. A small silence followed the two. The hat covered Applejack's face, she couldn't tell what his expression was. It got almost eerily silent until finally, Charcoal slowly reached out and touched her hoof, pushing her hat downwards. Applejack's gaze shot up, and she met them with Charcoal. He smiled and hugged her tightly.
"This is great! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He looked at her, seeing her surprised reaction. She didn't expect him to react so positively given the situation at hand.
"This gives me all the more reason to finish this project I'm working on." Applejack looks at his work station and tilts her head in confusion.
"What's with all the wires and metal and such?"
"Well I can't hold the foal with just one leg now can I?" He chuckles. Upon closer inspection, there was a long frame held together with steel bars and aluminum padding. "It's just a basic model, but I'll be making minor improvements over time."
Charcoal suddenly snapped back into reality by a soft voice.
"Wow, that's deep."
Charcoal jumped a bit and glared at the cross-eyed mare.
"What? It is!"
Charcoal prepared to say something, when there was a sudden stream of light as the large door opened. Trotting can be heard, as well as hooves being dragged across the floor. The hooded mare returns with Scootaloo, who is covered with cuts and a large gash on her right eye. Charcoal's eyes widen as Ditzy gasps and panics. The orange pegasus was thrown to the floor and the two shadow ponies that were with her now have their sights set on the dark stallion. He had no choice but to go with them, rather than put up a futile fight. Before heading out into the inevitable, Charcoal turns to Ditzy and gives her a look of concern.
"Take care of her for me, will you?" He muttered. The grey mare nods and quickly tends to the injured pony. Charcoal is brought before Discord and the two mares that accompany him. The shadow ponies chain the dark stallion to a metallic platform that has a few rods extending from the base. The hooded mare sat next to the throne and hung her head low while the deity of chaos was simply ecstatic.
"I've been waiting to get my claws on you for the longest you know."He grinned widely
"Screw you!" Charcoal spat at him, his saliva quickly morphing into vanilla pudding as his hits Discord's cheek.
"Energetic, I like that! It's just what I want for this... 'electrifying' experience." A small light flashes from the center of the platform, surging volts of electricity through the stallion's body. He cringes and holds in the pain as the gashes from his chest burn into a large scar. As the static dissipates from his body, Charcoal pants heavily, drops of sweat crashing against the metallic panel beneath him.
"That was 'shocking'! Needs a little more juice though." Discord chuckles to himself as the obvious pun had gotten nowhere. He snaps his claws, making the platform send a stronger jolt of electricity pumping through the stallion's veins. Charcoal grunts and yelps in pain, his eyes narrowing and body viciously jerking back and forth. The hooded mare flinches a bit as the flashing lights and cries of pain start to ebb away at her thoughts. Discord looks at her and frowns.
"Something the matter my little pony? Come, sit on papa's lap." He invitingly pats his knee and gestures her to climb up. She reluctantly does so and sits on his lap, leaving the two hypnotized mares jealous.
"Now what seems to be the problem miss pouty pants?" He removes her hood to pet her mane. Charcoal's eyes widen as he recognizes the mare that sits on the deity's lap. It looks like Ditzy wasn't lying about who she saw under the hood.
"S....Sha..." The stallion chokes on his words as the voltage gets stronger.
"I think I know what's bothering you." Discord said with concern as he gently strokes her mane "I've been holding out on your reward that you so desperately wanted for over ten years now. Isn't it?" Her ears twitch as she remains silent. He sighs as he gently places her to the ground. The purple mare turns around and looks at him, unamused, and Discord finally gives in. He snaps his claws once more and a puff of smoke covers the area around the two of them.
"I guess it's time I finally give you your pink friend that you desperately wanted me to bring back." He grinned. The mare's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in anticipation and disbelief. After all this time, all of her hopes in seeing her friend again, seeing the pony she loved is becoming a reality. The smoke began to thin out, revealing a silhouette of an earth pony with a rather poofy mane. Tears welled up in the purple mare's eyes, but her expression turned into a look of horror, as what stood before her wasn't all that she expected it to be.