Equestria is a place lost in forgotten times, when harmony once ruled the land.
Equestria is a place lost in forgotten times, when harmony once ruled the land. Disharmony has ravaged the lands and turned it into a land of insanity and chaos. For Twilight Sparkle, who yearns for change, how far will she have to go to save it all from the wicked talons of Discord? In his private garden of chaos, one hope of harmony resides, trapped in stone in a world of chocolate.
Those were the words which swam in the thoughts of the lavender unicorn as she gazed through the window. She sighed and turned around from the madness outside. She had grown up in this condition, as had her parents and their entire family. A lifetime of misery in the talons of a mad creature, that was the destiny for the land they resided in.
As she walked into a sparsely furnished kitchen, the ponies inside turned their heads lazily toward her. Twilight Sparkle sighed and walked to them. Her mother, the soft grey mare stepped forward and nuzzled her daughter. Twilight knew that her mother would shower her in lies about how everything would become better in time, Twilight however, could see through her mother’s facade.
Before her mother could fire off the lies, Twilight turned away from her and directed her attention to her father. He had ordered her, and the rest of her family to stay indoors at all times, as it would be just as insane as the world outside to go there. That also meant that their supplies for food were very limited, often leaving them unsatisfied and starved.
Twilight knew that somehow, somepony would have to end this chaos once and for all, but she was much too weak to do it on her own and her father would never allow her to go through with such a dangerous scheme. Her brother would have been a pony capable to do so, but he disappeared when he was out and scavenging for supplies and was never found. Her mother had been crying for days on end and her father turned to the bottle for answers that were never heard.
Somepony had to stop all of it, but nopony had the strength to face Discord on their own. Only a fool would try to stop the draconequus alone. She would have to rally the masses for a rebellion to overthrow the beast once and for all. But how would she even be able to do that? She wracked her brain for ideas, and all it gave her was one possibility; she would have to run away from her parents and kick her plan into action somewhere else rather than here... It would be hard to leave her parents when they had already lost their son, but they’d get to hear about her if the rebellion succeeds.
It would be a gamble, but the bets in this gamble were worth more than anything. She would have to win. Not just for her, nor her family. She would save her entire world if she would succeed in her quest for liberation from the chaos. Twilight sighed once again and trudged to her room, where she prepared herself for the departure which could change everything she knew.
In the gardens of a castle long forgotten and decayed from years of harsh punishment via weather and time, a lone figure stands with his mismatched hands behind his back and glaring at the statue in front of him. A sadistic smirk crossed his features as he stroked his eagle talon on the cheek of the imprisoned pony standing frozen in obvious surprise and pain. He dug his claws into the stone hide of the pony and dragged it alongside its neck. His golden orbs glimmered with insanity and the wisdom of one who had seen it all before.
Harmony... Boring, old harmony... The mismatched beast sneered and turned around to leave the statue in piece, before he stopped with his back toward the frozen alicorn which he still remembered clearly. She and her sister tried to stop him, and they almost did. He could barely make it against them. It all ended up with him abandoning his ways and turned her into stone to save his own ancient behind from becoming stone himself. Her younger sister had been so fueled by hatred for the draconequus that she had turned into something... Else. He banished her to the moon and with nopony else around to stop him, he had claimed the throne and turned the land into his own private playground.
Discord had been thrilled at first, and he still was, but ruling this country with a talon of steel and cotton candy, he had started to become bored again. Nothing really exciting happened these days, so the creature would often find himself to be bored out of his mind. If only something exciting would happen... Then he would be one happy Spirit of Disharmony. But anything that those ponies figured out to do against him, he would be able to stop them by a snap of his talons and then happily skip away out of harm’s way.
He reached out with his eagle talon and snapped his fingers, teleporting away to where he needed to spread more of his beautiful, beautiful chaos...
Unbeknownst to the oblivious spirit, a faint, barely noticeable crack started spreading from his claw-marks across the back of the imprisoned alicorn. The crack grew and spread into several new cracks, all of which made a sizeable chunk of stone fall to the ground, revealing the rich alabaster coat beneath. Discord wanted some fun, and fun he would have...
It was now nearing midnight, or what would be midnight according to the clock, but the sun and the moon continued their unnerving dance of switching places with eachother every 10 minutes. The ponies and the habitants of the world had grown accustom to the ways of the beast who ruled them. Almost all of the ponies were asleep, except for one single unicorn who was strapping her saddlebags to herself.
Twilight Sparkle was ready to go. She had packed some memorabilia of her parents and fillyhood. One of the objects she brought with her was the doll she was given to by her lost brother. She had decided to look for Shining Armor as well while she was fulfilling her task. Succeeding could change everything for the better, or possibly make things far worse. She had also packed a small amount of food, just in case she couldn’t find anything she could sustain herself.
She stepped to the locked door leading outside and unlocked it while choking back tears. Her parents would be positively devastated by the loss of another child. She knew it, but she hated thinking about it too much. She held her breath as she stepped out into the crisp night air, which had a distinctive scent of fudge.
With that, the quest for finding harmony began.
A/N: Short prologue chapter! The next chapters will be longer and this was pre-read and edited by frieD195! Ladies and mentlegen, I give you the Chaosverse!
A/N: Another short chapter. I still have to build some stuff, so some chapter may seem short, but they'll get longer in time. Edited by frieD195!
Twilight gawked at the strange world as she trotted out of the town she used to live in. This... World reminded her of the mindset of a 4-year old filly with so many colours. But those thoughts were diminished as soon as she thought of the sadistic beast behind it all. Discord was a force not to be trifled with, as that was something her father had always told her.
The draconequus scared the mare greatly. Who wouldn’t fear the beast who had enslaved ponykind and laughed in the face of their suffering? Twilight shook her head and made sure to avoid the soap-ridden paths. She stopped in her tracks as one single thought appeared in her head.
’Where should I go?’ The young mare tried to think of an answer for that question. She knew that there were no maps of the land, due to the constant changes made by the draconequus in charge of their world. To make things even worse, she had never actually been outside like she was right now. Her father had always walked with her, never letting her out of his sight. Twilight settled on walking toward a forest in the distant. She hoped that she would perhaps find another settlement there and start rallying for her cause.
As she started walking, she noticed that many of the buildings she saw were abandoned and some were even destroyed. Most ponies kept a tight bond to each other and never allowed any outsiders. The forest grew bigger and more ominous with every step the unicorn took. She noticed three other ponies standing by the path leading into the forest, talking to each other. She smiled and trotted a little faster, as she thought that those ponies could help her.
A rustle from a nearby bush made the mare jump slightly, and then stare at the bush in confusion. She couldn’t believe her ears as a voice came from it. ’‘Psst! Hey, you!’’ Twilight looked around, still confused. ’‘Get over here before they noticed you’’ The voice hissed. The unicorn gulped and took a cautious step forward. ’’Oh for the love of...’’ A purple clawed arm stretched out from the bush and grabbed hold of Twilight’s left foreleg and pulled her inside.
Before she could scream in terror, the same clawed hand covered her mouth. A pitiful whimper escaped the terrified mare. The creature hushed and moved a part of the bush with its other hand, making some light shine through. The light that shone through revealed the face of the culprit who had pulled her into the bush.
She saw a purple scaled face with emerald green irises and slitted pupils. On its head were green spines. Her eyes widened as she realized what was in front of him. It was a dragon. A real, living dragon! She had read about dragons in some old books, but she had never seen a real one before.
’‘What are you staring at?’’ The dragon crossed his arms and frowned. ’’I know that I look good, but just don’t stare at me for too long...’’ He chuckled at his own joke as Twilight blushed and looked away from the drake.
’’Um... Nothing...’’ Twilight smiled sheepishly, making the dragon sigh and mutter something about ponies. The dragon was much shorter than her, so he was probably still young as his voice proved her suspicions even further. One question still remained though. ’‘Why did you pull me in here?’’ She raised an eyebrow when the dragon’s eyes widened with surprise.
’‘You mean you didn’t know who those ponies are?’’ He squeaked in fear of the ponies outside. Twilight shook her head slowly. She had no idea what was so special about those ponies. The dragon facepalmed and groaned. ’‘Take another look at them, but look closely...’’ The drake moved some of the shrubbery, allowing Twilight to look outside.
She scanned the ponies for anything out of the ordinary that she should have looked for before. The ponies were two stallions and one mare, the mare was a unicorn when the stallions were pegasi. The ponies all wore similair, black coats with red hoofguards which ran up their legs. But the detail which made a chill run down her spine was their eyes; the white in their eyes were yellow, almost golden instead of the white of a normal pony.
’‘They’re called The Surrendered.’’ The drake muttered. Twilight’s jaw dropped. ’‘It’s said that ponies who give up living in... Discord’s world and come to him for mercy, he turns them into a Surrendered. I’unno if it’s true or not...’’ The dragon shrugged. ’‘But hey, at least I stopped you from going to ’em. No need to thank me.’’ The drake smiled smugly. Twilight looked away from the ponies outside, who now had departed and left them alone. The young dragon stepped out from the bush and Twilight followed him.
’‘See ya ‘round, purple.’’ The dragon nodded and started walking away from her. Twilight started panicking. She had no idea of how she would be able to make it when she just walked into danger she didn’t even know.
’‘Wait!’’ She shouted frantically and trotted to the drake, who arched an eyebrow at the mare’s behaviour. ’’I... Can-.. Can I go with you?’’ She shuffled her hooves awkwardly and smiled. The dragon shrugged.
’‘Sure, whatever. I’m Spike, by the way.’’ He motioned for the mare to follow him with a wave of his claws. Twilight started trotting behind the drake.
’‘I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.’’ She said with pride, but frowned as Spike chortled at her display. ’‘What’s so funny?’’ she snapped at him, but the dragon just bursted out laughing. Twilight pouted and started trotting a little faster.
’‘Hey, wait up! I was just joking!’’ The dragon snickered and ran to catch up to the mare, who giggled and started galloping away from the drake.
Pieces of shattered stone laid scattered on the ground around her. She was working hard with the meager amount of magic she had to break the prison around her. She was barely able to chip away the stone around her mid-section. Another chunk of stone fell from her left foreleg, freeing it completely. She stretched the ancient limb, which popped and was sore. It was no mystery why her leg was sore, as it had been enclosed in stone for three thousand years along with the rest of her body.
She was lucky that Discord hadn’t returned to check up on her, or that he had sent one of his minions to her. Her thoughts of what had happened to her land swirled in her mind. How much had the monster destroyed, and would she be able to salvage it from the beast? What had happened to her younger sister? Oh, if he had laid his talons on her, he would suffer the consequences of doing so...
With another crack, she spread her magnificent wings for the first time in several millenia, but she was still far away from being able to relax. She used her wings to propel herself into the air, shattering the remaining stone on her.
Where an old, mysterious statue once stood, there stood the awe-inspiring form of one of the ancient alicorn sisters; the true rulers of Equestria, not some dreadful serpent with a knack for chaos. Her alabaster coat shone in the random moonlight. She opened her magenta eyes to take in her surroundings. She frowned as she saw just how silly everything was. It was pure, unbridled chaos...
She scowled and spread her exhausted wings once again, taking flight to search for the beast responsible. He would pay for doing this to her land. She was willing to search every corner of Equestria for him, but she was sure that he must be somewhere near her old castle in the Everfree forest.
But the mare didn’t think about overexerting herself after just escaping from her prison. Her eye-sight flickered, and a pained grunt escaped her as she had trouble keeping her wing-strokes in sync. After a futile attempt of staying airbourne, she plummeted to the forest below her as the cold grip of unconsciousness took its hold.
In another part of Equestria, a certain spirit allowed a toothy grin to embrace his features. He had sensed the alicorn’s break-out, as a force like that is not easy to ignore. He brought his talons together and balled them into fists. This just became much more interesting...
’‘Little Tia has returned. How lovely...’’ The spirit drawled as he stood up and stretched his ancient back. The ponies standing next to him, all dressed in black coats eyed the spirit cautiously. He laid his talons behind his back and started walking down the hall. ’‘Screwball?’’ A purple earth pony with strange eyes walked forward carefully.
’‘Yes, father..?’’ The mare asked carefully, momentarily shrinking back as she recieved a glare from the spirit.
’’I want you to go out and look for any signs of... Ugh... Harmony...’’ He stared down at the little pony, who was in theory nothing but an embodiment of his chaotic powers. An abomination, in other words. The mare nodded and levitated out through the window.
Even when the cycles of the moon and the sun changed constantly, Twilight Sparkle could feel that it was nighttime. The little dragon she had met had curled up on her back and had fallen asleep minutes ago. She didn't know why such a young creature would walk around in the wilderness on his own, but he seemed to know what he was doing, and what to avoid. That was something she needed; a guide to help her. Twilight sighed and took a look around. She had to find a place to sleep as soon as possible. She decided to sleep next to the tree line by a bush so she could hide from plain view. They hadn't encountered any more of the Surrendered, but she wanted to be safe, rather than sorry.
Spike snored loudly and kicked out his left leg, as if he was dreaming about running from something. He continued to mumble something incoherent, and Twilight giggled at the display she found to be adorable. She averted her eyes from the drake and looked up at the sky, where the majestic night sky was currently being shown. Her eyes fell on the moon, currently adorned with the crude image of a pony. Twilight didn't get to inspect the strange image on the orb any further, as the sun bumped the moon away in a comical fashion. She pouted in a childish manner and laid her head down to rest. Before she fell asleep, her thoughts drifted away to her parents. She almost regretted her decision, but she shook her head gently to rid herself of those selfish thoughts.
She closed her eyes and sighed. They would have to find their way through the forest tomorrow and hopefully avoid any encounters with the Surrendered. Spike started rolling around and Twilight was able to hear him talk in his sleep.
“No mom... We have to run... Don't sleep now... Mom?” His last word sounded desperate, but he soon reverted to snoring once again. Twilight felt a tug at her heart from the drake's pleading. She fell into a restless and strange sleep.
Hate...
Malice...
Malevolence...
Those were the only thoughts of the black alicorn as she pried away at her lock on her prison. Her responsibility had become her prison, all because of that wretched beast... She scowled and put more effort into chipping away the last remaining pieces of her imprisonment. Oh, she would have her sweet revenge as soon as she had escaped... That draconequus would learn his lesson about touching her sister and claim their country as his. All in good time, she reasoned and focused at the task at hoof.
She recalled his smirk as he imprisoned her and lashed out with a powerful arcane lightning bolt, lighting up the area around her momentarily. Her draconic eyes glimmered with glee as she noticed a barely visible crack on the shield containing her. She reared onto her hind legs while taking a moment to collect her energy into one final strike. The space around her shifted from the energy emanating from her horn as it blazed forth with brute, unyielding power. She whipped her head backwards, and as her forelegs made contact with the surface again, she whipped her head forward and unleashed the spell. The space around the dark blue beam shifted and contorted as the beam progressed toward the shield. It hit square at the already existing crack, and the shield burst into a million shards raining down onto her in small sparkles of disintegrating magic.
Nightmare Moon allowed a small smile to embrace her lips, before she shape-shifted into a purple mist, which slithered away toward the planet she originated from. She intended to find her sister, then face off with the beast once and for all. But this time, she refused to fail as that would probably mean the end of the road for her and her sister, as she doubted that she would have the power to break out once again.
“I am coming for you, coward...” She snarled.
Discord was walking down the halls of his mismatched abode with his arms behind his back, deep in thought. He had sensed the release of both of the alicorn sisters. He knew that breaking free must have taken much of their energy, so they would have to regenerate their lost power and lick their wounds for some time before they would be able to take him down. To add insult to their injury was the fact that they were still separated. When their respective energies had returned, they would easily be able to sense each other. That meant that he had little time for small-talk, he had to act, and act fast. As he continued his leisurely walk, several members of his personal force passed him. Every single one of them bowed as he passed them and he smirked.
The Surrendered had proven themselves to be quite useful on several occasions, and he always felt warm and fuzzy inside as another pony practically hoofed over their own free will in order to serve him and his chaotic cause. But of course, sometimes he would encounter a fighter; somepony who refuse to obey him. They always surrender to his will, whether they want to or not. Doesn't take much to simply rip away somepony's will.
That was the case of today's catch.
All he had heard from Screwball was that they had brought back a unicorn stallion who had put up an impressive fight to escape from them. But of course, he had been overpowered and brought back to Discord's castle, as that stallion would prove to be a precious addition to his forces when he had proven his strength in combat. Discord ascended a flight of stairs and heard obscene shouting in the distance. Discord felt overjoyed at the prospect of having another puppet to play with and walked out to the ponies with a bounce in his step.
“You!” The white unicorn growled as Discord walked toward him. The stallion was held back with multiple chains and a small ring of obsidian metal was around his horn to prevent him from using his magic. As the stallion strained against the bonds holding him back, his dark blue mane swayed from side to side. The stallion snarled and set his light blue eyes at the mismatched beast in front of him.
“Oh, a troublemaker, aren't we?” Discord mocked the stallion, who continued to fight the restraints holding him. “Believe me when I say that I have a way of dealing with troublemakers...” Discord used a small spell to read the memory of the stallion, learning his name and the members of his family. “Shining Armor, will you surrender to me now? Or will I have to rip everything away from you?” Discord asked menacingly.
Shining Armor scowled and spat on the ground in front of the spirit. “I will never surrender to you, monster...” Discord smiled sadistically as he ran his eagle talon down the stallion's face.
“Remember your manners, child... It would be such a shame if little Twilight came to be harmed because of you disrespecting me like this...” Discord chuckled darkly at the stallion's shocked expression, which turned into a threatening scowl.
“Don't you dare touch her! I...do whatever you want with me...just...just don't hurt her...” Shining hung his head in defeat. The draconequus smirked and brought forward his lion paw which was blazing with magical energy. “Sorry sis... Sorry for letting you down, but I'm not gonna let this psycho take you...” Shining Armor sighed.
Discord laid his lion paw to the head of the stallion. The stallion's eyes shot open and he started convulsing violently. He thrashed with all his might in a weak attempt to escape from the burning pain in his head. Discord felt his powers becoming stronger as the will of the stallion was passed onto him. Shining Armor closed his eyes for one second, and as he opened them again, the white in his eyes had turned yellow.
Discord removed his paw and turned around to leave the stallion to fend for himself. He had more pressing matters to tend to.
Discord reclined back into his throne with a grin. If he was lucky, the alicorn princesses would find eachother within a few days time, so he wouldn't have to wait too long for his turn to play with them again. He had of course been challenged before for the throne, but he would also always prevail with flying colours, as nopony had the power necessary to defeat him.
He was sitting alone in his makeshift throne room, as nopony dared to enter without the spirit's permission. The last pony to do so was currently a vase standing outside the door, to remind them of what he would do to those who trespass. The draconequus chuckled and started tapping his eagle talon to the armrest of the throne.
His thoughts wandered to the day when he defeated the princesses. A devilish grin spread on his face once again as he remembered how Celestia had struggled in vain to stop his petrification spell. The panicked screams, which turned into sobs coming from the lunar princess... And then when the young alicorn changed into... that thing fueled by her hatred and vengeance. That was one fight Discord was lucky to have won when he managed to surprise her with a banishment spell. He had intended to separate them.
Discord rose from his trone and stretched, then placed his talons behind his arms as he strolled through the throne room to the majestic doors. He scowled at the intricate designs carved into the doors and snapped his lion talon, turning the designs into what a young filly would draw. As he continued his trek down the halls. The Surrendered he would meet bowed as soon as they saw him draw near them. He heard the unmistakable voice of Screwball, scowled and turned to walk away into another direction. The spirit had no intention of dealing with her today.
He started thinking of the newest recruits to the Surrendered. Both of them had shown an interesting amount of spirit when he corrupted them, and both of them had been quite skilled in combat when his minions had brought them to him, as that was what he had heard. One of them was Shining Armor and the other one had been a pink mare with an extraordinary skill in acrobatics and popping up at random spots. She even managed to slip out of his grip, much to his dismay. As soon as he had corrupted her, her coat became a darker shade of pink and her mane almost deflated and her cheery grin was replaced with a disgusted scowl.
”She was perfect...” Discord chuckled darkly. He had placed her in the same team as Shining Armor and the top of his Surrendered minions. He had a special assignment for them, and he intended that the task would be a success, or they would face the consequences. He entered a room where the select few were standing in a perfect row. They had been given special armor to resist the attacks coming from their targets. Their faces were all hidden by the masks they were wearing, and their manes were also hidden from view, except for the special mare. Her mane was in full view.
The armor they were wearing also contained a special set of weapons, such as retractable blades and a built-in magical field which enhanced their strength almost three times over. That was an addition that would make one of the stallions of the group near unstoppable. The stallion was one of the biggest earth ponies Discord had ever seen, and they had to modify his armor even further to hide his red coat beneath it.
”Congratulations, all of you have been picked out by none other than me to join your merry little gang.” Discord smiled. The chests of all the ponies standing in the row before him puffed out in pride. ”You have been chosen because you have proven yourself to be loyal and worthy to be in my presence, and recieve the gift that is your new armor.” He decided to not tell them that because of the magical energy emanating from the armor, he would be able to track them wherever they were.
”Your objective may not be an easy one, and I can say for sure that some of you will probably not make it.” They didn't even flinch when the spirit said it. Discord smiled sadistically. ”But believe me when I say that the reward when you complete this will be worth all the pain you would have to endure.” Discord turned away from them with his arms behind his back.
”All of you are the elite of the Surrendered. And I do not expect, or accept anything but success in your mission. Failure is not an option. Am I making myself clear?” He turned toward them with a glare.
“Yes, Lord Discord!” They replied in perfect unison. Discord grinned.
“Perfect... Now, you may wonder what your mission is, but that is what I will tell you now so you can begin as soon as possible.” He turned his back toward them and walked to the window closest to him. “Your task is to find the royal alicorn princesses and bring them to me. I am sure that they would do anything in their power to escape, so be prepared.”
The nodded and started walking out of the room, but Discord stopped them with a scowl. “And don't forget... Dispose of all ponies who get in your way when you're looking for them. No interruptions, no prisoners and no mercy.”
“Yes Lord Discord!” They shouted and ran out of the room, leaving Discord alone in the room. Discord chuckled and once again turned his head toward the window.
“Be dears and put up a good fight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna...” Discord spat and made his way out of the room. This land was his to rule, as he had proved his dominance when he defeated them the first time. They were just too weak to rule, they didn't have the power necessary to rule.
It was a neverending strife, but he had the upper hand of prevailing as the winner once again.
