The Cult of Chaos

by PegasusKlondike

The Fools that Lead

King Silverhair could not be considered a tolerant pony by any means. The first of what he hoped to be a very long line of his dynasty, he was the self declared King of the Unicorns and head of the House Sirius. While most of his subjects carried scars from their War with the humans, so many years ago, Silverhair's hide remained flawless. His skill was not in battle, it was in politics. Had he not been king, his opponents would have called him a sniveling weasel, which they most likely did anyways.

And it was his skill in politics that had allowed the weak and destitute House Sirius to take control of the throne after the leaving of the Princesses. Some strategic alliances here, a military appointment there, add a dash of quid pro quo and maybe a pinch of hired swords, and voila! Silverhair had effectively silenced any opposition to his ascendancy and ensured the House Sirius as the most powerful unicorn family in Canterlot.

While the unicorns enjoyed playing their little game of Houses and thrones, the other tribes looked upon such things with disdain, considering them unfair and at times barbaric. So he did the most logical thing that a king can do, he banished them without mussing a single strand of his well groomed silver mane. What could he say? The earth ponies were on the verge of leaving anyways and were considered too dumb to properly engage in politics. The pegasus brutes were more useful outside of Canterlot, their joke of a city in the clouds providing good protection without them knowing any better. And the other creatures were just too dangerous to keep around. The very thought of sharing a street with something as uncouth as a Diamond Dog or uncivilized as a minotaur made the king shudder. So he nonchalantly had them removed, and so far they seemed content with trying to form their own nations.

Sure, Canterlot and indeed ponykind were weakened by this move, but in the end Silverhair knew it would pan out in his favor. In his mind unicorns existed as they properly should, at the forefront of the herd, with himself leading them.

Never did he imagine the amount of responsibility that a king had before he ascended the throne, all the various bureaucrats and bothersome House leaders constantly pestering him, trying to gain his favor. Normally he would have his cousin and chamberlain deal with them, but Golden Flame was out with his family in the countryside, making sure the earth ponies made good on their monthly shipments. He sat upon the throne that would normally sit Princess Celestia, but in her absence he gladly kept it warm for her. His court mage, Starswirl the Bearded, was now taking the king's audience.

"My liege." The elder unicorn bowed to his so called 'superior'.

"Starswirl, what is your report?"

"My Lord, several of the pegasus ponies that I have dealings with are reporting something odd in the outlying human populations."

The unicorn king had almost ignored the mage, thinking the humans to be nothing more than a pestilent annoyance that existed on their farthest borders. A problem for those pegasus ponies to deal with, and they seemed content with fighting the Plagued humans.

"What oddity could possibly come from those demons? A few more plagued than normal?"

"Yes my liege. They are being seen in actual numbers, not just individuals wandering in on their own! Numbers like we haven't seen since the War ended. And they seem organized, like they have some kind of plan for attacking."

The king's brow furrowed in thought, the plagued demons never organized, not after they had been defeated years ago.
King Silverhair scoffed, "Impossible, you yourself say that they have no higher thoughts in those thick skulls of theirs."

"This is true my lord. But they may have some kind of leadership now, some new threat that unifies them."

"The vanished human army?"

"No my lord, those types of humans never consort with their feral brothers. If anything the sane humans are just as threatened by this. That, and these humans show no technological inclination."

The king leaned back into his throne, thinking it over. A smile spread across his face and he began to laugh. "Starswirl you old fool, is this some kind of joke? Or are you having second thoughts about giving up your chance at the throne?" the king's eyes narrowed.

"What?! No my lord! All I want is for this to be taken seriously before somepony gets hurt or killed!"

"Even if we do not have an army like the pegasi or the militias of the earth ponies, we have enough force to crush any kind of attack they may throw at us. Now begone from my sight, the heads of the House Orion and House Ursa cannot be held waiting any longer."

Starswirl shook his head, then bowed before the fool that was his king. "As you wish my liege."

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High Priest Edward Stewarts collapsed from his lust. Laying in bed next to a once beautiful woman with ash colored skin he reflected on how much the Lord had rewarded his piety. Preferring the name 'Discord' over his true title of Leviathan, the Lord had made a few changes in the past few days. Most of the townsfolk had undergone his transforming touch, becoming like the gray woman that lay next to him. He had taken to calling them Acolytes, those devout souls who would follow Discord's word to the grave. They still had intellect, but no free will. Anyone besides himself and Discord that tried to order them around would either be met with a stoic stare or be hauled off for Discord to feed upon.

High Priest Stewarts had been rewarded greatly for inviting Discord in so willingly. He now could command and control all of those people that had once pitied and scorned him. Fortunately for him, High Priest Stewarts had not been touched and changed to one of the Acolytes, or worse, one of the Lost. They were the humans afflicted with Chaos Plague, the maddening disease that made once proud and dignified human beings less than animals. The Lost were typically psychotic at the sight of any living thing, but Discord's presence seemed to pacify them. Occasionally a pair of them would break out and fight each other, but they were not needed too badly.

The High Priest reached over to an iced bucket on his nightstand and popped open a bottle of cheap pre-War wine, pouring a glass for himself and this evening's Acolyte concubine.

"Care for a drop of wine my dear?" He gently caressed her grayed hair and smooth skin. She said nothing and did nothing, simply staring at the ceiling, awaiting an order. His Acolyte concubines were starting to bore him, maybe he should have some of them go out and catch some fresh converts to add to his flock. Maybe even bring in one of the prettier Lost women, they seemed like they should be an utter animal in the sack.

Shrugging at her non responsive nature he downed both glasses himself. Standing from his sheets he threw on some basic clothing, having fleshed out his once emaciated bones with the generosity of his new Master, Discord. Every night since his arrival Discord required a sacrifice to his greatness, and the townsfolk that had resisted being converted were the perfect candidates. An Acolyte sacrifice would do in a pinch, but Discord wanted them kept fresh for some reason.

The door to his private suite opened as an ashen skinned Acolyte entered without being summoned. "High Priest, the Master desires your presence and the presence of his sacrifice."

Stewarts waved away the Acolyte, donning his robes of station he was escorted by the Acolyte to the prison area where they kept Discord's meals. The old town jail, it served perfectly to hold the potential sacrifices. It was a simple joint, a front processing area with a pair of barred cells in the back. One cell had the surviving humans pinned against a wall, recoiling from the monsters in the next cell that clawed at them, just out of reach.

Discord thought it would be worth a chuckle to place a rabid pack of Lost in the cell next to his prisoners and meals, just to keep them on their toes. After that treatment, Acolyte conversions among the remaining humans were typically high. What remained were the most stalwart.

One of the remaining sane humans grabbed the High Priest through the bars of their cell. "Ed, please don't do this! That monster isn't here to save us, he just wants to use us for his own ends! He is the source of that plague, he wants to kill all of us or take our minds away like those bastards!" he jerked his head towards the Lost in the next cell.

The High Priest smacked away the begging man's hands, once he had known him as a friend, now he was an offering. "Acolytes, this one will do fine tonight." His two ash colored escorts unlocked the cell door and grabbed the man.

"NO! ED PLEASE SPARE ME! I HAVE A WIFE, I HAVE CHILDREN!" his screams falling on deaf ears. A shame he didn't know that his wife now lay in the High Priest's bed chamber, obedient to his every whim. The Acolytes gagged him and bound his hands, dragging him to the former church where Discord had taken up residence.

High Priest Stewarts led the macabre procession, leading Discord's offering through rows of Acolytes, chanting incantations of dark magic taught to them by Discord. Though their souls were weak and their incantations together barely worth that of a single weak unicorn, they filled the Chaos church with darkness, tainting the very nature of the building.

The Acolytes placed their immobilized offering on a crudely constructed altar, behind it sat Discord, languishing in the evils that he was the source of. The High Priest came forward with a dagger.

"Oh mighty Leviathan! Son of Lucifer and our Savior in this life. We mortals are humbled before your imminence, and only wish for your grace upon our souls! And for your gifts of power unto us, we give this offering of a willing man, may his blood quench your thirst and his death please your immortal power!"

Below him the bound man openly wept, his screams muffled by the gag and the chants of the Acolytes. His eyes looked to his old friend, begging for mercy, wide with fear.

"GO NOW WILLING SOUL! JOIN OUR MASTER IN SPIRIT!" The dagger plunged into the man's chest, his blood spraying across the front row of Acolytes, the crimson red staining their grayed skin. His struggles did not end, and the razor edged blade began to carve into his living flesh. Blood ran down the edges of the altar, and with a single pull the High Priest ripped the still beating heart of his old friend from his chest.

Discord leaned back in his throne of darkness, drawing in the soul of the now lifeless corpse that lay before him. A wicked grin spread across his face as he waved away his Acolytes. With another flick of his hand a pair of the bestial Lost shuffled in and grabbed the still warm corpse, hauling it back to their kennels for their evening feeding.

Throwing the useless heart into a burning sacrificial pit, High Priest Stewarts addressed his Master. Prostrating himself before Discord, he gave obeisance. "Master, has our offering pleased you?"

Discord summoned a file and began to file the nails on his gryphon hand. "Such a pitiful waste of flesh, he would have made a fine Acolyte. We will need the most skilled of them for our next move."

"Are we finally going to enact our revenge Master!?"

"Yes, we will have our revenge my foolish worm of a worshiper. Tell me, what do our enemies treasure most of all?"

"Those accursed ponies treasure their harmony with one another Master! But how can we defeat them? They are too strong in their unity! They would defeat us without a struggle if we faced them openly."

Discord felt satisfied with the condition of his claws, banishing the file with a flick. "Then we break them apart."

The High Priest's eyes grew wide with understanding, a smile going across his face. "But how will we accomplish turning their nation to their own chaos?"

"A simple feat, my Priest." With a wave of his hand six Acolytes walked into the church, dressed in all black and carrying the tools of infiltration. "When they are through with their task, we march your feral brothers into their land. And Discord shall reign!" An outstretched paw created six curved, wicked daggers edged with poison, each floated to an Acolyte which sheathed it in their belt. "Go my children of death and doom, go now and seek pony blood!"

The six Acolytes fled into the darkness, the first link in the chain of Discord's rule over this world had been forged, and he cackled as they sought their targets with unending focus.

Comments

[Iron Sides]

You want to know whats funny? Leviathan saves them in a way in my story haha