//------------------------------// // Unwanted throne // Story: The Secret Side Of Discord // by Lemon Pegasus //------------------------------// For a second, Discord's eyes grew a dark purple, almost black, before fading in a mist back to his regular eyes. He was filled with a surge of energy, like he had just consumed a brew of pure adrenaline. Noticing his group being attacked by a herd of pegasi guards, he let his rage take control. There was a sound like a sonic boom, only quieter, before the pegasi seemed to... shoot away from the scene! Like arrows from bows, they shot away three times as quickly as they arrived, flying away against their will into the skies and out of sight. Making a whole group dart away like that would be no easy feet, a pony of high talent would have to do that... or, draconequus of high talent? The group stood in awe. None of them knew who performed that remarkable feet of magic... except Laba. "I thought so," Laba began, "that's no ordinary amulet, that's an Alicorn Amulet!" Discord looked puzzled. Sure there was an alicorn being portrayed on it, but that's like being given a table and then have somepony say 'that's no table, that's a wooden table!' It made no difference! Laba seemed to get that Discord had no clue what that meant... "An Alicorn Amulet gives gives it's user untold abilities! It was you who just did that spell, wasn't it? The amulet let you do that!" The other ponies had no response, "Although... there is a risk that comes with it. You might be corrupted." Well, quite the risk there, Laba, jeez! "Uhm... isn't that a little too high a risk?" Discord asked. "More to the point, how do you know any of this?" Laba hesitated, before speaking in a lackluster fashion. "Because I paid attention in Enchantment Arts, that's why!" He sounded like he was in a hurry now, "As for the corruption-" Laba ended the conversation there, "Look, this is not the place to discuss it! Take it off, but keep it with you, only put it back on when you need it!" Laba started running again, the group closely following him. Discord removed the straps on the amulet, expecting to feel the energy drain from him... it did not? Either way, he held the amulet tightly in his hands as he kept up with Laba's pace, minimal effort required thanks to this new found energy boost. Having to carry Starswirl at the same time would usually be a burden on Discord, it did not affect him at all! The foal was not even mildly weighted, a pillow would have been heavier than this! Though weirdly, less cuddly! Laba stopped suddenly beside a large wooden trapdoor, one Discord recognized as a vintage sewer door. They were here! Laba swiftly used his magic to lift the heavy wooden sheet, before... one spell changed everything. Discord fell forward, the very thing he had been fighting for this whole time falling out of his grasp. He landed hard on the grass, looking up through his bruised face to see... Starswirl. He lay on the ground. Motionless. Burnt. There, like a tombstone, he lay. The foal that once sat on his lap. The foal that would play alongside him. The foal that taught him so much about himself. The foal that changed his life... lay there. Hurt. Possibly... dead. Discord got to his feet. This was ironically just like the moment he found him. Innocent, small, in need. Just like before, everything went silent. And just like before, all he could do was look in shock and horror. He attempted to call out to his foal... but he couldn't. A fireball hit his back. Bad move. His eyes started to glow a dark red. All he had done for this foal, all the struggles and all the work was just destroyed! He had done nothing wrong! Neither had Starswirl, what did he do!?!? Why did he deserve that!?!? He got to his feet. Any observers would be in awe at the fury he was presenting. He let the amulet drop out of his hand. Laba timidly spoke. "...D-Discord... we can help him. I can help him. Don't do this." Discord heard none of that. All he could hear was a crowd of voices in his head. "Avenge him. Avenge him." He clenched his fist. Before... everything changed. Everything. The once green grass now was covered in blue checkered patterns. The blue sky was now purple. The mighty wooden wall was reduced to pathetic piles of grass. Many houses lifted themselves with mighty moans from the ground and stood in the sky, not moving. And it all happened in one big flash of red. Discord was now drunk with power, though he did not know it. He wanted one thing: revenge. And he was going to get it! The mighty draconequus, eyes glowing dark red, was high in the sky, floating down to Earth like a tyrannic God. He landed on the diamond ground and started approaching a group of attackers. They flew at him, spears at the ready. Within a flash, they dropped. The armor fell to the ground, as did the weapons. Now, they were just fish. Fish that flew without care among the birds, birds that now had spiraling beaks and red and blue striped wings. He looked up at the sun, staring directly into it's heat. His eyes did not burn, he could stare right into it... straight into it's soul. If it was not for Celestia's rule, this wouldn't have happened. It was time he took charge. He pointed at the sun, a new group of unicorns charging straight at him, some guards, some angry villagers. A mighty, roaring black bolt of lightning shot into the sky and straight into the sun. The mighty symbol of power glowed purple for a second, mighty shocks striking off of it in earth shaking screeches of pain, before... it sat there... now a mild shade of blue. Discord had paralyzed the sun. Hopefully, Celestia would notice and come to Ponyville, so then they could meet... one on one. Exactly how much time had passed was unknown. With the sun frozen, one could not tell if a day or a week had gone. One could not sleep, as body clocks were messed up big time, meaning ponies never had the energy to do anything. Anyone who tried to stand up to Discord faced a judgement like no other. It was a state of eternal suffering for all. He was the ruler of his village, anyone who tried to leave could not, as Discord had put up barriers using his magic. They were his toys, Ponyville was his playhouse. Yet, in the sewer, one pony still had faith in Discord. Laba. "It's the amulet," he explained to the group while he tended to Starswirl, who lay on the hard, moist, cold ground of the sewers. "It only corrupts the weak minded. However, upon removal, the amulet loses effect anyway. It must have stayed with Discord. Why, I'm not sure... maybe it's because the amulet could feed off so much more pain in Discord's draconequus soul to feed off, hence the magic can sustain itself even when removed from it's main source of power." He checked for a pulse on Starswirl... he felt a few pumps. Meanwhile, Discord sat there upon his newly crafted throne, enjoying the scenery. He sensed something. Somepony was there. "Celestia." he thought to himself. And somepony else. "Her sister... Luna. Finally... they have come." He laughed in mockery. "This is so much fun!" he noticed the bright, shimmering tail of Celestia. With a quick mind spell, it was in his hand, "how about a game of pin the tail on the pony?" He held it up as a sign of power and to humiliate the princess. To add to the insult, he clicked his fingers and brought up a little snack... some Everfree Seeds. The princess of the sun was a tall, white alicorn. She wore a yellow crown and her mane waved in the air with multiple colors. A majestic being, yet one that was coated with bruises and cuts. She said a few choice words. "Play time is over for you, Discord!" She and her puny little sister stepped forward. Her younger sister was a dark blue color,she had a blue flowing mane and a moon cutie mark. She wasn't as tall, therefore even easier to laugh at! "Oh, I doubt that!" Discord replied, enjoying his snack. He purposefully spilled some seeds, his messy eating habits only proving to mock the princesses even more. "Hungry?" He bribed the princess of the day with a held out hand of seeds, laughing inside as a seed hurtled towards her thanks to a simple levitation spell, hitting the alicorn on the head before falling to the ground. The same then happened to Luna. Discord loved this humour, he had forgotten just how satisfying chaos was. "...Suit yourselves." He continued eating. He saw the princesses use their magic to open their saddlebags. They pulled out 6 gems, all of them different colors, one of them star shaped. What good were they? Dropping his light snack, he taunted the princesses,"Ooh, what have you got there?" The gems started spinning around the princesses. "The Elements... of Harmony..." Celestia told him. The gems picked up speed. Luna then spoke, "With them we shall defeat you!" The gems formed a purple glow. WHAT!? They were going to defeat him with fancy spinning gems and a light show??? He laughed hysterically at this! "You should see yourselves right now, the expressions on your faces! So intense! So sure of yourselves!" He laughed some more. By now, he had to close his eyes because of how much he was laughing. "Hilarious!" More laughing. And then... he was stuck there. For eternity. He had lost.